Project 365 - Photo of the Day - May 26, 2008 - Part II

After my heavenly morning on the lake with Ronnie, I headed home to upload my photos. My sleepy children FINALLY got up at 11 a.m. and wanted to do something. So I made the suggestion of Long Key Park which is one of the new nature centers that opened up in West Broward across the street from Flamingo Gardens.

Rachel was all for it and Adina could barely get out of bed! But we finally got on the road by noon and we got ourselves Subway sandwiches and brought them with us to the park. We wandered the nature paths and looked for a bench, but the park is so new they haven't had the time to install any yet. So we plopped down on the path and just ate there . . . of course making sure that we threw all of our garbage away in the trash can! I still have a little parks and recreation in my blood!

These photos are a combination of Long Key Park and Flamingo Gardens. We went over there to get some fresh squeezed juice and ended up with lots of fun peacock photos (I swear the peacock was posing for me and shaking his feathers at me!!) and then discovered this really cool "secret garden" complete with a wooden gliding chair in a gazebo. I won't attempt to describe each photo, because I am too lazy today, but we really did have a good time. My girls really are troopers and they oblige their mom's photography adventures!

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - May 26, 2008

The girls were sleeping, Joel left for work, the sun was up and I went out with my camera. I was very surprised at the cool temperature that hit me. It is late May and still cool. How odd, but luckily for me I knew that I wouldn't be shvitzing while I was out taking photos!

So as I turned the bend behind my neighbor's house he called me over and I plopped down on the chair and he brought me a cup of coffee. How could I refuse? The breeze was strong off of the lake and these are the photos that I snapped for the two hours that I sat there with him while we chatted about life.



This is the view from the back of Ronnie and Lori's house. It is heavenly. It would have been nice to live on the lake, but there wasn't a house available when we bought here 18 years ago.



This is Rocky (hey, I didn't name him!). He was peeking around the tree to see if it was okay to take a peanut from the bird house.



This is just one of the many Blue Jays that stopped by to have peanuts. I loved the way I froze the motion of his wings as he was landing.

























I love the way squirrels can eat upside down!



I liked this photo because of the way the sun was hitting the feathers, the colors are much brighter in this shot.



This guy was sitting on Ronnie's chair when Ronnie got up for a moment to refill my coffee cup.



This guy was a hungry one, he came back at least ten times!




Okay, so I finally got up out of my chair to try to focus on this gigantic spider web!

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - May 24, 2008

So Jose gave me his Speedlight SB-400 flash for the Nikon camera since he bought a new one online the other day. I was so excited but didn't have much of a chance to start playing with it. I really do not like flash photography, but this flash helps the photos look more real, good skin tone and less flat, of course depending on the angle, how close you are to the subject and how you angle the flash to your subject. These photos are just me playing around with those elements.



This first photo was taken in the living room. I wanted to see what would happen with bright backlight and a dark room. I took several of these photos and angled the flash several ways and this one was halfway pointing to the ceiling.



Again, with this shot, I took about ten different shots with the flash in different positions. Some were very flat but this one had the most warmth and depth.
























This photo was difficult because I was balancing dangerously on the edge of the tub's metal track that the sliding glass door moves on while I was holding on with one hand and the camera in the other hand and trying different angles. Candace was more lit than Adina in this composition. I also wanted to shoot from as high up as I could to give the feeling that we were peering into a private scene.



This photo was equally as difficult because I was laying down on my back with the top of my head flush against the tub with my feet up in the air against the wall balancing myself so that I could achieve this low angle. I didn't want the girls to appear to notice my existence. They were so busy doing pedicures that I think that they really didn't notice me.



And this last photo was taken as Rachel and I were putting the finishing touches on our hair and make up as we were getting ready to go out to a graduation party for our friend's son. I really tried to make this work with the flash, but it is hard in mirror. Rachel was ready to kill me after the twentieth photo!!

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - May 23, 2008

Thursday Rachel had to work at the Museum of Discovery and Science. There was a special event for families to come and see the new exhibit on frogs and a new IMAX film about the weird phenomenon off the coast of Eastern Africa about sardines that come onto the shores with the cold currents of winter. There are actually so many sardines that from the air looking down (which they LOVE to do in 3D IMAX films so that you can get a little queasy) it looks like an oil slick! They are so thick that it looks completely black.

Well, I couldn't take my camera into the museum and I didn't want to get asked to put my cell phone away so I didn't even try to take photos in the traveling exhibit, however, I managed to snap this one photo of a really, really HUGE lobster. It is hard to tell how big it is from this photo, but it would feed many people!

I met the girls at the museum at 5 p.m. It was a really, really hot and humid afternoon and it looked like it was going to pour at any second as I was walking down the block from my office to the museum. By the time I got to the museum I was sweating like a pig and my nice straight hair was flying in all different directions, so of course, I ended up pulling it all up in a ponytail.

Rachel and her girlfriend, Pearl, had to work (Rachel with the frog shaped cookies and green frosting and M&Ms as eyes and Pearl with the frog Origami). Adina and I walked around the museum until the film started and then we walked around until the girls were finished working. It had rained while we were in the museum and had stopped when we were leaving so we decided to get tacos at my favorite place before we got back in the car to go home. It turned out to be a very nice evening . . . a girls night out . . . we didn't get home until 10:30 p.m. and I had to go to work the next day, but that was really okay, because I went straight to sleep.

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - May 21, 2008

My neighborhood is like a nature preserve! Today I made Adina take a walk with me after work and school. I had a very long day of budget stuff and I needed to clear my head. And, I wanted company along the way. I told Adina to take her camera but she didn't really get inspired. She was amazed at how many creatures live in our very own backyard!

I also use the RAW feature on my camera today because I never have and one of my employees promised to teach me stuff on Photoshop. I tried to edit these photos but I am not very adept at it yet but these are my attempts.

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - May 20, 2008

Adina snapped this photo of Rachel and me hard at work on our computers. This is what we do every night. Me with my photos and uploading and blogging and Rachel either doing homework or crossword puzzles. It is a typical Tuesday night.

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - May 19, 2008

Not being very creative today, but right before I was about to step into the shower, I looked down and saw the two cats sitting inches apart! This is truly amazing since Grace completely rejected Newton since Newton joined our household. I liked this photo because Grace is in her own little world and Newton is out of focus in the background, okay so my toilet bowl is in the photo, can't help that, but one second later the moment was gone because Grace took off in a flash and ran downstairs.















After Grace took off, Newton stretched out, only the way cats can do and make themselves perfectly at home in very odd locations and positions.

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - May 18, 2008

So this morning was the last day of Hebrew School . . . ever. Actually that is what I thought. Last Wednesday was the last day! And, to make it even worse . . . Joel had dropped Adina and left her and he didn't have his cell phone with him. So Adina called me and I was still in PJs and watching TV so I threw on whatever was nearest and ran out the door to pick her up. Then I decided that we deserved a bagel and coffee (well, hot chocolate for Adina . . . yeah, I know it was 95 degrees today, but she likes the stuff!!). We went to this brand new Dunkin Donuts that has the most interesting decor! They have white vinyl couches with faux suede throw pillows . . . a throw back from the late 60s. Then they have these red swivel chairs that look like bagels or donuts to me.
























Here is Adina enjoying her everything bagel.



Don't Adina's eyes just melt your heart? The morning light was perfect to catch the clear blue of her eyes.
























Just loved the black and white photo on the wall of the cars that look like the 1940s to me and the light fixture that looks like it just stepped out the Mary Tyler Moore show!
























Check out my silly girl's socks. They NEVER match. I liked the mischevious look in her eyes in this photo.
























I had to take a long shot of this scene so that you can see all the different decades mixed up in the decor with the personal TV screens in front of each person's chair! I think it is a bit much and besides it is only on one channel and it was in Spanish so that is why we chose to sit on the couch and cushy chair!



Later in the day Rachel was sitting on the couch waiting for her girlfriend to come over. The light was just right on her hair which reminded me of a photo I took of her when she was about seven. I made her stand still so that I could run inside to grab my camera while Joel was waiting in the car yelling at me to hurry up. It was worth it! This time, no one was yelling at me and I snapped away at my leisure.
























Another one, so you can see the concentration on her face. She was trying to play the solo in Stairway to Heaven!
























And later in the day still . . . a lizard dared to come into the house and Newton took care of the little guy. Needless to say, he didn't make it out! Sorry about that.

Project 365 - Photo of the Day - May 17, 2008

Saturday was a nice day for Joel and me. We spent most of it together, sans children! The girls stayed at home and did homework and reading. Joel needed some shirts for work and so did I so we ended up at JC Penneys. We really did very well between sales, coupons and a friend who works there and gave us his discount! And I really hate shopping, but this time, I didn't mind it at all.

Before we left I snapped this photo of Newton sleeping, very comfortably I might add, in the sink. I really don't know how it can be all that comfortable, but I am sure he likes the coolness of the porcelain.
























Once we came home Joel and Adina started to work on a school project that is due next week. It has to with the Titanic and Adina came up with the idea of doing a diorama with passenger lists and an iceberg made out of Styrofoam. This was just the beginning of their work.



While they were doing research, Rachel and I were in the living room playing guitar. I haven't played in a very long time and my fingers hurt after a few minutes. So I grabbed my camera and started playing with the manual focus with the strings.
























Later in the day Adina decided to paint with her watercolors. Newton was also trying to get into the act, while playing with his toys too!