Garages

This is our garage and our neighbor's garage. I like the way the upper left corner is so sharp, and it gets gradually blurry as your eyes move along the lines in the siding. That, along with the angle of the shot, causes an interesting visual effect--the upper part of the window frame looks like it's at a different angle from the rest of the wall, but it isn't. Also check out the little blue flowers in the lower right (you might need to click on the picture and enlarge it to see them).

Dandelion

Just so that you are aware: this picture was taken at a park. Mark has worked very hard to make sure that none of these pretty little flowers can grow in our yard.

Disappointment

Mark and I got up at 6:00 this morning to drive across town and witness the demolition of the Fulton Road Bridge, a bridge in Cleveland that spans the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. This little boy was disappointed, as we were, when, after two delays and two hours in the rain, it became clear that the bridge wasn't coming down. It was an interesting morning anyway--hundreds of people showed up for the show and I took over a hundred pictures.

Cilantro

Chair

Because of the wet weather I've had to take pictures inside my house lately. I try to take advantage of natural light, but there aren't many places in my house that get a lot of natural light. The dining room is one of the few. I'm running out of interesting things to photograph in there, though. I hope the weather gets better soon.

China

Evening Walk

Mark and I took a walk tonight at one of our favorite parks, just a few blocks from our house. It has a great spot to watch the sunset (at least at this time of year).

Rain

Sunset through Trees

Moving Day

Today we helped some friends move out of their house. This picture doesn't show much about the actual moving, but I like the light coming through the window. It's a sunny picture, and that's how the day felt--not only literally sunny, but enjoying time with friends as we helped them do the hard work of moving was a 'sunny' feeling.

Bluebells

I was messing around with settings on my camera today, and the color in this picture ended up a bit off. But I think I like it. I also like the lines made by the grass and the way everything is kind of slanted. I think that was actually because of the wind, not the angle of my camera.

Cutie

On Thursday afternoons I take care of this adorable little girl. The weather was so beautiful today we could actually spend time outside. What fun!

At the Airport

I've read that to get good pictures of people, either candids or portraits, you need a lot of equipment: lighting, a tripod, telephoto lens... I don't have any of these things. I was at the airport tonight, and since airports are such good people-watching places, I thought it would be a good place to get some people pictures. Unfortunately I was a bit nervous trying to take strangers' pictures without the anonymity of a telephoto, and the lighting wasn't great. Most of my people pictures were blurry, and the one or two that weren't blurry were just kind of...eh. So I went with the elevator sign.

Curls in Low Light

In the interest of trying out all the dials and buttons and settings on my camera, I decided to try some pictures tonight in low light. I also have had a desire (a somewhat narcissistic desire, perhaps) to take pictures of my hair. I combined these two experiments and got what I thought was an interesting shot. I tried a few hair shots using the flash, but I liked the golden tones of the low light much better.

Tree

I just love this tree, which is right around the corner from my house. In this picture, the color and texture of the bark and the shape of the branches really stand out against the houses and lawns and bushes in the background. It stands out just as clearly in real life when you walk past it.
P.S. This picture looks really nice bigger--if you click on the picture it should open a larger version on a new webpage. It may be too large to see, but you can adjust the view on your web browser to make it a size that works.

Truant

Today Mark and I skipped church and did our own Bible study at home. It was a nice change of pace, and I thought it made a good picture, too.

Mallard

Mark and I took a walk today in one of my favorite parks. I took lots of pictures, and as the two of us sat down to look at them we had our regular argument as to which one was post-worthy. This one was not my first choice or his. We both talked each other out of our top picks and went with the duck. I like the subtle ripples and the reflection. It's very tranquil.

Office

Bathroom Shot

Like I said, almost anything shot up close looks at least somewhat interesting. Also, I'm trying to get shots from different rooms in my house. I have posted pictures from the kitchen, dining room and now bathroom.

Easter Lily

It seems a little like cheating, but I know I can almost always count on taking a picture of a flower (or practically anything else) in 'macro' and getting an interesting shot.

My Own Lance Armstrong

Mark went out for a ride today in the cold. I like the way his blue windbreaker and yellow handlebars contrast with all the white in the snow and the houses.

Huh?

I had three good pictures to choose from today, but this one was the most unusual. I picked Mark up at work and he let me in the door wearing these beautiful green gloves, and when we went into the lab he was using a paint brush to slather this beautiful pink stuff all over a sculpture. The colors were too much...

Coffee

A nice way to wake up on a cold snowy Easter.

Best?

My hope with this blog was to take several pictures each day and then pick the best one to post. I thought my first pictures were pretty good, and I felt some pressure to try and keep up the same quality. Alas, today's pictures didn't live up to my expectations, so it made for a tough decision.

The question of picking the "best" picture turns out to be kind of complicated. Is the best picture the one that is visually the most pleasing? Or is it the one that says the most about the day? The one I had the most fun taking? The one that I think other people will be the most impressed by?

Today I took some pictures of the miserable weather (well, it wouldn't be miserable if it was the middle of December, but it's the middle of April...), which said a lot about the day. I took some of Mark doing yoga, which were a lot of fun. I'm not sure any of my pictures would impress anyone. In the end I picked the picture that I thought looked the nicest. Maybe on future days I'll pick a different definition of "best".

Friday, but Sunday's Coming

This phrase has been going through my head all day--even though things today may look as bad as they can get, we are looking forward to the resurrection. Unlike the disciples, we know what's going to happen on Sunday!

The nails were handed out at our church's Good Friday service this evening.

Colossians 2:13-14When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

Snow

After 80 degrees on Tuesday we had a couple of inches of snow on the ground this morning. Hmph.
But there is still beauty in it--These snowflakes fell on my windshield this evening before I left for a friend's house.

Knitting

I taught my first "Knitting for Boys" elective today at University School. Eight boys came, and we had a great time! I took this picture when I came home--it's a project I've been working on for a while. I had fun playing around with the camera, messing with the focus in the 'macro' mode.

Empty

Our neighbors have this big, once-beautiful yard, but I have never seen them in it. This nice glider just sits there empty. I think it's kind of a sad picture.

Forsythia

This was from a walk I took today at Forest Hills Park, one of our favorite spots in Cleveland Heights. Another close-up shot. The texture in the petals was what made me pick this picture. This makes three plant pictures in a row, so tomorrow I have to pick something different--landscape or architecture maybe.

Sunny Sunday Morning

I snapped this picture while Mark and I were having breakfast. I loved the way the light was shining on the leaves of the Christmas cactus. I also love the bright green color, with the darker green in the background from our dining room wall. We went for a walk in the woods later in the day and I took lots of pictures there, but this one was still my favorite (much to Mark's dismay).