Imperfect

On a drizzly spring day a few weeks ago, I was fortunate to be invited for lunch at my friend Ellen's home. It's always a treat to receive that particular invitation because Ellen is a private chef. Spontaneously, she can throw together a meal from whatever she finds in her fridge and garden that's more scrumptous than any restaurant around.

Beyond the wonderful fish chowder and deer tongue lettuce sprinkled with chive flowers, I was delighted by what lay on the table. Longing to photograph the two pears bathed in natural light, I chided myself for not bringing my camera. But there, beside my napkin lay my iPhone. Dare I stoop to that level, become just another iPhone shooter.
You have no choice, I told myself pressing the silly "app." Although one pear is marred, the rooster's head is cut off and the file is half the size of my Canon's digital capability, I couldn't get this image out of my head. To read a more lyrical rendition of this post, visit Recovery Thru My Lens.

Mug Shot

On this Christmas Eve, although I don't celebrate the holiday, I do rejoice in its celebration of family, its gravitational pull, the way the idea of Christmas brings families together against all odds. This morning I read about the travellers still stranded in London's Heathrow airport for days because of five inches of snow, longing to be home for the holidays. It made me feel so grateful to be here at home, two miles from my daughter--unusual for families spread around the globe these days.

Here's an image of my grandson taken a few days ago when he was under the weather and I was called in to watch him so his mom could go to work. For hours we played with his enormous fleet of cars, trucks, trains and planes. As he rolled around with them on the floor, I joined him at his level.

At first he was very aware of the camera, but then relaxed into a variety of poses. There were many to choose from for this post, but this one, the very first is my favorite. Full frontal, wife-beater, cowlick, furrowed brow.

"It's a classic mug shot," I commented to his father as we flipped through the images just before he too left for work.

"Great," he said. "I hope that's not what's in store."

If you have been directed to this blog as per my "Holiday" e-mail, it refers to "Miracle" posted on Dec. 17th just below. Although this one fits the bill as well...

Last Supper

Sometimes a chore can turn into a delight than can be transformed into a photographic pleasure. For a week I've been preparing for a two-week trip to Europe where I'll be visiting my daughter who's studying in Barcelona; then I'll travel to Paris to visit friends.
As part of the endless preparations, I kept eying the food in my refrigerator hoping I wouldn't have to throw it away just before heading for the airport. Yesterday a friend and I were sitting in the sun in my backyard about to leave for a goodbye lunch when an idea popped into my head. "Let's just stay here," I said, "I've got all this food that I don't want to waste....why don't we just use everything in the fridge."

So two eggplants, leftover tomato sauce and mozzarella, and some parsley became my version of eggplant parmesan. We also roasted a few orange and yellow peppers, used half a container of mesclun for two small salads, and warmed the remains of a loaf of semolina.

An hour and a half later, this Mediterranean meal graced my table."Take a picture," my friend said, "it looks too good to eat."

But I'm hungry and tired from all the cooking I thought sighing.

"Com'on, do it for me," she insisted."

*for those of you who are enjoying Learning to See, I will be away until early November when I hope to return with some more photographic pleasures!

Copper

Since I lost my 11-year old golden retriever, Buddy, on New Year's Eve 2008, I was certain I'd never fall in love again. However, I guess whoever said "never say never" had a point.

Yesterday while driving through Westhampton Beach, I noticed lots of commotion on the main corner in the midst of the spring sidewalk sale. Cages full of puppies were on display and up for adoption by a local rescue group called Last Chance.
Parking quickly, I darted toward the puppies and immediately set my eyes on a brown and white beagle/retriever mix (or so they said). An hour later, I was driving home with a 12-week old in the passenger seat. Since then, he hasn't left my side.
When I sat down at the computer tonite, Copper curled up on the rug behind me just as Buddy was so apt to do. Grabbing my camera, I set the ISO to 1600 and focused on his soulful eyes. Photographing indoors at night is always a challenge, especially when you refuse to use flash.
ps...while I was busy writing this, he crewed my USB cord...

Inside Out

With the wind howling outside my window and snow blanketing my yard, I find myself sitting inside again writing about shooting during the winter. Another alternative to charging outside into the cold is to aim your camera at your window.

Windows provide a natural frame that we rarely notice since we’re usually focused on what we see outside. However, if we shift our perspective inside, something interesting may come into view that we hadn’t noticed before.
One of the favorite features of my house is the grids set inside the casement windows. During a storm, they contain the chaos outside calling attention to patterns forming on the glass and how the light varies from one square to another.
To capture this image, I picked up my Canon Rebel setting the zoom lens to about 35 mm – the “normal” focal length for my digital camera. Then I stood far enough away from the window so that the grid filled the frame.
Next, I flipped the dial to shutter speed priority with a setting of 1/30 of a second – the slowest speed that I can hand-hold without shaking. It’s suggested that a tripod be used when shooting at longer intervals than 1/60 of a second.
In my opinion, however, that choice depends on the steadiness of the photographer. And most important, the flash must be turned off so the image isn’t washed out and the nuance of natural light shines through.