Penning Photography Daily

I love looking at clouds.

There I was, having taken my bride Karen to the grocery store. Just popping in for some essential paper products. =)

I waited in the car – the chauffeur being my role.

I took out my camera and turned it on.

Oops.

I had taken out the memory card, having been processing the day’s photos earlier. No memory card in the camera.

I’m prepared for this.

I carry two cell phones: one for work and one for personal use. I’ve purchased memory cards for both, and they are a part of my backup plan.

I keep converter cards for both in my wallet. I just pulled the memory card from my Palm 755p phone and inserted it into the adapter from my wallet.

Shazam! I had memory for my camera.

These clouds were morphing as twilight descended. I took about 7 photos of them as they changed shape.

This is the last photo. It happens to be the one I liked the best.

I like the “S” shape, the graduation of blues, and the hint of reflected sunset.

I’ve seen this pose in fellow self-portrait photograph, I cannot find it at the moment. Kudos to them for the inspiration.

I put the camera in the mailbox, set with the timer on and exposure set.

Stand and wait.

The sun was really hitting me, so I had to take a second shot with the lens stopped down a bit more.

Still have that “Is it going to work?” look.

It worked. =)

The grandfather clock in my living room caught my eye tonight.

I was casting about, looking for an object to use for my photo of the day.

This clock was a hard earned reward, which my bride Karen chose for meeting a sales goal some 20+ years ago. For the first years, we kept it wound and ticking regularly. Now, it sits idle, waiting for me to start it back up.

I noticed the play of light on the seconds hand.

Only after I was processing it, did I discover the significance of the number at which this hand has stopped: 53. I happen to be 53 years old.

Coincidence? Ha! Now, what is grandfather clock trying to tell me?

Time Flies. – Tempus Fugit

From Wikipedia: The expression was first used in the verse Georgics written by Roman poet Virgil: Sed fugit interea fugit irreparabile tempus, which means, “But it flees in the meantime: irretrievable time flees”.

I shall savor the moment of discovery, and keep my eyes open to the discoveries in the present.

In the Living Room, once more.

This time, I moved and used a hand-held diffusion panel to soften the light. I think it turned out ok.

The harsh light streaming through the bay window, was diffused by a 5-in-one collapsible diffusing/reflecting panel. The outer zippered shell has solid white and solid gold surfaces. The shell reverses to have solid black and solid silver surfaces. The inner panel is a soft white diffuser. Handy to have around when needed.

I tried several poses, and this one struck me with the angle, and looking away from the lens giving me a sense of emotion that isn’t present in looking straight on – at least at tonight’s posing. =)

I took about 5 minutes, working with virtual copies in Lightroom, making both a sepia and black and white versions. You can tell which one made the cut.

This past weekend, my son Chris and I went photowalking at the Dana-Thomas house in our home town.

Susan Lawrence Dana commissioned renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright to turn her family mansion on this corner into a magnificent party home. He did that and then some!

www.dana-thomas.org/ is the website for more information.

Chris and I walked around the outside, then took the tour of the inside. No cameras allowed, darn it. I understand the reason why, I don’t have to like it much. =)

We were both in awe after the hour long tour. There’s over 15,000 square feet of space in the house and the converted carriage house which serves as the visitor’s center.

There’s almost no wasted space in the house, every where I turned there were built-in drawers, cabinets, closets, and stairs. Lot’s of stairs. Each area was on a separate level, some just a few feet above the previous, creating a separate function. The dining room chairs, which Wright designed, have high backs which are intended to create a room-within-a-room -the dining table as a separate room within the dining area.

I could go on and on, but I suggest you check out the link or better yet come to visit in person.

I’ve lived here all my life and this is my first visit – I’ll go again! If it takes you a wile to get here, I’ll understand. =)

Late afternoon shadow of me, walking up the sidewalk of my house from our driveway.

I converted it into black & white and increased the contrast to highlight my shadow and all the individual growing plants.

The tree leaves and the grass are predominant in a color version of this. By converting to black and white, I preserve the subject, me, as well as bring attention to all the individual things.

At least that’s what I had in mind. =)

The wind was making it very hard to capture this beautiful plant.

Karen says it’s a May Night Salvia – and it sure looks like one from my quick look online.

The plant grows tall stems with dozens of tiny flowers covering the stem.

This is a sideways shot – I wanted to get a clearer capture of the flowers and the stem.

Once more, the green background gives a nice contrast to the flowers purple color.

Nature sure has a wide color pallate. =)