Evil Eyes and an Astronaut

This Evil Eye bracelet caught my eye yesterday. Evil eye talismans protect you from misfortune that might be bestowed upon you by an envious onlooker’s gaze. I hope it worked for the gal wearing this bracelet.
This evening I noticed an astronaut floating on the dark space of my blackboard. He looked so peaceful up there, but kind of lonely too.

a cup of coffee

Today it was warm enough to sit out on the deck after work. Steve lit a candle and I made some coffee. It was a nice end to a good day.

friday nite and saturday day

Friday’s POD is taken at John Medwedeff’s art opening. I was showing my friend, Betsy Bishop how my small tripod worked by setting it on the floor and taking a quick photograph, not expecting the photograph to be anything special, but, man, I love this picture! I love the composition, foreground, background, lighting, colors and sizes of the objects.

Saturday’s photograph is of my dog, JaJa Vega running through a puddle. Lazy Judy is strolling along in the background. I am intrigued by capturing action with photography. It is difficult to do with my camera, maybe I’ll experiment with a different camera later on.

More personally: I have been letting go of prejudices and ego by meditating regularly. What I get from meditation is an ability to observe my thoughts: I hold mine in one hand while I am open for other possibilities in the other hand. Previously, I would have held on to my idea as The Truth, with both hands, tightly. The beauty of mediating is that I have opened myself up to other thoughts and options. You could say that I am becoming less opinionated. Not a bad thing. Physically, I can tell a difference because I used to get tight and rigid when I thought that I was right. Now I am making an effort to relax, breathe, and allow the ideas to come. I hope that my photography will change as a result of this new letting go and opening up.

Also, a special Thank You goes out to my husband, Steve, for making a banner for Proboscis. He took this picture today at the SIU rec center pool with his underwater camera. He did the layout and everything else involved with a banner. Thanks Steve! I love you! kate.

green gemstone necklace

I am in awe of people who can hold a camera still. Yes, I know that there are things called tripods, but it is hard to carry one around when you are not a professional photographer.

So here is a blurry photograph of a lovely necklace. What caught my eye was the geometry, the shades of green, the brightness of the middle gemstone, the way the green and brassy colors were worn against the young lady’s beautiful warm brown-toned skin.

I am enjoying all the wonderful feedback about the blog. You inspire me! I am humbled to have changed the way you look at your world. I look forward to seeing your photographs and reading your stories.

Sunny Window

The pix o’ day is effective! I have been working too much and have become self-absorbed and pitiful as a result. When Steve and I sat in the sunny window-seat at the Longbranch today, I felt some relief from my funk. Rachel Frank, our waiter, has a fabulous t-shirt collection, smile, and personality. Here is Rachel with her beautiful smile, bright red drop earrings, and whimsical t-shirt. I did not realize it at the time, but the shadow of the window sign is on her left shoulder.

Pedestrian Day

One temptation of Blogging about the Picture of the Day happened to me today. I was uninspired, dull, and flat. Nothing jumped out at me visually. I was aware of other senses today, but I cannot communicate the smell of chlorine as you walk from the student health center to the rec center through my photographs. So the temptation is to look through my old photographs and post one of those. I resisted.

I feel like I’ll let you down, waste your time, etc. because I did not have a picture-moment today. It was just an average day and the photos I took reflect that. However, to put a Pollyanna spin on it: Average is good. Always striving for two standard deviations above average sets you up for exhaustion, perfectionism, disappointment, and frustration.

Today's picture is of my dog, Taki's foot. I photographed it as he was lying on my Greek wool rug. I was intrigued by the similarity of his fur and the wool.

A week of blogs in one post!

It is difficult to blog when the internet is down. But I did enjoy taking photographs during our ice/snowstorm. The top photo is from a bust of Abe Lincoln at Morris Library. Look deep into his eye! Next is of a thriving indoor plant reaching towards the light, unaware of life on the other side of the pane. This bright, sunny corner of the Longbranch Coffee house with its warm colors(yellow and brown) on the interior juxtaposed with cool colors (blue and white) from the outside caught my keen eye. Followed by two pictures of my dogs, Judy and JaJa, who are extremely happy about the snow. (To keep Picture of the Day honest I must give a disclaimer: Steve probably took this picture of Judy.) After many days of snow and ice, produce at the coop looked especially green and beautiful. And the last picture is of a twisted measuring tape. I found the twist, colors, texture and light interesting.

I keep seeing things every day that are beautiful: a child on the playground, a couple holding hands, the geometry of a row of bookshelves. How about you? Have you started taking pictures at the moment of your inspiration? Are you becoming aware of your world and what you find interesting? Please share.