February Overview Peace and Love

Another month has passed. Once again, I struggled to capture just what I was hoping for. Too much time is being spent on things other than photography. The best part of the assignment was going out and taking photographs. When I had time to to spend on my photography, I feel so at peace and I love looking around and seeing the world; big and small, near and far.

On the first Saturday of this month our photo walk group went out to Iowa to see and photograph the Eagles and spend a little time at Antique Archaeology. The antique store is filled with all kinds of things that were loved by someone and are now, at a minimum, intriguing to the owners and visitors of the store. 

Someone had this little guy as a toy and kept it until it was a faded memory. It now sits on display in the store, a collectors items for everyone who visits to see.

The Nash was loved by someone as well. It is the sign for the store and is photographed by many, many visitors. I personally loved the way the snow had collected and created interesting shapes and designs around the car.

 To see these Bald Eagles back in such high numbers is a wonderful thing. They are gaining in numbers and can bee seen more and more easily in Illinois especially in winter. When we got out of the car, this tree full of eagles pulled me in.

This one was chattering away at the top of the tree. It's a wonderful sound.

  I have struggled to capture moving wildlife. Bird and whales are so beautiful, but I usually come home and find that I have my shutter speed to slow or I was moving as I was taking the photograph. This trip, I was steady and finally captured some nice images even as the birds soared right over head.

 

 The was not peace or love. Well, I guess it's about love of a fish. But this was an argument over who got to eat the fish. As you can see, the fish went back into the water. Fighting really doesn't get you anywhere.

On Valentine's Day, I finally stopped to take a photograph of this house. It was repainted this summer and for the first time, I noticed the heart shape in the intricate design.

 In search of a little winter beauty at the end of the day. I went out for a drive waiting for sunset. The clouds won, but I found this to be a peaceful scene.

Just as I was about to go to bed, my husband said that Gilbert was out photographing the Aurora Borealis. This is on my bucket list of things to see and photograph. I walked into my boots, grabbed my coat, hat, mittens and camera gear and was off. To make it even better, John didn't let me go alone. Out on Rich Road, we met up with Gilbert and this was the only shot that I got before the Aurora faded completely from view. The view and the image did not show this much color. I had to up the saturation to bring out the colors in the sky. This is my reminder of what is out there and that some day, I will be awed by the colors and dancing of those fantastic nights. It's always good to have the camera ready to go, just on case you hear the call.

A month of Peace and Love. March is Water, Water, Everywhere. I wonder what I shall find.

February Peace and Love

We are past the halfway mark of the month closing in on the end of our photographic search for  peace and love. For me, it has been a tough month. Time for photography has slipped past and more importantly,  I seem to be too focused on the negative and miss the beauty, peace and love that surround me.

Up until Valentine's day, I had only taken photos one time.  Admittedly,  I took a lot of the Eagles at lock and dam 14, but it is rate that I don't get in more days of photography than that. This day out did not feel like I was working on this photo challenge. It was more of a learning and practicing how to capture moving creatures challenge. I can say that I love learning, being out in nature, and making photographs and soaring eagles are very majestic.

There is a house in Sycamore that I drive past every day to go to work.  It was a house that was on the underground railroad.  This past year, it has been fixed up and painted. It is colorful and bright. The decoration stands out now and at the peak of the roof, there is a design that now one can so obviously see is the shape of a heart. I thought many times that I should stop and take a photo. I Valentine's day, I finally stopped to photograph that heart.  Since the I have been allowing myself the time to stop and take a photograph when I see something that makes me feel at peace.

One of these days, I will have some time to download and process them.

The month is quickly passing,  but there is still time to stop and photograph the more symbols and signs of peace and love.

January Photo Challenge

January: Fibonacci and other shapes (Phi, the Fibonacci number is 1.618. The golden mean.) The are so many shapes in nature. Focus on shapes as you look at the world to see what you see.

I did do a little photography, but I am not over the moon with the images that I captured in January. It felt more like practice than getting a great final piece of art. Not a bad thing, just feeling unfinished. Wishing for more time to play and capture.

December's challenge is to go back and take the same image and see if you would do anything differently to improve upon what you did. There is not requirement to wait for December to try again.

What I like about this image is the background which creates a Fibonacci spiral composition. The main focus is also a great example of the Fibonacci spiral.

Trees and pine cones are always a great example if Fibonacci in action.

Colored bubbles on glass over iridescent paper. Lit from the side.

I think that these water drops are my favorite for the month. There are 55 water drops in a spiral formation (Fibonacci would be proud). Below and magnified in the water are little origami paper stars. I like the colors, the shape, and the final piece. This was one of the assignments from the "failed" 30 day challenge. I am pleased that I was able to try it and succeed with something that doesn't just feel like a copy of the assignment.

We were graced with a Parhelion (Sun Dog) one morning. Thanks to Tracy posting about it on Facebook and my husband mentioning it as I was leaving for work, I stopped and captured this image. It was on one of our coldest days. This farm is one of my favorite views on my way to work. Usually traffic is too heavy to stop and take a photo, but there wasn't much traffic on this bright and cold morning.

This little tree is more than just a Fibonacci Spiral. It was made by my mother and her close friend many years ago. They saw one at Marshall Field's and decided to make their own. I still remember all the cut pieces of wood being cut and laid out for spray painting. Then one by one biggest to smallest stacked in a dowel rod. We plaid with the tree shaping it and reshaping it again and again over the holidays.

This is the tree from the side.

Ribbon candy has great curves and colors.

Shells are a wonderful example of Fibonacci in action.

I guess all-in-all it was a good month with fun experiments and wonderful things to photograph. February is here. It is time to search for Peace and Love.

Photo Challenge 2014

A while ago, I started a 30 day photo challenge. It didn't go very well. Between being very busy adding to it the difficulty of the daily assignments, I stopped taking photos at about day 21. There were some good assignments, but they were not one day challenges for me. Several of them required looking up how to do it and then a lot of experimentation.

From this, I realized that rather than put myself under such pressure and feeling frustrated because I was not succeeding, that I should make some changes to the way I complete a photo challenge.

I have decided that this year, I will work on 12 photo challenges; one challenge per month. My themes are just that, themes, This will allow me to try different techniques and compositional styles every month. I can working on panning, HDR, slow sync flash, panorama, dynamic tension, and on, and on, and on.

My goal it to really focus on each monthly assignment and see how many ways that I can photograph the topic.

I am putting this here as a promise to myself to complete these monthly challenges.

My themes will be:

January: Fibonacci and other shapes (Phi, the Fibonacci number is 1.618. The golden mean.) The are so many shapes in nature. Focus on shapes as you look at the world to see what you see.

February:  Peace and Love: a little more esoteric, but how do you see it in the world? What better month to look for peace and love than in February?

March: Water, water everywhere: this one is pretty obvious,  it's about water, close up, far away, colored or black and white. Water drops or bodies of water, frozen or liquid, h2o or a mixture.

Landscape and graffiti: there is so much to see in the world where ever you are. Take time to stop and see the big picture. Capture the writing on the wall.

Forced Perspective: make something look big or make something big look small. Maybe it looks like a person is holding a cloud or Bokeh lights are filling a glass. Maybe a shell looks huge or Lego people are now giants. Maybe the full moon looks really big in the sky.

Light and Shadows: Ansel Adams was a master at seeing light and shadow. Monet was fascinated with light and would paint the same seen over and over again throughout the day to see the way light and shadow and color changed.  Shadows can be intriguing on their own making cool designs on the ground. Look at the way day and night light play with the world.

Time and Space: how do you see these things? The skies the limit. Maybe you times photograph the sunset. Night shots of the sky. clocks? The growth of a new plant. As with time and space, the possibilities are endless.

Up Close and Personal: get your macro on. Look at the details.

Portraits and People: This one scares me half to death. I include animals in my idea of portraits. This is also an opportunity to get to know other people. Maybe start a stranger portrait series. Really stepping outside of my comfort zone.

Windows and Doorways: not sure I need to say much on this. It could be used as a compositional style. Frame within a frame. Or it can be literal or metaphoric.

Pencils, Paper, and Everyday Things: How can you make a unique photograph from everyday objects. The goal is to see it and experiment with it until you have a photograph of the object that is unlike any other.

December: Look How Far You Have Come (Take an old photograph that you like, retake it. How have you change? What did you do differently?)

I have picked my assignments for January, February, March and December. The rest, I think, I will choose as I go along.

You are welcome to join me on this journey. Happy Photography in 2014.

Jumping Out of a Perfectly Good Airplane!

Yesterday was a big day for me! I finally did it. I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane in my first tandem skydive. My husband gave me this adventure as a 16th wedding anniversary present. I joke that he was not jumping with me. Was he ready to be rid of me? I can joke about it because I know better than that. We are like all other couples and life is not perfect, we have our moments that don't feel so good, but we also have our great moments and we have the most important ones; those moments when we know that we are both in it for the long haul wading through whatever the world has to give to us.

Skydiving is one of those things that has come up at family dinners on many occasions in the past. John and his brother went years before I met them. John's dad and sister-in-law Angelica went for Phil's 60th birthday. Everyone said it was really cool, but no one was in a hurry to go again. Each time, the conversation came up, I would say I really want to do that someday. The Chicagoland Skydive Center moved out to Rochelle and a friend of mine went skydiving and was telling us about how great it was. Ruth Ann, who also went skydiving yesterday had this on her bucket list. she was the medical advocate and close friend to Marilyn (John's mom.) Phil decided that this would be a great way to say think you for all of her help through Marilyn's illness and a great 70th birthday present to boot.

There is not much time once you are at the Skydive facility to really think about what you are committing to.

You do have to sign and initial away any possible consideration of you or your heirs suing the company, but really when you decide to do this, you know the risks, it is probably part of why you are there in the first place.

This is on the cover of the forms that you sign.

Ruth Ann and Me

 I was really excited and surprisingly not scared.

 The moment between being on the plane looking out and the moment when there is no longer anything solid beneath your feet, was that one second of "What the hell was I thinking?" and then you were just going. No point is asking why, just time to enjoy or be totally afraid. I chose enjoyment.

 Three miles of falling bliss.

 Spinning around above the earth.

 Once the parachute is open, the world is quiet, you are floating and souring above the earth slowly coming back to land. If you look straight down, you can see your feet and the earth way, way below. For me this was a moment of exhilaration. I laughed out loud at this wondrous feeling.

 Floating in the atmosphere, looking around, excitement and peace merged into joy.

 Back to land. Adrenalin still pumping. Out of body experience with the earth jolting you back to reality.

Another thing off my bucket list as they say. My bucket list of sorts is constantly being replenished. There are a few things that have been there for a while and there are new things being added as I see what others experience in life. On occasion, something goes in moments before I take it out and just do it. Why wait? When the timing is right, you should go for it. You never know if or when the timing will be right again.

If you would like to see the video of my first jump, Click Here. Yes, I say first jump. I would do it again. . . when the timing is right.

Fear of Change

Fear is like a brick wall and only the way to deal with it is to knock it down and move forward through the face of it. I played games with my diet for a long time. I was "gluten free" and would only occasionally eat a Chicago style pizza. I found a recipe for bread that had about 20 ingredients including multiple types of non-wheat flours. I was in a lot of pain. It hurt when my husband would lean over me to kiss me good night because any pressure on my hip caused my to cringe in pain. I was so afraid of giving up bread and tasty treats. How could I survive without that wonderful smell. The crunch of a loaf of french bread, the donut with a cup of coffee, or pie and cake for celebrations are anchors from my past life.

I don't know what exactly made me finally change my diet. I have read lots of books and tried lots of things so why would Robb Wolf's The Paleo Solution be different? The answer is that I was ready and the book came along at the right time. I was tired of the pain, I was moving into a big new project at work, and I was really tired of seeing the way I looked in the mirror.

Last week, I said that I have been stuck and I was more tired than usual. I decided to increase my vitamin D3 and K2 to see if things changed. I am feeling better. I am still more tired than usual, but It has been almost two years since I took a real vacation. 

We (John and I) noticed that swimming, bike riding, and even a glass of wine have the ability to let me release some stress. A year ago, I really couldn't do anything physical. At least, I believed that I couldn't. On our mini-vacation to Kohler, Wisconsin, I had the chance to swim in the pool. The chlorine was tough on my body and my chronic cough was not helped by it, but swimming felt so good. Just swimming one length was tough and I pushed myself to swim 20 laps. Now, I am swimming a mile or more with faster laps and less struggles with breathing and while the chronic cough seems to be more prevalent in the winter, the chlorine/bromine at the local pools does not seem to impact my day any more. 

At work our double flight of stairs would leave me breathing hard on most days and even harder in the humidity. Now, I take the stairs as if it's a walk down a hallway. I never think twice about trips up and down the stairs and actually like the opportunity for some exercise.

Getting to the pool was tough this weekend so I headed to the basement and road my exercise bicycle. I have had it for years and it goes through the phases of collecting dust and clothing, but now, it is a quick link to a cardio workout and stress relief.

I have found some recipes that allow me the special treats without the flour, sugar and highly processed additives from store bought food. These recipes let me have a treat without the guilt and fear. They are homemade, delicious and while not 100% healthy, they allow me to feel like the world of food is limitless even without grains, dairy and legumes.

Paleo Blueberry Muffins

1 very ripe banana cut into pieces

2 eggs

1/8 C, Water

1/8 Cup Almond Oil

1/4 C. Maple Syrup

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1/2 orange squeezed (optional)

2 1/4 C Almond Meal

1 tsp Baking Soda

1/3 C. Egg White Powder (You can increase to 4 eggs and an extra 1/2 C Almond meal to replace powder) I get it from Fruitful Yield, Now brand unflavored) I buy it for summer smoothies so it comes in handy year round.

grated orange peel

1 Bag Blueberries

1 large handful chopped pecans

Mix Wet ingredients with an immersion blender to turn the banana into liquid. Mix dry ingredients. Then mix together. Fold in blueberries and pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, Use muffin papers.

Also tasty, 1 1/4 cup chopped cranberries with pecans or hazelnuts and some clove or allspice. I am going to try chopped raspberries, hazelnuts, and grated lemon peel and maybe increase the vanilla.

Makes 15 muffins.

The Paleo Journey Continues

I started on my Paleo Journey February 26, 2012. Here it is, January 6, 2013 and I have said little about the journey. At first I was waiting to see if I would lose more than 20 pounds as that was where I had got stuck when I changed my diet in the past. After that I was busy with construction and not in the mood to spend time at my computer after a long day at work. I have lost 39 pounds and have some more to go, but I feel like these eating changes have really stuck and I want to move forward with even better habits rather than go back to the old style of eating.

It takes a lot of effort and fortunately, I love to cook and because this is really about taking the time to make it fresh and make it healthy. I love to figure out new recipes and try new things. All those episodes of  Chopped and The Next Food Network Star stirred my cooking passion and has helped to make me more creative in the kitchen. The Paleo Cookbooks have given me ideas and clues for creating lots of healthy fun foods. I have gotten smart and make extra so I have food for my lunches and often make large pots of soup that I freeze in single serving containers. This really helps to make eating healthy easy even on hectic days.

I have started swimming on a pretty regular basis and now swim at least a mile each time I am in the pool. Fitting the pool schedule into my life and work schedule is the hardest part. It has become enough of a habit, that it makes me crabby when I don't get to swim. My husband must have noticed as he suggested that I go to the pool on Christmas Eve so I could get some exercise and a little me time. Those thirty-six laps were wonderful.

I am feeling a bit stuck. I have more wight to lose, but more importantly, I feel more tired lately.  Maybe it is just winter with the longer nights and shorter days, the grayer skies and cold. Maybe I do need to hibernate a little bit after a long hard summer filled with activity and stress. Maybe I need to cut back on the recipe I have posted below. I could be addicted. I do keep it as an evening treat for that special feeling that tells my brain I have not given up all the foods I used to eat. The truth is that I don't feel like I have given up anything. I am happy to not eat all that processed food. When I make poor choices these days, I feel it. My body aches more and it takes 2 -3 days to recover. Fortunately exercise, water, and eating right bring me back into balance pretty quickly. 

E = mc2 -r Effectiveness=Motivation x Confidence x Concentration - Resistance. This is the Huna method. Usually I forget to subtract the resistance. I wonder if having so much going on in my life this summer forced me to be so focused and confident that I never had a chance to resist, thus I was very effective. Now, there is more time to just think and sit. How do I keep let down the resistance without adding in stress and havoc? Something to ponder while I swim or ride my bicycle.

Here is one of John's and my favorite recipes. I don't recommend it for people who are starting on Paleo as getting off sugar is really important and this is a treat not an excuse. However, if you are about to cheat with a cookie or other confection, this is the better way to go.

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies/Bars

In one bowl:

3 Cups Almond Meal (I buy from Trader Joe's)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

Mix dry ingredients

In second bowl:

2 eggs (mixed)

1/2 C. Maple Syrup

1/2 C. Almond Oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix wet ingredients

Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix together. Fold in 3/4 of a Bag. Dairy Free Chocolate Chips I use Enjoy Life or Sunspire http://www.sunspire.com/products/organic-fair-trade-65-cacao-bittersweet-baking-chips brands. Enjoy Life http://www.enjoylifefoods.com/chocolate-for-baking/mega-chunks/ is dairy free).

Oven 375 degrees, Bake cookies for 12 minutes (large tablespoon) Bake on parchment paper for easy non-stick cookies and easy clean up. For a Bar, bake at 375 degrees, pour batter into a 9 x 13 baking pan that has parchment in the bottom. Bake for 20 -25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. The bars are so easy, just one batch and you are done. Cookies make about 3 dozen.

For fun, fold in any variety of ingredients. We like to add dried cranberries (a large handful), 1/2 tsp. clove, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and large handful of chopped pecans. This week I added orange zest, dried blueberries, pecans, and  hazelnuts. The orange flavor was so bright an cheery. Felt like we were eating a whole new cookie. If you don't like chocolate, you don't need to add chocolate. The basic recipe is so versatile, you can make them any flavor you want.

I have served them to all types of people, and everyone likes or loves them. Even my Mother-in-Law who has a sweet tooth to rival all sweet toothed people thought they were delicious.