spark

on my mind

scrolls, originally uploaded by theloushe.

What I have learned is that if I truly want to embrace a certain way of living and being in this world, I must always be cognizant of the impact of my choices, for they are the stepping stones to the wide open space of light I want to be in as much as possible.
- Christine Mason Miller, Swirly Girl

So often people discuss choices (about lifestyle, politics, parenting, whatever) in a way that frames it as adversarial (my choice against your choice) or as a deprivation (giving up something, choosing not to do something). I have long felt that our choices are not so much moving away from something or from each other, but are an opportunity to create change and make ourselves and the world better. I thank CMM for her eloquent post to that effect.

I've also been thinking a lot about Meredith Winn's mantra post at Shutter Sisters.  I have trouble with coming up with just one phrase to describe myself (or any limit-one kind of question - i.e., favorite book, best moment, worst fear, etc.) but I think the Alice-down-the-rabbithole phrase "curiouser and curiouser" fits me pretty well at the moment.  That drive to know, to seek, to find, to possess and to share truth, is my driving force, and my window to opportunity.

wordless wednesday

impression, originally uploaded by theloushe.

bokehlicious

aster love, originally uploaded by theloushe.

A few days ago I came across a really, really cool photo trick and have been dying to tell somebody about it but felt like it was the kind of thing you need to show, not tell. Despite our house getting hit by the flu and not a whole lot of quiet/alone time, I managed to piece together a filter and go for a photowalk or three to play with and troubleshoot this fun tool.

Do you see the blurry highlights in the aster photo above? Blur in a photo is bokeh (boke-ay or boke-uh).  You can manipulate depth of field by adjusting the aperture of your lens to deliberately cause or reduce blur; out-of-focus highlights tend to look coarser, while more uniform lighting tends to look silky.  (Warning: those two links contain spiders.  Pretty spiders, but still, thought I should tell you.) Coarser highlights will be shaped in a way that is affected by the number of blades on your aperture.  For example, a 5-blade lens will produce pentagonal out-of-focus elements at some aperture values.  More blades generally results in smoother, more circular large OOF elements. 

How can you manipulate this? By covering the front of your lens with a piece of something (I used a circle of black craft foam taped to a screw-on shallow lens hood) with a hole in it smaller than your aperture, you can shape the blur.  I chose a heart shape like the one used in the tutorial.  Playing with it required manual focus and frequently a high ISO, and I discovered that using my 100mm macro lens was far easier to use with the filter than the 50mm.  Quirky trick, lots of thinking about how the camera works and why my mistakes turned out the way they did...I had a lot of fun! 

If you decide to try it, please link me to your results!

inhale

canopy, originally uploaded by theloushe.

Somebody is burning wood in their fireplace tonight.

The ginkos are dropping berries that pop underfoot and underwheel.

Maple leaves form drifts along the curbs for a mile around and more.

Evening air hits my face as I stand in the open door.

Fresh laundry and clean floors wait for me to return.

science love

The photo above is my son's dental x-ray, taken when he was 5 1/2 years old.  He didn't have so much as one loose tooth at the time, but look at all his adult teeth lined up under the baby teeth, waiting for their turn! Many of them are just tiny buds starting to grow, others are nearly ready to push through.  How amazing to see his future before it happens! Now, that is my kind of crystal ball.

I don't really get it when people seem turned off by anything that seems remotely related to science.  I can't grok with feeling squeamed out by anything buggy.  Ok, I don't like to touch most bugs, either, but they're fascinating, they're beautiful, they have nearly infinite variation, and they teach you amazing things!  When somebody responds to something that smacks of geekery with an "oooh, that's over my head" kind of comeback, again, I'm baffled.  Doesn't it make you want to find out? Doesn't it tweak your curiosity, send your inner sleuth on a mission? And for people who seem to find "science" synonymous with "cold" and "boring," don't y'all see the sparkle? Science is magic, man.  Science is rainbows and mysteries, transformations and epic battles, beauty and dark secrets. Science is secret visitors to your back porch who leave pawprints for you to identify.  Science is stuff that foams when you mix it together.  Science is getting to the bottom of puzzling purple stains, or noticing leaves changing, or talking about how a whole new human being is made, or what zinc is and why it can help us stay healthy.  Science is experiments but it is also just being awake and aware, asking questions about what we see and figuring out how to find the answers.  Science is being alive. How much more magical can you get than that?

in focus: where have you been?

Do you sometimes despair, feeling like you'll never be really good at the thing you love?  You work at it, you obsess over it, but you still feel like you fall short. 

If this is you, here's an exercise for you: find something you create often.  A subject you photograph often, a sample of your knitting, a page of text, a scrapbook, a meal you prepare.  Whatever it is you strive to be good at.  If you're able to find an example of what you produced several years ago, get it (that might be difficult for bakers and musicians and the like).  Lay it in front of you and look through it.  Then get the updated equivalent, the latest pieces you've created, and take a look at that.  What do you notice?  How have you changed?  Do you see evidence of growing skills, changing style?  What do you like about what you produced before, and what do you like about what you've done recently?

For my comparison, I dug up two photos of orchard spiders (above), taken one year apart (you can click on them to see bigger versions).  They were taken in different back yards, but both were taken in a garden setting in July, using the same camera and lens.  Both are representative of the type of work I was doing at the time; they seem "average" for me for 2008 and 2009, respectively.  The major difference between them is a user difference.  

What do I see? I see that I learned how to use aperture settings to control depth of focus, and that I pay much closer attention to focus.  I feel like I'm spending more time thoughtfully composing a shot (and that composition is coming easier to me), and I think that difference shows, as well, both in how I approached the spider and my awareness of the background.  My perception of light is much different now and I actively think about how to use it to my advantage.  

When I look at other shots taken this year of the same subject, I feel even better about the direction I'm moving.  Hooray for gaining new skills!  I really, really love these two images from this past July:

Where have you been, where are you going? How do you feel about your journey? Where would you like to go next?

good spirits

boo to you, originally uploaded by theloushe.

at the mirk and midnight hour the fairy folk will ride

boo, originally uploaded by theloushe.

Where will you ride this all-hallow's-eve? In case you need spiritual guidance, here's a sampling of places you might haunt in the Richmond area.  Some events may require registration, plan in advance!

Ongoing through end of October:
Deeper Shade of Black, 12-5PM, Tues-Sun, Maymont
Haunts of Richmond ghost tours, Thursdays, Poe Museum
Eerie Nights ghost tours, Thurs-Sat, 8&10PM, meet at 17th Street Farmer's Market
Blood Lake haunted house
Check out Fandango to see what freaky movies are playing in your zip code
Fall festival time at our favorite pumpkin patch, Chesterfield Berry Farm
Spread some spooky cheer (is that an oxymoron?) by Booing your neighbors!
See the bat exhibit at the Science Museum of Virginia
Glow-in-the-dark rocks are spooky, too, right?

Friday, October 23:
Night at the [Art] Museum, 5-7PM, VMFA
Things that Go Bump in the Night, 6-8 PM, Citie of Henricus

Saturday, October 24:
Mourning Obsessions, 5-7 PM, Maymont
Spooky Saturday, 3-7 PM, Mary Munford Elementary School
Wannabe Ghosts of Richmond bus tour, 1-4PM, Valentine Museum
Things that Go Bump in the Night, 6-8 PM, Citie of Henricus
Haints & Howls storytelling, 7:30PM, Cultural Arts Center - Glen Allen
Hauntings & Spooky Stories, 7 & 8PM, Meadow Farm
Halloween Jamboree, 2:30-4PM, North Park Library

Sunday, October 25:
Goblins & Gourds, 1PM, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
Poe's Pumpkin Patch, 2-5PM, Poe Museum

Thursday, October 29:
Unhappy Hour: "Spirits of the Dead", 6-9PM, Poe Museum
A "Spooktacular" Band Concert, 7:30PM, Henrico Theater

Friday, October 30:
Full Moon Hike, 6-9PM, Maymont
Spooktacular Family Game Night, 5-8PM, Twin Hickory Recreation Center
Monster Mash family fun, 6-9PM, Dorey Recreation Center
Trail Mix / Ghost Stories for teens, 2PM, Hull Street Library
Scary Fun & Crafts, 4PM, North Avenue Library

Saturday, October 31:
Halloween at the Museum of the Confederacy, 10AM-5PM 
Movies to Wake the Dead, 12-6PM, Sandston Library
Trick or Treat Night, 4-5PM, Tuckahoe Library (teens can volunteer to help!)
Spooky Time Fun, 11AM, West End Library

Other guides:
Virginia is for Ghoul Lovers - ideas across the state
The Midnight Society's Guide to Haunted Richmond via RVA News
Club Zone party guide, Halloween edition
Richmond Inside Out insider Halloween guide.  OMG, a zombie walk!
More great Halloween stuff from RVA News

Happy Halloween!

(subject line: Tam Lin, recorded by Frances James Child)

the dance

lover, originally uploaded by theloushe.

My friend, let's not think of tomorrow,
but let's enjoy this fleeting moment of life.

- Omar Khayyam

slant and slender

Oct 20 (32)b, originally uploaded by theloushe.

The seed burs all with laughter crack
On featherweed and jimson;
And leaves that should be dressed in black
Are all decked out in crimson.

(Paul Laurence Dunbar, Merry Autumn)