125 & Some Twinkle Lights Please

125 & Counting

One of my favorite things has turned 125.  What an accomplishment.  This needed to be celebrated and I felt the best way to accomplish this was with some twinkle lights.  How fun!  Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Bottle in Blue

Bottle in Blue

This is such a fun technique called Painting with light.  It's so fun to do & one that never gets old to look at.  Looks very high tech to me.  When in reality, it's all about manipulating the amount of light you are allowing the camera to see.  It has to be shot in total darkness.  And with each take you never know exactly what you are going to get.

In this photo, I love the how the bottle is outlined.  Such a classic shape.  I don't know that there's anyone that does not recognize that as a Coke.

I never knew whether to pity or congratulate a man on coming to his senses.  ~ William Makepeace Thackeray

Back to More of my Faves

Untitled

Ah . . . the security blanket for me.  Coke and black and white.  I think I could look at - and photograph more of - Coke stuff in black and white for a very long time and be a very, very satisfied person.  Sometimes it does not take much to put a smile on my face. 

I did do some shooting this weekend, just have not had sufficient time to play around with the shots yet.  It's something new for me and something that I have been wanting to do for quite some time.  You will have to let me know what you think - because I am already thinking this is something that I need to experiment with some more.  Not only was it fun, but the initial results are pretty neat.  But, unfortunately, that will have to wait for another day.  Until then, sweet dreams - to those that read my email each night, and for those that get these posts in the morning - have a wonderful day!

Okay, just one more please

At least for now that is . . .

Untitled

So, I told my brother and dad when we were walking this morning that yesterday was the last of the Coke pics for a bit.  And yet, here I am, posting just one more.  What's wrong with me?

Well, in my defense - I mean I have to defend myself, no one else is going to do the job so I guess I better - yesterday was the last of that, specific Coke picture.  This is indeed a Coke bottle, but a very, very different style - a little more modern if you will.

But, that's not the worst part . . . I told them that I had worked on some new photos and that my brother Kelly was going to enjoy them very much.  And, now he will just have to wait a bit longer to see what I am talking about.  I'm pretty sure he'll be okay with it though - I mean he's pretty used to my ways by now.

Hopefully tomorrow night.  I just didn't want to post until I had some time to spend on getting the pictures processed just right.

And now, I am off to read . . .

Motion and Action, Talking and Meaning

Circa 1899

Never mistake motion for action.  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, is it just me or have you known people that fit that quote quite nicely.  Hopefully that person is not you.  I think the same feeling can be said about not mistaking people that are talking for those who have something to say.  And I have definitely known one too many a person that fits that way of thinking.  And if you have known someone like that . . . hopefully that person is not me.

I'm Just a Little Excited

Refreshment in a Row

I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it. ~ Charles M. Schulz

I feel like a kid in a candy shop.  This morning I went for my walk with my brother and my dad.  It's been awhile since I've walked with them.  Winter colds, winter break and an overabundance of work has kept me from walking for longer than I would like to admit.  And so I went today, ready for a good workout and some pleasant conversation.  Little did I know I would be leaving with a book of quotes.  Do I need to tell you how excited I am?

My brother Kelly and I share books back and forth all the time.  He mentioned this book to me about a month or so ago that he wanted to loan to me because he knew it was right up my alley.  And after reading my "explanation" last night it reminded him to bring it to me this morning.  Yeah! 

He told me to read the preface first, but I just couldn't help myself and flipped through some of the pages to read a few of the quotes.  Love it!  I can't wait to share some of those little nuggets with you.  But first, I must finish reading another book that Kelly loaned to me and one that my son bought for me to read.  So, I am off to bed to get some reading in tonight.  I've only got three more chapters in the book from my son.  Good night all . . . until tomorrow.

Quotes - I've got some explaining to do . . .

Enjoy

First of all, let me just say - Happy 2011!  Can you believe a new year has begun?

And, here is the first quote of the year:

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. ~ Henry Ellis

So, over the past several weeks, I have been asked about my quotes.  Mostly the question has been where do I find them all.  And I would like this to be a pretty simple answer - but if we've ever met, then you know I can't give simple answers.  So, let me share with you my love of quotes.

As long as I can remember I have been a quote collector.  I have heard them or read them and write them down.  The really, really great ones I commit to memory.  Right after high school as I was preparing to go off to college, a friend of mine, gave me this cute, tiny little book.  She had filled it half way with all sorts of quotes and gave me the explanation that the other half was to be filled in by me.  I held onto that book for many, many years and added quite a few quotes of my own to it over the years.  Currently, I have setup a word document for keeping all of those wonderful quotes - the funny ones, the inspiring ones and the ones that just give you chills to think about them.  And that is where I pull my quotes from.

Now, where do they come from to get put into my little old Word document?  From books that I read, from shows and movies that I watch, from posters that I see in the stores, from songs, from friends and family.  Basically from anywhere that things are happening.  That is where my quotes come from.

And just like my photos, I never know which quote I am going to share until I sit down to write out my posting each night.  Sometimes it is from things that have happened during the day.  And sometimes it is from thoughts that have been rattling around in my brain.  But mostly it is just from reading through my quotes until I come across one that makes me smile - and that is the one that gets shared at that moment. 

I am glad that you are enjoying them.  I know I do.

Fun with Paint

Painting with light technique. This is so fun to do and even more fun to play with in Photoshop. This particular image just seemed to really call for bright and vivid colors. It's just bursting to have a good time!

Self Portrait - 3 (of sorts)

This was a part of a series of pictures I did. I got out of doing another round of self-portraits by substituting the coke bottle for me and placed in situations I would normally be found in. I thought it was pretty clever since I really did not want to have to take pictures of myself yet again. One of my favorite past-times is reading. It's very unusual when I do not have something that I am currently reading and about five books waiting in line to be read. In the background here is my Harry Potter collection which always sits on the corner of my desk stacked just as they are in this photo (although at the moment they are a little hard to see because they are behind the piles of older photographs and negatives that I am trying to sort through).

Painted Coke Bottles

Having a little fun playing with photographs.

Neon

Beautiful Glass

As long as I can remember I have always loved everything about coke - the shape of their glass bottles, the beauty and sentiment of their commercials. I do love to photograph my extensive coke collection.

Playing Games

View from the Top

This is an old photo I took many years ago. I like it as much today as then. It is taken with 35mm black & white film.

Now, this was fun

I just learned a new technique called painting with flash. This was so much fun to do. I've been looking around my house trying to find other items I want to try this out on. I hope you enjoy them! I know I had a great time making them.