Today's Child 2012 - # - Sunday's Child Snapshots

Constructive critiques welcome here :)
Please feel free to tell me what you really think. I want to know:
1. What I should keep doing
2. What I should stop doing
3. Different perspectives on what I've done (for artistic ideas in the future)
Sometimes in this community, I feel like I'm in over my head among so many very talented artists.

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Friday
September 21, 2012

All Aboard the Magic Bus!
Can you believe a trip to Woodstock is considered to be an educational experience? There's a museum there now. This is one of the displays, an actual bus body with a movie in the windshield. Our world has changed so much since 1968... not that I recall much of 1968. Hey, now! I know what you're thinking. I was a toddler!

Thursday
September 20, 2012

Hello everybody. Once again, I must apologize for my prolonged absence for our community. I've been a bit moody and have been toggling a headache since the injections in my back Monday.
I have a dilema. I need to get Tricia's baby shower invites done but am having trouble pinning her down for a photo. She is leaning toward a jungle animal theme for baby room decor. So I'm starting to do some test shot improvisions using some items that will be part of the baby shower decor. This shot is far from a final shot. I need the actual ultrasound for the frame and I need to do something about the scratch marks on the glass table surface. My other thought is to use the blocks to spell out Tricia on one side and Alex (the daddy) on the other side. It seems like it would be more personalized than "boy". I would probably loose either the shoes or the boxes if I used their names. Otherwise, the image would be a little too busy. Another possibility is to abandon this theme completely and go with a Christmas gift / Advent theme since our little gift is actually due on Christmas day. (Blue really works for this idea since blue is the color of anticipation and/or patience.) Thoughts? Suggestions?

Sunday
September 16, 2012

Complexity of the Human Face

I've read some studies on the human face over the years. This man's face reminds me of some of those studies. The two sides of his face are so different from each other. One side reveals a man of deep sadness and a very hard life. The other side reveals a man of joy and playfulness. I tend to believe the playful side. When he saw me at the side of the stage with my camera, he turned in my direction and leaned toward me for the shot. I could see that he was on the verge of a smile. It never quite broke through. But I still think the happy side of his face is more prominent.

I have surgery (injections in my back) tomorrow (Monday) afternoon. Not sure if I will get a shot posted. We'll see what happens :)

Saturday
September 15, 2012

A Servant's Heart
This is Rebecca. I was her religious education teacher when she was in 4th grade and again when she was in 6th grade. Since then, her parents have become our friends. She's in the 9th grade now and still she possesses the same gentle soul I saw in her 5 years ago. When all her friends (including our kids) left the festival to go watch a movie, she stayed and helped run the youth group booth. Gentleness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and I see it in Rebecca. I can't begin to tell you how I feel when I see the Holy Spirit at work in my students. I could have chosen a picture of people dancing or eating or laughing at the festival. But I chose this picture because of how Rebecca's character shines in it.
Thank you everybody for all of the kind birthday wishes! You all made me feel so loved!

Friday
September 14, 2012

Hello everybody. I'm sorry I have been away from SmugMug for a couple of days. I'm posting today rather late. It was my birthday today... and a wonderful day it was. I love where my birthday falls on the calendar. It falls on the feast day of the Exultation of the Cross. Since our parish name is Santa Cruz (Holy Cross), we make a pretty big celebration of the feast day (a festival that starts with Mass in Latin). This handsome little fellow was in the pew this evening just a few feet away from me. He was so taken with the choir. I've been working on image balance with lines and this moment caught my eye because of the vertical line from him to the sisters in the other pew. But I have to admit, the line probably would not have stood out for me if he were an adult rather than a sweet, innocent little child. Tomorrow the celebration moves outside. So I will have my handy dandy camera ready. Hopefully, I will have a treasure or two to share with my friends here in the Dailies Community.
Have a wonderful weekend everybody!

Wednesday
September 12, 2012

Thank you to all of you who were moved by my tribute to the fallen of September 11, 2001. I saved that image and those words for over a month because I believe that all of us are still deeply moved by the heros of that day. As the years go by, the immediate sense of grief may or may not fade. But our heros never loose their place in the American heart. I hope we never loose our heart. The day we do will be the day we stop writing freedom for our children.
Having said all that... today's image is just a cute little critter.

Tuesday
September 11, 2012

We can never forget the ink that wrote the pages of our history. Our freedom is written on those pages in the blood of our families and neighbors, some of them soldiers, some of them civilians, all of them Americans. From the ghosts of yesterday emerges the promise of today that tomorrow, our children will still be free.

Love is never forced. By definition, it is always freely chosen.
To those who ran to the aide of others and never came out.
To those who could have escaped but remained to comfort those who could not.
To those who chose to be remembered in an empty field rather than a crowded city.
You have not been forgotten. You freely chose to love, and today we freely choose to remember your love.

For step by step process on the ghosted image, see our August 10th post. There is one added step for this image. I erased the left half of the detailing layer so the ghost only shows on the right side of the image.

Monday
September 10, 2012

This is our friend Chris. He just graduated from college in the spring and then entered seminary last month to study for Priesthood. He will be in our prayers in the years ahead through his studies and discernment.

Saturday
September 8, 2012

Isn't it funny how we don't appreciate the beauty of our surroundings until they no longer surround us? This is birchbark. We burned it in our fireplace on Christmas Eve every year and as we unwrapped our gifts, we added the wrapping paper to the fire. Imagine the toxins we inhaled! There isn't any birch where I live now and I miss the beautiful white trees and the memory of the Christmas fire is so distant. How I miss birch!

I took this shot at the Detroit zoo when we visited my Dad in July. Yes, while the people around me were taking pictures of the animals, I was taking tree "portraits". I think I was supposed to be paying a little more attention to the animal exhibits. But I'm kind of a rule breaker. This is my zoo species of choice.

Friday
September 21, 2012

All Aboard the Magic Bus!
Can you believe a trip to Woodstock is considered to be an educational experience? There's a museum there now. This is one of the displays, an actual bus body with a movie in the windshield. Our world has changed so much since 1968... not that I recall much of 1968. Hey, now! I know what you're thinking. I was a toddler!