through the glass

on my way back from getting coffee and contemplating the feelings of worry/despair about the future of this profession that have been nagging at me for the past several days and making me feel a sense of very disconcerting malaise about current work, i had brought along my camera - i want it there so that i feel a push to be looking, to be seeing, to be interested, to be shooting...simply, to be present - TO BE!
this is Monroe - there are all too many buildings like this one downtown - historic, copper tile ceilings, empty, gutted, maybe being renovated to house something new...maybe not

then i turn the corner and spy the cool old weathered red door along the building's side, and me reflected in the dusty glass window...i liked the warmth of the sun hitting my face amid the reflection of the blue sky behind me.....and as i was looking at this a few minutes ago, i realized that the yellow of the light on my face set inside the red of the door could maybe fit the red/yellow project! talk about throwing yourself into your work! ha ha
anyway, just feels nice to get that sense of excitement about things again

clued in

don't know what i did to qualify as such a good girl this xmas, but i got an amazing surprise from my folks, which i am enjoying and posting from as we speak! wow....that's pretty much all i can say! i'm trying to post up my first photo booth pix - love the effects option on the camera - how cool is this???!!! how lucky and amazingly fortunate am i? and i can sit here in my favorite little cafe and have coffee and be on the web (not at work)...now i'll have to get myself hooked up with wireless at home - i'll never want to turn this thing off! mom & dad, if you see this - thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

shop with a cop

after getting a call shortly before having to be in to work yesterday morning, i found out i was getting switched to the night shift...which on the one hand meant i could just go back to bed for a bit, but on the other meant i was going to have to shoot the annual "Shop with a Cop" assignment for what felt like the umpteenth million time! Drat!
Don't get me wrong, it's a good event, a good program....but 7 years of the same of anything can make you a bit cynical i suppose.
This officer was a good trooper - no pun intended, nor offense, since he's not a state trooper, but a city police officer actually - the 2 kids he took shopping were so hesitant to pick out items or anything too expensive. After nearly an hour, this little girl still had almost 70 dollars left to spend! He was about ready to just start throwing things in the cart - heck, I was about ready to start getting her things, too! It's kind of sad, because it speaks to how they've probably learned not to be able to have too much, and so the concepts of "you can have anything you want" and "it's Christmas - SPLURGE!" were pretty much beyond them...
i didn't submit this photo to run, because even though i know the back-story to it, i think it could be misread that he's bored, doesn't want to be doing this, which is very much not the case, particularly with this officer, as he's one of the organizers and is just a really nice guy in general. He was just a little dumbfounded by how hard a time they were having. "I've never seen a girl have such a hard time spending money!" he joked.

i met a man....

Eugene Flowers will turn 102 on Friday. He is still able to get around and has a very sharp mind. Having grown up in Louisiana, workers at the senior home where he now lives say he can tell many stories of what it was like to live in the segregated south. He also has an incredible attitude and a quick wit and they love visiting with him. I did, too!

mini-me & my kitty boy

Mr. Bosch inspired me to go look up the old baby pictures while home for the holiday...this is my favorite - me at 6 months

while home i got to see my kitty - he's so incredibly beautiful and sweet!!

he looks like a mini-lion!

kids, kids, kids

so many kids....but they always seem to be the ones that make for the coolest frames - especially the little ones - they just haven't been stung with the self-editing bug yet....too bad we all can't stay like that forever!

while waiting in the wings for their scene, these 2 friends notice me taking pictures of them rehearsing and then the boy grabs her in a big hug

while out feature hunting yesterday, saw this little boy with his mom having muffins at the cafe

at last Saturday's LEGO robotics competition, this little boy decided to try out not one but TWO pairs of googly geek glasses, both complete with tape! gives a whole new meaning to his team's name - "The Nerd Herd"
the paper ended up running this like 5 columns on our community photo page!!!!
this one's for you, Mr. Bosch!

the way the ball bounces

last week was all about some volleyball - 2 teams going into the state finals...one of them I covered through much of the pre-state tourney games, and got some nice reaction as they just continued to win and win and win again...unfortunately, it didn't end that way - both lost in the semi-finals, but it was a good run and the team and parents gave me some nice feedback on the pictures, too...always good to hear positive comments - we usually have to operate on the "no news is good news" principle...

man, I never get this shot - maybe not the greatest, but volleyball has always been a tough sport to shoot, so I was pretty happy

every point was cause for celebration - the mom of the girl in mid-air really liked this one!

the girls rally after taking the regional finals trophy

the locker room was pretty somber following the semi-finals loss - there weren't a lot of on-court tears or even much reaction at game's end - it was a pretty quick loss, so I think they kind of saw the writing on the wall...I felt bad for them, but I'm glad that I had established enough of a rapport having taken so many pix that they liked along the way that I felt a little more okay with making these pictures, too.

today was a large equipment auction up in the rural northern part of the county...people were there from as far away as Africa (the continent, that is) as well as the whole thing being simultaneously run over the internet - quite a big to-do , as it turns out....amid the larger than man tires and more carharts than i've ever seen assembled in one spot before, it struck me....how funny that after my running joke of all the construction assignments i got for a while, that the international auction of construction equipment assignment should fall to me!!
it ain't over til the fat man in the carharts sings apparently...

i am not for sale

and he is not for sale

love the tire patterns

loved these faces

and lo and behold, it's red & yellow!
what a nice surprise...

oh yes we did!!!!

hanging out with the democrats last night - people cheered sporadically as more states turned blue on the televised maps of America, but i was having a tough time getting anything really decent....but, once the Pacific coast results rolled in, the place just exploded - particularly these women, whose shouts of joy and triumph soon turned to tears as the impact of Tuesday's historic election quickly set in - i don't think it's fully hit me, but i feel so proud of this country, and i feel like a there has been a serious wrench thrown into the presumption of separation that has defined our racial reality....for the first time i got a real sense from people that there was just a presiding spirit of 'we are all, as the individuals we are inside, in this thing together'

......that's a really great feeling

studio time

having some fun in the studio yesterday while making individual and group portraits of some local young and very talented musicians - these kids, 15, actually get to play with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra....great music to listen to for all still in the newsroom, and we had fun playing around after getting the more "safe" series shot...

warming up with a bit of shiraz last night, and then it struck me - hey, look, yellow and red! so, this might be one for the little project...i think the theme of this series is "don't seek and ye shall find!"

i went for a walk in a small county park last Saturday....it's mostly a wild grassy area with a path cut through it...very quiet, except for when the large unleashed dog came upon me - the owner was running after it, assuring me "he's friendly" despite the growls...anyway, just out with my camera on a sunny but cool autumn afternoon, admiring the weeds and wildflowers, especially this dried up milkweed...

i noticed the other day that there is a similarity between the chix pic and the one before of the 2 leaves in the river - they both have a kind of simple play of red and pale yellow in them....i started thinking i should try to make a theme out of it, so i was keeping an eye out for that during my walk - don't think i quite found it (you know how it is when you start looking FOR something), but this might work...i have some other ideas for the project - like ketchup and french fries!

de-constructing - not!

construction season is drawing to a close...at least that's what it says on my assignment sheet...i was seriously NOT going to shoot this (why should i have all the fun? this sounds like a perfect one for the intern - i am chief for the morning, i get to say that, right? - just kidding, Jeremiah!!) i was going to shoot the work being done on the new annex to our theater, which, i guess when you think about it is really just more, um, construction.....whatever....i walked over, but no one was there....so, hmmm, go back into the office? just get in the car and get the roadwork shot? i opted for the latter...i figure i've gone this far, might as well just shoot some more!! the season is almost over, right? so, here it is, my pick of the litter

oh power tools, hammers and wet cement, how i shall miss thee!

Chix Rule!!!!!

Checked out a crazy Noah's Ark-themed display at a farm stand yesterday afternoon - animals of all kinds (2 of each, of course!) made completely of pumpkins and gourds - and on my way out, I started poking around all the little barns and sheds back there - it was a beautiful fall day yesterday, too, and as I was looking at the reflection of the sky and clouds reflected in the windows of a small old shed I noticed these chicks inside, kept all toasty by an overhead heat lamp....so, this is my little ode to the fairer of the fowl set.....

autumn falls

i followed a large group of local schoolchildren and their principal as they made a 2-mile trek through town to their school in concert with "International Walk to School Day" this morning. i cheated, leapfrogging by car to catch them at different spots, then joined the walk for the last half down to the school....we passed over the Saline River on the way, and while hiking back to my car i stopped and looked down at the red and yellow leaves that began to fall into the water...it was starting to rain, the drops making cool swirling patterns amid the reflection of the overhead power lines.....my bit of beauty for the day....i love this time of year!

the other side of my brain

i finally took some paintings (reverses on glass/ old windows) into the local art gallery the other weekend, and i've never posted any of that kind of work up here....though this wasn't intended to be be purely foto....so, since i'm showing them in one spot, thought i may as well put them up here, too!

the old married couple - he

the old married couple - she

Lake Erie

Reaching Lake Erie along the shoreline in Luna Pier involves a nice stroll through yards of seaweed, shells, and some very strange, abundant substance that looks like dark green balls and strands of felt (did i mention the nearby nuclear plant??)
....oh yeah, and it really smells!!

seagulls (are they still called seagulls if they're on a lake???) don't mind it, though

rocky road

play rehearsals, play rehearsals....they seem never-ending! this past monday, i went to one for an upcoming production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.....it'll be interesting to see how this flies in Monroe! this is just an outtake that i liked and will probably make into a still life...

just the photographer & deja vu

been a bit of a hectic week it seems...after i got off deadline for toning yesterday, i headed out to shoot some adult special ed students who are learning about planting and gaining skills in greenhouse work...they were all really excited about being in the paper...one of the guys asked if i was going to interview him, and the teacher says, "no, she's only the photographer, she just takes pictures...the reporter will be here later." now, this happens all the time - what's the phrase, if i had a dime for every time someone said "oh, you're just the photographer" i'd be a rich gal...i know they don't mean it to sound so demeaning, so it's almost more amusing at this point...mostly because i know how much thought and effort goes into the job we do...i suppose it's because pretty much everyone has a camera and takes pix, they assume our job is just a paid version of what everyone does....and (not that i'm referring to myself in this comparison by any means!!) it's sort of like, nearly everyone can ride a bike, but very few are gonna be a Lance Armstrong! Anyway, that's my bit of rambling for the day....

so, after I got finished with the greenhouse and grabbed lunch, i came back into the office, and lo and behold what should be sitting in the basket amid a pile of new foto requests? aah, yes, it's construction!!! since i was the only one here, and it was to run the next day (which got changed as of this morning), there was no saying "not it" on this one....

i have the Sonny and Cher song running through my head - "and the beat goes on, and the beat goes on, on, on, on, on, on, on!!!!!!" ha ha

Biden's Rally Call

yesterday evening, Joe Biden made a campaign rally stop in Flat Rock...it's so much fun covering these things - moreso, because they don't happen here very often, so the craziness and the hoopla and the secret service and all that - it's just such a great change of pace - i'm sure the travelling press corps feels otherwise by this point....so, here are a few from the day - was able to get great access for the crowds when he worked the fenceline, and thank god for whatever crazy lights they had set up, because it rocked for exposure and color balance!!!!

Biden works the crowd, joking with supporters, after his speech....a good time was had by all

...except for the secret service guys
- note to self - m'am, put away the pen!

and now for something completely different....what are these reflectors on the podium for anyway? just liked the image with all the tv satellite antennas in the background

9/11

today there was a silent vigil held in memory of 9/11...a couple guys brought out this flag they bought online - it lists the names of all the civilians who died that day in the attacks...i was trying to do something graphic with that flag and the larger one hanging above the square from a ladder truck behind it, and then this guy came up and started reading the names....i don't know if this really works or if it's one of those cases where i just really WANT it to work...to me, it captured the mood of the day...i remember the event they held here on the first year anniversary - it was such a huge event, music, speakers, etc, etc....today, it just felt very somber, almost more sad than the first one, because there wasn't any of the overt patriotic response - to me, it almost felt more real, like i truly felt the sense of loss and tragedy that that day was in its many layers....

construction daze

yesterday, after being chief for the morning, i went out to an assignment about construction being done on an alleyway downtown...okay, it's construction, whatever, try to make it interesting....then today, reporter walks by, tosses a couple assignment sheets into the tray, and look, it's 2 MORE construction assignments. My co-worker (the REAL chief!) asked which I wanted, and I just said I'll do 'em both. Ya know, 3 construction/roadwork assignments in 2 days, it's kinda like the photo gods are throwing down the gauntlet, and I'm sayin "Oh yeah, almighty ones? Well, bring it!" I decided to make it a challenge, try to look at them as cool landscapes - Ansel Adams had his mountains, and I've got, umm, concrete - rocks is rocks, eh?...and honestly, there is a big part of me that finds things in the process of demolition or being "undone" pretty aesthetically pleasing - what girl doesn't love big piles of twisted metal? So, here is my little homage to the world of construction for the week!

it all started yesterday with the alley
......

this morning, it was off to the demolition site of what will be a "Super Walmart"

i liked the swirls and lines from the tractor tires

i don't know why, but for some reason, i keep thinking of "dueling banjos" when i look at this...these things also make me think of T-Rex...if i have dreams later tonight that i am being chased by a large flesh-eating dinosaur, i will know from whence that came!
......

after Walmart, it was off to the Seventh St. extension, which we have photographed many times before and not that long ago, but now, they finally plowed through to the final intersection, and we haven't shot it from THAT side...so, here ya go - couldn't ask for a better day to bust out the wide angle - big, puffy clouds filling the sky - and the 17mm being a true 17 on the D3!

so, if another one of these comes in tomorrow, let me just say in advance - "not it!"