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!"

there's just something about buses, and kids framed in the windows....shot this as the high school band was boarding to move on to another elementary school...they had their annual tour day, where they visit all 10 local public elementaries and do a brief concert, mostly to get the soon-to-be middle schoolers interested in taking up an instrument and eventually being able to join up in high school...which is pretty cool...it's at least heartening to see schools still investing in these programs, which are usually among the first "non-essentials" to be cut from curriculums....something about that girl at the bottom looking back cathces me....think I'm turning it into a still life...feel free to weigh in which quote works best here; personally I dig the second one, but I'm not sure if it's just too elusive...

"If you want to be happy, be."
--Leo Tolstoy

or

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending."
-- Maria Robinson

before the band thing, I was doing a portrait of the new road commissioner, and I had about a half hour to kill, so I stopped at the big outdoor flea market that runs every Thursday (and happened to be right on the way between the 2 assignments)....poked around and found this couple and their welsh terrier Maddie, on whom she kept a close hold as a shopper perused their wares with pup in tow. The couple have been coming to the flea market for a decade, and the wife and I had a great conversation about shoes!

funky flora playtime

sometimes boredom can yield interesting results....
the other week, with a few days off and nowhere to go, nothin to do, i got to looking at my flowers - which are not in the best of shape anymore given the lack of rain (watering just hasn't done the trick for them, unfortunately) - and in the mood to play, i got out the macro and a toy clear kaleidoscope and started experimenting....some of them came out kind of cool i thought. Just imagine the kaleidoscope AND the lensbaby! the end results could be practically illegal!
ha ha
enjoy (i hope)