corn on the cob

Corn on the Cob
September 2007

My iTunes: Nightingale by Norah Jones

I can hardly believe that it is the end of September already. Seems like just yesterday it was June and I was living in London. How the time flies.

I like this picture of a corn cob. Technically you would call it corn on the cob, but this certainly isn't the image you picture when you think of it. This image just reminds me of fall -- you can almost smell the leaves on the ground. I can't wait for all the trees to change colors -- it'll be gorgeous!

pom poms

Pom Poms
September 2007

My iTunes: Constantinople by Trevor Horn Orchestra

Part of the fall is enjoying college football. It's especially wonderful when the game is close and you can tailgate around the edge of the field. Today's game was great -- the home team was leading for the first 3 quarters 7 to 3, then in the last quarter with about 10 minutes to go, the visiting team scored a touchdown. But with 3 minutes to go, the home team scored and won 14 to 10. The cheerleaders were fun to watch, too. I like the gold pom poms set against the track lines.

hubcap reflection

Hubcap Reflection
September 2007

My iTunes: Waldesgespräch by Schumann

Hub caps are fun.

My question today: can you triple major?

triumph

Triumph
September 2007

My iTunes: Mädchenlied Op. 95/6 by Bernarda Fink and Roger Vignoles

I like the name of this old car a lot -- it's the same one I photographed yesterday for the picture of the steering wheel. (Did you see what is different about the steering wheel?) I've decided it is going to be my word for the day. Triumph. Triumph over the exam I have today, the paper that is due, the additional 70 pages of reading in "Olde Englishe" that I have yet to complete, the photography projects due today, the sleep deprivation that I am suffering at the moment... If only I had this great car waiting for me to drive it at the end of the day = )

steering wheel

Steering Wheel
September 2007

My iTunes: Mädchenlied Op. 95, No. 6 by Rita Streich and Günther Weissenborn

So much to do, so little time. And somehow I managed to pass by this great old car for sale down the street from my house. What do you notice about the steering wheel?

leaves

Leaves
September 2007

My iTunes: Che Gelida Maninia L'Articolo from La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini

This is another shot that I took for the symbolic of death assignment. I like how the leaf is partially dead, partially alive, and how, like the dead sunflowers from a few weeks ago, the death of the leaf will make other life possible.

shady dog

Shady Dog
September 2007

My iTunes: O Mio Babbino Caro by Kiri Te Kanawa

When I went to the sunflower farm, the owner had a really sweet dog who apparently wanted to stay out of the heat, so he hid under the evergreen tree. I really liked how his nose just peeped out from underneath! He had a big grin on his face, as if he enjoyed people watching while no one is looking!

out the window

Out the Window
September 2007

My iTunes: Lazy River by Prudence Johnson

The weather is just gorgeous today! I'm enjoying it while I can, before the temperature drops and it gets too cold. I could do this kind of weather forever -- cool enough for jeans and the occasional long sleeve shirt, maybe a sweater in the late evening, but warm enough for a short sleeve shirt and flip flops. This picture reminds me of this kind of weather!

dandelion

Dandelion
September 2007

My iTunes: La Stella by Francesco Russo

They may be weeds, but they sure do look pretty. I like how when dandelions are in seed, they have an almost translucent effect. I got this picture when my class took a field trip to a farm owned by the college.

I'm actually off to spend the day in New York City (my first time!), so I'm planning to get some good pictures -- keep checking back!

harvested field

Harvested Field
September 2007

My iTunes: A Lovely Night by Julie Andrews

And here is a shot of the harvested field, as promised. Such a contrast to the life-filled field of yesterday.

cornfield

Cornfield
September 2007

My iTunes: Angels Ever Bright and Fair by Lorraine Hunt Lieberson

Right now as you drive around the county, you see a lot of cornfields -- it's the time of year when the corn season is just about over, so some fields are still standing but others have been harvested. Here's a picture down a row of a cornfield that is still standing, and tomorrow there might be one of a harvested field.

groundscape

Groundscape
September 2007

My iTunes: It's Nicer in Nice by Barbara Andres

The assignment that I worked on today requires us to take pictures of the county landscape. I thought I would have fun and take it literally and give an ants-eye-view of the land: groundscape!

stained glass friend

Stained Glass Friend
September 2007

My iTunes: Generations by Sara Groves

"Portrait of a Friend" was my latest assignment, so I took one of my friends to do a photo shoot in the little chapel on campus. It was fun playing with the effects of colored light and dimmed hues. This one is a bit more funky than the others because I used a "stained glass filter" to make it look like the picture is stained glass, with lots of little squares. It's a hard filter to use well, but I think it works here because of the real stained glass in the background.

double vision

Double Vision
September 2007

My iTunes: Here with Me by Plumb

Do you ever wonder what it would be like if you had double vision? Thankfully, I don't know what that is like, but I can recreate it with photoshop! I took a picture of my wall through my glasses and then messed with portions of the picture. That wall is my favorite part of my room -- I printed some of my favorite photos on regular printer paper, trimmed the white borders off, and then taped them to my wall like wall paper. I like that it reminds me of all the places I've been!

back through the lens

Back Through the Lens
September 2007

My iTunes: Die Stille by Schumann

I rarely end up in pictures, mostly because I'm usually the one behind the camera. So this is an unusual point of view on multiple levels -- first, how often are you this close to the camera lens; second, how often am I on that side of the camera?

stop sign

Stop Sign
September 2007

My iTunes: Bombay Rain by Caedmon's Call

It's raining now, or as my younger cousins would say, it's "rain-dy pour-dy." My first day of work in nearly four months is over, and it wasn't too bad. I started the day off with coffee with a friend, and that's always a good way to start the day. And now it's the weekend! Because of the weather, I thought this song was particularly appropriate. That and I've had Indian/Bollywood tunes stuck in my head for the past few days.

I like this shot because it's a different view of a sign than we usually have. Some people hardly ever look at the front of it, either... but who wastes time looking at the back? I guess I do... guilty as charged!

refrigerator

Refrigerator
September 2007

My iTunes: Lazy River by Prudence Johnson

Ever wonder what the inside of your refrigerator looks like from the food's perspective? Well, a little curiosity plus a 10-second timer setting on my camera let me find out! Thankfully there is nothing growing, and no nasty frig-monsters, either!

jesus christ

Jesus Christ
September 2007

My iTunes: My Voice Lesson = )**

This is one of my favorite pictures that I played with today. For the assignment due tomorrow, "An Unusual Point of View," I tried some creative things (which will be featured here over the next few days). This is a picture through my glasses of one of my textbooks for Early Christian Art. I like how two words stand out now = )

**I got the coolest gadget for my ipod -- a voice memo recorder. I recorded my voice lesson on it today instead of on my usual cassette tape recorder, and the sound quality is absolutely amazing! If you like gadgets, and have about $60 to spend, this is really fun!

radiator

Radiator
September 2007

My iTunes: Mother India by Caedmon's Call

My next assignment, due Friday, is unusual point of view. This is the radiator at my favorite coffee shop, and I have several more cool ideas... we'll see if they turn out!

daydream

Daydream
September 2007

My iTunes: Liebeslied by Dawn Upshaw

My most recent photography assignment is "Day in the Life of..." and I got to follow someone around all day and take pictures of them. I chose XiXi and had so much fun (although it is tiring to run around after a three-year-old all day)! I like this one a lot -- she looks so pensive and dreamy.

dorms

Dorms
September 2007

My iTunes: Seligkeit by Elly Ameling

This is one of the prettier buildings on campus. It's one of the dorm buildings and it's on the south-west side of campus. Typically each year it's filled with mostly sophomores and a handful of juniors. My roommate, who is a senior now, lived on the first floor of this building last year. The dorm was named for an alumnus of the college who taught here for years after he graduated. About 5 years ago, the college itself was renamed after the same man.

behind closed doors

Behind Closed Doors
September 2007

My iTunes: Grace Like Rain by Todd Agnew

If a picture tells a thousand words, do those thousand words ever tell a story? Do you ever see a picture and wonder what the story is behind it? For portraits, who are those people and what are there lives like? Or for landscapes, where is it and what has happened in this place throughout history? For this picture, I always wonder what is behind the locked door. It's a little bit like the secret garden, except with less foliage... Maybe one day I'll find out!

memorial square

Memorial Square
September 2007

My iTunes: Hometown Boy by Over the Rhine

This is one of the shots that I'm submitting today for my Digital Photography class. Every Tuesday we're required to submit a contact sheet of 20 of the best pictures we've taken for the weekly assignment, and on Thursday we bring in three prints of our three favorites. I like this one because of the angles. The rock/plaque is barely noticed and sits on the edge of the center square on campus (Memorial Square, better known as Red Square because of the color of the bricks), but it looks monumental when seen from this angle. I like the phrase on it as well: "Consider that I labored not for myself only, but for all them that seek learning."

windmill

Windmill
September 2007

My iTunes: Good Night by Julie Doiron

Yes, another picture from the sunflower farm. I promise, I'll do some different ones soon -- I haven't had time to upload the newest pictures that I've been taking, but I'll do that soon. I like the different colors and shapes in this shot, and how it's a little backlit. I like being able to see the light come through the petals on the sunflowers, but not penetrate the windmill's blades. It's fun to play with light!

xixi

XiXi
September 2007

My iTunes: Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin, performed by The 5 Browns

This is my friend's 3-year-old daughter, XiXi. She was adopted from China over two years ago, and will light up a room simply by waltzing into it. She has a lot of spunk! She is very friendly with people she knows, but regards strangers with "sharp vigilance." Needless to say, this was not a moment of sharp vigilance! She had so much fun at the sunflower farm, and it was really neat for me to watch her enjoy herself so much!

butterfly

Butterfly
September 2007

My iTunes: Pretty Dress by Rosie Thomas

Butterflies are so lovely, but it's hard to study one because they tend to move from place to place. This one stayed still long enough for me to take this shot, then it flitted away.

Happy Labor Day!

rebirth

Rebirth
September 2007

My iTunes: Secret Love by Mandy Moore

As I walked through the sunflower farm the other day, the first thing that drew your eye was the bright colors of all the flowers. You had to keep a weathered eye out to notice other little details around the flowers, like this dying sunflower. In a few weeks, one of my assignments for Digital Photography will be to take pictures of things that are symbolic of death. I like the idea of a dead flower with its seeds reminding one of death, as well as what can come afterward -- new life.

bouquet

Bouquet
September 2007

My iTunes: Sunny Days by Jars of Clay

I had just sat down to write this post when the smoke alarm went off. It was quite loud. Thankfully, the house wasn't burning down. There wasn't even smoke. Or a fire alarm. Or a prank. Apparently, there are heat sensors in the ceiling, and when you cook pancakes, they think the house is burning down...

This was a bouquet that was at the sunflower farm yesterday. I thought it made a really nice still life.