pie

Pie
October 2007

My iTunes: Ah! How Sweet It Is to Love by Dawn Upshaw

Mmm! Apple pie! What a wonderful symbol of fall. Apple pie at any other time just doesn't have the same flavor to it. There is just something about freshly picked apples, homemade crust, and a little bit of whipped cream to top it off. I had to practically beat my housemates away with a stick to get this picture before they completely devoured the rest of the pie!

glory of fall

Glory of Fall
October 2007

My iTunes: Prelude to a Kiss by Kathleen Battle

Sorry for my brief absence this weekend. I went on a retreat about 45 minutes away and didn't have a chance to comment about it on my last post.

This is one of the shots I took over the weekend (plus a little photo editing a-la-photoshop). Sadly, because it's been such a dry summer and fall, the leaves are probably going to chance color quickly, then turn brown and die. These 2 weeks are probably all the gorgeous fall weather we'll get. I always love the colors of the fall -- it makes me think that fall might just be my favorite season! But Christmas is fantastic, and you always need some summer...

old fashioned lights

Old Fashioned Lights
October 2007

My iTunes: Don Giovanni by Mozart

As you have probably guessed if you've spent any time reading this blog, I really enjoy shows. I like the whole feel of them, especially the old-time theaters. They just seem classy, and not so trashy as newer places. I liked these old lights, which were on the outside of the theater where I saw Hairspray this weekend. Last night, the Washington National Opera opened Don Giovanni. It is my goal to go to an opera there sometime in the next year. My voice teacher is in the production this year, so I thought of her last night as they were performing, so now I'm looking at my pictures of theaters and listening to my recording of Don Giovanni. Perhaps I'll get to see it one day. And really, any chance I have to see my teacher perform, I will take if at all possible! She is completely amazing and has such a beautiful voice. She is very gifted, and I am very blessed to have her!

broadway

Broadway
October 2007

My iTunes: Good Morning Baltimore

I still think that it's really cool that I've been to Broadway -- it's one of those things that you always hear about, and even though I've spent most of my life living 3-4 hours away from New York, I'd never been until this year. It's a great place!

still life

Still Life
October 2007

My iTunes: Think of Me from The Phantom of the Opera

This is one of my favorite shots that I took for the assignment on still life. I like how it feels antique-y, and it reminds me of The Phantom of the Opera: black and white, corset, red rose... Another great Broadway show!

crosswalk

Crosswalk
October 2007

My iTunes: You Can't Stop the Beat from Hairspray

I took this shot in New York when I was on the third floor of the M&M's building. With my digital photography class, I've really enjoyed playing around with the images and doing fun things with them. I thought it would be neat to make this one look like a poster. What do you think?

hairspray

Hairspray
October 2007

My iTunes: Welcome to the 60's from Hairspray

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I saw the Broadway show Hairspray in New York on Saturday. The Phantom of the Opera will always be first in my heart as a Broadway show, but Hairspray is definitely up there in a list of my favorites! The music is really upbeat and fun -- every time I hear it I just want to dance and sing along. And since I'm from the Baltimore area (and my family actually all lived in Baltimore during the 60's, when the show is set), it's really fun to hear music about my hometown.

The show isn't only good music, though. It is staged around a very poignant social commentary on segregation and racial stereotyping, which, quite sadly, are still present in America. I really hope that as people watch the show, it causes them to think about their own stereotypes and confront the relevant societal issues rather than just saying to themselves, "Oh, that is a thing of the past -- it happened in the 1960's, but not today!"

One of my favorite parts about the show happened during the end of the song "You're Timeless to Me," which is sung by the two actors (yes, both male -- the show is written to have men playing Tracey Turnblad's father and mother, to great comic effect I must say) who play Mr. and Mrs. Turnblad. Typically the song closes with the two singing "You're timeless to me!", but the actors had gotten into it so much that the man playing the father couldn't stop laughing, so the two had to ad lib and repeat the ending of the song all over again. It was fantastic and the audience just loved it!

So, if you ever have the opportunity, go see Hairspray or another Broadway show -- they're fantastic!

bright lights, big city

Bright Lights, Big City
October 2007

My iTunes: Good Morning Baltimore from Hairspray

Perhaps it's shameful that someone from the Baltimore Metropolitan area had never heard any of the music from the musical Hairspray until yesterday, but let me tell you: it was one amazing show! The music was phenomenal, the set was fantastic, and the story line was really unique. The cast did such an excellent performance yesterday! I enjoyed this show so much more than the last one I went to see (Rent). I definitely recommend watching it!

More on the trip to NYC and Hairspray tomorrow...

in the ocean

In the Ocean
October 2007

My iTunes: In My Own Little Corner by Julie Andrews

Well, I started the week standing in the Atlantic ocean and will be ending it in New York City today seeing Hairspray. What do the two things have in common? I'll be taking pictures!

dunes

Dunes
October 2007

My iTunes: La Ci Darem La Mano by Renee Flemming and Bryn Terfel

If you're one of those people like I am who goes back to the same place at the same beach every year, do you ever notice how some things change and other things stay the same? I've been going to this spot on the beach at least once a year since I was 2 weeks old. I have pictures of me in diapers here, learning to walk, building sandcastles, swimming, and getting harassed by my two brothers.

Every few years, they'll bring in a new shipment of sand to replenish the beach and it always makes things look so different. They'll plant new beach grass along the dunes, and the fence that delineates the open beach from the dunes seems to shrink and disappear into the ground. Funny how a little more sand makes everything look really different.

And then there is the building on new condos. This area used to be full of tiny little cottages, and now massive vacation homes are popping up in their places. I miss the quaintness of the beach cottages.

Seagull
October 2007

My iTunes: Batti, Batti O Masetto by Renee Flemming

So, having 20 oz. of cherry coke at 11:00 p.m. is NOT a good idea if you want to sleep much...

Seagulls are such funny creatures. It's fun to watch them and see how they behave.

handprint

Handprint
October 2007

My iTunes: In My Own Little Corner by Julie Andrews

I've been trying to post this all day, but apparently blogger has been having some issues with its photo uploading capabilities...

I thought it would be appropriate to follow up a picture of footprints with a picture of a hand print. When I thought about it, I realized that I don't usually make hand prints in the sand. Just footprints. sand + my hands = sand sculptures, not hand prints. But of course my hands hardly got to the sand when I was little because I was far too busy playing in the water!

Seems like just yesterday that a week at the beach felt like a lifetime. Now the weeks just fly by at top speed!

footprints in the sand

Footprints in the Sand
October 2007

My iTunes: Shifting Sand by Caedmon's Call

October at the beach is quite different from the beach at any other time of year. All my life I've gone to the beach every summer, and each year it seems to get more and more crowded. Sometimes I'd go out at 7:00 just to make sure we'd have a spot for the day. No such difficulty this weekend! The beach was e-m-p-t-y, which made for some neat pictures.

One of my favorite mental images is footprints in the sand. It always makes me think of the poem "Footprints in the Sand" by Mary Stevenson, written in the 1930's if memory serves me correctly. Here is a copy of the poem:

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

ring

Ring
October 2007

My iTunes: Die Sterne schau'n in stiller Nacht by Dame Janet Baker

This will be my last post until Tuesday or Wednesday -- we have Fall Break for the next two days, so I'm driving to Delaware to visit my grandmother, who doesn't have internet. She lives by the beach, though, so I promise I'll come back with October beach pictures. I'm hoping to try my hand at making a panoramic shot. We'll see how it turns out!

necklace

Necklace
October 2007

My iTunes: Learn to Be Lonely by Minnie Driver

Another shot of the necklace. (I apologize now for the brevity of my post comments this week -- it's been quite busy!)

diamond

Diamond
October 2007

My iTunes: Vedrai, Carino by Kyle Engler

This was a necklace that I got from my great-grandmother before she died. It's funny looking at pictures of me wearing it through the years and to see how much has changed, but the necklace always looks the same.

initial image

Initial Image
October 2007

My iTunes: Vedrai, Carino by Anna Sofie von Otter

I like the different levels to this picture and its name! And this song -- go listen to it.

cross

Cross
October 2007

My iTumes: The Next Ten Minutes by Michael Xavier

Number two in my series on Timelessness! This is one of my favorite necklaces, which I can't wear anymore because I am allergic to gold. So I content myself with taking pictures of it.

I'm especially partial to artsy, black and white photography, which is probably why I enjoyed this particular assignment so much! Hope you all do, too!

music

Music
October 2007

My iTunes: Ninety-nine Red Balloons by Countdown

This is the first of a series that I'll be posting on timelessness. It was one of the assignments due last week, and it's been one of my favorites. You had to think about it a lot to figure out what it meant to be timeless, and the pictures turned out really well (or at least I think they did).

The first thing I thought of with timelessness is music. It is a part of any culture at any time, and even if styles change from place to place or time to time, there is something about music that remains consistent and timeless.

30 yard line

30 Yard Line
October 2007

My iTunes: Iris by the Goo-Goo Dolls

I took this picture a couple weeks ago at one of the football games on campus. The stadium is really great -- it's the only drive-in stadium on the East coast. People usually bring lots of food and have picnics and barbecues during the game. It's a lot of fun. But we almost always lose...

October must just be a crazy month this year. The record high for today is 83*F, and the high for today is somewhere around 92*F. Definitely not the typical October weather for this area! I'm ready for it to cool off a bit so I can break out some sweaters. For now, with the heat and the humidity, I'll just have to settle for sweating instead!

find the bug

Find the Bug
October 2007

My iTunes:

Can you find the bug in this picture? I didn't even see him squirming around when I framed the shot, but when it was up on my computer screen -- pop! there he was. I like the shapes and textures in this shot the most.

My question today: why do I have 5 meetings on my schedule today (6 if you count church as a meeting, in that you are required to be in a specific place at a specific time with specific people)? I thought Sundays were supposed to be a day of rest? Guess not...

elizabeth

Elizabeth
October 2007

My iTunes: Wedding Dress by Derek Webb

October is speeding by -- before you know it Halloween will be here. The stores are filled with fall decorations (thankfully they haven't moved on to Thanksgiving or, God forbid, Christmas paraphernalia yet!) and there is a decided fall atmosphere about, even if the weather remains in the 90's!

This is a shot I took at the cemetery where my grandfather is buried. I like walking through it sometimes and reading all the names. It's interesting to imagine what kind of lives everyone led and what legacy they left. Elizabeth's is one of my favorites to visit for some reason. So, I thought I'd take a picture.

keys

Keys
October 2007

My iTunes: Liquid by Jars of Clay

Two of the things that I have spent probably hundreds of hours doing in my life (other than sleeping and breathing) have revolved around keys: piano and computer. Initially, the two seem completely different -- one is an old piece of "technology," the other is new; one is large, the other small; one is associated with play, the other with work. But really, piano keys and computer keys have a lot of similarities. Both can be used to communicate creatively, both can be the primary instrument in a career, both require skill and knowledge to be used well, both can be used or abused.

So as you sit there, at your computer screen, take a minute to reflect on the place of "keys" in your life. And look at the pretty picture = )

at your service

At Your Service
October 2007

My iTunes: What'll I Do by Allison Kraus

New York at night is a really neat place to take pictures. "Bright lights, big city." The lights are so diverting with their bright colors. I like how this picture demonstrates how photography really is an art because the photographer dictates what you view. By utilizing framing techniques and then playing with the picture on the computer, your focus is entirely shifted from the backdrop to the middle (or fore) ground.

Imagine yourself, New York City, and a limo at your service...

the friendly car

The Friendly Car
October 2007

My iTunes: Mi Chiamano Mimi by Eva Marton

This is one of the shots that I will be handing in on Thursday. It's been really fun to see what I can do to the pictures on the computer once I've taken them. I actually added the sky, then used a retroactive filter, made the shot black and white, and then hand-colored portions of it. It's pretty crazy what Photoshop and a little imagination can do!

chair back books

Chair Back Books
October 2007

My iTunes: La Sonnambula by Renee Fleming

How did it get to be October? I'm not entirely sure what happened to September, other than it flew by.

The assignment that is due tomorrow is "Negative Space Between Objects," so I spent part of the morning poking around the library and rearranging the shelves to get the perfect picture. At one point, I took half the books off one shelf and rearranged them on a study table so I could take this shot. Worth it? Yes. I like books. And libraries. And photography. And slatted chairs. And wood painted black. So I like this picture.