life in black and white {life}

(photobomb) Violet in black and white

first base

pitching (not pictured: my heart in my throat) 

chesapeake bay

pearls

the end

Whew. Well. It's been an interesting couple of weeks. If I had visions of sitting around and thinking deep thoughts and, I don't know, making lists, well that didn't really happen. Still, I got a handle on some things. Others, I got a handle on, only to have them slip immediately back behind again (laundry, I'm looking at you). I think I said on Friday that things feel marginally less chaotic, and that's good, but it mostly felt good just to lay a burden down for awhile, even if it's one you like carrying. 

I think of all the social media things I'm connected to, I could let everything go except this space and Instagram. I'm not sure I will (shakes fist at Twitter), but those are the two that matter the most. More and more of us seem to be taking these breaks, and just yesterday I had another friend send out a Facebook message saying "over and out" for  a bit. To my mind, it can only be a good thing. Could I have checked out even more? For sure. (Baby steps, people.) But I got settled back in with my family, and I got some good creative reading done, and I opened my heart to some exciting photography projects.  

I doubt Christine was planning to really inspire anyone when she started talking about black and white photography last week, but it was just the kind of mini-challenge that I needed. I think in color. So in the past I've only used black and white filters to save a "bad" picture when I'm at the editing stage. Got a somewhat chaotic lifestyle shot? Pop that baby in black and white and it'll look like you meant it. See how easy?

But with Christine's nudging, I started thinking about what I'd look for if I were shooting a black and white photograph. Texture. Lines. Contrast. All of these things in the absence of color. Those were the things I looked for. Neel's garden provided a perfect backdrop for me, but I also wanted to spend the week capturing our life in black and white.

When I took my mini-project to my photo group, we talked about these challenges (And it was my friend Barbara who pointed out the sweet irony of "Violet in black and white!"). It was fun for the food photographer of the group (that's me) to put aside one of her favorite tools (color) and concentrate in a totally different direction. We Googled black and white food photography and felt pretty meh about the results, but I was determined to marry my two genres. I have some other ideas too, so maybe you'll see a bit more black and white from me down the road. Who knows!

So was this a "What I did with my summer vacation" post? I don't know. For me, a critical component of creating/taking pictures is sharing them, so I'll never go away completely, but if a break can sharpen my eye and heal my heart a little. Then I'm all in.  

weekend recap, september 30

1. Friday meeting | 2. September sky | 3. Fire pit meeting | 4. Starting pitcher | 5. Ballpark food | 6. At bat | 7. Beagle on board | | 8. Black & White Beach | 9. Blowing in the wind | 10. Windowsill herbs | 11. Tiny project | 12. Seeds | 13. Autumn leaves | 14. Kitchen witchcraft | 15. Football food

Well hello there lovelies! I've missed you guys. Even though I posted on Friday, it feels like it's been forever, doesn't it? And about Friday. I want to thank you all, so much, for your thoughtful words of support about my classes. Through your emails and comments and the dear friends I have here, I really do feel lifted up and well, okay.  That it's not personal. That I just keep plugging, and we'll see. Teaching classes like these is one of my life-long dreams, so I'll keep putting myself out there and trying. Someday it has to work out, right?

But enough about that? We had a B.U.S.Y. weekend. Lordy. A hangout with our neighbors and the first fire pit of the season on Friday is one of the many, many reasons why I love fall so very much. The chill in the air, and the smell of wood smoke permeating our clothes. It's so easy to lose track of time completely. But we were up and at it early for a double header on Saturday. YIKES! That's a glorious amount of baseball.

Fall baseball is the instructional league, and every kid gets a chance to try something new or get better at different positions. It doesn't mean they don't want to win, but winning is almost secondary to learning at this time of year. Almost.  Still, let me just say that it did not help the headache I already had to learn that Cal would start as pitcher in our first game.

I gotta say, he held it together better than I did, and he was throwing some good pitches (especially given the fact that he hadn't pitched in about two years), but it was HARD to watch. Let's just say I was glad to see him back at 3rd where he's much more comfortable. I'm proud of the poise he showed.  

We took Lucy back to the beach early Sunday morning. Cal was at a sleepover and when we picked him up, he asked, "Did she get in the water?" 
"Yes!" 
"Good girl!" he said, rubbing her head.
"One paw."
"Oh."

Poor Lucy. Still, there's so much to sniff there, her nose is constantly covered in sand! 

And as always, I'm having fun taking pictures. I'm working on a couple of projects right now. Photo #11 (above) is part of one that I just started with a couple of friends in my Thursday Morning Photography Group (now on Fridays). We're playing on Instagram, and after we get a few rounds under our belts (that shot was the first), I'll fill you in on the details. I've also been having fun continuing to play with black and white, both on Instagram and with my big camera. I'll share some shots and thoughts on that tomorrow.

I guess when I get stuck thinking about these classes, I need to just get my camera in my hand. My photo meetings are so good, and so inspiring. Those are the things I need to remember. It's about the photographs and honing my skills and pushing myself creatively. If I keep doing that, the rest will come. That's what faith's all about, I suppose