Composition

What to say? There are a thousand ways. But some pictures look better when the subject is off center. The background should not compete. Muted is good. it all comes together. Colleen smiles and it makes me smile. Infectious? Contagious?

As to selfies, you can see my left handedness in play. Camera in the right hand. I peek at the background – too bright, too dark, too distracting. Freeman stage, the setting sun, the living room. Everything is set up for failure. But “the selfie” is the object. Imperfectly it worked.

Objective

I am wracked with guilt. Stupid. I have made dumb decisions in the past. I lived with them. I made one with Dave and have to live with it. Dave was ready to embark on cross country bike ride. He searched for and bought a bike – Schwinn from Target. Remember this is strictly amateur. Neither of us had any experience with long distance bike riding. In the lead up to his departure we passed a bike shop. Outside were a stack of used bikes on sale. Aha! A Trek! This was a known respected brand that I have had and Dave has ridden. I bought it for him. Better name brand, but used – would it indeed prove to be a better bike? I have my doubts now. But… Dave did ride it to California where he arrived at his sister’s home. We have never seen the bike again. It was thoroughly beaten up by the journey.

Criticism? Ha ha! On many levels… but photographically? The idea is to document. Wide angle gets you the bike but not the boy and his dad. You trade one thing for another. There is no right answer. So, just take one of each – wide angle and close-up – to cover all the bases. Composition? It ain’t fine art. But yes, the subject is more or less dead center. Boring. Move the subject to the side a little. No need to fuss. It was the story not the pics.

Selfie

Humor was with us from the start. Colleen’s family was so nervous for her to meet a strange man in NY that they had a “code word” in case she needed rescue. It never occurred to me that we would fail to hit it off. Never then and never forever after. Do you make a sandwich without two slices of bread? Times Square, NYC subway, museum, Brooklyn Bridge… was there anywhere…? Colleen was safe and in places she never thought she’d see. Our early museum antic was a prelude to the future…

Clearly, I took these selfies. I understood the concept. I’d never really done it. There had been no particular need before. Photoshop is my friend in a museum.

It is said that DaVinci switched painting hands late in life, perhaps after a stroke. Selfies are no different. One uses the left hand, click, mainly because the camera shutter release is on the right. So, Colleen ends up on my right. …except, when she’s not. Digital makes it easy to flip a photo… but I suspect I never thought much of it. The majority of selfies remain right sided.

A thousand

If a picture tells a thousand words, do two tell five hundred each? Scene (seen): entering the bookstore…. It seems an oxymoron. Ah!  How about: almost exactly; awfully good. Parsimony. Let the pictures do the talking….

Grab shots/street photography – not necessarily out on the street but you get the idea. It’s hit and miss. Sometimes you don’t even raise the camera up to your face. Auto everything. And, you never know if you are successful. Nothing is staged.

Tight fit

No cats were injured in the making of this picture. Ha ha. Cats like to be in tight places. Sometimes. They like the coziness? I was just lucky enough to have a camera at hand. Willow posed for a few seconds more before he realized his cooperation was needed. Then, he bolted. He does not particularly like close-ups.

A grab shot is – you take what you can get. There is no time to work the scene for better composition or lighting. Go with it. Chalk it up to good humor.

I wish

There is always something more. More? Yes, more to make the picture better. Do you really need it? For the beloved black cat in a bag – Tillie could always have more texture to her fur. She’s a black cat! It ain’t easy to do. Lightroom or Photoshop algorithms will help. Out of the camera the shot was “arresting.” Did the adjustments make a difference?

Bee on a flower. Sure. Everyday. Closeup. Special. We’ve all seen this before. So? Improvement. I wish – pollen on the legs; better flower; better bee detail…. Nice shot? Yeah. Yup! I think so. Did it need more? Not for me. I’m amateur. This is not my day job. Enjoy!

Timing

Time waits for no one. The moment is lost forever unless you catch it precisely. Some subjects are slightly more forgiving. A spider web, art…? Others require the precise moment the action occurs. And others require patience for the elements to move into place.

I suppose photography is interesting because you never quite know what you are going to do or to get. Why not!

Good shot

Are there any others? I keep a camera on hand most of the time.

Ready to go.

Grab the shot of the “grand.” Every shot is good. Some are better. Colleen shoots too – now. And selfies! She has just blessed her meditation Indian basket in the waters off the lighthouse.

Pick one. Ha! Every shot has a story. There are so many.

No matter. It did not matter that Colleen did not wait for me to stop sipping. Composition and lighting are good. Nice.

Noa. Good composition. Focus is not quite tack sharp. It is an adorable shot.

Selfie. We do them without expectation. I/we do not have a roving photographer to follow us. My LCD screen does not always let me compose the shot. You take what you get.

How about that?!

The Gorlin sign is a medical term that indicates the ability to touch the tip of the nose or chin with the tongue. Approximately five percent of the general population can perform this act

…

Well, how about that? And it runs in the family! How did Jules know this? Who’d have thunk it? I wonder if Noa’s sister can do it? Questions! Full of questions today!

Harsh sunlight is always less flattering. Open shade. But sometimes you get what you get. This was a special moment. Not everyday you learn something new.

Lemon

Life gives you lemons – take ‘em. Yeah yeah, it is – make lemonade.

I shoot my cats. They rarely pose together. By the time I have a camera in hand, the moment has passed. I try. I fail. Sometimes I get a shot. While never perfect I consider myself always practicing. I’m better one on one. Of course! But two is better! I got a lotta lemons.