Cold Birthday Today

Well Here I am 55 wow, Some days I feel every one of those years. Every bump, break tear, etc. Usually on the cold wet days. well hello this is one of those days.Woke up to 1/2 inch of ice on everything and still rain/sleeting. Happy Birthday hey...lol... It is not so bad, It is pretty all over the trees and bushes. The roads were a mess but passable, when I took Sharon to work. Took awhile to thaw out the car this morning it looked like it was a glazed doughnut. Thank goodness for heated mirrors and rear defrosters.


Sharon got me a Aero Garden for my Birthday. Been wanting one of these for awhile, to grow some herbs for the kitchen. Got it all set up , and turned it on. So I am pretty stoked to see it grow. Here it is up and running.


Oh, wow the sun just came out so hopefully it will all melt away before this evening.
Looking forward to dinner at the Grilled Ginger tonight. Our daughter Jamie and her husband Brian are going to go with us it will be fun. Love Veitnemese food, and this is a really great place.

Happy Valentines Day!!!!!!!!!!

It is V-Day and I am so lucky to be married to my best friend. She really is so wonderful, and the love of my life.

She is also a most talented Artist (check out her Facebook page for her art) she made me my Valentine card. It is pretty cool, It is an EXPLODING CARD!

More to come later.

UPDATE

Here is the Bai Mi meat loaf I grilled for Sharon. It was so good and lasted for several meals. We made sandwiches with baguettes, tacos the next night, and then meatloaf with dumplings and kimchi the next night. Yeah, we are making this again. WOW!!

My First Sale and the Signing

Today was a big day for me. I made my first sale, and the buyer wanted me to sign it. It was cool. She ordered the print from my Crated store at the first of the week and she got the print in a couple of days. So she brought it in with her frame to get me to sign the Mat. It turned out really nice, I am very pleased with the quality of the print and the packaging is way over the top. Which is a good thing, the print was totally protected. This is also the first order from Crated so I was interested in seeing the quality. So here is the big signing.



Here is the print that Megan bought,



So I am having a great start to this day. I hope that evryone else does to..Thank You Megan!

TtV with My "New" Old Kodak Duaflex IV

I saw a post on Pinterest (go figure) of shot through the viewfinder (ttv) of and old waist-level finder camera. It was pretty cool, I wanted to do that also, just one problem, didn't have a waist-level finder camera. No problem Ebay to the rescue. I found several and this one looked like it was in good shape. The seller said it was in good shape and as far as he could tell it should work, but he had not tried it with film. So I bought it after all, don't need film for what I wanted to do. It arrived a few days later, and I was pleasantly surprised at just how good a shape it was in. I can't find anything wrong with it. There are no scratches on the lens or the viewfinder. Also, the shutter works just like it is supposed to. So later I will get some film and try that also. Today I set up both the Kodak and my Canon and made a few pictures. I am happy with the way that they turned out. They have an old time feel ( some of that I did in LR and PS) that I was hoping for. Made some neat pictures. I also saw on Pinterest, how to form a sleeve and that hooks the DSLR to the Kodak so that the shots actually look like they were taken with the old camera. That will come later. For now here is my set-up.



This is a few of the pictures I made.



Like I said I will got some film (found it on B&H Camera ) and try that out also going to make the sleeve and give that try.Whatever happens this was fun.

Adding to My Street Lamp Collection

I am working on a collection of street lamp photos, not sure yet what I plan to do with them yet. Maybe include them in a future book. Anyway here are the ones that I have so far. Some I have published before and some I just fished this morning.





So far that's it will add as they become available.

My Page Of Quotes That Inspire Me

My life is shaped by the urgent need
to wander and observe, and my camera
is my passport.
- Steve McCurry
A still photograph is something which you can always go back to.
You can put it on your wall and look at it again and again.
Because it is that frozen moment. I think it tends to burn
into your psyche. It becomes ingrained in your mind. A powerful
picture becomes iconic of a place or a time or a situation.
- Steve McCurry
Steve was privileged to be able to shoot the last roll of Kodachrome Film. On July 14, 2010, it was announced that the last roll of Kodachrome manufactured had been developed by Dwayne's for photographer Steve McCurry on assignment for National Geographic. Although McCurry retains ownership of the slides, prints of the 36 slides are permanently housed at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York and most of the pictures have been published on the Internet by Vanity Fair magazine.


At it’s best, photojournalism is
both the mirror and window, a
means to enlightenment that
connects subject and viewer
through the heart, eye and mind
of the photojournalist. It’s the
photographers responsibility to
show truth with the camera.
—Tom Kennedy




To the complaint, ‘There are no
people in these photographs,’ I
respond, There are always two
people: the photographer and
the viewer.”
― ANSEL ADAMS


I work in colour sometimes,
but I guess the images I most connect to,
historically speaking, are in black and white.
I see more in black and white - I like the abstraction of it.
Mary Ellen Mark

Photographer Mary Ellen Mark, (1979) and Marlon Brando: “Apocalypse Now” set. She got inside the inner circle to capture many intimate and emotive shots. Brave and powerful artist


Think about the photo before and after,
never during. The secret is to take your time.
You mustn't go too fast. The subject must
forget about you. Then, however,
you must be very quick.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson is considered to be a founding father of modern photojournalism. His passion and work took him to different parts of the world and he photographed several major international events in his time, such as the Spanish Civil War and the 1968 French uprisings.

Just a few of the photographers that inspire me and drive me to better my work. Who inspires your imagination? Leave me a note in the comments.

Hodge-Podge

Ok well, today I have an eclectic little mix. I was downtown yesterday and got some more street lamp pictures, for a series I am doing. I also got some more of the Market House.



Then last night Sharon and I went on our monthly Date night. We always go down to the Cameo Art House on the First Thursday for a monthly live music series in downtown Fayetteville. Last night Jon Shain, a Folk, blues picker, performed. Man he can play the blues and is very funny also. These are brought to Fayetteville by the Roosters Wife, A music venue in Aberdeen NC.
We start the night at the Off The Hook Fusion Taco Imporium. We really love this place. They have Bahn Mi Tacos that are, well, Off The Hook wow. We also got the tortilla chips with the house made smoked gouda pimento cheese, and again Off The Hook Wow. Ok got a shot of the chips and dip but when the tacos came I just forgot all about photography and ate ....soo good.




So that was it for yesterday, have to see what today brings.
Natures Views Photography is now on FaceBook follow us here.