Finally Friday.

Sadly, I missed out on First Friday tonight. Instead, I stayed home with my Nutrition assignment and a slight belly ache. But that's the life for this woman who has been up until after midnight every day this week and who is incredibly excited about sleeping in tomorrow! Who knows? After some decent rest I may even be up to the task of creating some new pictures for tomorrow's post. Check back and see! For now, I leave you with something a little unusual.

The photo above was taken back in 2008, when I had just acquired my first DSLR. I believe I was driving and shooting, as I am apt to do, when I snapped this photo toward the base of the Grapevine (Hwy 99 at I5, headed south). Yes, I know the quality is horrible, but the composition is something I would love to capture again. So even though I cringe at how "noisy" and amateurish it looks, there is something of value in this work. This is me, learning from myself, and encouraging those developing their craft to enjoy their work, their growth, and their creativity--not every photo is perfect, but if you love it, it is worth sharing!

Do you know these people?

Pardon me, but do I know you?

Strike a Pose Guy, Fresno, CA
by Terry Telford, LissaFudge Photography

I sure don't know any of the people in tonight's photos, and yet each of them posed for me pretty willingly. Some I didn't have to ask--they volunteered for the photo--a shooters dream! Apparently, complete strangers enjoy having their picture taken... which is puzzling... If these unknowns are so cooperative, why can't I get my dad to stay still and say, "Cheese," for me?

Don't go to Tucson, San Diego, CA
by Terry Telford, LissaFudge Photography

FLICS makes Friends, Bakersfield, CA
by Terry Telford, LissaFudge Photography

Photo play.

Today was a day for play. Inspired by some goth-influenced photos (more on why will be revealed in a later post), I found myself revisiting the photo shown above. (See original post here.) I wanted to process it differently--with more of a spooky vibe--and that great, creepy tree was perfect for what I had in mind.

Another reason for play: An interestingly marked apple. I seem to be creating a collection of iPhone apple photos (hmmm...) taken at work.

What a wonderful food for art--and snacking!

This last one is for my friend Paul. I call it "AppleNoise."

AppleNoise

The lion roars in: March

March already! Two months down of continual blogging! To be honest, I wasn't at all sure I would make it this long, but this post-a-day thing has actually become a favorite part of my day. Tonight I bring you more photos from the hunt: this time from a day trip to Posey, CA. Along the way, certain scenes begged to be captured. I was happy to oblige; evidence of man against the backdrop of nature is my favorite kind of landscape photo-making. 

Sneak Peek: Masks & Mannequins

Masks & Mannequins is a back-burner series I have been working on for the better part of a year. In the future I am hoping to put together a slideshow set to music composed by my son. Tonight I'm sharing just a small part of the work towards that end: some iPhone shots which I took at an antique and consignment store in downtown Bakersfield. While I love the emotion (or lack of) which these photos convey, I regret that I didn't have my "real" camera with me on this occasion.

Good Sky Day

[Bloggist's note: Foiled by technology again, last night's post is being retro-uploaded today, 2/27/11]

Homework, housework, and hobby work occupied most of my time today, but I still managed to take a short drive and capture some of the beauty of this Saturday. Shooting from the car is always a challenge--aside from the dangers of driving and snapping--but I didn't feel like getting out of my jammies, so the best I could do was (sometimes) roll down a window. Even though the weather report had many of us hopeful for a glimpse of snow, at least in Bakersfield, our only chance was to spy it from the distant mountain peaks. Still, it was a good sky day, and that makes for good pictures.

Rest for the weary.

As a very tired college student with a big test coming up in less than 24 hours, all I can say is... not much. Instead of words, how about a pretty picture or two? Above and below are a couple of photos of the Kern River at its frosty, beautiful best. When I look at these I think tranquility. And on that peaceful note, I bid you good night.

Seafood

I had hoped to take Daniel to the beach for fish and chips last weekend, but plans fell through. Today's beautiful weather helped me to decide to try again, and so we headed off for an afternoon in sunny Santa Barbara. What a great shopping and dining expedition. I bought some vintage scarves (a bit of a mild obsession for me), and Daniel got to try calamari (we learned he is not a fan).

Now home, I am pretty wiped out after the drive, so it is off to bed. I leave you with a couple of photos from our quick trip.

A ripe offering

Is life a bowl of cherries, or is it the pits?

...or is it just that I ran across this photo of fruit that I really liked and thought it would make a quick and pretty post for this Thursday evening...?

You guessed it--this photo, depicting some fine looking cherries, was picked to share because of its juicy color and bright, cheery composition.  It can be tricky to photograph food and make it look appetizing, but I believe this photo is a success. Mouth watering!

Color blocks

Are you perhaps old enough to remember when colored lines would appear on television before the day's broadcast begin? It's hard to believe that I am... But one of today's photos reminded me of that. The other more closely resembles a pH or litmus test. I seem to remember doing some of those in high school biology. (Please tell me they still do those in high school and somebody knows what I'm talking about. How old have I become?) Anyway, for some reason these photos, again from the archive, caught my eye and I thought I'd share.

Royal Laundry

Tomorrow is back to work after a 4-day weekend. There's not much to say other than it sure is nice to take a break sometimes! I feel like my life was thrown in the wash and is now coming out of the dryer smelling spring fresh and ready for a new day. Or something like that. 

The above photo was taken in San Francisco, in an alley near the SFMOMA. I just love photos composed with red, white, and blue in them. How about you?

Alternate view of The Huntington

Yesterday I also shot some different views of The Huntington with my iPhone. Here's an alternate take on the great library, museum, and gallery.

View from inside the library looking outside

Vintage lightbulb collection inside one of the science rooms

An amazing wall of color and light upon which to feast the eyes

Every castle needs a fairy tale

Collection of Bukowski novels on sale in the bookstore

Delicious fresh-from-the-grill burger and early Valentine's treat

 P.S. Hope you've had a happy day, filled with love--Happy Valentine's Day! See you tomorrow!

Fading fast.

The light feels a little dim tonight as I still haven't found time to catch up on sleep. Tomorrow: Friday. And then a four-day weekend! Lots to do over the next few days--school-wise, work-wise, photography-wise, love-wise--so I'm blowing out the candles now and hitting the pillow.

Making do with what's in hand.

A little discouraged that I haven't had time to go out and make "real" pictures, today I decided to stop whining and use what was on hand. Or in hand, rather. That would be my iPhone. So here are a few shots, edited with the Adobe Photoshop Express app, of some things that I found interesting on this lovely Wednesday.

Above is another shot of one of the Recorder's Office cabbages (see post from Jan. 2nd). The light was simply spectacular, so I had to capture it.            

                                      

I also found a mossy "runway" and an asymmetrically fallen branch.

Later, my afternoon snack posed for a final portrait.

Also today I was able to steal a few moments on-line to check out some other photography blogs and store up some inspiration. I'm looking forward to trying out some new ideas soon!

Red light.

Too tired to think and too exhausted to write. My brain is flashing a red light at me and unlike the real one which I distractedly blew through this morning without pause, I need to heed its warning and get some rest!

(When even this looks comfortable, you know you need some sleep.)

Assignment: Low Light

I've been prohibited from taking any new photos for the last few days due to the abundance of homework I've had to do in the evenings. But homework assignments are a good place for me to start this post. A couple of years ago I was taking a Digital Photography course at Bakersfield College, taught by Kris Stallworth. One of our assignments was to take photos in low light. A couple of those photos ended up being used for BC events, but my favorite hasn't been widely shared, so here it is, just for you:

This little guy is actually a pencil sharpener that Phillip bought for me on a trip to Sacramento. He sits cheerfully on my desk at work and keeps me company throughout each work week. In the photo, taken at a slow exposure to capture all the light in the office, my fair robot stands astride a delicate field of gold compact discs. He is quite the retro-futuristic turn-key warrior!

Crime Scene Barbie and "Once Upon a Fantasy"

Another show opening on First Friday, February 4th is the "Once Upon a Fantasy" show which will be on concurrent display with "The Gnome Project" at Spotlight Theatre. This exhibit will feature artwork from BECA (Bakersfield Emerging Contemporary Artists), in various mediums, and will run through February 28th. I was hoping to submit work to this show also, but I just ran out of time. The one photo I would have loved to include might be a bit too much to work within the family-friendly theme...

The shot is of an abandoned doll found in an old construction site in the northeast part of town. I didn't disturb the scene--just took the shot where she was discovered. An obvious crime of passion.

Sword play and WordPlay

I was lucky enough to go photo hunting this afternoon and to go "Shutter Clique-ing" tonight. This is a late post because I was out shooting later than is typical for me. 

Scouting out locations, earlier in the day, I came across some recent bridge construction near Lake Truxtun and the bike path. These posts rather look like a mirrored optical illusion to me.

Tonight some of the photographers from the photography club Shutter Clique got together and shot a fun and interesting show at The Gate. The all-ages show featured the heavy metal band Heralds of the Sword, and there were quite a few swords also in attendance! 

Speaking of the Shutter Clique: "WordPlay," a new exhibit of work by SC photographers will be on display beginning First Friday, February 4th at The Foundry. The idea for the photographs began with each member randomly choosing two words--a negative one and a positive one--then creating an image to express both. I'm excited to be part of this group and hope you'll stop by to check out the show!

Dumpster diving

I'm really glad I got this post-a-day challenge into a habit by the time this week hit because I find myself getting sleepy earlier in the evenings now that I'm busier. Too much cramming thoughts into every cranny of my brain--it wants a retreat among the pillows where it shall refuse any further figuring or furtive contemplation.

Today's pic is another from the vaults, circa 2009, but this one is far from random: I searched high and low for the file because I knew I could find no better way to sum up the day.

If today you had "a case of the Mondays," here's hoping your Tuesday (and mine) is brighter....

Launch

A photo jaunt through the neighborhood bagged this shot of a mini-mart that I have been wanting to capture for awhile now. I'm hoping it will motivate my long-delayed but oft-pondered neighborhood market series.

Short post tonight as yet more homework awaits.. as does laundry... and that thing called sleep.