Anxious to shoot

I have ideas for my class assignments that are due in August. But finding models can be challenging. My nephews are willing sometimes but only if I ask every once in a while, otherwise they get irritated.

The one below is based on a picture that I saw by Diane Arbus that she took back in the 70's I think. The thing is I have seen this same pose two other times and just recently on a DVD cover for the series called TUT. I like the merging of the faces. which looks like an optical illusion. My nephews were gracious enough to let me experiment on them.  Hmm, sounds like I am a weird scientist but only with a lens. 

As long as they were willing, we decided to go outside and pose in front of a building close to where I live. My nephews put on their new suits and out we went. 

Sometimes they are very hard to get to stay still.  I probably took 20 shots before I got the one below.  

Now I need to go and photograph their sisters. Wish me luck!

My Heart is Something

I hope that you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  My gathering was small but still appreciated.  Two women, an aunt and her niece, put together a fine meal.  But more than anything else I was able to spend time with family.  For this alone, I am thankful.  

Someone posted the video below of a little girl trying to explain what was in her heart to her mother. The little girl wanted desperately for her parents to get along. When she said that she wanted things to be in the middle where her heart was I nearly burst into tears.  Take a couple of minutes and listen to an eloquent child.  

We all have a lot to learn from this beautiful little girl.
Posted by MiNDFOOD on Sunday, November 8, 2015

What it is to be Human

"You can't buy life." He said.  That tiny sentence touched me.  We spend our lives working, sleeping, eating, loving, etc... I just watched a  program Called Human by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. He spent three years travelling the world collecting personal stories from over 2000 people and compiled a 3-part documentary on being human.  Each of us has a battle. Most of the time we think that we are in it alone, but we are not.  It is beautifully done and for me it was emotional to watch. I cried as I listened to the stories of poverty, hardship, wanting love, and never knowing it. I thought about my struggles and realize that mine pale in comparison to those that told their story.  Part 2 & 3 are on Youtube. 

"Life is like carrying a message from the child you were

 to the old man that you will be."

Walking Like a Human

One day two sisters were playing together as the grandmother watched.  The eldest, Laylahni, a very observant four-year old, said to her grandmother,"Kee Kee is walking like a human," as she watched her one-year old sister walk across the grass. The grandmother tried very hard not to laugh. Then answered kindly, "Honey, Kaleigha is a human."  The four-year old thought for a moment and looked at her sister again. "Oh, she is a baby human." 

Pure Michigan

I live in the flat lands, surrounded by cornfields. Just a couple of  hours drive from where I live is heaven.

Where there are pristine beaches and lighthouses to guide a weary boatman. Trees are so numerous that the color is dazzling to the eyes in autumn. This sounds like a commercial, but that is what I experienced yesterday while on a "Vacation Day" in Michigan.  Oh yes, I am silly, but I had a glorious time. Visions of children playing on the beach in summer raced across my mind. The calming sound of the waves rolling in to shore soothed me.  A friend and I went to three cities and saw three different lighthouses. This was the first time I have seen one.  It was amazing to me.

As the day progressed the clouds crowded the sky until the blue was no longer visible. A haze settled over the the water. What seemed vibrant began to take on a sepia tone. 

But the beauty remained.  In the summer, I plan to return, not laden with heavy coats and bags, but free like a bird who sits for awhile until another spot looks enticing and then moves on. 

Capturing His Essence

I have a nephew who is a very willing model for me, which I find amazing for a boy of ten.  Yesterday we were out taking pictures. He has been asking me to take him to the railroad tracks for a while. Although it is illegal to walk the tracks, we went anyway. While travelling from spot to spot we chatted.  I told him that I only have two photographs that are my favorites out of all the pictures that I have taken, which I think is about a billion.  One is a picture of him.  It is hanging up on the cabinet above my desk at work.  It is just of his face with a black background, in black and white. He was surprised that I had his picture up at work.  I told him that not only his pictures but his mother, sisters, and brother is there too. 

Somehow, I captured his essence, it is something that all photographers desperately want to catch when they encounter their subject.  Things are going on in their heads that we have no idea about.  Then for a split second, there it was in full view, written all over his face. I had no time to think. So, I pressed the button on the camera. There wasn't time for a fake smile or posing, just being. When I reviewed my shots and came to his picture, my jaw nearly dropped to the floor.  An image that I have always wanted to take was there before my eyes. I'm so blessed.  

                                   I think that I got it again...

The little girl who loves to pose for photographs

There is a little girl in my neighborhood who loves to come down to my house and have me take her picture. I don't have to tell her how to do anything, she poses on her own.  My good friend who lives next door would play with her when she was younger and she always wanted to play the model.  She would sashay down the walk as her neighbor would announce her over the pretend microphone. "Here comes Miss ..... in her purple gown." Who knows maybe one day she will grow up to be a model.  In the meantime, she will model for me. 

60 Minutes: Sir Nicholas Winton "Saving the Children"

Yesterday we celebrated our independence. Flags were displayed proudly all across the country.  Fireworks filled the night sky with brilliant showers of color and light. Any yet, the horrors of war seem to haunt us, especially those from WWII.  The Hitler regime tried to do the unspeakable.

October 23, 2008 - Source: Chris Jackson/Getty Images Europe

All throughout history there are unsung hero's who lived amongst us. Here is a story of one man, a two week vacation, and lives saved from the concentration camps. Nicholas Winton went to Prague on a two week vacation. Nicholas saw that war was eminent. The adults felt that they were stuck in their country, but wanted a way out for the children. Winton set up operation to try to save as many children as he could. 

Afterwards life went on for Winton. He never told a soul what he did. It was something that he just didn't talk about. As an American,I wish that we could have stepped in and helped.  But the "powers that be" didn't feel it was crucial to help the poor unfortunates. This is an enlightening story of how one person can make a difference in so many lives. 

Fairy Princess Halo

I have a little niece who wants to be a princess.  She is always asking me to buy her a princess dress or a dress that a Disney cartoon character is wearing in a film.  The other day I was looking on line to learn how to make a floral headdress and ran across a video for a fairy princess halo.  The directions were simple. Last night, I made the fairy princess halo and it turned out very nicely. 

I went to Walmart to buy the cable ties, they are more expensive in the smaller hardware stores. Also, I used 5 different pastel colored ribbon to give it lots of color. My niece loved this. If there is a little girl you know that longs to be a princess then watch the video below and make her feel very special.  

The Creepiest kind of Pictures: Postmortem Photography

When I was a little girl, I went to two houses where the body of the deceased was being held until the funeral took place.  One of those houses was that of an uncle and my grandfather was placed in the living room. Dead people terrified me.  Their stiff limbs and torso with the unnatural pallor of their skin sent shivers up my spine. I can still see these images in my mind and it disturbs me.

 

I have a pet peeve with funerals. It's with the taking pictures of the corpse. I know that people want to remember the deceased.  But I would much rather have a picture of the person while they are still alive rather than one of them in the casket. (I have a picture of my father that is currently in the basement and wish that I had never seen it.)  While looking at videos on Youtube the other day I saw a snippet of post-mortem photography. So, I clicked on the links and they took me here and here. Eerily, I looked at the photographs with the unnatural poses for the dead. I had a hard time sleeping that night.

Here is what I found out: In the Victorian Era, the mortality rate was very high, especially with small children and babies. The parents wanted a photograph in which to remember the deceased.  They even had posing poles so that the corpse could be photographed standing up. There were many pictures of adults standing up holding their children or men standing alone with a partial view of the stand behind them.  The thing is this, they didn't have that many pictures taken due to lack of money.  So, when someone died they called in the photographer. The family was very proud of these pictures and hung them in their homes, sent them to relatives, and wore them around their necks in lockets.  I don't know about you, but I am glad that this is not part of our culture anymore because, quite frankly, it gives me the creeps. 

P.S. The above photograph is not postmortem, it is a picture of John and Sally Smith with their children. (some of my relatives)

Sticks and stones may break my bones....but words do hurt.

Every Thursday I go to a memoirs writing class.  Each of us have a story within us.  Sometimes the stories are happy or sometimes they are sad.  I have been writing about my recent marriage and other memories.  Sometimes we just need to let it all out, whether we write in a journal, as a story, or face to face with a friend or loved one. It is then we can start to finally heal.

I am the youngest person in the class.  Most of my classmates are 20 or more years my senior, and yet, I feel very comfortable amongst them. Any one of the men and women could be my mother or father. It is amazing to me how things that were either said or done to us can leave a lasting mark on our lives, even if it happened 60 years before. The memory of it continues to linger in the back of our minds. When the memory comes back to the surface there is rage and many times tears.

I sat next to a woman yesterday who had such a traumatic experience in Catholic school by a nun that she still finds it hard to talk about.  Her 5th grade teacher was a nun and made her life miserable.  From the time she arrived in the class until the end of the year the girl's life was one traumatic event after another.  The nun would shame the girl into thinking that she was worthless and the children whose father's made more money was better than she was and it was best that she not communicate with them. Those words spoken to her stuck in her mind all of these years.  Tears started flowing before my classmate began reading her story. I wanted so badly to hold her in my arms and comfort her. Often we hear stories about adults traumatizing children and literally making their lives hell.  These poor innocent souls are placed in the care of adults who can either make or break our spirit.  Her spirit is still broken.  No child deserves to be mistreated.  All they want is love and acceptance, and maybe some candy too. 

Do you have any memories that bring you pain?  I know that I do.

A day at the zoo

I have been taking pictures galore this past week.  Since I have gotten my new zoom lens, the pictures have been turning out very well.  I spent four hours with my brother and his family at the zoo.  Photographing a two year old is, well, very challenging. Try holding a toddler still for one second and to photograph to boot tried my nerves and my photography skills.

 

There were lions.

 

an ostrich

and there were monkeys

My brother asked his daughter what a monkey says, she said "oo oo oo", the look on my brothers face...priceless.

What is their name in heaven?

 

I've always heard about Jane or John Do, but had never encountered one until just recently.  My friend Jim and I were out photographing tombstones for our project.  After photographing three sections, we decided to finish up and made our way over to Babyland in the cemetery.  As I peered thru the tiny square on my camera my eyes focused on the name. There is no name, no date, only nothingness. An overwhelming feeling of abandonment flooded my being. He was all alone. Still. I nearly lost my composure. I lowered my camera and stepped back. Tears started to well up in my eyes. Then a strange thought ran through my head.  What does God call this little one?  I am sure that he is precious in the eyes of the Creator, even if the parents couldn't see his value. A childless photographer wanted to desperately hold this child and to whisper sweet words of love in his ears. I picked up the camera, snapped the picture of his grave marker, then I moved on. And yet, my thoughts lingered at the tiny grave of this unknown baby boy.

A Tale about a Lady and Three Little Girls

 

As I was making my way home from my walk last night, three little girls started talking to me. I wanted to try out my new camera lens by taking some pictures of a vine growing on the side of a house in my neighborhood . I stopped to take a picture of some flowers in front of their house.  A little girl with very short hair was playing outside in a well worn party dress and bare feet. 

 

 

 When she saw me she ran over to show me a blue glass stone that she found. Immediately, I noticed her torn dress and short hair.  I assumed that she was sick. My heart went out to her.

 

 

The three girls showed me the beautiful sea shells that they found. I talked to them a little bit and then asked to take their pictures. I took a couple of shots and then told them goodbye as I turned towards home. 

 

 

 The little girl with the torn dress ran after me shouting, "Lady, she said, here this is for you for taking our picture." I looked down and in her tiny hand was a crumpled dollar bill. Tears came to my eyes. "No sweety, keep your money, I just wanted to take your picture." I said, trying hard to compose myself. I don't know their story, but I was touched with the little girl's generosity. 

Watch what you say in the Bingo Hall

Calling out "BINGO" when you don't have one can cause problems if you are at a bingo hall. Those folks really take their bingo seriously. Austin Whaley of Covington, Kentucky was banned from saying  the word "bingo" for six months.  I guess he and several other teenagers thought it was funny. The bingo players were not amused. 

Teacher is it testicle or stethoscope?

 
True Story:

A pre-school teacher was giving a lesson about Veterinary doctors and what that they did for animals. She raised her book and pointed at a picture of a doctor. 

"What is this that is around the doctor's neck?", the teacher asked her class. 

"A testicle", said a little girl in the back. 

"No, no, children. It is a stethoscope." stressed the teacher while trying very hard to keep her composure.

 As the other children began to think about the thing around the doctor's neck, they agreed with the little girl. Of course, it sounded correct to them. Besides, stethoscope sounds like testicle to the untrained ear of a child. (maybe even a grown up too) 

"It is a testicle", they cried in unison.

"Now listen to me say it, steth-o- scope" she said.  The teacher deliberately sounding out the word for the children, hoping that they will eventually get it.  

It took a while, but the children finally believed that it was a stethoscope. Most importantly, they had the correct word for the instrument.
 

How would you do in this slightly embarrassing situation?

There's nothing like children and a good belly laugh

We have been working so much lately that it has been hard trying to keep up with everything.  On top of that, when it is gloomy out it affects my mood.   I feel just as blah as the weather is outside.  This week, I was in a training class for work.  The instructor showed us a short video of children as the speakers but grownups are doing the acting.  They are called Kid Snippets.  This one that I am going to share is two kids trying to understand subtraction.  I am terrible in math, so this spoke to me very clearly.  I laughed so hard that I cried. 

A new video comes out on YouTube every Monday.  I watched a lot of these and they are so funny.  Tell me what you think.