Snap-Digitation

I'm Back...

2007-02-15T09:12:00.000-05:00

Wow...what a year. I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted here. It is a amazing how much can happen in just one year.

Lost job
Divorced
Remarried
Oldest moved to the Northwest
Injured back at new job
Changed jobs
Back surgery
Grandfather died

Well, I am going to get back into shoot pics and posting them. This lovely shot is of my youngest.

Broken

2006-02-16T19:27:00.000-05:00

Ok...so maybe all things related to love are positive. You may also notice that there were no pics for V-day itself. Whether it is love gone horribly wrong, or just the brokeness you feel when you are away from the ones you love, sometimes things feel broken.

Enough said.

Love Test

2006-02-13T20:07:00.000-05:00

Do any of you remember the little game we used to play as kids, whenever we found a patch of dandelions? You would pluck one of these golden medallions and hold it under you friend's chin. If it reflected yellow, it meant they had a boyfriend/girlfriend...or was it that they liked butter?
Anyway, as I was walking out of the apartment this morning, I saw two or three of these brave souls brightly glowing amongst the fallen leaves and clover.
Nothing special done with this shot...what you see is what you get.

Sweet Dreams

2006-02-08T23:54:00.000-05:00

This closeup of an early Valentines Day gift was enhanced with the Glowing Edges filter in PS. I like the effect, as it has really captured a dream-like essence to the Pez dispenser and it's sweet treat. I have a feeling this V-Day will be one I will not soon forget...that's what my dreams tell me anyway.

Love Me, Love My Dog Wood

2006-02-07T01:26:00.000-05:00

Speaking of bark (nice segue right?)...

A closeup of some bark, a little hue/saturation mod and there you have it!

Ok, so that was rough...

Love Child

2006-02-06T10:04:00.000-05:00

There are those special moments that only a father can have with his children. Holding them, only moments after they draw their first breath. Comforting them after they have fallen or lost their way. Listening to the way they talk about friends and pets and ice cream in a waffle cone. Hearing them laugh with such enthusiasm as they beat you at miniature golf. Sitting with them for a self-timed photo on a sunny day.

Memories, past, present and yet to be made...cherish them...she will grow up so quickly.

Love Is In The Air

2006-02-05T08:21:00.000-05:00

While taking some cloud shots, I found this one that resembled a fluffy valentine. Beautiful sky today. Very relaxing...ahhhh.

Rainbow Love

2006-02-04T18:19:00.000-05:00

The idea of immortality...will continue to ebb and flow beneath the mists and clouds of doubt and darkness as long as love kisses the lips of death. It is the rainbow--Hope, shining upon the tears of grief.
- Robert G. Ingersoll, The Ghosts

The beauty in the day after the rain brought me to one of my favorite spots to contemplate. Here, near the fountain at our apartment, I found a rainbow...one of my favorite things to photograph.

Love Rain

2006-02-03T23:36:00.000-05:00

Today’s shot was inspired from the long rainy day we had in Florida, and from Jill Scott’s song “Love Rain”. I have changed the lyrics a bit to fit some exquisite feelings I have been enjoying lately:

Better than love, we made delicious
She me had, had me she
She made me tongue tied
I could hear her rhythm in my thoughts
I was her sharp, her horn section
Her boom and her bip
And she was my love

Love rain down on me, on me, down on me

Our beautiful melody became wildly staccato
The rain was falling and I could not see

Love rain down on me, on me, down on me
Love rain down on me, on me, down on me

UILOVE

2006-02-02T22:26:00.000-05:00

Continuing with the theme for February, these two user interface devices can't get enough of each other. Provides a whole new meaning to "getting connected". A slight adjustment to hue and saturation brought out the red in the wall behind the keyboard. UILOVE...or is it ILOVEU?

Puppy Love

2006-02-01T08:31:00.000-05:00

There are all types of ways that we use the word "love", so I thought I would attempt to post this month's pics with that theme in mind.

I am going to try to limit the number of portraits, but will most definitely need to have some for some of the "expressions".

This shot is of my youngest, holding the new pup. I didn't get quite the depth I wanted with the camera, so I added some blur to the background in PS.

Have a happy February all!

Hard Water

2006-01-31T05:29:00.000-05:00

I came home this morning at about 4:45 am (don't ask where I was at that time in the morning) and was putting some things away in the freezer. I noticed that the ice maker was overflowing and there were large "icebergs" in the way, keeping the mechanism from working correctly. I took a couple of the large clumps of ice and put them in the sink to melt.

I came back after a few minutes and glanced into the sink and saw the cubes had taken on a nice sheen and were looking photo-worthy. I didn't have my regular camera, so I grabbed a little Olympus Camedia D-435 and snapped a couple of quick shots before the batteries died.

Not exactly what I was looking for, but it has given me some inspiration. I think I will be playing with some ice shots later. Hey...I have posted something 4 days in a row. New record for me. Let's see if February is more consistent with more than 8 days of photo's for the month.

Hehe...the alarm just went off...guess it's time for work.

Day Dreaming

2006-01-30T20:57:00.000-05:00

My cat was watching the puppy while safely perched on top of the enter-tainment center. He was so intent on keeping tabs on the little nuisance that he didn't mind me sticking the camera in his face to do some macro work on his eyes.

I had taken a bunch of shots, but just couldn't get what I was looking for. I asked my oldest to stand over by the sliding glass doors to keep his attention and I finally got this shot.

The really cool thing is that when I loaded it into my computer and opened it in PS, I could see my daughter's silhouette in his eyes.

Baby Face

2006-01-29T11:26:00.000-05:00

This little guy came home with my oldest the other day. As both of her part time jobs involve taking care of pets, it is inevitable that a few find their way into her heart. He has some beagle in him and some other combo of breeds. He is such a cutie and I had been trying to get a good shot of him all day, but I has having a hard time because he wouldn't slow down. Finally, he crashed between the chair and the sliding glass doors, in a pool of sunlight.

I brought this into PhotoShop and added my new favorite filter - Distort, diffuse Glow. Wow - I absolutely loved what it did with the side lighting from his sunny resting place.

The Eyes Have It

2006-01-28T05:32:00.000-05:00

Another macro shot. This shot is of my youngest. Still getting the hang of things with this camera. I am going to do more with eyes, baby blues, blinders, eyeballs, headlights, lamps, oculars, oculus, optics, orbs, peepers, pies, winkers...the soul windows. More to come.

On The Rocks

2006-01-22T17:17:00.000-05:00

I took my daughter out to a local "family fun" establishment, and while we waited for our food...and waited...and waited some more, I just started snapping pictures of anything interesting.

This shot was a macro of what was inside her drink cup. A little diet soda, on the rocks, with 4 straws for rapid consumption. = )

A little cropping in PhotoShop and viola...today's addition.

Although the go karts and bumper boats were great fun, I think we both enjoyed taking pictures of each other making faces and eating our food.

Freedom...

2006-01-21T14:12:00.000-05:00

...the condition of being free of restraints.
I was finding that my normal "happy place" just wasn't doing it for me. I ventured out to the parking lot and saw a group of horses enjoying the day. This one in particular was so "free" and continued to do all he could to get the others to join him.
With this shot in PhotoShop, I added a couple of layers with the horse and a gaussian blur filter. I then added some smudging for affect.
I watched them for quite some time and found myself sufficiently refreshed. You can be free wherever you are in whatever your doing...sometimes we are our own restraint.
Be free!

First Born

2006-01-19T08:17:00.000-05:00

My oldest child wanted to have some pictures to share with friends and so we set out to capture some shots. She liked two of these and so I proceeded to blend them togother.
I love working with PhotoShop and she was pleased with the results.

Dragon People

2006-01-07T16:02:00.000-05:00

It is said that people born in the Year of the Dragon are healthy, energetic, excitable, short-tempered, and stubborn. They are also honest, sensitive, brave, and they inspire confidence and trust. Dragon people are the most eccentric of any in the eastern zodiac. They neither borrow money nor make flowery speeches, but they tend to be soft-hearted which sometimes gives others an advantage over them.
Being born in the year of the Dragon, I would say that much of who I am is covered in this description. I have a great interest in the culture and definitely love all things Japanese.
This closeup is of a piece that I have in my office, which is my oasis here at work. People often stop by to find a restful spot along their stressful path.

Getting started...

2006-01-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine from work, turned me on to this format. I am excited about doing the picture-a-day and look forwards to comments, advice of this community.