Where Am I?

This should have been posted to my Indigo Studios Blog.... I thought I was logged in there, not here. I logged out here, logged in there and successfully copy and pasted this blog there.  I could delete this here, but why?

The theme for WK 12 of the M4H 52 WK Challenge was {SPARKLE}. I have to admit that as the weeks have gone by I've gotten less excited about doing this challenge--but I think that would be the case with any challenge. I have started my own on-going 30-day photography challenge (I'll have a theme or challenge for 30-days at a time and at the end of the 30-days, I'll start a new 30-day challenge with a new theme....) This way I will challenge myself to grow in the areas I need to grow. I'll continue to post almost daily at the SMUGMUG Daily Forum and to follow along with the My Four Hens or other challenges when I feel inspired.

It seems that each week I struggle to get a photog for the M4H challenge. I did not have the {SPARKLE} image until Sunday morning, March 25. I was walking along Rt 66 in Nobhill, making images of old hotel signs and I noticed that if I positioned the camera just right a ray of sun would shoot thru a pinhole sized crack in this sign..... creating a spectacular sunburst. The pigeons add some interest, along with the various textures and the sky. If you considering the theme is Sparkle, and you associate Sparkle to things more glamorous,then  this one small sunburst  coming thru a beat-up, no longer useful, pigeon roost sign is a huge contrast to true bling.... Perhaps the message is that no matter how bad things are, there will always be sunshine on a new day.

Here are a few more images from my stroll down Central Ave/Rt 66.....

 

Dreamweaver

 I'm posting early, because I may not be in class today. My after school babysitter, who picks up my 9-year old at school and brings him home is not available today. I warned El Jay that he might be walking home alone and that no one would be home until his 17-year old brother got home. He was OK with that. He really is becoming independent.  I, however, am struggling with this, a lot.

This week we started playing with Dreamweaver in class. We will create the websites using Dreamweaver.  I have a few good ideas and I'm having fun looking at other sites and, also, looking for backgrounds and graphics.

I found several free (maybe) sources. Here is  a blog with some nice backgrounds and textures. (Click image)

 This one really grabbed me, yet, it isn't at all the direction I've been going in my mind with this project. Except that I've been playing with the idea of using my last name, GARDNER, and the word GROWING. Any input about this would be appreciated. You can contact me at gardner@unm.edu. (Click the image to read a blog with more great textures.)

HTML Midterm Today

Today in class is the HTML test. I feel comfortable with the coding, but I also know I forget things, like </body> or whatever I need to remember to close. Maybe by writing that I will remember. I am also kind of fuzzy on tables.... I've been trying to make notes and study, but my nine-year old has no school today--it is parent teacher conferences. I let him sleep in as long as possible, but at 10 am he woke up. By 11am I was ready to tie him up and lock in in garage (not that I would really do that) EL Jay is a very in your face, active, high energy kid..... At 11:30 am I found out my baby sitter for him had fallen thru (His 24-year old brother, Spencer, had said he would watch him, but he picked up hours at work and ADIOS... he was gone!) AND... 15-minutes ago (about 12:15) El Jay wandered into my office to mark his chores off his list--which he had with him in the kitchen, but you know, any excuse to get in Mom's face. My 17-year old son had just stopped in the office to ask me about how to fill out a job application and was also distracting me, when El Jay reached from behind me to get a pencil and he knocked over my glass of water (normally I only use water bottles in my work areas, but why, why why I was using a glass, I have no clue.) The water landed on a pile of stuff that was sitting next to the desk. Mostly stuff to file, some garbage, my Journal from the Swiss trip, a water color my sister made of me and Spencer (only it looks more like her and Shawn) Yeah.... stuff is getting wet. Now he is sitting there cleaning up, but examining every piece of paper before he moves it elsewhere.... he has an on-going commentary going. Right this second I have totally had enough and... deep breath here, Tina. Just be calm and send him out of the room.

This is my life. Lots of distraction, but lots of hugs and love, too. Being a single mom is a huge challenge. Oh no.... BRB. I just heard something crash in the kitchen.

I always include a picture. This is for today. The watercolor that got wet. I scanned it, but the scanner bed is too small for the size of the painting. This isn't one of Sylvia's best pictures, but I treasure what I have. Sylvia died nine-years ago.

This is Sylvia 16-years ago after her son was born.

The last two images are of EL Jay.  Both taken by me in January. The first one was taken at Tingley Beach. He was leaning over the railing looking down into the water. I was standing next to him. The wavy look was created by the water. It has a dreamy abstract look.

Time to try to get back to my notes. El Jay just came in here to ask if he could go to the bathroom.... I gave him a hug and let him walk thru this room to the bathroom. He could have used one of three bathrooms in this house, but I didn't remind him of that.

Marching Forth

March is here. I hope March is better than February. March is the only month that has a day that is also a pun. Do you know which day that is? I've always liked that March has the day that is not only a date, but a command, because that day is also my birthday. This year I will be 50.

Today in class our assignment was to find one website we didn't like (or wasn't designed very well) and one we liked. Here is my list (yeah, I had more than one link:)

This one is bad: http://www.oceanside-ca.com/

I like this one better: http://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/

I don't like the logo: https://www.facebook.com/pages/AR-Photography/235008546555325

Too cluttered; http://www.thecouturebaby.com/

I liked this, until I scrolled down--you can't read the text. Then I clicked to entered the website and the slide show is too slow: http://www.jenniepyfferoen.com/

I think what works for one type of website doesn't necessarily work for other types. The one that stands out most is Google.com. It does all that it needs to do, but is possibly one of the simplest websites. We compared it to Yahoo.com, which is OK, but had a lot of stuff. Both are search engines, both have other services, but they have completely different looks. My interest is in sites that are similar to the sites I want to create. I like clean simple lines, not to bright or too dull. I spend a lot of time looking at what other photographers do and I see a lot of photographers using a cluttery scrapbooking look. I feel the focus on a homepage should be the photographer's work with links to their blog, etc...I like simple and elegant looks.


Along with my 50th birthday happening in March, is what would have been my 10th wedding anniversary on March 2nd.This is a bitter sweet day for me. I could mourn for something that never really worked out, or I can celebrate my independence. I'm going to smile and know that life is getting better. Today's pictures are wedding themed. i found this cake topper at a thrift store and bought it, figuring I'd have fun using it for a prop. I wonder what the history of this little couple is? What advise would the Bride & Groom have to give?
       

 

Below is the Bride & Groom on the cake ten-years ago. The groom designed the cake. I paid extra because there were suppose to be frosting roses. The lady who made the cake forgot to mention that she didn't know how to make them.... oops.

You'll notice that the Groom figurine fell face first into the cake. There is a saying that the way the wedding cake is cut and fed to each other foretells the future of the marriage and home. As a photographer I may have taken close-up pictures of this. As the Bride I found it hilarious. If only I had run and never looked back.