Christmas Eve caught me unprepared

I was all set with the cutest Christmas card but I lost it when my operating system got corrupted. I did my best to recreate it but it's not quite the same. The sentiment remains: happy holidays from my favorite tree huggers ever, Doug and myself!


Look forward to an outpouring of photo love on Christmas.

little milestones

Last night, I watched my little brother play cello in his high school orchestra. I hadn't seen him play since middle school because I was away at college. He absolutely amazed me. In his tuxedo, with his face shaven and his hair pulled back, he looked like a stranger. But any time he wasn't intently staring at his sheet music, he was smiling at me.



Today, my new camera is arrived. Doug still hasn't told me everyone who chipped in to buy it for me but I know his family, my family, and my friends all did this for me. I am surrounded by great people. And I can't wait to see how great my as-of-yet-unnamed 50D is.



Tomorrow, my mother is going to meet Doug's family in Orlando. The in-laws are finally getting to talk in person. This is a HUGE step. I think we need a family photo in Seuss Landing.

home sweet holidays

After much technical difficulties and stress, I am finally settled in at home and can post again. Without going into too much detail, my operating system got corrupted and I had to reinstall Windows 7. Luckily, all my photos are safe. Unfortunately, I don't have too much to share (yet!) but I should tomorrow.

As part of family tradition, we make Hanukkah cookies every year. This year, Doug and I made Darth Vader and Yoda respectively.


We also had a very fishy, festive meal with my grandfather at Flanigan's.


This is completely random but it amused me while I was cleaning my room:

He's guarding my sea shells.


And just because stats make me happy: I was checking my Flicks stats and discovered that someone found my photos through a Google search for "photos of Bellingrath Garden at Christmas", which lists my photo as the second link (above their official site). That same photo is also sixth when you search for "Bellingrath Gardens Christmas lights"

a large post, long overdue

Dear home,
This is why I have an apology tag. It's because life happens and I can't always get to blog. So to make up for it, I made a bunch of diptychs and triptychs so I could share a ton of photos.


Last week was Doug's birthday and Thanksgiving so we went up to Crestview to see his family. We left before the sun rose and I got to watch the sky lighten from the turnpike. That just may be one of my favorite parts about roadtrips. And it was cold! Our windows fogged up and the made the golden hour sun even more beautiful.

The drive up was pretty calm and I lazily knitted or took pictures out the window the entire time. But the second we got off the highway and started driving the back roads into Crestview, I was glued to the window. I can't help it. I have a serious love affair with the abandoned truck stop.

I also enjoy spotting 'small town' gems like the water tower and the barber shop.

They're still a novelty to me and I get so excited to spot them out my window.

I love Doug enough not to share photos from his twenty-first birthday celebration.


Saturday, his parents drove us to Mobile, Alabama to go Christmas light looking at Bellingrath Gardens. It was an interested adventure and I don't want to mar it with too much commentary. Instead, I'm giving you more photos in larger sizes. The lights were positively breathtaking and the steps I took to avoid the crowds often lead to an even better perspective to photograph.

Doug kept asking me to take his picture with the fountain or the "light posts from Narnia" and I was so happy to oblige.




Everyone else was trying to take pictures of this trumpeter head-on so I uh... climbed into a planter. Anything for a shot, right?





We must have spent most of our time in the under the sea portion of the gardens. I was in heaven and did not want to leave.






The rest of the garden was no less impressive.





One last light post and we could go inside and warm up. It was in the mid-to-low fourties outside and I was cold.



Sunday morning dawned cold and there was frost on the ground when we set out for home. The windshield was covered in frost and I was amazed enough to take a few pictures between imploring Doug to turn up the heat.

On the drive home, we encountered quite a bit of traffic and ended up taking side roads for hours. The 8 hour trip turned into a 13 hour trek but it was worth it for me because I got to see a building I dubbed the 'rainbow connection' and a retired PanAm airplane.

This is one of the coolest shots I've ever made and it was pure serendipity that the sun was breaking through the clouds the way it was. I don't think I could find the place again if I tried.



Did this make up for my absence?

all paths lead to the sea

Somehow, I end up at the beach any time I need a dose of tranquility. The sea and I are usually on good terms and there used to be a torrid love affair. (I went to a marine science magnet program for high school.) So I wasn't too surprised when yesterday's drink run turned into a beach trip. It was a wonderful surprise and made me happy. I spent 45 minutes staring towards the horizon,watching the surfers take advantage of the beautiful waves.


(Image larger than usual to show detail)


I apologize for not having more images to show but the surfers proved that my camera is somewhat inadequate for meeting my needs. Even with ISO 1600, the highest ISO she's capable of, there wasn't enough light to get a decent shot. If I had a workable shutter speed, it was underexposed. If I had a decent amount of light, there was too much motion blur. And oh, the noise! I just could not get happy enough with more than 5 shots. I blame the dune for blocking the setting sun's light from reaching the surfers, but that's mostly because I can't stand being angry with Marjorie (my camera).

walking by

I went on a walk with Doug today. I stopped every few feet to photograph something. All the trees had faces and personalities I needed to capture. Our shadow intrigued me. I saw a red truck drive by. I was happy.

little things

Lately I've been suffering from what I assumed was anxiety but is actually my heart being a butt. (I mean that in the nicest way, as my heart belongs to my camera.) I've been spending a lot of time at my desk instead of adventuring or working on photo projects. But today, I thought I was going to go insane if I didn't shoot something.

The spiderweb outside my window was glinting gold in the sunlight. I saw a bird's nest in my favorite tree. There was a bird of paradise backlit by the setting sun in the middle of a parking lot outside the book store. These are the little things I absolutely loved today. While I don't feel better physically, I feel a little more calm and happy having seen and captured them.