Saturday, April 3, 2010

April 3, 2010: March's Collage

I will be posting March's collage tomorrow.

April 2, 2010: View from My Front Porch

Last year I took a picture every month of my flower bed. I have been shooting this view from my front porch in every season. I will create a collage in December of these images. I hope it shows what I am going for. Wish me luck!

April 1, 2010: Healthcare


April 1, 2010: Healthcare, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Today's daily shoot assignement was to take a photo that represents what health care in the U.S. means to me.....The picture is of a bull....health care programs in the the U.S. to me are a lot of bull. Supported by the middle class and not worth the material that would come out of the animal. Not sure what to do to fix it but I fear the new program will not even begin to make things better.

March 31, 2010: Natural Light

Shoot something in its natural light today. My son and I stopped this afternoon and shot this picture of a couple of horses near our home. The light was nice and the horses friendly. I wish I had had an apple for them.....

March 30, 2010: It's Not Easy Being Green

A photo dominated by green.....hmmm.....Anthony created this poster of himself to welcome his students to his classroom. And he Andy Warhol-ized it by coloring it green. I love this man; he is a joy to be around; he loves his subject and his students. It has been a pleasure to mentor him and help him to learn the ropes this year. I hope he sticks around in the junior high for a bit longer.

March 29, 2010: AAAOOOOGGGaaaaaaa

Shoot something that represents a sound! The horns on top of the cab of this 18 wheeler grabbed my attention today. 18 wheelers have a distinctive sounding horn. Remember when you used to pump your arm at the truckers to get them to blow their horns.....

March 29, 2010: AAAOOOOGGGaaaaaaa

Shoot something that represents a sound! The horns on top of the cab of this 18 wheeler grabbed my attention today. 18 wheelers have a distinctive sounding horn. Remember when you used to pump your arm at the truckers to get them to blow their horns.....

March 28, 2010: Backlight


March 28, 2010: Backlight, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Backlighting an object can create drama! Not sure how dramatic the picture is but I love the way the bright white contrasts with the orange in the center of the daffodil.

March 27, 2010: Sidewalk View

I received my Bachelor's degree some 20 years ago from this university. Many renovations have been done during that time and this is possibly my favorite. They have made the area in front of the lab sciences building a "mall" like area lots of open grass lined with flowering trees. I am not certain what the building is in the background that is currently under construction but you can bet that I will be there for the dedication of it. I love my alma mater! Go Red Wolves!

Friday, March 26, 2010

March 26, 2010: The Letter "D"

Originally I was going to bypass today's assignment and strike out on my own, but upon selecting today's 365 I came across this picture. My husband, my son, and my nephew have places on my
dresser along with my son's almost 2 year old hand print. The assignment for today was to select something starting with the letter "D." "D" for dresser, "D" for dear, and "D" for Daddy, who knew this assgnment would turn out to be so meaningful.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

March 25, 2010: B&W Memories

The little guy got bored during our fishing trip yesterday. I made a comment in yesterday's post about him not touching worms because they were gross. But after a bit his curiosity won out and he spent time playing with them even though they were slimy.
Today's daily shoot assignment was to do a shot in black and white. I used Picasa 3 to edit one of the pictures from yesterday's fishing trip and convert it to B & W.
Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

March 24, 2010: Little Guy's First Fishing Trip



Today was the little guy's first fishing trip. I hope you enjoy the video for today. My husband was able to take off work and go with us. We fished with worms which the little guy said were "gross", but by the time we were into the 2nd hour of fishing he was playing with them. He never did touch the fish though; they were too yucky. We caught about three different types of Bream.


The little guy crashed on the couch for a power nap and was in the bed by 8 a.m. I am beat as well and will be crashing shortly as well. Today, was a good day and I am thankful we were able to spend the day together. He didn't wake up this morning until 9 a.m. We had two big days in a row.









Tuesday, March 23, 2010

March 23, 2010: Angles


March 23, 2010: Angles, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Photo Angles. Hmmmmm! check out how many angles are in this picture! We visited the zoo today and the little guy actually posed cooperatively at least at the beginning of the day!

March 22, 2010: Friends


March 22, 2010: Friends, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

My son and his friend enjoyed a springlike afternoon at a local playground. I invited myself to join the mom and her son. I am glad I did because the boys had a great time and so did the moms. Gotta remember to leave work early and revisit that park!

March 21, 2010: Spring


March 21, 2010: Spring, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

American Goldfinches are harbringers of spring in this part of the world. They arrive about the end of February and you can't tell the males from the females in their winter plumage. But as the month progress the males become more and more yellow. In this shot, there is one male on the right and two females on the left. I took this shot through the window which is dirty and the screen is on the window as well. Goldfinches are a bit bashful and will fly away at the least disturbance. Anyway, the image isn't of good quality but it meets today's assignment for a sign of spring.

March 20, 2010: Liquid


March 20, 2010: Liquid, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

How fortuitous that today's shoot assignment was to take a picture of liquid. I took a bunch of pictures at a local watershed lake and thought I would use one of them but my son took a picture of the deck after it had started to rain. I like the reflections in the water. The guest photographer is only 5 years old but really did a terrific job composing this shot whether it was a conscious effort or not. It doesn't matter, does it?

March 19, 2010: Low to the Ground

Today's assignment for the Daily Shoot is to shoot something a foot off the ground. My art teacher friend thought I meant for someone to jump up off the ground and me take their picture. That would have been cool but by the time I got around to taking the picture I had no subjects to perform the feat. Alas, the story of my life.

March 18, 2010: Something Old

As soon as I read the assignment for today, I knew what I wanted to take a photo of. This calculator was the first scientific calculator I ever used. It has seen me through undergraduate physics classes, graduate level physics classes, and it still works. I guess it is really like a timex, "It takes a lickin' but keeps on tickin.'" The buttons are incredibly difficult to pusch compared to today's calculators plus it isn't solar powered and it eats batteries like crazy.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

2 minute walk


2 minute walk, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Today, I took a 2 minute walk, turned around and took a picture. I am quite please with the symmetry, the Courage poster, and wow not a kid in the hall. That just might be a record!

3 Amigos


3 Amigos, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

These 3 kids are something else, especially the boy. They are very witty and fun to be around. Having students like these is quite a treat.

Monday, March 15, 2010

March 15, 2010: A daffodil


March 15, 2010: A daffodil, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

I wish I knew in advance what the daily shoot assignments were. I think I am double posting some. Anyway, today's assignment was to take a picture of a tree or a plant. So here is another view of the daffodils in my front yard. I plan to attend the daffodil festival either this weekend or next week if the weather holds. I have never been before but I hear it is gorgeous.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

March 14, 2010


March 14, 2010, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Catchlight in the eyes was today's assignment. Guess whose eyes these are. Yep, those baby blues belong to my now 5 year old son. He was very cooperative when I was trying to get this shot.

March 13, 2010


March 13, 2010, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Curves are very pleasing to the eye. When we put this retaining wall in the men, my husband and the contractor, wanted to make the wall straight. But I was not working and stayed after the installers to make this curve. I am glad I stuck to my guns!

March 12, 2010


March 12, 2010, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

The purple ramient symbolizes the King of the Jews that was hung on the cross. This symbol stands outside the 1st United Methodist church. A very powerful symbol. Don't you agree?

march 11 Breaking Rules 2


march 11 Breaking Rules 2, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

I changed the aperture setting to cause this image to be dark. The second image was taken with me standing in the dark garage and the cat sitting in the glaring sunlight on the driveway.

March 10, 2010 Downtown


March 10, 2010 Downtown, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Downtowns across the country have deteriorated as urban sprawl has pulled customers to the bigger flashier malls. In my town there is a concentrated area to bring the young professionals to town and with the surgence of liquor/private club licenses that have been handed out, the movement seems to be working. Plus, there are a number of loft apartments above the businesses. All in all, I think it a good thing seeing the old buildings with new life but there has been an increase of crime in the area as well.

I guess with anything good there is always the element of negativity that must rear its ugly head.

March 9, 2010


March 9, 2010, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Boots posed for this shot. She couldn't be bothered to look at the camera. She is truly a cat in her attitude, though sometimes I think she thinks she is a person.

March 8, 2010: Blues


March 8, 2010, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

The blues.....

March 7, 2010: My Favorite Flower


March 7, 2010, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

My favorite flower is the daffodil. Around here we call it the Easter flower because it blooms reliably at Easter. I love the vibrant yellow color, its cheeriness, and its unmistakeable odor. Plus, it is a harbringer of spring, my favorite season.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

March 6, 2010


March 6, 2010, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Regional Science Fair Results: My student, won 2nd overall and as such is eligible to compete in the Intel International Science and Engineering fair in San Jose, California. I am very proud of her. Her project was a statistical analysis of three gambling games, Keno, Rouellette, and Craps.

On another note, all 4 of the top projects were my current students and my former students. The kids rocked!

March 5, 2010


March 5, 2010, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

My students and I took a tour of the Biosciences building today as part of the science fair. We visited a class that was preparing birds for taxidermy specimens. On the bench is a female redwinged blackbird (foreground) and an American Kestrel.

My students were astounded that people know how to do this. And the girls thought the college guys were hot! I think they missed the point of the tour.

March 4, 2010


March 4, 2010, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

WOW! My just turned 5 year old is reading. He can take random flashcards, find the letters he wants and spell about 15 three letter words. I am amazed and frightened at the same time.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

March 3, 2010: Nearly Full Moon

I love driving to work with the man in the moon following me. The moon was so big but by the time I got to where I could take the picture the luminosity had faded. I know the people behind me thought I was crazy pulling to the shoulder of the road to take a picture. Any other morning no one would have been around! Geez!!!!

I guess I need a bumper sticker that says "this vehicle makes frequent stops for photo shoots."

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

March 2, 2010: Weird Fingers

After the test today, the students were showing each other crazy, sickening things they can do with their fingers. This kid won. He says his dad can bend his thumb so that it touches the top part of the joint. EWWW!

March 1, 2010: Trophies


March 1, 2010: Trophies, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Falling down on my promise to myself to keep up this month with blogging daily. Oh well, my life is so very hectic right now, I will just have to blog about images when I can squeeze in some time.

This photo is in response to the daily challenge of "athletic equipment/gear". The dance team at my school has an entire trophy case and then some devoted to the trophies the girls win at various meets. They are awesome and have a terrific coach that strives for perfection in herself and her "girls."

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Collage Feb 28th


Collage Feb 28th, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

And the month is over! I can't believe how quickly it flew by! I am ready for spring....and I promise to do a better job of blogging daily instead of rushing through on the last day of the month!

Feb27


Feb27, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Crayoloa themed birthday party was a HUGE hit with the 5 year old crowd that was present. The C-man received lots of nice presents and enjoyed his cake immensely!

Feb 26


Feb 26, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

The 5 year old's birthday cake.....I wish I had taken a little more time to get the green smoother.

Feb25


Feb25, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Birthday cake preparations have begun...cutting ice cream cones in half is tricky business. I used a serrated knife and sawed them on the mold seam and that seemed to work well. Tomorrow I will decorate the cake.

Feb 24


Feb 24, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Our school celebrated cultural diversity on the 24th as a part of Black History month. Speakers from assorted countries came and spoke to the students. This gentleman was my classes favorite. He is Pakistani and spent the majority of his time discussing arrangend marriages in his country and the rebellions that occur. He even said that "dating" as we understand it in the US is frowned upon by the older generation. He also spoke a bit on the rights of women in his part of the country as far as being advanced from the rest of his country.

Monochrome


Monochrome, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Blue is my son's favorite color. And wow look at the intensity of the blue shades....I did not use a filter of any type to capture this image.

Squares


Squares, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Today's assignment was to shoot squares....I think you get the point. How many can you name?

Feb21


Feb21, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Where would the world be without music? Yes I was grasping for picture ideas.

Feb20


Feb20, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Just a random picture of one of the little guys creations...he called it a tomb because Optimus Prime killed his Power Ranger. LOL what an imagination the kid has.

Visitor


Visitor, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

The little guy was so excited to see this visitor in the pasture land next to our house. He calls the cows his "friends".

Boots


Boots, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

So, she was wanting in badly. But she is an outside cat and the weather is lovely. I think she will adjust.

Science Fair Winners


Science Fair Winners, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

And the winners are.....31 of these young people are eligible to compete in the regional science fair.

Science Fair


Science Fair, originally uploaded by arholder2003.

Today was my 20th science fair. I have this down to a science. (no pun intended) People often ask about the amount of work that goes into the fair and they question if I get paid extra. I take that as a compliment.