From the Barefoot Files...

I don't know why -- but I have always liked this photo of my grandmother.  You can barely see a car in the frame and the house in the distance.  

She looks very young.  And there she is standing in the yard looking back over her shoulder.  She seems very caught off guard.  I know she did not like her picture taken.  Perhaps when she was young she did not mind -- of it was my grandfather taking the photo -- she may not have cared.

When I run across old photos like this I always wonder what was going on -- where is this and what was the situation.

The Pond and The New Camera

A few years ago I put in a small goldfish pond in the backyard.  It has been interesting to watch it mature -- frogs came, even a turtle once.  It is always good subject matter for photos.

Last week I did purchase a new pocket camera.  The model I ended up going with is the Canon SX120 IS.  This is a small camera -- but it has a big zoom.  The zoom is 10x and it is a 10 megapixel camera.  Of course, being a point and shoot -- it has limitations and drawbacks.  The biggest thing is the lag time.  Testing it out I took this photo of the pond.  

A couple years ago I put the iris in the pond.  This is the first year to have blooms.  I did take a few photos of the bloom -- and of course in color.  Every photo I take is in color and then, if I choose, I convert it to black and white.  This way I always have the best of both -- the color version and the option of black and white.  This photo is my favorite from the testing of the new camera.  I took it with the point and shoot -- no cropping.  When I took it I did think the photo would look best in black and white.  To show the different textures, types of leaves, reflections, etc. -- monochromatic would be best.  The contrast was tweaked a bit and that is all.  The bloom of the iris is almost lost -- but looking through the photo to see everything that is there, you find the bloom.

From the Barefoot Files...

This is an old photo that I really don't know much about.  At one time I thought this was my aunt -- but I think the little girl is my mother.  The woman is my grandmother's aunt.  Guessing the year puts it about 1941-ish.  It looks like there is a small bunch of daisies in my mother's hand.

A lot of the old photos in my collection have a car in the picture.  I think it is as interesting to see the cars as it is to see the people and their clothing.  

The 365 Project Update

Today is day 139 in the 365 project.  I have yet to upload the photos of the day and choose one for #139.   At this point in the day-- it won't happen until tomorrow.  Since beginning the project on January 1 -- I have been very good about it.  It is getting easier.  For the most part -- I took photos often anyway.  Perhaps not every single day -- but most days.

The project is a bit misleading -- 'take a photo a day for a year.'  Well, you take more than "a" photo a day; at least I do.  I take at least 10 photos.  Today I spent some time around the pond.  I got some nice shots.  Some days it is hard choosing the one for the day.

So far it is fun to look back over the photos of the year.  The shots from January and February do look like winter.  Seeing the green show up in March and more color in April really show spring.

There are times I wish I had the camera with me and I don't -- and then I miss a great shot for that day.  A couple days I have taken my husband's pocket camera with me -- small, easy to carry -- and it is nice.  My S2 IS died and I have been thinking of replacing it or not.  Then I think with the couple DSLRs I have -- do I really need to replace the S2 or should I look for a more pocket sized camera?

After spending a few days poking on the internet I think I have decided on a new one -- the Canon S90.  I still have not made the purchase yet -- thinking it over more.  Those new pocket sized cameras with the bigger zoom are interesting.  I found a Canon SX120 IS at Target yesterday for less than $200.  That camera has a 10x zoom.  Sometimes I think there are too many choices...