Life: Through the Lens

Have you ever heard of Dale Chihuly ... a master glass artist? I had seen one of his indoor exhibits in Chicago a few years ago and was intrigued by his use of color and design and medium set in natural settings. Each piece of glass, or exhibit, tells a story meant to blend art and nature. Then just a week ago I accompanied my favorite 5th grade class, my classroom of budding photographers, on a field trip to Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, in Grand Rapids, MI, where a huge Chihuly exhibit was nestled not just indoors, but outdoors in waterfalls and ponds, over hillside and gardens. And I was blown away. His "fine art glass blowing" is exquisite. My photographers did an awesome job of "looking at different angles," developing artistic "compositions" and determining "point of view" - all vocabulary terms they'd learned during my in-school instructional time with them. This age group just soaks up the arts, and I am once again moved to f...

Travels near and far takes us to the zoo this week. The last day of summer vacation before school started, we took two of our grandchildren to the zoo and had an excellent adventure. The weather was nice and cool, perfect for the animals to come out and play. Okay, so maybe not ALL the animals wanted to play. The picnic lunch was perfect, too, and there's always ice cream for desert at the concession stand. The challenge with zoo photography is trying to get a shot of an animal without showing glass, or caging. One trick is getting in close so you can chase out that reflection, or shoot through the wires. And sometimes there's not much you can do. It depends on your equipment, to some extent. In this case, I just didn't have either enough lens to allow me to zoom in through the bars, or a way to get so close I could actually put the face of my camera between the wires. This was definitely not one of those kinds of photo opportunities, as you can see by the expression on h...

The Old 27 Motor Tour "Back in the Day" Every year they come through, those old car enthusiasts and their spiffed up rods. Making pit stops along the way, they drive a route that used to be traveled all the time, but now has taken second place to the highway. The highway - that sign of "progress." For a while in August, however, the Michigan "old 27" route is buzzing with the sound of mufflers, rough motors, and smooth ones. The sound of laughter evident, and the signs of a simpler time, as they say, are spit and shined for display. I remember my own pink poodle, Fifi , who went with me everywhere. Now here's a great way to travel. Ready to hit the road! So shiny you can catch the reflections of a glorious summer day. Automobiles "smile" as hundreds of people come out to photograph them. And luggage is packed for the journey...luggage which is as nostalgic as the vehicles. For a little while everyone relaxes and reminisces and remembers ...

Only 5 1/2 hours from home, and a new experience opened before us. We went with a group of fellow photographers to a beautiful national park near Cleveland, OH, and came away with sweaty clothes, mosquito bites, and memories of good times and photo opportunities. Every summer our photography group takes a field trip to a location not too far from home. Typically we leave on a Friday morning and return Sunday. The last couple of years we haven't been able to attend the entire weekend, but we go for whatever time we can. This year it was Friday and Saturday, returning in the evening so we could be here to photograph our airport open house on Sunday. Of course, the weekend was as hot and humid as most of our summer, it seems, so we did the best we could to stay hydrated, and apply mosquito repellant as we walked a wonderful walkway through a swamp, early Saturday morning. That walk was heavily traveled, we found, by a large number of cyclists, walkers, and beautiful wildlife. If we...

Sometimes all you need is a good book, or a good program, to take you away from your present location. For a while you can be lost in an adventure in a far away place. This is what Art Wolfe's Travels to the Edge does. Image by Art Wolfe Wolfe is a fabulous photographer, who can actually make a good living as an artist:). One of his many venues is public broadcasting, usually on Sunday night at 6:30 here. If you can't watch his program, all episodes are highlighted on his companion web site. He has 2 seasons of programs on places far and near, with information on how he got the shots, and what equipment he used to capture those magnificent photographs. There is also an episode about the making of his series. Image by Art Wolfe Of course, Wolfe has a crew to carry equipment and guides to get him into places most of us will never see. The people he meets and locations he visits are not only photographed, the cultures and ways of life are honored. So when you are looking for a g...

I learned a new term today. When I was teaching middle school I used to challenge my students to use "enhanced vocabulary," and today I had a flash-back to those years. "Gone West" to die; go west towards the setting sun; traced to WWI; traced to Mayan culture; signifies the loss of a pilot Pilots have a beautiful tradition when one of their own is lost, which involves having a group of pilots perform a formation fly-by overhead. As if the formation flying itself isn't enough, one pilot separates from the group, signifying a missing-man - the loss of a fellow pilot. Until yesterday I did not know that this missing-man flies west...into the setting sun. Yesterday my husband had the honor of participating in just such a tribute, flying in formation during the laying-to-rest of Earl, a pilot, a friend, a man who perished in the plane crash in Lake Michigan nearly two weeks ago. In this instance, 4 planes participated in the event. Daryl flew lead, in Earl's ...

We'll travel to the garden today, since mine is amazing me every day. When I planted my first real attempt to grow some lovely blooms, I was skeptical. My husband stood back with me and looked at my skimpy plantings and neither of us could see it coming to much. That's what lack of experience will bring you, I think. There are still "mistakes" that have been made. I thought I planted a few blooms which would be tall - that didn't happen. I thought I planted marigolds just to keep out the rabbits, and found they are a very powerful flower all by themselves! However, I am very pleased with my organized chaos, and am taking notes for next year. Along the way I have found other bloggers, like Traci , who have wonderful hints about growing fabulous blooms. I may even plant some hydrangeas, which weren't on my list of flowers to try. There are so many colors and textures out there, who said your garden needs to be the same each year? Live and learn! So whether it...