vintage blur

So who doesn't enjoy a challenge? Or two?

For weeks I've been promising Lissa Forbes that I would join her Walk and Click Wednesdays. Combine that with Kat Sloma's challenge to experiment with artistic blur, her latest assignment in her Come Exploring with a Camera...and an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon, and you get the following golden opportunity:

A chance to wander around town (as opposed to biking through it) with camera in hand...nothing and nobody to answer to except for my muse. TBQH I would have been biking if I didn't have a cold.

I started at the Clear Creek History Park in Golden, where my curiosity payed off: I peeked inside the windows of a tiny cabin, put my camera right up against the glass and...I hit pay dirt! Shooting through a dirty window into a darkened room on a sunny afternoon got me just the effect I was after. I did play with the images in Lightroom, cropping, then lightening them up and playing just a tiny bit with contrast; but not too much; I didn't want to destroy the ghostly quality that I felt when I shot it. I did apply a sepia-toned Lightroom preset to all of the photos here.

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These images reminded me of a group of photos I took early last summer at a ranch up in the mountains, where I had the luxury of spending several hours playing with my new Lensbaby, designed for in-camera creative blur effects. So I picked out a couple favorites, again applying minimal photo editing.

Now the site of a private 15,000 acre ranch, this land high in the Colorado rockies once produced lettuce and green onions, which were shipped by rail directly to Denver, circa early 20th century.

xoxo

Cindy

vision

The first assignment for Kim Klassen's Beyond Beyond year-long class, and I'm actually on time.

A simple assignment such as this - one subject + several shots/settings/views - made it irresistible to me: I just had to get out my camera and shoot something. No time for over thinking..."Think YOU," she said...so I grabbed the first thing I thought of.

Kim's thoughts about being in the moment also resonated with me. It seems I am always trying to squeeze in a swim workout or a bike ride. So I pondered this part of the assignment as I swam my laps Thursday morning before work. It's pretty hard not to be in the moment when you are swimming, especially just as you get into the water (my least favorite part of the whole routine). Once I am warmed up and gliding through the water it becomes a soothing, insular, other-worldly experience. Oh, I stop now and again to catch my breath, wipe the fog from my goggles and adjust my earplugs, sometimes chatting briefly with the swimmer in the lane next to me. But it's mostly just me and the water. And the breathing. And my thoughts.

Swimming is for me a meditative, contemplative, often visionary experience - and a great way to start my day. I often climb out of the water with a great idea or some sense of clarity on some subject in my life.

Or at the very least, peace in my soul.

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Pretty simple post-processing here: I imported about 30 shots into Lightroom, where I culled it down to three, which I fine-tuned a bit and cropped into squares in the Develop module and arranged into a custom Print Module layout. Then I applied a couple RadLab filters: Contrast and Highlight Separator at about 50%. Then I edited in Photoshop, applying two layers of Kim's kk_chill texture - at 60%Soft Light and 20% Multiply blend modes.

xoxo
Cindy

a cuppa...with meaning

I love Kim's challenges in her Beyond Layers class...only I am usually late completing the assignment. Today's post is almost two weeks late. By the time I receive it in my inbox, read it, mull it over in my mind, come up with a photo-op, shoot it (several takes...and I do mean several), load them into Lightroom, choose one, and edit it some more in Photoshop....well, you can see why it often takes me a couple weeks to get it up on my blog, where I then write about it.

All of this is done in a piece-meal fashion - a bit at a time, slotted in amongst the daily routine and events of Life.

So Kim's Cuppa Challenge involved a cup, a book, and an accessory. I more or less followed Kim's recipe, but it needed Something Else, so I experimented with several of her textures, finally settling on her kk_addsomenoise1 (Screen layer mode 77%) because it added some nice wrinkles...like this well-worn favorite book.

I first read this little gem a few years ago, and recently was inspired to pull it out again and glean something new from it. Dr. Frankl did not disappoint.

Oh, and BTW, one reason I shot so many takes is because I was desperately trying to fit the flame-in-darkness image on the book cover into my still life set-up, but it just didn't work.

Flame. LIGHT. My One Word for 2013. On my honor, it was just one of those serendipitous happenings you stumble upon occasionally in the creative process.

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The sweet old-fashioned teacup is a family heirloom that belonged to my late mother-in-law, Vernetta Swainson, whom I never met. I do know this: she lived for her family, delighting in being a wife and mother. I'm going out on a limb here, but I suspect that she didn't have to search very hard to discover the meaning of her life.

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He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.

Friedrich Nietzsche

as quoted by Viktor Frankl

one little word

I first heard about the One Little Word Project from Ali Edwards a couple years ago, but I've never been inspired to participate until now. I couldn't squeeze in another online workshop or else I would have signed up for Ali's class. Actually I wasn't even planning on doing it on my own this year either, but a few weeks ago the word seemed to choose me. Funny how that works.

As this new year begins, this One Little Word kinda sums things up for me:

I believe that Jesus Christ continues to light my path.

I feel hope during dark times when I can see a light at the end of the tunnel.

I try to enlighten others through the gift of my creativity.

I am discovering that "it's all about the light" in photography and art.

May your New Year be full of light, happiness and peace.

xoxo

Cindy

finding the light in darkness

I have had an email notification in my inbox for a couple weeks now, the latest newsletter from Kat Eye Studio, with an invitation to join in Kat's Exploring with a Camera series.

I love Kat's insights on photography, creativity, and life. With the extra busy-ness of the Christmas holiday season, I didn't really have time to do much with it...until now. This is the first time I've participated in one of Kat's challenges. TBQH, it's partly because I already had a couple decent shots that would fit the bill. But, more importantly, the title "Find the Light in Darkness" has been whispering quietly to me from the shadows, calling to mind the words from a favorite Advent hymn, A Season of Light. When I googled the hymn, searching for lyrics to share, I found this wonderful post.

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In photography, it's all about the light. And in night photography, that light is all the more precious -  and elusive with a camera.

This is a shot of my brother Greg's home, where our extended family gathered for Christmas Eve. When we drove up, my nephews, Danny and Joey, were busy setting up luminaria (see my previous post). I quickly darted out into the cold night to try and capture the beautiful effect. Just my handheld camera + my 50mm lens, set to Aperture Priority. These images speak to me of the hospitality and warmth of the Christmas season...if you look closely you can peer into the windows where everyone was having a good time!

I quickly arranged the two best shots into a Lightroom layout (thank you again Kim Klassen) and here we are...these shots are SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera).

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God of all power

You kindle the stars

spark in your people

spark in us a season of light

xoxo

Cindy

una tradizione di famiglia Notarianni

Translation: "a Notarianni family tradition."

Like any tradition, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when/how this all started. It seems to have evolved over the years until it became a formula of sorts. Several years ago my mother, aka Grandma, thought it would be fun to teach her seven grandkids how to make pasta, as taught to her by her father-in-law, Gregorio Notarianni, who was taught by his wife, Della.

You know, I do remember making pasta with our Grandpa when we were kids. Specifically ravioli and gnocchi. He even taught us how to make ricotta cheese.

Greg, Cindy, Adrienne, Lissa

making ravioli with our Grandpa

November 1969

We seemed to settle on gnocchi, probably because it is a bit more practical to make by and for large crowds. Gnocchi - pronounced nyocky - is made with mashed potatoes kneaded into the pasta dough, which is then cut into little pieces and rolled on the gnocchi board to get the ridged texture.

Erin and Kelly

making gnocchi with Grandma

December 1999

(same kitchen, same table....30 years later)

In recent years, more than one grandkid has been heard asking if/when we were going to be making pasta for Christmas Eve - as early as mid-October.

Then we would all gather on Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa's house to feast on the fruits of our labor, topped with homemade sauce: ragu - pronounced rah-ooh in our family's own dialect, and served with homemade bracciole - bra-jhole -, meatballs and sausage. Let me tell you: it's heaven on earth.

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This year, Grandma decided it was time to "pass the torch" and let us kids and grandkids take over everything, from making the ragu to hosting the dinner. Kelly and Aaron offered to make the ragu and bracciole at their place a few weeks ago. I hosted the gnocchi-making party at my place a week before Christmas...you gotta let the pasta air-dry for a few days, then freeze it (my sister Adrienne was in charge of that part).

Wisely, Grandma stepped back and only offered input when called upon for clarification, like "Do we add the potatoes to the flour "volcano" before or after we fill it with the beaten eggs?" (there was a serious debate going on here); she was also called upon to poke her finger into the dough to determine if we had kneaded enough flour into it.

Aaron and Kelly offered to make the ragu and bracciole at their place a few weeks ago. I hosted the gnocchi-making party at my place a week before Christmas...you gotta let the pasta air-dry for a few days, then freeze it (my sister Adrienne was in charge of that part).


MAKING CHRISTMAS DINNER from Cindy Swainson on Vimeo.

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My brother Greg and his wife Lynn hosted dinner for 17 people on Christmas Eve, complete with dozens of luminaria (Lynn hails from Albuquerque) and a White Elephant gift exchange.

This year's celebration was extra special because everyone was home for Christmas, so Grandma had all her children and grandchildren gathered around her.


CHRISTMAS EVE from Cindy Swainson on Vimeo.

Buon Natale!

xoxo

Cindy

what Christmas is all about

'And there were in the same country

shepherds abiding in the field,

keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,

and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:

and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them,

Fear not; for, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy,

which shall be to all people. 

For unto you is born this day in the city of David

a Savior,

which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you:

Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,

lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel

a multitude of the heavenly host praising God,

and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace and goodwill towards men.'

Luke 2:8-14

In the immortal words of Linus, "...That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown."

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Merry Christmas!

xoxo

Cindy