ABCs

E is for Elephant.  I don't know how many times I said that this morning.  Learning the alphabet is an important part of children growing up, but it can also be a helpful exercise for photographers.  Not just because, "Me photographer, me need to know how to speak and write," but for many reason.

The other day I went out and about Knoxville and tried to find letters.  I had a specific word in mind because that helped me focus a little bit more.

But you would be surprised how hard it is to find letters, "in nature."

I love this exercise because it makes you look at the world differently.  It's a lot harder than I thought it would be.

I encourage you to try this, even without a camera!  It really helps you "see" objects not just how they are but as how you would like them to be. (Deep, right?)  So in the end I ended up with the word I wanted.

I'm still going to play around with the letters more, and also try to find some more letters.  Feel free to share what you find!

Dish-o-the-Week: Chicken Casserole with Biscuits

Who doesn't love biscuits in just about everything?  Mmmm...buttermilk biscuits.  The other name for this could be soup in biscuits.  It was a little runny, but once you mush up all the biscuits it thickens right up. As always, I kind of combined a couple recipes to go with what I had in the cupboard.  The recipe I used for the casserole called for store bought biscuits, but I had everything to make from scratch buttermilk biscuits.  So I did that.  You can find a great recipe for buttermilk biscuits in the Pioneer Woman Cookbook and it may be on her website as well.

As for the casserole, in a large sauce pan just add chicken, peas, mushrooms, salt, pepper, onion, and cream of chicken soup.  Heat it all up until bubbling and then pour it in the a casserole dish.  After that add the biscuits, store bought or not, on top and pop it in the oven for 25-30 min at 375.  It's great because it really is a simple dish, that will be great in those chillier months.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

It's a beautiful evening here in Knoxville, TN.  It's that time of year when you can feel the change in the seasons.  Summer is on it's way out and autumn is pushing it's way in.  I love summer, with all my heart, and I'm always a little sad to see it go.  I also love fall.  After all, my birthday is in the fall.  I love birthdays too.  I would be perfectly content if it would just go Spring, Summer, Fall...Spring, Summer, Fall...and skip winter all together.  As I was sitting on the back porch, pretending that I was not getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, I was thinking of how this week so far has brought a little bit of everything.  There's some good...there's some bad...and there's some ugly. Let's start with the good.  Good thing #1, pretty weather and beautiful evenings.

Good thing #2.  Speed Racer in a fit of "I'm tired of mowing around this," last night, demolished our little weird patio thing we had going on.  Now it looks like this....

So that's some progress.  I too hate mowing around that thing.  Good thing #3.  Speed Racer passed his motorcycle course and is now road worthy on this lovely piece of machinery.

I think it's hot.  Nuff said.

Good thing #4, and I have no pictures for this one, is I got a part time job!  Just call me Nanny McPhee, or yeah, something like that.  I will be babysitting/nannying two little ones each morning.  I start tomorrow, so as always, I'm a little nervous, but excited all the same.

The Bad.

So it's really not that bad, the bad and the ugly are going to be kind of combined in this section.  One "bad" thing is that due to my new job, etc, the blog might be a little crazy here for awhile.  I am still totally dedicated to it, and will desperately be trying to write every day, but if I slip...don't blame me.  Okay, well you can blame me, but don't point your finger at me.  Not a finger!

The Ugly.

I have chronic tonsillitis.  I have to have a tonsillectomy.  I have to have it two days before my birthday.

Like I said, the bad and the ugly kind of mingle on this blog.  And I swear, this is the least gross, but representative of what I have, photo I could find.  It's icky.

So, still more good than bad or ugly.  I'm not looking forward to my surgery but definitely want to get it over with.  I'll keep you posted, and wish me luck on my first day as a nanny.

Portfolio

Portfolio's are very important.  It's important to keep track of what you have accomplished over the years.  It's easy to get too busy to take a picture of something you've done, but make the time.  It will be worth it. In light of that fact, here is my portfolio from my Undergraduate studies until now.  It has a little bit of everything, sculpture, traditional black and white photography, photojournalism, digital, landscape, portraits, and weddings.

Camera Basics: Let's talk Composition

As in any art there are some basic rules that help you understand what is good and what is not good.  In photography there are some basic rules of composition that help you discover why the eye looks to certain parts of a photograph...what draws us to that point?  But really, for me, I love to break the rules.  And after all, they're just guidelines. One of the most famous rules of composition is the rule of thirds.   Basically you want to imagine that your photo is divided into nine equal segments by two horizontal and two vertical lines.  You want to put the point of your focus along these lines or at the points where they intersect.

Another example.  At times however, I feel it is fine to break this guideline.  Sometimes it works to have your subject right smack dab in the middle.

Another thing to remember in the rule of thirds composition is that if you do not want that sense of emptiness in the rest of the picture, it is sometimes nice to balance out the other space with other elements.

Another guideline of composition to keep in mind is perspective.  What are you intending the viewer to see?  This is one of my favorites.  Do you want to take the picture from up close? Far away? Above? Below?  Right on the level?  Anyone can just snap a picture but determining what is important in the photo is up to the photographer and your unique "perspective."

The human eye is also drawn to patterns and repetition.  You can draw the eye of the viewer by capturing unique patterns and where they end.

Another composition element similar to capturing patterns is the use of the natural line.  Our eyes follow lines, we follow lines all day long, so naturally we try to find the source.

Another interesting element of composition is the use of natural frames.  This could be a doorway, a window, trees, arches, or anything else that frames an interest.

Depth is also effective.  Here there are layered elements that keep the eye moving in the photograph.  First the field, then single tree, then tree line, mountains, and finally sky.  It would probably be even more effective if there was something more prominent in the foreground.

Cropping is the most direct compositional element.  You are simply saying as the artist, this is what I want you to look at.  Nothing else is important.  And it's quite effective.

Finally, the last composition element is background.  Having a simple, non-distracting background lets the viewer enjoy what is in the foreground.  Photography is a 2-D art, and so even though our eyes might easily separate what is in the foreground and background, it is harder for a camera lens to do so.  Get rid of the distractions either by focus or moving location, so that you can focus on your subject.

Those are some of the main composition elements to think about when you're getting started.  You can mix and match them, isolate them, or just plain ignore them if you'd like, but sooner or later they will sneak into your photographs without you even realizing it.

Sunshine Cookies

Because it's Wednesday, because it's raining, because the day got off to a rough start for just  about everyone I've talked to.  I made these cookies.  They are sugar cookies with butter-cream icing that has been dyed yellow.  They are delicious with a big ol' glass of milk.  They have made my day better. I got this sugar cookie recipe from my sister in law Olie.  I think it's a pretty wide spread recipe but it is by far my favorite.  It makes lots and it's really simple.

Like most sugar cookie recipes you start by creaming together the butter and sugar.  Then you beat in the eggs and vanilla, stir in the flour, baking powder and salt.

Then you want to cover it and stick it in the fridge.  I thought an hour would be long enough but the dough was still a little too soft to manage.  So I put it in overnight.

On a side note: I love vanilla extract.  That is all.

Once it's ready, roll out the dough on a floured surface and then bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes.  Then they come out all golden and perfect looking.

Once they've cooled you can top them with whatever kind of icing you dig.  What is not shown here is that I spent many an hour last night attempting to make my own butter cream icing, sans powdered sugar.  It didn't work out.  I moved on.  We got a divorce.

So this is actually Pillsbury butter cream icing, and it is fantastic.

I made lots.  Because everyone needs a little lift today.  Happy Wednesday!

Back to School and a bit of Bravery

It's back to school time.  A time when children will strap themselves to bed, so summer can last at least one more day.  A time when Mother's will try to hold back the tears and protecting arms.  A time of new shoes, bouquets of sharpened pencils, and haircuts. I use to get super excited about going back to school, cause, well I'm a dork.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE summer, very very much.  But especially when I was little, and the summers seemed long, I would get excited about seeing friends again and learning.  But most of all, I would get excited about back to school shopping.  As some of you know, I inherited my Grandmother's love of shopping and finding a good deal.  So back to school was just an excuse to go shopping! Hooray!

Inevitably however, the morning of the big day, I would find myself new outfit on, haircut, new kicks tied, backpack full of school supplies, bus note pinned to my chest, and absolutely feeling like I was going to puke my guts out.

Suddenly I would lose all care about friends, and realize that I was going to be in a crowd of people I didn't know, in a place that I would get lost in, and without  my Mommy.  This feeling has never gone away.  I was a wreck the first day my parents left me at college, and every first day at a new job ever since.

I know that everyone is nervous about change, and that change is always scary.  I know that doing things in spite of change, and in the face of nervousness is actually brave.  For a long time I thought of bravery as something reserved for hero's, for wars, and people who saved babies from burning buildings.  The truth is, that is beyond brave...that is unfathomable.  That is divine help.  But when I look around me in my life, I see people who are brave daily, and that is a hard kind of bravery.  Mother's and Father's who do it all on their own, friends who tell you the truth when they know you'll be mad, spouses who work at jobs they hate because it's best for their families, people who swallow their pride and take unemployment or lesser jobs than they are qualified for, people who help strangers, people who embrace family struggles or a family that may not embrace them back, people who keep trying no matter what it's about.

Bravery can be a lot of things, and most of all it's about being vulnerable to change because you know it's right: whether it's letting a child go and grow up, or getting on a big yellow school bus while holding your brothers hands.

Sunsphere

I took a very hot walk around Knoxville the other afternoon, hunting up some photos for another project.  But as I was glancing around the horizon line my eye caught, as always, on the Sunsphere.  It's a pretty cool structure and one of the most famous one's in Knoxville.  I realized that even though I've been here for awhile now, I really don't know much about the Sunsphere.  So here is what I have learned, I'm not sure if all of it is true, but here it is all the same. 1. The Sunsphere was the symbol for the 1982 World's Fair.

2. It is 266 ft high.

3.  It was designed by the Knoxville Architectural firm, Community Tectonics.

4. The tower's window glass panels are layered in 24-karat gold dust and cut to seven different shapes.

5. It weighs 600 tons.

6. In the early morning hours on May 12, 1982, a shot was fired from outside the fair site and shattered one of the sphere's windows. No one was ever arrested for the incident.

7. On Sunday, May 15, 2000, nuclear weapons protesters scaled the tower and hung a large banner that said "Stop the Bombs." They remained on the tower for three days before surrendering to police.

8. It's really cool.

9. It's full of leprechauns.

10. It use to be a restaurant.

Like I said, all these MAY or MAY NOT be true.  But it's worth exploring.  And now you have some facts on your local landmark.

Cat-astrophe

If you look at this darling kitty cat and think, "Aw she's sweet, she's innocent, she's adorable and cute."  You would be very wrong.  Don't get me wrong, I love our kitties.  I love them and squeeze them and make them mine.  But there are times when I imagine barbecuing them, or even worse doing things to them that they do to me.  They seem sweet and innocent now, but wait until you discover their true nature. Like this!!

Okay, so maybe they aren't THAT bad, but I was pretty furious last night.  Let me start at the beginning.

Last night I had a fabulous family dinner with Speed Racer's side of the family while he is out of town.  We spent some time talking afterward and I just thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Little did I know what was awaiting me at home.  I drove home, enjoying the night weather.  Happy.  I pulled into the garage and as I got out of the car I smelled a fragrant odor.  It was pleasant and yet familiar.  And then it hit me.  It smelled exactly like the scented oils that we have on top of the refrigerator.  Oh, no.

I rushed up stairs and the fragrance hit me in the face like a tsunami.  And there it was.  All over the kitchen floor.  I quickly locked the evil culprits in our room to keep them from getting into the gooey mess on the floor.  At first I was just frustrated more than anything that I would have to clean all this up.  But it got worse.

As I began to mop up the oily goo with paper towels, the color of the floor started to come up, and then the floor itself.

I frantically made some calls, first to my parents, then to Speed Racer's Uncle, and Speed Racer's Uncle finally called in the big guns, Speed Racer's chemical engineer Grandfather...Papaw John.  According to Papaw John, our floors are linoleum.  Linoleum it turns out, is an asphalt product.  Oil, any kind of oil really, dissolves asphalt.  (You learn new things every day).

Basically there wasn't anything I could do.  I could try and get up as much as the oil as I could, but as for the floors the chemical reaction had already started, and no one could tell when it would stop or how much of the linoleum had been dissolved.  So, I got the laundry detergent out and scrubbed those floors like there was no tomorrow.  The detergent worked very well actually and helped get the gooey mess off to the point where you could at least walk over the space.

I woke up this morning completely expecting a long hole in the floor.  But luckily there wasn't.  It looked exactly the same as last night.  I called Speed Racer this morning and gave him the unfortunate news, he took it like a champ.

I do always try to look on the  bright side, and here are some good points.

1. We are going to replace these floors anyway, and they have been in this house since it was built.  Not the end of the world.

2. At least it wasn't the hardwood floors.

3. Our house smells very nice right now...strong, but nice.

4. The kitties were not covered in goo, and as far as I can tell, did not lick any up.

So yeah, the bright  side.  And no dear readers, I have not killed the kitties.  As I sit here, drinking my coffee and typing away, Ms. Brisco is quietly purring in my lap, trying to tell me she's sorry, vaguely smelling of perfume.  I lean down, scratch around her ears, and quietly whisper, "Just wait until Speed Racer gets home."

*Side Note: From what I researched online, this can also happen with vinyl floors, or take the finish off of wood products.  Take the warnings on the label of the scented oils very seriously whether it is Glade or some other brand.  Do not put them around anything you care about, including your floors.

Dish-o-the-Week: Homemade Mac N' Cheese

I know, your mouth is watering already right?  Who doesn't love Mac N' Cheese?  Crazy people that's who!  I'm pretty serious about my mac n' cheese if you can't tell.  Actually, Speed Racer has had to cut me off from Easy Mac...I wish I was joking.  I had a little bit of an Easy Mac problem there for awhile. My sister in law Olie saw this recipe in the Pioneer Woman cookbook and highly suggested I make it.  I think she was implying that I make it when she was around so she could partake in it, but alas, she lives too far away.  Sorry Olie!  But I'll make more mac n' cheese next time I see you, I'm just making sure I get the recipe perfect first.

So here's what you need.  Pretty basic really.

First you want to cook and drain your macaroni noodles.  You want them a little hard since you'll be baking them in the oven later.

Now we're going to start making the delicious cheesy sauce.  On low heat, we're gonna mix the butter and flour.

Then I added the milk and spices.

You want to keep stirring the sauce until it gets like milkshake thick, then switch it to low heat.  Next I whisked the egg and then tempered it with some of the sauce to keep it from cooking when I poured it into the sauce.

Then more spices. And cheese.

Delicious!  Mix it all together, until it's gooey and wonderful.  Then put into a baking dish and top with.....more cheese!  Because honestly, most things cannot have enough cheese.

And then...enjoy.  It really is a great comfort food, and it's fat free!  Just kidding.  I wish it was, but you can always pretend.