Nothing to See Here

Whenever I hear the phrase, "Nothing to see here," it makes me think that there IS something to see here, it's just that the person saying it doesn't want you to see it, and wants you to go away. A locked gate is a way of saying that without words, and it just makes me want to peer inside.

This gate leads to an abandoned, decaying pool in my neighborhood, which is kind of sad, especially in the summer, when it should be filled with children and squirt guns and beach balls. At night it's downright creepy, but since I can't get inside, there really IS nothing to see from this side of the gate, except the orange glow of the city night sky in the distance. 

By the way, the pool is scheduled for demolition later this year, and I can't wait for this space to become a vibrant part of the neighborhood again. -Cort

 

Nothing to see here....for now. In 27 days though, there will definitely be something to see! -Dina

Next Week's Theme: Close up 

That was Then, This is Now

My house back in 1972 when it was brand new and now in 2013. I love seeing the differences (TREES!) but I was happy to take the picture on the same kind of sunny day with blue skies and fluffy clouds and with another red car in the driveway (too bad it's not the same red mustang, ha!). -Dina 

Then: My nighttime companion when I was a young child was Dappy Dan, and if he wasn't around, I felt lonely and somehow incomplete. Now: My nighttime companion is my dog Ringo, and if he is not around, I feel lonely and somehow incomplete. I have held onto Dappy Dan all these years, and watching Toy Story 3 guilted me into bringing him out of storage and letting him see the light of day (I can't be the only one to have this reaction to seeing that movie, right?). Anyway, I tried to pose them together, and Ringo was having none of it, so I left to do other things. When I came back, there he was asleep, embracing Dappy Dan, just like I did about 35 years ago.  -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Nothing to see here

Frozen

During what is typically one of the hottest weeks of the year, I thought it would be fun to photograph the opposite. But instead of frozen temperature, I went with frozen time. I used a really fast shutter speed (1/1000) to shoot a water fountain. I love the abstract shapes and patterns that are formed, which the human eye misses because it's all happening too fast. Freezing the action like this allows you to see something mundane in a whole new way. -Cort

One of the things I love about photography is the ability to capture all sorts of moments: wow moments, beautiful moments, and day to day moments.  I am lucky enough to have dinner with my Dad and my Sis and her family a couple of times a week and I wanted a picture of this ordinary event. It isn't that remarkable of a photo, but someday I hope that my nieces might look back at this moment frozen in time and realize how special our ordinary dinners really were. -Dina

Next Week's Theme: That was Then, This is Now
 

Happiness

Happiness is watching a mama hold her brand new baby. -Dina 

I am showing you a photo from one of my happiest moments this past week, which was riding The Hulk, the first Universal Studios attraction we enjoyed on the first day of my week-long trip to Florida with my 12-year-old godson, Jerad. We spent two days at Universal, and this coaster was one of our favorite rides. Jerad rode it three times, and he's somewhere in this photo.  -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Frozen

Independence

My Independence photo didn't quite go as planned. I had tickets to the Kansas City Royals baseball game on Wednesday night, and they were planning a huge fireworks show after the game. As we approached the stadium, it started raining, so we stopped at a nearby restaurant to wait out what we thought would be a brief passing shower. An hour and a half later, it was still raining, so we gave up and went home. The game ended up started two and a half hours late, so I'm glad we didn't stay!

So instead, the next day I joined my parents at a fireworks show close to their house, which was still nice, but not nearly as impressive as what the Royals fireworks show would have been. Nonetheless, I got some decent photos of some fireworks celebrating our country's independence 237 years ago. God bless America! -Cort


 

Besides the American Flag, fireworks are right up there at the top of the list of what symbols are associated with Independence Day. It was a lot of fun setting up my tripod and using my camera remote to get some fireworks photos this year. I like how this shot has red, white and blue in it. Happy Birthday America! -Dina

 Next week's theme: Happiness

Camera

I love cameras. I have loved them since I first started using a Kodak Instamatic to take photos of my stuffed animals on the couch. The camera on the left is my Nanu's Kodak Jiffy (twindar) camera, circa 1933-1937 and the camera on the right is my current camera, the Nikon D5000. (This photo was taken with my iphone camera). It's amazing how far cameras have come. In fact, my nikon is about 4+ years old, so it doesn't have a lot of the bells and whistles that cameras nowadays come with. What isn't shown are all the cameras in between. Some of the fun ones I've had are the Kodak disc camera (boy, that was so cool and so much fun!), the Kodak Advantix Camera that let you pop your film cartridge in and then you could choose 3 x4, 4 x6 and/or panoramic, or my very first digital camera: the Sony Mavica, which used a floppy disk. What? I know! It was amazing when I first got that camera and to think, my phone takes better quality photos now then that one did. The history of cameras is fascinating and I can't wait to see what the future holds! -Dina 

For the first time ever, I have captured a lightning bolt with a camera! It's not really an outstanding photograph, but it's still not easy, and it's even more difficult during the day, since you can't leave your shutter open and wait for a bolt to happen. You really need three things to get a shot like this:

1) Luck. Be at the right place at the right time. I was on a rooftop terrace looking west as a storm rolled in. And also, press the shutter at just the right time.

2) A camera. I almost always have a camera with me, even if it's a pocket point-and-shoot. Moments like this can arise unexpectedly, and I want to be ready to capture it.

3) Knowing the camera backwards and forwards. During fast-changing situations like this, you can't be fumbling around with the camera trying to figure out how to change the shutter speed or turn the flash off. Before you know it, the moment is gone.  -Cort

Next Week's Theme:  Independence

HIdden Agenda

When I think of who or what in my life might have a hidden agenda, I think of my dog Ringo. For a few weeks, I noticed he was more anxious than usual to go out after I got home from work, and much more reluctant to come back in. Also, he would just sit at the edge of my yard, and stare through the fence at the neighbor's back porch, which is what you see in this photo. I knew there wasn't an innocent explanation for this.

After close surveillance, I determined that it was because my neighbor was sneaking him some leftovers from the grill. For some reason, Ringo prefers this to his normal meal of dog food. Mystery solved, hidden agenda exposed!  -Cort

 

Wild Strawberries. I'm sure that most think these teeny, tiny berries exist to feed animals and birds, look cute and even smell good. But they have a hidden agenda: World Dominance. If you get wild strawberries in your yard, your grass, or your garden, you will never, ever get rid of them. Ever. And they spread. Like wildfire. Or wild strawberries. They are slowly taking over the world. -Dina

Next Week's Theme: Camera