Merry and Bright

I love this time of year. I. love. it. ONE of the many things I love about Christmas is the Christmas tree. My Christmas tree. Mine is artificial (to me, the only way to go) and though it's a 6ft tree, it's a little bit scrawny (like a real one without the needles, ha!) but once I get done loading it with ornaments and garland and extra lights, it's one of the most beautiful things in my house. :)

For the first time in this project, I re-created a photo that I took last year. I used my Dad's star filter from his old 35mm film days and viola! a fun, merry and bright photo.  -Dina

This week's theme finally gave me the impetus to break open the boxes of Christmas decorations. Even though I enjoy doing this, some years I don't actually get around to it because I never spend Christmas at my own house, and I'm busy with a million other things. 

I also enjoy using my extension tube for macro shots. I dusted off this favorite photographic tool of mine so that I could get some close-ups of a shiny ornament reflecting the lights of the tree.  -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Silent Night

Getting Away

This week I really was getting away - from work, from home, and from most other people. I took a couple vacation days and spent some time at a bed and breakfast in Weston, Missouri with my girlfriend. It's a very quaint, quiet, small town about a half hour out of Kansas City. Since it was midweek during the off season, it was particularly empty of crowds and noise, which was very pleasant.

We spent most of the afternoon strolling up and down this downtown street, exploring the shops and museums. In the foreground of this shot you can even see directional signs telling you how to get away from there to other points of interest, which is exactly what we did. It was perfect little respite during a busy time of year for both of us. -Cort

When the weather gets snowy and cold, there are many people who dream of getting away to somewhere warmer! I'm fine with the cold and snow through December; once January hits, spring should begin. -Dina

 Next Week's Theme: Merry and Bright

Thanksgiving

One of the things that I (and I'm sure many others) love about Thanksgiving is that it's a holiday that is rich in tradition. The traditions can differ from family to family and can even change a bit over the years, but it's part of what makes the day so special. And creating new traditions is also something I am very thankful for. I love comparing photos, so I found a photo from my childhood taken on Thanksgiving to compare to today's Thanksgiving. I am thankful for my family, then and now. I am thankful that we got to spend many Thanksgivings with my Nana and Nanu. I am thankful for the abundant food that we have every year. I could go on and and on, but both of these photos show so many blessings and why Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. 

Fun photo fact #1: Please note the pyrex bowl on the table in the old photo. And though you can hardly see it, there was plenty of pyrex on this year's table as well! 

Fun photo fact #2: One of our new traditions is that we watch the movie UP after we eat Thanksgiving dinner. This year, after looking at the old photo, we noticed the uncanny resemblance that my Nanu has to Mr. Fredrickson. (Squirrel!!!!)  :) 

Fun photo fact #3: You can see the Pepsi bottles on the table in the old photo; and you can see the coke cans on the table in the current photo. My nieces have no idea that pop used to come in a bottle.  -Dina

It was a small Thanksgiving gathering this year for me. My parents and I joined my grandpa at his retirement home, which including a delicious meal and even a small private dining room. Too small, in fact, for a decent photo of the table setup or the people gathered around it (I didn't bring my wide angle lens with me). But it was a beautiful table setting, and nothing says Thanksgiving like lots of turkey and stuffing on the good china. -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Getting away

Old

 

 At some point during this year-long project, I wanted to pick two themes from one week to the next that are opposite one another. I think it can be interesting to see the contrast in our photos in subject matter and execution.

Last week's "new" photo had bright colors, clean lines, and lots of energy. This week's "old" photo is duller, darker, more organic, and more lonely. I took this photo in the West Bottoms neighborhood of Kansas City, which is actually one of my favorite parts of town, and one of the oldest. It has lots of brick streets, antique shops, haunted houses, and art studios. It sort of feels like the march of progress has left it behind, for better or for worse. I think that's why I like it so much. -Cort

 

I was super excited that Cort chose the opposite of new...what a great idea! I decided I wanted to photograph an old building. There are so many to choose from in the older sections of Omaha, closer to the river, but I decided to challenge myself to find an old building farther west. I landed on Boystown, which when it was founded was located on the outskirts of the city...pretty much out in the country. I photographed Father Flanagan's House.  It was constructed in 1927 and was the home of Fr. Flanagan until he moved into the Dowd Memorial Chapel's Rectory in the early 40's. The entire Boystown campus is beautiful and it was fun finding an old building out "in the country".  -Dina

Next Week's Theme: Thanksgiving (of course!)

 

New

Here is a photo of me in my NEW winter boots: just standing around, waiting for snow. And by snow, I mean just a nice light layer, nothing anyone needs to shovel.  -Dina

When I saw this week's theme, one of the first things I thought of was the word "NEW!"  that you see on every other product at the grocery store. In our consumerism culture, it seems that new is always better. So on my most recent trip to the store, I checked out the cookie aisle, and sure enough, there it was splashed all over the place. By my count, that word appears 28 times in this photo. -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Old

Squared

On my commute between home and work, I see this weird county government office building. Everything about this building is square - the windows, the tiles, the fixtures, everything. When you add in the reflections of squares in square windows, it's like they're exponentially increased - squares squared! -Cort

I wanted to use a square format to take a photo of something square. But wait, isn't that a 45 record. A round, 45 record? Why yes it is. And if you look close enough, you'll see that song #3 (3 songs on a 45: crazy!) is "You're so Square (Baby I don't Care) by Elvis Presley. So two squares, make for a squared theme. Sort of.  [Please note this is side two or side B and a second release. Bonus points if anyone can guess what's on side A.] -Dina



Next Week's Theme: New

Halloween

I love Halloween. It's such a fun kid's holiday, not to mention it's smack in the middle of the best time of the year. I knew I wanted to capture some part of Halloween night. My brother-in-law makes a delicious batch of chili every year and we fuel up before taking my nieces around their neighborhood. After dinner, I was hoping to get a photo of Lucy and Sophie in their awesome costumes...a vampire and a rose fairy. I envisioned all the gorgeous photos you see on photo blogs and pinterest: where the kids are happy and smiling and the lighting is perfect. Cut to reality; a very upset vampire who can't find her collar and a very anxious rose fairy who could care less about the vampire collar. By the time everyone got it together, it was dark, the collar-less vampire and rose fairy were running from house to house and no one would stand still for a photo. The one photo I did get when they stood still long enough, Lucy's eyes were glowing green, she was moving and she really looked like vampire. So I chose my second favorite part of the evening: checking out the candy. My dog Johnny was very tired from tagging along and thought it a good idea to take a nap on top of the Halloween loot! I hope everyone had a great Halloween!  -Dina

Every week or two, in my role as a support person, I help facilitate a "community night" with the Kansas City Jesuit Volunteers (I was a JV myself in Tacoma 10 years ago). This past week we spent the evening carving pumpkins. They have a wonderful front porch, which provided the perfect setting to show off our creations.  -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Squared