THE LAST HOMEWORK: ALL ABOUT ME

Assignment: Four self-portraits done in specific ways.
(Never having taken a timed picture before I was forced into reading my manual and finding out how to do it!)

The first portrait had to be conventional and direct.

To do this I went into the bathroom where I could take advantage of both the bright light and large mirror over the sink. For my background I used the closed the door. Using my tripod and camera as a prop I took three direct portraits and chose the one I liked best. When I saw the pictures on the computer I realized I should have looked directly into the reflected lens instead of into my own reflected eyes.



The second portrait had to be a more impressionistic view of myself.

I tried a variety of ways to do this. Standing in front of the refrigerator, using the shadows cast by the Venetian blinds I imprisoned my face behind bars. I also tried reflections in a bank window, and our car. I even tried to situate myself so that the rainbow from one of the prisms hanging in our kitchen window would cross my face. Finally I settled on using our barrister bookcase. It’s one of my favorite pieces of furniture and I love all the little treasures we keep inside it. We used to keep it full of books. Now it sits in our dining/living room with three shelves filled with special objects, and with cookbooks on the bottom shelf. Our cranberry crystal is so pretty I tried a reflection there. Finally I focused the camera to take a reflection of me sitting in my favorite chair in the sun room sixteen or so feet away. After many tries I succeeded in setting the timer, running as fast as I could, jumping into the chair, and raising my arms in triumph just as the camera clicked! That was fun.




The third picture had to be a space that represents me in some way. I originally chose my desk.
It starts out mostly bare and immaculate on Mondays. Then come the bills, bank statements, various pieces of mail, reminders, the ever present desk calendar, and the secretary’s notebook listing my TO Dos. On top of that there are often the the items that fall into the category of “Where should I file or what should I do with this one?” Those kind of questions can go unanswered for a few days. It gets quite cluttered when I’m “in the midst” and often ends up in complete disarray by the end of the week. I first photographed "the mess," but when I uploaded it to the Blog I saw that there were too many names, numbers, addresses, etc. As a result I retook a picture of the whole room...a sanitized version of the space where I spend a lot of my time. It was more interesting than a now impersonal desk.

The fourth and last image had to say something about me.
There’s the arm of my favorite chair along with part of the quilt I put over myself while I read. We subscribe to the NY Times online. First thing every morning my husband prints out my favorites from the computer: Paul Krugman, Tom Friedman, Bob Herbert, Maureen Dowd, Gail Collins, Roger Cohen, Nicholas Kristoff, etc., along with other articles, editorials, and letters-to-the -editor he knows I’ll enjoy. Throughout the day, in small snatches of time, I read them. The New Yorkers, Health Letter, Scott Kelby’s book on Adobe Photoshop, and the library book I’m presently enjoying are all there waiting for me. I just love having an evening when I can sit down and read.
I like making my own notecards to send to friends and relatives. I am passionate about the Metropolitan Opera HD transmissions in our local theater. The timer is there because time often escapes me during the day and the timer helps keep me on track. I always carry tissues (hidden) and lozenges wherever I go. My political pin expresses my feelings politically. And, of course, the dictionary is my great friend when I’m not sure of or don’t know the meaning of a word. Sometimes, as a special treat, I’ll sit with my New Yorker and a huge bowl of popcorn made very specially by me, the old-fashioned way, in a tall pot on the kitchen stove…..the tenderest I’ve ever tasted.
Now that the class is done will I continue? We’ll wait and see. Maybe a good incentive would be to make a great, big, bowl of fluffy white popcorn to photograph and feature along with my recipe. I would have to eat it as soon as the pictures were taken, of course.

HANDS

HANDS: What they do, where they go, how they feel, what they tell us, and when…...
The hands that touch, feel, and show as well as the hands that are hiding in words. A meandering in pictures and words expressing hands not only as useful, telling or beautiful appendages but also as descriptive words. I shall meander with camera in HAND.

The telephone rang recently shortly after 8:OO a.m. I answered, and it was the Red Cross Blood Bank wanting to speak with Harry. I figured it was to remind him of his next appointment. He’s given blood since he was 19, twice a year while working, and since retirement every 54 or 56 days. (I can never remember which it is.) I was in the other room when I heard lots of talk coming from the study and thought that peculiar. Usually, they remind him of the date, he says he’ll be there, and hangs up. On this day there were words, sentences, and changes in the volume and pitch of his voice over a few minutes.

“Guess what?” he said as I stood at the sink brushing my teeth. His face was flushed and he was grinning from ear to ear. “I won an HDTV! I can’t believe it! I’ve never won a thing before!”

"I can HANDle this," he said with a great big smile.

Blog Class Homework

Homework: On Monday night our instructor told us
that during the coming week we were
to jot down our thoughts on waking and
start taking pictures while still in bed.

“Wow!" I thought, "how interesting!”
Next morning I wasn’t so sure.

I awoke from a dream at 5:12 on Tuesday morning.
In the dream a Google page was in front of me with my
computer’s cursor on the word, Knights,
and as I looked at it I was wondering how my husband’s
former small business got on the web!
On the following mornings there were no dreams
to analyze. My thoughts were mundane.
Is Harry still asleep? What time is it? What day?
What’s my schedule for today?
If I had projects I'd think about them and plan.
If my husband was awake I'd turn on the
bedside radio to NPR and Morning Edition.
I am a news junky.

My second thought was, TAKE PICTURES!
My camera waited on the small chest I use as a bedside table.
Although the bedroom is completely dark, lights from
outside cast a rectangular shadow of tree branches high
on the wall next to the bed. But it was so black the flash went off
creating a picture with no shadows, only an off-white wall.
Flash off, head on pillow, arms jammed against my body,
I breathed out slowly wishing to be motionless.
After a long exposure, Click, and I have the picture.
It’s good enough.
Suddenly my camera went black.

Legs swung over the side of the bed, feet on the floor, hand
switched on lights, and the mystery’s solved.
Camera battery was dead.
With lights on I was back in bed. On my side, on my back,
head plumped up on pillows so I could see my legs
stretched out with my feet at the other end.
Sitting up, I shot away. My camera has no Image Stabilizer
and I had too much handshake.
There was glare, blur, and dull. So much I didn’t like.
I wanted natural light, my tripod, and more options.

Over the next few days in the bedroom with afternoon light,
my camera, and tripod I experiment, look, and think.
Does everyone have habits or necessities that signal sleep time?
My husband always reads in bed under cool sheets. I snuggle in
under a warmed blanket before putting on wrist braces.
Next come the ear plugs. Lozenges sit nearby in case of a dry
throat, and always there’s a tissue.

My short, sturdy, little chest holds all my bedtime supplies.
One needn’t be a detective
to look at the drawers and know which ones I use most.
And finally, there’s the sweet little chair always serving
graciously, accepting the fact
that it was made solely to be put upon.
I realize I have a fondness for these inanimate friends.

Mmmm....

Glassy mouth gapes wide
Enticing.......baited to snare.
My hand grabs a cookie!

On a nutritional plan that concentrates on veggies - with as much variety as possible - including powerhouse kale and collard greens, as well as fruits, fish, whole grains, as little oil (virgin olive) as possible can we sneak in some desserts? Why, yes we can!

Now what an adventure that turns out to be! The hunt is to create a cookie that sticks as close as possible to the nutritional guidelines and is also a delicious treat! Will it have that ecstatic meltdown condition of a voluptuous rich dessert? Not likely. But will it taste good, be a treat, have a bit of sweet chew, crisp crunch, and chocolate? Mashing a banana, beating in almond butter, ground flaxseed, an omega 3 egg, and honey; sifting whole wheat flour, baking powder and soda, along with my favorite Chinese cassia cinnamon, and nutmeg; and then stirring in the walnuts, dried cherries and cranberries, along with 60% dark chocolate chips was time well spent! My final verdict? Yum!

The questions I've asked tell me that I want to spend more time involved with activities that satisfy like photography, cooking, baking, reading, writing, volunteering. And by learning how to blog could I accomplish all this while learning new skills? By taking pictures of the ordinary can I learn to see more of the extraordinary?

I've accomplished some things this week.
Tackling a new soup recipe created great satisfaction, a good meal and leftovers for another night! Furthermore, entrees are delighted to pose!

It All Takes Time

It all takes time. Whatever the activity, time is part of it. There are as many minutes in my day as there is in everyone else's but most often I feel I haven't enough, I'm running out, I'm short of time. As a result, I've decided to meander through my time. What takes my time? How do I want to use my time? What can I do to have more time or feel like there's enough? How do I make more out of the same amount?