Shadows and Reflections Photo Essay

I’ve got a new camera and I’m in love! More on that later, but today I’m sharing my photos from Fathers’ Day, with a theme of shadows and reflections in a photo essay.

As I’ve been learning about my camera and lenses, I’ve also learned that choosing a theme for the day helps to organize my creativity and my output. My relatives and friends will tell you that there’s only so many flower photos they can stand in one day!

My day started with church and the beautiful light that comes in through side windows in our altar area. That set my theme for the day.
Shadows and Reflections: Photo Essay

We went to the Art Institute of Chicago in the afternoon specifically to see the exhibit America after the Fall: Painting in the 1930s. This collection will be shown until September 18, 2016, and I highly recommend it. The show includes well-known works by Grant Wood, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keefe, and Thomas Hart Benton. While resting on the chairs outside the exhibit, I noticed that the glass wall of the exhibition hall was reflecting both the outdoor garden and the people walking by.

Shadows and Reflections: Photo EssayAfter we viewed the exhibit, we visited some of the other art galleries in the Modern wing of the museum. There were some winners, but I have to admit, I don’t get a lot of what is called modern art. I wasn’t the only one; every now and then we would encounter another visitor laughing quietly at a piece of “art”. The following two pieces caught my eye due to their three-dimensional nature that caused shadows and reflections.

Shadows and Reflections: Photo Essay

Five Blues (Punj Neelay) by Rasheed Araeen

Shadows and Reflections: Photo Essay

We escaped to the cool basement rooms to see the treasures from Iran, and encountered beautiful tiles and artifacts.

Shadows and Reflections: Photo Essay

After we had our fill of art, Music Man asked for a pint of dark beer for his special day, so our daughter chose the Beer Bistro for our dinner. The beer list was wide-ranging, and the food was fresh and well-prepared. Of course, the camera came out to pick up a few interesting images.

Shadows and Reflections: Photo Essay

Mirrors make the best photos, and turning it into black and white highlighted all of the interesting architecture in this pub.

Shadows and Reflections: Photo Essay

There was some sort of metal tower out in the courtyard between the buildings, and the late afternoon sun caught its shadow.

Shadows and Reflections: Photo Essay

The metal tower again, framed by the barred window, a troll and a wine bottle inside the pub.

So what’s the new camera? It’s a 4/3 mirrorless Panasonic Lumix G7, and I bought a 14-140 zoom lens to use as my walking around lens. I am also borrowing a 100-300 zoom lens, which I’m pretty sure I have to buy from my friend. This camera fits in my purse, is lightweight, and takes lighting fast photos. I’m hooked!

GotMyReservations Coffee Thank You Sign Off

Spring Flowers in the Garden

As soon as it is reasonably warm enough to walk safely and comfortably, I like to visit the Chicago Botanic Garden at least once a week. I am lucky to have this amazing public garden practically in my back yard — it’s only about a 35-minute drive and as a member I get unlimited entry.

With the promise of a perfect day and glorious spring flowers in bloom, I headed up to the CGB with my camera, set on manual mode. I was determined to get some practice using manual rather than program or automatic modes.

IMG_6554-001

I saw a beautiful yellow finch in the parking lot, but this was the only bird that I captured in the park.

I saw a beautiful yellow finch in the parking lot, but this was the only bird that I captured in the park.

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Looking for the light revisited

Hey, friends! It’s nice to see you again. Thanks for sticking with me. I’ve been busy taking photos!

GotMyReservations Reflection

In photography class we are working on using natural light to illuminate our photos — to “see the light” is the hallmark of a good photographer. As bloggers, we know that a striking photo is important to our work. It’s also easy to use simple items to boost the light in your photos — try using a piece of white posterboard as a reflector. In this photo of a crystal punchbowl, I had a white foam core board over on the right, and the mirror also gave more reflected light. You may remember this mirror from a previous post about creating vignettes. I also posted another photo the last time I took a photography class. I’m very consistent. 🙂 Continue reading

Favorites of the Week

Sometimes I have things to share that are short and don’t really need a full blog post. My niece Jessie does a Saturday wrap-up post that I always enjoy, so I decided to try it myself. I hope you like my random thoughts. 🙂

Favorite photos

I joined a photography challenge called the 365 Project and have been posting photos daily. The point is to actually take photos every day and get some feedback to improve your photography. I have to admit that I’m not always perfect about posting that day’s photo. Sometimes I get nothing and resort to “filler” shots from previous days, but it’s my project and I can make my own rules. Right? Here’s a couple of my favorites from the last few weeks.

I have taken many photos of this little girl (with her parents’ permission, of course), and she’s always wary of the crazy camera lady. I thought this shot captured her wariness perfectly.

Click into photo to link to my 365 Project.

Click into photo to link to my 365 Project.

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Eiffel Tower at Night: Travel Photo of the Day

GotMyReservations -- Eiffel Tower at Night

The Eiffel Tower is lit up at night on the hour and twinkles merrily for about five minutes. It’s worth the wait.

I’m linking up with Travel Photo Monday” at Travel Photo Discovery, Wordless Wednesday at Moving Through Life, and “Travel Photo Thursday” at Budget Travelers Sandbox, so stop by and get some more inspiration for your travel bucket list!

Got my bags, got my reservations,
Spent each dime I could afford. 
Like a child in wild anticipation, 
I long to hear that, “All aboard!”

Music and lyrics by Bud Green, Les Brown and Ben Homer (1944)

Travel Diary: A Travel Trip Through Memory Lane

As I was thinking about family this week, remembering that August 22 would have been my mother’s 83rd birthday, I decided to memorialize my parents by a trip through our travel memory lane. My father took all of the old slides with pictures of my brothers and me and converted them to photos. He gave us a photo scrapbook of all of these photos and they are a precious treasure trove that chronicles our growing up and our travels.

This is a personal journey that I’m making today, so if you’re not family or a really good friend, you may find you want to skip my grainy photolog. 🙂 Or maybe you have a similar set of photos in your closet that you’re willing to share …

GotMyReservations -- Mount Vernon Flower Garden

Flower Garden at Mount Vernon

Although there are lots of photos of me as a baby, it appears that we mostly stayed home or visited family in my early years. My father annotated the backs of the photos and he thought this first one was taken in about 1957 at Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home in Virginia. I turned five that summer and my brother was two. Since Dad was a teacher, we often took extended driving trips in the summer, dragging a variety of camping trailers behind us.

Here's a more current version of the garden at Mount Vernon.

Here’s a more current version of the garden at Mount Vernon.

My dad’s side of the family was from Cincinnati and we used to go to visit relatives fairly frequently. A visit to the Cincinnati Zoo was a treat, and Dad could not resist taking a leggy photo of Mom. Since she’s not pregnant here, this is probably about 1957.

GotMyReservations -- Cincinnati Zoo

Next on the memory lane is me at John Bryan State Park in western Ohio. Dad says this photo was taken about 1958. We always used to go on a fall color trip every year.

GotMyReservations -- John Bryan State Park

We visited the Ross County Historical Society Museum, in Chillicothe, Ohio.

GotMyReservations -- Chillicothe Historical Museum

My grandparents lived near Kansas City, so we sometimes visited them there. We also must have made a visit to the Harry S. Truman Library in about 1958.These two photos appear to be taken from about the same spot, but the second (professional) one has a lot more polish and landscaping!

GotMyReservations -- Harry Truman Library

Every Easter Sunday, after church we would go to what we called Mrs. Aull’s Garden (apparently we weren’t the only people) and take photos in our fancy clothes. My youngest brother is about two here, so it’s probably 1961.

GotMyReservations -- Mrs. Aulls Garden

Those yellow blobs on the hill behind us are all daffodils!

The hillside of daffodils still exists, and can be seen here via these copyrighted photos. Aullwood Garden Metropark is still a beautiful place to visit in Englewood, Ohio.

With our little family of five complete and mobile, we began to travel further afield.

And I began to get into those awkward years.

GotMyReservations --Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountain High

GotMyReservations -- Rocky Mountain Rocks

Occasionally my mom took a picture, but she didn’t seem to get the knack of focusing either.

In 1964, we went to the World’s Fair in New York. My husband, who had a traveling childhood similar to mine, remembers that they served $2.00 hamburgers and everyone thought that was highway robbery!

 

GotMyReservations -- Mount Vernon 2

We went back to Mount Vernon…

GotMyReservations --Monticell 2

… and to Monticello.

 

GotMyReservations -- Appalachian Mountains

I fell in love with the Appalachian Mountains all over again in 1967.

By the time I was sixteen, I had pretty much stopped traveling with my parents and was working during the summer to save money for college. The love of travel that they instilled in me never went away, however, and it’s a rare day that doesn’t find me dreaming about the next reservation to travel I’m going to make.

I’m linked up today to Wanderlust Wednesday at Time Travel PlansThe Tablescaper for “Oh, The Places I’ve Been”, Travel Photo Monday” at Travel Photo Discovery, and “Travel Photo Thursday” at Budget Travelers Sandbox, so stop by and get some more inspiration for your travel bucket list!

Got my bags, got my reservations,
Spent each dime I could afford. 
Like a child in wild anticipation, 
I long to hear that, “All aboard!”

Music and lyrics by Bud Green, Les Brown and Ben Homer (1944)

The View from Salzburg’s Hohensalzburg Castle

Today’s Photo of the Day takes us to Salzburg, Austria, for a view from the ramparts of the Hohensalzburg Castle, a medieval fortress dating from 1077.

GotMyReservations -- Salzberg, Austria

The view over Salzburg, Austria, from the Hohensalzburg Castle

For more Austria photos, check out my Austrian Pork Schnitzel and Cabbage Pasta Bake recipes, our visit to the Do-Re-Mi garden from Sound of Musicmy thoughts on visiting Vienna, our visit to The House of Music in Vienna, and Christmas in Austria.

I’m linking up with The Tablescaper for “Oh, The Places I’ve Been”, Travel Photo Monday” at Travel Photo Discovery, and “Travel Photo Thursday” at Budget Travelers Sandbox,  and Our World Tuesday so stop by and get some more inspiration for your travel bucket list!

Got my bags, got my reservations,
Spent each dime I could afford. 
Like a child in wild anticipation, 
I long to hear that, “All aboard!”

Music and lyrics by Bud Green, Les Brown and Ben Homer (1944)

 

Food Styling Remix: Seafood Cobb Salad

I really struggled with the title of this post. I feel as though it should be Adventures in Food Styling rather than highlighting the Seafood Cobb Salad that I remixed and then photographed twice for my home kitchen. Whatever the title, I’m baring it all today in the hopes of helping you to be a better food stylist by learning from my mistakes.

GotMyReservations--Seafood Cobb Salad Closeup

Seafood Cobb Salad Remixed and Rephotographed

We are always looking for what we call “Joe’s Fish” when we travel — the local seafood restaurant that offers wonderful seafood at reasonable prices that only the locals know about. Recently on our trip home from Ohio, we were determined to take the time to find a good lunch place near Indianapolis. By using my Yelp app on my phone, I found Mitchell’s Fish Market in Carmel, Indiana, and we were in luck! While not exactly Joe’s Fish, Mitchell’s is a supper-club style chain with excellent seafood and meat options on the menu.

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My out-of-focus photo shows you how Mitchell’s styled this Seafood Cobb Salad.

I ordered the special salad of the day, a Seafood Cobb Salad, and a lobster tail. As I do, I took a photo of the plate, but my iPhone seems to be having some issues with focusing. Maybe I’m doing it too quickly; I only include it to show you the original styling of this presentation.

Once home, I was determined to remake this delicious salad. I gathered together the makings of the original salad — two lobster tails, a can of crab, one pound of shrimp, two hard-boiled eggs, and a pound of bacon. Yes, the ingredients were expensive, but I made enough of the meat mixture to separate into frozen packets for at least four more servings. I spent a long time looking for the right recipe, but finally just created my own. I cooked the bacon until it was crisp but not crunchy, boiled the lobster tails for seven minutes and then immediately put them in ice to stop the cooking. I opened the can of crab, and thawed the precooked shrimp and pulled off the tails. I chopped it all into bite-size pieces. Pretty darn easy.

Most lobster roll recipes call for a mayonnaise-heavy dressing, but I tried lightening it up a little by adding a fat-free raspberry vinaigrette to some mayo. That worked nicely, giving the dressing a slightly sweet taste that was not overpowering. I put the salad on a bed of red-leaf lettuce and started taking photos.

This is where we get into the food styling fail. This is actually the BEST photo I got of the bunch.

GotMyReservations -- Seafood Cobb Salad Food Styling

  • To start with, the layers of the salad would have been prettier in a clear bowl, like this photo from Rachael Ray’s web site.
  • The egg is dominating the photo, rather than the seafood salad, and it’s not cut very carefully.
  • The deep red edges of the lettuce fade out without proper lighting and just look black — not very appetizing.
  • The plating of the seafood is not done carefully; it looks tossed on (as it was).

 

So what’s a girl to do? Remake the salad and buy a new lens.

With purchased lobster roll salad and more carefully thought-out styling, I rephotographed the salad with my new 50mm/f1.4 lens. What a difference!

First I tried it in a clear bowl a la Rachael Ray. My new Monet tea towel made a nice backdrop.

GotMyReservations--Seafood Cobb Salad Remixed Food Styling

 Then I tried it in the white bowl again. It’s amazing what a good lens and some careful food styling will do to essentially the same photo, isn’t it?

GotMyReservations--Seafood Cobb Salad Food Styling in White Bowl

What’s the moral to this story?

Both salads were very tasty; it’s pretty hard to screw up lobster. The bottom line is that in food photography, good equipment makes a difference, but it’s important to thoughtfully style the photograph before you use that fancy lens!

To Visit:

Mitchell’s Fish Market, 14311 Clay Terrace Blv., Suite 100, Carmel, IN  317-848-FISH

I’m linking up today at Open House Party Thursdays sponsored by No Minimalist Here. Be sure to stop by and visit some of the creative bloggers sharing their work!

Got my bags, got my reservations,
Spent each dime I could afford. 
Like a child in wild anticipation, 
I long to hear that, “All aboard!”

Music and lyrics by Bud Green, Les Brown and Ben Homer (1944)

Wordless Wednesday: The Morning after the Wedding

We’ve all been here.

The brilliance of the leftover flowers competes with the pick-me-up of a strong cup of coffee on the morning after that special wedding.
GotMyReservations -- The Morning After the Wedding

Sometimes I even embarrass myself.

I keep telling my family and friends to get over their embarrassment when I photograph everything in sight — especially at restaurants. But I knew I loved that coffee cup the minute I saw it; I grabbed it away from the person carrying it so that I could photograph it. You can see that the drip from her mouth is still on the cup. I was ruthless.

Fortunately, I appear to be in good company.

This post from Pioneer Woman about her fascination with Fire King Jadeite restores my faith in humanity. This is not the first time that Ree and I have thought alike. I’m just sayin.’

I’m linked up to Wordless Wednesday parties at Create With Joy and 5 Minutes for Mom. Be sure to stop by and leave a comment or two for the creative bloggers showcasing their work today!

 

 

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