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I'm not a big fan of abstract art usually... although some of it I really like. So today, just to try something different... I took some photos while we were eating dinner at Chili's ... of the lights in the bar... and made them into more of an abstract design in Picnik.com (which is the photo to the top of my post today). The bottom photo... is a purposely blurred shot of car taillights as we were driving home in the dark. Sometimes it's just fun and freeing to try something completely different.

And in other news... I think my sinus infection has progressed to pneumonia. While I still have tons of issues with my sinuses, alot has descended down into my lungs. Fortunately, I did see the doctor on Monday, and am already on antibiotics

(so I am not contagious).
I get this every year... and so it is not a "big deal"... just an annoyance. And... in a good way, it is forcing me to stay home a bit more than I normally would... so perhaps I will get some art projects done in between breathing treatments :)

And so... rest well my friends. Drink lots of fluids. Sleep in if you can. Make art. Be happy.

*photos by Elaine A. Russell

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Having used my Kodak pocket camera for over a year now... I am really happy with the photos I have been able to get with it. It is affordable (other than the batteries... it was awesome cost-wise)... easy to carry with you all the time... and surprisingly technically good for such a small camera.

I am a firm believer that the camera does not make the photographer. Over the course of the past year... I feel like I have learned that lesson well. Using a point and shoot encouraged me to go back to the basics... to really focus (as it were)... on what I wanted to accomplish with each shot... the feeling I wanted each shot to express to whomever saw it... but within the limits of a point and shoot camera... and that was an incredible lesson to learn.

It also encouraged me to concentrate on the art of the photograph. The composition... the color... and not just the technical stuff (aperture, focus, lighting, depth of field, etc). Simply put... there are some shots that you can do with a point and shoot camera... and ones you can't. But just as true... is that a point and shoot camera can be much more accessible than a big digital SLR.

And now... ((as of a few days ago))... I have the Nikon D300s with an 18-200mm zoom lens. Now.. I begin the "work" of combining a more technically savvy camera and all that goes with that... with what I re-learned about composition and color and feeling... and it is a wonderful feeling.

So.... can you guess which shots on this post were taken with the Nikon and which with the Kodak?

*all photos by Elaine A. Russell