224:365

Late last evening, I realized that I hadn't taken my photo for the day yet. I had gotten sucked into listing things on Freecycle, and doing some odd stuff around the house... and I got side-tracked. Such is life sometimes.
And so... around 11:30pm... the daughter and I headed out to see what we could see... and to catch a photo. We ended up having a great time... and actually got photos for (technically) last night and today.
I have been working this week on my night-time photography skills (or lack thereof )..... so it was a good lesson for me. I am also coming up on my one-year anniversary of having just the Kodak point and shoot camera... and this whole year has been quite amazing in terms of my growth as a photographer... it is really quite exciting.

***all photos by Elaine A. Russell

41:365

Today was an odd day. I've been sicker than I thought... and not really getting much done. Makes me feel rather useless....and so I edited some older photos. ... this one is from Feb 2009, taken through the windows of Off Broadway on Central Ave.... I love the way the colors create a mood...

I contemplated this.... when I discovered this photo in my archives... taken 12-08. I love the weathered and worn church pew... and the contradictions it evokes with the book....

I spent alot of time on the phone today ... different family members & friends are not doing well.... and I was reminded of this photo, taken 7-09... somewhere in the midwest when I was traveling.....

And I thought about life and death issues as a very close family friend is passing. I took this photo last summer at Eulalia Cemetery in PA. I love the old look to this place... the feel... the colors... in what most people consider to be a dark place....

And got excited when I found this one.... a photo taken December 31st, 2009 on the first full/ Blue Moon. It makes me feel like there is still hope and a brightness to the future. A bit of majik.... a bit of sparkle....

And so... til tomorrow.....

(all photos by Elaine A. Russell)

the dark side

photo by Elaine A. Russell

I took this photo a couple weeks ago, at the Factory on 5th BBQ. At the time, I was just playing around and taking photos for my on-going series of photos of the Factory http://www.flickr.com/photos/31979552@N08/sets/72157619258924678/

It's been a rough couple of days emotionally for me.

I mention this only because, as I was tweaking this photo a bit digitally, it got me thinking about alot of things. It got me thinking about the face that we put on for the world. How we try to project a certain image, or reflect specific values, or just plain try to be nice to everyone.

Is it merely a facade > does it go deeper than that > are we merely mannequins in this world .....

I think most of us try to be genuine individuals. We try our best to be as nice to everyone we can, without becoming doormats to the evil people in our lives. We fine tune our perspectives in life, and try to be as honest as we can. We don't force our opinions on others, and encourage each other to be who they are ... warts and all.

Sometimes life gets messy. Things are said hastily, things are mis-understood, feelings get hurt. We are not mannequins wrapped in plastic afterall. No polyvinyl to protect us from what ever is getting flung... be it directed at us or not.

Life is so short.... too short to allow stupid things to get in the way of life's true learning experiences.

I'm not a big fan of Jerry Springer. ...although I have seen a few of his shows. At the end of every chaotic episode, he has a nice little monologue.. the end of which goes something like....""take care of yourselves... and each other.""

I kinda like that.