Things that happen on our Lanai

Sometimes we don’t even have to leave our couch to see wildlife in action here. At the same time I heard a loud thud against our lanai windows I saw this little bird falling to the ground .

He looked stoned. He just sat there in a daze with his little feet looking all crinkled and broken. Jewel immediately went into little mama mode. I immediately went into wanna be photographer mode.

Jewel didn’t like that one because it didn’t show the bird good.Much better, she says.

She then set him on the railing, but he wasn’t looking too strong at first. 

Not too much longer, though and he started to gain his wits about him again

and boy were we relieved! Uh hmmm……..and so was he.

(For the record, Joey said “you are not putting that pic on the web?!”

"Oh Yes I did!

He’s alert and trying to pick up his feet at this point, but still not going anywhere

“Are you my Mama?”

He sat there for so long the sun started setting and the porch lights clicked on.so Jewel took it upon herself to get the little guy a drink after only a few sips he flew right to my arm, freaking me the F out, throwing my arms up in the air and forcing him to fly to the trees. And that was it. Our job was done.

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A few days later Joey calls me to the lanai to look at the carnage in our backyard.

Before I completely freaked out, he let me know that were all just catching some rays.

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never a dull moment

photowalk

 

Across the street from our complex is a botanical garden…of sorts. It’s actually empty land that two retired guys decided to garden, but it is a pretty garden, none the less. I finally decided one morning to go out specifically to get pictures of the flowers. I took my 50mm lens and was hoping for great things. I did not get anything great. It’s been a month since then, as are all the pictures I’m posting today, and was the beginning of me making a real effort to learn how to use my camera. I get the shutter speed and focal point, although it still takes me a few minutes to get them adjusted good. I mostly remember to set my ISO and almost never forget the white balance. My main focus  right now is my area of focus. My lens seems to fall right below of where the focus should be, AND I cannot stand still to save my life. I hate tripods but if I want to get any better I’m going to have to start using one.

 

 

A couple days later Jewel joined me for another photo walk, this time in the late afternoon, though, so we had a much different light, and as far as I was concerned….I had a much better model. I hadn’t intended to take pictures of Jewel but when she’d pick up sweet smelling plumeria flowers and put them in her beautiful blond hair, how could I resist?

While Jewel took this picture of a yellow flower, I’d take pictures of her taking picture of said flower.

If she captured the spikes on one plant, I’d capture her…..well, she did get a little sick of it.

But most of the time she’s a good sport about having me take her picture. She’s even starting to actually try to model now. She thinks about her smile and her stance, and always looks to put herself in the best light. Much like she tries to line up her own shots. After seeing the above bright yellow picture on the computer I remarked about how bright it was, much brighter than from my camera, and she said…”Yeah, that’s because the sun was at a really good angle.” …………..She’s eight!

  

We finished off the photowalk inside the complex surrounded by dozens of peacocks but among the hundred pictures between the two of us, we just can’t seem to capture a good enough one of them. I think I just need to stick with what I do best………….. my people

Night Life, or lack thereof

We spend most of our time here on the west side of the Island, but one night a while back I saw in the paper that Dana Lyons was going to be performing free in a park in Honolulu. Dana Lyons is a vegetarian/comedian/singer/songwriter, and the background music to a video I made a few years back, called Run, Billy, Run. I was really looking forward to doing something special with/for Jonas. He always seems to like the exact opposite as the rest of us, but this was something he actually WANTED to do….it was sponsored by the Vegetarian Society of Hawaii, and to be honest I was hoping to get some recipes. We  watched and laughed over and over to his Cows with Guns video, and drove all the way to Honolulu. In the dark…… After spending an hour in rush hour traffic, that was anything but rushing, we got to the park thirty minutes late and couldn’t find him! We found numerous other gatherings but nothing that looked like a concert in the park. Talk about being bummed out, but luckily everyone took it in stride.And me? ……Well, I took a picture, of course.

 

This was my first attempt at a night scene and can see I need a lot of practice. But then that means I have to go out into the big city at night. Alone. Because no one else wants to sit around while I’m taking pictures. Now I get the whole photo walking thing! I don’t go places with the intention of taking pictures, they just happen when I see something shiny or sparkly. I might have to change that.

This is our side of the island. Notice the difference? It’s much more our speed. And, see that little mountain? According to our local friends that is the World’s Smallest Mountain, and I plan on conquering it very soon. This night though was for eating ice cream cones. Again, I wasn’t planning on pictures so only had my cell phone and kicked myself for not having my camera……… That sunset glow sure is a wonderful thing.

Notice the rainbow to the right of Jewel? If we tried, I bet we could find at least one rainbow everyday here.

Back at home we have pretty good sunsets of our own.

But inside our home, we have a different glow.

I got this glowing candle at a thrift store, and I just lurve it. It takes me back to the time when Joey and I first started dating. It was the first time I’d ever seen these candles in the artsy district in Phoenix and they were too expensive for me to buy, so I only had one really teeny tiny small one, which burned up in hours. It’s been thirteen years since I’d seen one of these candles and couldn’t believe it when I found this one unburned in a thrift store. I still don’t understand people that don’t burn their candles, but I do thank them.

Unschooling myself

I just can't grasp aperture and f stops and shutter speeds and which controls the light and what controls the depth of field. It's all too confusing when in the back of my mind I'm thinking, did I thaw anything out for supper? I usually give up trying completely for a while, and then beat myself up because there's something really wrong with me if I can't make myself get something that I really want to get. The other day I admitted out loud that I just don't think I'm ready for the DSLR. It's too much camera for me.

Later that day the kids were jumping on the trampoline so I figured I'd use their play for a little practice. (The sun was going down so I had to play with light, plus the fast movement.)

Jacob is my inspiration. He doesn't know how to give anything but a nice shot.

He doesn't know it but he's my silent encourager.

These speak Pure Joy.




We're having fun jumping and snapping, until Jonas realizes I'm taking pictures of him, too. Normally he runs off and I stop. Not this time.

He stares right into me and gives me a mean face.

At least what he thinks looks mean.
As he's scowling he's just getting closer to me. Could I ask for better??

It's tough trying to look mean when you're so damn cute!

Give him another ten minutes though and try to take his picture again...

He's pissed now!

He then said: "Delete them"
I cried: "But I can't!"
Him: "Delete them"
Me: "I'm sorry"
Him: "Delete them"
Me: "IT'S LIKE ASKING ME TO CUT OFF MY FINGER...."
He then stormed off and didn't speak to me for twenty four hours.

I'll always have Jacob.


As much as I really wanted to respect his wishes, I just couldn't do it! I may have failed him that day but I truly believe in the long run he, and if not him, his future partner and/or kids, will thank me for it. I cannot let him grow up without any photos of his childhood, that would be regrettable.

Besides learning that I'm a selfish photographer, I learned that adjusting the aperture allows me to control the light. Yay me. Then the next day I tell my dad what I learned and he said "F-stop also controls the amount of light (AND THEY WON'T BE ALL BLURRY)".

I'm back at square one.