365 Photo Project - Day 131

Taken: May, 11, 2010, 6:30 p.m.
Location: Healdsburg, Ca

I've been without my car for a couple of days which has forced me to walk more. A lot more. Living in a small town makes not having a car a lot easier too. Of course, I had to walk over the Healdsburg Memorial Bridge, camera in hand, knowing I'd get a chance to shoot the railroad bridge from a new angle. As you can see, it was a spectacular late afternoon and the light glancing off the Russian River and the metal bridge girders, the stanchions  and the surrounding hills was very cool.

I love walking and I hate that I've forgotten how much I enjoy it. You see the world in such a different way when you're seeing it from eye level, when it's not speeding by through the glass of your car window. The thing I notice most is the smells -- I mean it helps that we're solid into spring around here but so many different scents wafted around me as I strolled into town or on my long (hot, up hill) walk home last night. Rose bushes, orange blossoms, new garden dirt, cookout smoke ... it was refreshing to close my eyes and breathe in and try to identify them all.  I've been meaning for freaking years to get to walking every day and being stuck without a car for several days has got me really thinking about it again. Now I have to commit to it.

I'll let you know how that goes.

Been having trouble with my camera so I traded up for a newer version. This will be the last installment of the project taken with my trusty K100D. Looking forward to seeing what I can do with the new one (if I can figure out all the controls).

Having said that, you might notice I'm talking a lot less about the camera I use, how I edit the images, etc. I've come to feel that it's better to let the image speak for itself. Let it be there in all its magic and not worry about how I got there. I do know some of you like to know the image information and you can find it by clicking on links to my Flickr.com page. I've made the information available there. And of course, you can always write me if you want more detail.

365 Photo Project - Day 129

Taken: May 10, 2010, sunset
Location: Healdsburg, Ca

I'm a day late putting this up but it's still my Mother's Day day of the project. I have the greatest mom. She's smart, tough and funny and she's got one of the world's best bullshit meters. No fun when you're a teenager constantly trying to get away with whatever it is teenagers want to get away with, but the older you get the more you appreciate someone who doesn't sugar coat stuff just to make you feel better.

I talk to my Mom almost every day. She loves mystery books and is a veracious patron of the local library so she keeps me up to date on what's worth digging into. And she's the person I call when I want to read a passage out loud or check to see if it's any good.

More than anyone else in my life, it's my Mom who keeps me from taking myself too seriously. And I think when I write, she's the reader I have in mind. She's never been afraid to speak her mind (something else I get from her) and she's passionate about her family and friends,  loyal to her causes, her beliefs and her sports teams and she could teach the ridiculous Tea Party a thing or two about independent thinking.

If I end up being half the person she is, that will be okay with me.

This is the railroad bridge that runs parallel to the Healdsburg Memorial Bridge. Shot with my K100D and edited in Photoshop

365 Photo Project - Day 101

Taken: April 11, 2010, 1 p.m.
Location: Healdsburg, Ca.

Still writing. In fact, I'm doing an all-day/all-nighter and I'm stopping here just to update my blog. 'Cause you know, that's how I roll. This is another shot of the railroad bridge that's parallel to the Healdsburg Memorial Bridge I also like to shoot. It was pouring rain today. Again. The best kind of weather for staying inside and working. This image appealed to me -- a light at the end of the tunnel. My finish line. Maybe it's wishful thinking but you guys know by now that I'm a bit of a day dreamer. So, I'm going with it.

So here's to long nights and lights at the end of them. Until tomorrow, then.