Special Guest Photographer

For the first time since I began this blog, I am pleased to host the work of a special guest photographer. Out for a Saturday evening dinner and a pleasant walk along a marina, I was able to collect several interesting images of boats, buildings, sky, sunset. But none of mine are as wonderful to me as the pair we see here.

At six years old, it is no surprise that my granddaughter Carolyn would be able to snap a photo or two. And since her mother has been a professional photographer, we could assume that some talent is part of her heritage. But I think most six-year olds would find an average Nikon DSLR equipped with a 28-300 mm zoom lens to be pretty heavy to hold and shoot. Not for Carolyn!

The first shot, a shot of her dad with the skyline in the distance, was shot while I stood with her and reminded her how to handle the camera. Once she was able to capture that first image, I went to stand with my son. The result? One of my favorite images of me! With a little bit of levels adjustment to account for the fading light, and a touch of straightening, I think she did an excellent job.

Thanks for being my first guest photographer, Carolyn Beato.

A Different Sort of Architecture

It was cool but quite sunny this morning, and I was out of the house early. Several churches in St. Charles, Illinois, work together on a Habitat For Humanity project and this was the first Saturday I was available to swing a hammer and snap some photographs. It was a rewarding day.

A well-planned floor layout is complete for a cozy but excellent two-story frame home. This morning as I arrived, a few people were busy with the sound of hammering and others were waiting for someone to tell them what to do. The hammering was plenty loud as it should have been, as a crew was literally raising the roof. Leaving the climbing to younger volunteers, I grabbed the camera and got a different view of architecture altogether. Friendly and warm, the entire crew welcomed the new volunteers and before long I knew it was time to put the Nikon away and crack out the Craftsman.

A few hours later, a wall had been built, placed, and anchored to divide the Great Room from the Kitchen; and a guest closet had been studded out, located, and nailed into place. I have no photographs of the event as the hammer and the camera do not mesh well at any given time. But of course I have the memories of the wall building -- and no doubt tomorrow I will have the soreness of the muscles that had not hammered for some time. The ache will surely "Hurt So Good."

Back to larger buildings -- though perhaps NOT more significant ones -- in the next post.