Project 365 - Day 31

The mystery is revealed...

Project 365 - Day 30

Today, a drive to Pullman, Washington...this picture was taken in Latah. This is from the side of a barn.

Project 365 - Day 29

On the Spokane river, which runs through the heart of downtown there are several species of birds - people feed them. While I'm not a huge supporter of feeding wildlife this presents to two joyful things for me.

1. The opportunity to photograph the birds up close and personal.

2. I know they aren't out in the areas the hunters are to shoot them from the sky.

So a little trivia for the day... =)

A lot of people don't know that 90% of bird species are monogamous...with that said there are several levels of monogamy:

(1) Sexual monogamy - mating exclusively with one individual for a given amount of time.
Lifetime monogamy - where the 2 birds pair up and remain together for every breeding season for the rest of their lives, in fact if one individual from the couple were to die or get killed, the partner may refuse to mate for many breeding seasons, even for life (e.g., White Albatross, certain parrots, Canadian Geese).
Serial monogamy where a bird can be monogamous for one breeding season with a partner and then in the next breeding season be monogamous with a different partner. So that each breeding season the bird is monogamous but the partners are different (such as pigeons).

(2) Social monogamy is when a pair mates, has offspring, and both share parental investment (raise the kids) but still have outside flings - or "extra-pair copulations" (e.g., pigeons).

(3) Genetic monogamy is when DNA tests can confirm that a female's offspring matches up with the DNA of only one father, although the couple may not be physically together.

Project 365 - Day 27

I think I have a "thing" for trees! Not green trees though...I am fond of the trees waiting to bloom - to come back to life after sleeping through the winter. The texture is captivating to me personally.

Project 365 - Day 26

I just loved the way the branches looked from this view...

Project 365 - Day 25

I was up all night long with a very sore throat and one serious sinus headache. When I woke this morning and looked out the window there was a light layer of snow on the ground. Too bad I wasn't feeling well...would have been a nice day for some outside photos!

Unfortunately, I'm still not feeling better.

So I took a picture of one of the fur babies! Lilee snuggled up in a blanket on the couch!

Project 365 - Day 24

Well, we knew it would come to an end, our time in Oregon would soon be over. I wonder if the day was so dark, dreary, and rainy for a reason...so I wouldn't mind going home tonight? :)

We enjoyed Thai food for lunch, movies at the house, and caught a few programs for the Olympic trials in ice skating - which took place in Spokane, I might add! ;)

This is Lucy the wonder lab...Trey and Laura's sweet sweet dog! She has a fantastic and huge backyard to play in...I couldn't resist adding a picture of her to the weekend collection! She is my "pup away from home" when I can't be with my girls...I think Trey and Laura like it too cause I just love feeding her, letting her out, and snuggling with her when I can! :)

Project 365 - Day 23

This picture was taken while we were all at lunch in Battle Ground. We arrived a little later than expected and we were anxious about whether or not we would get our food on time because we (the girls) had two hour massages lined up following lunch.

While we were waiting to be seated I took this photo. The light fixtures were very impressive in this restaurant.

Unfortunately our lunch was running late so we had to get our meals to go...we were a little late for our massages - but not by much! I know we all enjoyed our massages...

Project 365 - Day 22

Catch up!

Thursday night I flew to Portland to spend time with my very good friends Laura & Trey (Battle Ground, WA) and my friend Sheri (Kent, WA) met us there. I was really looking forward to spending some time with my awesome friends AND Laura and Trey's baby girl Emma.

Since I was out of town I knew I wouldn't have the time to get on a computer, but I made sure to take pictures when and where I could.

Friday was great - we all worked out of our Portland office (which is brand new and very pleasant in every way). When work was through we hung out at Laura and Trey's house, spending as much time with Emma as we could before she was put to bed.

I have to say, Emma IS the best baby I've EVER personally encountered...she is the baby I have spent the most time with (I must admit). This girl does not cry, whine, or whimper...NOTHING!!!! She is happy pretty much all the time. She sleeps through the night from 6pm to 6am - yes folks, 12 hours and does not wake up AT ALL! She loves it loud and she loves it rough (by baby standards that is)!! So of course that works perfectly for my friends and for me. We are always laughing, we are most certainly loud, and when push comes to shove we are pretty rough and tumble...Emma fits in perfectly!!!

I LOVE this photo because it displays Emma's brand new teeth just anxious to make an appearance. Did I mention she hasn't whined, cried, or anything...and she is TEETHING!!!! This girl is AMAZING! And I just LOVE the look she has on her face!!!

Project 365 - Day 21

Another beautiful day in Spokane, almost felt like an early Spring day. I'm on my way to Portland this evening so I thought it best to get my photo in before the FUN begins! :)

This is a partial picture of the Snowflake Saltines building in downtown Spokane. I took this hanging out the fire escape window from our building (Hutton), 6th floor.

Project 365 - Day 20

By popular demand, I am going to post the series of 10 photos which won most artistic this week in my photography class. I was really amazed that I won...I certainly didn't think it was my best work.

Along with this week's title came a prize...I think it is really cool. It is a portable tripod, of sorts. It is made up of an "eye" bolt and cable (roughly 6 ft long), by placing the screw in the bottom of my camera and stepping on the cable with my foot I can create tension to steady the camera and move fairly freely. Pretty nifty huh?

Each week we have our instructor look at the 10 pictures (2 from each day) we have selected from all of the pictures we have taken to come up with one we will print and then show at the end of eight weeks. So my question to you is, of these 10 photos which one did my instructor choose for my 8 1/2 x 11 to be printed for the show?

Project 365 - Day 19

It was another beautiful day so I took a stroll downtown to soak it all in! Riverfront Park is a well known area in Spokane - the World's Fair in the early 70s was held there.

Also, it was so difficult to choose the picture I wanted to use today. I opted for a picture of the clock tower, however, there is a twist to it. This is a reflection from the convention center windows.

I'm still somewhat limited on what I can do with my photos...due to my photography class. We are in full manual mode and I can accept that. However, no black and white - no editing what-so-ever. The most difficult part of these limitations is NO black and white. The class is going well and I actually won a prize this week for most artistic...trust me when I say I don't win much so this was thrilling to me...so I had to share! :)

Project 365 - Day 18

Yeah...finally a day to get out and take some pictures! It was a little touch and go earlier in the day...rain was threatening for sure. Then around 11:30 the sun made an appearance and didn't go down until well after 4pm!

I decided to head to the Garland District after work to see if I could capture anything noteworthy. A little bit about the Garland Business District:

A mid-20th century neighborhood two miles north of Downtown. The area (also known as the Garland Business District) is considered a walkable community with many local shops, pubs, and restaurants. Garland is home to one of two Spokane-area Milk Bottles and the Garland Theater, a popular independent movie theater. The Milk Bottle (now a restaurant), and Garland theater serve as the neighborhood's most notable landmarks. The Garland Village is an online guide to this shopping district. In addition the neighborhood has an independent newspaper The Garland Times, which serves as a guide to neighborhood events.

Project 365 - Day 17

Just having a little fun...this is an old birdcage (not mine - purchased at a yard sale years back). I wanted to do something fun with it, place a plant in it, make it a lamp, or as I've done here - Christmas lights and corks.

Of course you can't see the corks really well. But that isn't important to me...I like the effect with the lights - capturing hearts with a slow shutter speed was fun.

This morning we woke to water all over our kitchen floor - floods of water, coming from our refrigerator. We have been slowly updating all of our appliances and it seems this mornings' events pushed up the need to purchase a new fridge. The replacement should be delivered on Tuesday! I am envisioning my Tuesday picture already! =]

So instead of going to Lake CdA to capture eagles on "film", er uh...digital fell off the radar for us today. Not to mention it was RAINING again!

Project 365 - Day 16

Shocker, another rainy day. I was hoping to hit the Garland district today for some photo ops. Didn't happen, so I took some pics around the house today.

Not really sure what happened here...but I like it! =] This is a picture of a wood storage box in our living room. The cubes are cut out, allowing for shadows.

Project 365 - Day 15

Yea...texture!!! Oh how I love it and I was able to capture what I saw in my mind's eye of this brick wall.

Project 365 - Day 14

The weather was nice today so I plotted my first lunch escape for the week. I walked around downtown Spokane looking for interesting subject matter.

This was just a block away from my office, I've walked past it a hundred or more times and never noticed it before.

I love texture in photos, texture and color is even better.

I am hopeful to go to CdA this weekend, maybe Sunday. I hear there are hundreds of bald eagles around the lake, maybe I can catch a great shot or two.

Project 365 - Day 13

So, I'm going back to school at one of the local community colleges. I'm taking Biology on Monday and Wednesday. Time is limited and I try to find artistic inspiration where I can!

This picture was taken in the women's restroom at school (try explaining taking a camera in there)! Because yes, it was raining again...I thought I left Seattle!?! =]

I'm working on my technique and I hope to one day capture the drip a bit better...this week is my first week on full manual mode!!! Week two of photography class with my new Nikon D90...

Project 365 - Day 12

Taken during a walk downtown at Riverfront Park in Spokane. It was wet and chilly, but I managed to find some color in the midst of all the...uh well, mist! =] I know, bad!

Project 365 - Day 11

This is one from the vault. Why, because it makes me smile and sometimes that is all that matters.

It reminds me of warm sunny days on the farm and I could use a little of that today.

Project 365 - Day 10

I love bird houses, I would love to have them all over the backyard if my husband would let me. Between my husband not wanting to have too many and our dogs thinking they are "Bird Dogs" it probably wouldn't be the best idea for the birds.

Providing shelter, a place to start their families, having the ability to watch them gather nesting materials, listening to their babies chirp for food, and watching them finding food constantly for their little ones brings joy to my heart.

We have a few bird houses and bird feeders...

This is our latest bird house, I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can find the perfect spot for it.

Project 365 - Day 9

Just a little something around the house...a lazy day today!

Project 365 - Day 8 (Catch Up)

I've played around a bit with taking pictures of the fur babies...it has been fun trying to capture their personalities. Although I have to admit it is very difficult, and this is probably why I enjoy inanimate objects for my subjects!

I wanted to get one more pup picture in to complete the parade! This is Lilee, she is very independent, self assured, and super playful - she acts like a puppy and is 4 years old as of January 1st. I love everything about this little Pug - her snoring, cleaning out the folds on her face and her eye boogers, her little crusty nose, how excited she is to see me when I get home from work, how she snuggles up to me to take a nap or when we go to bed, and yes...dressing her up on occasion! =]

Project 365 - Day 7

Another beautiful sunny and very very cold day.

Another busy day at work and home after dark.

I really enjoyed taking pictures of Payton last night so I thought I would take some of Jada. One of our other fur babies. Jada is bigger than we thought she would get, however, with two smaller dogs in the house she thinks she is a small dog too. Jada is also very sweet, caring, sensitive, she can smile, she is very intelligent, and we just love her too! She also feels that there is no such thing as too much attention...she can never get enough pets, hugs, kisses, and more affection of any sort.

Project 365 - Day 6

Since everyone else is on day 6 I decided that I would say I'm on day 6 as well. I mean, I don't want to throw a monkey wrench into this process by being the odd man out.


Today, CrAzY day...it would have been the PERFECT day to be out this afternoon to take pictures on my lunch hour. However, I didn't get a lunch hour - I know martyr party of one!


So, I didn't get out today until I left for school. This meant I didn’t get the 36 pictures I need for the photography assignment today. I HAD to take something... But, I didn't get to my reading assignment for class - I was torn between reading my assignment and taking my 36 pictures. Oh the pressure, what should I do? Well, I ended up taking "some" pictures - not nearly 36 and I just had to stop. It was torture trying to "make" something happen. Taking pictures out of necessity to me means there is no passion, no passion equals dull, drab, and purely unemotional photos.


Thankfully we were released a little early from class, I quickly headed home in search of some kind of inspiration. My husband and our "girls" give me the most joy - we have 3 dogs and 1 cat! Since I can't take pictures of people this week (not that my husband would ever be a willing participant) I thought my fur babies might fall under the realm of "things".


This is Payton; she is the newest addition to our fur babies. We think she is Chihuahua and Rat Terrier mix. She is very sweet, sensitive, playful, bouncy, and likes our cat a little more than she should. Her family before us just had a baby and Payton wasn't getting the attention she felt she deserved so she left little "presents" at the door to the baby's room on the regular! She is doing really well with the other girls and we are so blessed to have her in our life.

Project 365

I waited and waited for the rain to stop so I could go out and walk the streets of downtown Spokane in search of "things" to take pictures of. This is day 2 of my photography assignment and also day 2 (for me) for Project 365.

It was brain numbing cold out today, not that I'm complaining...just giving you a feel for what I was experiencing on my afternoon jaunt.

Note to Self - taking pictures all around town in a bright yellow wind breaker may cause a disturbance or two. One gal was so interested or intrigued with what I could possibly be taking a picture of she wasn't watching where she was walking and dropped everything in her hands when she lost her balance. Several people (driving I might add) would look to me and then to where I was pointing my camera to see what I was taking a picture of - no accidents occurred, thankfully.

I have to admit I thought it was funny for people to be the least bit interested in what I was doing. One woman actually stopped to ask me what I was taking a picture of, why, etc... She was sweet and I always like meeting new people!

I captured a lot of shots and some of them turned out better than I imagined while others fell short. It was nice to get out of the office, feel the cold air on my skin, the occasional drizzle, and see a whole new part of the city through the lens of my camera.

Project 365 or is that Project 362?!

There are several reasons why I'm starting Project 365 - let's not focus on the fact that I'm starting a little late! Main reason would be my friend Eddie...he is a photographer in Seattle and someone I talk with daily, well we IM daily! I told him about my new camera, the beginner photography lessons I'm taking, and he suggested I try this - even though I'm starting a little late!

The other reasons are:

• "Taking a photo a day will make you a better photographer. Using your camera every day will help you learn its limits. You will get better at composing your shots, you’ll start to care about lighting, and you’ll become more creative with your photography when you’re forced to come up with something new every single day."


• Your year-long photo album will be an amazing way to document your travels and accomplishments, your haircuts and relationships. Time moves surprisingly fast.


• Imagine being able to look back at any day of your year and recall what you did, who you met, what you learned… (Often we find it hard to remember what we did just yesterday or even last night, let alone a whole year ago!).

So, my first photo is from my first photography homework assignment. We are learning F stops and shutter speed. This week, 36 pictures a day, Monday - Friday of "things", using various F stops. It was a very bad weather day - rain, rain-slush, snow, more rain, more rain-slush, and then rain. I decided I would take pictures from my office window - I work in a historical building in downtown Spokane. I have always found the wrought iron fire escapes to be beautiful, although I would never want to have to venture down one in case of fire!