TREE FUN

Having fun with my fish-eye lens I captured this tree and played with it in Photoshop.  Do you remember this book by Shel Silverstein?  I thought it went with my posting today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TZCP6OqRlE

BUBBA

My brother passed away this past week.  He was my older brother who was known as Bubba.  I will really miss him!
 

RALPH DAVID STEKIN, JR., born in Houston, Texas, on April 29, 1950, to Betty Mae (Cohen) and Ralph Stekin, passed away on April 19, 2011. Ralph graduated from Bellaire Senior High School, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Houston Law Center. He proudly served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. Ralph was predeceased by his father, Ralph Stekin. He is survived by his mother and stepfather, Betty Mae and Selwyn Dante, his sisters and brothers-in-law, Susan and Dr. Ed Septimus, and Kathy and Perry Zieben, his nephews and their spouses, Dr. Joshua and Ali Septimus and Rabbi Daniel and Amanda Septimus, and by his nephews and niece, Brent Sacks, Lane Zieben, and Avery Zieben. He is also survived by his great nephews and nieces, Mia and Noah Septimus and Talia and Jonah Septimus.

PHOTOBLOG

I have been working really hard on capturing meaningful shots with my photograpy.  Finally one of them paid off.  My photo was picked for the front page of http://www.photoblog.com/.  It was quite a surprise to be chosen, too!  It was a photo of a flamingo that I took on a class photo shoot a few weeks ago.  Normally I am really into street photography because it allows us to freeze one of those moments and study all of the small dramas that were taking place. But this was taken at the zoo without any people in the shot.

ART FESTIVAL

Hundreds of Houstonians visited the 40th Annual Bayou City Art Festival March 25-27 in Memorial Park. The festival, which transforms the 1.1 mile trail of the park into a unique outdoor gallery, showcases the work of more than 300 artists from across the country.  Perry and I were two of those people counted for being there last Saturday.  Although I didn't think the art was that exceptional it did motivate me to revise my own mosaic work and apply to show there next year!  Here are a few of my photos that I took.

ZOO SHOOT

Yesterday my photography class had a field trip to the Houston Zoo.  I was taking pictures of people rather than the animals most of the time.  The genre of street photography fascinates me so much that I am constantly looking for those candid shots to capture.  I can't even remember how long it had been since I was at our zoo!  This little boy looked at my camera just at the right time!

STORY TELLER

I have been thinking a lot about my photography and where I want to take it. Currently I am taking an intermediate photography class to try and understand my camera a little better. I am learning about Photoshop, the exposure triangle, and practicing taking pictures that I normally wouldn't shoot. But I feel more like a storyteller than a photographer. I love the genre of street photography because you get to capture moments in time. Instead of words, I am using images to tell my stories. In traditional portraiture, we most often focus on the face of our subject to narrate the shot. But I like to look at the whole picture and capture the story behind the photo. Here are some images I have been taking. Hopefully you can tell where or what I was shooting.

MR. LOYD BROWN

We recently visited Montego Bay, Jamaica for a day. This is a photo of our tour guide-taxi driver named Mr. Loyd Brown. He was an interesting character that showed us around Montego Bay, Jamaica. It was an interesting day driving through the streets of the city (away from all the tourists) and shooting out the windows of the cab as we sped through the crowded town.

We had an authentic jerk chicken lunch with him at a place called The Pork Pit.

This is how they smoke their chicken. Notice how they use a roof panel to hold the meat down!

We enjoyed Jamaica's local beer.

Loyd enjoyed a grape drink that I had never heard of called "BIGGA". More pictures to follow...

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

I started my street photography class last night. This is a genre that I absolutely love and really have a strong passion for! I find that candid shots taken when people are not posing tell such wonderful stories. I also like the black and white shots. Somehow they are easy on the eye and allow you to "paint" by number (so to speak) the colors on how you see it. My favorite street photographer right now is Vivian Maier.

Here is a link to some of her work:

http://vivianmaier.blogspot.com/ Please take the time to read her story because it is fascinating! I will be posting some of my work here for you to see soon.

NANO HUMMINGBIRD

The Pentagon received a $4 million dollar grant to develop a pocket sized drone dubbed the Nano Hummingbird for the way it flaps his wings. This hummingbird is a tiny robotic battery powered drone built to look like a bird for potential spy missions. Its guts are all motors and a video camera. Keep in mind that it is only a prototype but how cool is that? Anyone that knows me can see how much I love hummingbirds!

THE LIVING CAMERA

Ok, I know I haven't posted in a while. No excuses, just life getting in the way! But this artist is someone I had to share with you. His name Stephen Wiltshire and he is such a talented artist! He has been nicknamed "THE LIVING CAMERA". Why is that you ask? He has the unbelievable ability of painting and drawing detailed landscapes completely from his memory! His work is brilliant as you can see in the following video.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2MBBxU

After watching the video visit his website: http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/

THE SILENT EVOLUTION

http://www.underwatersculpture.com/index.asp

Jason deCaires Taylor is an artist who developed a love of the sea at a very early age. Much of his childhood was spent on the coral reefs of Malaysia. He had a fascination with the natural world. He graduated from the London Institute of Art in sculpture and ceramics. This ambitious underwater project is so unusual! He carved cement instead of stone and had to use cranes to lower his art to the ocean floor.

PAPER OR PLASTIC

Don't you get irritated when you go to check out at the grocery store and they ask you "PAPER or PLASTIC"? What difference does it make?

But Italy's ban on single-use plastic bags took effect on New Year's Day.

This couldn't come too soon, considering that Italians use about 20 billion plastic bags per year.

Environmentalists are pleased with the ban because plastic bags are horrible on the environment, degrading extremely slowly and taking decades to decompose. They are also potentially harmful to marine life and other animals.

In September Treehugger reported that Brownsville, Texas banned plastic bags. The ban goes in effect on January 5th, when customers who forget bags will be charged a dollar for an extra one. Pharmacies, hardware stores and dry cleaner are exempt. Why is that? Either get rid of all of them or none at all!!! USA Today reports that the anti-bag sentiment is spreading. California couldn’t muster the votes to ban bags, but individual cities like San Francisco, Malibu, Fairfax and Palo Alto are already there, and more cities are threatening to follow suit. Our neighbors down south are getting in on the action too. Mexico City banned plastic bags in August of this year.

SO TEXAS, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO STEP UP AND BAN THEM?

SILK PAINTING

This is a really interesting video about a silk painter and his performance art. It is something that can be admired by art quilters, painters, and performers. I normally don't "get" performance art that is weird or off the wall but this is different. I am now inspired to use my watercolors and work in my sketchbook today. I love the fluidity of the motion of the paint and how it flows over the silk and is absorbed by it.

2011**A NEW BEGINNING**

I couldn't help but think that 1/1/11 was a cool way to start off the new year! Numerology sees the number "one" as self, new beginnings, the individual. If you look at 2011, it's the "two" that comes first. "Two" is a partnership. When you add the numbers 2011 you get "four". 2+0+1+1 =4 Numerology says that four will affect everyone all year. Four is square. Four is the box. Four wants everything done right! So we are entering a year where one should build a stronger foundation on which to hold your new year's resolutions!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. - Robert Brault

APPLE PIE

Seems like I have been on a baking spree lately. This time it is a homemade apple pie. It was delicious! Have you ever tried making one from scratch? The hardest part is making the crust and being able to roll it out to move to the pie shell. The rest is easy... Here is a page all about baking an apple pie:

http://www.myhomecooking.net/apple-pie/

KSZ HAS SA

I have just been diagnosed with "Sleep Apnea". Last night was my first night with my own CPAP machine. It was so quiet but I know it will take a while for me to get used to sleeping with it. Here is my machine, the newest on the market!

ICON Novo CPAP Machine with Built In Heated Humidifier and ThermoSmart

Here is the mask that I received:

• 

• You might wonder if YOU have sleep apnea? Here is all the information one might need to decided.

• Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder which triggers pauses in breathing during sleep. These episodes, called apneas, last long enough so one or more breaths are missed, and occur repeatedly throughout sleep. Sleep apnea is diagnosed with an overnight sleep test called a polysomnogram.

  Often, individuals with sleep apnea are not aware of having difficulty breathing. Because of this, sleep apnea is frequently recognized by a spouse or sleep-mate who witnesses sleep apnea episodes. Sometimes sleep apnea is suspected because of its effects on the body copy. Symptoms may be present for years or even decades without identification, during which time the sufferer may become conditioned to the daytime sleepiness and fatigue associated with significant levels of sleep disturbance.

• Loud snoring. This can indicate breathing problems or blocked air passages.
• Cessation of breathing or choking spells in the night. In severe cases, this can occur over fifty times an hour with each spell lasting as long as ten seconds.
• Excessive daytime sleepiness. Daytime sleepiness can become so excessive that working becomes difficult and driving is dangerous.
• Frequent visits to the bathroom. Individuals with sleep apnea often find that they require repeated trips to the bathroom throughout the night.
• Severe mood swings. Sleep deprivation can affect mental health, often causing moods to shift rapidly from depression to irritability to anger.
• Obesity. Although some slim people do suffer from sleep apnea, the majority are overweight or obese.
• Low sex drive and a general lack of energy. Because individuals with sleep apnea suffer from sleep deprivation, they often find they lack the energy to perform daily activities, and even lose interest in sex.
• Dry mouth and sore throat in the morning. This is caused from sleeping with the mouth open, snoring and gasping for air.
• Lack of concentration and forgetfulness. Sleep deprivation affects motor skills and memory.
• Morning headaches. Lack of sufficient air throughout the night can cause headaches.

JANELLE MONAE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc I wish I was born to dance like Janelle! I have realized that photography, dance, cooking and baking, singing, sewing, and crafting are all forms of art. At least I got a few of those in my blood! Recently I cleaned up my studio of all the clutter so that I can start a new project this week. YEA!

OLD SAILOR

This is print of a sailor by an artist named Haerendel. I found it in a really nice wood frame at a consignment shop. But I decided to mosaic the frame and gift it to my husband. He loves sailing and so I thought it would be a nice piece for him to hang in his office. He also doesn't have any of my art on his walls yet! How did he get away with that all these years? ha...

CONCERT FUN

Avery and I went to see Robert Earl Keen in concert last Saturday night. I am not sure who this guy was that did the opening act. All I heard was that REK had been his idol growing up and now to be opening for him was a dream come true for him. All the photos were taken with my i phone. Of course I wish I had brought my Canon SLR, I am always wishing that I had it with me these days. But my phone camera will work in some situations. REK is the one with the white cowboy hat. Check out his Christmas video of his famous song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P37xPiRz1sg

I PHONE FUN

Now that I am using the Apple I Phone 4 the camera is so much better than my old one. I love whipping my phone out and taking pictures of everything and anything. I don't have to wait to use my SLR all of the time! Here is a cool image that I captured last night at a restaurant-bar called "RA". It is actually umbrella like shades that were hanging from a very high ceiling. (you can't tell that from the photo though) I can also use my camera phone to capture delicious food that we might order. Check out the key lime pie. BOY WAS IT DELICIOUS!!