Digital Rebel XT

05 Jul

The photo that started the food photography.

By Silver Blue

I was over at Dannell Litchfield’s house on April 27, 2006. It was a “Survivor” night (meaning we’d watch the tele show “Survivor”, eat, and converse). Dannell made burgers that night, and thought I was crazy when I grabbed my camera and said “DON’T TOUCH THE PLATE.”

Any wonder why? If you’re a meat eater, tell me this doesn’t tempt you. The sandwich has not been staged at all. It merely is as it was served that night. It also hangs in my kitchen as a 16×20 above the door.

Dalaina Williams, from work, claims this to be one of the finest food photos she’s ever seen — and what makes it even better is that there’s no hocus pocus. As soon as I snapped off two shots, I sat down and DEVOURED this burger.

Silver Blue, who thinks its good to go back and look at technique and critique…though I can’t find anything wrong with this shot…other than I don’t have one on a plate right now!

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05 Jun

A Ghost of A Chance

By Silver Blue

Okay, before you go and write me off as a complete lunatic – I do believe that my house is inhabited by more than just my roommate and myself. There have been too many coincidences with too many roommates and guests in the house to just attempt to write it off to chance.

I have reason to believe that it is occupied by three spirits: Mildred, Harry, and Philip.   Mildred and Harry live upstairs, while Philip prefers the stairwell and downstairs.  These are helpful spirits, not poltergeists nor malignant ghosts.   Philip has helped me correct situations in a few ways that I can’t describe – knocking here, tap dancing there, to let me know that things just aren’t “right” at the house at that time. The names came in dreams and “glimpses” to a former roommate and me that neither of us could explain.

I first came to realize there was something at work in the house before I even purchased it when, upon preparing to return the key to the seller due to her ineptitude and penchant for lying, I heard a voice from the stairwell saying “Watch your back and I’ll take care of the rest”.

A former roommate and I have heard Mildred singing in the upstairs rooms and when you try to focus in on her song, she stops.  Harry is Mildred’s companion.  Only once or twice have I heard a male voice mumble something in response to Mildred’s singing. Mildred also enjoys opening the bathroom closet door.  A mutual friend, Kate Turney, came to the house and “pish-toshed” the idea of a ghost.  She firmly closed the bathroom closet door and she and I went into what I was using as the office.  Within 15 minutes, we heard the door handle turn and the door creak open.

Philip lives downstairs.  When you are upstairs, there are times when you can hear him practically running laps from the living room to the dining room to the kitchen, over the stair-stoop, and back to the living room.  In fact, you can even track which room he is currently in by the sound.

When I first purchased a digital camera for work (the Agfa ePhoto 307), I took it home to attempt to learn how to use it.  That evening, in August 1998, I was to snap what I consider to be a picture of Philip in my living room.

 

The dormer windows in the photo below show in the above photograph. Something moved between the lens and the desired photo of the mantel. I have always stated that I thought it was Philip, even though I have no physical proof that it is.

Sandi has discovered that Mildred likes to hide items that she doesn’t approve of, be it shoes, hats, or the like. Former roommate Chris Byer discovered that Philip has a proclivity for making his displeasure known, from causing a Home Interiors glass-jar candle to levitate, cross the room, and hit the wall beside his head, dropping to the couch without breaking, to causing the glass door on the front of the stereo cabinet to swing out and fall to the floor with much commotion, without breaking the glass, and with the hinges that go up and down into the cabinet still firmly in place.

Mildred’s “bathroom closet door”  became quite the spectacle at my annual Christmas Parties. People attempted to test her by the same methods that Kate used in 1998 – and to everyone’s amusement, the house always fell silent before you heard the door mechanism click and the door open. When former roommate Randy first moved in, he was a skeptic. He shut the closet door, sat on the water closet do to his business, and saw the door handle turn and open an inch. He later was to comment that it was a good thing he was already “doing it”, because he certainly would have been otherwise.

Silver Blue, who has been on both sides…at the same time. Don’t tell me it can’t be done.

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20 May

The angels sigh…

By Silver Blue

…the little girl cried…

The tears run rings around my eyes.

There’s something about angels that make for good photos. Well, most of the time:

(This was back when I used to decorate the mantle at Christmastide.)

This was from filter manipulation. I have numerous filters that I never use. Perhaps I should look into doing more work with them.

Someone be a dear:

Go help that angel out. She seems to be stuck in a rose bush.

Here’s the mantle as it was decked out in 2004:

Finally:

My Angel Bear. She’s a tree topper, but tends to live her life without that discomfort these days. LOL.

(That’s Icee Bear and Snowflake Bear beside Angel Bear).

[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/ma-trr.mp3]

Silver Blue, who sometimes feels like an angel flying too close to the ground.

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19 May

Signs of times gone by.

By Silver Blue

The Big Bad Wolf.

My second-most all-time favourite rollercoaster in the world. (The most favourite? “Gemini” at Cedar Point, Upper Sandusky, Ohio).

Howl I miss this coaster. Oh, sorry for the misplaced pun. 🙂 I’ve heard differing stories as to why Busch Gardens, Williamsburg removed the Wolf. Ridership was down. (Huh?) The ride had reached the end of its serviceable life. (Possibly, but Nessie is older and still running). The ride was one of three remaining in the US of its type (where you were suspended UNDER the tracks entirely enclosed in the car), and the company who made it (and produced maintenance parts) went out of business, therefore they couldn’t keep it running. (Probably.)

It’s taken then a few years, but the new coaster, Verbolten (also a trek through the Black Forest) opened on May 18. Haven’t ventured yet. Will do so, though, on my next trip to the Gardens.

[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/dd-hltw.mp3]

Silver Blue, who does enjoy a good thrill ride every now and then. 🙂

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12 Apr

Our daily bread…

By Silver Blue

…basket.

Some of the best shots I’ve ever taken weren’t staged. They simply came to me, in a flash, such as this empty bread basket at a luncheon where I was attempting to amuse myself while the speaker was engaged in discourse on a topic I couldn’t follow. These are the shots that nourish not only my body, but my mind as well.

Sometimes, repetitive patterns catch my eye (the OH! Something Shiny! syndrome). While I tend to eschew photographing plated lunches because they’re so cookie cutter, there are times it’s been what captured my interest. Take yet another plated lunch and you’ll get…

I’m serious here. Who takes photos of someone eating, of a mostly empty plate, and of a fork going back in for more? That would be… me.

Finally… a photo that warms my heart. Taken in 2006, my mom and dad.talk about nourishing the soul.

Still in love after almost 44 years. I love you both.

[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/dw-rft.mp3]

Silver Blue… who today found so much truth in the saying “I used to think I could never lose someone if I photographed them enough. In fact, my pictures show me how much I’ve lost.” – Nan Goldin

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02 Apr

Look behind the facade….

By Silver Blue

[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/jh-f.mp3]

A series of shots of harlequin masks shot over the past 5 years.

Masquerade noun \ˌmas-kə-ˈrād\: a social gathering of persons wearing masks and often fantastic costumes (Merriam-Webster Definition)

Facade noun \fə-ˈsäd\: a false, superficial, or artificial appearance or effect (Merriam-Webster definition)





Harlequin noun \ˈhär-li-k(w)ən\: a character in comedy and pantomime with a shaved head, masked face, variegated tights, and wooden sword  (Merriam-Webster Definition)

These “masks”, designed for decorative purposes only, run from $19.99 for the very small, basically unadorned, to well over $250 for the feathered and hand painted/glittered. While I don’t own any of these (I much prefer the one here from my great friend $ally and James, which adorns my mantle), I am taken in with their beauty when I visit.

Silver Blue… who has far too many “Masquerade” songs in his archives for his own good. 🙂

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01 Apr

South of Virginia…

By Silver Blue

…in Elizabeth City, NC. 2006. Not much to say about these photos, so I’ll let them stand on their own.

Silver Blue, who is thankful that the photos remain, long after the reason for taking them has gone by the wayside.

 

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22 Mar

Go…I must let you go…

By Silver Blue

Sometimes, you know that what you want, and what you have to do are polar opposites. Like a flame that cannot be held. Some things have to burn freely, and if you attempt to control them YOU’RE the one who gets burned.

Friendship is like that. Romance is like that. Love, life, and happiness are all like that.

Though we may think we know what is best, the multiverse always has its own design.

The hard part is to let go. To turn it over, to allow a power greater than yourself to bring you to clarity, peace of mind, and serenity.

Too often, however, human ego, greed, and desire gets in the way.  You may escape the flames at first, but there’s that little thing called…

…Karma. It has a way of bringing the past, present and future together. Best to keep a clear account with Karma. For what you put out to the multiverse, so you shall reap.

These photos were taken on a warm September’s night in 2006. Everyone who was present that night has had their lives changed, for better or worse. Come to think of it, of the people who were there who were in a relationship, not one still exists six years later. So go the sands of time…

[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/cfbe.mp3]

Silver Blue, who is introspective and contemplative tonight. Must be the New Moon tonight.

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01 Mar

I used to be confused, now I just don’t know…

By Silver Blue

…since you’ve left I’ve been watching blue skies come and go…

Somewhere around Elizabeth City, NC, 2006.

Nags Head, NC, 2006.

Monitor Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel, 2009.

Harris Teeter Parking Lot, Suffolk, VA 2009.

Regardless… we’ll always have…

Paris, France, 1982.

[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/bsa.mp3]

Silver Blue, who does watch those blue skies come and go…

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29 Feb

Look Closer…it’s the pattern of my life.

By Silver Blue

A bear in a boat…

…and a bear with a spyglass (and gull).

A plush pink poodle that was punted from the property….

…and Mama Quinn’s face.

Silver Blue, who says there’s no love like the love of Roxette Bunny™.

[audio:https://www.eyesofsilverblue.com/poml.mp3]
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