When you see something that catches your eye and you decide to take a picture of it, don't just snap. That is what I did in the picture above. It is nothing special. Kevin is a beautiful cat, but the composition does not cause you to look any longer than for a quick glance. What you should do when you decide to take, really to "make" a photo, is to stop and think. How can I take this in such a way that the viewer lingers a bit longer when looking, and maybe even thinks about what might be happening. What caught your eye? How can you show what you were drawn to?

Let me take you through my thought processes in these next photos. I saw Kevin looking out at the rain and I liked the contrast of his coloring, the flowers and the blue of the pool. I also liked the water on the floor next to him and the water droplet on the screen. The droplets leads the viewer to know that it's probably raining out. I love the melancholy look of someone looking out the window on a rainy day. A cat doing so  makes me wonder what he is thinking. Does he not understand rain since he is an indoor cat? Does he want to explore? I like this effect, but I wanted to improve it. Not having his full tail felt wrong to me. The final version below works better for me.

After moving back a bit, I was able to get his tail, which mimics the angle of the door, leading us to him. It just feels better that it is not cut off. All the other elements are still there and now  he turned his head a bit so we now can see a bit of his face and where he is looking. 

I like Queen Ann's Lace because of its intricate structure. Taking a photo of a field of it might be boring so I thought about what could make  a more interesting shot. My decision was to get down low to make that one stem taller than the tree-line in the background and let the blue sky provide a background that brings it out more.

Liking the effect of the blue sky, I decided to get down even lower and shoot up. Some people may not like the bright sun spot and I can understand that, but I chose to keep it this way because I liked the way it tilts the balance of the photo to one side. A little bit of tension added. When you are the photographer, you get to choose what is included in the frame.

I found this bathroom quite interesting, but didn't want to stay in it to read everything. Having the picture of it allows me time to read it unscented. Including the TP, the pen, and the edge of the toilet seat, gives more information for the viewer to think about.  See if you can figure out where this bathroom might be.

Driving back from dropping off my daughter at the airport just before sunrise, I saw the beautiful colors in the sky off in the distance near Boston. I knew I wanted to take a picture, but needed something to contrast with the sky to add interest. So I went in search of something. I found this streetlight and thought it was perfect. I loved its style. The birds were just luck.

The old peeling paint and color of this aging barn was appealing to me. It made me think of an Andrew Wyeth painting. I tried to think of how he might have painted the scene. So many of his paintings include multi paned windows so I decided to concentrate on the window.  I moved in close and noticed the reflection. My intent was to make the image black and white like many of Wyeth's paintings, but seeing the contrast of the window reflection color and the exterior color of the barn, I decided to keep the color.

The above Andrew Wyeth  inspiration is titled "Around The Corner"

In my final example in this blog, I have this image.It was  taken when I was photographing a wedding. I liked the way the light was hitting the fountain. I thought about how to showcase the water in the best way. I decided to make the focus the water droplets. In order to do that, I had to increase the shutter speed in order to freeze the droplets and focus on the outer edge of the fountain.

Sometimes when you see something that would make a good picture, you have to act fast and you are not able to stop and ponder how to make the photo better. However, when you are able to do so; stop, think, compose, take the shot, and then adjust if needed and retake.  Don't just take a photo, make a photo .

Now that Chris and Maddie's wedding  has come and gone, I am a little sad. ( Below is the proposal picture)

Since last November when they got engaged, wedding planning has been pretty paramount in  our lives. It has been a time of a lot of family and friend involvement. I so love being around people. I already miss everyone not being around. Don't get me wrong, it was chaotic and hectic a lot of the time, but all in all, I LOVED it! Now everyone is gone and it is life as usual and I miss the hubbub.

 Here is a pretty long recap of all the events of the last year:
One of the first tasks we had was to find Maddie a wedding dress. Maddie was interested in remaking my dress into a more modern style.

I found someone who was willing to remake the dress. The plan was to take the sleeves off and slim the skirt. My other two daughters suggested she look for a dress just in case. What were they trying to say?

So, off to the bridal shop a whole crew of us went.

She tried on several different dresses. I love the back on this one.

The neckline was beautiful here.

I have to say, she looked good in all of the dresses. 

Then  she put this one on and we all knew it was the one.

She said yes to the dress! No need to remake my dress and the price was less than what  I paid for my wedding gown 30 years ago! I think the sisters were relieved.

Next on the wedding planning timeline, practice flower arranging to see if I was capable of doing the flowers.

Not bad for a first try.  I decided to take it on.

Maddie's two sisters were chosen as co-Maid of Honors. Seeing that Sarah lives in Hawaii and would not be home until the week before the wedding, it was up to Emily to plan the bridal shower, and I tell you, if you need someone to plan an event, you want Emily. She did a fabulous job. She thought of everything. She meticulously planned and put on one beautiful shower with help from others, especially Aunt Ginnie.

Unfortunately, as the evening went on, it started to pour, so it was an actual "Shower".

I made the invitations and the Save The Date cards. My Photoshop skills came in handy and saved us lots of money.

  Of course the week before the wedding, the pool liner was replaced because it got a rip in it. 
In preparation for the wedding to make our house and yard presentable, my husband did so much work . He dug out old fence posts and replaced them, fixed the broken gate, painted the whole fence, did a lot of landscape work, fixed and painted the front porch, built new brick steps at the end of the walkway in front of the house, installed a new front door and many other things. I am one lucky women to have him around!

Once Sarah returned from Hawaii, she worked hard to get rid of the name she had been given while she was away, "The Deadbeat Hawaiian."  She was called this lovingly because Emily was doing all the Maid of Honor jobs. She set out to rectify this by organizing and putting on an excellent bachelorette celebration that started in the late afternoon with delicious food and drinks.This was followed by followed by an excellent choice of  going to Boston to  be entertained by trying to escape the drunk room at Trapology. After our escape, we had dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant. The evening ended in typical fashion with all of us playing games at the Ford house. The night was a huge success!

As the time of the wedding got closer, I had to make a big list so I wouldn't forget anything. Checking off the boxes felt so good.

The last days before the wedding were filled with lots of preparation. Here we were making table number holders out of wire and old door knobs. We ended up using playing cards instead of numbers. Oscar the dog was a big help.

John made sure the program was done perfectly.

Sarah made sure Chris was well groomed.

My wonderful friend, Linda,  beautifully decorated the church. It is helpful to have talented friends.
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Speaking of talented friends, my friend Reta shopped with me at Costco, Whole Foods, and  Wegmans to buy the flowers for the reception and to make bouquets and boutonnieres. She spent all day with me in the church basement, making flower creations. At night, the reinforcements, the family cousins, aunt Ginnie ,Sarah, and even Maddie, joined us in centerpiece making, followed by pizza at our house. It was so amazing to see the variety of centerpieces that were created after I told them my general ideas. It was cool to see them take shape after I had spent the last ear collecting items at antique stores. I so enjoying spending time with everyone while creating things for the wedding.

Emily, my talented daughter, spent countless hours creating things for the wedding. Below are some samples of her work.

Finally, it is time for the rehearsal, so well run by the father of the bride, who made it clear that opinions on how to run things were not welcomed. The only person to break that rule, was yours truly, I couldn't help myself.

After a delicious rehearsal dinner, thanks to the Dumais family, many people seemed to end up in he pool.

If you  have gotten this far in this blog (novel), I'm impressed. Perhaps you need to get out more.
The day has finally arrived, so many people need to get ready together, WHAT A BLAST!!! I love a day surrounded by people I love. A big thanks to uncle Eddie and Patty, who hosted the guys at their house.


.........And finally, The wedding.  My dad was sitting behind me and was in charge of holding my camera. Even though I hired my friend to do the photography, it didn't take me long to lean back and get my camera from my dad, so I have a few unofficial photos of the wedding already.

I loved the wedding and would not change a thing.  I am so happy for both of them. Now, I can't wait to see some pictures!