Earlier this month I noticed a lot of activity among our bird population going on outside the kitchen window. There is a shade attached to the window frame that we use when it gets Africa hot here in Atlanta. Because we were having company over Memorial Day I rolled the shade up and forgot to unroll it until it was too late. This is what I saw as I was trying to get to the bottom of all of the racket going on. It appeared to be the beginning of a bird's nest. Not being much of a bird lover, I was all for unrolling the welcome mat, but Tom with his new found affection to feathered creatures, unbeknownst to me, thought we should keep it up, thus encouraging the invasion.
So twenty-five days later we have newborns. This morning momma bird and daddy bird were besides themselves signaling to anyone within five miles that their babies had arrived. I'm getting no peace. God love 'em, but does anyone know how long it will take before they set sail? Here's the thing of it: I know it's not all about me, but really, it's as hot as blue blazes and I need my shade back.
Eye on Composition was the title of my last photography class. As you can probably guess, we focused on the rules of composition, you know, like color, leading lines, depth, scale, and the rule of thirds to name a few. As I studied the images that I shot during the six week period, I discovered that I seem to gravitate to the rule called symmetry. This surprises me because I like to think that I am very non-traditional and occasionally like to buck the rules. Some call it living "out of the box."
I think I like to venture "out of the box," but I suppose shooting "out of the box" is kinda risky. Every time take a "funky" shot or try to make it "funky" with the help of Photoshop, my husband and friends don't like it. Okay there was one shot that I took at the beach that was definitely OOTB (out of the box) and my friend, Karen, liked it...so I gave it to her.
To me, symmetry is calm and expected. It is what it is. I consider it "in the box." That can be boring, so I try to add some excitement in post-processing. The image below was shot at Piedmont Park in Atlanta this spring. Our instructor said that reflections are almost always symmetrical, so I found the lake and shot it. If I had cropped it right under the water line, it wouldn't have been symmetrical, but you already know that. This image still needs some work, but you get the picture.
The next image was taken behind a restaurant situated on the Chattahoochee River. To take this shot I had to venture "out of the box," meaning that my "grip" (Karen) and I had to sneak around the back of the property and hope no one was there. It was Memorial Day and thankfully the restaurant was closed. This is the front of a huge leaf on a plant that I have no idea what it is. All I know is that it's another example of symmetry.
So here's what I think. I'm confused when it comes to thinking and living. I think OOTB, but most of the time I live ITB. It's so sad.
He doesn't know aperture and shutter speed, but knows rhythm and blues and he can shag!
Cast of Characters
The following people are named in some of my posts. To make it simple, I'll explain who they are: Tom - my husband George- my stepson Janie- my California sister who leans to the left, Jennifer's mom Jennifer- my niece who teaches in Brooklyn Barbara, Penny, and Mary -my old, old, friends Karen- my friend and my "grip" Nancy Faye- my friend from my early teaching days Doris- way back friend from Huntington This is not the entire list, but it's a start.
From time to time I will post images that I have taken either at the beach or on a vacation. Many of these will appear in my shop at ETSY. Please visit me at: www.nmccorklephotography.etsy.com/
Leaving education after many, many years, I wondered what I was going to do with the rest of my life? I felt a need to stay connected to education so I renewed my educator's certificate and began volunteering in my local school. I even worked part-time for two years with a book publishing company conducting workshops for teachers and attending textbook adoption seminars. Around this time, my sister also left education (notice I don't use the word retired?...sounds old) that opened the door for traveling. We've (my sister, my brother-in-law, and myself) been to Europe four times....I draw the line at China and cruises. Can't do boats and I really don't like Chinese food. During these trips I began taking millions of images. Then came the photography classes that led to Elements that demanded a bigger and better camera, resulting in better processing in CS3 and even better processing in Lightroom and on and on. Oh, I forgot to mention that two summers ago I was an extra in the movie, We Are Marshall. Being a Marshall graduate the movie had special meaning to me. What an experience.
So twenty-five days later we have newborns. This morning momma bird and daddy bird were besides themselves signaling to anyone within five miles that their babies had arrived. I'm getting no peace.
God love 'em, but does anyone know how long it will take before they set sail? Here's the thing of it: I know it's not all about me, but really, it's as hot as blue blazes and I need my shade back. 
The next image was taken behind a restaurant situated on the Chattahoochee River. To take this shot I had to venture "out of the box," meaning that my "grip" (Karen) and I had to sneak around the back of the property and hope no one was there. It was Memorial Day and thankfully the restaurant was closed. This is the front of a huge leaf on a plant that I have no idea what it is. All I know is that it's another example of symmetry. 
So here's what I think. I'm confused when it comes to thinking and living. I think OOTB, but most of the time I live ITB. It's so sad.
