The last thirty minutes of a day in Saint Andrews-by-the-sea. We capped off an afternoon of candy, playing, sea glass, good eats, and family time with a stop by the blockhouse while the tide was going out. I will miss these beautiful summer day trips.
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Summer is sliding by. I don't even want to talk about it. Summer is my favourite time - my kids are home, adventure greets us every morning, the sun shines, the air is fresh. I dread the monotony of school lunches and hustling everyone out the door early, of washing uniforms, of our nights at the river ending as the cool fall air moves in. I cannot think about it. Instead, I will think of afternoons like this - hot. So hot the sound of crickets is all you can hear, snapping in the heat, except for the occasional rumble of thunder. Rain only seems to fall in those late-afternoon thunderstorms, and I LOVE them. I love the blue-grey clouds, the distant thumping of thunder, the majesty of lightning, the smell of hot pavement when rain hits it. It makes my throat hurt with happiness. My 30 minutes this month was not even 30 minutes - it was more like twenty. We walked up in the damp heat to the field across from the orchard and watched lightning flash in the distance and listened to the crickets and the thunder. We squeezed it in between grocery shopping and dinner, because I cannot resist the call of a late July afternoon. Next in our circle is one of my favourite photographers, Aniya Legnaro. Don't miss it!
www.lifebyaniya.com/blog/2016/7/24/30-minutes-in-the-life-july-2016-rugby After a whirlwind couple of months during which I had time to work, eat, and sleep, I have finally gotten back into the swing of normalcy and picked my camera up again regularly in the process.
I'm not going to lie - not having time to photograph was hard. But it was also really, really good for me. I needed some time where I only grabbed my camera when the moment moved me instead of aiming for something awesome every day. Sometimes I would go most of the week without touching my camera. For someone who has been obsessed with picture-taking for the past six years, this is a Big Deal. Since I finished work, I've been rediscovering our 'normal' life and bringing my camera along, too. One of the ways we really wanted to celebrate the coming of summer and its accompanying relaxation was to go on our first camping trip of the season. We drove to the coast, pitched our tent - and it began to drizzle. We made the most of it and had a wonderful time anyway (especially when the sun came out mid-morning!) One of the places we visited was Ganong Nature Park, which we discovered last summer and hoped to come back to. I remembered it as being simple and pretty, but we had been there in July. Coming back in May was astounding, because the park was bursting with flowering trees and vibrant greens. We only stayed thirty minutes as it was cold and dark, but it was wonderful nonetheless. I haven't seen too many winters where one can tap trees and get sap in February, but this is one of them. My husband taps a few trees around our property, and we boil down the sap on our wood stove (which we use to heat the house), resulting in jars of golden maple syrup. The kids love to tag along and check the sap cans to see how much we've managed. I can remember doing it last year with thigh-deep snow and a toddler strapped to my back, so this year's half-bare ground is a happy surprise. Roll on, spring. We're already antsy for you.
Click on through to see what thirty minutes looks like in Connecticut this month: http://www.lizgodfreyphotography.com/blog/2016/2/22/30-minutes-in-the-life-february I don't like winter. I never have. But today was the kind of winter I can handle - warmer than usual, with squeaky snow and no mittens required. We went for a walk along our road, as we often do during the other seasons, and poked around in my husband's uncle's barn. We could see our breath but we could also feel our ears. It's days like today that remind me that spring is coming. And there's something about those pops of colour against the milky background that make me smile.
January, you've been alright. Click on through to see what Amanda has been up to this month. http://www.amandavoelkerphotography.com/blog/30-minutes-in-the-life-january-2016 I didn't take a lot of photos over the holidays. Not because I thought I needed to put my camera down to enjoy it all, but maybe that the photos I did take, while nothing spectacular, seemed to sum up our Christmas. A little pause in between gift experiments - a flash of dark eyes as a happy kid raced past - a girl in a party dress - trees and pretty baubles - and light, so much milky yellow December light, pouring in on us. As it should be. Dear reader, I wish you a 2016 full of light. Go see what Lynzi Berg has been doing this month:
http://www.lynzibergphotography.com/30-minutes-in-the-life-december-2015/ I promise we do more than just walk in the woods. We live in the country and I don't have a lot of opportunity (or desire) to take my camera along to community/social events, so you get what you get - in this case, red branches for the vase on my front porch. This particular area is in our backyard. But first, a little bit of meandering, a little bit of exploring, because it's what we do best. Up next with her 30 minutes is the always amazing Amanda Voelkner:
http://www.amandavoelkerphotography.com/blog/30-minutes-in-the-life-november-2015 You know how sometimes when you're invited to a potluck, you decide to try a new recipe, even though you really have no idea how it will turn out and won't have time to make an old favourite if the new one is awful? Sometimes I do that with photography. So, presenting 30 minutes in my October yard, freelensing with an old Pentax 200mm lens that I've never picked up before. Now click on through to see what Karen Hunt has been up to this October: http://karenhuntphotography.blogspot.ca/2015/10/october-30-minutes-in-life-remington.html We spent our summer running to the river. As September draws to a close, those evenings are no longer spent wallowing in the warm water - but instead, we bring our snuggly bear, we throw rocks and explore the banks, and retreat when the chill gets to be too much. On this particular evening - one of our last official river visits of the summer - I brought along my prism to give the photos a dream-like quality. Click on through the blog circle to see what Colleen Putman has been up to. Her work is absolutely gorgeous so you won't regret it!
http://blog.colleenputman.com/30-minutes-in-september-sitting-on-a-park-bench I was recently honoured with a photographer-of-the-month title from one of my absolute favourite groups, one called 30 Minutes in the Life. As part of this, I have the incredible opportunity to join in on the monthly blog circle put on by the admin from this site. I feel pretty humbled to have my little page in amongst their work, so thank you, 30 Min folks, for inviting me along for the ride. My 30 minutes was from a quick trip to the river one evening last week. We didn't have a lot of time before dark (and dark means bedtime), but we always try to make the most of these little bursts of togetherness. This spot is one of my favourites - lined with blackberry bushes, the overgrown trail winds down through the trees until it suddenly opens along a riverside trail. We stumble and scratch our way down to the shallow river, and get our fill of late-summer evening. I generally take my post on a large rock, camera in hand (and, this particular time, I had my Lensbaby Edge 80 on it), and drink it all in - the shouts, the laughter, the setting sun, my favourite people. My favourite way to spend thirty minutes. Now click on over to see the lovely Colleen Putman's latest 30 minutes:
http://blog.colleenputman.com/30-minutes-in-august-brooklyn-flea/ |
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Other schtuff, like when I force people to model for me with promises of hot beverages and/or chocolate. Archives
July 2016
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