Moments Caught in Flight: A photo blog

Still in bloom

2009-09-30T15:43:00.002-04:00

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I've forgotten what this plant is called, but I know I liked it because of its alien appearance. I thought I'd killed it through neglect while I was pregnant over the summer and when Xander came home, but after cutting it back, it's re-bloomed.

With cold weather and autumn rapidly descending on us, it's nice to see some flowering action in the back yard.

Autumn arrangements

2009-09-29T07:32:00.000-04:00

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I was out on a stroll with Xander when I saw this wheelbarrow filled with fall flowers and a pumpkin out front of someone's house.

My Sleepy Elf

2009-09-23T14:07:00.004-04:00

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Have you wondered where I've been hiding? Well, I've been kind of busy with this little guy, Xander, who was born Aug. 8.

This is his 1-month photo. We dressed him in his polar bear pajamas and a hat that Auntie Kelly knitted for him, then propped him up on our LoveSac to take photos. I'm experimenting with my new external flash and still learning to bounce the light correctly.

Xander woke for the second half of the photo shoot, but this is still my favorite photo from it.

An Eye on Dali's clock

2009-05-21T08:21:00.001-04:00

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Along the Southbank of the Thames in London, across the bridge from Westminster, is the London Eye, a giant Ferris Wheel that has quickly become a London landmark. Next to the Eye is County Hall, which is currently exhibiting The Dali Universe featuring the works of the famous artist Dali and other surrealists.

Giant Dali statues line the Thames in front of County Hall. I was drawn to this one of the melting clock. I like the way the Eye looms over the statue. I just wish I'd turned on my fill flash to brighten up the face of the statue more.

Skies over Westminster

2009-05-15T17:45:00.000-04:00

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I overlooked this photo on my first pass through my vacation photos, thinking it looked like just another snapshot of Westminster. When someone "favorited" it on Flickr, I took a second look. And then I noticed the sky behind Westminster. It almost has a painted-in look to it. Like it was done in watercolors or something. Very cool looking, I think.

I took this about two weeks ago from the London Eye, which is the giant Ferris wheel along the Thames. It's probably the only photo I took through the glass that doesn't show any random reflections.

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday today.
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St. Paul's in Spring

2009-05-13T09:01:00.000-04:00

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Yet another shot from our recent trip to London. This one is of St. Paul's Cathedral. I think the flowers are wisteria, I'm not sure, I just know I like the color and contrast they bring to the shot.

I had a really hard time deciding which view of the cathedral I like best. The vertical shown or the horizontal. I ultimately decided on the vertical, because it shows the trailing ends of the flowers. Do you have any thoughts?

The pitchfork tree

2009-05-12T09:01:00.003-04:00

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In the courtyard outside the Southwark Register Offices and Nationality Services in London where our friends were married, was this intriguing tree that reminded me of a pitchfork reaching skyward. Naturally, I had to snap off a few pictures. I like the framing and mood on this one, even though it makes it difficult to see the cool-looking mottled texture of the bark.

Tower Bridge at night

2009-05-11T09:01:00.000-04:00

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A touristy shot from our recent trip to London. This is the Tower Bridge all nicely lit up at night. I took this from outside the restaurant where we ate dinner one night. A place called The Butler's Wharf Chop House. Excellent meal with an excellent view.

Super mammoth olives

2009-05-07T18:20:00.000-04:00

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Another photo from Borough Market in London. This one of bulk bins of olives. I don't know why, but there's something about bulk bins at produce markets that seem so picturesque. I don't even like olives, yet these bins call to me.

I had a hard time deciding which of these two photos I like better, the still-life one shown above, or this one with the merchant packaging up some of the olives, which has some action. Usually I go for the action shots, but I think I like the colors and framing better on the photo shown.

Borough Market

2009-05-06T18:22:00.000-04:00

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A long overdue update! Yes, I'm still here. I've been busy doing everything but photography lately. Thanks for sticking with me and checking back.

Over the weekend we made a whirlwind trip to London to see some good friends married. We arrived Friday morning and left Monday morning. Not enough time to even adjust our body clocks.

Friday we were a couple of jet-lagged zombies as we strolled around our friends' neighborhood in Southwark, which is on the south-east side of the Thames across from the old city of London.

It was a familiar area, as we have visited previously. One of our stops included the Borough Market, which is a famous fresh produce market with a long history.

This photo is the roof above an older part of the market. I think what I like about this photo is the way it juxtaposes the elegant Victorian scrolls against the more modern looking sign and the decay being held back by the netting.

Green shutters

2009-03-26T19:00:00.002-04:00

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While we were in Utah for vacation recently, we went to this little shopping area called Gardner Village, which is near Salt Lake City. Gardner Village was made up of lots of historic old buildings. This shop really caught my eye with its green shutters. I think I love the contrast of the whimsical shutters against the weathered log house. Now, if you have to ask me what the shop sold, I can't be certain. From looking at a map of the village, I think it's yarn.

Blue skies above

2009-03-20T01:01:00.001-04:00

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This was the sky last week while I was on vacation in Utah. We were outside a restaurant at the Canyons Resort near Park City. I love the way the white birch trees play against the perfectly clear blue sky.

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday today.
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Waiting for Spring

2009-03-06T17:43:00.001-05:00

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It's been a few months since I skywatched. Today felt like a great day to jump back into the game.

When the temperatures decided to take a very spring-like turn and hit the mid 60s today, I simply had to get outside. I went over to a park near the office (Lake Park in Des Plaines, IL) and walked around. Nothing is in bloom yet, but it was nice and sunny out, and there were a lot of people enjoying the break from winter.

Here's the marina area of the park, where boats have been parked for the season and are waiting for consistent warm temperatures. My guess is it'll be a few more months before either of these feel the water.

The sky is not the most dramatic, but I should get points for timeliness. It was only a few hours ago.

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday today.
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Hibernating

2009-02-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

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Apparently, that's been me this winter: Hibernating. Now that there are more hours of daylight in the day, I've been feeling the creative urge more. I actually have the camera in my car again, waiting for that next photo-op.

Anyway, what is this photo we're looking at? It's a Simba stuffed animal slowing emerging from the melting snow in our backyard. He was left in the yard by my dogs, who seem to think that all their stuffed animals *want* to be outside. And because all the snow we had in January, Simba ended up getting buried for several weeks. The weather finally warmed up last week and I was able to retrieve him, throw him through a cycle in the washer and dryer, and return him to circulation.

I've written more about Simba's adventures on my other blog, the Beacon. There are lots of photos, if you want to investigate.

Blue skies in January

2009-01-16T01:01:00.000-05:00

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Something about January leaves me uninspired to take photos. It's the second year in a row where my photo-taking has noticeably dipped. Maybe it's because things are so cold and uninspiring outside. Lots of dreary, overcast days.

So, this week, when the skies turned blue, I headed out over lunch to investigate a big, old Dutch-style windmill that I pass on the way home from work. It's in Mount Emblem Cemetery in Elmhurst, Ill.

We'd had a couple inches of fresh snow the day before, so I figured it would be really pretty in the cemetery. It was.

So, I parked my car, took a few minutes to adjust my camera settings and make sure my polarizing filter was clean, and I started tromping through the snow, looking for the best views of the windmill. It was freezing cold, single-digit temperatures, so I moved quickly and trusted my camera settings. Big mistake. Call it a learning experience.

Turns out, I accidentally set the camera on fully manual, instead of program mode, and all my photos turned out horribly over-exposed. Only this photo and two others were salvageable.

Pretty blue skies, right? But here's a hint, blue skies in the winter often mean the coldest weather, because it's too cold to hold much moisture in the air, or something like that. And when it's really cold outside, don't be in so much of a hurry that you forget to double-check your camera settings...

Looks like I'll be going back to photograph the windmill again.

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday today.
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Z is for... Catching some z z z Z Z Z's

2009-01-14T19:05:00.000-05:00

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My friend's Dad falls asleep during a family birthday party. I took this photo on request. Usually, I'm not the one to make fun of others for falling asleep in the middle of a social gathering. It happens far too much in my family.

When I was growing up, it was a long-standing joke in my family that whenever the Hugheses got together, shortly after dinner you could watch them all fall asleep one by one until you were left with a room full of wide-awake spouses. Everyone who was a Hughes by blood would have fallen asleep.

Fortunately, while my sister and I don't fall asleep at the dinner table (Yes, I've watched my Dad, uncle and cousins do that many times), I do have a reputation for falling asleep while watching movies and television, especially if it's a cartoon or if I've seen the movie before.

I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter Z.
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Y is for... Y.M.C.A.

2009-01-07T13:04:00.000-05:00

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Last winter, my nephew had a school production titled "On the Radio" where they worked through several decades worth of songs. When they did the 1970s, they included the Village People song Y.M.C.A. Of course, the students made everyone get up and dance with them.

My camera was still really new to me, so I was experimenting a lot with shooting in the gymnasium's available light. I wasn't so pleased with the individual shots I got, so I made this collage. My nephew is the dark-haired boy on the left in all the shots.

The song evokes a distinct memory for me. I clearly remember the Father's Day when my cousins gave my grandfather the 45 version of this song. As we played it on the living room record player, my cousins and uncle thought it was hilarious, but my grandfather didn't seem to get it. I think the 45 wound up in the 45 collection that my sister and I kept (and I still have).

Why did they give him a copy of the song? My grandfather, Noel Hughes, made his career with the YMCA, working for the Y in Evanston, Ill. In fact, the YMCA was the very reason he moved to the United States, as he came to study at George Williams College, which was run by the YMCA.

My great-grandfather, George W. W. B. Hughes, also had his career with the YMCA in New Zealand and Australia, rising to the position of general secretary, and earning recognition for his work with soldiers during World War I.

Oh, I didn't participate in ABC Wednesday last week, so I'm posting my X entry below. It's a literal take on "X", showing the cross supports of a foot bridge in Naperville, IL.

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I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter Y.
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Red toy scarves are good nibbles

2009-01-06T05:51:00.003-05:00

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Here are Loki (left) and Thor showing off their new toys they received as gifts. Loki's toy is a Santa bear, while Thor's is a moose. The bigger their stuffed toys, the more they like them. And when there are little accessories to chew on, like the red scarves the toys are wearing, all the better.

Unfortunately, besides the accessories on the toys, this photo is a little skimpy on red to be a really good Ruby Tuesday post. But I choose it for other reasons, too -- mainly because it was taken only two weeks ago and it shows both dogs together.

And both dogs are on my mind today for good and bad reasons.

The good reason is it's Thor's birthday. He's 5 years old. Happy Birthday little dude. Let's celebrate many more.

The bad reason is that Loki has a lump over her left eye that she will probably have to have surgically removed on Monday. The lump has me very concerned, but I'll post more about that on my journal blog soon, since it's outside the scope of this photo blog.

Oh, in case you're wondering, it's been two weeks and the stuffed bear and moose are still very much intact. There has been no disemboweling or de-accessorizing yet. Yet.

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
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Curious Cardinal

2008-12-30T01:01:00.000-05:00

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I saw this cardinal while walking in a local park earlier this month. He was high up in a tree and acting really shy. I had to put on my bigger lens to get this close a view. This was the best angle on him that I could get. Most of the others show his lovely backside. He really was being shy and difficult.

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
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Which way should we walk?

2008-12-29T18:57:00.001-05:00

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I'm posting this several days late because I hate the idea of missing a day in the ABC Wednesday challenge. Here's my W entry that should have been posted last week.

I took this while on vacation last year in Australia. We were at the Otway Fly Tree Top walk in Victoria. This if from the top of the tower -- 47 meters up -- looking straight down on the rainforest and catwalks. To give you some idea of scale, the people walking on the catwalks are probably about 25 meters above the rainforest floor. The plants on the rainforest floor are tree ferns.

We did this as a day trip from Melbourne. It was a long day, but well worth it, especially as we took the Great Ocean Road home.

P.S. To answer my own question about which way to walk: Can't go right, that's the way in. We could go left, but that will lead us to a dead end. The middle is the way out.

I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter W.
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Little Red Bartender

2008-12-23T12:02:00.000-05:00

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Growing up, we had a unique Christmas tradition in my family. Every year, my parents would buy us a battery operated toy. Not a remote-controlled toy, just battery operated. Like little train sets, a dog, a police car, a helicopter. One in particular that I remember was a little bunny that hopped around chasing a carrot. Unfortunately, he, like many of the toys, didn't survive the years.

Part of our tradition was that these toys were always packed up with the Christmas decorations at the end of the season, not to be played with again until next year.

When we grew up and moved out of my parents' house, my Mom divvied up the toys between me and my sister. I still have mine, but haven't added to the collection. I think it's something that's more fun when there are kids around.

This little bartender in the photo was the inspiration for the family tradition. He was my grandfather's and dates to the 1960s. The martini glass and shaker have had to be repaired over the years, but when I last put batteries in him two years ago, he still worked perfectly. He shakes his arm, mixing the drink in the martini shaker, then pours it into the martini glass and takes a sip. Then his face turns red and smoke comes out his ears.

He's also the exception to the rule about the toys getting packed up with the Christmas decorations. I'm afraid to subject him to the heat and cold extremes of our attic, so instead, he resides in his original box in our living room bar. It's where a bartender belongs. :)

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
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Snowy cottage under overcast sky

2008-12-19T17:46:00.001-05:00

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Overcast and snowy. That describes my skies today. After lunch, I pulled on my snow boots and went for a walk at a local park, hoping to catch some interesting skies. But the skies weren't doing anything interesting. The snow had stopped, but the clouds hadn't parted. I kept hearing planes passing overhead (it's next to the airport), but couldn't see most of them.

You can see what I mean in this photo. The building is one that I featured in a previous Skywatch two months ago. The seasons change...

I'm participating in Skywatch Friday today.
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V is for Vertigo

2008-12-17T02:32:00.000-05:00

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If I stare at this photo too much, especially at a larger size where I can see more detail, I get a sense of vertigo.

I took this photo a few years ago from the observation deck of the "Eiffel Tower" at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. It's a long way down, isn't it?

I'm participating in ABC Wednesday today with the letter V.
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My evil truffles -- mwah ha ha

2008-12-16T14:19:00.000-05:00

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I cook just enough to get by. Sure, I have a few specialty dishes for potluck dinners, but nothing spectacular.

I bake even less frequently. The one time of year I do attempt to bake, though, is right before Christmas for my co-worker's annual cookie exchange party. I love the event.

If you've never been to a cookie exchange, the idea is that you bake a preset number of cookies (for this party it was four dozen), then bring it to the party and exchange cookies with everyone else. Easy.

The first year I went to this party, I broke a cardinal rule and brought store-bought cookies that I served on Tupperware. They invited me back anyway. By the second year, I'd learned my lesson and even invested in a red holiday cookie platter specially for the event.

I experimented with a lot of cookie recipes over the years, but I'd never found a recipe that was a keeper until this year.

This year, it was the Oreo Truffle Balls. It's a What's Cooking America recipe that I stumbled on at the Chocolate and Tattoos blog. They're sinful. One of my friends has been calling them Haley's Evil Truffles.

Funny thing was, at the cookie party, a few people thought they looked store-bought. A big compliment on my chocolate-dipping skills, I guess, although I got a little sloppy with the white chocolate drizzle. That's what happens when I'm drizzling chocolate at 2 a.m. the night before, I guess.

The biggest compliment I received on them? The hostess at the cookie party asked me to make them again next year.

I'm participating in Ruby Tuesday today.
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The last candle

2008-12-15T17:09:00.001-05:00

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For today's photo, I'm reaching back to last year when my nephew turned 8. It's a favorite of mine with the way the one candle illuminates his face, leaving everything else so dark.

This photo has been featured on this site before as part of a triptych, but this is the first time it's been featured alone. To me it has a different mood alone vs. part of a series.

I took this with my old point-and-shoot camera on automatic settings with the flash turned off.

I'm participating in Manic Monday today with the theme of Candle.
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