Peoria In Pictures

Spring is almost here

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:48:00 +0000

So I've been busy taking pictures of Peorians these days...mostly high schoolers in the Spring play at the nearby high school but, unfortunately, nothing I have permission to post here. I do this as a favor to one of the teachers I know. It's been fun but time consuming as I'm also putting the play program together. I used to work at a print shop many moons ago and, although I haven't held that job or anything similar since 2006, I still miss the challenge of working against a deadline. Heck, who am I kidding? I miss the smell of ink and the sound of the presses running in the back room. Those jobs were some of the best ones I had and I can almost taste the ink on the back of my throat as I sit here and reminisce.

Aside from that, I've been watching our backyard and trees diligently for robbins. According to this entry from last year the robbins should be back by now. But even if it takes another week or so to see one, I'm mostly just excited to see the mercury rising in our thermometer for a change. I've actually gone to work wearing just a light fleece jacket rather than the heavy LL Bean one that's good to -5 and of which I've become fondly attached to since December. It'll be good to ditch the jacket altogether and start digging in the dirt again. I've got plans for a flower and a faerie garden in my yard this year.

Anyhow, as you've read, I've got nothing interesting to say and no pictures to go with it. I'm sorry about that. Eventually things will pick up again on the Peoria photos front so check back often.

Coming Over

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:31:00 +0000

I really do think I'm gonna grab a willing model and head out to this place to take some portraits. I'm really liking all these curves and lines and semi-circles:

Neverending Archways

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 13:28:00 +0000

Imagine if walking through these archways would zap you into the past...or maybe the future...where would you go?

I don't think I'd go anywhere other than here. I'm pretty content being here.

Hide n Seek with the Sun

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:19:00 +0000

Most definitely a great place to take portrait pics:

More Pergola

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:17:00 +0000

Just a black and white of the lines and shadows in the Glen Oak Park pergola:

Glen Oak Park Pergola

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Some of the Flickr group members got together to check out the gazebo at Glen Oak Park this past weekend. First of all, I had no idea there was more than one entrance to that place. Second, I thought all there was to see was the zoo and Luthy Botanical gardens. I now stand corrected:

I know I've seen this pergola in other photographer's photo streams but I never knew where it was. It's a gorgeous place to check out, photographically speaking, if you haven't been there already. The dusting of snow on the ground really made it stand out the day we were there.

More pics to come later this week.

Steps of Stone

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:11:00 +0000

There's a house in East Peoria that has the most amazing stairs made of stone. They look particularly incredible in the Fall with leaves scattered about and in the Winter right after it's snowed. I never seem to have my camera at the right time but I got lucky the other day:

I hope this Fall I can capture those stairs again with the Fall leaves on them. Here's a pic I took last Fall just to give you a peek:

I'm not at all happy with this photo but that's the best part of being a digital photographer--you can immediately see your results, learn from the mistakes and retake the shot if the subject allows.

Footsteps in the Snow

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 14:20:00 +0000

A little bit of Peoria coming to you from the East Peoria side:

Those two identical buildings on the right hand side are called the Twin Towers. They house a few businesses on the ground floor and condos.

Had a dream the other night that Spring was in full swing and all these wonderful plants were coming up in my yard...then I woke up to hear the weather lady say the low for the night was going to be 3 degrees. In that state between being fully awake but not quite asleep and still feeling the warmth of the sun from my dream, I got ticked off. Can you blame me? ;)

Anyhow, this is what the outside looks like right now. The snow was ankle deep in some places. Although it's a beautiful thing to photograph, I can't wait for it to be gone.

Snow Days

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:31:00 +0000

Gotta love the snow days around here. Hoping to get out there to take some pics in a little bit. Let's see what I can capture. The only bad thing is that when the snow plows come through, all the snow gets pushed to the side of the road, leaving no place to pull over. I got slightly stuck the other day but, thankfully, I had the presence of mind to park on a hill so I was able to roll backwards to get the car moving. It would have been a bit embarrassing having to call the Husband to ask him to come get me out. He always rubs it in when I do stupid things like that. Right, Husband?? :p

I leave you with a pic of the daughter I took last night. It's gone from me having to bribe her with candy to me paying her with cash. *sigh* Nothing in life is free anymore, is it?

Shaking Things Up

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 03:50:00 +0000

I'm shaking up the blog. Thinking about renaming it altogether but haven't quite decided to what. My Life in Peoria, maybe? Living in Peoria? Not sure. I know I haven't explored enough of the area to take Peoria out of the name but I'm no longer wanting to keep it so narrowly focused. It's limiting and tough to update some months, especially in the winter. So bear with me while I think things through.

In the meantime, I've been playing with light and flashes and taking pictures of actors these days. No one famous...at least not yet. I've been helping out a local high school with head shots of the kids in the upcoming school play. It's been a lot of fun and has highly challenged my thinking and planning skills, which I like. I'm determined to figure this off-camera flash stuff out so I can branch out into creating more interesting photos.

IN other news, my pre-teen turns 13 tomorrow. Puberty kicked in a few months ago. His crackly voice and upper lip fuzz remind me of that every day. He's shot up a good couple of inches recently and I find it charming that he keeps measuring himself to me about twice per week. He's obsessed with growing taller than his mother. As I write this I shake my head cause I can't believe it's been thirteen years since I laid eyes on that beautiful face with those wonderfully curious baby blue eyes. I still see his baby face when he sleeps. I guess that never goes away for us mothers.

So tomorrow we'll celebrate his birthday, maybe reminisce for a little bit and then I'll officially be the mother of two teenagers. Shiver in fear with me.

Mono Monday

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

This is a shot of the inside of the hallway that leads into the Peoria Civic Center:

I do love all those lines!

Through the Windows

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Another place I really enjoy visiting for photographic purposes is the Peoria Civic Center. It's another one of those places where the 'mood of the view' changes from season to season. I loved walking into the building through the glass hallways this past Fall. Now the scenery has changed once again:

Swirly Whirly

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Not sure I captured this quite the way I wanted but thought I'd post anyhow. This is the view from the parking garage across the street from the Peoria Civic Center:

Wouldn't it be cool to skateboard all the way down?

Peoria Docks

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

One of the areas I find very beautiful in this town are the docks down by the river, believe it or not. I never get tired of going down there to photograph them. They look different from season to season and I especially like them in the winter:

Just to orientate you (especially if you're not from around here), that bridge you see in the background is the Murray Baker. It carries I-74 over the Illinois River and into Peoria. To my left is the Peoria downtown area and to my right, across the river, is East Peoria--a completely separate, much smaller city.

Mono-Monday

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

A little late for Monday but monochrome nevertheless. Forgive my lateness in posting this. I scheduled it ahead of time not realizing it wasn't going to post till Tuesday. Ah well.

Some of the Peoria Flickr group members and I went out walking around the downtown area this past weekend. It was pretty cold out but once we really got moving it wasn't so bad.

I was hoping to get lots more pictures but between the cold and the lack of motivation, I ended up taking just a few shots. This week's photos are from that walk, starting with a black and white shot of the outside of some building we walked by:

Last one of the flash series

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

I just had to throw this one in here because I love this picture! These are a couple more of the random kids hanging out at my house:

Again, this is the black bed sheet used as my background. I pointed a flash and umbrella at each girl and they did the rest. They're so much fun!

I hope I've inspired you to start thinking about that flash class now. ;)

Happy Heart

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

A couple of random kids I found hanging around in my house one afternoon:

I shot this with the white sheet as my background but I wasn't entirely happy with the way it turned out so I dropped out the white in Photoshop and added this textured background. It sounds a lot harder to do than it really is. There's a podcast called Photoshop User TV that you can subscribe to through iTunes. Each episode runs about 30 minutes and is packed with so many Photoshop ideas your head will spin around at first. However, every episode is free--you can't beat that!

More fun with Flashes

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Same flash setup as the previous post. I was having a little fun with this great book which talks in detail about how to use a Nikon flash. It's a fantastic book and not entirely for Nikon shooters. You can use it too if you shoot with a Canon. Really.

More fun with 3D Movie Glasses

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

More fun with the kid and her pair of 3D movie glasses:

Same two flashes as in the previous post except one was positioned behind her to camera left and the other in front at camera right. The background is a big, black sheet I got at Walmart for about $12.

The Fun You Can Have with 3D Movie Glasses

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Here's another picture where I used the same two flashes I mentioned in the previous blog post:

This time, though, I covered one flash with a blue gel and aimed it at the back wall. The other flash is sitting on a stand with a white umbrella, which is aimed at me. And those wonderful glasses are from the movie theater where we saw Avatar in 3D. Love those glasses!

Catching Up Yet Again

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Well, I'm back into the routine of work and general everyday busyness although I did get the day off last week when it snowed. The amazing thing is that my kids didn't. They had to go to school so I spent the day watching chick flicks and drinking coffee. It was heaven. I really should take more days like that!

We received River's ashes last week. I must say, it was a bittersweet homecoming. They came in a little wooden, engraved box which is now sitting on the mantle in the family room. A fitting spot for the dog who loved laying by the fireplace, hogging it from one end to the other. I'm thinking maybe in the spring or summer we will either bury them or spread them around the yard. Not sure yet. Our youngest has had a tough time dealing with his death and has written many poems and cards and stories to or about River. A perfectly healthy way to deal with it, no? Ah, but such is life...short, precious and oftentimes a collection of bittersweet moments.

Aside from day to day family stuff, I've been playing with my flashes and cameras in my basement studio. Unfortunately, we have an unfinished, unheated basement so my moments there are spent in spurts. But those spurts have certainly been productive and I feel I'm getting a better handle on the flash photography stuff. It's certainly fun!

My youngest has been my most willing model--thanks to my ~~bribes~~ sweet talking ways. She's quite the ham in front of the camera although lately she's started to take an interest in being behind it. Personally, I'd love one of my kids to follow in my footsteps and I think she's going to be the one but ssshhh! Don't tell her I said that cause she wants to be as different from me as she can possibly be!

Anyhow, this week's pictures are all flash related. I've been using two flashes--one is a Nikon and the other is a cheap Vivitar I picked up a year or so ago--and a couple of cheapie white umbrellas. The flashes are both placed off camera in different positions and are set to emit different levels of light, depending on what I want the final product to look like. I trigger the Vivitar with a little transmitter that sits atop my camera called a Paul C. Buff Cybersync. The Nikon flash is set to trigger by the light of the Vivitar. It's really quite fascinating when it all comes together. Take a look:

I used a plain, white sheet for my background that I strung up with clothes pins tied to strings that I nailed to the 2x4s of the basement ceiling. Talk about a cheap studio!

If you'd like to learn the basics of using your flash off your camera, or even on, I *highly* recommend the Peoria Art Guild Class "Lighting with Small Flashes." (The next session is scheduled to start January 18. Call first to find out if there are any more spots in the class.) There's a lot of hands-on training and you'll walk out of there knowing how to take better pictures with your flash. Honestly!

Happy New Year's Eve!

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

So this picture will officially be the last of 2009. My New Year's resolution is to take my photography up a notch and to work on consistency. That second one might be tougher as life with young kids gets pretty busy at times and I can go weeks without picking up the camera. What are yours?

Planning on a quiet night at home with the kids and the Husband but wishing you a year filled with God's blessings, wherever you are.

One more

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

My father-in-law was a very talented woodworker. He loved building large pieces of furniture and replicating smaller stuff my mother-in-law would see at the store. She'd draw him a sketch of what she wanted and he'd build it. He did, however, refuse to build "knicky knacky ticky tacky" stuff--as he called it. Sadly, he passed away in 2002 but many of his birdhouses still remain around the yard:

To grandmother's house we go!

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

We went off for Christmas to my mother-in-law's home in Michigan. It's literally a trip "over the river and through the woods." It takes us 7 hours to get there but the trip is always ~~hell~~ interesting with three kids in the back seat. It's actually not that bad since they've learned to love our gas station stops. They figured out they can load up on all sorts of good eats as a reward for putting up with the driving. They're especially fond of corn nuts.

I adore my mother-in-law (MIL) who always rolls out the red carpet for us when we're there. She loves to cook and seems to enjoy having us there. She's 82 years old and runs circles around the Husband and I. She remains incredibly active and I want to be just like her when I grow up. Yep, I'm one of those lucky few who has a great relationship with all the in-laws. Wouldn't trade that for the world!

My MIL lives on a lake in Michigan, which always offers up interesting photo opportunities. The next couple of photos are from around her place.

Mono-Monday

peoriainpictures@gmail.com (Lola Takes Pictures) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:00:00 +0000

This is the view of the frozen lake from my MIL's house where we spent Christmas. I'm giving you a couple of views just for giggles and because I'm not sure which I like best:

There's something about winters in this area that make everything look pretty monochromatic even if it's a color picture:

Let me know which one you like better in the comments section, if you so desire.

Peoria In Pictures

Spring is *almost* here

Coming Over

Neverending Archways

Hide n Seek with the Sun

More Pergola

Glen Oak Park Pergola

Steps of Stone

Footsteps in the Snow

Snow Days

Shaking Things Up

Mono Monday

Through the Windows

Swirly Whirly

Peoria Docks

Mono-Monday

Last one of the flash series

Happy Heart

More fun with Flashes

More fun with 3D Movie Glasses

The Fun You Can Have with 3D Movie Glasses

Catching Up Yet Again

Happy New Year's Eve!

One more

To grandmother's house we go!

Mono-Monday

Spring is almost here