Day in the Life. Clouds. Pictures. More Clouds.

I don’t know about you, but I sure am happy it’s the weekend! However, it’s been a great few days in photos. I’ve had my “head in the clouds,” most days, which has resulted in the constant state of “looking up.” It’s a good thing, looking up. Have you ever noticed that the physical act of looking up also lifts your spirits?

So it’s no surprise that one of the first things I personally like to do every morning is look out my window and UP at the sky. Yesterday morning, particularly a treat. The alarm clock went of early! Way too early for my liking, not much of an early bird unless there is skiing involved. However, yesterday I had to be in Boston for an editorial asignment, so, I got up!

I’d like to thank the Universe for this particular image, because the beautiful scene was clutch in getting me out of bed! Coffee was pretty key too!

Awake. Caffinated. Inspired. I was pretty ready to head South for my assignment. Though I am unable to share photos from the shoot till late September, I can give a hint to the location…

Anyone notice the cloud reflection in the windows… I pulled me head out of the clouds long enough to complete the photo-shoot, did an about-face, and headed home to Vermont. Normally, the view out the front windshield is captivating me, but my rental car’s ridiculously clean side-view mirrors revealed these beautiful little snippet views of the clouds I was leaving to my stern…

Darn that little iPhone4 is a handy little camera!

I have to admit, was pretty stoked about heading back North, home to me Vermont Sky, but never has the view from the side-view mirror been so lovely!

The wake-up call was not nearly as early this morning, but my head has remained in the clouds and think it will for sometime…

Stopping at the East Warren Community Market is a daily ritual, but this morning, besides being gorgeous out, check out the back of this mini-van?!?! Come to find-out, as if the sky was not inspiring enough, turns out we have a new graffiti artist in the valley…one who does not cause damage to the side of a building, but turns an otherwise dirty car (part of living on and around dirt roads,) into pieces of art.

What I really found inspiring, much like the clouds, this lovely piece of art will not last forever. Rain. Carwash. Windshield wiper. It’ll disappear like that! Just like the clouds overhead. You have to enjoy and appreciate it when you see it.

This week has been remarkable in terms of Vermont sky-scapes = GORGEOUS! Though all the pretty pictures aside, I feel like the week was a lesson in looking up and out. Taking in the world around. Listening. Watching. Paying attention and smiling.

Birds Eye View of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks of New York State

The week after July 4th Holiday is always bit of a struggle. Summer is here. Trying to work past 3pm is, well, work! The hot, hazy days rewire the brain, leaving you with thoughts of dipping in the local swimming holes. Not the upcoming meeting or deadline you have to attend or complete. Hence why I am revisiting this past weekend’s experience flying over the Green Mountains, getting this bird’s eye view of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains of New York.

Will daydream for a few…ok, back to work!

I Love iPhone Photography and Central Vermont Clouds.

The scene out my front door never gets old! Taking pictures with my iPhone never gets old either. All images taken right outside my home, and with that iPhone! Wish I could convince my students how creative they really can be with just there little camera phone. They get stuck thinking a big fancy camera is necessary to take a beautiful picture for their own pleasure.

Sure, as a professional you must have professional tools to do the job. However, to be a creative person who enjoys creating beautiful images – you only need your mind’s eye and imagination. From there you do the best with what you’ve got. That’s how I got my own start in this field. I did not set out to be a professional photographer like many of my colleagues, who took out loans, went in debt, etc. to have the equipment.

That simply was never an option. The only option was learning to be a photographer with whatever I had available to take an image with. In the early days that began with a Kodak Instamatic 100, and a Kodak Trimlite Instamatic 38! Anyone else out there remember those?!?  It gets better, I won a Kodak Fisher Price 110 Camera at the New York State Fair back in the ’80s!! I’ll never forget the house-hold choirs my mother made me do to earn development of those pictures.

The camera that really helped photography find me was my Canon G9! I was traveling about the globe and all I really had room for was something small that shot a high quality image with manual controls. Man, I miss that little camera. I use to describe it as a “pug.” You know, like the big dog in a little dog’s body. The Canon G9 and it’s predecessors are like having a DSLR stuffed into a point shoots small body.

Sometimes size does matter when you need to pack your life into a knapsack and one carry-on. However, I will end on saying that as a professional who is responsible for photographing once-in-a-lifetime events like a college graduation or wedding – I’ll never underestimate the value in having my professional “rig” to count on. It’s heavy. Makes my shoulders and back wish I had a standing appointment with a massage therapist. It’s reliable. It’s super durable (fell down a hill just the other day and the camera held up better than my phone!)

As a professional, I never leave home without the big camera and all it’s gadgets. As an artist, I love creating images and really don’t care how, as long as I can!