Expanding your horizons

Kids...to me, one of the ultimate challenges in photo taking.  They're short, they're noisy, they're quick and move way too fast for this ole gal and they often times have sticky fingers that are magnetized to a clean shirt. I knew I had to break out of my rut of taking photos of inanimate objects or at least objects that didn't move in unpredictable patterns!  I enlisted the help of my good friend Jen who not only has a two children of her own, she was babysitting for her baby niece on Friday.  Jen is such a good sport and I knew I would be comfortable in her home with her kids taking pictures so I decided to take the plunge and see what I could get.

Chloe is your typical two year old, full of "me do myself" and can clearly enunciate the word "no".  She has quite a vocabulary for a two year old and like most two year olds knows exactly when to use some of those words to the chagrin of her parents.  About two seconds after taking this picture, she tripped over something and caught the edge of the baseboard.  The girl has strong lungs and quite a flair for the dramatic.  After kisses and retrieval of her bankey all was well and she was back to rippin' it up!

She's climber too...seems to find Mom's back very comfy!  She is smart enough to recognize me, but she's also smart enough to know that I'm not frequent of a visitor and I think kids know when you don't have kids and they either try to run wild over you or clamp on to Mommy's leg.  I think if I had stayed longer she would have been on my back!

Amazing Grace...

She was a willing and for the most part pleasant subject.  This was her first overnighter without Mom and Dad and she was in Aunt Jen's very capable hands.  Little does she know all the wild and wonderful things that Aunt Jen will be able to teach her in the years to come!  I took this shot standing over her as she was fighting sleep and the original shot was much larger.  I think by cropping it down to this size gives it the feel I was looking for...she reminds me of the Gerber Baby Food baby!

As sweet as her face is, I was still in awe of all those little parts that make up a baby...little button nose, little rosebud mouth, little tiny ears, little yummy fingers and fat, soft baby toes.   I got some nice shots of the hands and the feet, but I was clearly invading her space when I tried to get the ears, nose and mouth.  Perhaps when she is older.  It was quite comical to watch her as I unpacked my camera.  Jen had her laying on a blanket on the floor and she rolled over and saw me on the sofa getting out my camera and I swear she started mugging right away!  I forgot she is quite the popular gal with her own FB page!

It is always a wonder to me how someone so tiny and seemingly helpless has the power to wrap your heart around that little finger!

Sultry Summer Evening

I guess I didn't get enough of the hot weather during the office picnic. Wow was it hot! So after sweltering in Camden for 4 hours I get the brilliant idea to travel to Hoopers Island, MD. I think I was hankerin' for some serious seafood which I was told by a very reliable source that it could be found at Old Salty's. It did not disappoint. I've eaten many crabcakes in my day from the delicious to the mundane to some that should have been ashamed to call themselves crabcakes. Old Salty's are the BEST so far. Yes, it's a long way from no where but I find that part of it's charm. We sat by the window waiting for our supper, watching an approaching thunderstorm. I was so torn-sit and enjoy the most succulent crabcake ever or grab the camera and try to capture some of mother nature's handy work. My stomach won! By the time we finished our supper and headed out we felt those first lucious, fat drops of a summer rainstorm. Undaunted, we headed south into the "teeth" of the storm. I'm very glad the road had guardrails because this storm had arrived at high tide and there is very little room for any extra water anywhere on the island. I felt as if I were driving on a washboard that was getting sloshed from both sides. So very exciting though! I saw this lovely piece of driftwood wedged into the guardrail but Jim threw a fit when I wanted to stop and get it for the garden.

We continued south until we arrived at a little church that I remembered from a prior visit, I parked for a bit and I decided to take this opportunity to mux around with depth of field settings on the camera. (plus every time I lowered the window for a shot, I got drenched! ) I first focused on the rain splats on the windshield then I changed up and focused on the loblollies in the distance. It's neat to see the same view from two different perspectives...kinda like life! Never assume you think you know what the other person is seeing!

I was hoping to get some sunset shots, but the weather did not cooperate. That lovely storm brought it's pesky, immature friends and it continued to shower off and on until dusk. I was lucky enough to get what I consider to be one of my better shots of an overturned boat. I drove by this crab packing house and something told me to stop. I got out of the car to take pictures of some crab baskets that I thought were kind of interesting but as I went to get back in the car, this great old boat caught by eye. It was flipped upside down and was at the edge of a parking lot, as if abandoned. I was intrigued by the reflection in the puddle and the bright green grass in the background. I would have taken more shots but low places that hold water bring lots o' skeeters and I didn't want to be their supper!

After snapping those shots I walked a little further down towards the dock area where all the real boats sleep. Water was sloshing over the pilings and I could not resist standing in it and letting it lap around my ankles. I love looking at those boats all lined up and I wondered if they owners had had a successful catch that day, and I thanked those watermen for the fruit of their labor. It is not an easy life and not a lot of reward for such hard work. Many are descendants of the first settlers on the island so I guess the way of life is in their blood. I'm glad there are places like Hoopers Island still near by, where life is a little slower, the work a little harder and the sights and sounds are second to none.

Well here goes nuttin'!


I was inspired to create a blog after viewing my co-worker's daughter's blog. (Geez, that's a mouthful!) She writes about the every day life of a new mother and seminary student. She attaches photos to her blogs and they are so poignant and touching that I thought I'd give it a go myself and write about the adventures of an aspiring photographer.


I decided on the name for my blog after going back and forth over a few "working" titles. I was going to go with "Boston Dream Pie" which would have been somewhat of a tribute to my pain in the butt dog, Gidgette, but I settled on Wind in the Loblollies. The reason for this title goes back to fond childhood memories of exploring in the woods on the family farm and I can vividly remember finding a favorite spot in the woods which was in a grove of loblollies. To those who don't know what a loblolly is it-it is a pine tree than is native to the eastern States. Usually very tall with branches only at the tippy top.


I remember looking up as the wind tousled the branches and created that special soothing sound as they blew to and fro. I loved how the sun filtered through the boughs and created dancing, dappled shadows on the pine needles below. Every time I smell the pines of the Eastern Shore I'm taken back to that special place and time. It was my spot that I never shared with anyone, though I'm sure everyone knew where it was, to me it was scared ground, my safe place, my thinking ground. That's what I hope this blog will be, my place to explore and to think and this time to share!