From the Scanner

Rainy Day

I got caught in the rain during yesterday's walk at the refuge.  Obviously there were signs... but I confidently proceeded, sans umbrella, believing in the forecasted AFTERNOON storms.  Sigh.  I got soaking wet but managed to keep my camera dry.  Most unfortunately I had to cut my walk short.  So sad when I'm only getting one a week. 

Kingbird

Summer is flying by, what with all my extra teaching.  This past two week period I only had class in the morning and since Olivia was taking an afternoon class I got to spend some time in the studio.  But I'm getting very little time outdoors.  Just once a week.  Sob. 

Great Blue Heron

I'm pretty confident that this is a juvenile Great Blue Heron.  An adult would have a black and white crown and this guys seems to be all dark.  Also the striping on the throat and neck indicate juvenile.  While I was taking these photos another birder asked me how many photos of a Great Blue Heron do I need?  The short answer, for my project, is at least one a week.  But really I'd photograph them every day.  And when one flies right over my head...well, I'm not going to miss that.  Each bird is an individual and I can learn a lot from the photos I take.  Not to mention, I enjoy it. Plus who doesn't love a flight sequence??

Incense Cedar

Queen Anne's Lace

Buttonbush

It's amazing that one can begin a search with "flower balls" and in less than two minutes, after a quick look at wedding decorations, amend the search to "white flower balls plant" and discover that these are photos of a Buttonbush plant.  I had a beautiful, cool walk this morning.  I didn't even mind the grey skies and low ISO's since it was a perfect 70 degrees.

Least Bittern

More Coleus

Plants

I fell in love with these amazing plants I found at Groff's Plant Farm this spring.   I planted them in the pots I put the pansies in last year.  At some point this summer I really need to spend some time drawing them.

Bones

A number of students focused on the skeleton which was part of the set up.  Over two class periods Jenna made these three great drawings.  We started out with complementary colors on the first day and opened it up to all colors the next.

Loving Bootcamp

I'm really excited about the drawings my students have been making.  They were a little weirded out by my still life set up (best one I've ever made if I do say so myself...pictures later) but they have produced these amazing drawings.

A Stroll Through The Park

We stopped on our way to Manassas for a lovely afternoon in Richmond.  I strolled through the Virginia Museum of Art, very inspiring I might add, while Matt relaxed with a beer in the cafe watching soccer on his kindle.  A match made in heaven...a museum with wifi and beer.  Afterwords we stopped over at Maymont for a walk through the park.  Lots of people were out enjoying a hot but beautiful day.

Riding the Waves

Strangers on the Beach

Perhaps because I didn't have any people of my own to photograph, or because of the street photography we did in New York City,  I enjoyed taking photos of people I didn't know on this trip.  These two shots we taken on Emerald Isle while Matt spent some time in the waves.

Spanish Moss in New Bern

On our way to Emerald Isle from Virginia Beach we stopped in New Bern for lunch.  We had a delicious Indian buffet.  Yum yum.

A Little Walk

We decided to focus on relaxation while in Virginia Beach.  As a result I didn't take many photos.  But we did take an extremely hot walk after lunch around Pleasure House Point.

A Bit of Orange

How I Feel After 24 Hours of Teaching

Breaking Waves

Bootcamp is out for the week.  Now I have three short days to recover from last week's vacation and this week's teaching and get my life together, so to speak.  Images from last week in Virginia Beach, after a nice dinner, while the sun set.

Bootcamp

We got back from the beach in time to deinstall my show at the Arlington Arts Center and roll back to Philly for Portfolio Bootcamp.  I have a dozen amazing, mostly high school students.  They are hardworking, dedicated, and focused.  I can't remember the last time I taught a class and everyone was giving it 100%.  And it's a 6 hour class, every day, for two weeks.  Intense.