Got Grass?!

I do!!!!!!!

Fall Cleaning

I've never had the opportunity to start completely from scratch in my yard. I've redone flower beds or added some shrubs or even a tree or two but never from scratch. This is, until now! We have needed to deal with the grass forever because, let's be honest, it was really green weeds. Hard to keep under control so it didn't look like a yard of weeds! AND the flower beds and shrub line have always been way over crowded and VERY over-grown... that was the past.


We have been killing our grass and weeds for the past 5 weeks. Our landscapers came in last Thursday and plucked the HUGE overgrown shrubs out with this incredible machine that took all of 30 minutes to completely delete all that was there. (would have taken me a month and would still not have been great!) Then they redefined everything to make it sharp and clean, spread an entire truck load of mulch in 2 hours and made my yard free of ankle twisting divets and ruts the deer have decided were needed in the yard. 


Today I get new grass, real grass, weed free grass! Gorgeous shrubs of my choosing and no leaks in the sprinkler system. It's like a cleanse for me mentally that the yard is simple and fresh and clean. And mine (well, ours, but really mine)


Here is the blank slate...

 

I think where I'm going with all of this is it's nice to every once in awhile Start From Scratch and make it how you have in your head. It's very satisfying.

The Value of Basics

You know the old saying "You must truly understand something before you can teach it."? Well, I'm going to be teaching a photography class and I am in the process of getting back to basics and feeling confident enough with explaining what I know about taking photographs to someone that doesn't already know it and get them to understand it. So, today I took a class for fun. A discussion and then a walking shoot in a great area of Charlotte, Plaza Midwood. I helped someone truly grasp the interaction between f-stop and shutter speed and helped me to realize how to get that strange concept across.

Well, these are a few of the pictures that came out of the shoot. I love to photograph cars and this reminded me of my childhood, no my father wasn't a pimp but my grandfather had a black car JUST like this and I loved that the headlights "winked" at you!

 More to come on the progress of the back to basics movement!

Vintage, Retro or just OLD?

I love things with a good story attached or a intriguing history. These items are usually OLD, but lately I'm noticing that I'm feeling a bit hipper because my OLD stuff I love is now becoming "Vintage" or "Retro". Unfortunately, these new cool labels also increases the price of my fabulous old stuff. Although, it bodes well for my children when I'm vintage and ready to part with my stuff. If they don't love it, well they can make a buck off it, but if they DO love it they will be even richer and a bit "cooler" I suspect.

Take My Hands, 2008

Here are two of my OLD obsessions... I love glove molds (my husband hates them and many of my friends find them creepy) and I love photographing old cars. They look like people that should not be ignored and with the right photographer have a fabulous history to tell us all if we just pay attention.

Headlights of Sal, 2009

Feeling Fall

The elements of a party that I'd like to go to this fall....

Congrats! Deanna

I want to send out a special congrats to Deanna. She WON the moderntypography giveaway! Through much soul searching she settled on "Are You My Mother?" as her prize. I hope she enjoys her print. It's one of my favorites. We were in the mountains of North Carolina driving around a windy road and there was the sweetest looking calf. I jumped out to take her picture then realized that the Mom between me and the baby was even sweeter looking.  So enjoy, Deanna! and thanks for the support.


Special thanks to Melanie at ModernTypography , she was a joy to work with and get to know. I've been so impressed by the community of photographers and their blogs. Everyone is SO welcoming and helpful. AND the best part is that their blogs are clever and informative and creative, oh so creative! 

Are You My Mother?

The Traditions of Labor Day Weekend

I have grown up attending the opening game of at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL. It's an amazing event full of promise of the season, welcome "seasonal" friends that you will welcome weekly for the next 12 weeks with chicken, brownies, stories and of course a cocktail or two. I now am a mom... so I take my two daughters (whom I've brainwashed masterfully) into the SWAMP to cheer on the Gators and more importantly to teach my 9 year old the finer points of football. I told her that it's a much more interesting conversation on football weekends with the boys than the girls who don't know what's going on!


So here's my nod to tradition, I hope you all appreciate yours and have the opportunity to pass it on.

GO GATORS!!

The Approach, 2010

available at clementseye.etsy.com