Project 365: summer beauty

I think I might have taken nearly a thousand pictures this week. There have been days during my 365 project that I didn’t even feel like picking up the camera — this week did not contain any of those days! Everywhere I turned there was beautiful warm light, cute kids and interesting photo opportunities. Every week should be this easy!

For instance, last Friday we had our annual staff picnic, but instead of the traditional picnic we went on a boat cruise on the Ottawa River. I *could* post the pictures I took of my colleagues doing a mid-afternoon conga line (!) but instead, I’ll share this relatively unique perspective of the Chateau Laurier and the Rideau Canal locks (the bit that looks like giant concrete steps) where they dump into the Ottawa River. Doesn’t it look like something out of a fairy tale?

The Chateau Laurier pictures was actually my alternate shot of the day. This dock lead down to the Gatineau River, near where the cruise was docked, and I liked the contrasting purple and yellow (complimentary colours really make a photo pop) and the shapes in the shadows.

Does anything say summertime better than after-dinner popsicles on the porch swing? (Yep, we collected an extra for this picture. She matches my set nicely, don’t you think? Sadly, her folks won’t let me keep her. I think that if I could guarantee she’d turn out just like this, I could easily convince Beloved to have a fourth child!)

I spent more than half an hour on Sunday morning, watching the gorgeous warm light bathe Lucas as he played contentedly with these Bob the Builder toys. I took at least 60 shots, trying to capture the quiet peacefulness of the moment, and ended up having a hard time choosing just a couple of favourites.

I liked this one because of the way Lucas’s profile is in shadow but bright yellow Scoop is fully lit, and the way you can see Lucas’s profile so cleanly against the wall behind him.

I liked these two because the little hands could have belonged to any of my three boys. I love to see those chubby fingers at play!

In the end, I liked this one the best, I think because you can see the whole of Scoop and because I moved a bit to eliminate the distraction of the door frame that’s in the picture above.

For the next image, it’s the story as much as the photo that makes it the picture of the day for me.

It was hot and sunny, just the kind of day I like best, but I was overheated and cranky and really not feeling well as I finished a long 10 or 15 block loop on my lunch hour. I’d snapped a few pictures, but nothing was really capturing my eye and I wasn’t even enjoying the walk much. I went to turn down a street that would lead directly back to my office, one I’d trod a hundred times before, when I realized if I stayed on straight I’d walk down a block I’d never been down before.

Shortcut or new ground? I debated for a minute, thinking it unlikely I’d see anything worth photographing on such an uninteresting stretch, then decided to walk the new stretch anyway.

Half way down, I came across this young lady sitting at a table selling lemonade and busking with her ukulele, raising funds for a trip to Scotland. I was completely and utterly charmed by the combination lemonade stand-ukulele show. The picture is not terrific — the money jar blocks the head of the uke — but I was a little distracted by chatting with her as I composed the shot. She was so sweet and the idea so charming that I couldn’t *not* have this as my picture of the day! (I passed on the lemonade, but I did give her a few bucks toward her trip.) It’s also #3 in my 100strangers.com project.

On Tuesday, I had a lunch date with the inimitable Andrea, and rather than sit on a patio to enjoy the sunshine and a cold beverage, we ate a quick Budawich on a park bench and wandered the Market with our cameras on a little photo safari. It was so nice to have some company on one of my lunch-time wanders! I didn’t get many pictures in, but great conversation with a good friend is a balm for the soul, isn’t it? I did find these fuscia blooms dangling out of a basket to be particularly photographable, though.

I’ve learned that flowers are an excellent choice for an easy photo. They stand still, they’re bright and colourful, and I just can’t resist them! I particularly liked these daisies. I have a soft spot for daisies – I wore them in my hair when Beloved and I got married, and they featured predominately in the wildflower bouquet that I carried and the centrepieces on the picnic tables at our reception.

The problem with never relinquishing the camera is that you end up with photographs of everybody and everything *except* you. When I started my 365 project, one of my self-imposed rules was a self-portrait every month. I don’t think I’ve managed more than a few so far, but yesterday I caught sight of myself in this reflective window in the Market and thought the bright busyness behind me would make a neat selfie.

These are my favourite photos of the week. We had an old fashioned ice cream truck rumbling around the neighbourhood this week, complete with tinkling music and soft-serve ice cream cones. I haven’t seen one of these since I was a kid in the 1970s. (I remember the one that used to come through our neighbourhood would moo like a cow, and our dog would tremble and hide under the furniture every time it went by!)

I love this picture because of Beloved’s smile (and the way that Lucas looks like he’s going to eat the cone in one giant bite!) but I’m not overly fond of the highlights on Lucas’s face. The contrast is too strong, I think.

I love this one the best. I coloured it with a light sepia because I think it’s such a classic photo. (My favourite bit is how Lucas is holding onto Beloved’s fingers!)

I do love them so – and I think this photo captures that. I think of the many ways that Project 365 has inspired me and improved my mad photographic skillz, this is the one I most appreciate: that I can capture not just an image, but the mood or moment in its entirety that caused me to pick up the camera in the first place. Well, at least some of the time!

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