Week 47 of 52

This week started out dryer than the last.  I should have taken my photo while it was raining, but I didn't want to rush myself.  I didn't finish this entry but I'm posting it anyway.

Week 46 of 52

I love the colors of fall.  In Southern California we don't get to see the changes of the seasons as clearly as other parts of the country.  Southern California is in a Mediterranean Biome, named so for it's similarity to the climate around the Mediterranean.  Our weather is fairly constant.  If it were not for temperature changes, rain and the calendar, you may not know a season has changed.

This shot was taken on one street, in the span of one block as you drive through a quite West Los Angeles neighborhood.  You turn the corner to see the full colors of fall.  If it weren't for the Pumpkin Patches with pumpkins, bales of hay, pony rides and petting zoos to mark the change, we might not know.  This is Hollywood after all, and we see the faux fall in every window dressing, mall and convence store, to remind California Transplants of home.  Us natives some times forget that these colors are naturally occurring.  Seeing the fall colors appear a few miles from the beach is wonderful and over the top.

Over the Top, is the theme for Week 46 of the MCP 52 Project.  Because this is such a rare sighting I just take it all in.  I surveyed the range of colors and shades provided by the leaves, grass, and trees.  I felt the cold crisp air on my skin and smelled of moisture that hung in the air.  In my mind, I heard the lyrics from the Van Morrison song, Moon Dance, "the leaves on the trees are falling to the sound of the breezes that blow".  It makes this shot and the others I took of this Autumn Apparition a fantasy of colors and a reminder of places far from this little block.  The Structure, which is the theme I chose for this years 52 Project, is the structure of the seasons.  The cycle of "Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall", another lyric, from the song writing by Carole King and made popular by James Taylor, You Got a Friend, is what the seasons are about, even if the changes are subtile.  I hope you like my photos. And I hope you enjoy the Fall season as much as I do.

Week 45 of 52

In the weeks that I've participated in this 52 Project, I have rarely had a complete lose of ideas of what to shoot.  So, this weeks theme, Book Title, from MCP Project 52 would seem to easy as pie.  That reason being, along with this project, I've also set a goal of reading 25 books for the year 2011.  Yes I did that.  I consider myself the functioning illiterate because compared to my friends and colleagues, I read very litte.  So, for some one who is a self proclaimed non reader, 25 this is a large number.  I credit setting this goad and accepting the challenge to the three weeks of rest I get during Winter break.  Like I say, when I'm rested I can move mountains.  So, of course I think I can read 25 book in 365 days.  But I digress.

Book Titles, for the rational mentioned above, should have been easy to come to mind and easy to shoot.  But because I had shot books in earlier photos I didn't want to repeat the same kind of photo.  I thought of other vignettes that would comprise the title of a book, like an eating competition for the Hunger Games, or a wizard, a wand and a stone, for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone or Philosopher's Stone, depending on which side of the pond you read the book.

Trivia Alert! ** Trivia Alert!

When the book was first published in England, the Brits thought that Americans might not be familiar enough with the term, Philosopher's Stone to keep the same title.  They change the title of the book from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.  The movie was released in the United Kingdom under it's original title. 

What came to mind is Dan Brown's Angels and Demons.  Wow!  That shot is ready made for me.  There is a bar on Venice Blvd., of which I have passed many times, names Saints and Sinners that has the best sign on the outside.  I wouldn't have to set up a shot or collect items or individuals to make the shot work.  Just get the best lighting I can find, early morning light and shoot away.  Early Thursday morning, I head down Venice Blvd to try and find this saloon.  After two passes and several inquires, I realize, it no longer exists.

With the end of Daylight Savings time, I have only early morning light, because by the time I leave work, there is very little if any daylight worth using.  This past Friday evening I was facing cumulative fatigue, a condition I have termed and self diagnosed, that comes at the end of long week of work.  The symptoms are cloudy thoughts, inability to hold items in you working memory and an overwhelming need to get home, among other things.  Being under the influence of this condition, I forgot about my assignment, until I got home and realized I have been listening to an audiobook.  I was able to see the light bulb through the cloudy thoughts of the CF (cumulative fatigue) and grab a snap shot of the my iPod and the book title I was listening to.

This week you have to photos.  Mine is the large one of my iPod and the book title on it, and the sign that I missed.  The one that got away so to speak.  I hope you enjoy the story, the photos and the time inside my muses.  Please check out my other photos on my flickr site and enjoy your week.

Week 44 of 52

Muted Tones is the theme that MCP Project selected for week 44 of this Project 52.  Well I was perplexed.  Muted Tones... what is that?  I looked a some of the submissions and they didn't inspire me.  The images were either altered or enhanced.  I've nothing wrong with that, it is just that I don't know how to do that and don't have time to learn - at least not for this week.  What to use for a subject?  Where to take it?  What kind of lighting is needed for muted tones?  Again, more questions than I have answers for.

This photo, along with the others I took, were taken while in traffic.  I was on my way to the valley, San Fernando and got stuck in traffic.  I was stuck on the Sepulveda Pass in rush hour... for 2 hours I might add.  For those of you who don't know, Sepulveda runs parallel to the 405 freeway.  If you remember, the 405 is under major construction, remember Carmageddon?  So I whipped out my camera and started shooting.  There was building in varying degrees of completion.  The sun was beginning to set, most of the items were in shadow. and daylight was starting to fade.  I noticed this for the first time that most of the items in the construction site are very monochromatic.  In that light, the tones were mostly muted.  This is the one I submitted to the MCP Project.  If you want to see others from this shoot, check out my flickr site.

Structure is my theme for this year, and even though I have not mentioned it in a while.  Structure is obvious on this construction sites.  These are the pictures of the foundation of a freeway, which is a hugh structure in the life of Los Angeles.

Week 43 of 52

This week's theme is Shadows.  Shadows in the summer are easy to find.  Sun light, my lighting of choice, is everywhere.  The days are longer and there are many opportunities to find and create shadows.  There is a laziness to Summer that seems to allow one to watch shadows ebb and flow.  With autumn in full swing, and intermittent Indian Summer Days, the chances for finding interesting shadows are few and far between. You can pick up shadows from artificial light but I wasn't in the place of the most potential, to quote Dewitt Jones, Professional Photographer and Motivational Speaker.  Again, What's a girl to do?

With this project I was trying to stretch my creative self, get out of my rut and grow as an individual.  I did not want to shoot the mundane or the tired common photos.  Again, on the last day of the assignment, I realized that it is the photographer who has to look at a scene and see the next right answer, another quote from Dewitt Jones.  So, as the sun was setting on the last day of the assignment,  I headed the opposite direction of my home after a very long work week, to catch the shadows of the setting sun.  I didn't want just the sunset, although spectacular as it was, I wanted to look at that glorious color filled sunset and and see wondrous shadows.

As I began to shoot the sunset from Palisades Park in Santa Monica, CA, I decided to shoot in black and white, something I rarely do.  The picture you see is a result of that.  I have not liked my digital black and white photos.  I believe I have been comparing them to my film photos and miss the grays that I would see in the photos taken with film.  But by choosing to look at the sunset differently, devoid of it interpretive dance of colors, I saw a different kind of shadow, a sunset shadow.  I don't believe I could have captured this photo without shooting in black and white.  Enjoy your sunset and the beauty they hold.

Week 42 0f 52

True Beauty.  What is that?  That was the assignment for Week 42 of the MCP Project.  As I viewed some of the other entries to stimulate my creative juices, I saw photos of children from toddlers to teens, couples, puppies, kittens, sunsets...  all very Hallmark greeting card.  There is nothing wrong with that.  I was not the that sort of mood.  I had no idea of what to shoot, I just knew that  staging children, the ones cute enough to shoot, or animals was way too difficult for me to create a good photo.  So those subjects were out.  I felt I was too busy to even see beauty, let alone think of, find, and or shoot True Beauty.   I asked myself what is true beauty to me?  The phrase, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." came to mind when thinking of True Beauty.

TRIVIA ALEART!  

The phrase, or one with the similar sentiment, first appeared in Greece in the 3rd century BC.  It has become popularity from Shakespeare's play Love's Labour Lost, 1588.

Sitting at my desk these are the thoughts that run through my mind.  This is another deadline I have to mee.  I thing that my search for True Beauty and the appreciation of it is hard when I was so busy and distracted by my work-a-day world to see it.  My thoughts, again on the last day of the assignment, was to photograph eyes, beauty is in the eye...  So, whose eyes to shoot?  And I did photograph my own with little success.  So, that left the rest of the world.  Not many strangers would allow you to shoot them in the face even if it is a camera you are using.  That is when I saw some of my co-workers on their break and I asked permission to photograph them.  As I called them into my office I explained what I was doing and why. All of them obliged.  I work with great people!  This is the one eye I chose to submit to the MCP Project group.  The others are on my flickr site it you'd like to check them out.

What this has showed me is that you can find beauty any where if you just slow down and look for it.  It was a beautiful thing for my co-workers to share a potion of themselves and their time with me for this project.  That's what is so beautiful, and I captured it in those photos.

Week 41 of 52

Week 41 was Architecture.  I love architecture.  Looking, photographing and admiring at it.   Some of my favorite styles are Arts and Crafts, buildings and furniture, Art Deco, Gothic, Mission Revival, Tuscan, Tudor to name a few.   I have taken many picture of architecture since January but the rule of this game MCP Project 52, is take a photo within the week of the assignment.  So, I had to find something to shoot.  That week, October 8 to 14, was one of my busiest.  The 11th was Back-to-School Night.  The 12th was a CUE LA (Computer Using Educators, Los Angeles) Board meeting.  The 13th was an AALA (Associated Administrators of Los Angeles) Representatives meeting.  All of these meeting were after work beginning as early as 4:30 p.m. and ending as late as 8:30 p.m.  During work hours I was attending at least three all day meetings.  And night of the 14th, I went to celebratory dinner with a friend who received a promotion.  This is why I'm tired.

I had to take my picture before midnight of the 15th. Finding the time was hard being in meetings or at functions for much of the day.  The other hindrance was the daylight.  The amount of daylight is diminishing these days.  So I am carrying around my camera like a photo journalist, as I drive to my various meeting locations throughout the city, looking for interesting architectural moments.  Well as I was leaving my Thursday night meeting I realized that the Angelus Temple was across the street.  To the best of my recollection, the Angelus Temple has columns and I sure some type of Greco-Roman style building.

I was right there are columns but the style is not Greco-Roman.  It is concerned a Modern Architecture Building.  What is Modern Architecture?  I asked the same question.  The simplest answer I found was this, "Included in Modern Architecture are a cross-section of different kinds of Modern architectural structures and this list includes most prominent buildings in the Modern architecture style." The link to that definition will also show you samples of various structures in that style.

The Angelus Temple is dedicated on January 1, 1923 as megachurch with a seating capacity of 5,300 people which was filled three times day, seven days a week.  The visionary and founder of this church and new Christian Denomination, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, was Aimee Semple McPherson.  There are many wonderful and sandalis things surround her life and the Angules Temple. Too many to recount here.  Please follow the links.  This is an interesting story about a women around the turn of the last century.  A time when women's rights were limited and few.

So, now that you've had a brief history lesson of the a small portion of Los Angeles.  I hope you enjoy my photo, the story of how I chose to take it and the story behind the object of the photo.  Happy viewing and  looking for the new perspective.

Week 40 of 52

This week brings the theme A Taste of Vintage.  Wine was the first thought, but that was too obvious.  The other reason I didn't choose wine is because I've taken a lot of photos of alcoholic beverages.  I don't want to give the impression that I was a heavy drinker.  I do belong to a wine club that send bottles to me every other month so it would not be hard to do, just trite.  Gainey Winery in the Santa Inez Valley is where I have my membership.  I love the Santa Inez Valley.  I digress...

I thought I would visit a prop lot (a lot where props for stage and film are kept) in West Hollywood and see what vintage I could find.  So, I got up on Sunday morning and headed for the prop lot.  I love the morning light, and this was a good day for it.  I love Sunday mornings because it is quite and fewer people are out and about.  I did run into a few homeless leaving the sleeping place for their morning place.

When I arrive, the lot is still closed but the items behind the bars peeped through at who ever passed by and silently winked to be noticed.  As I looked at them through the fence there were cramped and in each others way.  I snapped a few photos of the items of vintage could reach through the tight space.  But I still felt there was more to be taken in this compact lot.  I looked and looked and was not satisfied.  I looked up and there he was, towering above everything was a god.  Neptune to the Romans and Poseidon to the Greeks, the god of the sea was standing above everything with spear in hand battling one the might sea creatures.  Can you say old?  Or is it vintage?

I took a few other photos as I said and if you'd like to see them you can at my flickr site.  Let me know what you think.

Week 38 of 52

It has been a few weeks since I have written a post.  It has been a while since I've taken a photograph.  I've been taking photos, but have had some technical issues.  My camera is working but I've not been carrying it around because it has added a bit o weight to my purse.  So I've been taking photos with my iPhone.  My issues have been no internet access from home, no computer and an iPhone that need to be plugged in constantly to work.  So, I've been cut off from the internet.

This week's MCP Project 52 theme was 'The Eyes Have It'.  Well here are the eyes of the sweet potatoes that have their eyes on me as I shop for veggies.  My theme this year is structure.  This is the structure of shopping for weekly groceries, sweet potatoes are the staples for many meals therefore being a part of a foundations which is a sort of structure.

I took this with my new iPhone.  It's the 3Gs, the second version, not the newest one.  I had the original, 3G, so this is an upgrade for me.  Hope you like it.  I will catch you all up on the other photos I've taken some time this week.  I  now have a new computer and internet access.  I'm almost back up to speed.

Week 32 of 52

I cannot believe that 32 weeks of this project have gone by. As cliche as it sound, it really does seems like I just stated this project. I guess is like they say, "the older you get to quicker time passes." In the TED Talk video by Matt Cutts, at the top of my blog page, he shares his insights regarding his Try Something New for 30 Days project. At the end of his little talk, he says that because of these projects, each months was more memorable. The months did not just pass him by without recognition. He remembers each one of the months and what he tried during that month. It made him feel energized and accomplished.

This year, 2011, I decided to I would try something I have always enjoyed and make it a focus for a year, the Photography 52 Project. I made this decision because it had been almost a full year after my mother passed on. I was feeling an end to my mourning, and that I could do a little more for myself. My dad's health condition did not require as much from me as did my mom's. So, I thought I do enjoy having to shoot a photo a week and I hope that I am getting better. The wind has been knocked out of my sails with the passing of my dad last month. So I will begin to emotionally rebuild again. Focusing on something creative will help. I will continue to move forward. I do posses the love and spirit of my parents that will also support me in this effort as they did when they were physically here.

This weeks MCP 52 Project theme is My Favorite Time of the Day. For me, that would be any time I can drive without traffic. For me that is almost meditative to just drive with nothing but the open road, freeway, highway ahead of you and at a nice steady speed. Because this is Southern California, any where along the 405 Freeway you get off you are only a few miles away from the coastline. Just beautiful! My theme is Structure. Here in So. Cal. driving is like breathing so it is a structure of life. Enjoy your days as they pass. Do something that you like and build it into the structure of your life.

Week 28 of 52

The tittle of this photo is Sweet Relief from the Summer Heat. the MCP Project theme for week 28 was Sweet Relief. Through the hot days we have been having, water is a sweet relief, as this boy show us. I did not post this last weekend as I usually do because my father passed on the day after taking this photo. I submitted this photo to the project on flickr but took a hiadeous from the weekly blog posts. Structure is the frog fountain that are part of this two part fountain structure. The two parts allow the public to get wet on hot days.
Sweet Relief from the Summer Heat, a photo by kymlatt on Flickr.

Week 27 of 52

This week's theme from the MCP 52 Project is Nature's Finest. Well as a bona fide City Girl, nature is not something I am that familiar with. I'm not a bird watcher, a beachcomber, a rock climber, a white water rafter, a horseback rider, or any number of things at occur in nature. Camping to me is a night at the Motel 6. It's not that I don't like these adventures into nature, it's just that I don't have the skill nor the practice. So, when I thought about one of natures finest things, I think about the view of the San Gabriel Mountains. I just love that view. Oddly enough, my favorite view is while driving east on the 134 Freeway taking the north bound on ramp of the 210 Freeway gives you an unobstructed view of them. They just seem to go on for days. I feel this is the meaning of the lyric from America the Beautiful's, "purple mountain's majesties". I just love that view. It seems to take my breath away every time. I don't know how to capture that view since you would have to be driving to do it. Also, I'm not sure that can be captured in a picture by me, in this point of my development in photography.

So, I asked my cityfied self, "What else is so awe inspiring from nature to be considered it's finest?" I thought of a West Coast beach sunset. Those are also remarkable. I have captured many of those. This is the West Coast after all. Sunsets are kinda our thing. But I have been noticing the sunrises lately. Yes, I'm up to see them. From my bedroom window, along side the small second story of the house behind me is a lone, grand, old palm tree. This tree is not thin, tall and wimpy that move with every gentle breeze. This is a grandfather palm tree that has seen time and stands strong in it ready to see more. That palm tree transforms from an indistinguishable mass in the darkness of night to a foreground silhouette of a background that spans the of color wheel that becomes dawn. I love that too. So, my task now was to photograph sunrise. But this is the West Coast. The sun rises in the East. How can I do that?

Those of you who know me, you know, I went online and googled the best+sunrise+ southern+california. I got Mount Hollywood. So, I'm thinking, the Hollywood Hills, okay that's doable. Well, on my list of things I'd like to photograph, is the Griffith Observatory. This was a must for me to do. I got up, not quite at the crack of dawn, but early, I am on vacation, and headed to the Griffith Observatory.

To my surprise, that is a busy place shortly after they open at 5:00 a.m., I was there around 6:00 a.m. Hikers, walkers, bird watchers, golfers, you're out in nature for these things, were all there. This was a whole new world for me. I thought it was grand. A new day, new light, new air, was refreshing. As I get up to the top and parked, I had not noticed the sunrise because I was driving and looking at all these people out in nature. Well, what I had not accounted for was the early morning haze we get when there is so much moisture in the air. So, I got nada, zip, bupkis for the sunrise. But early morning light is the best for shooting. It is soft and new and it brings a glow to the items you shoot. So, it little flower is my offering for Nature's Finest. My theme, Structure is the sunrise and the sunset that is new and different each day. I will get my sunrise and when I do I will share it with you too. I'm grateful that I live in Southern California and can enjoy them both in my own way. You may check out the rest of my pic on my flikr site. And thanks for following.

Week 26 of 52

This is the half way mark. I am half way through the 52 Project for 2011. Its' hard to believe, but I guess time does fly when you're having fun. The weekend I'm posting this is the 4th of July Holiday weekend. Yesterday, was the Annual Cavarlez Beach Party at Dockweiler Beach. I was there 12 hours! That's a long time. And needless to say, I'm still recovering. All that fresh air, sun and sand, I'm not used to. I'm preparing to go to another, much smaller gathering this afternoon in the valley where temperatures may be in the 100's. I don't think my skin has recovered from yesterday. I think I sunburned my lips? They itch, that is sunburn right?

Anyway, the Week 26 theme of the MCP 52 Project was Hidden Objects. This Star of David was a gift, not to me, from a friend through a friend. That friendship is representative of my theme for 2011, Structure. I was sitting at the table of a friend and she shared with me this piece of jewelry, the Star of David, and how she bought a gold chain to wear with it. I saw the chain and the Star and she told me the story of the friend who gave this to her from someone who passed away. The memories, friendships and love in this tiny piece of jewelry gives great power and connection to this piece of metal and stones. We continued talking about this, that and the other, as conversations with friends go. I was shared the MCP 52 Project theme while we were playing around with my new iPad 2. This has Photo Booth which takes bizarre and distorted photos with it's camera. So I took one of just my mouth, entitled the Hidden Scream, and she remarked that would be a good photo for the week. I said, "okay" and we moved on again in our conversation. At some point I saw this a little heart shaped box and asked, "What's in there?" and she responded, "the Star of David." I then became curious all over again and this shot was born.

During this holiday weekend I hope all of you have the opportunity to share time with friends and family. That you think about love and friendship. Care for each other and be grateful for all of it. Enjoy!

Week 25 of 52

This is the 25th week of my 52 Project but it is also the 36th and last week of school. The students have all gone home for the Summer. There are so many song lyrics that come to mind with the end of school and coming of Summer Vacation. The first, is the classic by Alice Cooper, School's Out for Summer. It comes to mind just as Alice sang it, in that heavy metal, shock rock manner, screaming and raging in excitement at the end of authority. When Alice sang this song his point of view was of the students. I am here to tell you that many of the teachers, staff and administrators are thinking and sing that song as well, in the same manner and vigor.

For us on this level of education, primary K-12, there is a small transitional period where we wind down, close out and purge the current year to prepare for the coming year. This is usually done on our 'Pupil Free Day'. A day just like it sounds, there are no students and we can focus on non student tasks like, completing student records, turning in materials, packing up equipment and prepare the room for summer cleaning. This year we lost our 'Pupil Free Day' to the budget cuts, so many of us have found ourselves with a lot of stuff still to do. The next song that comes to mind is War's Summer which reflects all of the activities and feel of a California Summer, which is never really far from memory. The song is sort of the prelude of things to come.

As summer vacation days loom, and we say good-bye to our duties, I was a little more focused on the theme of the MCP 52 Project. Week 25's theme was Crave or Craving. We are in a rush to meet deadlines to students, parents, families and district offices to get report cards, last minute transfers, collect textbooks, annual reports and other materials before the all offices close. So I was craving more time so that my professional duties don't spill into the summer. I was craving, spare time for photography, bike rides, reading, sitting in the sun or just sharing a meal with friends.

This week's photo show you my craving. It also, fits my theme for 2011, Structure. There is nothing more structured than time. There never seems to be enough of it, nor can it be replaced so I am always craving it. I shot this in black and white to give the feel of age. Old photos are usually in black and white. Time is also black and white. Once it is gone... it is gone! When I finish all of my house cleaning duties on Tuesday is week I will be thinking of the song by Sly and the Family Stone, my all time favorite, Hot Fun in the Summertime. I hope you enjoy this photo along with my others on my flickr site. Enjoy your summer, I know I will. If you don't know these songs, please click on them and listen. I will see what I mean.

Week 24 of 52

This weeks photo is from the end of an evening at the celebration of the ending of another school year. Last Friday was our staff's End-of-the-Year Social at Tony P's in the Marina. This school year has tried the patience and the will of everyone from student to staff to parents. And as we close the year, one week left, we are still waiting for the July 1st reduction-in-force notices (pink slips) to go out. We will not know who we will be working with when we return in August and September. So we celebrate what we do have, one teacher's reduction-in-force notice was resended, two programs reinstated, we work with pleasant and kind people and the best behaved students in the city. We often think about what we have lost or will loose. We rarely look at what we have and how good it is.

The End-of-the-Year Social is a time to do just that. We laugh at each other, at our students, their parents. We fill in the other side of tales half told. We check in our colleagues family, boyfriends and spouses. We talk about parenting, the budget deficit and summer plans. It is a time to blow off some steam. As someone once said, "It is a time to drink mash and talk trash." So that's what we did. After this, the final week of work, with all of its stress, tension, irritations and last minutes requests from everyone, really doesn't seem that big of a deal.

This week's photo is from the end of that celebration. This is the remains of what the School Administrative Assistant's mother, (did you follow that?) would drink at the end of dinner. This was a surprise to her daughter too. This is coffee and Patrón (tequila). Yes, coffee and tequila. I was ordering straight Patron, and the waiter, Paul, asked if I wanted the Patrón Coffee? "What's that?", I said, and then said, "never mind, bring it." Well this is Patrón XO Coffee Liquer. You can either do Patron with a coffee back or mix. If you take the shot, it kinda like a tequila toostie roll. By that time of night, doing two things is way to much, so I mixed it and it was wonderful. It's when I realized I needed to shot something for Week 24. The MCP 52 Project's theme was Make it Tasty. Well, it was. It was a tasty drink and a tasty night. Structure, my 2011 photography theme, is this end-of-the-year ritual of sharing a job well done with colleagues. Enjoy the drink, the photos, an time with friends.

Week 23 of 52

This week was me preparing for iFest. I am on the Board of CUE LA which stands for Computer Using Educators of Los Angeles. Our big project is the CUELA TechFair held annually in November. This year, I missed that meeting, but we decided to put on an iFest. A mini conference about iDevices, iPhones, iPads and iPods and their use in the classroom. Well, the Board does all of the prep, the name tags, the programs, registration, coordinator volunteers, set up rooms, set up breakfast, raffle, and the break down all that you set up and it all begins a week before the conference and finishes about two hours after the conference is over. Your life as you know it takes a back seat. Well for me the first thing that took a back seat was my 52 Project Photography.

The MCP 52 Project theme this week was Enchantment. And my theme of Structure. I had something I was going to shoot but was wrapped up in the getting things completed for the iFest, I completely forgot. I was so worried about getting the work finished, getting to bed on time to get up and be at the site by 6:00 a.m. the morning of that shooting anything, even with my iPhone. So, this week I had nothing to submit to MCP I'm posting a photo I took in December 2010 at a Winter get-together. And I ask the question, What can be more enchanting than a gingerbread house? Structure? What's a good definition of structure but a house? I liked it. Hope you do too.

Week 22 of 52

As I squeeze this blog entry in to my life I realize how much of my time is spent doing things that I'm trying to hold up. When I left teaching to work at a school as a coordinator of programs, I found that I was coordinating more than just programs. I was doing what most Coordinators do which is the last item listed in the job description, 'other duties as assigned'. Because of this, I equated my job as being a plate spinner.

As a child, Sunday night entertainment was The Ed Sullivan Show. This was back when we had only three TV channels and everybody watched the same thing because that's all there was to watch. Ed Sullivan brought the world to your living room. Dancing Russian bears, Polish acrobats, a Italian hand puppet named Topo Gigio, and a Spanish hand puppet named, Señor Wences. Wenceslao Moreno, the puppeteer for Señor Wences, would usually end his act with a juggling and plate spinning. As a plate spinner, you are watching all of the plates so you can attend to the next one that needs spinning in order to keep it on the stick and everything up and going.

As a Principal of a small elementary school, I've found that I have expand my act. I'm still spinning plates but I've added juggling knives, chainsaws and live kittens, dancing and a few singing gigs. All of this seems necessary to do my job and live my life the way I thinks I want to live, so I keep going. According to Joyce Meyer, Christian author and speaker, once said, "Ninety percent of life is maintenance." If 90% of life is maintaining what you already have, the wise thing to do would be not to add anything more without taking something out. But that is not how I have learned to live my life. So, by adding in something that I want to create needs to come from the 10% of my life to do so. I'm not great in math, but that doesn't leave a lot of time.

This weeks MCP Project 52 theme is Reflection. I've been reflecting on many things even if I didn't take a picture of me doing it. So I selected a picture of an structure, my 2011 theme on the 4th Street wall of the Santa Monica Place Mall. You can see the small reflections in each one of the balls in this structure. If you are interested in the other photos of I took this week please visit my flickr site and enjoy.

Week 21 of 52

The month of May has been challenging for me. I have not been able to remember dates, appointment times or remember to put items in my calendar. I didn't remember to pay bills, send invoices or that I got paid. That's bad! I'm glad there's only a few more days to the month. Photography has also taken a backseat in trying to keep up with things, but I've made this commitment to myself and I'm following through. The MCP Project 52 theme for Week 21 was 'The Need for Speed' and my theme is Structure. Again, I remembered the shoot deadline when leaving late from work on Friday, I took a route home that would allow me to pass by the construction of the new Metro line.

The Metro Line is not finished but the claims are that you can get downtown in 20 minutes 'The Need for Speed'. That a pretty good claim in L.A. The Structure is the day-to-day commuters that will use this Line to get to and from work.

Week 20 of 52

I'm glad that I found the MCP Project 52 because it is keeping me going. It is so easy not to follow through with a goal you've set during stressful times that having the commitment to completing the project keeps me, at least anchored to submitting something every week. This is shot was taken around 10:00 p.m. Friday night, the last day to shoot. I pulled out my iPhone and took the shot.

This does not represent either of the themes for this week or this year. This is a desperate attempt to shoot something before it's too late. So I did.

This is not representative of my main goal to improve my photographic eye but it is a side effect of it. It is honoring a commitment. I believe that commitment maybe a lost concept. I also believe that I can help show what it means and its benefits. This is now a tangential thought to photography but it does relate to my past weeks and commitment. I will continue this thought in the next entry.

Week 19 of 52

This is the time of year that it gets crazy. Just this past week, the Testing Season began, we had Open House, a Star Party and End-of-the-Year preparations. I'm not as young as I used to be and I need my beauty rest more than in the past. This past week has taken a toll and everyone, even the young at heart. Even amongst the madness, it is weeks like this that reminded me why I'm in public education.

Testing is always stressful with the affidavits, proctors, schedules, keeping materials under lock and key, make-up tests, attendance accounting. It's a good thing it only comes once a year. And the results, which are not available until August, determine how our entire school rates within the state of California with and API and an AYP. A little stress inducing, maybe? Testing is the obligatory part of every public school. Sort of like leeching in the Dark Ages. Do you see the similarities? We do this because it is required.

Open House is also required but the premise is for all of the students to share what they have been doing since the beginning of the school year. I is a happy time. Parents and family get to see how much their children have learned and students get to share how much more they know. At our Open House we have be having our Academic Challenge Science Super Quiz. This is my baby, based loosely on the Academic Decathlon in High School and I love it. Briefly, teams of students in grades 3 - 5 get together to earn individual and team medals in a public jeopardy-style game and the audience applauds all of their hard work. Well, seeing the students, teachers, coaches and families cheer, applaud, console and encourage these students. I remember why I work in public education. Just thinking about it brings a smile to my face.

Two days later was the Star Party. This was, again another reason I love working in public education. A group of amateur astronomers bring their telescopes, their enthusiasm and their passion. This was a BLAST! I saw Saturn and it's rings along with the mountains of the moon. Truly awesome. That was exciting, but I also enjoyed the look on the faces of the families, and the amateur astronomers. It was joy of seeing something precious. It was exciting seeing everyone realize how rare a opportunity it was and that fact that we all shared it together. Wow! This is another event that reminds me why I'm in public education. The joy of learning. The joy of learning in community. Priceless. I hope you enjoy this photo I took at dusk of one of the astronomers who hooked his telescope up to a monitor and was able to show a group what they were looking at and did a little Q&A.