Week 27 - Celebrate

This week's theme is Celebrate for our FOCUS 52 Group.  Week 27 is a week of celebrations for two of the larges counties in North America, Canada and the United States.  I believe most of our Southern neighbors celebrate their birthday's, Independence Days, around the middle of September.

Fireworks are nice.  I can say that because very few people dislike them.  I am not on of those fireworks enthusiast who attend any and every event that has fireworks.  I am not one of those who even say, "Oh there are firework at this.  That would be nice to see."  I can take them or leave them.  This past Fourth of July was the first one since both of my parents are not here and I felt like going somewhere and looking at them in the distance, far from the crowds.  My mom loved fireworks and my dad always made sure she and us little ones got to see them.  I at a barbecue that day and as it cooled off we went inside, began other social activities and completely forgot about fireworks.  Before we knew it, night time was on us and some of the fireworks shows had already begun.

I decided that I would try and catch some of the programs on my way home.  To my surprise as I turned the corner to my house, fireworks began to explode in an vacant lot of an old shopping center.  I whipped about the corner, along with other motorist and just pulled up to the curb and got out.  A new community was forming around the fireworks shoe.  People were pulling up, double parking and joining us.

I pulled out my iPhone and began to take pictures.  Those you can see on instagram.  Then I remembered my camera was in the car, so I got that one out.  This is an example of what I was able to capture.  For whatever reason, fireworks are mesmerizing.  We all stood there oohing and ahhing.  And applauded when it was finished.  Nothing else mattered for that thirty minutes.  We all left happier and some of us proud to be American.  I hope our neighbors to the North had the same sort of experience on the 1st of July.   Happy birthday to us all.

Week 26 - Half

This week marks the half way point of the 52 project with FOCUS 52.  We are half way through the year.  The weeks leading up to here seem to have gone by quickly.

I have missed the posting deadline to the Focus 52 site for several weeks, so my photos have not been shared on that site.  I've continued to post here consistently.  I thank all of my followers who have signed up and the occasional visitors for taking a look and seeing what i'm doing.

I started this blog, as you can see on the side, in 2008 when I was reading a book, Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age by Suzie Boos and Jane Krauss.  It is about integrating technology in the classroom through the use of Project Based Learning.

I have been using the sire with greater regularity over the past two years because I have been trying to developing my photographic eye through the participation in the 52 projects.  Now that you have the history, heres the photo.  This a street lamp on Pico Blvd. in Santa Monica.  This one of my Drive by Shootings.  I chose the because of the deep blue sky in the background and the half of the reflector pedals being lit from my angle.

Weeks 24 & 25 - On the Windowsill and It's a Guy thing

For the past two weeks I have been closing up the end of a crazy school year.  This year there will be  staff leaving at different times, vandalism, staff being laid off and preparing for a new year not knowing who will be there.  I was a little distracted and could not make my posts.  I did do some shooting.

Week 24 (6/10 - 6/16) 
On the Windowsill
I shot the outside of several windows on an industrial building.  I was downtown for a meeting and drove by this edifice that has been around since early part of the last century.  This is also one of my Drive by Shootings* series.  

I'm not exactly sure what this building is but it's been around awhile.  If anyone in the LA area knows, please fill me in and I'll put the info in here.  It's a great old monolith of a building and is still being used.



Week 25 (6/17 - 6/23) It's a Guy Thing  
This was officially my last week of work, although I has been in this week several times, and the only thing I had on my mind was closing out work.  Now a days it's hard to find anything that is specifically "a guy thing".  Most things are pretty unisex these days.  I was at a meeting held at The Huntington.  The Huntington is a library, art gallery, botanical garden and restaurants.  So, we walked through these lovely gardens to get to the Tea Room where we were having our meeting.  On the way I had to take photos, with my iPhone 3Gs - the old one, because the flowers were so beautiful.

Home gardening, for the most part, is a girl thing.  Most of the home gardeners I know are women.  But at The Huntington all of the gardeners I saw were guys.  So, these flowers are my guy thing.  The guys I was were working hard at keeping these lovely grounds immaculate.



*Drive by Shooting is what I call the photos I take when I am driving by something.  I do mean driving in a car, or a passenger in a car driving by.

Another Voice on Public Education

I found out about Adam Bellow today through the ISTE Remote Conference.  The annual ISTE, International Society for Technology in Education, conference was in San Diego this year.  I was not able to make it, but like the true practitioners they are, they provided access to a portion of the day of the conference online.

I enjoyed the entire day viewing the Keynote Speaker for the day, Dr. Yong Zhao, three sessions and a visit to the virtual lounge in between sessions.  The running chat within each session allowed for the interaction of participantes that I had not counted on.  I felt a sense of community and could interject and learn in return.  Virtual community at it's best.

I would have preferred to be there, but still it was a very fruitful day for me and everyone I chatted with.  Adam Bellow was a new discovery for me.  I'd like to share him and his ideas with you.  His website edutecher.net is a great resource and he's developing something similar to Pintrest that is a little more education specific.  Visit the sites, view the clip and enjoy.  I did.  Let's continue the conversation.

Father's Day 2012

Back in February 2011, I wrote a blog about my Dad's 90th birthday because he was awesome guy. I say was because he passed onto his next life on July 12, 2012.   I am sad beyond belief, but he passed away peacefully and in his own home. That's how he wanted it and how I'd like to go.

The night before he left, we had a long conversation about life. We talked about the family and friends who have passed on and how they spent their lives and eerily enough, we also talked about future plans that he wasn't involved in.  His wife, my mother, passed on eighteen months earlier in January 2010 and he seemed to miss her terribly.  He said on his 90th birthday, "this was the first one that Mother, has missed."  The inside joke was that my mother was the older women because she was born a month earlier.

He signed all of his greeting cards to all of us, "Your Ever Loving"

Well Daddy, Happy Father's Day!  I miss you so much.  With all of my love, you daughter, Kim, Your Ever Loving.

Week 23 - Get Down

This week's theme from FOCUS 52 group is Get Down.  The intent was to shoot at the ground level.  If you didn't want to get on the ground and shoot, the suggestion was to shoot blind.  Shooting blind means to put your camera down to that level and shoot and see what you get.  I thought it would be adventurous and kinda exciting.  I shot with the hope of finding pearls hidden on the ground level.  Not so.  I didn't like any of the photos I shot.

This week, 23, I was near Pasadena on Saturday, I love Pasadena, and had to travel by the Rose Bowl and Suicide Bridge.  I snapped a few shots of Suicide Bridge and the surrounding Arroyo.  As I was under the bridge and thought that shooting up at the bridge would fit the down portion of getting down.  It is not Getting Down as the theme suggests but I was down underneath the object I was shooting.  At times like this, I try to think about what Jan, the moderator of our 52 Group, writes at the end of each week, "Whatever you decide to do this week, follow the prompt or no, ... just have fun".

So I had fun shooting the Arroyo and it's surrounding.  I know I will return to Pasadena and shoot some more.  I didn't even have it on my list of what to shoot.   But it is now.  A few of those photos are on my flickr site.

Week 22 - Right Now

This week I took many photographs at my school's Academic Challenge Medal Ceremony, Annual Spelling Bee and the Star Party all in four day week.  This week's theme is Right Now, something captured in the moment.  This week, was so busy that I captured this light.  You can see this light while in the Drive Thru window at the McDonalds on the way to my house from work.  I was in one of those moods where I was so tired and the wait in line was taking too long.  I looked out the window, and for what ever reason, I thought this was interesting shot.  I took my iPhone and snapped it.  I gave it some effects from an app and this is what I got.  I like it and I'm sharing it with you all.

I am really enjoying this group, FOCUS 52-2012.  I get to know many of the photographers and their styles which help me.