by Shelly | Jun 4, 2011 | food, personal, SPCcreative |
Summertime, and the Livin’ is Easy . . .
Tomatoes are Ripe . . . and the Basil is tall.
Okay . . . perhaps I cheated. The tomatoes are store-bought.
My vines still only produce about five cherry tomatoes a day, but the basil is growing like crazy!
What’s a girl to do?
Splurge on the prettiest tomatoes the market has to offer, and make Caprese Salad of course!
YUMM-O . . . and so simple, sliced garden tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil from the backyard and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Salt and Pepper and you’re DONE! Mmmmmm!
Recently I’ve had reasons to go back through some of my older photography blogs, and realized how much I used to enjoy sharing a photograph every day. In fact, some of my dearest and most lasting photography friendships came out of the OLD circa 2007-2008 Dailies Community at Smugmug.
YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!
Lately though, it seems like the efforts to build my business have made it more difficult to just enjoy and create art for arts sake.
My wonderful clients DESERVE a fresh eye and the passion that made me ditch the daily commute and the regular paycheck. They deserve the passion that makes me get excited about the beauty of every day life.
So . . . Here’s something I saw and enjoyed today. That little voice in my head said that I really should share it with you.
I make no promises of a daily blog post that has little if anything to do with the business side of SPCcreative Photography, but maybe, just maybe, I’ll do better. Whaddaya think?
by Shelly | Mar 18, 2011 | event, personal, SPCcreative |
So, the Hubster and I had a Date .
We spent a lovely springtime afternoon strolling the midway at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo where there was no shortage of color.
Mike’s a great sport about my camera habit. He knows that if he doesn’t keep an eye on me, I will stop and get lost or wander off in to anything that looks interesting. What I like most, though, is how he has learned to stop and stand right behind me if I suddenly squat down to the ground to get a low perspective on something. He’s wonderful about guarding for baby strollers and roving bands of pre-teens who could all run me down in a heartbeat.
For our Stock Show Afternoon, I decided to give my new 16-35 mm wide angle lens a serious test-drive. It was the only lens I carried for the day. In fact, my backpack was so light that we felt better once we purchased a couple of cokes, drank a few sips and then tossed the bottles into the pack to enjoy later.
Wide angle photography is really a new thing to me. This lens is all about the big picture. So . . . here are a few fun images from our day, starting with the midway.
Getting There: One for the Money! 
Two For the Show — and What a Show it was. We enjoyed some Mutton Bustin’, Heifer Judging and Smiling Pigs (which I learned are called Market Barrows) sleeping in their stalls.
This young lady, above, and her cow were the best of friends. They made me smile as she rubbed the cow’s head and it nuzzled her right back.
No show would be complete without tons of Fair Food. You name it . . . somebody was frying it.
And Every Young Princess Needs Pink Boots and a hat to go to the Rodeo. Somebody had a very special day! 
Of course I’m assuming the vendors meant no pictures of PEOPLE WEARING these HATS.
You KNOW I would never want to break a rule. ; D
by Shelly | Mar 9, 2011 | personal, SPCcreative |
Just a few days ago, while cleaning up my outdoor studio, I met a brand new neighbor.
Actually I didn’t meet her that day, but I liked the way she was decorating her new home, so I decided to come back later to visit.
She must have run to the store for just a minute, because she left one of her kids to answer the door. I said I’d come back later.
Yesterday, I finally got to meet my neighbor.
She’s a pretty little red sparrow . . . the kind with a mask across her eyes.
Appropriately enough, since we met on Mardi Gras and she was wearing a mask and feathers, I named her Mardi.
Mardi now has four eggs in the 7-UP crate that sits on the Front Porch of my studio neighborhood.
We’re not going to disturb her, but will work carefully around her and hopefully we’ll be able to watch for the babies in the days ahead.
I’m so excited!
Although Mardi is terribly camera-shy, I believe the kiddos will be extremely photogenic.
by Shelly | Sep 15, 2010 | personal |
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.” — Albert Einstein
An albino praying mantis paid us a visit today. He made me smile, so I had to stop and share this friendly little fellow with you as well. I was on the phone with a colleague when my son came home after his classes and told me to go outside and look. To me, that was worth checking out. We enjoyed watching him for a while . . . and then he was gone.
by Shelly | Jul 6, 2010 | personal |
Every spring I like to buy a big rubber ball for the pool., and it’s become a ten year tradition that I intend to keep up for a very long time. It’s not just that the ball is fun to play with. I really enjoy the simple pleasure of having a big bright orb floating around in blue water. The ball stays until it goes over the fence and no one wants to climb after it, or it pops, or the sun and heat reduce it to a fraction of its former size. — and then it’s gone.
Until this year it’s always been a red ball, but we’re on a bit of a blue kick right now so our ball looks like a little happy replica of the Earth , drifting along in space. Okay, maybe not, but if you squint and use your imagination it does.
Last week Hurricane Alex dropped more than seven inches of rain on the yard in just over two days and all the low spots filled up with water. Our ball floated out into the yard and nestled near the flower bed in some awesome reflections. With another band of showers bearing in on us, I rushed outside with my camera so that I could save the image to enjoy on another day and to share with you.
“I am sure it is a great mistake always to know enough to go in when it rains. One may keep snug and dry by such knowledge, but one misses a world of loveliness.” Adeline Knapp
by Shelly | May 10, 2010 | event, family, personal |
Monday, May 10, 2010
No big assignments to report on from this weekend because Mothers Day weekend was all about family. Moms are important, but we also celebrate our grandmothers, aunts, cousins, in-laws and out-laws. We think our men are pretty darn special too.
I thought my niece making kissy faces from the back of the pickup truck was cute enough in its own right, but the fact that her daddy’s face is reflected in the rear-view mirror makes it priceless. Sometimes I enjoy trying out different effects on the same picture and putting them all back into one single composite.
She LOVES her Daddy
You probably haven’t really lived unless you’ve thrown rotten eggs from the back of a pickup truck or stood in a low-water crossing laughing at the BOYS who wouldn’t take off their shoes. 
We gals love the feeling of cold water rushing past our ankles, fuzzy green moss between our toes, and laughing until our sides are about to split. Yep — I’m right in there, thanks to my brother who took this picture so I could be in it too.
Cousins — just horsing around on Saturday afternoon. It’s something everyone should do at least once a year.
For those who were at the farm — or those who just wish they were, click this link http://www.spccreative.com/Family-and-Friends/Holiday-Gatherings/Mothers-Day-2010/12134291_qs8tn#862794685_xSb6B to enjoy the rest of the pictures from the weekend.
