January 28, 2010 Photo of the Day - Steel Snowflake

I know the snow isn't supposed to start flying until tonight, but yesterday I found this beautiful steel snowflake on the ground. Glad these don't fall from the skies! LOL.

Workin' Man

Saw this guy today, doing his job. I loved the reflection of the ladder on the building. I'm sure glad I don't have to be several stories up on a ladder, near tons of traffic, on a breezy cold day in January. Burrrr.

January 27, 2010 Photo of the Day - Steeple in the Trees

I saw this peaceful steeple from the top floor of Forsyth Hospital's parking deck. The "fog" was achieved by positioning myself over the hospital's ventilation system and being patient..no pun intended. The view 45 degrees to the left was of the skyscrapers downtown, Winston-Salem is a city of great contrasts.

January 26, 2010 Photo of the Day - Pearly Whites

Pearly Whites - There's nothing else quite like a brand spankin' new pair of white sneakers when they're still clean. Thanks Derek, for being my foot model today.

January 25, 2010 Photo of the Day - Tolupan Baskets

I bought these baskets on my second mission trip to Honduras. They are hand crafted by a small tribe of Indians that lives in the mountains of Honduras, the Tolupans. They are very poor, and harvest grasses to craft these beautiful and sturdy baskets. Thought to have migrated to Honduras from the Sioux Indians in the southwest United States, their language is closely related to that of the Sioux. My friends, Clarence and Shirley, who were serving as full time missionaries in Honduras met these gentle people and bought the baskets knowing me and my little group were coming soon and would be pleased to have such unique souvineers. These are displayed behind glass doors in my living room.

January 24, 2010 Photo of the Day - Peppers

I was zippin' through the produce section at Wal-Mart, and these colorful peppers just looked so pretty. (I don't like the flavor of peppers, but I sure like the way they look.) I didn't have a "real" camera with me, so this was taken with my cell phone, and then I played with it in Photoshop to give it some artistic flair.

January 23, 2010 Photo of the Day - Fresh Paint

This 1964 Dodge Dart just got a new paint job. Hot stuff!

January 22, 2010 Photo of the Day-Guess What?

Can you guess what this is? I'll announce the winner tomorrow. To post your guess to the blog, go to http://rhondaswebsite.blogspot.com/2010/01/january-22-2010-photo-of-day-guess-what.html.

January 21, 2010 Photo of the Day - Freshly Roasted

Ummmmm....can you smell these? Fresh roasted coffee beans I found at a great little place near the studio called The Wet Whistle (http://www.thewetwhistleco.com/). I can't tell you how wonderful they smelled when Carol took the lid off so I could photograph them. I'd never seen coffee beans so fresh they still glistened. Too bad I don't like the taste of it, but I surely enjoy the smell.

January 20, 2010 Photo of the Day - Heart of Gold

My wedding band, the same one Randy put on my finger over 25 years ago.

January 19, 2010 Photo of the Day - Branches

This image was taken a little while after sunset.  I like the contrasting colors of the deep cool blue sky of early night against the branches reflections of the warm tungsten street lights.

January 18, 2010 Photo of the Day - Curly Cues

Close up detailing on a wicker chair. I love the graceful lines.

January 17, 2010 Photo of the Day

MODERN ARCHITECTURE
OK, this is not the shot I had planned for today. I had planned to photograph this sparkling little shop that sells chandeliers this evening after dark when the crystal really shines. You know what they say about the best laid plans, when I got there they had huge "sample sale" signs in the windows and ruined my shot. I'll try again after the sale is over, LOL.

So I ended up riding around town looking for a new subject for my photo of the day---which was now my photo of the night. The nice police man that ended up following me around was probably wondering what on earth this crazy lady was doing circling this building several times. Well, sir, I was looking for just the right angle. The more I slow down and pay attention, the more I enjoy the beautiful architecture in downtown High Point. This building is particularly pretty at night.

January 16, 2010 Photo of the Day

ALL KNOTTED UP
This beautiful gnarled tree is in the playground of a daycare center near the studio. I've admired it often because the textures on it's trunk are so intricate and rough. I'm happy to have finally slowed down to capture this image.

Company's Coming

Couple of months ago the Central Guild Chairman for the Professional Photographers of North Carolina called and asked if I would be one of 3 studios in the area to participate in a special event for the Central Guild Seminar. He wanted me to host a tour of my studio, and be on a panel to speak at a round table discussion about "Being a Sucessful Studio" or something like that. First, I told him with the economy like it was last year I wasn't feeling particularly sucessful. But he wanted me anyhow.

The Central Seminar is in High Point this time (woo-hoo! I get to sleep in my own bed.) and we expected 10 or 15 people for the tour, 25 max. This was a pre-convention event for the folks who arrived a day early, and it hadn't been done before.

Boy were we wrong.

Can you imagine 64 photographers crammed into my studio? 64! You shoulda been there--oh wait, there wasn't room for you! It was unbelieveable! I was standing on furniture in the camera room to talk to the group, and it was standing room only. I wish I had been thinking clearly enough to take a picture.

The round table discussion at the restaurant was great, and we could have gone on for a lot longer had the restaurant not closed. There's one great side-effect of this, my office is now temporarily clean! Yea! Oh yes, and I get one step closer to having my Photographic Craftsman degree.

I'm off to classes today, and a Board Meeting this afternoon...I'm gonna be one tired puppy when this convention is over.

Midnight Sunrise

A time exposure zoom photo of the lights from Main Street in front of the studio on a busy Friday night.

January 14, 2010 Photo of the Day

Looks Like Spring   
As hard as it is to believe, this tree sure looks like it's budding to me. I know I'm more than ready for some Springtime, how about you guys?

January 13, 2010 Photo of the Day

Sweet Little Teddy. 
He's just hangin' out in the dressing room at the studio, waiting for some little girl to come give him a hug.

Peeling Paint

I loved the combined textures of the woodgrain behind the peeling paint.

January 11, 2010 Photo of the Day

It's been crazy cold for so long now that I feel like I'll never thaw out. There's not much I like about that, but I do like the way the ponds have frozen over. That doesn't happen often in our neck of the woods. This morning the sun was shining brilliantly, so I decided to find some ice for my photo of the day and capture the sun glinting off it's surface.

I keep seeing what I already know....I'm a lover of texture and details. I didn't like the overall view of the pond, but found this beautiful leaf trapped near the bank. While I was developing the photo, I saw the intricate detailing of the air bubbles, one set reminds me of a galaxy, and the ones on the leaf remind me of the bottom of a seacreature. It's not exactly "stopping to smell the roses" but I certainly had a wonderful moment today to slow down and enjoy a little nature.

January 10, 2010 Photo of the Day

Grocery Day
I decided to celebrate grocery day by photographing some food. If your cubbord was as bare as mine was getting you would find it a cause for celebration too. My original thought was a high key (shades of white) photo of the eggs, but I ended up liking the shots with a dark background best. This is the veggie basket hanging in my kitchen. Special thanks to the tomatos for giving up their home for a few minutes while I set this up.

I just thought of something. This is a full color black and white photo. Ha, ha. Photographer humor.

January 9, 2010 Photo of the Day

Thanks in part to my friend Kari's shot earlier this week (she's also doing a Photo of the Day project); I was inspired when I saw this cool car parked at a restaurant in High Point on my way to the studio today. Sorry guys, I don't have any clue what make or model, but it was sleek and shining like a brand new cubic zirconium. Yes, that's my reflection in the lower right corner. No, that wasn't on purpose, just a fun coincidence.

The couple sitting in the car next to it were surely wondering why the crazy chick with the camera came running across the road to snap a few photos and then vanished just as quickly. Fotobugg strikes again!

If you're getting these via my Facebook feed, and are a photo snob like me, they look better (seems like the color is richer) on the blog. Just thought you would like to know.

January 8, 2010 Photo of the Day

Two photos today, because I couldn't pick. I love texture, so the hole in the tree couldn't be resisted, and the old wrought iron gateposts had a regal sense of history. Look closely and you will see the hole in the tree in the gatepost photo as well. Taken in a cemetery in Asheboro, N.C.

January 7, 2010 Photo of the Day

The top of a painted table with light from a mini flashlight. Reminds me of ocean waves. Thanks, Randy, for being my "lighting technician."

January 6, 2010 Photo of the Day

A rose by any other name....

January 5, 2010 Photo of the Day

Beautiful frost patterns on my windshield this morning.

January 4, 2010 Photo of the Day

Can anyone guess what this is?

January 3, 2010 Photo of the Day

Air bubbles trapped under ice in a puddle beside my house.

January 2, 2010 Photo of the Day

Wanna guess?

It's a stack of gas stove eyes. Hey, I said I was going to take photos for no good reason. I just like the texture and the way light plays off them.

New Year's Resolution

OK, I usually don't make resolutions. January first just isn't prime time for me to make big changes in my life. I think it's just too cold and the days are too short. Seems like Spring is a better time to think about a fresh start.

This year I did make a New Year's Decision. Here's the story. Those of you who know me best know that although I would be lost at work without my camera, I rarely take snapshots or create images just for me. I actually have gone on vacation or home for Christmas and forgotten to take a camera. Really, I have. Sometimes I'm driving down the road and see something I'd love to have a picture of, and alas, no camera.

My big New Year's Decision therefore, is to take at least one photo every day during 2010 for no good reason. My plan is to post them here to share. I think this will make me more creative, and at the same time remind me to take a camera with me more often on everyday excursions.

If you follow this, I think you'll find out pretty quickly that I'm attracted to texture and facinated by light. And perhaps I have a unique (translated wierd) way of seeing the world I live in. I hope we enjoy this adventure together.

Now that I think about it, maybe part of this idea came from dragging my husband to the "Julie and Julia" movie. At least I can't gain weight from taking photos, can I? Here's my photo from January 1, 2010. The view out my kitchen window.