Teaching Silhouettes

This silhouette photo was taken by my 14-year-old son. I thought he did an awesome job! I coached him through it, telling him how to set the exposure for the sky and then focus on the subject. He would take a few....look at them, and get frustrated. Sometimes it was because he had our heads into the horizon, or the focus wasn't just right. Finally, when his hands were tired, and David was sick of looking at me cross eyed, he captured this one. Do you know what a feat this was? To get a man, even a man that likes you quite a bit, to stand still this long for a photograph?
(Sometimes it's like they're afraid you're going to steal their soul or something.)
Also, to keep a 14-year-old, whose first love is not photography, interested and encouraged enough to take the photo?
It was worth it. It's my all time favorite picture of us.
Don't we look young!?

Extravaganza!

Here's my ad for the show. I think it turned out nicely.
I've got a couple more consultations this week
and hope to fill quite a few more dates Sunday.

The River Valley Bridal Extravaganza is this Sunday,
the 27th of January, from 1:00-6:00.
Day Photography

Benji

It's a rock....in the WILD!

He's the BEST! His mommy is taking him to Germany to live soon. I guess they need to be with the da-da. I just need to book plenty of photo shoots so I can visit this cutie pie. I will really need to stay busy. I could write stuff that would make us all cry, but I won't.
Not yet.

Here, Nanny, make it snow again.

We picked all the dry blooms from the flowers and made some pretty neat "snow" blow in the wind. What can I say? We live where we rarely get snow, we'll take what we can get, won't we Benji?
It isn't very nice to taste dry, flower petal snow.

God's Handiwork Last Night

I was cooking when I got a phone call from Catherine, who was on her way back from Ft. Smith. She asked if I'd seen the sunset. (She knows one of my favorite sights in the world is a beautiful sky with bare, black trees.) I turned down the stove and grabbed my camera before I'd even looked outside. I slipped on some sandals and went running down the road while still talking to her on the cell.

In a very few minutes it was getting rather dark, and the fools,....
I mean - neighbors, were driving way too fast. A big dog came at me, and that's when I decided to call David to come get me. "Where ARE you? I thought you were in the kitchen!" He came to my rescue. He should know me by now.

Bluegrass

Bluegrass music at it's best can be found in the most
out of the way spots.

Friday evening in Roland we heard Crossfire from Fayetteville,
The Sunshine Girls,
Aaron Day, Vida Brooks and High Mountain Bluegrass,
among many others.

It's a great little place there in Roland, to relax and listen to old-timey favorite songs.
Songs maybe you haven't heard since your
grandma used to sing to you.

If you bring your own mandolin, dobro , fiddle or guitar, you can hang out in one of the back rooms and jam to your heart's content. If you're a beginner, they still welcome you.
Just take your turn around the circle,
and when it's your turn to pick the song don't
be a playin' anything that doesn't at least sound country or bluegrassy!

We REALLY enjoyed watching the three part youtube videos of John Sullivan making a mandolin!
We should post those videos on The Swap
they are highly educational!

Miss Vida and High Mountain Bluegrass.

The Sunshine Girls singing "Chicken Pluckin' Momma".

Aaron Day playing "Redwing"

Members of Crossfire. This band was awesome!

They played "Snowbird" and "Fox on the Run"

Miss Vida teaches a color tabs (tablature) method to learn guitar, mandolin, fiddle and bass. She is very encouraging to child and adult students alike. She already teaches some homeschoolers. She teaches individually, not in classes, but siblings or family members who have lessons back to back can sit in together, and after they have the basics down, can play together.

She teaches mostly folk, bluegrass, country, and hymns, though she has taught Aaron some Irish tunes and a couple of contemporary praise songs lately. If she doesn't have a song written in tabs, kids can ask if she can write it out for them. The great thing is that with practice kids can learn to play by ear like she does, know what key they're playing in, know the names of the notes and chords, even though she does not teach how to read regular music.

She is taking students during the day right now. It's harder to get an opening after regular school hours. If you're interested in lessons for yourself or your kids, let me know and I'll give you her contact info.