Memorial Day, 2010

I’m always thoughtful on Memorial Day – not because I think our soldiers and airmen and seamen have died to keep us free, but simply because they died in service to their country, no matter their motivation for being in the military.

This year, Memorial Day takes on new meaning to me. My husband is a Staff Sergeant in the Air Force. He was deployed to Iraq last year, and we are getting ready to ship out to Japan in a few months. He works Ammo/Munitions, as an Inspector, which makes him responsible for all kinds of munitions getting loaded onto aircraft going out on missions. He downplays the importance of this job, but without him, and all the other airmen who do lesser-known, but no-less-important jobs, the Air Force could not exist.

So I think especially of him today, and of the friends he lost in Iraq, the funerals he had to attend, the funerals we may attend in the future. And I have to thank him for the job that he does every day, because he does what so many of us cannot do, and that stands for a lot.

Outtakes, 2

A new set of outtakes from the past few days – some are other versions of shots that made the final cut, and some are just other shots that were in consideration.

Hey, Jesus Doesn’t Discriminate

Slow churches, fast churches – he takes ’em all.

Ecliptic

Today was a violent, stormy day. Unable to capture successful images of the storm, I turned to the hardware store where we purchased paint for this weekend’s projects. I am just in love with all the arcs and curves in this shot.

Built to Last

When I titled this photo, I was actually thinking about the Sick of It All song/album (one of the greatest hardcore records ever made). Then I did some research and found out “Built to Last” is actually one of Chevy’s ad campaigns. Go figure.

This was taken during a pit stop on my drive from North Carolina to Florida today. I was worried that I would be stuck shooting a traffic sign, or something uber-generic, but as I was pumping gas, I spotted this old school bus parked in the lot next door, near an antique mall/flea market. It has a driver’s seat and two bench seats in back, and of course, no seatbelts.

He Can Spell Tuesday

You can’t help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn’t spell it right; but spelling isn’t everything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn’t count.
A. A. Milne

Outtakes

I’ve taken hundreds of pictures since beginning this project, and some days it is just so difficult to narrow things down to just one image (hence the posts with more than one). Beyond that, some days I take other photos that I’d love to share, but are beyond the parameters I set for myself. So instead of continual rule-breaking posts (and Judas Priest references – really, how many do we need? Wait. Don’t answer that.) I’ve decided that I’ll do a series of outtake posts, where I show you some of the images that didn’t make the final cut, but that I still love.

Breakin’ the law, breakin’ the law

I know I made rules. Specific rules. Rules that were supposed to guide the whole project.

I’m breaking them already. And really, I don’t feel that bad about it. So just pretend Rob Halford is singing along in the background of this post.

I went to get my marriage certificate in downtown Durham today, and these guys had a hot dog stand near the courthouse – complete with chess set for any willing challenger. They said I could take their pictures if I said nice things about them.

Hook this way!

I love the sky and angles of this one, but the sunburst really made it stand out.

I am a sucker for yellow and rust, so when I came across this old bike rack (made of bike parts) it was instant love.

I ain’t getting on no plane, Hannibal!

Colibre

Glass two days in a row (and hummingbirds twice, as well)!

The light just dazzles me, and the optics are endlessly fascinating – in their little glass bellies, the trees show up upside down, just like in the mirror from a few days ago.

These guys are part of a mobile, and I could sit and just watch them float for hours it feels like.

Illuminare

It’s raining here today, and the play of light and water on this glass birdbath just captivated me.