Today

A stroll, saunter, or brisk walk

to the two EE's farmer's market for some fresh veggies.

Always surprises me

how much you can get for ten dollars.

Oh, the many ways to cook them.

A post card today, a letter tomorrow, a bill to pay.

What surprises hide behind that little mailbox door

with one little lock lined up row upon row.

Empty lots, overgrown with blackberry brambles.

Juicy bursts of sweet goodness.

Late august or early september.

Take me off the beaten path so I can fill my tummy with delicious

berries and spoil my dinner.

Picking freshness for baking.

A bucket full of blackberries to add to the freezer along with the other fruit.

Or why not enjoy some right now.

Fallen apples beneath the tree.

Almost harvesting time.

I will save you from the bugs and take you home with me.

You will make a tasty apple cake or applesauce.

Many small clay pots filled with an assortment of herbs

adorn my patio.

They need care and of course water.

In return they produce edible leaves

that add flavor to my cooking.

Tea anytime of the day for me please.

Black, green, white, herbal, caffeine, caffeine-free, whatever it may be.

Right now I have found a favorite in Might Leaf teas.

Five, the number of tea pots sitting on my shelves.

Document your day!

Capture & Create

The learning process never ends but continually opens up new doors. Just when you participate in a workshop to develop a particular skill, to understand the ins and out, to master something in order to feel confident to carry out the process on your own; you soon realize that you have only reached 1o% of what is actually possible and the learning curve steepens again. This is a good thing otherwise the learning would be boring, there would be little change and life unexciting.

I was inspired by a comment made by a fellow teacher today in response to the advanced Photoshop workshop today I attended through my SFU Graduate Program. It eluded to the fact that Photoshop artwork involves an immense amount of work. The time and creative process that is required to produce a piece that is pleasing to the eye undergoes several detailed steps. My perspective has change and I have suddenly become aware of the visual artwork around me and have been taking that second look wondering if Photoshop was involved. For example the wallpaper in Starbucks, the graphic design on labels, and advertisement all caught my attention today after school. My eyes have been opened to the details around me. As of today I am guilty of taking random pictures of sewer grates, graffiti walls, peeling paint, veins of leaves, the texture of cork, and sculpted cast iron imagining the possibilities of using them as layers in Photoshop.

Photoshop and the Process: import self portrait and images of textures, resize canvas, add new layers, manipulate layers, use tools for blending, masking, and brushing different features.

I am feeling enthusiastic

I love it when people are passionate about something and how their joy and excitement is evident when they are sharing. Not only does it engage the entire audience but it gets the creative gears in my brain turning just a little bit faster. I move closer to the edge of my seat, not wanting to miss a beat. I am torn between letting my creative mind wonder with all the possibilities that have surfaced and paying close attention being sure not to miss a second. Today’s workshop on Narrative Inquiry can be summed up my the above mention of feelings. Julia Leong lead a great workshop on telling stories using digital images. I was inspired by key concepts such as Point of View, art/o/graphy, creative expression, what’s it ‘good’ for, place, time, self and other.

The process: Take your camera off the automatic setting and play with the different modes. Put it into AV mode and increase or decrease the depth of field. Make things close up in focus and the background blurry or vice versa. Put it into S mode and increase the shutter speed. Have the camera snap a picture in tenths of a second or leave it longer for 15 seconds.

The process:

Trial #1 HI!

Trial #2 Handwriting

Trial #3 Natasha

The final product:

Rocks

Kudos to our instructor

The details: Dark room, pen light, backwards writing, S or P mode, slow shutter speed to 15 sec, two people one for each word.

iphoto editing: boost color, sepia tones

There are so many places to go from hear. Air Graffiti, story starters, picture boards, still motion sequences, images for school newspaper, picture books, Brown Bear Brown bear what do you see…, Where’s waldo, geometry/shapes all around us, leaving your digital footprint…

POV-Point of View…from my students…what do they see, hear, feel? I would love to explore this concept with my class in September. Perhaps give them a camera for a day and capture what is happening around them that has meaning. Possible Title: School wouldn’t be the same without…

No matter where I go, no matter who I am with, no matter what I see I will always take time to see the details that present itself.  

Wonders of Wonders

We had quite the thunderstorm here the other night.  On Saturday we packed up our things to head down to the fireworks just as it started to spit rain a little bit so we grabbed the ponchos and a tarp. Apparently it is shorter to stay on the Highway all the way into North Vancouver and take the Lions Gate Bridge across but I guess that only holds true if you know which exit to take and how to find the on ramp to the bridge.  No worries though we were able to ooh and ahh at the cruise ships making their way down the Burrard inlet, we traveled on some new streets we would have never venture to before, drove by the Caribbean market and wished we could buy some time there, and enjoyed the scenic route. Once we made it down into Vancouver,  we parked and decided that we didn't need the tarp because there wasn't anymore clouds in the sky.  We started our usual walk down Denman street soaking in the elclectim mix of smells, people, and sights, until we meet up with a bunch of friends from church and parked ourselves next to them. The sky started to get darker and darker but only on one side.  There other side was still blue with white puffy clouds.  We were pelted with the occasional rain drop here and there but decided we were tougher than the rain.  Then it started coming down faster and faster until we had to cover our sitting area with the ponchos.  Sheldon and Vanessa went back all  the way down Denman for the tarp while we monitored the rain seeping into our blankets.  By the time they made it back everyone was pretty soaked.  We used the tarp to keep our belongings dry and to lay over our laps.  We still had two hours to go before the fireworks. Many spectators started packing their things up and retreated to the shelter of the trees.  We are tough and a little okay maybe a lot, of rain doesn't scare us.  Then the thundershow started.  The lightning strikes stretched across the sky displaying a spectacular show.  The sky was a golden fiery yellow-orange that created this amazing glow.  The thunder show competed with the fireworks once they started.  It was amazing to watch.  I didn't take any pictures of the actually lightening or fireworks because I didn't want to sacrifice my camera to the rain.  We enjoyed the spectacle of light.  Later we heard on the radio that this type of thunderstorm, which wasn't forecasted, is rare and occurs only once in every fire years in BC.  I couldn't resist the lighting and did take a couple of pictures in the rain and boy was it worth it.  

Bring on SUMMER

Summer I am ready for it all so bring it on.   

Richmond Night Market, Symphony of Fire, kayaking, sun, camping, surfing, road trips, sushi nights, sun, strawberry picking, ferry rides, family, sun, Shuswap, Vancouver excursions, outdoor movies, Stanley Park, sun, picnics, friends, waterfights, late nights, star gazing, sun, glow sticks, sand, relaxing, BBQ's, croquet, and of course no work.

Paer deux of the Grand Transit Photo Adventure

#12) Take a picture in a fountain

We found this serene spot to stop for our lunch breach which was also perfect place to complete number 12 on our list.  Thanks to Di and her subtle prompts to read the list carefully before we moved on from this location.  Little did we know that our fountain picture were leave us still talking about it.  Di was to set the timer on my camera and hop into the fountain allowing for a perfect picture of the three of us in a fountain.  Well, I am not sure why Di had to set the camera other than she had slip on shoes so we dubbed her with the responsibility. The part about hopping into the fountain turned into a slip into the fountain and quite the splashing of water.  Lets just say that she had her own personal air cooling happening and that jean jacked stayed firmly knotted around her waist for entire day.  Thanks for taking one for the team Di.

#20) Texture walls... Experiement with background texture

#47) Snack time????

#24)Capture your reflection in an unexpected place...granite wall

A statement that deserves to be shared to a wider audience

My job share partner and I had just finished our meeting.  We walked towards our parked cars where she made a statement and sparked a conversation between the two of that lead to flurry thoughts worthy of being shared.  It started with her asking about my plans for the evening.  I proceeded to inform her that I had Young Adults at my church every Monday evening and was planning on attending tonight, the last one before the summer season.  She replied with a bold statement that I was not expecting to her, “Providing an opportunity for the youth to be connect on a regular basis is something that I really admire about the Christian faith, your faith.” She was speaking on behalf of her Indo-Canadian culture and thought that drawing the Youth was a key component to strengthening and building a community. She expressed he wish to have something similar for her daughter to attend when she reaches that age.  Our conversation continued and eventually headed into the reasons perhaps why the Christian faith has many opportunities for the Youth to be involved and what allows for it to continue on with the same intensity over the generations.  It was discussed how, in order for a community to grow there has to be an interest led by passion both from the participants and leaders. There has to be a willingness to continue spreading the desires and passions onto the next generation by being involved, giving the church a chance widen its horizons.

This got me thinking about how blessed we are as a church community to have faithful and wonderful leaders who make sacrifices in order to be commented to the Youth and to Gods people.  It made me appreciate that community that I have been apart of for the past few years.   We have all made contributions, some very small and almost unnoticeable, that have allowed us to grow stronger.  It also made me realize that people see and recognize what is happening with the youth and it is something to be desired.  We are apart of something so much bigger and that is the GOOD NEWS.

The First ever, Grand Transit-Photo adventure

The morning commenced bright and early with not a cloud to be seen at 7:30, am that is, and one grand adventure in store.  The premiss...3 girls, 3 cameras (well..we had 7 photo capturing devices just to cover our bases), and 3 transit day passes! One grand adventure... the goal, see how far we get or just where we get... take pictures along the way and have a good time!  I can confidently say that we exceeded in all of these categories.

                      Direction unknown

Destination unknown

Duration unknown

Let the games begin.....

 

Caffeine and a snack to kick start our stamina for the day.

And a list of photo challenges to encourage spontaneity.

#13) Change modes of transportation... #21) Head north...

...okay we didn't venture to far north but we make it to Lonsdale Quay Market, via sea bus,  just in time to see the venders setting up their wares for the day.

#33) City scape

Looking back over the city scape into Vancouver framed by wavy mountainish sculpture.

At last the three of us together after a wee hick-up in the morning plans.  Nic what time did you say you wanted to meet in the morning? Who slept through their alarm clock? What ploy where you really planning? Yes it is true, Nichole decided to have a leisure morning and thought 10:20 would be a more decent hour to let the games begin.

#8) 3 back packs

 This day has been a long time in the works and finally we put it into action.  

Stay tuned for part II.

In the mean time check out Nic and Di's recap on the days adventure.  Hurry up ladies where are those posts... update those blogs.

Strawberries, cheerios and milk for breakfast

Spring Break Goodness

I am not ready to return to the grind of daily routines, where I have to focus my attention on course work, marking, and unit planning.  These short breaks spread throughout the school year keep my spirits moving forward even when they sometimes seem to never come soon enough.  

A group of friends and I escaped the raining weather and spent three days walking around sunny Victoria.  We enjoyed each others company as we window shopped, walked, stopped for impromptu photo shoots, squeeze through skinny alleys, cooked, watched movies, and relaxed in the hot tub. This week was filled with an abundance of laughter, friends, family, and all around goodness that makes me happy.  It was so much more than I cold have asked for and I am thankful that God has blessed me.

IamNatasha

Balance is the key

My Games Training

This is just the beginning.  I attended my first Olympic Volunteer responsibility also known as Team 2010 Orientation.  It was very organized and informative.  Exceeded my quota of learn one new thing each day. I could probably triple that amount if I watch the complementary 5 hour CD and read the binder package. In due time, I just might reach that point.

I just hope that the Volunteer schedule won't interfere whit my teaching schedule.  The nice thing about being a part time TOC is that I still have that flexibility of taking a day off without feeling guilty to my students.

It's been foggy around here

It has been foggy around here for quite a few days.  I went for a hike around Stanley Park last Sunday with a group of friends.  The hike took longer than expected  as we were still traipsing through the trails as it was getting dark.  We turned around the corner of Prospect Point picnic area and this amazing shadowy sight was in front of us.  It was stunning and I am amazed at how well the camera could capture the mood.