Favourite “suffering dog” look

Favourite “suffering dog” look, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 29, 2009
This is his usual expression. I always try to take a photo of it but never manage to catch it just right. I need a better flash I guess.

Post-birthday day

Not a real emergency (I did get a polite nod from one of the fireman)

July 28, 2009

I spent most of the day home reading. I did manage to go out and get 2 photography books. One by Scott Kelby on Lighroom 2 and one by Freeman called Perfect Exposure. I’m very happy about that but in the next week I’ll have no chance to start reading them. I’m still tackling Freeman’s Photographer’s Eye. It requires attention because it’s not a light reading. I would also like to understand it well, otherwise it will not help.

I’m gonna post this crappy cell phone photo of a firetruck. I did not take any other photos yesterday. Later in the evening I went out with the dog when the alarm in the building went off. Nothing important, just usual alarm with no cause. (We did have another brief one close to midnight and one now just before 9am)

I could not log into Farm Town yesterday for some reason, so this morning I have to tend to my crops instead of finishing Emma.

Relaxing

Relaxing, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 27, 2009
Today was my birthday! Not the happiest of days anymore since every year, for some reason, I keep getting older. I’m getting annoyed with this situation.
I got quite a few messages today, most from home. First I had emails from Roman Bilan, Oleh, and a short note from Dad who was told to write me at the exact time of my birth. Later I got a call from Dad with very nice wishes. Got a nice note from Ira Sohomonian. Then I talked to Mom and Grandma over Skype. Got a call from Ivanka, Olena, and Mom’s friend Myrosia. I might be forgetting someone else. Got a couple of messages on Facebook and Odnoklasniki. I remembered a note from Ira that she sent before she left. And just before midnight I got a card from Oksana Rak and family.
Overall, it was quite lovely. I had a busy day. It passed very very quickly. I barely noticed the time. In the morning I was accepting calls and notes, finishing an essay, and trying to finish reading a novel. Then I went to renew my Health Card and got to wait in two lines. Afterwards I had a quick lunch. Almost burned my lips with unusually spicy shrimp. Got to my seminar quite quickly and for two hours tried to stay awake during one of the most boring discussions ever. And finally went to Ivanka’s for a great dinner. I did not stay long because it is Monday and people have to work and I had to go watch the finale of Triple Sensation (least exciting episode).
I’m a bit tired, a bit sad. Every birthday makes me feel a little lost, a little useless, and a little overwhelmed. The great thing is, it last only for one day.

He likes me sometimes

He likes me sometimes, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 26, 2009
I wanted a photo of him leaning against me. It took some time to take a successful photo and get him to stay put. It’s not a very good try but I like it.

Saturday’s summer drizzle

Saturday’s summer drizzle, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 25, 2009
Beautiful Saturday. It was an awesome drive home.

My bloody Friday

My bloody Friday, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 24, 2009
I just had to take a photo of this little incident because it was painful and bloody. I somehow managed to yank my jewelry while putting on a t-shirt. This was the most eventful part of my day. Although, I did buy The Photographer’s Eye by Michael Freeman.

July self-portrait

Me & Chuckie in the summer sun

I had to post this self-portrait here cause I’m not sure I want to upload it to Flickr. I’ve been getting a reminder abot this for a couple of weeks now.

Pool kiss

Pool kiss, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 15, 2009
Wednesday. I was supposed to be at a net research seminar for my Austen class. I did not go. Ivanka had a day off so I decided to ask her to go see the new Harry Potter movie. In short, it was not worth it. The movie was not very interesting or exciting. I know and love the book too much to enjoy the simplified version sprinkled with very mediocre acting.
After the movie we went to splash in the pool! I swam quite a bit and in the end got really really cold. We ate a nice plov and chatted a bit. Even after Slavik returned from work we kept talking. Well…I kept talking. Ivanka wanted me to tell her what happened in the book so I had to remember all the details.
This photo was one of the more interesting ones. I couldn’t process it right, so I made it vintage to improve colour issues.

Dreamer

Dreamer, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 12, 2009
Went with the dog to the park. I decided to walk a bit. When we got to Grenadier pond I had to let him in. He needed a dip and would not miss the opportunity. First when I tried to pull him out he would not budge at all. He kept swimming for a couple of minutes and only then would let me get him out. We went to sit on the grass and dry off in the sun. Overall, we spent about 3 hours walking, sitting, reading, and taking pictures.
It was a nice day.

Fascinating belly-button (reposted after July 10)

Fascinating belly-button, originally uploaded by polarcubby.

July 9, 2009

The day was Thursday. I went to Kitchener to visit my family, Oksana and the kids. There was an additional bonus – Oksana’s mom is here. So we got to talk a bit and catch up. I heard a lot of stuff about the family, saw quite a few photos. It was a nice visit. The kids behaved well and even stayed home for most of the day. I got to take a few photos. They did not want to pose at first but then somehow got into it. As a result I have a couple of really good pics.

This one is probably my favourite. It was not a deliberate shot. Adam was sitting on the deck and I just took a photo without even looking through the viewfinder. I liked the way he was sitting and just took a snapshot. The colours were lovely and very similar in tone but in the end they were distracting. I had trouble getting a good white balance on this particular batch so after fixing up the shot in ACR I decided to try Creamy Chocolate B&W action. And it worked! I did not expect to have such a beautiful result! I like everything about. The light is very soft (I guess that’s part of the “creamy” layer), the contrast is good but not overdone, the sharpness makes Adam stand out from the backgrounds, the skin tone is bright but not washed out. It’s not perfect, technically speaking, but I’m proud of it. It is a kind of photo that I would want to take every time I visit the kids.

I also had a few decent shots of Daniel. There was one in particular that I’m very happy with. This one:

In full colour it was lovely and bright. But when I used it for one of the lessons in my online Photography class, I made it vintage and instantly fell in love with the new look. The subtlety of the colours is so appealing! I love bright and saturated photos but this one has such unusual appeal that I had to try the same effect on other pictures. None worked out as well as this one but a few looked really good! I can see now how mediocre photos can be made into something very interesting!

Note:

I heard a number of times stories about my parents’ wedding. Oksana and her Mom both say that they remember the wedding very well. My Mom’s dress was apparently very beautiful; it came from Canada. And my Mom and Dad apparently danced beautifully and a lot. Oksana and other kids slept in the attic on straw and tried to peek at the celebrations.Oksana remembers the wedding very vividly, especially the way they danced. I don’t remember that since I wasn’t born but I also don’t remember! I mean I’ve never really heard stories about it except from Oksana and her Mom. I wonder why? My Grandma used to tell me a lot of family stories when I was little but I don’t recall hearing of this one. Actually, now that I’m older I wish to know more stories, more family history, all those things I did not care about when I was a kid. Unfortunately, my one Grandma and Grandpa are dead and the other two are very far away. Long distance calls are not a way to hear such tales. They have to be told like the one about my parent’s wedding: sitting on the deck on the lazy sunny afternoon after a tasty meal.