Lobby Piano – Snapshot of the Day, No. 63

032913_63LobbyPianoRI was going to try shooting in the public library today, but since it’s Good Friday, the library happened to be closed. So I walked over the Read House – and shot down on the lobby from the mezzanine. As soon as I got to the railing, this little kid walked by – too fast, of course. I would have liked for him to have been a tad closer to the piano for composition reasons. But it will do for the day.

It is really dark in this lobby. I had to use a very slow shutter speed, but I think it makes the shot. It gives the scene some movement and life.

The Read House is on the National Registry of Historic Places. It is really a very cool old hotel downtown. If you go to their site, you can search for the “Read House” and “Chattanooga,” and read about why it was chosen for the registry.

Blowing Glass – Snapshot of the Day, No. 62

032813_62BlowingGlassRI went downtown at lunch to buy a gift card for a neighbor, and stumbled across this cool glass blowing studio. It’s called Ignis Glass Studio. With their help, you can make your own glass ornaments. Pretty cool!

My intention for this photo was not how it turned out. I wanted to focus on the bowls in the foreground and leave the guy in the background out of focus. My lens did just the opposite for me. Darn autofocus! I did not want this guy to turn around, so I put the camera up to my face and hit the shutter. I thought I was focusing on the bowls, but found out differently when I got back to work. Oh well. It’s kind of a neat shot anyway even if it was not what I wanted.

Key to New Orleans – Snapshot No. 61

032713_61KeysToNewOrleansRMy husband and I honeymooned in New Orleans. We love that city.

We have a New Orleans-type restaurant here in town called Blue Orleans. It was not open yet when I walked by this afternoon, but I happened to see all of these keys hanging on the inside of the door. I thought that was very unusual, so I decided to make it my snapshot of the day. My finger hit the shutter harder than I wanted to and got the photo before I was able to change the f-stop. I wanted to make the background a little more out of focus so the keys would stand out. But it didn’t work out that way; and since I can only take one shot, this is what I got. Thank heavens for PhotoShop. I was able to blur the background a bit and use the history brush to bring the keys back into focus. Not the greatest job, but it will do in a pinch. As usual, I had very little time today.

The Produce Section – Snapshot of the Day, No. 60

032613_60ProduceSectionRgI have been trying all day long to get my Snapshot of the Day with not much success. I think what my problem is I’m starting to hesitate too much. I ask myself, “Is THIS really what you want your photo of the day to be?” And then the moment passes. I sometimes take other photos throughout the day just for fun that end up being better shots. I guess I take more risks when I don’t have much to lose.

At any rate, this young man was in one of our local grocery stores picking out some produce. His wardrobe choice is curious to me. I was wearing two turtleneck wool sweaters and a heavy man’s coat. It was spitting snow outside, after all. Shorts and flip flops on one of our coldest days of the year – to each his own.

Biking to the Pub – Snapshot of the Day, No. 59

032513_59BikingToThePubRIt was very cold today – at least to us who have had a mild winter. It was actually spitting snow here, but you can’t tell. This is a local pub downtown called the Honest Pint. I thought it was humorous to find a bike parked in front in the middle of the afternoon. I guess you can’t get a DUI while riding a bike….or can you?

Fathers and Sons – Snapshot of the Day, No. 58

032413_58FathersAndSonsRThis is a photo of my husband and his father when Joe was five years old. I found it the other day when I was looking for something else. I love this photo because it has that “Sixties in America” feel to it. A car, a pair of blue jeans and two sets of sunglasses. The only thing that could improve this photo would be a bottled Coke.

It also shows the special relationship fathers and sons have with each other – especially at that age.

Nesting – Snapshot of the Day, No. 57

032313_57NestingRI love birds. They are little gifts from Heaven. They always cheer me up a bit no matter what mood I’m in. Bird nests are so masterfully made, too. If one ever falls out of a tree or bush, I pick it up and put it on a window sill.

This one I’ve had a while. It is so pretty and delicate. The egg inside is made of clay – I think. Years ago, we did a story on a man who makes bird eggs for a living. His name is  C.E. Blevins. He is a retired Southern Baptist minister, a retired public school art resource teacher and a retired missionary who worked with his wife in Zambia, Africa.

I spent a lot more time with him and his wife, Laura, than I normally would have on any other assignment. I really enjoyed their company. They told me some stories about their work in Africa, and I was in awe. (I have always wanted to go to Africa.) But I also couldn’t get over the beauty of the eggs he made. He makes them to look the same and weigh the same of each species. His new project is to replicate the egg of each species that exists in the world.

Mr. Blevins gave me one as a gift, and I used to carry it wherever I went. But now I keep it inside of this nest. I guess I felt they both needed each other.

I love my egg and I loved the opportunity to meet Mr. and Mrs. Blevins.

Southern Furniture Wholesalers – Snapshot No. 56

032213_56SouthsLargestRApparently this was the South’s largest wholesale distributor of home furniture. I’ve live here my entire life, and I never knew it existed. The only reason I found it was because I got turned around looking for something else today.

I love old warehouses like this. I can picture the former employees working inside all of those windows. Full of life and hard work. Now it’s just a shell. It’s a pretty big building, too. Hopefully someone can buy it and turn it into either condos or a place for employment.

Elemental Employees – Snapshot of the Day, No. 55

032113_55ElementalRI left work to run an errand today and stumbled across a really cool restaurant called Elemental. As I was walking by, I noticed while looking through the window that it had lots of really cool design elements inside. I had originally thought it was a store and coffee house; but as I walked in, the hostess asked me if she could help me.

Ahhhh…. “Yes!” I said. “May I get a cup of coffee….. to go?”

Busted. All I wanted to do was take my snapshot of the day. Crap on a cracker. Well, it was cold outside. Coffee would be good. But I thought to myself, “Hmmm. This looks like  it is an expensive place. I wonder how much this photo is going to cost me.

I was taken to the bar, and as the bartender was getting my coffee ready, I struck up a conversation with him about the restaurant. Apparently everything is natural – food and drinks. They even serve Mexican Cokes. And you know what that means! Pure sugar vs. Corn Sugar. They are a lot better.

Anyway, the coffee ended up being $2.79. It was a small to-go cup, too. But it was quite possibly the best coffee I’ve ever tasted. It was REALLY good.  I wish I could say the same thing about the photo, but I was slightly paranoid being in there with a camera. I may go back for lunch or dinner and take my camera – to give me an excuse to be in there.