It was bound to happen, and frankly I’m a little surprised that it didn’t happen sooner. I phoned in last week’s 52Frames picture. Literally. And figuratively.
The theme was “Rule of Odds,” which says an odd number of subjects are more pleasing to the eye than an even number. I had a very difficult time thinking of something to photograph, and to be honest I didn’t really put much effort into thinking about it. Then we went out for pizza, and they gave the kids little packs of crayons with their menus. Little packs that contained precisely three crayons. So I rolled ’em over toward me snapped a picture with my phone and called it a week.
52frames, week 7: rule of odds “Dinner diversion”
I forgot to submit it to the 52Frames site, so I guess their official records will show that I’ve missed a week. If they have official records. But I know I took the picture, and you know I took the picture, so all is well.
Last week’s 52Frames theme was “Love Story,” and I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do with it. I talked a couple of my friends’ teenagers into modeling for me as Heathcliff and Catherine from “Wuthering Heights” — Catherine was a willing participant, but I had to bribe Heathcliff with promises of beef jerky — and we ventured out to the arboretum.
This was my first effort at using models who aren’t also my relatives, and I was very, very nervous about it. The kids were good sports even though it was cold and muddy and I didn’t know what I was doing. I rushed things a bit, and I think the pictures reflect that. They came out OK, but they’re not exactly what I wanted them to be.
Here’s the one I submitted to 52Frames:
52frames, week 6: love story “Heathcliff & Catherine, 2015″
The more I look at it, the less I think it captures the Heathcliff/Catherine dynamic. But I like the light and the expressions on their faces. I wanted to give the image kind of a cinematic feel, but I think I over-processed it. What do you think?
It’s a hike up to the Diana statue, but the view is worth it.
There are a lot of things that I find a little creepy about Biltmore. Like this vaguely menacing statue, for example.I’ve been having some anxiety issues these last few weeks, so I was apprehensive about last week’s 52Frames “Greetings From” theme. I usually don’t have a problem getting to our regularly scheduled activities when the ol’ anxiety is acting up, but going out just for the sake of going out isn’t something that’s high on my To Do list. (To be fair: It rarely ever is. The anxiety just enhances my desire to stay home.)
I was pretty sure “Greetings From” wasn’t short for “Greetings From your living room, where you’ve been holing up whenever possible,” though, so I figured I’d need to get my act together and leave the house.
There was only one day last week that I had any time to go out in search of a picture. Thursday was chilly and overcast, and it turned out to be a perfect day for me to go to the Biltmore Estate. I nearly had the place to myself!
I couldn’t resist a “Downton Abbey” shot.
Diana stands above the Biltmore Estate.I’ve been to Biltmore a few times before, but I’d never made the hike up to the Diana statue that sits above the estate. I decided I’d start there this time, and it was worth the effort. (I was out of breath by the time I got to the top. It isn’t really a super-difficult walk; I’m just very out of shape.) There was no one else up there, and it was chilly and quiet and so peaceful. It was just what I needed.
They don’t let you take pictures inside the house, so I just spent about an hour walking around the grounds. I only saw about 15 other people the whole time I was there, which is pretty unusual considering it’s one of the top destinations in the area. I guess cold Thursdays in late January aren’t their peak days.
In the end, my favorite picture of the day was the only one I took on my phone. I was walking back to my car, and I turned around and liked what the sky was doing so I snapped a quick shot. The house is such a mammoth thing, and I really like how the sky minimizes its size in the picture. It’s still an enormous structure (not to mention a reminder that there are some insanely wealthy people in this world), but it’s always important to keep things in perspective.
52frames, week 5: greetings from “Greetings from the Biltmore Estate”
