A treat while waiting in my world

If you have come early to the airport to get through security, and the airport is not particularly busy so security takes about half a minute, and your flight is one hour delayed, it could be boring.

As we were waiting, a group of puppy raisers for Guide Dogs of America came in to give their trainees some experience of the sights and sounds of an airport. There were eight beautiful young dogs and eight enthusiastic puppy raisers. Puppy raisers very generously raise these dogs to give them up, giving them their initial training in behavior and socialization, familiarizing them with situations in public places, teaching them to remain calm no mater what as facilitators assess them for the needed temperament. This group gather for outings such as this one on a fairly regular basis.

That calm no matter what part seems to be working well.

After spending a half hour or more in the terminal waiting area, this dedicated group went on their way to their next learning adventure.

That's what happenend to liven up My World this afternoon. To see what's happening in other parts of the world, visit the My World site.

This Way to the Future...

We've spent quite a bit of time in Spokane in the last month doing Grandma and Grandpa duty, so I've had quite a few pictures from Gonzaga campus, Mt. Spokane, Ft. Wright, and South Hill. As we'd drive around taking kids to music or gymnastics or school, I spotted a lot of images I would have liked to shoot. I think I need a week in Spokane just for taking pictures.

I posted the main entrance to the Gonzaga Administration Building a few weeks ago as This Way to Education. Back there again after Mass on another Sunday, I caught this shot of my granddaughter headed to school. Well, maybe in a few years. After all, might as well keep up the family tradition.

This Way Thursday
paths, roads, signs and travels
and other related marvels--
found here.

Weekend Reflection--St. Ignatius again

I posted another version of this view when things were frozen a couple of weeks ago.

But the weather has turned warmer, and St. Ignatious looks out on the scene right side up and up side down now.

James hosts Weekend Reflectiosn at Newtown Daily Photo.

This Way Thursday--This Way to an Education

When I first entered these portals some years ago, Gonzaga was not so well known as it is today. We did have a great basketball team in the Big Sky League, playing other schools of similar size from Oregon, Montana, Utah. Basketball has brought my alma mater into the national spotlight, but the solid education provided is still the main feature of the university.

In our time, the new statue of St. Ignatius and its fountain pool would have been in the traffic of Boone Avenue. The whole stretch of Boone through campus was closed to traffic and made into a bricked pedestrian area a number of years ago as the University grew.

I remember checking into a hotel on the ridge west of Spokane with my parents and looking down over the city for my first glimpse of the spires of St. Aloysius (fondly called St. Al's) the parish church which is an enduring symbol of Gonzaga University. As a terrified seventeen year old about to embark on the great adventure of college, I was not sure I didn't want to crawl back into the car and go home.

High school seniors are pondering college entrance forms and scholarship applications at this time of year--waiting and hoping for the thick envelope full of additional forms to fill out instead of the thin one with the single "I am sorry...." sheet. Hopes, studies, struggles, friends, independence...what an adventure looms ahead for them!

This Way Thursday--look here for other paths.

I'm back!

I have turned in my final project and am back among the land of the living. It will take me a while to catch up with everyone and everything in blogland, but I'll be stopping by soon.

After I take a nap.

Good Friday

I went to school for the first time since I cleared out my things after being laid off last summer. (I've been to a couple of events, but they were away from campus.) It was the Good Friday prayer service when the eighth graders portray the Way of the Cross. I made it through without shedding any tears--but barely. I miss the kids.

Photo Class--Action

Our assignment this week was to practice taking photos with action. I have one from last summer and one from just the other day. What do you think?

My son above, and lunch at Sonic's below.
I think I'm going to like action shots. I will search for more opportunities to take some when it warms up a bit.

Instructor's comments

Well, when I got my disc back I found out that he does not put any written comments--only a number between one and ten, which is his grading scale. So I will try to remember the comments made in class when we looked at the photos together. (The photos will enlarge if you click them--some more than others, and they are also located in larger form at these posts--scenic and macro.)

On the ski lift picture, he liked the way it faded into the fog, and the fact that I included what others might avoid--the snow piled up from plowing. He did think I might have gotten a better shot if I had moved further to th right. I remeber why I hadn't--other than the lame excuse that I didn't have the right shoes for it. There was a big truck unloading kegs of beer onto a snowcat to go up to the lodge. Of course, that might have been a good picture in itself. He gave this photo a 9.

A picture from the student before me had a wide expanse of empty sky, and the instructor suggested cropping it out since there wasn't anything interesting going on there. His remark, similar to others he has made, "Now if an eagle had flown by...). So when this one opened up on the screen I said, "Didn't find any eagles to fly through the frame...".

He sstill suggested that I could crop a bit off the left top corner. I had tried and didn't like it. He had some other suggestions about moving in closer and repositioning. Some of these aI had actually done, but did not like the light poles and didn't want to get run over. He gave this one a 7.
Or maybe this was the one he gave a 9--he graded two of the three, and I'm not totally positive which he called #1 and which #2. Again the way the lift fades out was a positive about this one. I rather like it better than the first.

~

No for the macros--I will probably remember better since it was only yesterday afternoon. Most of the students did things like a ring or toy car. I had tried to set some things up, but they just seemed forced. I like photos to happen--and of course, they are happening all the time. Just not necessarily the ones you need for a particular assignment when the assignment is made.

He liked how well the arbed wire contrasts agains the background. He commented that this is how a macros should be--the focus on the item and the background out of focus. He commented on how the ice crystals stood out jsut clearly enough.
He was somewhat intrigued by this one, especially when I told him the size of the mushrooms. He suggested that I crop some off of the right side. I had already cropped it quite a bit, which contributed to the visual "noise" in the dark shadow. It is not as apparent in the small version here, but is pretty obvious when on the screen in front of the class. He had some suggestions for compensating for that if it were printed.
My friend here got quite a rise--almost as much as one girl's brother's tarantula. I had focus problems when I took this, and I knew it. I took several at the time--I think that is a key in the circumstances. The comment was that he looks like he is coming right into your camera. Everyone liked this.

I forget what was said about this, other than that it looked like something out of Dr. Seuss. Oh, there was something about underexposing it a bit to get more definition in the snow crystals. I may go back and take another look at the original. I had brightened it a bit, and that seems like the opposite of his suggestion.

No scores on these as this was jsut the class discussion.

The next assignment will be action. Oh, dear.

Macro Assignment

These are the photos that I will probably submit for my macro assignment in the photography class today. I invite critique.

The assignment is two photos, but last time I turned in three. This time was even harder to decide.

( These mushrooms were the size of a pin-head. On some of them you can actually see the stem.)

I should have the instructor's comments on last week's assignment later.

Since this could qualify as Twofer Tuesday, I will link you here to Jonna's site where she promotes pairs of photos on Tuesdays.

Photos for class

So here are the three photos I submitted for the first assignment in my photography class--outdoor scenic.
~
I invite you to critique them. It will be interesting to see what others think and compare to the instructor's comments.

Benefits of being older

I think I have children older or at least nearly as old as the instructor.

I know I have a grandchild older than most of my classmates.

If you are 60 or older, the next time you get a copy of the quarter's class schedule from your local community college, check the index for "seniors."

The way it works at ours is that a senior citizen can get a Gold Card which entitles them to audit up to two classes in any quarter for $5 plus $1 per credit and lab fees. My photography class is costing me $21.50 ($13.50 of that is apparently lab fees for access to the computer lab.)

Being an auditor means that I can participate in everything, but do not have to take exams and I don't get credits. At my age and circumstances, what do I need with credits?

Next quarter I am thinking of taking drama.