Project of the year

TA-DAA!!! It is finished!

Since my mosaics class last year I've been making small mosaic pieces - book embellishments and 6X6 boards. This year I decided to make something of epic proportions. I bought a mirror. What was I thinking? It was ROUND and HUGE. After circling around it for about a month thinking how to manage this ambitious project I finally "broke the glass". Surprisingly enough, the work progressed really well and the frame was finished in 4 weekends.

Collage boot camp

Another wonderful weekend with Maureen Brouillette and a group of very talented artists.

This time Maureen did not have any mercy, she set the timer and we had only 30 minutes to come up with a creative idea and another 30 minutes to get to the point where the collage only needed some finishing touches. Again, and again... It may sound like no fun, but we had such a great time, we talked and laughed, Maureen answered our questions and her critique was priceless.

Here are my results from this workshop.

Happy Valentines Day!

“Happy Valentines Day to those who have found love, in whatever shape or form, and to those who are still hunting, don’t give up.  If you feel bad, send yourself a card.  You must be worth it…” – Jeanette Winterson

Taking this a step further, take a picture and share it.  Here is ours…

Bridge at dawn

We have been fascinated with the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge, especially since our recent visit a week ago.  We decided to spend more time exploring the bridge and the area near it. Our thinking is that once the bridge opens, we won’t have the level of access that is available right now.

So at 4:00 AM on Saturday morning the alarm clock sounded.  After I pealed myself off the ceiling, we got about the business of loading the car and were on site by 5:30.  Maybe I should have checked the weather.  The wind felt like it could blow you off the bridge. 

It was really interesting to see the construction progress made in just one week.  Once we had daylight we drove around and found access to the under the bridge and the levee. We saw more great views and new areas in various degrees of renewal.

Here are few more shots, Russ experimenting with HDR and Elena using a faux HDR.

You may see more pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elka-igolka/sets/72157629094906303/

Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge

This week, while at the Plano Arts Association exhibition, we saw a really nice Margaret Hunt Hill bridge photo taken by Gaby Pruit.  By the way, if you haven’t visited the Plano Arts Association on 18^th in Plano, look it up and check it out.

On Sunday, inspired by Gaby Pruit’s image, we decided to check the progress of the bridge construction.  The bridge is accessible on foot only.  We had the bridge to ourselves!  We could set up our tripods right in the middle lane.  Wow!  This meant we had the freedom to walk back and forth to find that perfect angle.  An added bonus was we had an unfettered view of the Dallas skyline from the bridge. 

We arrived in the late afternoon so we had rapidly changing lighting conditions.  That was fun because we had the room to lay out our equipment to take advantage of every opportunity.  Once in awhile we would encounter another pedestrian or a photographer who like us, was amazed by the shared good luck.

Now we want to go back in the predawn hours to catch some night lighting and then dawn lighting.  We also want to return in about 9 days in the evening to catch a full moon rise over the city through the bridge.  This is a once in lifetime opportunity and we are excited.  We hope it is reflected in our pictures.

Enjoy our 1^st cut.

Dallas downtown skyline, view from the bridge

You may see more pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elka-igolka/sets/72157629094906303/