The highlight of the weekâKate finished her new sewing room/guest room! It was really sweet of her sister Eva to send a bouquet of flowers to celebrate the new room. Kate found the bouquet on the front porch, below, and it sits on a hotpad that a friend made for her.
The new Arrow Kangaroo with Joey sewing table folds out in back for quilting, which she found at Aloha Sewing and Vacuum. One of our sons carefully assembled the units. She also loves making quilts and clothing for young and old alikeâas well as eyeglass cases for school fundraisers.
The short dresser underneath the quilting machine also pulls out, above, and below the unit expands to handle larger quilting projects. The flowers sit on yet another cabinet.
Kate is an interior designer who loves fabrics, so this is a nod to both of her passions. Friend Kendra Hogue recommended an excellent painter for a long-overdue facelift that involved us removing wallpaper. She is also a paint expert and worked with clients through Sherwin-Williams. This color is Lemon Meringue which is cheerful and light. There is also a new schoolhouse ceiling light from Restoration hardware in Southeast Portland.
These are Kateâs inspiration drawings. A design always starts with an idea. She is now working on the curtains. Pictures when they are done!
On to the Photos of the Week!
The power of the closeup shotâMy favorite shot of the week came on Thursday after a quick downpour and then sun. I love the color of my Josephâs Coat rose, but it is fleeting. I caught it at peak perfection in my yard. (I have 11 rose bushes to tend. Spring training at Oaks Park Dance Pavilion by Portland Rose Society years ago was excellent training.)
I moved in close and focused on the foxglove to throw the background out of focus, but didnât expect the 10 oâclock lighting to create such drama. This year Iâve been scattering Oregon-grown wildflower seeds to create more of a cottage garden.
California Poppies are always fun to photograph. Again, using the move in close and focus on the closest part of the flower to creted the small depth of field.
Iâve arranged the entire garden so every shot always has a foreground-midgorund-background. This is a delicate, peaceful rose that seems appropriate this week.
Our parents who fought in the war and returned were the lucky ones. They served their country but it did not define the rest of their lives. We fly our flag on Memorial Day to remember those who sacrificed their lives for our country.
This is why I love being outdoorsâPerspective. Thatâs Kate resting on a bench after hiking through the forest. You may have to zoom in to see here. Sheâs used to me moving around to get the shot.
And then on Monday the younger grandchildren arrived for an overnight, and we did all of our favorite thingsâa hike down to Fanno Creek and up the steep hill, across the bridge, and back down.
Then it was off to Spring Garden Park, clearly all of the grandchildrenâs favorite place to go. Hidden in the middle of the Multnomah neighborhood, it is created out of a hill and has one of the best-designed playgrounds and picnic area in the area.
It doesnât look like it here, but this is a Black Magic roseâthe closest to the color black that has been achieved in rose breeding.
A spider web is revealed across the calla lilies, making the droplets look like they are floating in the air.
Love in the Mist comes back reliably every year, but not always in the same place. It is a European wildflower, originally, that is popular in the Northwest. It fits in perfectly with a jumble of other flowers in my garden. The garden seems to be doing better without me meddling in it this year!
This Floribunda is magnificent, but it only blooms once during the year, with only a few blossoms. Itâs worth it.
Near the other dog park on the other side of the forest at Gabriel Park, near the Community Garden, this area has been restored to native species and the hogweed is looking especially healthy this year. Love walking here.
Walking through the Gabriel Park forest on a hot day is the ultimate get back to nature moment in the middle of the city. It gives me time to think.
Photography is really just about showing up regularly and always looking for a great shot. This week was fun because it started with some sunny but cold days, a quiet Memorial Day, the grandchildren stayed overnight and we had time to play.
The strategy is to shoot at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., but in the Northwest that means when the sun is halfway to high noon and halfway to sunset. On Thursday there was a quick hard rain before 10 a.m. followed by bright sun for some of these amazing shots.
You can never go wrong moving in close, or doing a light strategic cropping. Shot with an Apple iPhone 12. All shots underexposed by half a stop (-0.5).
There is no loss of resolution zooming in and out because iPhones use an optical physical lens hardware system to counteract camera shake resulting in sharper, clearer photos and videos. It's a hardware feature, not a digital adjustment of the image.
Itâs not magic, itâs the hardware. These close-up shots show why a physical lens hardware system is superior to a digital zoon software solution.
