I got disturbing news about my dad’s health yesterday, so I’m hopping on a plane for L.A. this afternoon. He’s stable but in the hospital and I just need to see him, hopefully provide some comfort to my mom and, lastly, get the straight skinny from the doctors. Not sure what the next few days will hold.
15 years ago yesterday I found the love of my life. 10 years ago yesterday we officially said I do.
I made reservations for us at Zephyr Cove at Lake Tahoe. Our cabin was a sweet little one-bedroom with kitchenette and a fireplace.
After checking in we walked about 50 yards to this beach. You can see the cabins through the trees.
I got a photo of Sweetie in the cabin.
We had reservations for the Captain’s Dinner & Dance Cruise on the M.S. Dixie. I’d never done the cruise around Lake Tahoe, so this was a first for me but not Sweetie. It was a very short walk to the dock where she is berthed.
A view of the lake from the pier.
Another photo of Sweetie across the dinner table.
We went to Emerald Bay and back. This is Vikingsholm.
The food was just okay, and the dance floor was about the size of a postage stamp, but the two-man band was pretty good, and there were people having a great time, and we did too. Some were celebrating birthdays and others were celebrating anniversaries like us.
In the morning we had breakfast at the lodge and added two more coffee mugs to our collection.
And before we checked out, I got a picture of the two of us by the fireplace.
We got up bright and early and participated in Moms On the Run, a local organization that helps women with cancer to meet their living expenses while undergoing treatment. My co-worker, Rachel (a young mother of two boys), was diagnosed with breast cancer last December and is currently undergoing treatment. While our insurance is good, she is out for several months and at the time she was beginning treatment, her husband had been unemployed. For her, Moms on the Run was a just the help she needed at a very challenging time.
Rachel’s Pirates for the Cureibbean were out in force today.
All the pictures of the day can be found at my SmugMug Mother’s Day gallery (I’m sounding like Disperser!), but here are a few from the day.
This next shot was supposed to be a shot of the crowd. I held my camera up and thought I was shooting straight out. Instead I got these two women. I like the composition with just them and everyone else’s legs and feet.
We did the 5K walk through the neighborhood around Reno High and then through Idlewild Park along the Truckee River. It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful setting.
After the walk, we headed across the river to the Pneumatic Diner, a tiny restaurant that seats maybe 30 people at tiny tables and specializes in vegetarian and vegan fare. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as busy as it usually is on Sunday mornings.
Sweetie had a vegan pecan waffle and eggs.In the picture above you can see a person putting their own fixings on their waffle. Yep, that’s how they roll at Pneumatic. Daughter and I each had the Vegan Bubba with Slab (grilled tofu).
I think we may have found a new Mother’s Day tradition!
We were celebrating Daughter’s birthday a day early, and of course, I had to seize the opportunity.
Happy couple!
Awwww.....
This next shot was a challenge and a technique I’m going to keep working on.
Love reflected
And they helped me with my lighting class assignment too!
Gotta add one more.
It’s the first day I’ve had to catch my breath since jumping on a plane a week ago last Thursday. I’ve got an assignment to complete this weekend for lighting class (more about that later), but the wind is far too furious for picture-taking. My camera would get sand-blasted and full of dust and nastiness. My final project for my lighting class is in the formative stages, but I know that I’ll need to light and shoot people properly, so today I set about taking some portraits. First me, then Nina, and even Sweetie let me drag him into my office lighting studio.
First day back at work after a three-day weekend, so of course I was busier than usual. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I need to leave early to make it to school by 4pm for my lighting class, so I don’t take a lunch. Tonight was critique night, so I had no chance to shoot anything until after class.
This gas station sits at the crossroads of Highways 50 and 95, the location of our town’s one and only stoplight; a blinking one. Shot at ISO 1600, f/13, 1/60s (hand-held).
© Carissa Snedeker
About critique night. Our third assignment was to shoot a face lit from six different angles. This was the shot everyone, including our teacher, felt was my best. I’m very happy with this shot. There is always room for improvement, and it’s far from perfect, but for my first foray into the light studio, it came out pretty good. Shot with a diffused light camera right, with a white poster board reflecting the diffuse light to provide some fill for the left side of her face.
Daughter © Carissa Snedeker
Shot with my iPhone.
La Vecchia Wine Glass © Carissa Snedeker
Not my 365 Photo of the Day.
Carissa Snedeker Photography 