Photo Assignment #2 -- Plus assorted crazy

Ta-da. Our 2nd assignment asked us to take 4 photos of the same subject, varying the aperture. Here is the same church photographed last week with the noticeable addition of the sun! Ah, Portland has been basking in several days worth of unobstructed sunshine. Fantastic stuff -- I can feel the Vitamin D absorbing into my bones or wherever its supposed to be. Back to photos, we were also supposed to be focusing on shadows in our composition. I don't really know what that means except I made sure there were "pretty" shadows . . . Also bought a couple books that I hope to be helpful in my quest for photography skills: an after market book on my camera and Understanding Exposure by Peterson. Which brings me to the 2nd theme of today's blog -- the crazy.

Apparently this is going to be a very busy, busy year around here, what with all my "resolutions" and such. Oh, and new teaching gig at local college. Yep, that's right. Along with the job, and the photography class, and family, I am now co-teaching a class for aspiring therapists one night a week. Suddenly my world feels like it may spin off its axis! This is good news (not the falling out of orbit part)! The photography is about finding a creative outlet and coping mechanism for a rather stressful career. I truly enjoy what I do and it's my calling . . . but I need to be conscience about self-care or risk burn out. Teaching is another avenue for doing this. I hope that some day it can supplement a private practice and I enjoyed teaching when I was doing it. 

In the meantime, I'm focused on just managing my various roles and responsibilities in the short term. Just the basic necessities beyond what is needed for work and class  -- sleep, nutrition, family.  This last week at work was not stellar in these areas. I think that most days, I failed to eat lunch and regularly disregarded my poor bladder, dashing between various appointments. When I was home, I was worse than a lump on the couch. I was a irritable, head-achy lump on the couch. This can not continue. As the week begins, I am hoping to stay more fully present when with my family, be planful about caring for my own needs and embrace a new opportunity.