Call & Response

a photographic dialogue

Soul

The Call: Palm Sunday — Cheryl

Holy Week officially starts tomorrow, but we attended Mass this afternoon, where the Passion was “relived” through the Gospel of Luke. Participating in the reading as a member of the crowd and yelling “Crucify him! Crucify him!” gave me pause and prompted me to think of the state of my soul. Is my gratitude for Jesus’ supreme sacrifice evident in the way I live my life?


The Response: Nation’s Capitol — Jessica

If the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are the heart and the head of our country, then the monuments and landmarks of Washington D.C. are surely the soul.

Pet

The Call: Pixie in Catherine’s Lap — Jessica

Just a girl and her dog…


Response: One Expensive Dog — Cheryl

We got Caddie from the Denver Dumb Friends League when she was about 1.5 years old. It cost us about $100 just to take her home, but that was nothing compared to what we’ve spent on vet bills for our lovable mutt (a black lab/Australian shepherd mix) over the last twelve years. Most of the bills (in the $500 range) were for anesthesia, stitches, antibiotics and the like to repair cut paw after cut paw after cut paw. The big bill (to the tune of $1200) was to remove a rock from Caddie’s intestinal tract. I still have the rock, with her name on it. I figured I should keep it, since I paid to get it back. : ) Thankfully, when Caddie encountered a porcupine a few years ago, we were able to take care of that little emergency ourselves. If you’re looking for an incredibly potent CBD oil for your pet then check out the full list of CBD oil here. To help you out on your quest for finding the best CBD cat treats find more here at getunderskeleton.com.

Write

The Call: Handwritten — Cheryl

Over the years, I’ve started writing a number of stories and novels, but since I’m better at starting than finishing, I have nothing for sale at Amazon.


The Response: Imogen — Jessica

Next to taking pictures, I love to read about photography so I am very glad that there are people out there who write about photography. (How’s that for working in the call…)

I wrote a blog post today with the famous Imogen Cunningham quote about her favorite picture being the one that she would take tomorrow. As soon as I published that, I fed the kids lunch and we packed up and went to the library. Before we left, I dragged the kids over to the photography section (which is only about four shelves big) and quickly scanned through the titles to see if there was anything new or different. Lo and behold out popped not one, but TWO books about Imogen Cunningham. Of course I left with one. I’ll save the other for next month. The more I am reading about her, the more interesting she is becoming.

Adult

The Call: Paris — Jessica

I was very lucky to visit Paris as a child. My father was in the army and we were stationed in Munich at the time. That giant Eiffel tower made a huge impression on my six year old self. So did Versailles for that matter.

I was lucky twice and got to go back again as a young adult, fresh out of college. We were only there for a day layover as we waited for an early morning flight to Africa but we still got to walk around and eat incredible food.

I would like to see Paris again someday — but my real dream is to go to Rome.


Response: Golf Grip — Cheryl

Luke, my firstborn, started swinging a golf club shortly after he started walking at nine months. Before he turned two, Dennis was taking him to the driving range. Until he was 8 or 9, Luke had his grip switched around, holding the club with his right hand on top. Every now and again, other driving range patrons would ask Dennis about it, saying, “When are you going to teach him to do it right?” Dennis always responded, “He’ll figure it out when he’s ready.” Luke was ready at age ten, when he was pleased to discover that switching hand positions gave him more distance. Now, my boy is nearly 17, nearly an adult. He has become an outstanding golfer and an outstanding young man. I pray that he continues in these trajectories.

Prose

The Call: Function Over Form — Cheryl

I want to live in a poetic world, but the reality is that my life is written in prose. I imagine fancy tea parties with beautiful tablecloths, gorgeous bone china teapots, plates, cups and saucers. I own plenty of elegant accoutrements, but they are either inaccessible, inconvenient to use, or already shabby looking — and not the good, chic kind of shabby — the had-tea-parties-with-the-kids-and-these-napkins-are-chocolate-stained-forever shabby. Perhaps someday. In the meantime, I pour tea from the old Corningware pot and try to appreciate all the good stories in my life.


The Response: Tulips with Prose — Jessica

I was inspired by Cheryl’s accidental double exposure yesterday to go back and try some more with my camera. The book was really just an excuse to take more pictures of my tulips. It wasn’t until I was processing it in Lightroom that I realized I had chosen a page with a poem. It was suppose to be the “prose” of the call.

One

The Call: Icy — Jessica

One last snow storm before spring gets a better foothold? I sure hope so.


Response: One Shot; One Cool Effect — Cheryl

I took my camera with me when I transferred Luke from the gym to the driving range. I’m glad I did. I found plenty to photograph and was quite pleased with this particular shot. I’m not completely sure how I accomplished it. I was shooting from the car, and I’m pretty sure that the tree in the bottom of the picture is a reflection in the rearview mirror.

Bottle

The Call: Better Together — Cheryl

Dennis thinks these two make a great couple, but he’s been ignoring them since Ash Wednesday. I wonder if they feel slighted.


The Response: Olive Oil — Jessica

With a call like “bottle”, I knew I’d be throwing together a still life. But the only bottle I could find was the bottle of olive oil that I keep next to the stove. After a thorough cleaning, it was ready for its closeup.

Blaze

The Call: Flame Red — Jessica

Sometimes the call seems like it’s a piece of cake. Say “blaze” and the first thing in my mind is a gorgeous sunset blazing across a colorful sky.

Well, we don’t often get sunsets like that around here — and then there was also our rainy, overcast forecast for the day. So, I did the next best thing and found a bit of stained glass. The red petals of the stained glass lamp looked a bit like a blaze of flame. Right?


Book Blaze in a Bowl — Cheryl

Yes, I burn books, and most people consider that taboo. I understand where this comes from, but I also think that ascribing too much importance to the idea of “book” is akin to worshiping false gods. Not every book should have been published, not every unwanted book donated to a thrift store will find a home, and not every book needs to be revered simply because it represents freedom of speech. I contend that, with the rise of self-publishing, it’s even more true now. This particular, spiral-bound tome was a self-published homeschooling book extolling the virtues of literature and denigrating “twaddle.” The problem was that the book I reduced to ashes was, itself, twaddle.

Content

The Call: Ring of Keys — Cheryl

Many people like to get out of the house as often as possible. They like to travel, to explore, to wander hither and yon. Me? Not so much. I’m generally very content to just enjoy the life I’ve created at home.


The Response: Magic Content Box — Jessica

I was going down the proverbial rabbit hole of the internet this morning chasing the topic “content curation” when I flipped over to twitter to see the call for the day. So of course, when I saw “content” I knew it was the noun version of the word. It didn’t occur to me until much later in the afternoon that Cheryl could have meant the adjective. I think we had this happen once before where the word had two versions.

But, back to the picture, so reading about “content curation” and running dry of topics for my personal blog, I began to wish that I had a magical box full of content that I only had to open to be inspired. I could certainly be content with such a content generator. : )

Curly

The Call: Curly Tail — Jessica

Sometimes, when the call comes through for the day, I wonder what on earth was going through my mind when I chose that word. Curly? I must have just thought it sounded cool because no one in my house has curly hair. What, I wonder, did I think I would photograph? Ah well…that’s the challenge, right?

Luckily, I was saved by a bag of old stuffed animals and the current bedtime favorite If You Give a Pig a Party.


Response: Hot Rollers — Cheryl

I have naturally wavy hair, but it’s not curly. At different times in my life, I’ve been foolish enough to get perms. I remember buying these hot rollers after college, but before marriage. I one day got a bee in bonnet and just had to have them. Of course, I’ve probably used them about five times.

Details

The Call: Spent Rose — Cheryl

Peeled like yellow fruit,
The dead rose finally shares
Its gutsy details.


The Response: Pine Cone — Jessica

A week ago, walking home from the park, the boys and I stopped to pick up some freshly fallen pine cones. Brought into the warm house, they have spent all week opening up and revealing interesting details of their structure and purpose.

Map

The Call: Catholic — Jessica

We were watching the cardinals take their oath on entering the conclave this morning. I thought it was a great opportunity to pull out our much neglected atlas and browse the countries as the cardinals were mentioned.

It certainly drives home the universal nature of our Church.


Response: Love of Learning — Cheryl

Last Fall, when I painted some of the walls in the kitchen (don’t ask), I took down the maps I had tacked up when I was in a very “homeschooling” frame of mind. I never put any of them back up after putting away the can of paint, because I wanted to get a nice, framed world map. (The fact that I even bothered to paint shows that I was in a “Better Homes and Gardens” frame of mind.) Seeing today’s Call, though, brought me back to my senses, and I put the large world map back up. Within minutes, Henry and Sam were “all over the map,” checking out the Nile, where Jeremy, Richard and James of Top Gear UK (love those guys) were recently journeying; the Middle East, where today’s short geography lesson took us; and Colorado, our former home.

Century

The Call: Bike Hanging from the Rafters — Cheryl

Dennis used to be an avid cyclist. Before we were married, but when we lived in Colorado, he raced in the Longmont Criterium and completed the Elephant Rock Century (eating a lot of bananas in the course of riding 100 miles, he says). These days, his bikes don’t get out in the fresh air often, but I appreciate the fact that he was very willing to give up the lifestyle of a young, single guy when we got married 19 years ago.


The Response: Old Piano — Jessica

About fifteen years ago, I picked up an old upright piano at a garage sale for $10. I was so proud of myself because I thought it was such a great bargin.

That turn-of-the-century piano has sat in our basement since then. Too expensive to refinish (and, I was told by an expert, not worth it) and too dirty and ugly to bring up to the main floor.

Now, if we ever decide to move, it will cost us a lot more to dispose of. Turns out, it wasn’t such a bargin after all.

Style

The Call: Roots of Style — Jessica

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I have a definite photographic style. Yet. I’m working on it. But I would attribute what I have to these three books.

Every book Michael Freeman has written as been informative to me. But Perfect Exposure was so chock-full of “a-ha!” moments that it fundamentally changed how I took pictures. Yes, it was that life changing.

Du Chemin has grown on me. The first time I read through Within the Frame, I thought “meh.” But then I began reading his blog, joined his now defunct forum Craft & Vision (as a birthday gift from my mother) and re-read the book. It too, over time, slowly, has changed the way I take photos because it has changed the reason why I’m snapping the shutter release. He, more than any other writer, has slowed me down and made me think about what is in the frame and why it is in there.


Response: Under the Bill — Cheryl

I had planned on writing about Stella’s sense of style (pretty outrageous), but the photo also works for a discussion of my photographic style, which I think can be summed up in two words: rushed documentary. I tend to shoot what I see around me (often focusing on the details most people miss, or the details I tended to miss before I developed a close relationship with my camera). I generally do a minimal amount of post processing, because I think that most of life needs little embellishment, and I strive to compose a good shot in-camera. That explains the documentary part. The fact that I always want to accomplish a great deal more than I’ll realistically be able to tackle explains the the rushed part.