avablog

My friend Mark and I took a photo walk today. The idea’s simple: Grab a camera and walk around. Sounds easy, yes? We started out downtown, then took a drive west of town to a junkyard I’ve been wanting to shoot for years. I learned two things today: There’s a lot more graffiti in my […]

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What a gorgeous weekend. I guess there won’t be too many more like this before the snow flies. Stay golden.

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“Grandma” and Poom Poom were in town this weekend for fun. Ava’s gone to calling Leah’s mom grandma now instead of G.G. Just out of the blue. This has come on about the same time she’s started pointing with her middle finger, so take it with a grain of salt.

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G.G. and Poom Poom are coming to town this weekend for pumpkin patch madness. I have to say, Halloween is something I don’t look forward to these days nearly as much as I used to. I suppose that’s what growing up will do to you.

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We’ve got a maple in the yard that’s on the verge of dropping its last leaves. You know what that means, don’t you?

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The hits just keep coming.

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I came home last evening to find Ava painting the sidewalk with her mother. I’m a big fan of diffuse sunlight, so I grabbed my camera and started clicking away.

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Please bear with me. I almost never get Ava to pose for me, so when I do, I tend to get carried away. See how the eyes match the color of the pillow?

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I’ve been shooting RAW lately in my XTi and playing with the results in Adobe Camera Raw. I’m still undecided about whether I want to spend a lot of time fussing with my shots after they’re out of the camera, but I have to say, a couple small tweaks can make a noticeable difference in […]

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Ava with Poom Poom and Joyce, scrubbing apples in Decorah this past weekend.

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A picture from Ava’s photo shoot at the UIF, courtesy of photographer extraordinaire Jill Tobin.

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Well, girl on film, at least. And, actually, not on film. Eh. No matter. Ava’s coming in to work today to have her picture taken for a publication we’re putting out. She’ll be sharing the spotlight with the inimitable and adorable Arlo. These two should make a cute team. The setup, as I understand it, […]

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Leah, Ava, and I were joined by my dad yesterday for a trip down to Mt. Pleasant to visit the Old Threshers Reunion. It was a perfect day for it. Ava was like Templeton the rat from Charlotte’s Web, running around from food stand to food stand, eating everything she could get her hands on. […]

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Leah’s made arrangements to have Ava’s four-year portrait taken. We go around and around about this. I say that we could save a bundle of money by letting me take the photographs, but apparently G.G. likes to have an “official” portrait taken every year, and she’s willing to pay for it. Come on, Georgie, do […]

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I took this shot downtown in front of the Java House sometime last week. I just like the way it looks, is all. Dunno why she was standing like that, but, then, why does she do any of the things she does?

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I did a fair amount of driving yesterday. We left the State Fair around 12:30 or so and got back just in time to get cleaned up a little before heading over to a block party at my dad’s house. It was a nice way to relax a bit before getting back on the road […]

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Little froggy escaped from the shower and ran outside. This shot was obviously taken AFTER we got the towel around here. The front porch was full of nudity there for a couple minutes. Also featured: Leah’s knee.

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We were way too busy lounging on the shore, hiking, eating, drinking coffee, taking pictures, collecting sea glass, and skipping stones to ever sit for long on the computer. Hope you all had as nice a week as I did. It’s comforting to know the scandals keep coming at the UI while I’m away.

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We leave this afternoon for our annual Grand Marais vacation. I call it “our,” even though it’s really Leah’s family’s vacation; I just married into it. They keep tolerating my presence (barely) each year, so I keep going.

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We didn’t pay anything extra for the flowers in the yard at our house when we bought it last year, but I suspect I may have if it had been an issue. I’m particularly smitten by these blackberry lilies: I noticed them even before we moved in, since they were just up the street from […]

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