People

Fernando Ortega

What a treat it was to go hear Fernando Ortega this evening in a benefit concert for Rockville Pregnancy Clinic. He has such a beautiful, smooth voice and his songs paint wonderful pictures in my mind. I just made a CD with MP3 versions of all of our Fernando Ortega and Chris Rice albums and put it in the car on shuffle. It’s surprising (or perhaps not) how often one of his tunes comes into your head. I suppose that’s a function of how well you know his songs, of course. Anyway, if you have the chance to hear him, I recommend you act on it. This was our third time and by far the least formal. I had a great time with great friends and wonderful music.

Dorothy

Dorothy was invited to another formal dance this evening. She didn’t really feel like having her picture taken before leaving but I insisted. Of course I’m her father, but I think she looks very nice.

D, Jenny, and Donna

It was graduation Sunday at church this week and we recognized two high school graduates. We were at Timothy’s graduation on June 1, so he’s already had his picture posted. This is a picture of the other graduate, Jenny, with D and Donna.

All together now, “Jenny’s in the middle, ha ha ha ha ha ha!”

Julia, Dorothy, and Elijah

It was the last day of school today and Dorothy is now a junior. She and some friends have a tradition for the last day of school. They get together and burn homework from the year. Here they are after their annual homework burning.

Fiona's Balloon Hat

There are balloon hats and balloon hats. This, however, is a serious balloon hat. We had absolutely perfect weather this afternoon for a church picnic and we made the most of it. Thanks to Hannah for making balloon hats as usual, to the cooks who grilled burgers, dogs, and chicken, and most of all to Jewell for organizing the entire event.

Cathy on Wheels

We helped organize a surprise roller skating party for my sister-in-law this morning. Albert went through some pretty involved steps to provide an excuse for use to pick them up at 9:30 and then to drive towards Baltimore. We “took a quick detour to run an errand” and managed to get pretty close to the rink before she was on to us. Even then, I think she was surprised by the number of people that had gathered to celebrate her birthday. We all had a good time skating. After a slightly shaky start, it came back to me pretty well and I felt comfortable enough to take my camera out on the floor. I took some with flash and some without and I like the blurred pictures that show motion best, although this one is arguably a bit too blurred to qualify as a great picture. It is Cathy, catching up with me. It was particularly nice to have the rink to ourselves for two hours so it really wasn’t at all crowded.

Timothy's Graduation

We went to a graduation ceremony today. We knew a few of the graduates but it was Timothy’s family that specifically invited us so I picked their picture for today’s post. Congratulations, Timothy and all the best for your year ahead. We’re mightily proud of you. Well done also to the rest of his graduating class, Jessica, Emily, Micaela, Seth, Emmalee, Evan, Jacob, and Justin.

Dorothy and Hannah

In general I try not to repeat pictures too often and I’d say that in general, I’m successful in that. When it comes to people pictures, especially “friends of Dorothy” pictures, I’m more likely to repeat because there is a somewhat limited pool of subjects. The number is reduced when you filter out those I don’t often get to photograph (often because they hate having their picture taken). I also try to get permission from Dorothy to post any picture she’s in and often she doesn’t like them (the pictures, not her friends). Anyway, I took her to see her good friend Hannah this afternoon and as I hadn’t taken any pictures yet today, I asked if I could take a few of them. This is the best of what I took. A little fill flash would not have gone amiss but it turned out well, anyway. Want to know the secret to good people pictures? “Only take pictures of attractive people.”

Andrew

Some kids get all the luck. If both your parents are attractive, you have a good chance of being attractive yourself. Of course, there are attractive people who are not photogenic and photogenic people who are not traditionally attractive. Then, there are what I call “the beautiful people.” These are people who look good in every situation. If his parent and his sisters are any indication, this is a little boy destined to be one of “the beautiful people.”

Maureen and Julia

We have quite a few friends whose children are or have been home-schooled. Maureen is one such parent and her daughter, Julia, is a good friend of Dorothy’s. They are among our favorite people on the planet (I might go so far as to say the solar system). Their home-school association has a formal every year and Dorothy went this year. They had a fun time getting ready and Cathy and I went to take pictures before they left for the event.

There was a picture of Dorothy, Julia, and Rachel doing the “I’m a Little Teapot” thing, which was very funny but it was out of focus so I decided to go with this glamour shot instead.

Sarah, Hannah, Dorothy, Jenny, Gwendolyn, Ellen, and Katie

The kids gathered for X-Factor at church this evening and heard an interesting presentation titled “Interfaces and Abstract Classes.” Well done, Jeff, an interesting approach. Early in the evening I took this picture of some of the girls: Sarah, Hannah, Dorothy, Jenny, Gwendolyn, Ellen, and Katie. It has nothing in particular to do with Jeff’s talk. It does, however, picture seven different implementations of the “pretty girl” class.

Kadie and Stephen

Not a lot to say about this picture. As the title says, it’s Kadie and Stephen. I’ve known Stephen for about eight years but just met Kadie today. Cute couple, wouldn’t you say? Thanks for posing for me, guys.

Jessie, Donna, and Dorothy

My main flash isn’t working properly so I haven’t taken as many indoor and night shots lately. This evening I resorted to the camera’s built-in, pop-up flash. Even in this fairly close shot you can see red-eye, which is one reason I don’t use that flash often. Still, it’s better than nothing and these three girls are pretty whatever the lighting is like. Also, note that Dorothy’s braces are gone so she’s smiling again.

Katie and Emily

It was history night at the lower school this evening and although Dorothy hasn’t taken part in five years, I wanted to go anyway. It’s a fun time and I love seeing the kids dressed in their various period costumes. Here are the two third grade teachers, Katie and Emily, hamming it up.