Today was a BIG DAY for the Hannan House gardeners! They had planted garlic last autumn and today was the day of harvest. Thirty-five buds were dug up and divided among seven gardeners with instructions to let them dry for two weeks before using them. For a garlic-lover like me, the fragrance was heavenly.

You know, my artistic eye is changing. No longer do I worry about having every face light enough to "read." I now like having fairly deep shadows fall where they may. I'd rather have variety in values than make everything the same. So when you see my recent photos where individual faces are too dark to be seen properly--as in the one posted here--chances are it is exactly the way I want it. Not to say this is to everyone's taste, but it is to mine. At least for now.

My technique for taking photos is also changing. In the old days I would put the camera's viewfinder to my eye and carefully frame each image, being quite particular about focus and composition. And now? Generally speaking I am "shooting from the hip," which in my case means shooting with the camera in my lap pointing up. I rarely use the viewfinder anymore. Yes, it makes for a lot of unusable images, but enough interesting ones come through to keep me happy. And the ones that DO work are always a surprise, which I love.

It's becoming more about process than product. I want to stay connected with the people I'm photographing and sitting behind a viewfinder feels like putting up a barrier between us. Does this make sense at all? I've never enjoyed the process more than I do right now. And looking at my pics on the LCD screen when I get home is like opening up a surprise present. I never know what I'm going to find. It's SO exciting!!!