It was the words of my longtime friend Jim McKeever, the brain behind the terrific blog Irish Investigations that convinced me that signing up for Photo 101 was a good idea.
So when he suggested that a working lunch to discuss a weekday assignment may be mandatory, I was two thumbs up.
Our glasses.
Lesson 17, Cheri’s glass, squared, took us to downtown Syracuse’s Clark’s Ale House. I had a glass of red wine with my roast beef sandwich. Jim had a glass of brown stout with his cheese and cracker plate. Nicely ingested into the lunch and lesson plan, but not the square shot for which I yearned.
From our table.
Our table-side view featured one traditional window and one opaque pane. Interesting some, but not enough.
Decorative glass.
The ornate glass that separated our dining alcove from the foyer caught my eye, and made a nice angle for a rule of thirds interpretation. I felt like I was getting warmer as we climbed the stairs for a look from the shallow, short balcony. During our photo hunt, we’d agreed to not shoot the same objects. Jim had put his Canon real camera away, and a look through his iPhone 5 told him it was too dark up here.
Bird’s-nest view.
I rather enjoyed this view down upon the row of eating booths, each with a glass light aglow, with a window of glass allowing sunshine in at the end of the tunnel, through my iPhone 6.
But it was in the barroom that I found my favorite glass, squared subject our of working lunch hour.
Mirror, picture frame, window.
At the street side of the big room, an alcove included a mirror, large framed art with reflective glass and a window to the street in a neat line to my eye.
This image looked the best of my bunch on my iPad Air during my editing time.
We former colleagues at the big daily continued our chat about life — and Photo 101 in a walk to his downtown office space. I’ll share a few more photographs tomorrow.
Have you been able to share a WordPress lesson of any sort with a blogging friend, and if so, how did it work out? Which of my photos do you like best, and why? Click over to Jim’s blog, and tell me who won the glass battle, and why (be honest, no hard feelings).
Mark Bialczak 
Excellent photos Mark. The last one was superb. Even though the icon at the top of your post shows I am following I’m still not getting new post notification. I’ll have to dig deeper.
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I wonder what’s happening, Paul. That’s not good.
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They’re all awesome, Mark, but I think my favorite is the half clear, half opaque shot. I also like the bird’s nest view, simply because it’s hard to tell what we’re seeing. At first I thought it was sideways and the wall was the floor, and the booths were a bunch of phone booths.
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Thanks, Rachel. What an hour of shooting I had in Clark’s. I loved it. 🙂
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Lunch with a great mate? Sounds perfect! Lovin’ the bird’s eye view. An awesome shot, Mark. Truly.
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That’s a different one for me, too, Aud. Good angle, I think. Thanks.
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By jove, I think you’ve done it. My favorite so far. Glass pictures suit you. (Although you have to take your glasses off while you snap the pic, don’t you? Or are you just looking at the screen?)
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I’m looking at the screen of my iPhone. It’s a two-man selfie. 🙂
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That’s right! Phone pictures. Oh, my goodness, Mark, it’s going to be 82 today and I’m about to open the windows to let in the breeze and then go mow the yard. AGAIN! I should take a pic of the tall grass.
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You should take a picture to just that, Kerbey, with your real camera, and then remind me again that we live in the same country. 🙂
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But you’ll be sooo happy in August, and I’ll be sweltering!
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Yes, that may be the case. I forgot.
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Or maybe you’re just talking in general. I can see far with or without my glasses on. I can see the iPhone screen good enough with or without my glasses on, but I wouldn’t be able to read words on it without them on.
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No, I mean like when I take pics w/ my Nikon, I have to take the sunglasses off to peer through the little eyehole and then snap the pic and put the glasses on again. Moot point w/ a phone, though.
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I see what you’re saying, It’s been so long since I’ve had to look through a viewfinder that I’ve forgotten about the small window and the peril of eye lenses, Kerbey. ;-o
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i love both of you and your working lunch. there is no rest for the weary. love jim’s blog too )
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Yes, I worked my fingers to the roast beef bone, Beth. Thank you, friend. 🙂
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I will just comment that your lunches sound awesome! Red wine and beef–classic.
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OK. If you want to limit yourself to that, you may, LIz.
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I like the continuation of the theme in the last picture…oh look….there’s more! I don’t really have anyone who LOVES to talk blog talk with me. I have those who tolerate it, but not really LOVE it…. sigh.
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You mean David doesn’t sit there and hang on every word, MBC? 😉
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He is in the group who tolerates me very well. 🙂 MBM, some people don’t seem to have a fanatical passion for all written words and WP issues and formats. Sigh. I need to find a WP coffee house.
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We have our virtual coffee house, thankfully, MBC. We talk about it … a lot, don’t we, all of us?
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Indeed we do! 🙂 Thank goodness this one is virtual, I attend all stinky as I ride my bike on a trainer at my “bike desk”!!!!! You all really need to appreciate that it’s virtual! 😉
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Oh, now I do MBC. ;-o ❤
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;-D
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As I am in love with reflections I have to pick the last shot, plus it merges the outside with the inside… there are no boundaries.
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Thank you, Ros. I was infatuated in how all three surfaces had outside in them.
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I really like the artwork and the idea of bloggers under ‘glass.’ You are a great blogger, trying new things all the time to make your blog so meaningful and diverse. Good luck in Photo 101! Smiles!
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Robin, you are the first and only person so far to comment about the meaning behind my title here. Bravo to you, my astute friend. Indeed. The fishbowl is something not to take lightly, and I know you sure don’t. 🙂
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Oh, by the way, I went over to visit our friend and found his post about the school bus. It made me write about how it does seem ’empty’ at times, when the kids are all busy and grown. I am so glad you had him on your legacy photo and your get together post. You have introduced me to some ‘mighty fine folks,’ Mark! Thank you, sincerely.
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I like it when my friends become friends, Robin. That means something is going right in life. 🙂
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Your outing sounds really rather good and now I’m hungry thank you lol x
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I would have brought you home a roast beef sandwich or a cheese platter if I’d have known, Justine. Oh, wait, you’re not a third blogger living in our city. Dagnabbit! 😦
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dang it
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OK, you boys have convinced me ~ Have lunch at a bar; down a glass of bitter (or wine), then take photos all over the place, because the lunch combo will have stimulated the creative nodes on the right of my brain. Right? Will try this coming weekend. 😀
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It worked for me, Pekebun. My already creative brain went into overdrive. Have fun with the forumla this weekend. 😉
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Funny enough, I think I like the picture of the two glasses. Tells a story without telling a story. How fortunate you are to be able to team up with fellow bloggers for advice. Mine all comes virtually.
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Jim and I realize our good fortune, Marissa, to be friends for all these years and now have this chapter of our lives include our blogs is quite special. I wish you could find somebody in LA to share Bloggyville with in person.
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You know, I am actually not too far from one blogger, Patricia, The English Professor At Large. Do you know her? She has some fascinating stories about growing up in old time Hollywood and she lives in Studio City. We met once for coffee and hope to do so again soon.
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I do indeed follow Patricia, The English Professor At Large. Her family Hollywood stories are priceless. You should meet with her again, soon, and tell her you’re friends with me, and I totally relate to the bummer way they got rid of her in her teaching job two years ago. I’ve told her that in comments on her posts.
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I will definitely tell her that. Yes, we should meet again soon. I was busy for a while there but now my schedule is starting to clear!
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I like them all, but the bird’s-nest view is my favorite. Great perspective.
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Thank you, Me Who. It is an angle we seldom even think to explore. 🙂
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Mark … I love the ‘mirror, picture frame, window” shot the best. The street scene captured in it is excellent. (I also love Jim McKeever’s circular window that reflects the street scene. You’ve both inspired me. I must get out more … with my camera. 😉
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Thank you Judy. Just two guys in your old city. 🙂
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Silly question: Do you have the link to the Photo 101 site? I’d like to look into it. Thanks.
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A working assignment in a bar with a friend – why hadn’t I thought of that? The mirror, picture frame, window is The One – lovely variation of the rule of three.
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At least I was wise enough to eat lunch immediately, Roy. 🙂
The three differing reflections drew me in immediately. Thank you.
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I taught someone how to put picture in their comment replies. Nothing major, but it was new at the time and everyone wanted to learn. Other than that, maybe some blog customization stuff? super basic though.
I like the bird’s nest view, but I like different angles and such like that.
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You are a good blog consultant, Sheena. This I can attest. The two things you just described are both major to many, many people. URL photo codes in comment boxes are a mystery to unlock to the world, and customization is Rubik’s next billion dollar brain puzzle.
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Favorite photo is the “birds-nest view”. I like the angle and color and light contrast.
Regarding helping fellow bloggers on WordPress. The favorite seems to be making it snow on their blog in December. Not something we want to think about in spring though. 🙂
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I remember that helping hand for the snow. Even then, Fannie, I ran the other way from that. My Bloggyville home page is my only respite from freaking snow, you know?
One vote for the bird’s-eye. Nice. When I showed the view through my phone to Jim, I knew I was going to push him over the rail if he said he wanted to shoot it. Ha!
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I like from the table best. Why? I like the angles in it and the contrast between opaque and clear.
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Thank you, Irene. It does have a great angle and contrast, both. Tension!
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I like the decorative glass and the last one best Mark. I like that you and Jim had lunch together and discussed the photo assignment too – how fun! ❤
Diana xo
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You really need a blogging buddy in real life, Diana. I can feel the longing in your voice.
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Oh I have Louise over at Dare Boldly Mark!
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Fantastic, Diana. 🙂
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Very nice shot Mark!
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Thank you, PJ.
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Nicely done, Mark, from start to finish — you nailed it with that last photo, as you suspected! With little success inside the cozy confines, I had to go with Plan B out in the afternoon sun. But it was a grand experiment — how many other Photo 101 folks get to team up on an assignment?!
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I like your two outdoor shots. I bet if I saw your Clark bar staff shots, I would have run one of them, too. My approach is to narrate and drop a photo into the fray. I get to use more pictures that way, for one thing. I’m glad you like the clincher, which is a little above the angled ornate wall glass for me. I used the phone booth shot with my Twitter tease. I think I like my own pictures too much, Jim. Anyway, it was a privilege to team up with you. You’re rignt. We may be the only two anywhere in the world for this one. Think of that statement.
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Quite a statement to think about, indeed! Lots of fun doing that with you!
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