Cindy's {autumn}

Well, you haven't heard the last of me. I never got around to posting for the last theme. I had a really darling photo to share, but I'll save it for another time. Much of the reason I never found time was due to the fact that my two oldest daughters are members of one of the best high school marching bands in the nation. I can say that because, after months of preparation, an average of 30 hours a week practicing and competing, marching in the summer heat, pouring rain and freezing cold...not to mention going to school and staying up late doing homework after practice...our band and guard competed with over 90 bands from across the country to achieve an 8th place finish in the Bands of America Grand National Finals.

Nikon D50...Manual...Focal Length 130mm...Aperture f/4.5...Exposure 1/1000...ISO 200

My name is Cindy. And I am a band mom. As fall arrives, I find myself immersed in this addictively consuming culture. It was inevitable, really. Over the last couple of years, autumn has come to mean, for me, being there in the stands every weekend, cheering on my amazing girls and the rest of our talented band and guard. It inspires me to see the dedication in these young people...teenagers who give up plenty of their summer, every school afternoon and most Saturdays to be part of this phenomena called marching band. They memorize a minimum of 12 minutes of challenging music, up to 80 charts of drill and stunning choreography to complete the performance. It blows my mind at a time in my life when multi-tasking is increasingly difficult and the memory is, well...when I remember I'll let you know. Believe me, though, when I say that it is nothing like the marching bands we grew up with! And might I add, in case you're wondering if it's really worth the sacrifice, that kids involved in such disciplined performing arts as marching band display a strong sense of purpose, earn higher grades and graduation rates than the national average and learn invaluable life skills such as time management. Jumping off my "band" wagon, now...

The photo above is of my freshman daughter, Abby, a member of the guard. I took this photo back in September on one this fall's few beautiful balmy Saturday performances. I love the colors of the uniform, and I love remembering that first day they wore their new uniforms and the way it caught my breath to see my daughter looking so grown-up and comfortable in her abilities. Click here to see a photo of my oldest daughter, Mindy, and a few of my favorites from this season. Mindy marches in the drumline and played bass drum this year. And she did it with a majorly sprained ankle most of the season, topping it off with a round of the flu a couple of weeks ago. She's tough and talented, and I'm so proud of both of my girls!

If you'll indulge me, I'll brag just a tad bit more on our band...they were last year's State Champion (second this year), third in Nationals and won the Fiesta Bowl National Championship on New Year's Day in Phoenix. If you're a former band geek (and I use that term lovingly) or I've piqued your interest, here are a couple of short clips of this year's show...click here and here. These were taken early on in the season, before much of the "drill cleaning" was done. As the season progresses and the shows improve, we have more and more limitations on what we can video.

Nikon D50...Manual...Focal Length 50mm...Aperture f/2.8...Exposure 1/1600...ISO 200

Moving on...I had a photo shoot cancel on me a couple of weeks ago, and I hated to waste a beautiful afternoon (totally not kidding when I say they were in short supply around here this fall). So I grabbed the camera and took Caroline on a leaf hunt. She was all about it and took her leaf-hunting responsibilities seriously. Most of my favorites are completely candid. I did get some darling shots of her sweet little face, but I loved this one. She was posing ever so perfectly for me on this bridge in our neighborhood, and then a leaf she just couldn't resist caught her eye and she sprang into action. If you'd like to see the rest of this shoot, click on over to my blog post. All of the images from this shoot are SOOC, which is a step out of my comfort zone. I usually feel compelled to mess with every image in some way before I post it, but I decided to brave it with these.

I've enjoyed this month's postings...you all are incredibly talented photographers! It goes beyond talent, though...what comes through over and over again is the passion we all share for capturing a moment in time. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!