Faith #1 or #2

"Faith #1" Sandy's Place West Odessa, Texas

"Faith #2" Sandy's Place West Odessa, Texas

While out driving and taking pictures of homes yesterday, I spied this pomegranate tree. I pulled over and just one second before hanging my head and camera out the window to take a picture of it, I spied also the homeowners outside on the porch. Whew. Now that would have been embarrassing. And rude.

Instead, I shout a friendly howdy and say, "I know this is a weird request, but may I please take a picture of your pomegranate tree?"

In no time at all I was in the yard, chatting it up with Sandy, her grown son, and tickling under the chin of her red-headed, blue-eyed one year old grandson. I guess, like John said here in a comment, I am indeed a "people person." I could probably even carry on a delightful little conversation with a fence post.

One of the benefits about being willing to talk to strangers is that you frequently have your faith in humanity restored, or at least bolstered. Isn't there a quote, I'm thinking by Will Rogers, that goes "Some of the nicest people I've ever met have been people," or something like that.

And while I'll not go so far as to say this restored my faith in the feline community, even her three cats were as friendly to me as she was. She has a "kitler" that she named Ava, as in Ava Braun. She said she chose Ava because just couldn't bring herself to go around saying, "Here Hitler, Hitler, Hitler."

The light disappeared quickly and Sandy told me I could come back any time, that she had a windmill in the back that I could take a picture of, too. She said that I should especially come back in the fall when the pomegranates are ripe and could have as many as I want. Because of that last offer I almost used this picture for the Have Camera Will Shoot installment for "joy."

Today's suggestion, "Faith," was provided by a relatively new blogger friend John, of typos.daylight.fate. Now my word-smithing skills are going to be put to the test, because John's work is unlike any I've seen. So really, it's best if you simply go see it for yourself. I don't know all that much about what else he does in his life (I think he also does other "traditional" art), but on his blog he shares his digital works and his typos. Not only is his work amazing, but his fortitude is as well. He blogged to an audience of one, himself, for almost a year. Then, one day last month, he ventured out and posted the first (of now many) astute comments on a blog. The rest is history. You will one day say you were part of the blogging community that followed his work when he was an unknown.

Photo info --
The light was terrible! The sun was going down fast. And I always get a little nervous taking pictures with an audience. Those are my excuses as to why I didn't get the quality of pictures that I dreamed of (like Fawzan's Forgotten Harvest). The first picture is my standard post-production -- downsize, sharpen, multiply image at 50%, but then changed my mind and went to just 30%. The close up was even less satisfactory, but was the best of the close up of the bunch. Same post-production techniques, then lassoed the pom, inverted the selection, and put even more of a blur on the background with gaussian blur. I wonder if Sandy's hospitality would be tested to see me again soon, like today?