My Mother Tries Photography - Sunset Songs

Song:  Lullaby

Artist:  Dorthee Froller

I have been taking my mother to the mountains and around the neighborhood...

to teach her how to compose photographs.

I had her take some photos of me playing the bass flute.

Sometime in the future...

I will record some of my songs that I have composed...

and include pictures of me playing with a recording of the music.

This photo shooting is practice for that.

My mother sometimes had the horizon crooked...

or had me in the wrong area of the photos...

but, she has gotten better.

I want to use her as my photographer on the planned shoots.

She is enjoying it...

although, I have to admit...

it has been a very frustrating process.

(ex...Okay, when I start playing...take several shots and let me know when you have.

Halfway through a song, I stop and ask her if she had taken any shots.

No...okay...  :(    I start again...okay shoot........Shoot....

For the love of the heavens above...TAKE THE SHOT!  :)

I took the above two to show her how.

On another day...

we went to Stampede Reservoir.

It turned out to be a colorless sunset...

but it was still good practice for her.

She was smiling like a child when I approved some of her practice shots.

Some fish were jumping out of the water as I played...

but...they all seemed to be swimming the other way!  :)

I played two of my compositions:

Sunset

Waterfall

I can transcribe and compose better than I can play right now.

I have not gotten enough sleep...

let alone had time enough to really practice...

for about a year now.

(I wish to practice uninterrupted 3-5 hours a day...

but, I can only manage broken practice here and there).

I have been far busier than I should have to be...

but...once I may regularly practice...

I intend to record some songs and publish them on my other blog (Bass Flute Compositions)...

and maybe one here.

I have been writing a story which I also intend to publish in the future.

I had composed several songs for the story.

I will go into greater detail about the story setting for each song...

along with the recording of them...

later on.

So...

right now...

both, my mother, and I...

need a lot more practice. 

Tailgating A Sunset

Song:  Unknown  (My Russian is rusty  :)

Artist:  Unknown

I took my mom to a Mexican food restaurant to take out

some Tortas, Tacos, and a Burrito so we could have a sunset tailgate supper.

We picked up my elder sister and her husband and then went a few seconds down 

their road and put out our chairs. 

My mom and I ate as we watched the clouds change colors.

By the time my mom had finished eating...

it was time to turn around her chair to catch the colorful clouds 

in the other direction.

We had a good time.

Watching sunrises and sunsets is our hobby.

The only thing which makes it better...

is when good food enters the equation  :)

Dual Farmer's Walk

Song:  Autumn Leaves

Artist:  Yenne Lee

My mother has her own Trap Bar.

During the warmer months...

she will use it for the Farmer's Walk.

Once the temperature gets too cold...

she will use it indoors, at home, to just weight train with it.

I am building up my mother's usage of the Farmer's walk.

She will steadily increase the distance walked...

and then more weight will be used.

My elder sister is now going the whole distance out...resting...and the whole way back.

Since she added weight to the bar...

she will also steadily increase the distance walked...

and then she will add more weight.

My mother went farther than ever before...before resting.

My mother rested until my elder sister went back.

My mother is attempting to stay ahead of my sister.

Nope...

my elder sister passed around the corner  :)

My elder sister's Trap Bar on the left.

My mother's Trap 

Bar on the right.

Afterwards...

we went inside to see some videos my sister took of a balloon festival they went to 

early this morning.

They had taken lots of photos...

but my sister has yet to download them so they can be shown on the TV.

We will go back to see them once they are downloaded.

My sister will take my mother to the balloon festival next year.

Bulgogi And A Flaming Sunset

Song:  Most Beautiful Splendor

Artist:  Parijat

This evening...

we stopped in a neighborhood Poke and Beef Bowl quick restaurant.

It had just opened up this year.

My elder sister had told me about it yesterday...

so my mother and I just had to try it today  :)

We both had Bulgogi over rice.

This is the Best Bulgogi in all of Reno!

For all the years I have been in Reno...

finally...finally a place which knows how to make proper Bulgogi!

(They make it to order...it is NOT pre-made and warmed up!)

They had also given me samples of their Asian chicken wings and boneless chicken...

with different Asian sauces.

We are going back to try one of their many different dishes.

They are open seven days a week from 11 AM until 9 PM.

We will be sure to go back often.

I got a frequent eater card.

I just LOVE Bulgogi.

After eating...

it was nearing sunset...

so, we decided to go to Prosser Reservoir...

which is just a few country miles from home  (a short 1/2 hour scenic mountain drive).

I set up the chairs in our favorite spot.

As the sun had yet to set...

I had initially set up the chairs facing the other side of the lake to avoid the sun in our eyes.

My mother pointing to some clouds in the sky.

She is like a child, happily pointing out interesting objects when we go into the country.

Once the sun had set...

I pointed our chairs in its direction.

The clouds took on the appearance of a massive forest fire.

This is a flaming sunset.

After the intense colors faded away...

my mother started picking the tops of some nearby plants and removed the seeds...

Whereupon she threw them on various places on the ground just before us.

She then proudly pointed out the various places she had "planted" new plants  :)

Some colors then emerged on the far side of the reservoir.

Then where the sun had set...

a new set of colors emerged.

The red puffy clouds overlaid with the red mist like wispy clouds

 combined with the dark trees in the foreground gave it a surreal appearance.

My mother enjoyed another good country outing.

Full bellies, combined with fresh air and colorful skies...

made for a very nice evening.

Sometime in the near future...

I will take my Bass Flute out for a sunset and my mother will then become 

the photographer as I play some songs during the sunset.

My mother is looking forwards to operating the camera...

and listening to me play some of her favorite songs.

She said she especially likes my latest composition...

"Sunset".