Speed

(190:  Cruising in the convertible.)

As you might have been able to tell from yesterday’s post, I’m bored.  Or burnt out.  Either way, I need to shake things up a little so I went searching for prompts to inspire me.  This photo is based on the prompt “speed” and I don’t remember where I found the prompt as I tried several different things before settling on this one.

This photo was taken during our sabbatical adventures in 2007 while cruising around in the convertible with the top down on some back roads in Pennsylvania.  It reminds me of warm summer days, earthy smells, and the feel of the wind on my face and in my hair.

I played around with the photo in Photoshop, ultimately “posterizing” it.  I did several other things but I Photoshop the way I cook:  without a recipe.  I realize that’s a bad idea to most people as it means I can’t duplicate it.  That’s the beauty of it to me — the uniqueness.

I risked my camera more than a few times when we had the convertible.  At some point whenever the top was down (and I wasn’t driving), I’d hold the camera up in the air, above windshield level, and just snap away to see what I’d come up with.  Most of the time I’d capture the hood of the car, but occasionally I managed to point it straight out and capture some of the sensation of speed (as much as you can in the stillness of a photo).

Back in September we decided that our time with the convertible was over.  We traded it in on a new-to-us used car that is more suitable for grandparents and long drives.  The convertible was fun, but it had also acquired quite a bit of mileage and some rust from living in an area prone to snow and ice and salted roads.  It was time to trade it in while we could still get a decent return on it.

Every now and then, when the weather is nice, I miss the convertible.  But I do kind of like the comfort and quietness of our new car when it comes to long car trips.  I hope that doesn’t mean I’m getting old…