When I was 16, Dad gave me my first camera – a Pentax SLR 35mm film camera that was made in 1982 – the year before I was born. The camera had been his, and I kept sneaking off with it to try my hand at photography. Upon seeing my persistence and a few decent shots develop from the piles of over and under exposed photos, he gave me the camera and encouraged me to enroll in high school photography class, which I most happily did.

As a family, my dad, stepmom and I went on countless hikes through the lake-speckled mountains of the central Idaho Rockies where we lived, our cameras in tow. Each of us had our unique perspective on the landscape – Dad with his knack for landscapes, Jimmie with her eye for lighting, and me with a talent for abstracts.

Rusty Nails – an abstract shot I took 2 years ago during a trip to Montana with Dad and Jimmie.

And sometimes my penchant for abstract shots works well for fashion shots too, as with
photos I took of Kelly Lynae for her post this week.

Oregon Coast – shot by Dad near where he now lives.
See more of his photos here. 

Through sharing this of love of photography, Dad taught me to find my own unique artistic expression. His support of my endeavors gave me the confidence to explore the world through a lens, and that exploration has developed my ability to focus my artist’s eye.

Since today is Dad’s birthday, I thought it would be the perfect time to show off a little father-daughter lens perspective! Love you, Pa – happy birthday!

Below is the same pond, from two perspectives. The first is a panorama by my Dad, the second is a panorama by me. We took these photos on the same day – a Father’s Day hike we took several years ago. Dad taught me how to create panoramas during this hike. It was a gorgeous day!

Meadow Creek Pond – Ted Demetriades

Meadow Creek Pond – Anna Demetriades

And since this is my Pa’s birthday, I figured I had better include a picture of him too!
Here’s a great one that Jimmie took:

See the resemblance?

So by now you may be thinking, isn’t this a fashion blog? Well…..yes, it is. And I really do quite like my outfit for this week’s post – layers, layers, layers! I love stacking elements until I come up with a series of unexpected but complimentary textures and colors. A handmade hooded dress and wool sweater cape over jeans with Frye boots? Nice. Add to it thick wool socks and a hand-painted silk butterfly scarf and you’ve got yourself a cozy, unique, and perfectly respectable outfit. Problem is……I’m so tired of cozy layers! I long for the springtime bliss of silk tank tops and gauzy, flowing skirts. Someday soon…….in the meantime, I’ll hunker down in my wool and futz around with my camera.

Many thanks to my fellow camera-futzer, Bethany Walter, for the beautiful photos. I so enjoy our photographic adventures together!

This is me, dreaming of spring……