The Angels Want to Wear My Red Chucks. Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-55mm f 3.5-5.6 VR lens (yes, a kit lens was the ticket), snooted Nikon SB-25 flash; ISO 100, 1/100 sec, f4.5.

Last week was kinda yucky. It had its sunny with a high of 75 days, but also crummy, rainy ones that make me pull out my favorite conservatively worn item of clothing: my red Chucks. To me, the red footwear counteracts the gloomy conditions. It also always puts an Elvis Costello song in my brain: (The Angles Want to Wear My) Red Shoes. Current favorite lyric: How can you say that I’m too old when the angels want to wear my red shoes?

So, I started thinking, how would I illustrate that in a photo? That got me playing one late evening with the shoes set to look like they’d just been dropped on the floor, some stationary light and finally a snooted flash made to look like a heavenly beam falling on the red Chucks.

My other favorite last week had much sunnier origins. I was dropping my kids off at a youth group field day and Rev. Brown said, “Have you got your camera in the trunk?” I did, and a Sunny Sunday afternoon of yard work turned into an afternoon of taking pictures of goofy games like Capture the Flag, wheelbarrow races, and the Alka-Seltzer contest, which is as gross as it sounds.  But this shot was simple exuberance after a group won a hula hoop race (which does not explain the football in Brian’s hand).

Nikon D80, Tamron 28-75mm, f2.8 lens; ISO 400, 1/1250 sec, f4.