Holiday Break

The week before Christmas was turning out to be a very hectic and productive time for the photo team at AOL. The staff has been working on many great photo features: the Behind the Lens story on AIDS by Brent Stirton with audio, the ongoing weekly Pictures of the Week, which of course leads to our annual end-of-the-year feature on all the great photos that AOL users have voted as being the best of the year. The weekly sports feature Did You See That?, as well as other daily features and galleries that accompany our News pages, including our newly launched Stylelist. And then there's one of our most recent feature galleries, Natural Beauty. AOL Black Voices brought you The Bridge and of course the great feature from AOL Music called Sessions. This is just a sampling of some of the great things that come to mind that the photo team created for you this month to enjoy. 

 

Sometimes as the holidays approach, however, we just need to escape the hustle and madness. That is exactly what I did. I took a break to a wonderful and remote island in the Turks and Caicos with only my pretty pink Panasonic digital point-and-shoot camera. My goal was to relax and make maybe one or two photos that make me smile. :-)  Sometimes it just feels good to make snapshots. I hope they make you smile as well.

 

The delightful airport at Salt Cay. Paying attention to color and symmetry will make a pleasant memory with any camera.

 

Sometimes stopping to look where you came from is a great way to capture a memory. 

 

This was the Salt Cay maintenance person putting up Christmas decorations at dusk. I didn't have a tripod, but a deep breath often is enough to help make a steady shot.

 

It is only a gate but it's a clean, simple shot and a fond memory.

 

I hope you all had a chance to take a deep breath over the holidays. Remember to smile and don't forget to make some photos even if all you have is a pink point-and-shoot camera.

 

-Cathaleen