First swim of the season...

We'd been telling her we were going swimming, but it had been so long since last summer that I think she thought we were saying "swinging". She's crazy about that swing in our front yard....bordering on obsessive. So when she thought we were going swinging, her response was "yeah!"....her favorite word right now. Wonder how long it will be before it's "no". :) She loves to play in the bathtub, but the pool was a little cool that day and she was surprised. Thankfully, she went from this...

to this...

to this...

Yay! I'm not too happy with my framing on these shots. I have a HARD time seeing what I'm shooting in bright sunlight with the water camera since there's no viewfinder. And it's just dawning on me now that there's probably a way to adjust the LCD screen. DUH.

You make the popcorn, I'll pour the coke...

When we received the challenge prompt "blast from the past", I had no idea what I would do. I was hoping for something 50's or 60's retro. We have plenty of antiques, but nothing from that era. Then I remembered that my mom asked me to be the keeper of our old super 8 reel to reel home movies. I had fun setting up this shot. So many memories of sitting around the dining room table watching together. Dad loved to put the projector in reverse so we could watch ourselves diving out of the pool. I miss him!

(Explored)

Only 88 keys...

...but the possibilities are endless. (Shot for the challenge "Never ending")

“Where words fail, music speaks.” Hans Christian Andersen"The piano is able to communicate the subtlest universal truths by means of wood, metal and vibrating air." Kenneth Miller

It is in many ways my voice and its capacity for expression is limitless.

Portobello...

I'm not a mushroom fan, but they sure do look cool!

Stop right there...

Give me 10...

Say Cheeeeeeeze...

Nathan taught her to smile on command. It's so cheesy, I love it!

Game face...

Ta da...walking all by herself, but it does take concentration! lol.

Nothing sweeter...

...than the love between a girl and her daddy.

She actually could walk unassisted by this time, but I like the protective gesture here.

Hairy berries...

Bob's favorite....He LOVES raspberries!

Bike trail, pt. 3...

I was intrigued with all the cool vines there...and I love the lichen on this post...plus that one little string of spider web.
This one totally grosses me out, but I'm also strangely fascinated by it. :) I didn't even notice the bugs when I was shooting it. I was completely focused on the leaf...its pretty color and heart shape. When I pulled it up on the computer, I was amazed at that line of bugs. Ick!

Bike trail, pt. 2...

It's the journey, not the destination. Sometimes I have to remind myself of that. In case you can't read the quote: "If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads." (Anatole)

Bike trail, pt. 1...

I walked through an unfamiliar bike trail the other day. LOVED it. I was alone tho' and got a little freaked out, because it was pretty isolated. I plan to go back when it's cooler, but probably with a buddy next time. :) I'll post some of my faves over the next few days. I only took my macro with me. I think the challenge that day was "center of attention" so I was aiming to get very shallow dof shots. One of the things I loved about this trail was its bridges...cool old wooden ones with lots of great texture. I was scrunched up on the ground shooting little details and this family walked by. They were very curious about what I was shooting. They were quite sure it was some cool wild animal. I think they thought I was crackers when I told them ...uh no...it's an acorn cap. lol!!!

I like all the lines that pull your eye into the photo of this old knothole...

I like the way the light fell in this one...how it shone through the leaf and cast a great mysterious shadow.

On my street...

Shot these 2 right down the street from our house. This squirrel gave me quite a scolding. Wonder if it was a mama with babies.
Had never noticed my neighbor's roses before, but will have to go back. SO beautiful...

Blanket flowers...

Recently our challenge was "5 min. from home". We were to take a walk with our camera and shoot what we saw. That was so much fun. No need to set anything up, just observe life. I'll post a few of my faves today and tomorrow. I walked to Richland College and walked along the creek. I'd never really paid attention to this little fence before, but thought it looked especially pretty with the bed of blanket flowers.
A closer look...so pretty. I added a texture to these in processing...just because. I love how the second one was lifting its face so perfectly to the sun.

May the road rise up to meet you...

May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.
(Irish blessing)
Our challenge was "adventure" and I'm the least adventurous person ever! I'd been wanting to do a railroad track shot for a while tho', so I headed to a spot not too far from home. It was almost time for school to start and I got a kick out of every school bus that had to stop on the tracks. Yep, busloads of kids staring at the strange lady walking back and forth on the tracks with a camera and tripod. I really like this shot. Still learning how to get the focus right on selfies. Here's how I did it. See that long piece of straw just behind my feet? I set manual focus there, set my self timer, then made sure I stood right above that straw. And ta da...it worked! BTW, this is in the middle of a residential area. I've taken pictures there before and never liked them, because of the alleys on either side of the tracks. But, I learned something...changing my perspective really helped as I shot from very low on the tracks. And I cloned a few trees in the distance in post processing. Cheating, I know...but who wants to look at garbage cans? lol.

Water droplets...

Once again, I was disappointed to wake up to dark skies and rain. Seems like I'm always chasing the light! But when I opened the shades that morning, this is what caught my eye.
I'm excited about this shot! It took a while to figure out how to get most of the drops in focus with the cool lattice reflection. I want to play with droplets again sometime. I've seen some amazing photos with flowers reflected in them. I think the light has to be just right for it to really work. I got lucky on this day, because I really don't know what I'm doing. :)

Today's post is brought to you by the color yellow...

I'm getting backed up on photos, so I'm going to post several today that at least follow a color theme.

Hannah loves her new lawn chair and can climb into it herself. Now, we just need to teach her how to climb out. lol. She also loves the game where she takes her bow out and hands it to you, then lets you know she wants you to put it back in. (Repeat indefinitely... and be sure to keep an adorable expression on your face so your mom doesn't get mad)

She hugs all her toys...especially the soft ones. :)

This was shot for the challenge "a burst of color". I was bummed that day that the sky was very dark. It was impossible to shoot the kind of vibrant picture I was imagining. So I decided instead to play with backlighting on these cosmos flowers. I actually love how it turned out. Love the lattice bokeh, the reflection in the vase, and even how the criss-crossed stems mimic the lattice. I just wish I'd picked that ONE petal that's covering the center of the flower on the left. It bugs me now! :)

Negative space...

Shot for the challenge "negative space". I shot this with 2 pieces of white foam board for a clean background. Placed a piece of clear plexiglass on the bottom piece to get the reflection. Then added a texture in PSE for an aged effect. Was really happy with how it turned out.
I'd never thought much about negative space before, but really enjoyed it so I employed it again for our challenge of "on top". Hannah loves this little monkey and his little tuft of hair. She has a much larger version of him at home. I thought the quote was hilarious, especially in light of my need for models. Maybe if I paid, I wouldn't be stuck with monkeys! lol.

Eeeeeeek!

This is how I feel some days when I read the challenge.

Thanks to my student Julia who was a good sport, willing to make a silly face. The challenge that day was "fear" and I thought she captured it so well with those great big eyes of hers! :)

On the sidewalk...

"How can you explain that you need to know that the trees are still there, and the hills and the sky? Anyone knows they are. How can you say it is time your pulse responded to another rhythm, the rhythm of the day and the season instead of the hour and the minute? No, you cannot explain. So you walk. " ~Author unknown


Shot for the challenge of "on the sidewalk". Still trying to get more comfortable with self portraits, since I seldom have a willing model but often want people in my shots. For now, my solution is to keep myself as far out of focus as possible and focus on something else in the foreground. lol. It's a little unconventional, but I kinda like it...and I really like the quote.

Sheltered...

We were hoping to see fuzzy baby ducks at Duck Creek, but most of the ducklings were "teenagers". lol. We got lucky towards the end tho' when we spotted this mama.

So stinkin' cute!

White picket deam...

There are hundreds of groups on flickr for sharing photos. One of them is dedicated to fence shots with an emphasis on shallow dof. I'd been watching for cool fences, but never seemed to see them. Then, Kara and I went to Duck Creek a couple weeks ago. They'd done some construction to expand the bike trail. We had to trek down an alley to avoid some mud and look what we stumbled on. This is a super shallow dof and I'm actually loving it. It's so soft and dreamy and I love the light. And score....the people who lived there had blooming hibiscus for some pretty pink bokeh.

Great day comin' up!

I'm trying to get more comfortable with self portraits, so I'm working my way into it slowly...one toe at a time. lol. Aside from wishing I had a more attractive self to work with, I find them really challenging to focus. I like to shoot wide aperture, which means my margin for error on focus is small. I'm gradually figuring out tricks that work pretty well. I'm also trying to experiment with light. I like this hazy light that makes me believe it's first thing in the morning. It wasn't...and most of it was added in post. It's amazing how much the quality of light affects the mood of a photo. I know this probably seems like a weird shot. It was for the challenge "superstition". Not being a superstitious person, I had to do some research. Apparently, it's bad luck to get out of bed on the opposite side that you got in. I was clearly getting out on the "right side of the bed" so it was bound to be a good day. lol.

Polka dot kneeler...

Just because it's cute...

Where's Grammy?

It's still difficult to engage her with the camera, but we tried something new on this day and it actually worked! I asked "Where's Grammy?" and this is what I got. Wonder how long this new trick will work?

Look closer...

First time to shoot dandies with the macro. Who knew they were so pretty on the inside?? Which do you prefer?

Flare..

Playing with sunburst and flare. Just wish I could figure out how to accomplish this without blowing out the sky. If I get the sky right, the tree is in silhouette...and that's not what I wanted. So, guess I'm just going to have to settle for a white sky. :( I love this spot at the back of Richland College. It's the closest thing to anything that looks remotely country near our house.

Envy and sloth...

Shot for the challenge "the seven deadly sins". Pretty sure KC would be guilty of at least 6 of them. These are only 2 examples. lol

Sloth - KC thinks about getting up to wash her feet....maybe later :)

Envy - the face I see every time I eat a bowl of cereal :)

Light, camera, action...

Always so proud of myself when I can get an action shot. I generally stink at them! lol. Hannah would spend all afternoon in the swing if we let her. She LOVES it.