SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.....1-29-2012

Scavenger Hunt Sunday items: Smile, Stand Alone, Rusty or Something Old, Artificial and Repeating Pattern

1.  Smile - A visit to see one of my grandsons. He seems to always have a smile on his little face.

2.  Stand Alone - On my last day in Arizona, my husband and I hiked Pinnacle Peak and took a few photos on the way home. This is an old windmill "standing alone" in the desert.

3.  Rusty or Something Old - There are lots of "rusty" things in Arizona. I photographed this truck at Greasewood Flats, an old outdoor cowboy tavern. This is a sample of their landscaping. It's a cool place.

4.  Artificial - I have a bowl where I keep my fruit, but sometimes when I haven't had a chance to get to the store, I put my "artificial" lemons in the bowl for decoration. (This time the orange is real).

I used a texture from Kim Klassen Cafe.

5.  Repeating Pattern- One of my favorite pieces of pottery. Handmade by a local artist.

Check out some of the other entries:

Week 4/52...Let's Do 52

The themes this week are "unexpected perspective" or "sparkle". This photo is my littlest grandson, who is the sparkle of my eye taken from an unexpected perspective. He's giggling because he was just tossed onto the bed by Mommy.

I processed the photo with Paint the Moon's action "Biscotti".

See other entries on Paint the Moon - Let's Do 52 Flickr 

Week 3/52...Let's Do 52

I wasn't sure if I was going to get my photo in this week, but here it is. The themes this week are "white space (negative space)" or "everyday tools". This is a shot I took this week of an old western wagon parked outside a unique shop in Cave Creek, Arizona.

I processed the photo with Paint the Moon's action "Silver Spoon".

See other entries on Paint the Moon - Let's Do 52 Flickr

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.....1-22-2012

This week was a tough one for me....I had many things on my list of "must be done" items, and I realized I was trying to get involved with too many photo blogs...yikes, but it was so much fun. Unfortunately, I had to cut back. My favorite challenge of the week is Scavenger Hunt Sunday, so here are my entries this week.

The Scavenger Hunt Sunday items: Sunset, Black and White, A Day in my Life, Four, Colorful

1. Sunset - I had to dig into my archives for this one, I just didn't capture a sunset that I liked this week.  And I have to admit, these are sunrises.... (my favorite time of day).

2.  Black and White - I love black and white, and one of my favorite things to collect is black and white pottery. Here are a few of my favorites.

3.  A Day in my Life - This one was tough so I went with a photo of a reflection of our home in the water. There's no place like home...

4.  Four - There are some days when the water is as smooth as glass...this was one of those days. Four Houses reflecting in the water across the lake.

5.  Colorful - We spent an afternoon at an Indian Art Festival. This was a very colorful Indian dancing for the crowd.

EVERY DAY ...A PHOTO -- Project 366 Rewind -- Week 2

I actually made it to a second week...it wasn't easy. I hope I'm not over-extending myself with photo challenges. but it sure is fun. The theme for with Project 366 Rewind this week is Chilly.

I caught a shot of a beautiful moon over the mountains, on a chilly evening. I only had a minute to get the shot as we were driving down the street. I hope I can find time to practice on more "night photography".

...A shot of a giant decorated earth hanging in the foyer of a restaurant we visited, this week. It caught my eye and so I had to pull out the camera.

I spent an awesome day shopping with some great friends who are sisters. They are part of a family with 13 children, so it doesn't surprise you that they are both very outgoing personalities. We had a blast. Can you see the resemblance?

I love old architecture!!! This is a photo of some old architectural corbels that I found many years ago at in antique shop in Indiana. I love their texture created by many coats of paint. If they could only talk...

This poor little dove was even chilly today, huddling on the edge of the fountain.

I was practicing with my new 50mm 1.8f lens and used some great friends as my guinea pigs...They decided to help me out by being silly...I love this shot!

For some reason when the week was finished, I realized that I only took one photo on Saturday, so here it is. I spent some time at a local Art Fair with a friend, and this is a shot of the fudge counter. (And I don't even like fudge). But it sure looked delicious.

I HEART FACES CHALLENGE: Family Fun

1/16/2012  -  I'm entering this photo in the I Heart Faces Challenge. The theme this week is Family Fun. This is a photo of a very special friend who is in the last days of her remarkable life and she is spending some time having fun with her granddaughter and great-grandson. Their visit brought such joy for all...celebrating a beautiful life and the innocence of a life adventure just beginning.

"Touching Moment"

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.....1-15-2012

This week's Scavenger Hunt Sunday Items: Stacked Up, Winter Wonderland, Sweet, Hole and Frozen


1.  Stacked Up - One of the area's most interesting "stacked up" rock formations...the boulders in Carefree, Arizona.

2.  Winter Wonderland - It was a little hard to fulfill this prompt since we are spending some time in Arizona. Not exactly the winter wonderland you might think of back home in the Midwest. So the closest I could get, without traveling north, was a photo I took after hiking to the top of Black Mountain in Cave Creek, showing "Four Peaks" in the distance, with some snow on top. 

Processed with textures from Shadowhouse Creations to give a more "wintry" feeling. (Hazy shade of winter, snowfall, In the presence of God)

3.  Sweet - We went to a Fine Art Fair today and they were selling fudge...a sweet final photo for my Scavenger Hunt.

Processed with Jan 2012-9 texture from Shadowhouse Creations

4.  Hole - Several different kinds of birds create nest holes in the saguaro.

5.  Frozen - For this one I pulled out a photo from this year's Christmas collection. My little grandson is holding his first snowball.

Processed with Ashley Sisk's Clean Actions Nice and Easy & Coffeeshop's Perfect Portrait 3.

Week 2/52 Let's Do 52

I joined the Paint the Moon - Let's Do 52 photo challenge. I entered a week late, so here is week#2. The themes this week are "responsibility" or "open", so I decided to use "open".

The beauty of wide open space...

I combined 2 photos to create this picture. the mountain shot was taken on 1/12/12 from the top of Black Mountain in Cave Creek Arizona. It was a beautiful climb to the top. I added the branches that I photographed on 1/10/12 in the backyard of a friend's home in the McDowell Mountains.

I edited the image with Paint the Moon action "Blueberry Honey Tea", and added 2 textures from KimKlaussen's collection. (canvasback & word)

To view some of the other entries...view them on Flickr.

I HEART FACES CHALLENGE: Best Face Photo of 2011

1/9/2012  -  I entered this photo of my grandson in the I Heart Faces Challenge. The theme this week is Best Face Photo of 2011. This was one of my favorites.

"Splash"




EVERY DAY ...A PHOTO -- Project 366 Rewind -- Week 1

This is my first week of Every Day...a Photo.  I'm going to try to take at least one photo each day and post them all on Mondays.  And at the last minute I decided to join up with Project 366 Rewind Blog... They have a theme each week, which you can use for some, all or none of your photos.

This first week of the year, the theme is Fresh Start.

We are spending some time out in Arizona this month and my favorite cactus is the ocotillo. A great way to have a fresh start on the new year is to photograph the buds on the branches. Every time it rains, the ocotillo gets a fresh start and puts out new buds.

...a view from the bottom of a bottle tree

I love the beauty of the saguaro wood and combine it with one of my favorite pieces of pottery and you have a great subject for a photo.

I made a wall hanging out of dead saguaro wood and when the sunset came through the blinds, it  offered an "opposing lines" photo opportunity.

 A photo of the beautiful boulders in Carefree, Arizona. The natural beauty is so fascinating to look at and to photograph.

I'm always looking for patterns and interesting colors...wine glasses at a friend's home.

the pods from the bottle trees...

Well, that is my first week, I hope I can keep up with it every day. It will be challenging, but lots of fun, I'm sure!! Next week the theme for Project 366 Rewind is chilly. Thanks for visiting...

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY -- 1-8-2012

Happy New Year to all and I'm excited that the Scavenger Hunt Sunday is back online for another fun year of photos... The prompts for this week are:  One Color, Laundry, Empty, One Dozen and Soft.

1.  One Color - I spent a fun day this week bumming around with a friend exploring some consignment, antique & decor shops. I took this shot of some interesting antiques that were mostly "one color"...green.

2.  Laundry -- I actually had several photos for this one, but decided to go with one that I took this past fall while driving through Amish farm country in Indiana. I love this photo and decided this was the time to use it.

 3.  Empty -- A piece of Indian pottery that I picked up a few months ago at a second hand shop. I love the shape, the black color and how the setting sun was reflecting on the pot, casting a shadow... and it is definitely "empty".

4.  One Dozen -- While visiting friends who have a beautifully decorated Arizona home, I spotted the elk antlers hanging on the wall...luckily it was a 12 point elk, which happens to be "one dozen". I added a little texture from Kim Klaussen's collection, to give the photo an old look.

 5.  Soft -- I had to photograph one of the many jack rabbits who visit our yard on a regular basis. He qualifies as "soft".