SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.....6-10-2012

Time for photography fun.....This week's Scavenger Hunt Sunday items: Travel, Silly, Black and White, Spots and Paper

Travel - We drove down to visit our grand-kids this week and came across a young man with an unusual method for traveling by foot. After a little research, I determined that they are called "Jumping Stilts".... a crazy way to travel.

Silly - So many silly moments this week, it was hard to choose....Let's see, going miniature golfing with 2 four year old's, a 10 year old and an almost 16th month old, there were many silly moments to choose from.  This is one of my grandsons making a silly face.

Black and White - We went to watch a T-ball game. This was the black and white team.

 We were the blue team, doing exactly what the coach told us...waiting for the grounder.

Spots - Spots on the "T" and..... (Processed with a texture (deardreamer2) from Kim Klassen's collection).

Paper - My twin grandsons looking into their mirror that has a frame made out of newspaper. Their Dad recently built them a bunk bed and their Mom just redecorated their room...it really looks great!!

Beyond Layers ~ {Day 37 ~ Fun with Type}

I am way behind on my "Beyond Layers" course challenges. Here is a photo I created for the Day 37 lesson...using type to create a layer mask. I used a photo I took at Lake Michigan a couple weeks ago.

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.....6-3-2012

Welcome to Scavenger Hunt Sunday! The themes this week are: Shine, Fast, Left, Peace and Plain

Shine - Sunrise

Fast

Left - A little kiss on the left cheek...

Peace

Plain - Just a plain old heron I caught taking off from the dock. I wanted to use this photo and this was the only theme I didn't have a picture for...Oh well. I didn't have enough time to get my camera settings just right before he flew away, so it's not as sharp as I would have liked the shot.  I really admire the work of great nature photographers.  It's not necessarily easy to get that great shot of wildlife.

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.....5-27-2012

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  One of my favorite places in the world is Lake Michigan. It has always been a special place for me, growing up just a half mile away. So this week I had an opportunity to visit the lake again and take some photos.

The Scavenger Hunt Sunday items are: Beneath Your Feet, Capturing Movement, Texture, Face Your Fears and Currently

Beneath Your Feet - A day spent with some friends, making a stop at Lake Michigan. Beneath your feet are footprints, rocks, sand and water.

Capturing Movement - Another shot from our time at the beach.

Texture - Wood and sand....two great textures.

Face Your Fears - We went to our nephew's wedding last night and I caught a shot of my brother's grandson, who was waving goodbye to Mommy as his grandpa was carrying him off. Now some little guys might have been "facing their fears" of leaving Mommy, but not this one...Papa just might be his favorite person.

Currently - When I took this photograph it was currently where I wanted to be at that moment. And there didn't seem to be any current in the lake at that time.

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.....5-20-12

Scavenger Hunt Sunday items: Rainbow, Fluffy, Letters, Metal and Tree(s)

Rainbow - No rainbows in the sky this week, so I settled for a rainbow colored photo I took of the beautiful glass light fixture, while eating out on Mother's Day.

Fluffy - I ended up with 2 good choices for fluffy... While biking in Middlebury, Indiana, we came across a field of camels...yes, camels. Their humps were sure fluffy looking. And the second photo of baby swans was taken while cruising a local river in some friends' boat.

Letters - Last summer I was asked by a good friend to paint an elk. A local charity was having 30 elks painted with different themes and displayed around the county, to raise money for abused children. I ended up painting the 7 ft. elk with letters. This is a combination of a couple photos of "Elkabet". He is permanently located in front of the library in Middlebury, Indiana.

Metal - A couple years ago I created a metal sculpture out of watering cans. This a a photo of it from below. I attached 3 different sized cans to metal poles  and have them in the ground at different heights. It is one of my favorite garden hard-scapes.

Tree(s) - I grew up in Michigan City, Indiana, near Lake Michigan. We went for a photo visit this week and I took this picture of a tree that used to be planted in the sand dune. As you can see the sand has eroded around the tree, exposing the roots. They are trying to restore the area by planting dune grasses to keep the sand from eroding any more. If you look in the distance between the roots, you can see the lighthouse.

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.....5-13-12

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there...Isn't motherhood the best gift ever?  Scavenger Hunt Sunday items: Sidewalk, Inspiring, Time, Close-Up, and With Mirror

Sidewalk - A stroll along a sidewalk...exploring is what this little one loves to do.

Inspiring - On this particular day, what I found inspiring was the fog hovering over the lake early in the morning, making the trees and homes on the other side look mysterious. I pulled out my telescopic lens and the tripod for this one. On another day, it will be something else that inspires. The best thing about being creative is not knowing where it will lead next...

Time - Something I wish I had more of... Luckily, I got to spend some time with my family this week and I took this photo of the clock tower while exploring a park with my daughter and one of my grandsons. I processed this photo with Coffee Shop action - Golden Vintage.

Close-Up - A close up shot of the bottle of Merlot my husband opened to drink with dinner.

With Mirror - Bicycle with mirror... This is a photo of the small oval rear-view mirror mounted at the end of my bicycle handlebars. I thought it made an interesting composition with the rest of the bike out-of-focus.

SCAVENGER HUNT SUNDAY.....5-6-2012

It's time for the Scavenger Hunt Sunday again.... I love the challenge each week because it is such a great way to improve my photography skills. I've been shooting mostly in Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority, but I have made the decision to take most of my photos totally on the Manual setting. That will force me to really think about each shot (if time allows). Sometimes you have to go with what will get you the shot, but so far it's been good. I end up deleting more photos, but I'm learning from the mistakes.The Scavenger Hunt Sunday items this week are: Shadow, Keys, Smile, Unedited (SOOC) and Fish.

Shadow - I love shadows....so it was hard to only take one photo. This is the shadow made by my chat-table frame on the patio. I purposely lowered the contrast because I liked the softness it brought out.

Keys - There are old typewriter keys and then there are just keys. They both make nice photo subjects.

Smile - I'm using 2 photos for this one... first, one that I took last night while visiting some great friends...It's their new puppy!!! I know he is smiling because he was rescued from the Humane Shelter into a loving home and our friends are smiling about the wonderful new member to their family.

 And I would be remiss if I didn't also use a photo of one of my grandson's with his beautiful contagious smile. The innocence that comes with being four...

Unedited (SOOC) - One morning this week the sunrise was just beautiful, so I took this shot from my bedroom balcony. I see the horizon is a little tilted, but you asked for SOOC (straight out of camera), so that is what you get.

Fish - I was hoping to find something more creative, and I did photograph a fish swimming under the dock yesterday, but it just wasn't anything special. So, I set up this shot using one of my pencil starfish sitting on the rocks along the shore. I love the contrast of the white starfish against the dark rocks.

Thanks for stopping by... Check out some of the other photos in the "Hunt" this week...