Remembering Those Who Served

It's the true reason for the holiday. 

We thank you. We honor you. We remember.

Playing Around

For some reason, I have been thinking about my astronaut-self. So scrapbooked about it. Thanks to Tiffany Tillman for the inspiration and template! 

Space Exploration

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be an astronaut ... and I still do. 

Catch Lights

I am taking Katrina Kennedy's Capture Your Kids' class.  This week's assignment was to photograph the kids using catch lights.  I thought, "Catch lights?" 

The definition per Wikipedia is .... a term used to describe the highlight of a subject's eye from a light source. Adding a catch light can help draw attention to the subject's eyes, which may otherwise get lost among other elements in the scene."

So I tried. What I discovered is that I LOVE the afternoon light that streams in through our windows in the late afternoon.  It helped to have a willing subject.

Matthew is so great about having his photo taken. He'll let me do it just about any time and anywhere.  The other two - well - not so much. Caroline was jealous so she consented. Andrew was a baseball practice and I know would not have been happy to be photographed. 

Some Days It's All About Color

In looking at others' photos today, I viewed a photo of a silly band.  In thinking about it, I loved how the photographer captured a fad and important part of every day life.  I wondered if future generations will know what that dinosaur shaped thingy was all about.

Then, I went shopping.  And bought tampons.

When Proctor and Gamble introduced their new product as being "fun", I thought they were just ridiculous.  Sorry, P&G, nothing about a tampon is fun to me.

I swore I would never buy those colorfully wrapped tampons as I felt the new casing was just a marketing ploy.

But staring at the store shelf today and analyzing my options, I thought "Hmmm ... I need a photo for today .... I could be like Christi and show a fad."  So I broke down and bought them.

On the way home, I realized I really need to get over my issue with the packaging .... the colors are fun ... I would rather see the bright colors than the white ugly paper when I go scrounging for them in my purse. I KNOW that in my teenage years, I would have much preferred pretty packaging. 

I may not be as stubborn as I think I am - after all.  :0)

I AM .....

This page is a scraplift from LOAD May11.  

When I saw the page, I knew I wanted to make one just like it.

Thank you to LINARstudio for the inspiration.

Happy Mother's Day.

 

nanaz is a fellow member of the Capture Your 365 photography community.  She is a master of portraying emotion through her black and white photography. Looking for some inspiration, I visited her website and discovered this blog post. I believe there are no accidents.

nanaz says it best.  

"Someone on FB was encouraging us to change our profile photos to our moms, to thank them for all they do/did. For some, that may be possible. For some of us, not a chance. Not possible. The End. ...

If you have a good or even great relationship with your mother or mother figure, enjoy it. Love her, miss her, call her, send her roses. If you don't, look around and find someone you admire or long to be like. Mine is my girl. Mother to three, she is one who tries with everything she has. She is a fierce mother hen who is learning to grow and change as her kids do. Mother's Day for me, is being with her. She is my hero.

Hope your day is great no matter if you are/have/know a mother. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Grab what you can and hold on. It doesn't look like anything but what you want it too..."

Happy Mother's Day.

Day #6 - Photographing a Portion of a Flower

Today's Capture Your 365 prompt is to photograph only a portion of a flower.

Okay .... another confession ... I hate to cheat.

I just did not have access to flowers this week.

So I have admit, I used my calla lily flower .....

and cropped it to get the portion .....

and hopefully create intrigue.

Sometimes, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. 

Day #5 - Photographing a Flower

Today's Capture Your 365 prompt was to use backlighting to shoot a flower.

I chose it ignore the prompt. I love calla lilies. The Home Depot environment, the only place where I can find flowers other than dandelions or daffodils, did not allow for backlighting. :0)

April's Capture Your 365 Blog Hop

Welcome to another edition of the 

Capture Your 365 Blog Hop!

This month was one of surprise photos for me.

The joy of photography for me is discovering
or tripping on a photo opportunity
and having the opportunity result
in an image that I love.
Towards the end of the month, 

I started to get frustrated with my shooting options.

For a few days, nothing seemed to inspire me ..... 

Based upon what others have said, 

I am just viewing this as 

a natural slump 

that happens with Project 365.

The images in today's blog are ones

that resulted from those surprise opportunities. 

Enjoy!

Rarely do I sit in the middle section of our minivan.

I was surprised to look up and see my sweetie through the rear view mirror.

While finally enjoying the temperature above 35 degrees,
our family was playing outside.
The kids got out their bikes and experimented with bikes
bigger than one they previously rode.
I was surprised at how this photo perfectly captured Matthew's essence.

A cold and rainy afternoon resulted in lunch date with Jim.
I was surprised to look up, see the old time bowling machine,
and wondered if I could capture the length of the lane in my photo.

 

A trip to the museum resulted in the surprise of a carousel inside.

I was surprised that I was able to capture the motion in the photo

(in the manual mode no less!)

I remember this day as being a particularly difficult one.

I took a few minutes to escape and went to the lake. 

I have been to this park many times.  

I was surprised to get out of the car 

to find the composition unfold before me.

I was excited the photo turned out exactly how it looked.

I returned home much more relaxed and peaceful.

Days later, we were hit with another spring blizzard.

It seemed the winter would never end.

While returning home, the snow had just begun. 

I snapped this while the car was moving.

(Jim was driving.)

I was surprised at how well the photo turned out.

This is exactly as it came out of the camera.

I don't understand how I captured the vignette effect but I like it.

On Easter Sunday, we had our first day of really nice weather.

The colors of Lake Michigan were irresistible.

We ventured out onto a new sandbar created by the low water level.

I was more than surprised to discover my son!

Boys will be boys!

Finally, there is the infamous toilet paper photo.
It was late in the afternoon and I had yet to shoot my photo of the day.
I remember sitting in the car debating whether
I should take my camera into our son's doctors' appointment.
Andrew just groaned when he saw I was taking it in.
I stopped into the restroom and discovered this.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
I surprised myself that I was more that willing
to take a photo in a public restroom.
I am not sure what the lady thought who walked in while I shot it!

How often are you surprised by your photos?

Thanks for visiting!

1. Jill 

2. Kate 

3. Katrina

                              You are here ---->  4. Kathleen

                      Visit Christi next! ---->   5. Christi  

6. Tammy 

7. Anne 

8. Tracy

9. Sharon

10. Lee 

11. Michelle
12. Beth
13. Christine

Come back and visit any time! 

Day #4 - Photographing a Dandelion on a Quadruple Dog Dare

Today's Capture Your 365 Prompt was to photograph a flower against a white or black background.

A group of friends and I have a Facebook group for our Project 365 photos.  I complained the only flowers currently in bloom in northern Michigan are dandelions. My so-called "friends" dared me .... actually quadruple dog dared me to photograph a dandelion.  Well, I rarely turn down a challenge.

HOLY COW!  IT WAS HARD. 

What I learned:

1. I don't have the right lens to shoot macro.
2. Shooting against black in the early evening is impossible.
3. Getting true black with a good yellow is difficult.
4. Dandelions are much more interesting than I ever imagined.
5. Finding a perfect dandelion is much harder than it looks.
6. Dandelions close up quickly as soon as they are out of the sun.
7. Cats like to eat dandelions.

Any suggestions on improvement are more than appreciated.

Day #3 - Photographing a Flower

Today's Capture Your 365 Prompt is photograph a flower at an unusual crop. 

(Oops! - Just reviewed the prompt ... it was unusual APERTURE, not crop.
Oh well, we all make mistakes.)  :0)

In northern Michigan, we do not have any leaves on our trees yet.  Seems spring will never arrive. Flowers are limited to daffodils and dandelions. So I resorted to Home Depot to shoot their annuals. Even their flowers were inside the store to protect the plants from frost.

I like the composition of the photo. Wish the petals were not in the background.

I Don't Get It.

Okay ... so I don't get it ... I mean I really don't get it .....

To be clear, 9-11 was horrific. As Americans, we changed because of terrorism or fears of it.

I know Bin Laden was a terrible man. I get it.

We needed to capture him - for our security, for our peace of mind. I get it.

The celebrations, the chanting in gladness over his death. I don't get it.

I did not like to see it when people of other countries celebrated when our people were killed. But I excused it off. They are different ... with different morals, different beliefs.

But in America?

We are the land of the free. We are supposed to stand up for what is right. We respect others.

When I heard the news last night, I wondered why he needed to die. Why couldn't they have captured him? My retired navy officer husband blatantly answered that they had to. I don't get it.

Am I glad he is captured? I am.
Do I feel better? Not really.
Am I conflicted? Absolutely.

I don't get it.

Day #2 - Photographing a Flower

Today's Capture Your 365 Prompt is to photograph a flower at a wide aperture.  

 

 

My lens is an 85mm one. I have trouble being able to focus without feeling like I am standing half way across the room. I end of having to do a significant amount of cropping.

A Month of Improving Photography Through "Capture Your 365"

Have so enjoyed participating in the Capture Your 365 Community.  During the month of May, Katrina Kennedy's daily prompts to help us improve our photography.   I am looking forward to seeing what she has in store for us!  We will be focusing on four subject.  This week's is flowers.

Today's prompt was to simply photograph a flower.  Here is my photo.

 

Will share my images each day and explain anything special tips Katrina provides.