Category: PhotoPosts

It’s fully Spring in Maryland. In West Virginia, too.

This week’s You Capture theme is pink.

There’s a proliferation of pink everywhere. Pink Azaleas. Pink Dogwood trees. Pink tulips. Little girls wearing pink. Pink snow cones. Pink pansies (although purple is more common).

As plants go, my favorite pinks are the Redbud trees.

Who can resist a cute little girl wearing pink? Even if the little girl isn’t human?

But really, the pink I’ve enjoyed looking at most over the last few days is not naturally occurring. And it’s indoors. Which, if you’ve seen many of my posts, is quite the opposite of all the nature and doggie shots I like to share.

Anyway… here’s some pink that really makes me happy.

It’s very girly, isn’t it? Again, not like me. But I just love all of the pinks with the white and black. I bought it from Vintage4Creations on Etsy. It only cost $20. I bought another very cool, but again very girly, bag from the same lady. It, too, was only $20. Both are very well-made. I just adore the way this woman combines colors, textures, and vintage touches like the big black button closure.

One of my on-line friends, Shybiker, is a motorcyclist, but also has a fashion blog. I am no fashionista, but I just love Shybiker. Not all of the posts are about fashion, but many are. I read them anyway. Until recently, I couldn’t identify with the “this dress made me happy” sort of thing. Until I bought this bag, which has been hanging on my door all week for me to admire.

Finally, I get it. This bag makes me happy.

See what pink the other participating photographers managed to capture this week by visiting Beth’s Blog.

I haven’t exactly been a regular “You Capture” participant this year. But when one of my favorite photography/blog buddies reminded me about this week’s theme, I decided I’d better participate. Besides, Spring is one of my absolute favorite times of the year so I have lots of images to share.

I have no idea what type of plant this is, other than a weed. If a “weed” is anything that wasn’t planted on purpose. It grows in various places around our WV Place. I love the way the leaves catch the morning dew and raindrops. (I tweaked the lighting in that first shot using Photoshop Elements. I like the way the harsh light looks in plant close-ups. I didn’t do that in the second image, which is why the plant appears to be a lighter green.)

This is actually the same plant a day or two later. The day I shot the first image dawned warm and wet. The day I shot the second image was cold and stormy. Isn’t it interesting how the middle leaves appear to have curled up on themselves in the cold?

I’m anxious to see our woods this weekend. I’m pretty sure the Dogwood flowers will have emerged by then.

No idea what sort of tree this is (sorry!), but it always makes for some interesting shots in the Spring. Especially when there’s water dripping off of the leaves.

I find it particularly intriguing that even moss gets little sprouts. Before I became a WV landowner, I thought moss was moss. You know, that short green stuff that grows on the north side of a tree? Apparently, there are lots of different types of moss. Who knew? I could probably do an entire blog post of moss pictures. Those sprouts are only about an inch tall.

Violas are not really wild pansies. But I think the cultivated pansies we all know and love were developed from violas. There are lots and lots of different varieties of this plant, which comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. This one little flower was all of about two inches tall.

These little treasures are gifts made by one of my girlfriends. She’s very craft and super-talented. She just started her own blog recently and is trying to build a following. Once she gets 50 followers, she’ll be having a chick giveaway. She’s close, so you should go check out her site.

The above image, and those that follow, were posted earlier this week on my Appalachian Tours blog. I don’t usually re-use material, but I really like these shots. Since most of you don’t know about that other blog, I figured it would be okay to share a few here, too.

Be sure to visit Beth’s You Capture page to see what other participants captured this week. And be sure to leave some comments. It means a lot to people to know that their work (passion) is being seen. And appreciated.

Beth’s theme for You Capture this week was “things that start with the letter “L”.”

I really need to start giving these themes more thought and planning in advance (sigh).

My regular readers may have already seen the first two images in my Blackwater Refuge post. Sorry, but not only is my material LIMITED, I really LIKE both of these pictures.

About 3,000 Snow Geese spend their winter at Maryland’s Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. When something spooks them and they take off, the sky is suddenly filled with honking geese flying in every direction. It’s pretty awesome. Click on the image for a larger — and better — view of the geese.

I also like the way these footprints are captured in the sand. This trail was made by one animal, going and coming. What you can’t see at the end of this LINE is an Osprey platform with a nest that is either a leftover from last year or newly being built this year. I’m guessing either a Raccoon or Fox was the culprit. I find it very interesting that the critter took the exact same path in both directions. I mean, it isn’t exactly straight. It’s also not the shortest route to the platform.

I discovered a new poison last week… whipped cream-flavored vodka. I’ve been a fan of vanilla vodka for a while (I prefer Absolut over Stoli). If you like sweet stuff (I do!), you’d probably like it, too. It tastes just like an Egg Custard-flavored Snowball (local summer drink). When mixed with Cointreau, it tastes like a really potent creamsicle. This is one of the reasons I got a LATE start on Friday’s refuge jaunt.

At this time of year, the forest is pretty brown. However, if you look closely, there’s quite a bit of green to be found in the forms of LICHEN and moss. Isn’t it cools how this stump has been almost completely covered? That probably took about 25 years. I know this because we were told that’s the last time the land in the area was LOGGED.

There’s probably more moss and fungi on this tree than lichen, but I find the textures interesting.

Be sure to visit the main You Capture page to see what the el other photographers saw and captured this past week.

The theme for You Capture this week was red.

Remember, I don’t get out much, so my options are pretty limited.

I decided to be a bit risque and DARING and take a picture of some guy’s bird.

Don’t worry, I asked if it would be okay first.

I didn’t ask if I could post it on the Internet for the whole world to see!

This is not my best photographic effort. But at least I made the effort to shoot specifically with red in mind for You Capture. I’m trying to be more consistent with my participation this year.

Are you wondering yet where it was I saw a guy publicly and proudly showing off not just one, but two of his birds?

At the World of Pets Expo this past weekend, which was here in Maryland at the Timonium Fairgrounds.

I’m sure MANY more participants did better than me this week. Check some of their efforts out over at Beth’s You Capture page. Be sure to leave comments for a few of the photographers. Knowing people actually look at this stuff we post makes us try to want to do better next time.

I’ve got a love/hate attitude about this recent snowfall.

I mean, I love snow. Usually. Right now I am hating it. I just wish it would all go away and get warm already. You’ll understand why in a couple of days…

Still, I really am thrilled to see some measurable snow on the ground. Because it makes my dogs VERY happy. And that just happens to be the theme for today’s You Capture photo meme.

The snow saved me. Otherwise this would have been another no show week for me.

These were all taken pretty early this morning, before I had to go to work. That’s why the light is weird. But at least I had pics to share.

I was happy in general, really, because the snow gave me an excuse to go out into the yard and take some pictures. A few more follow.

Be sure to check out Beth’s blog to see what sort of shots made other folks happy.