Where analytic and creative thought collide and all kinds of weird stuff can happen.

You Capture – “Still Life”

Last modified on 2012-02-02 18:29:00 GMT. 10 comments. Top.

This week’s You Capture theme is “still life.”

My first thought? A sleeping dog is a pretty still example of life. Unless it’s dreaming. But I sort of figured Beth had something else in mind.

According to Wikipedia…

Still life photography is the depiction of inanimate subject matter, most typically a small grouping of objects. Still life photography, more so than other types of photography, such as landscape or portraiture, gives the photographer more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition.

Still life photography is a demanding art, one in which the photographers are expected to be able to form their work with a refined sense of lighting, coupled with compositional skills. The still life photographer makes pictures rather than takes them. Knowing where to look for propping and surfaces also is a required skill.

Not having the time or inclination for anything demanding, I took advantage of some luck. Actually, it was more than luck. It’s seeing the world through a photographer’s eye. Someone else might have just seen tired knick-knacks on a dusty kitchen windowsill (at the West Virginia place).

I saw a still life.

Enjoy!

Don’t forget to visit Beth’s You Capture page to see how other folks interpreted this week’s assignment.

 

You Capture – “Colorful”

Last modified on 2012-01-26 15:49:04 GMT. 6 comments. Top.

Another week has gone by and I didn’t get out on any good photo expeditions. Sigh…

The theme for this week’s You Capture is COLORFUL.

I could have just walked around my house and taken pictures of stuff. Like the big bag of plain, dark-chocolate M&Ms. Before I ate them. Or crayons. If I had some crayons.

But I didn’t. That would just be boring.

One day soon I’ll be able to share pics of my colorful new office. But that’s another blog post…

I did capture a couple of cool images worthy of sharing in this week’s challenge. Both actually feature store windows here in town. I added some texture to both images because I just felt like being different.

That first image captures a large painting in one of several of Warrenton’s cool art galleries. Some people may have tried to capture the shot without the reflections. But I like the reflections. I think they frame the image nicely. Especially the tree in the upper left-hand corner.

The love shot, which is certainly colorful, is from the window of the ceramics store.

Our love affair with this town continues…

To see what other folks captured this week, pop on over to Beth’s blog to peruse the work of the many good photographers who participated.

You Capture – “Cold”

Last modified on 2012-01-21 04:20:18 GMT. 8 comments. Top.

The theme for You Capture this week was COLD.

At the moment, it seems that Beth’s web site has crashed. She’s the host of You Capture. An amazing woman, really. I’m sure she is frantically trying to figure out what’s up with her site. Hopefully the issue will be resolved soon. A crashed web site is the last thing that Beth needs.

I didn’t exactly expend a ton of effort this week capturing “cold” anyway. But I’ll share the few lame photos that are (sort of) worth sharing.

Of the three, I think the one of Reflectofrog is my favorite.  Gaze into his silver ball and you’ll see me with my point-and-shoot. Yep, another week went by without my using the big gun. Maybe I’ll be feeling more-inspired next week.

Cold would’ve been more fun to shoot if there were some snow on the ground. These cold, gray days are the worst.

I hope you are staying warm!

 

You Capture – “Morning”

Last modified on 2012-01-12 12:47:33 GMT. 7 comments. Top.

This week’s them for You Capture is “morning.” I am determined to participate regularly this year. So even though these shots are less than stellar, I had to post something.

Why are they not so good? I am in Texas for work this week. I have my phone camera and my point and shoot. But I can’t get the images off of my point and shoot and into the computer, so I just had to rely on the phone shots. Two of the three were taken while driving.

Next week, I’ll do better. I promise.

To see how other participants interpreted the morning theme, visit this week’s You Capture page.

You Capture “Pink”

Last modified on 2011-04-28 10:40:45 GMT. 2 comments. Top.

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.

You Capture – Spring

Last modified on 2011-04-20 12:51:22 GMT. 9 comments. Top.

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.

You Capture – Starting with “L”

Last modified on 2011-02-23 18:04:25 GMT. 4 comments. Top.

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.

You Capture – Cold

Last modified on 2011-02-10 15:47:07 GMT. 11 comments. Top.

This week’s theme for You Capture is COLD. Fitting, eh? Especially considering we’re in the middle of what feels like a never-ending winter. I am not usually one to complain about the cold, but, jeez. Enough already!

My “cold” images are below for your viewing pleasure.

Do you see a Storm-trooper when you look at that snowy grill shot? Or is it just me? I actually captured that one about a week or so ago after having to go outside around midnight to drag my rodent-obsessed dog in so we could go to bed.

Now that last picture really says cold! I didn’t actually shoot it specifically for this week’s entry. But after looking at it this morning, I was compelled to share it. I shot it through the glass of our back door. I found it quite intriguing to see the stove reflected pretty much dead-center. The stove was not beside me, but about eight feet away on my right. So how did it end up in the middle of the frame? Weird. The white streaks are snowflakes, by the way.

To see how everyone else captured COLD this week, pop over to Beth’s site and follow a few of the links.

You Capture – Red

Last modified on 2011-02-03 16:07:24 GMT. 7 comments. Top.

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.

You Capture – Happy

Last modified on 2011-01-28 01:09:49 GMT. 11 comments. Top.

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.

You Capture – Doorways

Last modified on 2011-01-14 01:06:26 GMT. 4 comments. Top.

This week’s You Capture theme was Doorways.

I don’t get out much. And the places I do go don’t have very photogenic doors. But I tried.

This image may have little if any photographic merit, but it means something to me.

This is the most-used door at the WV place. The dogs LOVE it there. Can you tell?

I was going to drive into town, walk around, and shoot some doors, but it was just too cold. So that’s my one lame attempt at a doorway shot.

I did get a couple of other pictures I can share.

I like this picture because it captured the footprints left by me and my three crazy dogs. I enjoy our walks. I do. But they LOVE them. Really.

And look, a self portrait!

I know none of these shots will win any awards or anything. But I didn’t want to be completely lame and not post anything.

I’m sure you see much more interesting stuff by following some of the links on Beth’s You Capture page.

Oh yeah, I took this picture while trying to get a doorway shot, too.

I get points for trying, right?

You Capture – Favorites of 2010

Last modified on 2011-01-06 14:48:43 GMT. 22 comments. Top.

The “assignment” this week was not to take pictures. It was to select our favorite 10 photos of 2010 to share. Taking new pictures would have been SO much easier. Really. As I said the other day, I took more than 10,300 pictures in 2010 with my digital SLR alone (big camera)!

But I did it. Finally. It took quite a bit of time and required a plan. First, I went through lots and lots of pictures and copied my favorites into a separate folder. That was the top 65. From there, I narrowed it down to the top 25. Finally, I was able to narrow it down further to my top 10.

Remember, the theme is my “favorites,” not “my best.” What makes a photo good anyway? Does it always have to be in focus? Nope. Does the light always have to be perfect? Nope. Does your subject have to be looking at the camera? Must his/her entire face be visible? Does your subject need to be centered? Nope, nope, and nope again.

This assignment has already consumed so much of my time that I am just going to shut up and post the darn things already. Okay? Here are my favorite pics of 2010, in no particular order. Don’t even ask me to rank them from one to ten. The mere thought of having to do that has given me the cold sweats…

This is definitely my favorite dog pic of the year. I like the reflection of the sunset, but I love the look in their eyes. They are scanning the horizon, anxiously awaiting my return. It doesn’t matter if I am gone for five minutes or five days, the girls are ALWAYS glad to see me when I return. As with many of my favorite images, this one was completely unplanned. I’d actually been outside taking pictures of the sunset. When I turned to go back inside, that is what I saw. I had to tweak the lighting a bit in PS Elements, mostly to get rid of the ever-present nose prints on the glass.

This shot makes me smile. Every single time I look at it. I could’ve removed the red eye, but I think that adds to the craziness. These two play like this practically all day, every day. Yes, they really are playing and not trying to bite each other’s face off. You’ll have to use your imagination for the growls. It can be quite entertaining to watch. Sure it gets annoying at times, too, like when I am trying to participate in a teleconference. But I’m so glad all of our dogs are here.

I chose this picture not because it shows off our grandchild. If that were my goal, I’d post a picture of all of them. (In fact, I’m going to cheat here a bit and give you a LINK to my favorite picture that features the grand kids.) My goal here really is to show how “favorite pictures” don’t have to be favorites because of the subject, quality, composition, etc. My favorite images are usually the ones that evoke the strongest/best feelings, reflect a certain mood, capture a particular moment, etc.

This picture of Joey was shot during the late Spring. Actually, I think it was Memorial Day weekend. We had made all these grand plans to take the kids on a bike ride, but then Joey got sick. I volunteered to stay behind with him while everyone else went riding. He sat for the longest time making “regular soup” with water and rocks in these containers. All I could hear were the sounds of the birds and insects in the forest, Joey’s giggles, his running commentary, and the dogs playing.

Even the weather was perfect. It was one of those moments you just want to freeze in time because it feels really, really good to be alive. When you realize wouldn’t change one single thing about your life, no matter how difficult, because if you did you’d erase all the good, too. And moments like these are definitely good. The best, actually.

I like this shot mostly for its symbolism. As the caption says, I love nature. I’d rather be outside doing stuff than inside, that’s for sure. I especially enjoy watching the seasons change. The Winter to Spring change is one of my favorite times of the year. I always look forward to the blooming of the Redbud trees. This heart-shaped leaf is on a Redbud tree at the end of our WV driveway. If you look closely, you can seem some pink in the background. I could have chosen a shot where the pretty, pink flowers are in focus. But I like that the emphasis is on the leaf here. The heart-shaped leaf to be exact. You’ll appreciate this picture so much more if you click on it to see the larger version.

When you look closely at stuff, you really do see so much more. That’s the theme for this selection. It really is true, too.

This image is simply a fern frond. Not real exciting, right? But if you look closely (click on the image to see a bigger version), you’ll see the intricate patterns on each leaf. The depth of field in this picture (how much of the image is in focus) is what makes the image so powerful to me. It draws your attention right into the middle of the frame and makes you look at the individual leaves. And, as the photographer, that’s exactly what I wanted you to see.

This reflectofrog shot is the perfect example of how unplanned stuff sometimes makes an image. I was trying to get a shot of myself reflected in the frog’s globe. I did. But I also got a shot of K’s leg in the foreground with her whole body reflected between me and the frog. Because I can’t go anywhere/do anything without the dogs coming along to see exactly what it is I am doing. They’re nosy like that. I don’t know if that’s a dog-in-general thing or a Brittany thing. But these three dogs of mine are VERY curious about everything. And they are rarely far from us at all. Not that I am complaining. My dogs make me happy. But it really is like having little kids around trying to “help” you do stuff.

This shot represents a picture-perfect motorcycle riding day in the Greater Appalcahian Valley. Blue skies. Big, puffy white clouds. Smooth, empty road winding through the foothills and into the mountains… does it get any better? If you look really close, you’ll see Hubby in front of me. I was lagging behind a bit since I was riding one-handed at about 45 mph while shooting pictures with my point-and-shoot camera. None of that craziness in 2011. This year I get to use my new HELMET CAM!

This picture is a great example of why we chose to build a house in West Virginia. Mountains. Lots of mountains. They’re no Alps or even Rockies, but you know what? We have discovered plenty of great motorcycle roads. I’ll begin sharing that info pretty soon (stay tuned for new project announcement). For now, you’ll just have to look at this picture and the previous shot to enjoy the scenery we encounter on a regular basis near our WV place. This picture was actually taken from the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area.

The kids together at Christmas. They’re not all here. Amy’s hubby is deployed. But this is the first time in a while that Shannon, Amy, and Eric have all been together with us at the same time. (That’s Eric’s girlfriend, Kelsey, on the right. She’s a real sweetie.) It was nice having them all here relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. I was enjoying it, that’s for sure.

And finally, Hubby and me right after climbing the Jaufenpass on motorcycles during our tour in Europe. I’m with my favorite guy on the trip of a lifetime. What more could a girl ask for?

There’s no way for words to describe what it felt like to ride on the Jaufenpass. For me, this was my favorite part of the whole Europe trip. It was fun, Fun, FUN! The road was technical, but not so technical that I couldn’t race through it. I think I smiled broadly the entire way, feeling like I was riding in a video game. (Wanna know what it felt like to ride the Jaufenpass [pronounced hoff en pass]? Watch the first 60 seconds of this YouTube video [not mine]. Be sure to leave the sound on so you can hear the engine scream. It gets particularly interesting around the five-minute mark as the road climbs higher and higher. You get to see what it feels like to encounter a bus coming in the opposite direction and how I wasn’t exaggerrating when I said the road hung onto the side of the mountain.)

That trip was by far the most fun vacation ever. And we’ve had some pretty cool vacations. It wasn’t just the motorcycle part either.  The tour was awesome in every regard, but the week after the tour we got to visit two different sets of friends in Switzerland and Belgium. Even if we hadn’t seen more really cool stuff, seeing our friends would’ve been enough to make me happy.

Anyway… that was my 10 favorite pictures of 2010. I can’t wait to see which ones other people chose. If you’d like to see, too, visit Beth’s You Capture page.

You Capture – Holiday Favorites

Last modified on 2010-12-30 17:23:52 GMT. 11 comments. Top.

Those of you who saw my post the other day know that my currently deployed son-in-law is home for a brief visit.

What I did not explain is the fact that their three kids were at another grandparents’ house for a few days so they could have a little bit of adult time. They knew, once the kids saw their father, there’d be no such thing as adult time. They’ll be on him like glue. Not just any glue either. Super Glue.

I’m proud to say that my obsession with photographing or otherwise recording special family moments has completely rubbed off on Amy. It was her idea for me to accompany her to the airport so I could get pictures of the reunion. And we were both thinking about possible video opportunities. The only problem was that the kids weren’t staying at our house.

No problem. At a little after 6:00 AM, she called us (under normal circumstances, that would be a no-no) to say she was bringing her husband to our house. She dropped him off here then went and picked up the kids and brought them here, too. At Hubby’s insistence, I was positioned behind TJ with the video camera. Shannon was on the sofa with the still camera. It was Hubby’s job to answer the door and corral the kids in the foyer so they could remove their coats before coming all of the way into the house.

It worked like a charm.

Oh wait. I forgot to tell you to grab a tissue, didn’t I? Sorry!

The video is awesome, yes. But this next picture is most definitely my holiday favorite this year. Can you see the glow of happiness on each and every one of their faces?

I told Amy I thought this just might be her new favorite picture. I wonder if I was right?

As an aside… this is the sort of thing these soldiers of ours and their families, both here and abroad, have to sacrifice every day. So the next time you see a soldier, be sure to say thanks. Okay?

To see what everyone else is calling their holiday favorites, be sure to visit the You Capture page on Beth’s blog.

You Capture – Holiday Magic (or Light)

Last modified on 2010-12-23 14:25:25 GMT. 4 comments. Top.

My attempt at capturing holiday magic (or light) for this week’s You Capture was lame.

But at least I tried.

I tried to cheat and capture magic and light together. I didn’t have much success.

We keep outdoor holiday light displays at our house simple.

White candles in the windows, bows on the outdoor light fixtures, and a pair of reindeer with an empty sleigh.

I love the way it looks. I just didn’t have much luck capturing it for y’all to see.

Here’s the same shot framed with a texture.

To see what I am sure are far more interesting magic and/or light captures, visit Beth’s Blog.

You Capture – Outside

Last modified on 2010-12-17 11:58:17 GMT. 14 comments. Top.

I have not been the most consistent You Capture participant this year.

But I couldn’t NOT participate this week. The theme was “outside.” And I actually happened to take a few outside pics that I wanted to share.

As with most of the United States, we’ve been in the grip of a pretty long and intense cold snap. It’s been unseasonably cold for weeks. It’s not even Winter yet and we’ve had morning temps in the teens for at least a week now, maybe longer. The image above is the patio at the WV place this past Sunday morning.

I love wet pine needles. To be a bit different, I did some editing to this image. I thought it would be interesting to apply some texture. If you click on the image, you’ll see a larger version. I doubt you’ll even be able to see the texture unless you look at the larger version.

Here’s a version without texture and not cropped.

Do you think the texture adds interest?

The image above is pretty indicative of the weather on that day. Cold, wet and dark. It may not be Winter yet according to the calendar, but it sure feels like Winter has arrived.

The next few shots are examples of why I carry a camera with me all of the time. Unless I forget to put the darn thing back in my purse.

These next few images were all taken with my point-and-shoot on Saturday when I went into town to do some shopping. There’s a craft store on the outskirts of town that features the work of local artisans. One of the owners also likes to collect old stuff. He apparently has a penchant for old tractors.

I did some editing to the picture shown above, too. I wanted the whole picture to have a vintage feel to match the tractor.

Again with the editing. The texture is a bit more apparent in this one. I like the end result. How about you?

That last tractor image is probably my favorite tractor shot of the day.

I think I should go back to this place with my DSLR sometime. Would you like to see more old tractor shots? Or do you think these are boring?

This next shot, taken at the same place, is my favorite.

It’s a koi pond in front of the shop with a fountain. The aforementioned cold snap turned the fountain into what I thought was a very interesting ice sculpture.

It wasn’t shot in black and white. I used PS Elements to remove the color. I softened the focus a bit, too.

It’s my favorite shot of the day, mainly because it is so unique and was so unexpected.

A “normal” person might have seen the fountain and found it interesting. When a person with a photographer’s eye (yes, we do see the world differently) like me sees stuff like this, everything stops. I just HAD to have a picture. In fact, if I hadn’t had my point-and-shoot with me, I would have driven back to the house to get a camera.

I did take a few shots, but this one was the best.

Just because I’m curious as to what other people think, I decided to post the same shot similarly framed, but still in color.

So, which fountain shot do you like better? Color or black and white?

And are my tractor pictures nice? Or over-edited?

If you want to see what other You Capture participants saw OUTSIDE this week, be sure to follow that link and have a gander. You’ll see some amazing stuff.

You Capture – Inspire

Last modified on 2010-11-18 17:25:13 GMT. 9 comments. Top.

This week’s You Capture prompt was “What inspires you?”

I almost didn’t participate because I was thinking along the lines of WHO inspires me. And I haven’t left the house pretty much all week. Not that no one around here ever inspires me, it’s just that photo ops of people around here have been a bit limited.

As I grabbed my camera before heading out to the back yard to hunt for dog poop this morning, a light bulb went off. Why would I carry my camera on poo patrol? I guess you could say my dogs inspire me to keep the camera at hand during even the most unpleasant of tasks. Because you never know when you’ll catch them doing something a bit odd. Like trying to see what just landed atop the grill (a leaf).

That’s when I realized it would be okay to share some of the pictures I shot this week even if I didn’t snap them specifically with You Capture in mind.

My dogs make me laugh. So I like to try and capture these odd moments.

Seeing Meg with her dark nutmeg colors laying behind the bright-red burning bush caught my eye here.

That same bush made a nice backdrop for this shot of K.

I liked the colors so much, I decided a close-up was in order.

Then there’s this shot I got when Belle wasn’t paying attention. She doesn’t like having her picture taken and usually squints when I ask her to pose. Seriously.

Too bad she’s got a mouthful of dog toy…

I also try to keep a camera nearby while I’m working. Because one never knows what odd positions Meg will contort herself into as she dozes in her favorite bed.

To see what inspires fellow You Capture participants, be sure to VISIT BETH’s BLOG and follow some of the various links other photographers have shared this week.

You Capture – Orange

Last modified on 2010-10-22 03:11:48 GMT. 7 comments. Top.

This week’s You Capture theme was ORANGE.

My attempt at capturing some interesting photos of orange stuff was pretty lame. But at least I tried.

I just don’t get out enough.

One good thing, though. I did finally lose the inhibitions with regard to taking pictures at the grocery store/supermarket. Here’s proof.

That shot would’ve been more relevant if they’d used the Orange Crush boxes to make the football guy. But at least there’s ORANGE in there. And you have to admit, the football player fashioned from Dr. Pepper boxes is pretty creative.

Sunday afternoon, while making a pot of delicious French Onion Soup, I decided some wine was in order. I knew Shannon would agree, so I got out the wine tags to mark our glasses. I got to be the one with the ORANGE on her head. It’s there, really. There are some grapes, a banana, and an orange. I just HAD to take a picture.

Really though, despite the fact that this is October, and I’m sure 95% of the You Capture posts will feature pumpkins or squash, pumpkins were not the first thing that popped to mind when I saw that orange was to be the theme.

While it would have been cooler to go in person to see the first orange thing that popped into my mind, I couldn’t. I didn’t have time. And Hubby would have been upset if I’d gone off without him to see this particular orange thing.

Wanna know what it is?

The picture isn’t great, but it’s the best I could do.

Since we spent a week riding BMW motorcycles through the Alps, I have become obsessed. I want one. I think an orange one would be pretty cool. Although they come in a pretty awesome blue-green color, too.

Can’t you see me on one of these? (I’ll have to lose the assless leather chaps, but it’ll be worth it.)

Do I get extra points for incorporating a self-portrait into the orange display? I should. Not that points are actually awarded or anything…

If you’d like to see lots of pictures that I am SURE are way better than my lame attempts, visit Beth’s blog for this week’s You Capture entries.

You Capture – Flowers

Last modified on 2010-09-23 15:03:27 GMT. 15 comments. Top.

The theme/assignment this week for Beth’s You Capture meme was flowers.

A lot of the stuff I shoot is in or around one of the houses. This week I wanted to be different. I knew I’d be driving up to East Central Pennsylvania on Sunday and thought maybe I’d see a bunch of roadside stands selling mums. It’s that time of year, you know. (Fall. Woo hoo!!!)

I did see some places with flowers for sale, but most if not all of them were Amish-owned and, it being Sunday, closed. Those folk can be sort of funny about you poking around their places, especially in that area where the Amish are a huge tourist attraction. So no mum shots.

After leaving Hawk Mountain, however, I found a cute little town where I could practice some shooting at odd angles and capturing some interesting flower images. I’ve shared my favorites here.

That pot of purple asters alone is not all that interesting. But I loved the green chair sitting beside it and I think the maroon and yellow trim on the building added some interesting color, too.

This poor flower was the last one on the plant. And it is half-eaten. Probably by some dumb, stupid stink bugs. The color of the flower is nice, but the extreme dark green of its leaves are what really make the colors on the flower stand out.

Even though flowers are the subject here, the effect I was going for was all about color. I love the bright-green leaves on the plant to the right of the white flowers (bacopa, I think). But I really like this shot as a whole with the purple bench, blue window trim and reddish coleus(?) leaves in the background.

I have to admit, I was initially drawn to this image because that donkey is funky-cool. Plus, I just loved the colors of the sign against the stone wall. The fact that the donkey is also a flower pot was a bonus.

This last shot is my favorite. I love the crazy color combinations. I also like the angle. Oh yeah, there are giant, paper flowers in that window, too.

You can see more creative genius with flowers at Beth’s blog.

If you would like to see the rest of the images I captured in that cute little town, visit my Flickr page.

You Capture – Photographer’s Choice

Last modified on 2010-09-16 15:05:57 GMT. 21 comments. Top.

This week’s You Capture assignment should have been easy. Instead of some arbitrary theme, it was photographer’s choice. So I could do whatever I wanted.

What I wanted to do was take my camera into the city (I hadn’t decided which one) and, using my 50mm, fixed-focus lens on manual setting, try to capture cool pictures of stuff at odd angles. Some of the other You Capture participants have shared some really cool, odd-angle shots and I wanted to try to emulate that.

It never happened. Surprise, surprise right?

I did manage to do some shooting this week. After deciding which images to share (there’s even one I captured this morning as I was writing this post thanks to Shannon), I had to come up with a theme.

I call this collection Eye of the Beholder. Because much of what I like about photography is capturing pieces of life that I’ve seen in my own special way.

My daughter, Amy, calls this guy Grasshead. It’s something one or both of her kids did at daycare this year. It’s just a sock stuffed with some medium, topped with grass seed, decorated to look like a man. What a cool idea, eh? The other night, as I sat on her deck staring at the guy, I kept thinking of Kilroy. I think it was the angle, which I did not manage to capture, but I wanted to share this shot anyway.

Photography to me isn’t always about capturing a perfectly focused and lit shot. It’s often capturing something interesting I have seen. I love the label on this bottle of beer (I have a thing for cows). And I thought it looked interesting sitting atop this gatepost with goldenrod as a fuzzy backdrop.

Speaking of fuzzy… I did some post-processing on this one to make the image blurry. I captured it towards the end of our evening yesterday. Shannon had invited her best friends over so we could finally meet all of them and hang out. Shannon made an excellent Thai Red Curry for us (shrimp, broccoli and red peppers in a curry-flavored coconut-milk base). Laura brought some delightful wine to go with it, which we all did a nice job of finishing off. All except for Hubby who prefers beer. Not cow beer. Just plain ole German wheat beer.

Meg, deep in thought. I captured this shot while poking around the backyard looking for something, anything interesting to photograph.

The next image is my favorite capture from that session.

I couldn’t share that shot without sharing this next one.

I never get far without one or more dogs being nearby. That’s how I captured the picture of Meg posted previously. In the image immediately above, you can see K’s leg in the foreground with her body reflected in the frog’s silver ball as she interrupts my shot.

And speaking of frogs… here’s the shot I captured this morning after Shannon popped into my office to say, “There’s a really cute tree frog on my window.”

You can’t really appreciate this guy’s size just by looking at the picture. Even with his (or her) legs extended, it was probably only about 2 inches long from toe to toe. This is the one shot I got before it hopped away.

So those were my choices to share for the week. If you’d like to see what other participants came up with, visit Beth’s site. She hadn’t added this week’s link at the time of this writing, so you may need to check back later. She’s a very busy Mom of three who lives in a time zone at least an hour, maybe two, behind me. So be patient.

Which of my captures, if any, did you like best? Do tell, please. Comments make my day.

You Capture – Signs

Last modified on 2010-09-09 22:52:21 GMT. 15 comments. Top.

One of the cool things about participating in Beth’s You Capture meme is seeing how differently everyone interprets the week’s assignment.

I mean, people DO think differently you know. (Trust me. I am married to an engineer.)

The assignment for this week was SIGNS.

I wonder how many folks will go with the literal interpretation?

Imagine the town council discussions around this one. I mean, when does STOP not mean one has to stop. Is that clarification really necessary? And why not use “YOU” on the sign instead of “U”? (This is an actual sign at an intersection in Romney, West Virginia.)

I like the odd road signs approach, but I like my “signs that Fall is coming” take on it, too. Better, actually. Because that’s one thing I like to do each year, watch as the trees slowly start to turn.

What about the other signs in nature? You know, signs that there are critters afoot?

That scat (aka animal crap) is not an isolated incident. Foxes leave droppings to mark their territory. This particular fox (maybe there are more than one?) has left lots of this kind of sign on and around our property.

And we can’t forget signs from a higher power. They come in many forms. The sign I am referring to occurred on Tuesday night. The very first night in my new office (more on the office thing later).

This room used to be Hubby’s office. All the years Hubby was using this room (since 1998), I never saw one of these. Like three seconds after I noticed the little guy, who was only an inch long if that, I saw him eat a bug. How cool is that?

When your name is ToadMama, it’s very cool.

A sign that this office move was a good one? Perhaps. I guess time will tell on that one.

To find out how other people interpreted the You Capture SIGNS assignment, head over to Beth’s blog and follow some of the links.

You Capture – Morning

Last modified on 2010-09-02 15:14:33 GMT. 10 comments. Top.

I’m not a morning person in the sense that it takes my brain a bit of time to start functioning properly after waking. But I AM a morning person when it comes to photography. Like any self-respecting photographer, I LOVE the morning light. Although I haven’t participated in You Capture much recently, I have been looking at and enjoying many of the pictures captured by other participants. S0 I decided it was about time to get some images of my own back into the rotation.

The focus on the above shot is nowhere near as sharp as it should be. I decided to share it anyway because it’s a very good example of the morning light peeking through the trees AND the softness of the light.

While the light is soft, it is often very direct, too. Maybe “selective” is a better word. As the sun rises and pokes through the trees, its rays break through in clusters illuminating individual plants and other things nicely.

Another example of that selective spotlighting I mentioned. Notice how some leaves are lit up nicely while most of the forest remains in shadow.

Every now and then, the sun surprises me as it rises. Here I was trying to capture some other leaves being illuminated when the sun jumped out from behind the leaves and hit me directly. I sort of like the way the shot turned out though.

This next picture isn’t specifically a “morning” shot. I did capture it this morning, but the reason for sharing the image is just to let everyone know that my caterpillar is still hanging around. You’ll have to read more about that caterpillar if you want to know more.

He’s in the exact same tree I moved him to four days ago.

And I just have to share this shot of the caterpillar from last night, which I took right after Hubby said, “Your caterpillar is still in that tree.” (I’d been away for three days.)

Hop on over to Beth’s blog, I Should Be Folding Laundry, to see some more brilliant morning You Capture photographs.

Mountain Dew

Last modified on 2010-08-08 16:44:09 GMT. 6 comments. Top.

I’m back!

Sort of. I mean, really, I didn’t go anywhere. I just took a break.

I didn’t get a whole lot done either.

Work has been crazy busy. Plus, we decided to hang out at the WV place all last week. So, no progress on projects at the MD house.

It was a great week in WV, though. We didn’t really want to come back. But now that we’re here, it’s good to be home.

I don’t have a whole lot to say, really.

But I took quite a few pictures last week.And if I don’t share them here, they’ll just be stuck in my computer, unseen, forever.

So here goes…

If you’re not really interested in looking at pics, you might want to stop reading now. Because there’s lots of ‘em.

Now, to really appreciate these pics, you should click on each for a larger view so you can see the detail. They’re cool, if I do say so myself.

Critters

On a Dewy Mountain Morning

Berries

The plants weren’t the only things covered by dew…

You Capture – “Fun”

Last modified on 2010-06-10 15:03:14 GMT. 17 comments. Top.

As luck would have it, this week’s You Capture theme at I Should Be Folding Laundry is “fun.” Since I am currently on vacation having the most fun I have ever had on any vacation, I didn’t exactly struggle for material. Actually, it may even sort of be cheating. Sorry.

Okay, I’m not REALLY sorry. Like I said, I’m having fun. And since that’s this week’s theme, here’s some snapshots for proof…

Passo dello Stelvio is in the Italian Alps, not very far from Switzerland and Austria. Actually, we’re staying near Innsbruck, so we rode through Austria into Italy specifically to traverse this pass. We did a little bit of riding in Switzerland on the way back, too.

There’s a ski resort at the top. There’s not much snow left, but there’s a glacier, and people are still skiing.

I was quite happy to reach the top of this very challenging pass in one piece and without dropping my bike or riding off the side of the mountain.

This was THE coolest riding day ever for both of us.

The road actually winds down the side of the mountain below where Hubby is standing.

This last shot is the only artsy one I took specifically for You Capture. If you want to see what other folks did for fun this week, be sure to visit Beth’s site.

You Capture – “One Shot”

Last modified on 2010-06-03 19:27:36 GMT. 7 comments. Top.

I’ve only been participating sporadically in Beth’s You Capture meme for various reasons, none of which are very interesting. So I’ll spare you and just move on to this week. The theme was “one shot.” The point of that being, show off the one picture you have taken that you think is best.

I didn’t shoot with this theme in mind. Instead, I looked back over the pictures I took last week and picked the one I wanted to share.

Not an easy task, I assure you. Especially with all the grandkid shots from our long holiday weekend!

But I did it. You know what’s weird, though? There’s nothing particularly artsy about this image. I didn’t crop it or anything. Although I did make it a tad bit darker.It’s not even one of the images I deemed good enough to share with the other images in the aforementioned post. But every time I look at that directory full of pics, I keep stopping at this one shot. So I decided THIS must be the one to share.

My youngest grandson, Joey, who is almost three was sitting outside our WV cabin in the woods with a small cooler, two buckets full of water, a wooden spoon, a ladle, and an empty plastic box. It was pretty hot that day, so I just planted myself in one of the rocking chairs on our shady porch and watched.

Who knew watching a toddler play with water could be so much fun? I am NOT being sarcastic either. I had a blast! That must be age creeping in on me.

After putting some small gravel and one large rock into the plastic box, he began very methodically transferring some of the clean water from the cooler into the box using the soup ladle. The whole time he was doing this, he and I were chatting. After a little while he declared that he was making soup. (As you can see in this image from that other post, he was having a pretty good time.) When I asked him what kind of soup he was making, he thought about it and shrugged before telling me, “just regular soup.”

“Not rock soup?” I asked.

“No. Regular soup,” he insisted.

This image says so much to me that you probably don’t notice. The boy is methodical, I tell you. He did this whole water transfer thing very precisely, using only his left hand to manipulate the ladle while his right elbow rested on his knee.

He’s got quite a sense of humor, too, as evidenced by the impish little half-grin you can see on his face here, which is another reason I like this shot. That’s one expression that can only be captured on the fly. (Remember, this is the boy who has been trained for practically his entire life to say “cheese” when a camera is pointing at him.)

His collar is up for a reason. Not because old G (that’s me!) is stuck in the 80s when wearing polo shirts with upturned collars was cool, but because Joey was riding his “motorcycle” before cooking class with his heavy weapon hanging around his neck using a whistle lanyard (the only appropriate rope I could find). I put it under his collar so the string didn’t bite into his neck. Every time he pulled the weapon off, the string lifted the collar. I got tired of folding it back down. Plus, I think he looks he looks sort of cute with that upturned collar.

Maybe I am stuck in the 80s… (gasp!)

Anyway, before going through the hassle of finding something he could use to carry said weapon, I tried to be practical and suggest he just leave the gun at the house while he rode. That conversation went something like this:

“Joe, how about leaving your gun here while you ride your motorcycle?”

“No. My need it.”

“But we’re going to ride your motorcycle. Why do you need it?”

“My want to kill bad guys.”

If you’re confused by the “my” thing, read this post. I am only supposed to share one shot, but if you haven’t already seen the holiday weekend grandkid shots, you’ll probably get a chuckle out of this image, which shows the “taste testers” that were frustrating him only slightly during this soup-making process.

Finally, a totally unrelated story I have to share. Well, sort of unrelated. Remember that “my” thing? It cracks me up.

Saturday evening, Joey and his siblings were sitting in lawn chairs around the fire pit while Mommy and I gathered a little more wood about fifty feet away. (The fire wasn’t burning at that point.) We heard Joey yell and turned to see that the collapsible lawn chair he was sitting in had fallen over on its side with Joey still in it. We chuckled, kept talking, and walked slowly toward him (he was obviously uninjured).

“Unnhhh!” Joey groaned loudly.

“We’re coming, Joe,” Amy said. “Hold on.”

“Unnhhh!” he groaned again, squirming in frustration.

“My stuck!”

If only I’d had my camera in hand for that one…

You Capture – “Spring”

Last modified on 2010-04-29 12:50:30 GMT. 8 comments. Top.

This week’s You Capture theme is Spring. I LOVE Spring, so of course I’m all over that one!

If you read my regular blog, you’ve probably already experienced my new fascination with turtles. Maybe I should’ve been TurtleMama?

Actually, I just love critters in general. But it does crack me up to see these turtles of all shapes and sizes lined up on logs soaking up the sun. That’s not pollution in the water. It’s pollen.

Check out this turtle picture I stumbled across on someone else’s Flickr site. Isn’t that one of the cutest things you have ever seen?

I actually posted the next two shots previously on my general blog, but I really like them both so am sharing them again here.

If you happen to know the name of this honeysuckle, do tell. I love the uniqueness of its flowers. I bought and planted it years ago and for the life of me cannot remember what it is called.

That’s it for my Spring You Capture. To see what others folks have captured, CLICK HERE.

Das Goat

Last modified on 2010-03-25 12:08:35 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

This week’s You Capture theme was “a moment.”

I’ve been at the WV place with the dogs all week. My only moments involve me and/or the dogs.

Since I post lots of dog pics, there just didn’t seem to be any one moment that stood out.

Until I saw this picture, that is…

That’s when I realized my dog looks like a goat.

Ignore Belle in her weird ass-in-the-air-bone-chewing position. Look at K, standing behind Belle.

Here’s a close-up.

See what I mean?

To see more what I’m sure are all way more creative than mine You Capture moments, CLICK HERE.

Rain Isn’t Always Bad

Last modified on 2010-03-15 01:18:17 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s Photography post, we’d planned to spend the day at a wildlife refuge on Saturday, but our plans were rained out.

I’m not talking just a few stray sprinkles. It rained a lot.

On the plus side, all of the vegetation in our backyard got wet. Why is that good? Because droplets on plants are fun to photograph.

This first series of shots features the honeysuckle bush that is beside our house.

If you’d like to see some more honeysuckle images, click on one or more of these links: Image 1; Image 2; Image 4; Image 5; Image 7; Image 8.

Just about all of these images were cropped (small pieces of larger images). Some more than others. The lighting was adjusted, too. That’s the beauty of post-processing. All you have to do is make sure your subject is in focus and not severely over (too much light) or under (not enough light) exposed.

The picture immediately above is not the honeysuckle. It is some type of small tree, hence the straighter lines.

Speaking of trees… evergreens, because they are green year-round and have interesting leaf shapes and clusters of leaves, are my favorite kind of trees to photograph when wet.

You can see two more evergreen shots using these links: Wet Evergreen 1 and/or Wet Evergreen 2.

I’ve always found ferns interesting, too. Earlier this year, I bought and planted some ferns in our backyard. I have no idea what kind of ferns. I thought ferns were ferns, i.e., annual plants. Well, the unknown ferns in my backyard are apparently green year-round. Until being buried under almost four feet of snow, they looked fantastic. Now they are all quite smushed. But, as you can see in these images, they are still very green.

The two fern images shown above are the same image, but with different frames. I thought the black frame was boring. I think the black frame/white mat combo really makes the image pop.

So, do you find these images depressing or interesting? Click on “comments” above and let me know.

Rained Out

Last modified on 2010-03-13 15:29:04 GMT. 1 comment. Top.

Hubby and I were supposed to go to the Eagle Festival at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge today. (Did you check out the Eagle cam yet? There’s a link below and to the left.)

We wussed out, though. And here’s why…

I was hoping to take bird pictures. LOTS of bird pictures. Raptor shots.

I would have had all sorts of cool, non-canine material for a change.

Instead, I’m stuck with this…

You Capture – Quiet

Last modified on 2010-03-11 15:57:53 GMT. 9 comments. Top.

This week’s theme at You Capture is “quiet.”

Since my life is pretty darn quiet, I found this one pretty easy. Of course, having a house in the woods helps.

You Capture is a project where quite a few other people post pictures each Thursday inspired by a predefined theme. To see for yourself how different people interpreted this week’s theme, CLICK HERE. If you are considering taking part, too, be sure to read the GUIDELINES.

Why’d You Take a Picture of That?

Last modified on 2010-03-11 02:50:46 GMT. 4 comments. Top.

Every now and then Quite frequently, Hubby will come across a picture I have taken and say, “Why’d you take a picture of that?”

He’s an engineer. Things I do rarely make sense to him.

He has a screen saver that cycles through all of the pictures on our network. So I hear questions often…

• “Who are these people?”
• “What dog is that?”
• “Do you really need to keep ten different versions of the same picture?”

I can’t explain what motivates me, really. Because it’s different things. Sometimes it’s color, like with this ham and cabbage casserole I was cooking one night.

Once the cabbage cooks for awhile, it loses most of the green coloring. But for a while there, it was a striking casserole.

Dramatic sky colors really catch my eye. Not just the sunrise and sunset shots, either. I also think the sky looks interesting before and after storms.

Don’t get me wrong, I like sunsets, too. A lot. Not just seeing the sun dip below the horizon, but watching as the sky turns a lot of different colors over a very brief period of time.

Most of you have seen the following picture, but I am not sure if I ever shared the story behind it. I was actually standing on the sidewalk in front of our house taking pictures of the sky one afternoon. When I turned around, I saw the girls sitting there looking all cute with this awesome reflection of the sunset visible on the glass.

That will always be one of my absolute favorite doggie pics.

Speaking of dogs, they catch my eye a lot, too. Not because of their coloring, but just because they make me smile. The faces Belle makes, as captured in many of my images, really tickle me. It’s doubly impressive when I get an action shot AND a goofy face at the same time.

Each of our dogs has different little quirks that are unique to the individual. One of K’s quirks is the way she sits on the steps. Her butt and back feet are usually on one step and her front feet are on a lower step. When Belle and Meg are ready to come in from outside, Belle looks in through the door and Meg looks for a bit, but also scratches. K just sits on the step with her back to the door. The image you see below is a common sight.

Speaking of Meg, I just love her face. She has one of the most expressive doggy faces ever.

I took this close-up one evening when she was sitting on my lap.

I do admit, though, that Meg’s unique coloring has inspired quite a few photos.

There’s that color thing again. I just like colors.

Colors are fun to look at AND colorful pics make for some great experiments with photo processing software.

Soon, nature will be a riot of color. I can’t wait.

You Capture – Hopeful

Last modified on 2010-03-05 02:35:59 GMT. 9 comments. Top.

This week’s theme was “hopeful,” which for me is VERY appropriate. I am really HOPEFUL someone looks at my pics since I’m all late posting them. I took these dang pictures days and days ago. Then last night I went to bed at like 8:30. And when I woke up this morning, I forgot it was You Capture day.

I’m posting them anyway. Because I took every single picture with this week’s theme in mind. Really.

You can read more about You Capture if you like. It’s basically a project where quite a few other people  post pictures each Thursday inspired by a predefined theme. I love checking out all of the other pics to see how different people interpreted the theme.

There are a lot of Moms who participate. And every week, no matter what the theme, it seems I see a lot of baby feet. That’s cool, because I love baby feet. But I’m sort of jealous. I don’t have any baby feet just laying around to photograph.

Not any human baby feet anyway.

I am HOPEFUL not too many people make fun of me for taking a picture of one of my furbabies’ feet. Doesn’t she have pretty feet though?

I found it interesting, after our last pitiful dusting of snow, the see the ground under the bird feeders covered in bird footprints. I know you can’t really get a sense of scale from this shot, but I know they are sort of large prints left by the gazillion Grackles that have been visiting our feeders. This is evidence that on this day there were a lot of birds HOPEFUL for castoff seeds and/or crumbs.

Speaking of under the bird feeders… this cat has stood guard out there for years, HOPEFULly watching the birds come and go.

Look closely at the bottom right-hand corner of this shot and you’ll see Belle’s foot. She was helping me look for bird prints, HOPEFUL that she would catch a bird. She is a bird dog (Brittany) after all.

In case you are wondering, these prints, which are much smaller than those shown previously, are  from a Dark-eyed Junco.

While we’re talking about Belle, here’s a shot of her with her head on my keyboard HOPEFUL that I’ll turn the computer off and take her outside.

Once you have dogs, you realize they communicate extremely well. They just use body language, whines and barks. In the next pic, you see K sitting in front of me looking at the door. She’d look at me then look at the door. Look at me, then the door. She was HOPEFUL I’d get up and let her outside.

Finally, this next shot shows all of the dogs HOPEFUL that Hubby, who just got home from somewhere, will hurry up and open the door.

That’s it for this week. I am very HOPEFUL that next week’s shots are more interesting. And posted in a more timely fashion.

You Capture – Shapes

Last modified on 2010-02-25 17:26:52 GMT. 5 comments. Top.

I have missed posting pics for You Capture over the last couple of weeks. But I’ve enjoyed seeing what others have done.

This week’s theme was SHAPES. I’ve got a couple examples to share. Perhaps next week, I’ll have more.

I need to work harder. I need to make pictures happen not wait for them to happen.

In the meantime, here are some shapes I encountered last week.

To read more about YOU CAPTURE and see what others are doing, go to http://www.ishouldbefoldinglaundry.com/2010/02/you-capture-shapes-2.html.

More Snow

Last modified on 2010-02-03 14:03:15 GMT. 2 comments. Top.

It snowed on us again last night. Yep, another 6 inches (15 cm) of snow. On top of the 6 inches we got this past Saturday. And this coming Saturday, which is just a few days away, we might get more.

In case you are wondering about the picture, it is completely unrelated to this post. But I like it. It makes me smile. It comes from the Flickr Faces In Places Group, which I cannot give you a link to because you need to be a group member to view the images. But I can link you to the Faces In Places blog, which you really should check out when you have a minute. It is nothing but pictures of things that look like faces. Like the cupcake/muffin shown above.

Back to the snow…

I like snow for many reasons. One of which is that it can make for some pretty interesting pictures. I have added shutter speed (Tv), aperture value (Av) and ISO data to the title of each image for those of you who are interested.

I have no idea why the sky looks red, but I think it looks cool.

The Av and ISO settings let enough light in to make this shot possible without flash. The Tv setting is what makes the falling snowflakes look like scratches on the picture. I did nothing as far as post processing aside from adjusting the contrast and brightness slightly so you could see the snowflake trails.

I did nothing as far as post processing aside from adjusting the contrast and brightness slightly so you could see the snowflake trails.

I hope to get outside later today to get some new doggie snow pics. But work has been a bit crazy this week, so we’ll have to wait and see…

ToadMama’s Capture of the Week – 28 January 2010

Last modified on 2010-01-28 16:00:26 GMT. 14 comments. Top.

Remember, one of the reasons for this new blog is to highlight my journey toward becoming a better photographer.

One of the best ways to make sure I do that is to take on assignments. Not paid assignments, unfortunately, creative assignments. Those assignments come by way of Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry. who came up with the cool idea of You Capture, a weekly photo challenge for her followers. This week’s assignment was color.

I continue to be enthralled with the COLORs in the winter sky.

I happened upon this park the other day as storm clouds were being replaced by blue skies, which made for some good, dramatic COLOR. It just so happened some Snow Geese were still hanging around, too.

My girlfriend, Carol, has six cats. So, when I was at her house the other day, I had lots of subjects to experiment with. It was a great exercise for adjusting the ISO, shutter speed and aperture. I really wanted to get shots without the flash.

Natural COLOR is a bit hard to come by this time of year, at least as far as plants and birds are concerned. I noticed this bit of green on our honeysuckle bush the other day. I honestly don’t know if it has been holding on since last year or if it is new growth. I sort of think it’s holding on.

I wanted to post the image first and then the image after I’d applied a dry brush effect, which I really happen to like.

I hope you enjoyed the results of my COLOR challenge.

Check out what the other You Capture participants have done.

My First “You Capture” Entry

Last modified on 2010-01-21 18:50:55 GMT. 9 comments. Top.

So, I did tell y’all one of the reasons for this new blog was to highlight my journey toward becoming a better photographer, right?

One of the best ways to make sure I do that is to take on assignments. Not paid assignments, unfortunately, creative assignments. Those assignments come by way of Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry. who came up with the cool idea of You Capture, a weekly photo challenge for her followers.

I’m new to this challenge and was slightly confused until today when the proverbial lightbulb went off in my brain. I am not going to share the details as to why I was confused.

Anyway, this week’s theme is Love Around Your Home, which can be interpreted pretty loosely. It’s art, right? Since I was confused, I did not take any pictures for this specific challenge, so I’ll be sharing some recent photos I have taken around one of our homes that I love…

Yes, it’s a repeat from a recent blog post, but I LOVE this picture. And my three dogs.

The image shown above was taken this past weekend at the WV place. I have always been fascinated by the various colors and textures that appear in our world naturally.

These are just weeds sticking out of the snow. It’s from this past weekend, too. I was actually stooped down, petting K, when this caught my eye. I like the lines in the shot. I love that I can use the presets in Photoshop Elements to convert color images like one into a black and white image with all the right levels.

I know this image probably will not win any photographic awards, but I love the way K sits on the steps (butt on one step, front feet on lower step), and this image captures it perfectly. Although it’s funnier from the front.

Finally, I love the way the sky has been looking lately. The colors have just been phenomenal. They don’t last long, though, because the angle of the sun has to be just right.

The last two pictures are SOOC shots. All I did with Elements was convert them from RAW and re-size them. No color or lighting tweaks at all, which means I am starting to get the hang of this aperture and shutter speed thing.

These two pictures are perfect examples of that sun angle thing. The image above, as the caption says, was taken shortly after sunrise. The picture below was shot just before sunset.

I hope you enjoyed my first You Capture post. Next week’s theme is Color. Be sure to let me know what you think of these images.

Fun With Water

Last modified on 2010-01-20 10:31:52 GMT. 2 comments. Top.

As I’ve mentioned before, I am determined to master this camera setting thing (what ISO, shutter speed and aperture to use) so I can have more creative control over my images. The only way to master anything is with practice, practice and more practice.

As I am learning, my primary goal isn’t just to get fabulous images, although I certainly would not delete any grand images that just sort of happened. My goal is to take lots of shots at a wide variety of settings to see which ones turn out the best.

Since we were at the WV place in the dead of winter, interesting subject matter is sort of limited. Actually, I should qualify that by saying subject matter that most normal, look-at-a-snapshot types would find interesting is what’s limited. People, flowers, landscapes, etc.

So I had to improvise. One thing that was definitely in abundance was water. Saturday was all about snow melting. Sunday was all about rain and fog. Lucky for me, I decided to experiment on Saturday. I was inspired by one of my Flickr contacts, Michelle in NY, who does amazing stuff with liquids and macro photography. (NOTE: I am not sure if those links will work for just anyone. Some Flickr people restrict image access to people they have identified as contacts. If either link does not work, please let me know.)

My attempts are nowhere near as creative as Michelle’s, but it was a spur-of-the-moment thing I did, without a tripod. I REALLY need to make a habit of carrying one of those things along.

“Shattered Silence” was actually cropped from a larger image. I thought a close-up of this particular drip made for a more-powerful image. I have posted the original below. I can’t really call it the SOOC version, because I did make some adjustments to color, amount of light, sharpness, etc.

See what I mean? All the action sort of gets lost. The bigger picture isn’t interesting at all to me.

This looks like the mouth of a large-mouth bass to me. Or maybe even a large bullfrog. I’m going with the fish, though, because that came to mind first. “Gulp” was also cropped from a larger image.

“In and Out” was also cropped, but not nearly as much. The more I looked at these drips through the lens, the more I realized closer was better.

You may also notice some color variation between the cropped and bigger versions. I tweaked the lighting a bit differently for the cropped version.

The title for this one alludes to the fact that I think it looks like an exploding eyeball. I’m not trying to say this is eye-poppingly good photography. Although this is my favorite drip shot.

Here’s something different for your viewing pleasure… a series of shots.

I’m sorry if my titles are a bot hokey. I consider them a necessary evil. If I don’t add a caption, then I don’t get that cool, almost-invisible frame around the image I am posting. And I really like the frame.

So, just ignore the hokey titles, okay?

You have just seen seven of my drip shots. Any idea how many shots it took to get those seven images? I am not sure of the exact number, but it was close to 80. Yes, 80. See what I mean about practice?

Who Should Read This Section of My Blog

Last modified on 2010-01-20 02:44:26 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

NOTE: I recently moved the contents of my old blog (ToadMama’s Web Abode) to this new and improved blog. If the images or text look weird, it is because of the import. Posts going forward should look better.

I created this Blog for the sole purpose of sharing my progression from someone that takes decent pictures because their camera has all the right automatic settings to someone that takes good pictures because they understand how to compose shots and capture just the right amount of light. That’s a big distinction. And it is a leap I have yet to make. Because having a camera with all of the right automatic settings can make for a lazy photographer.

So, if you are a person who just likes to look at good pictures, you might find this blog tiresome. I mean, I will be posting lots of pictures, but I’ll be analyzing them, too.

This first post is a good example. As promised, I took some shots this morning with my camera set to manual. That means I have to determine what shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings are right for the amount of light available.

I tried some shots yesterday, but was using a zoom lens with a teleconverter and no tripod, which means it was almost impossible to get a clear image. So I slapped my 50 mm prime lens onto the camera body and stepped outside.

When I say “prime lens,” I mean fixed focus. So, you know how a lot of SLRs have lenses that you turn with your hand to move subjects closer/farther? That’s a standard zoom lens. With a prime lens, to get closer to a subject, you need to move closer. To fit more of a subject in your frame, you need to move back. Folks that are used to having the zoom on think you have some weird, retarded camera when they try to use your camera to take a picture. That’s because zoom lenses have pretty much become the standard lens on consumer-grade SLR cameras.

This is the straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) version of the above image. There’s technically enough light and the shutter speed was sufficient to freeze the action without much blur, but the image is a bit dark. You can’t see the detail in Belle’s face.

That’s where post-processing (i.e., Photoshopping) comes in handy. You can use your post-processing software to make all kinds of adjustments.

Here’s a side-by-side look at the image before and after processing.

Next time, I’ll have to make some adjustments to the camera settings to see if I can get a better SOOC image. Here’s another before and after look at another image where the same settings were used…

This is the SOOC version.

And here’s the image after processing.

Speaking of processing, you can do some very cool stuff with processing software. One of which is combining images. This is a simple example where I took a picture of K and a picture of Belle within about a second of each other when they were standing pretty close together. Both images shown below are SOOC.

And here’s the merged image…

The images did need to be lightened a bit, but I did that after merging to make sure the light was applied evenly to both. Cool, eh?

I’ll get more into processing at some point. I just thought you’d like to see the results of my manual experiment. I should same “some of” the results, because there were a whole bunch of images I deleted, too.