I took many shots of this butterfly enjoying a late breakfast in front of my house, but I was most happy with this particular photo. I just love the way the sunlight hits those wings.
My favorite photos are always the ones that show their sweet little smiles.
I did an awful job of getting sunscreen on everyone today. Now they are all burned to pieces.
When the basket is full of beach towels and swimsuits, you know it’s summer.
Flowers
by Harry BehnWe planted a garden
Of all kinds of flowers
And it grew very well
Because there were showers,
And the bees came and buzzed:
This garden is ours!But every day
To the honeyed bowers
The butterflies come
And hover for hours
Over the daisies
And hollyhock towers.So we let the honey
Be theirs, but the flowers
We cut to take
In the house are ours,
Not yours, if you please,
You busy bees!
I’ve really enjoyed this project with Cheryl, but, I have to say, I’m ready to be done with it.
I remember the first time I ever saw a palm tree. We had just arrived in Houston, leaving behind a snow-covered Salt Lake City. They were so tall and exotic to my 8 year old imagination – I almost feel back at home with this view. It’s a fresh change from our Virginia maples and oaks.
In one more week, we will have reached the one-year mark for our Call and Response, 365-day, photography project. I’m looking forward to a brief hiatus, then a fresh start and a different take on format in the blog’s second year.
I ordered the sink and faucet for my studio nearly a year ago, and they sat in unopened boxes until last week, when Bob, our plumber, installed them. I was a little surprised by the brushed nickel on the faucet, as I usually go for shiny chrome. It doesn’t really matter — as long it’s not brass or gold.
There is something irresistible to me about capturing a sunset through the car window.
Well, it wasn’t a classical concert, but he played lots of classics…my husband finally got to see Robert Plant live tonight at Wolftrap.
One year, at Christmas, Dennis asked for an acoustic guitar. I could have sworn he said he wanted a classical. He swore he said, “Not a classical.” I bought him a classical. He returned it and got a run-of-the-mill, non-classical acoustic. Who knows where it is now. He sold it long ago and is up to about 20 guitars, including a Taylor acoustic. But still no classical.
This shot was taken through the window of the minivan, when it was cruising along at about 70 mph. I like the artsy feel contributed by the blur and the grain.
Grain use to be more than just a slider on a computer program.
I normally use Lightroom to process all my images since I shoot in Raw, but my Mac is in its death throes and will no longer stay on if I ask it to process a few photos. So, I decided to play around the other day with some of the picture styles that my Canon could be set too.
I settled on a monochrome setting but increased the sharpness, raised the contrast and added a yellow filter. A yellow filter is supposed to lighten and smooth skin tones as well as bring out clouds in the sky. Well, since all I had for a subject was India, neither skin tone or sky was an issue. But it’s a fun feature that I had never really explored before.
When Dennis bought me the new camera for Christmas, I decided it should reside in a new camera bag. I did some online browsing, but was psyched to find a great deal on this red patent leather bag at TJ Maxx. I picked up the yellow insert via Amazon, and the two have worked out rather well. With all these new lenses, though…
It was another hot day, but that didn’t stop Henry, Luke and Sam from working on their games at the driving range. Luke is the one with the passion for golf, but I love it when his brothers dabble in it alongside him.
This week was our parish’s bible camp. We all helped out: Nicholas worked at the game station, Catherine was a “captain” helping the adults in the nursery, at games, and with me in the “snack shack” station. Nicholas would come visit the snack station on his break and was always happy to hold Danny, who was hanging out there with Luke and me, since Danny was an irresistible chic magnet.
No matter how many toys are lying in his path, it fails to divert his attention once the camera comes out.
Bob the plumber was here most of the day (we now have a toilet in the downstairs bathroom and a sink in my studio; the bathroom sink still hasn’t arrived), and it was quite the diversion. He and I had some great conversations, even though Dennis tells me I should leave him alone and just let him work. : }
This angel was a going-away gift from friends when I left Colorado eight years ago. I like the reminder it sports:
If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them growing
—Coco Chanel
Oh, and this is the very first shot I took with my Lensbaby, which arrived today! : )
I’ve been watching a Mastering TTL flash workshop on CreativeLive all week and I was just playing with a new technique I picked up from it.
It’s absolutely amazing the volume of food that 150 kids will go through in the course of a morning.
Today, I decided to drive down the road next to the local orchard. I know I drove down it once before, but I don’t remember this barn, which is quite voluminous.
That’s black raspberry (and sprinkles — or jimmies, as they’re called here in Maine) on Jack’s nose, not vanilla. Stella got the vanilla, but her nose didn’t look as delicious. ; )
My mother-in-law went to Belize and all I got was this little bottle of vanilla. Well, in her defense, it is a really GOOD bottle of vanilla.
I really can’t complain — it hasn’t been THAT hot this summer. But those days are just around the corner. The heat and humidity have been creeping up and the sun is definitely getting stronger. I am very thankful for air-conditioning. But then again, maybe our country would be better off without it. Summer used to be when all the rats scurried out of DC to get away from the heat (and quit spending our money like drunken sailors).
Today was not the hottest day of the summer thus far, but there was enough heat to put some color in Stella’s cheeks after playing outside for about ten minutes.