Photo Scavenger Hunt #100

The subject for this week is:  Show us a photo of a milestone in your life.  If you are unable to scan old photos, how about a Christmas or New Year's celebration photo.

This week's Hunt is a milestone, is a party, is a celebration of sorts!  You see, Krissy is celebrating her 100th Hunt!!  How appropriate that this falls on a celebration week!  Let's congratulate her by deluging her with submissions!  Krissy has been faithfully doing The "Original" Photo Scavenger Hunt for 100 weeks!  She has had so much on her plate and yet she has kept this hunt alive!!  Congratulations, Krissy, on your 100th Hunt of The Original Photo Scavenger Hunt!!

     Ok Krissy here it is.  My milestone, one of them at least.  As you can see I was much younger.  My wedding day.  We both look way to young to get married, what was I thinking!  I also didn't believe in a big fancy stuffed into a white dress wedding as I hated dressing up.  I also didn't believe in a professional photographer as you can see by that picture quality, LOL. This may be one of the only pictures of me in a dress in my adult years.  Of course my wedding was a milestone in my adult life.  It led to my children and the life I have now.

 

 

Scavenger hunt

  : ANYTHING CHRISTMAS.  

Here are some ideas: Christmas cards, favorite Christmas ornament, Christmas lights on houses, stockings, manger scene, Christmas village, gifts, etc.

 

http://journals.aol.com/fisherkristina/SometimesIThink/entries/2006/12/18/photo-scavenger-hunt-99-subject.../1210

   OK, I wanted to do a picture of Zoey looking adorable and cute.  Here Zoey, put the hat on and look cute!  Sit, stay, don't move....... Zoey, stop chewing the hat up, Rick come get Zoey to sit.....Zoey, sit, awe darn, leave the hat on..... Zoey...... Crap. darn this is it, I can't get a better picture then this.  Sigh..   How do people do this?     

 

     

Monday Morning Photo Shoot

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Show off your winter home decorations. If you've put up something seasonal (or have shots of decorations from seasons gone by) let's see what they look like. These can include lights and lawn decorations. However, don't post pictures of Christmas trees or menorahs. We'll save those for another Photo Shoot, probably next week.

      OK.  I do have some Christmas items set up, around 100 Santa's which we collect.  Here is a grouping I like.

 

         The next shot symbolizes the plastic used each year to overspend on Christmas.  Love that photo shop!

                      Merry Christmas Everyone!

Monday morning Photo shoot.

                     Johns assignment.

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Floaty Things

http://journals.aol.com/johnmscalzi/bytheway/entries/2006/11/13/your-monday-photo-shoot-floaty-things/6742

Here's a fun little Photo Shoot, because after last week, I thought simpler is better:

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Snap a photo of something that floats. If it's buoyant, it's in!

        These leaves in the cold still pond float on top, plus the underwater leaves float just under the surface making it look like it is all set in some type of gell.

Getting ready for Winter

   The birds and squirrels are storing up getting ready for winter.  Makes for some great shots at the feeders and some really fat squirrels.

            Coming in for a landing.

         The nuthatch picks out the sunflowers.

        The Hairy Woodpecker is waiting its turn for the insect suet.

    I couldn't get any pictures of the Junco's as they don't stay in one place long.  Also all of these are done on auto mode because most birds swoop down on the feeder and go.  The squirrels have doubled in size and look downright obese.

More Fun with Photoshop

  I don't know Greg, maybe you can't teach a old dog new tricks, LOL.   I still am not getting my light right but will keep trying.  These were done using the shutter speed setting I told you about and they all turned out dark.  So I played with them and got some interesting results.  Might as well since as it they are just so so shots.

   This neat old barn was just screaming to have it pictures taken.  I can't help it, I take pictures LOL.

   Now the next few are tweaked with Photoshop.  I think any of these would now look cool framed.

               Now this tree was an actual red tree and looks so pretty.  Dark though.  Sigh.

           On the next shed shot I took out the wire which looked terrible and used different filters.  The first is the original again.

Clever People

   On of the ladies in J-land is so clever with graphics, particularly with getting water to move. http://journals.aol.com/nightmaremom/Thisandthatandhockey/  I asked her if she could animate one of my water pictures.  She did a beautiful job.  She had to remove the dock because it was hard to move the water around it but check this out.

   Don't you just think that is so clever.  The link below is the original picture.

 http://journals.aol.com/midwestvintage/MyPhotoJourney/entries/2006/09/06/-monday-morning-photo-shoot./850

More Why I like these shots

  Thanks everyone for your kind comments and Greg, you are absolutely right, the sky is totally void of color and very boring when it is overcast, it adds nothing to the picture and even the top of pictures look less vibrate.  All the color seems to get concentrated down lower.

    OK on this picture I just love the new with the old.  The contrast is great.  I wish I had gotten more half and half, more dead leaves but for me this picture works.

         Now this next picture I call When a Good Picture goes Bad.   I was so fixated on setting my settings and centering my shot I didn't really take my eye off the camera.  I download the picture and am horrified to see a big poo coming out the behind of my otherwise really nice shot.  Lesson here, look at what your shooting at.  If I had I could of moved it away from its potty break and taken a shot worthy of framing.   Now it will get tucked into my lessons learned file.  P.S.  What does it mean when the wooly bully is completely black?

 

                          

   This shot I really like because it turned out exactly how I wanted it to turn out.  I wanted to shoot through the branches focusing on the berries inside.  I wanted the leaves in the foreground to not take the focus and I am new enough at this that when it did exactly what I wanted I was tickled pink.  Takes so little to please me, LOL.

  This one did not turn out and it was simply because I was shooting up into the dreary sky and I just couldn't get it to lighten up to save my soul. I even tried my flash which was even worse.  A nice oval frame saved it somewhat but it is what it is, dark, another lesson learned.

   I just love a path.  One covered with leaves and canopied by large trees is especially nice.  So next some paths I like.  Maybe because I am remember the day I think they  show a sense of it being a cool day also, cool and dark.  I also wish they would find some way to bottle the spicy scent of a fall wood.  So earthy.

    The difference between men and women.   I saw this and thought about the wood grain and color of the wood, how really neat.  My husband saw this and saw a wrinkle butt if you turn your head to the side.  Once we were driving on a curvey scary mountain road.   My husband all of a sudden started laughing so hard he almost wreaked and we had to pull over to the side.  When he looked at the mountain we were driving to right after a rain he said "Oh God, that looks just like a sweaty butt crack and then lost it all over again".  He is also responsible for the butt mushroom I had early in one of myjournals, Why the man sees butts in nature I do not know.  Normally he is not into that type of humor.  Got to love him.

My last picture tonight is one I like because to me it signifies what I like about Stone Park.  It is a prinitive park which for the most park has been left untouched, not prettied up for the public.  You see deer and wild turkey standing in the woods and I have had to step over bull snakes sunning on the trail.

          Well its late again and I had to resort to a pain pill today.  Maybe from the hike yesterday or the fact that I had surgery not that long ago,  either way I am ready for bed.

             

 

Some reasons why I like these shots.

   I am having better luck doing manual shots for some reason when it is overcast.  I can set my light setting better, maybe because I can see what I am doing in my viewfinder but maybe just lucky.  Quite a few shots still turn out too dark but some, although dark, are getting to the effect I want.  It gets closer to the shot I see in my head when I take the shot.  So anyway I took quite a few shots and I will tell you what I like about them.

   This one I like the way the lake in the back takes you away from the trees in the front.  The lake is what I wanted to draw your attention too, but through the trees.

   In the next picture what I was hoping to capture is the islands reflection in the water which I think I caught well.  With the leaves off of the trees and the general landscape being unstriking, I was hoping the island itself would be the focus of the picture.

    This next picture I think turned out kind of restful.  Some of my pictures when I was shooting into what little sun there was were kind of washed out.  In this case it gives it a peaceful, too me at least, quiet look where I would want to sit on the bench and just watch the  quiet of the water for awhile.

    The next picture I am kind of dissappointed in.  I wanted to let more light in because it was really dark and I think the tree in the water reflects that I go too much light.  I lost some of the detail. At least I think that is what I did wrong.  Greg any input here?  Too bright? It was such an interesting root system too.  I could probably fix it in photoshop but I like to notdo that.  I want to do it on my own first so I know what I am doing wrong.   Pictures that turn out really bad  though are fun to play with in my photoshop program.

   The water in this primative pond looks very dark in this light and was pretty smooth.  On this next picture I wanted the underwater branches to show as much as the branches which are over the water.  I am hoping by taking pictures in different lights and conditions I will learn what types of pictures are best in what type of lights as the natural lights are best if you can bring out the best in them I have found.

   

   Next couple of shots I simply took to see how the reflections looked.

   I thought this was kind of funny, maybe on a sunny day the sunken trees aren't as obvious as they were today.

 

   Yikes, I just realize what time it is.  One more picture and bedtime.  I will show some more tomorrow.  Oh goody!

,Photo Scavenger Hunt # 94

                  Photo Scavenger Hunt #94 subject...

         

Photo Scavenger Hunt #94 will be due on Sunday, October 29, at 11:00 PM EST.

This week go into your files and select a photo to post of sentimental value or special meaning.  Don't forget to tell us why it holds value for you. 

    This vase below my son made for me.  Very Picasso like.   After looking at my ashtray you can see we are both bent from the same tree.  Anyway I really like and treasure this vase.  I have Roseville, Teco, Muncie, Van Briggle and McCoy art pottery but I would sell any of those before I would part with this.

Johns Monday Morning Photo shoot.

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Things You Made

         This week for the Photo Shoot, it's time to show off!

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Take a picture of something you've made. Pottery, cookies, a drawing or painting, a poem or a pipe cleaner stick man -- it's all good, it just has to have been made by you. Show off your creativity.

http://journals.aol.com/johnmscalzi/bytheway/entries/2006/10/23/your-monday-photo-shoot-things-you-made/6648

   Now normally I am not a creative person.  I buy what clever people make.  I was going to show pictures of the wonderful tomatoes I grew but decided on a couple of needlepoints I did.  Hundred of stitches in that picture.

   Here is the last one I did.  I had a difficult time getting the flash not to show in the picture.

   And then last a really ugly ashtray I made in school.  Why it is still around I don't know, it just won't go away.   We would term this a fugly in dealer circles.

Now you can see why I buy.

Playing with photoshop.

  It is harder then it looks making the layers I have found out.  I will keep playing until eventually I figure it out.  This program will make some great birthday cards I think.  Anyway these 2 pictures are kind of fun.  I call the first one

                  In the heat of the day.

                      Isn't that one angry looking bird?

   The next one is one of my hubby napping in the yard.  He looked like he was having bad dreams so I worked on that premise.

                        Nightmare Naps