All Stories: New
More Moments of Zen from Dawes Arboretum
When I was a little girl, I used to get my grandmother bushels and bushels of daffodils every spring. She would use up every vase, cup and glass in the house to show them off...and once, she even had to have the bathtub filled with flowers because I had gone completely overboard.
I miss her most in the spring.
These shots were taken at one of my favorite places in the world...I go there,wrap myself up in the calm and the quiet, and I think of her. She would have liked it here.
BLUE stream
Ok, I lied
I said I'd be back next week with the zoo shots... But I find myself with a day off, my car being worked on and I'm at the local coffee shop waiting for lunch with Michael. Might as well make a post since I'm here, right?
Right.
So today we'll look at the ring-tailed Lemurs. I haven't been able to get good shots of them the previous two times, cloudy days and too much movement. But not this day. They were posing and showing off and just having a good time.
Next week I'll finish up the zoo with some cats and a primate. Thanks for looking and have a fantastic weekend!
Our Beautiful Earth
The rainforests of Central America are a sight to behold indeed. They are home to a greater diversity of plant and animal life than any other region in the world. That in mind, I thought I'd share some of the beautiful sights from my trip last summer; we certainly don't see anything like it around here.
Nature Rules! (ROCK, I hope you don't mind if I borrow your signature for this one!)
The Volcano Arenal billowing smoke and gas
Thaos Swallow-Tail butterfly
Silhouetted Spine-tailed Lizard or Black Iguana
The Pacific Coastline
I'm Feeling a Little Blue...
The African Water Lily
I found these gorgeous floaters at the Jacksonville Florida Zoo & Gardens in the botanical section called Savanna Blooms.
Savanna Blooms is styled as a South African oasis and is one of many themed pocket gardens on site.
Making New Into Old
I can up with this idea for creating old looking photos and here are the results. My way is probably nothing special, but I do like the end results...let me know what you think of these and what I can do to make them better. Thanks
The Elusive Cactus Flower
I brought this cactus with me from Arizona one year and soon after it had doubled in size a single flower emerged opening during the night and and lasting only one day. It starts with a little bud that I call The Button which extends into The Stems where you can see the pink bud getting ready to open. Then a couple of days later if you happen to catch it the flower opens into a beautiful display. This year we had a total of seven flowers forming The Cluster They really are spectacular and I wish they would last more than one day. I don't know the name of it but I've been propagating and now have two mature and several small ones. I hope you enjoy the Cactus Flower
Remembering last summer
And looking forward to this summer.
A time to wake up early, enjoy the cool air, and catch the moring's sunrise. Take a walk along the lake shore and watch the birds, watch while the boaters enjoy a morning work out. Catch a spider in the grass and just plain enjoy the cattails.
Up close and personal
Lockhart High School had it's prom Saturday...that's ho-gum news. The cool part is that they were having fireworks and the Kyle Fire Department was called to be on hand in case of fire or injury and I got to be there too.
I discovered that I need a shutter release cord as 90% of my shots are blurry. But, I've never been that close to the fireworks they were literally going off 50 yards in front of me. Coolest seat by far. At one point I did wonder if I wasn't too close, just as this thought crossed my mind, I saw the guy that was lighting the fireworks running and then rest of his crew were jumping and running too. My legs were telling...RUN but my head was yelling SHOOT!!
Then _BOOM! I caught the explosion I don't remember zooming but it looks like I did. LOL
Use ctrl N for the full view
Roll Call - Some Wore Blue - Some Wore Gray - Brother Against Brother
Roll Call
Nathaniel Graham Shepherd (1834-1888)
Stanza 2, 5, 7 and 10
"Cyrus Drew!" --- Gray_2 then a silent fell;
This time no answer followed the call;
Only his rear-man had seen him fall:
Killed or wounded --- he could not tell.
For the foe Blue_1 had crossed from the other side,
That day, in the face of a murderous fire
That swept them down in its terrible ire;
And their life-blood went to color the tide.
"Ezra Kerr!" --- Blue_2 and a voice answered "Here!"
"Hiram Kerr!" --- but no man replied.
They were brothers, these two;Gray_1 the sad wind sighed,
And a shudder crept through the cornfield near.
'Twas a victory, yes; but it cost us dear:
For that company's roll, when called at night,
Of a hundred men who went into the fight,
Numbered but twenty that answered Going_Home "Here!"
....dig if you will, these pictures..
With Mother's Day coming up, I purchased some flowers for both mom and mom-in-law. They provided some good fodder for more pictures, and as we all know, they are black & white. So here are some shots of a rose and a sunflower; as always feedback is welcome...
Spring in my garden
Sorry I have not been around much lately. I have too much going on in my life right now that there has not been much time for photos. But we had such a pretty day Monday that I got my camera out. The garden is starting to fill in and I already have some flowers in bloom so I thought I would share with you all.
And I stopped at a pond on my way to take my son to a appointment and got this photo. spa_office
Hope you enjoy the photos and have a Happy Picture Day. ;)
One more for the challenge...
Bluer Than Blue
I haven't the faintest notion what this flower is but boy is it Blue
For...
Jersey Blues
A break for the day
I'm taking a break from the zoo today. But I promise you lots of exciting and beautiful big cats next week. But for today, I'll tide you over with some flower shots (hopefully they're not boring).
Thanks for looking and all comments are appreciated. Have a great weekend everyone!
Comments, Please...
This is the very first snapshot I grabbed when I got my new camera. Obviously, it's been colorized...
Comments, please - especially on the 'shop job. I'm experimenting.
Daffodil of My Dreams
Daffodil of My Dreams A Daffodil shot with some digital manipulation.
Blue Challenge Entries
Falls pictures
Was out on the weekend and took a few pictures of some falls in Spencer Gorge Conservation Area.
There are two falls there, Websters Falls, which we were able to climb to the bottom of and walk along the creek for quite some ways.
The other falls is Tews Falls, which drops 41 metres, and is only slightly shorter than Niagara Falls.
Nature's Dartboard
Looks like little incoming darts, rather than soft, outgoing floaters.
Six random pictures from wandering around over the past few months
Sometimes, people throw chairs away. This day, I had been taking all my pictures with the moronic idea of taking them all from dog's eye perspective. Some of them turned out OK, some of them don't, but I do find myself constantly wondering what things look like from six to twelve inches from the ground now.
Same day, different street. Corner of Duboce and Noe, though I wrongly labelled the photo as being Church and Noe. UNPOSSIBLE!
Windmill in Golden Gate Park? Yeah, down the path from the frigging buffalo. Yes, I said buffalo.
This was taken at Big Sur, at the state park, on the hike that does the loop around, hitting the falls (lame), a pretty good view, though distant, of the DLI.
Another of the countless pull-over vistas along CA-1 en route to Big Sur. Whoop-de-do.
I'd like to think he's concentrating on the rivetingly close A's/Rangers game, but that's right field, so we all know he's just doing taxes in his head for fun, and in order to stay awake.
I might have overdone it.
I thought I'd try the Orton effect. This is the photo that I worked from. Base Photo
This is the Orton. I will keep trying. Orton effect
Personally, this is the one I like the best. reworked
I took this at a wedding of a very good friend of mine. Now there are two that are friends. I did a bunch for them but this is probably the only one that I am going to share.
Black and White and Not Blue (sorry!)
Long time no see...I don't have anything for the challenge, but I'm hoping this story works and gets posted....new system takes a little bit of getting used to.....
Anyhow, these are from a street fair that took place in San Francisco over the weekend. It's an annual event called the "How Weird Street Faire". People attending are encouraged to come in costume and, this being San Francisco, you see all sorts of costumes. I have plenty of color images, but some of them worked best in black and white. My intent was to make them gritty and contrasty and 'street'.
It's been a while since I've had the opportunity to do any street shooting. This was actually kinda fun.
ps. where is the preview button in this new format?
I can do amazing things with a hula-hoop
Okay, I see how this works now....I was just dragging and dropping the images.
Boats
I'll keep trying, but this isn't easy.
Jacksonville Jaguars
That's right they must have a Jaguar display at the Jacksonville Zoo, Florida...... yeah (all you fans) ?
I had to try to blur out a chain link fence in most of the photos, I used a 18-200 mm Nikkor lens at 200mm of course.
The photos with the black jaguar were taken through thick glass-- however the cats were amusing even though bored or hungry!
What Would You Do?
what would you do if you went into your neighborhood for a little sense of freedom
and found that you have next to nothing left, no room to run, no freedom
because some groups