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Sunday, June 19, 2011

Sunday Scavenger Hunt [06-19-2011]

It's Sunday and that means it's time to share your shots from this week's Scavenger Hunt.
Let's hop right to it. Enjoy.

Emotion

From a Flower's Point of View

Natural Form

Letters

Bliss

I hope you enjoyed the hunt. Let's see what Ashley comes up with for next week!

Monday, June 13, 2011

My Macro Photography Excursion

On Saturday I went to a state park along Lake Michigan for a macro photography excursion with my local camera club. My favorite macro instructor Lou was there to guide us and I was eager to soak up even more of his macro wisdom. It was unseasonably cool on Saturday morning and it was overcast which actually made for the perfect conditions to shoot macro in. The dew stayed on the plants the entire time we were there which made for some great shooting. As you can probably tell, I was stoked about shooting macro but then the evil camera shake thanks to my hunk of junk tripod ruined my day. I took about 250 pictures and only a handful are something I would share with you. While showing my husband my downloads, he said "did you get any that turned out?!" - thanks honey, that's going to cost you a new tripod and ballhead! Seriously, if you don't have a good tripod you are fighting a losing battle and let's just say that I lost. The shoot wasn't a complete loss, I learned a lot and got a few good shots. Here's a few that I haven't already shared with you. Be gentle with me, remember I went to battle with my tripod....




The photo above is out of focus (thanks camera shake) but I like the composition so I decided to share it anyways.  


 In addition to the beautiful wildflowers, we had two deer that decided to pay us visit.
This one I honestly heard growl at me...yes a deer, I honestly heard a growl.

I also couldn't resist the opportunity to take a photo of the group while they were working their magic.
There is a whole lot of kneeling going on and next time someone says "bring knee pads", I'm going to listen to them and throw fashion out the window for the time being. I thought I wasn't ever going to feel my poor knee caps again. I am heading to the Home Depot this weekend to get a pair and while my hubby is away for the weekend, I'm going to order that new tripod and ballhead. He'll never say "did you get any good shots" again...LOL

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Scavenger Hunt Sunday [06-12-2011]

Life has been very busy but I've managed to spend some time with my best buddy - my camera! While I didn't hit these prompts "out of the ballpark", I did take them all this week - baby steps....
I did on the other hand go to the Cardinals vs. Brewers baseball game in Milwaukee and unfortunately the wrong team won! Boo who.....my hubby is still pouting, he really is. I enjoyed snapping pictures.
Without further ado, let's start the hunt.

Long Exposure
I went on a macro photo excursion at a state Beach Park this morning and afterwards decided to get creative with exposure at the beach. Yes, it's overexposed but I love the look.

Shapes
I had a million ideas for shapes but decided I liked the squares and triangles that you see here from the dome roof at Brewer Stadium.  

Green
Gosh, I couldn't pick just one since I took about 300 green pictures this weekend.
I demonstrated constraint and am showing you only 2.



Fruit
This is a bit of a stretch but I think these wildflowers are "fruit" to all of the animals.
I know LAME, but give me a pass on this one. [thanks]
I did however have 2 deer run right in front me while on the trails. One started snorting at me, really it honestly sounded like snort. I just snapped away and they eventually started eating and ignored me.

Childhood Memory
We didn't travel a lot as kids but I do have fond memories of going to Brewer and Cubs games as a kid. Too bad I couldn't dare cheer for either team anymore given I married a die-hard Cardinals fan.
This picture is our friend's son, Ryan, he takes his baseball and the national anthem very seriously.
Despite the loss, it was a great game, and a fun evening at the stadium. No cotton candy but it brings back fond memories indeed.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Scavenger Hunt Sunday [06-05-2011]

I've been a bit of a scavenger hunt slacker but trust me, I've been taking lots of pictures!!! I am still recovering from my Me Ra Koh photography workshop and editing the beautiful pictures that I was forced able to take in the worst lighting conditions possible. Despite my lack of time this week I was determined to participate....with the help of my pictures taken in the last month! Cheating maybe, but this is all about enhancing our photography skills and pulling our cameras which I've done. So here we go on another hunt.
Hot, Hot, Hot
my futures so bright that I gotta wear shades.

Finding Form
even in places you are not "technically" allowed to shoot.

Front Page of the News
or a Magazine Cover. This is a headshot I took of my friend Erica from my workshop. She was beautiful to photograph which made it so very easy. I even learned how to use my external flash which I used here. I'm in LOVE with my flash now. Wanna know the secret, send me a comment and I'll share. It works every time!

Chore
My dad is retired but always seems to be working or doing chores for others. Here he is filling up the backhoe so that he could help to dig out the foundation for my brothers new garage.

Beads
or sprinkles, they are oh so beautiful and delicious. This was my first cake pops attempt and I was surprised by how delicious they were. However they are a labor of love!