Scavenger Hunt Sunday Week 6

It's Sunday and that means another Scavenger Hunt! This week's captures include:

Facial Feature ( ok, I took this one a couple of weeks ago, I cheated a little):

Shadow ( we actually got a light dusting of snow last night and I captured this first thing this morning):

Spicy - jalapeños - an iphone photo:

Gold:

Fabric (everybody's trying this so I did too - lots of fun, but not a perfect result. I'll try again soon. For tips and how to visit Jaymi's blog):

That's it for this week. Thanks for stopping by!!

Simple Things Sunday - Calla Lily

I love the clean lines of a Calla Lily. So simple and soft. Gorgeous, I think. Its beauty is so concise.

What is your favorite flower?

Linking up today at Rebecca's place:

Chasing the Sun

Monday evening, as we were rushing out to a basketball game where my 6 your old was cheering, I drove across the bridge over the river about 1/2 mile from my house and my jaw dropped as I saw the most gorgeous sunset splattered across the sky. It was amazing! And I immediately began kicking myself for not having my camera with me. Normally, I would have so that I could take pics of the my daughter's cheerleading squad in action. However, hubs was at school and I knew I'd be wrestling an active 4 year old and a squirmy 17 month old on my own that evening, so I had decided to leave my camera at home. Shame on me.

 So the next night, and the night after that, I watched the skies for a repeat. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. I did however capture some pretty magnificent skies nonetheless. One of the frustrating things about capturing skies around here is the bazillion power poles, lines and towers all over the place. It is very difficult to find a spot with a clear view. Even though we are surrounded by shores and waterways everywhere we go, we also live in one of the largest ports in the U.S., and next to the largest Naval Base, so there are also a bazillion naval vessels, cargo ships, cranes and container stacks everywhere you look. Like this:

 Not so great when you are trying to capture a peaceful sunset. Still, I was blessed with witnessing some magical skies and I tried my best to do them justice.

I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder and opinions will vary as to the most appealing sunset, but something about the fiery drama of this last one gets me. So it is my favorite of the week and my submission for Shoot. Edit. Submit.  Which is your fave?




Thanks so much for stopping in! Have a great weekend ;)

Poetic Winter Challenge - Warmth

This week's prompt for the Poetic Winter Photography Challenge is warmth.  The weather here, as for much of the US, has been warmer than usual this winter. So I didn't capture any pics of bundled kiddos in mittens and hats, or little fingers clutching mugs of hot cocoa. But I did find warmth in some unexpected moments.

Tutorial Tuesday - Food Photography

I am not much of a food photographer. I occasionally post favorite recipes on this blog, but even that has fallen by the wayside lately. Truth be told, I don't really like to cook. I do enjoy baking once in a while, but mainly because I am a cookie fiend and I can't go a day without a cookie, lol. While I admire food photography and sometimes drool over the gorgeous images on other foodie photog blogs, I know it's not my forte.  I also have crappy light in my kitchen and dining room, and dark red walls. That said, I would like to be able to take decent food photos when I want to post a recipe. When I stumbled upon Ashley's Tutorial Tuesday for this week, which is chock full of tips for food photography, I thought I might as well give it a whirl. I always learn a ton from trying different tutorials, even if my attempts aren't entirely successful. 

So, I started with some Valentine's Day candy. I took my light box outside for some natural light and set up a few shots. These were the best of the bunch:

Eh, they're ok, but kind of boring, I think. I started realizing taking some time to really plan out a shot and set things up is key. I am definitely lacking some decent props... nice linens, simple white dishes, or interesting antiques...most things here are more kid-friendly than photo-friendly ;)

Since I was tired of beating the kids away from the m&m's I thought I'd move on to some fruit. Ha, ha, I knew they wouldn't be trying to snatch that out of my shots.

I had seen Jaymi's tutorial on Fruit in Bubbles and was impressed by Gina's shots, so I thought I'd try that next. 

I found these shots to be a lot more interesting and fun. I don't have a macro lens, just my kits lens with some macro filters so many were out of focus and just plain bad. But I was glad I pushed myself and tried something new. I learned that lighting makes a huge difference in how appealing food looks, and keeping things clean and simple makes for a better shot. 

I'm so glad I took the time to try some new things and learned a bit along the way. Thanks to Ashley and Branson for hosting the fun!!!

I'm also linking up at Deb's place today. Stop by to say hello!

 

Wordless Wednesday - Cameillas

I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for our Cameillas to bloom. 

We've had buds for over two months now. 

Finally, this week we saw some gorgeous blooms!