Orange You Glad It's Friday - August 31, 2012

           
                                                                      There is a new Meme out now over on Sarah's blog (Hood Photos) called, "Orange You Glad It's Friday" where you can feature Sarah's favorite color....ORANGE!  - I missed last week which was the very first week but I'm in today with this photo of some pre-Autumn foliage that I took up at Bennington Lake last week.

I love Autumn and the changing of the colors on the trees so I had to snap this photo.  I love the play of sun on the leaf and the muted background.  I thought about adding a "texture" to the photo and then decided to just leave it as it was SOOC.

While I love fall I'm a bit sad this year to see summer starting to come to an end.  Can't quite put my finger on it yet but I think it's due to the fact that I really dread what follows fall (winter) and I'm so not looking forward to that.  I'm just not a lover of cold, ice and snow.



Be sure to pop by Sarah's blog and check out all the wonderful glorious "Orange" and have a happy Friday!

Flower Art Friday - August 31, 2012

Happy Friday (a little early) since this is posting on Thursday.  LeAnne always opens Flower Art Friday up early so let's get started on a journey of floral delight.

This tiny little flower is actually the flower on a "weed" that was growing in my front flower bed.  I originally had intended to use the photo for the word (small) in last Sunday's Scavenger Hunt but then decided I rather liked it as a flower photo so I saved it for today instead.

Processing,  Texture is (Just Someday) from Desirae of Sommerfugl Designs and can be found by clicking on the link.  I overlayed in Hardlight at 80% and erased most of the texture from the flower. 
I also used a Daguerreotype frame from Pic Monkey followed by a Simple Frame to complete the look I wanted.

So join me now for a wonderful flower fix.

"Whatever" Wednesday - The Bennington Lake Edition

Last week I took Coleen and my mom for a drive up to Bennington Lake on Thursday just to look around a bit and get out of the house for a few minutes.  We didn't stay long but I did snap a few pictures and then on Friday I took Coleen back and we walked around much of the lake for a couple of hours.  It was fun and we saw a lot of different things while we were there.

Some of my pictures today are from the first trip but most are from when Coleen and I went back.

This is just a small section of the lake with a plowed wheat field in the background.

Coleen wanted me to take a picture of this grasshopper we spotted in the parking lot.

I snapped a picture of her down at the lake.

This next bunch of pictures are the deer that we spotted the next day when we went back to the lake.  Coleen spotted them just after we got out of the van.  I had the "Grid Overlay" on trying to learn how to use the "Rule of Thirds" so I wasn't even sure that I had the deer in the shots but after I got home I discovered that I had managed to get pictures of them.  There were 4 deer (all Does) that came out from the brush on the hill above us.  I've cropped most of the photo's so you could see them better.

In this photo you can see 3 of the deer.  The third one is hidden in the brush but if you look closely you can spot her.

Now you can see deer #3 as she emerged from the brush.

This photo shows the 4th deer coming out from the brush as the others were taking off running.

Tail on alert, deer #4 decides it's time to high-tail it off to join the others.  By the way these deer are referred to as, "White-Tail" deer,  Can you see why?

Finally a picture of one of the many Dragonflies that were flying around the lake.  I love the pretty blue color this one has.

Over the weekend there was a sighting of a "rare" bird,  "Wilson's Plover" at the lake.
Apparently this bird has never been seen in Washington state before and is protected under the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.  I was a little early I guess in my trip to the lake as we were there on Friday and this rare bird wasn't spotted until Sunday.

Oh well, It was still a very enjoyable trip. - In fact at one point during our walk around the lake I spotted a Doe and two young deer, not exactly sure if they were Fawns but most likely twins born earlier this spring.  They were drinking from the lake or a stream running into the lake. and actually playing.  I watched as they darted around each other and jumped into the lake and back out.  It was really cute.  The only problem was my zoom lens isn't strong enough to have gotten decent pictures and I had no binoculars either to watch them up close but still I could tell that they were playing and it was really fun to see that.

Have a great day.

What's Unusual About Me?

Sunday I made mention of a Frog that I took a picture of at a local lake, (Bennington Lake).


Two young girls were trying to catch frogs at the lake and had nets and a cage in which to put any frogs.  Coleen and I were watching them and how excited they were when they finally caught a frog.

I asked if I could take a picture of the frog and they were happy to let me snap away.

Now this frog might seem pretty normal to you when you see this view. 



No those stripes across the frog are not markings but rather a shadow from the lid of the container they had the frog in.  I apologize for the photos not being any clearer but it was the best I could do trying to focus my lens inside the lid of the container and the frog was moving about so it was hard to focus really well.

Now you should figure out what's different about this frog in this next picture:

Did you spot the difference?

I'm a MUTANT frog.

Arrows have been drawn to point out that this frog has 2 right back legs.  A second leg was growing out of the original leg. 

Pretty weird!!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - August 26, 2012

The "Hunt" is on.  Yes, it's time to join me for Scavenger Hunt Sunday.

This weeks prompts:  School, Rule of Thirds, Side Profile,
Small and Motion.
Click to Enlarge Photo's.



School doesn't start till the day after Labor Day this year.  Our school system has finally went back to the September starting date instead of late August.  Due to our local Fair being the last week of August so many students and families just weren't showing up for the start of school so they decided to go back to the old system and wait till the Fair and Labor Day were over before starting school.

I didn't just want to post a picture of a school building and which one would I choose if I did.  We have one just 2 blocks up the street which Coleen attends.  So instead I chose this:

SCHOOL:

Would you believe this is actually a Pencil Sharpener!  My mom has a collection of Die Cast Miniature Sharpeners.  Most are Metal but this one is painted. 
Funny thing is that while I was taking this picture she came out her back door and saw me sprawled in our driveway and thought that I fallen! I assured her I was okay and was just taking a picture.

RULE OF THIRDS:

This one gave me the most trouble.  First I had no clue what the Rule of Thirds was so I had to Google it and after reading it I still wasn't sure exactly what to do.  I did however find out how to set the "Grid Overlay" on my camera.  Not that it helped.
I had a picture all set and ready to go which I like a lot but don't think it meets the rule properly.  Instead I'm going with this one which I believe does fit the rule and I like it equally as well.

These 2 girls were trying to catch frogs.  They did catch one and next week I'll be posting a photo of the frog they caught as it was a most unusual frog....(I know what a tease, but if you want to know what was different about their frog you'll just have to check back in).

                                                                                                          SIDE PROFILE:

No you are not seeing 2 different cats.  This is our cat, Callie-Jo who happens to be part Calico and part Siamese.  Her profile shows the Calico side on the left and the Siamese side on the right.

                                                                                                                 SMALL:

Trying to be creative here and not just post a tiny bug or flower like I normally would. Not that there is anything wrong with either of those things.  I just wanted to do something different.

It's table salt,  you can't get much smaller.

                                                                                                                  MOTION:

Coleen and I went to Bennington Lake on Friday and as we were getting out of the van she spotted several deer up on a nearby hill.  I quickly snapped some shots and caught this doe running.  You can also see the motion of the foliage as there was a breeze blowing.

That's it for this weeks hunt.  I hope you've enjoyed my photo's as much as I did taking them.  Don't forget to pop in on Ashley's blog (see link above) and check out some of the other participants entries for the hunt.

Flower Art Friday - August 24, 2012

Happy Friday - Have you pop over to LeAnne's blog - Photo's by LeAnne yet?  Well what are you waiting for?  - It's time to join me and all the other participants for a wonderful floral treat via: Flower Art Friday.


There is so much beauty there you won't be disappointed.

Here is my piece for this week:  Click to Enlarge.

Summer is winding down and many of the flowers are beginning to show signs that Autumn will soon be upon us.  This Black-eyed Susan plant is a fine example.  Even in decay though is still has a certain appeal.

The texture I've used on this photo , (Other Worlds) is from Bonnie at Pixel Dust Photo Art.  You can download it for FREE by clicking on the link I've Provided.


Have a wonderful weekend.  

Glass Mosaic #2 - Lots of photos.

As promised from yesterdays post I am once again sharing a few more photos from my Glass Mosaic Mural photos. 

Today's shots are more Close-Up shots of some of my favorite details in the mural.

I think this sun is absolutely gorgeous.  The center portion glass is really pretty.

Here is the frog that I loved so much.  I wish that my photo had been a little clearer.  I was nervous when the guy walked in while I was taking pictures.  I didn't want him to think I was some kind of a nutcase taking pictures like crazy so I probably had a bit of camera shake going on here.  I need to get over that I think when taking photos with other people around.

The next 3 shots are some of the different butterflies within the mural.  Coleen likes butterflies (so do I for that matter) so I wanted to showcase them for her.

Isn't that orange color in the wings just fabulous!

                                                                                                                                                     
                                                                 This one is my favorite.

                                                                                                                                  Let's share some "Love" with a shiny heart surrounded by a rainbow of colorful glass.

                                                                   How about a pretty flower to cheer you up.

                                        If that doesn't work surely this adorable little caterpillar will.

                                                  A couple of cute little fish swimming in a sea of glass.

Finally a close-up of one of the large flowers at the ends of the murals.  These were pretty awesome.

I hope you have enjoyed this series on this totally amazing mosiac.

I wouldn't mind going back again somedy and taking more shots of this.  I found this to be fascinating and beautiful.  I'd love to be able to look at this every day.

I wonder if he does work for private use? 

"Whatever" Wednesday - Glass Mosaic #1

Hello and Welcome! - For this weeks edition of Whatever Wednesday I am going to show a series of photo's of a Glass Mosaic that is located in one of our local Grade Schools.  I discovered this mosaic  last week when Coleen attended a 2 day mini Cheer leading Camp.  I'd gone to the restroom and while walking back to the Gym I happened to look into another area of the school and saw the mural on the wall.  The door wasn't locked so I went inside and boy was I glad that I did.  This mural was awesome.  I hope you enjoy the photo's.

The Artist/Creator of the mosaic mural is,  Mauricio Robalino.  You can see more of his work (including this particular mural) HERE:  The Walla Walla Mural is the 2nd one down on the page.  It has a Full Length picture of the mural (straight on) which I could not take because there just wasn't room.  Instead I have a side view that I took with my Wide-Angle lens on the camera. Click to Enlarge for a better view.

This mural measures 44 feet by 6 feet. 

This is one of my favorite panels on the mural.  I love that little green frog and the pretty pink lily next to it.

This is the end panel that you couldn't see in my first shot.  I love the pink seahorse at the top of the panel and that gorgeous flower on the end.  You can see some figures in this panel and my next shot shows a close-up of the man on the lefts face.  I love the glass used in that portion.

Isn't this Grasshopper cute! - See those little circles?  Guess what they are.  While we were there a man came by and talked to us about the mural and how it was installed and then he asked us if we'd seen the "monkeys" in the mural.  I hadn't noticed any but he started to direct us down to this panel and I caught on right away what he was referring to.  Coleen hadn't quite figured it out though....

Yep, they are mirrors and of course we were the "monkeys" in the mural!

This is that pink Seahorse that I mentioned earlier.  Don't you love all that pretty pink glass surrounded by the sea of blue. 

Finally a shot of the flower on the end of the mural.

Come back tomorrow for Part 2 if you want to see more of this fabulous piece of art.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday - August 19, 2012

To View Photo Art Friday click on link.


Hi! - Hope you have had a great week.  Mine started out fairly quiet and normal and then things just sort of went down hill.  I ended up catching a cold (courtesy of Coleen) and have spent the last couple of days feeling miserable.  At any rate I wasn't able to get out much to photograph things for this weeks Scavenger Hunt but I did go on a "hunt" through my archived photo's to meet some of the prompts.  Perhaps next week I'll do better with current photos.

This weeks prompts:  Forest, Morning Light, Touch, Newspaper, and Coffee or Tea.

This is the view from my oldest brother's mountain property.  It was taken in 2010 which was just a year or two after a major fire went through much of that area.  You can see some of the burned trees if you look closely in the background. 

Okay I will admit this next prompt was a tough one for me.  Why?....Well you see I am so NOT a morning person so taking pictures of sunrises would be out of the question for me.  I went through my photo's and found one that was taken at 8:15 am which to me qualifies as Morning!

This particular morning the sun was shining on the clouds and everything seemed so fresh and new.

This week Coleen attended a 2 day Cheerleading Camp put on by the Parks and Recreation Department.  I discovered a wonderful mosaic mural inside the school where the camp was held.  This next shot is a close-up portion of part of the mosaic.  It was so pretty that I took a bunch of pictures.  Up close you really wanted to "touch" the mosaic and feel all the little bumps from the pieces of marble and glass.

Around our house Newspaper becomes a "toy" for the cats to play in.  I like to pack my holiday decorations in newspaper and was repacking them up on this particular day when, Captain Cuddles decided it was time to take a romp in them.  I believe he has one of his little cat toys there as well. 

Finally the only other current photo I took this week.

While I'm mainly a Coffee drinker I also enjoy a good cup of tea now and then.  This however is coffee with French Vanilla creamers. - What I really enjoy is finding mugs that I like in which to sip my beverage of choice.  This is one of several cat themed mugs that I have.  I find it very humorous and cute.

















So that's it for this weeks hunt.  Please pop on over to Ashley's blog, Rambling and Photos and join in on the other participants hunts as well.

Photo Art Friday - August 17, 2012

If you are here for my (Flower Art Friday) entry click on the link.


It's time now for some fabulous Photo art on Bonnie's blog, Pixel Dust Photo Art.
This week Bonnie gave us the option to focus on Container/s in our pieces or any other piece of photo art.

I'm sharing a couple of pieces this week.

First up:

These "Containers" hold our city water supply.  They sit amid a backdrop of Wheat fields and mountains.  Texture used: Kim Klassen's, Dream It - Uploaded on Pic Monkey in Screen Mode at about 80%.   The photo was saved and uploaded on, BeFunky where I added the artistic framing.

Next up something more Whimsical.

My Piggy bank.  This version edited on Pic Monkey. First I softened the photo then applied the Orton effect.  The next 2 versions (I couldn't seem to stop playing with this one) were done using this photo as the starting point but done with some fun effects on the BeFunky sight.

This one is the Impressionist technique.

This one is one of the Watercolor Techniques.

So that's if for this week.  I had fun playing around on a new photo editing sight and hope you enjoyed my efforts.  Have a great weekend.