Horizontal and Vertical: Day 4

A little wet today--lots of rain, mist, snrain, and hard to get outside. Here are a few "drippy" shots caught between the showers.
This one has vertical and horizontal in the same shot...
A horizontal crop
and a vertical crop.

Horizontal and Vertical: Day 3

It's been raining today, and our snow is being washed away, so here is a sort-of farewell post to the winter we've been having, and a hope that we get some more snow this year.
This is a path in my neighborhood; I was out quite early and yes, it was blue like this; this is with correct white balance. Early morning, cloudy day....wintery blue light.
I like the horizontal because it emphasizes the trees and undergrowth to either side of the path, and makes the path seem wider.
But the vertical really draws me down the path and emphasizes the height of the trees, even though both the photos have the same "cutoff" point at the top.

Horizontal and Vertical: Day 2

A varied thrush, sitting in the tree just outside the window. A horizontal photo....
...and a vertical shot. He was cold and not moving too quickly, so I was able to get this in pretty quick succession. I like the vertical shot better, because for me there is too much clutter with all the tree branches and twigs. Besides, a vertical subject, to me, looks better in a vertical shot.

Horizontal and Vertical

Still reveling in the snow. Two shots down a road up in the mountains from where I live. There is an entirely different feel to these two shots, depending on the orientation. This challenge is a good one for me, because I tend to shoot vertically all the time, and I need to push myself to shoot in horizontal mode...so here's a try.

Words: "Scrounged" letters

I have been taking photos during the past year of alphabet letters that I find in nature. My rule is that I can't alter anything--move or arrange branches, Photoshop out stuff, etc. It either IS the letter or it isn't--no tweaking.
So, after seeing Buckeye Mama's post a couple of days ago, I decided I would try an interpretation of her idea with my letters. I would've liked to have written Nature, but the storyboard ended up being too big, and just a small one is hard enough!!
All these letters are exactly as I saw them. The only thing I've done is USM and a little cropping. And, I actually have ALL the letters of the alphabet! I'm going to put them in a book.

Words, or the sound of...

There are some words I love just because of the way they sound. I love to say them. They are multi-syllabic (there's another one), and I love the way they trip and fall and cascade off the tongue, sounding almost like a dance rhythm.
I love:
TRISKADEKAPHOBIA (or fear of the number 13)
tris-ka-deck-ah-pho-bee-ah --does it make your foot tap?
PARASKEVITRIADEKAPHOBIA (fear of Friday the 13th)
par-ah-skev-ih-tri-ah-dek-ah-pho-bee-ah (tap those feet!)
Another long-time favorite (I know--you're thinking "This woman REALLY needs to get a life!") is SPHYGMOMANOMETER (that's a blood pressure cuff). Sfig-mo-ma-nah-meh-ter :-)

And a couple of "normal" words that are just fun to say--perspicacity and individuality. There are others, but this is a sample of words that make me happy because they are fun to say.

Words: Innocence

My DD is due any day now with #3, and I can hardly wait to fly back East and get my hands on the new baby and my other 2 DGDs. Why is it that grandchildren are so much more soul-satisfying? (Probably because we DON'T have them 24/7....) I LOVE new babies, the freshness, the delicacy, the fresh-from-God innocence. I love the little squeaks and sounds a newborn makes, and the ephemeral smiles that flit across their faces (no, it's NOT gas--they are remembering Home), and the way they smell and their soft skin.... Anyway, this is an old photo, but one to me that embodies the innocence of a baby...

Words

Saw these in one of my favorite browsing stores (a small local nursery gift shop), and had to grab a shot. Really like the sentiments and motivations on these.

Words: WHAT did that say?!

I admit, I am a word freak. I LOVE words, they way they sound, the way they can be used--and some of the crazy ways they are mis-used. I am always on the lookout for a sign that doesn't quite say what it should, or is a "DUH!" sign (as in so obvious, why did they put a sign there?) So, here are a few of my favorite signs that I didn't use in my 36 Things post...
This one, obviously, is a "DUH!" sign. On the edge of a 100+ foot cliff on the Pacific Ocean.
Love the notice on the left side of the window. Do you think they've had customers with tattooer's regret?
Ok, make up your mind. Either dogs are allowed or they aren't. What is this "Except..." business?
Man, this place doesn't fool around. None of those wimpy speed bumps here--they go for the full-sized humps!!
Weedwhacker, shmeedwhacker. Give me a Brushslayer anyday!!

Words

This is one of my favorite-read-almost-every-year books. It's by Nancy Turner, and is written as a journal, chronicling the life of Sarah Agnes Prine, a young girl in the Arizona territories. It is loosely based on the life of Turner's great-grandmother, and is well-written, with an absolutely unforgettable main character. Sarah loves the power of words, and this post is for her.

Winter at the Mill Pond

Since it's been raining all day, our snow is melting quickly. I have never, in the 20-plus years we have lived here, seen snow that lasted more than 2 days. This fall lasted almost a week--we still have ice on our road. So, this is from a trip to the mill pond near us right after the snow fall. (It's about a mile from the Falls in previous posts.) Gorgeous morning, sun just starting to come over the mountains, quiet and still--just perfect.


I really need to work on my white balance...

Before and After: Frozen Bubbles

Bubbles in a fountain basin that froze during the cold snap. This one is SOOC with macro setting on my P&S.
Conversion to B&W. I felt that it had more punch and definition this way.

Still "falls-ing"--a little before and after

A couple more images from the Falls, and then I'll go on to something else. This was taken yesterday morning, just as the sun was coming over the mountain and shining through the mist.
You can see how much snow melted off in just one day, compared to yesterday's post.
Top of the Falls--detail SOOC
After--USM, played with the contrast a little to try to get some of the mist out of there. I was excited to see the smaller cascades on the right side that make up the top of the falls.

The rest of the Falls

The photos I've posted of Snoqualmie Falls have just shown the top. We had snow Sunday night, and it is still hanging around, so I went to check the falls for ice and snow. The falls were kicking up a lot of mist, but this will give you a little idea of their size. In the spring, the top of the falls is solid water; you can't see any of the rocks that divide the flow the rest of the year.

Before and After: Eagles

This was taken with my P&S this summer at the zoo. The whites are blown out, but I was happy to get both adult eagles on the nest. I did some USM, used the auto contrast feature on DIS, cropped, and MASSIVELY cloned out the fence in the background.
Ended up with this, and they almost look like they are in the wild! Not too bad for a P&S at the limit of its telephoto range.

Before and After: Ice drops

This was taken on a cold day on my deck. #1 is the original; #2 is cropped, unsharp masked, and contrast adjusted.

Focusing on The Edge

Went to the store and bought myself a little bouquet of sunshine. The way petal edges curl and ruffle fascinate me, so I took these daffies outdoors during a dry spell to use the natural light. These were taken a couple of days apart. The 2nd one is the fresher flower--these get paler as they get older. Different light each day, too. I am counting the weeks/months til garden season.

1-13-08 Focus: Under ice

This is from our cold days earlier in December. We don't get ice very often, so when we do I am out trying to find things...and was really excited to see this leaf trapped under the ice in my pond.

1-12-08 A misty, moisty morning

We've been getting a lot of those lately. Everything from mist to drizzle to sprinkles to outright rain, but that's our typical winter. Took this the other morning; no settings, sorry, but I was using my P&S and had it zoomed out to get the droplets on this bush with the light in them, and was happy to see the rain in the background.

1-11-08

Not on topic today--although, my camera (I used my Sony H5 P&S) was focused, so I GUESS you could say I am on theme. Since today is cold, gray, rainy and drear I am using some earlier shots. These are from a few days ago when we had gotten some snow. ML (Periwinkle Eye) and I went for a hike at a lake near us, a little higher in elevation, so the snow lasted longer. The first shot is the mountain everyone hikes in the nicer months--you can hike out onto the flat ledge and see almost forever. The other 2 photos are zoom-ins on details--the top of the mountain and individual trees clinging to the sides, and a stand of Doug firs covered with snow. I love the fact that when it snows at our place, it only lasts a day or so. If I REALLY want snow, I can get in the car and drive 15 minutes. Perfect!

Focus: Better People Photos

I admit, I am NOT, SO not, a people photographer. All you Peas who do such a wonderful job taking photos of kids, adults, families--my lens cap is off to you! One of my foci (would that be the plural of focus, like cacti is of cactus? but I digress....) this year is to do better with photos of my family. My oldest GD HATES having her picture taken--won't smile, won't make eye contact, doesn't even want to be in the same room as a camera, and has been that way since she was old enough to know what a camera was. Her baby sister is the polar opposite--she sees a camera and goes through all the "See how cute I am?" antics, and never stops smiling and performing. Miss E, the older, would rather take pictures--thus the photo below. (Must admit, I understand that feeling---and love to see her with a camera in her hand.) So, this year I want to try to do better at catching her unawares, and to get some photos that are less snap-shot-y. (These were taken with my Canon A710 in the hopes that a smaller camera would be less intrusive and easier to get shots with....)

Focus 1-9

Up with my TRUE focus--macro!! I LOVE macro, and am constantly working to improve my focus. With a shallow depth of field (I usually shoot wide open at 2.8) the DOF is very narrow, and just a breath can affect your focus. So, practice, practice, practice. And---delete, delete, Oh! That one's ok, delete, delete... and so on. I think one of the best lessons I've learned is all photos don't need to be kept. I read somewhere that the difference between a pro and a hobby/amateur photographer is that the pro throws away a LOT more photos. I'm not a pro, but I have been much more ruthless in my weeding and deleting.
taken early morning--f 2.8, 1/500 ISO 800 (a dark gray Seattle morning)
Late afternoon, same day f5.6, 1/20 ISO 200 Still gray out, just not as dark Shot a little more closed to show the other leaves and droplets a tad more. I love the way the lower drop is wedged between the 2 leaves.

Focus 1-8

I posted a photo of this view at the beginning of the POTD; this time I focused on the berries at the cliff edge, and took a slower shutter speed so the Falls would be a little smoother. I may try it again, weather permitting, and this time work on Ap depth so the background is a little more out of focus.
APOLOGIES TO JEWELLS!!! Her post yesterday came to mind as I was hiking today and saw this set of high-powered binocs, and couldn't resist. Yep, we had snow last night--although by the time I made it to the Falls it had melted.
Oooh--Hi-Spy Viewing Machines! Clever.

Focus 2008

My warped sense of humor just couldn't resist this literal interpretation....

Hat's off--and he's bald!

I have a collection of hand-carved and hand-crafted Santas that appear every December and into January. I love this guy, with his little bald rosy head. His hat is off, and who knew that Santa was bald up there?

Hats off...and up!

My DH loves his hats--baseball, golf, college, whatever. He has quite a collection of them, and they are usually everywhere but where they should be--on the table, on a bookcase, on a ledge, on a shelf...you get the idea. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the rack in the garage and saw THIS! :-)