Project Life 365

Holy smokes!  Do I have some catching up to do, or what?
I'm skipping over many of the prompts and just posting the few I've completed. 
Maybe spring break will prove to solution to my issues!  Until then, enjoy these...



 











Project Life 365...a few random days!

I am still way behind in taking, editing, and posting for this project, but I'm still determined to finish!
The shots below are from random days, so if you're a chronological kind of person, this post might make you a bit annoyed. 
If it doesn't bother you, keep on reading or looking and I'll keep shooting!
 
"More"
 
 You'll find plenty "more" orchids  where these came from! 
Longwood Gardens!


"Blue"
Blue morning sky, looking north!


" shared space"

Over 17,000 students and supporters "shared space" at the Bryce Jordan Center at Penn State University to raise money for THON and the Blue Diamonds Fund at Hershey Medical Center to help fund pediatric cancer research and to support the familes of children who've been affected.  These kids don't just raise money, they actually visit with the families, take the kids bowling, rock climbing, on picnics, they visit the kids while they are in the hospital and they continue to support the families even after the children are in remission, cancer free, or even sadder...gone from this life.  


"when I grow up"

"When I grow up" there'll be lots of candles on my cake!
 

Just another Macro Monday!

This time of year tests my patience.
We're getting a lot of rain, but I wish it were snow.
The only snow we've had has been nuisance snow, as far as I'm concerned.  An inch here, two inches there.  Not even enough for a 2 hour delay, much less a snow day!
That really makes me start to wish for spring, but part of me  still wishes for just one good snow.  
On one those days when I was wishing for warmer weather, I took a walk around the yard to see if I could find any signs of spring, and I was pleasantly surprised!

If I remember correctly, this was the bud of a Red Twig Dogwood bush...

 
  And some daffodils popping up through the mulch...

 

And the bud from my dogwood tree, I think!


Two days after I found these signs of spring, we got another nuisance snow.  It was pretty and short lived, already melting but the time I got dressed and outside with my camera!



Start here with Stacy Heap Vitallo and see what inspiration she found for her macro shoots this week and then click the link in her post to see what Faye Kingston and Denean Melcher have found that will surely impress us all! 

Macro Monday is back!

It's time for another Macro Monday blog circle.  
All four photographers are participating again this week. 
If you click the link at the bottom of my post, it will take you to Stacy Heap Vitallo's post.
From there click the link to the next one and then one more.  You'll have completed the circle when you return to my post!  

One of the best places to take  pictures of flowers is at Longwood Gardens.  I am so blessed to be able to drive there in a reasonable amount of time and be surrounded by beautiful flowers, tended to by some the country's best gardeners, in my opinion!


 


















 Now check out the rest of the fabulous images from some very talented photographers!




Project Life 365-days 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, and 41

I'm way behind in posting.  Hopefully the pictures will tell the story!

 

I'm so glad I "saved up" to buy this fun Lensbaby!
 

I love "my view" out the window when it snows!
 

 
Longwood is always an adventure!
 

I'm so" lucky" that a friend was able to meet me at Longwood to have some fun!



Project Life 365-days 34 and 35

"bedside"

During the winter months my back-scratcher and lotion don't leave my nightstand.


"daily life"

I couldn't get through my "daily life" without my glasses or my contacts.  Reading and looking at my camera settings, both require some added help for my eyes!


Project Life 365-days 29, 31, 33

I'm sorry to be skipping around.  I'm not always motivated nor do I always have time to complete my shots on any given day. Sometimes I shoot but don't edit.  Stay with me as I do plan to complete the project!

"red"

Some rare color in an otherwise blah winter landscape from a red twig dogwood bush my son planted for me a few years ago.


"grow"

This mandevilla continues to "grow" every winter in a garage that's barely above freezing and event though I rarely remember to water it!  Sometimes it even blooms under those conditions!


 

"repetition"

I am greeted by the repetition of foot prints in my yard and across my driveway after a dusting of snow.

 

Project Life 365-days 28 and 29

"inside"

I am really hoping that the "inside" of this chocolate chip cookie brownie don't stick around on the inside of me! 


"new to me"

I ordered some used optics this week for a Lensbaby and my happy mail came today.  I didn't have daylight left and the learning curve is going to be steep, but I'm up for the challenge!


Macro Monday!!

This week I looked for something that most of use every day.  I walked around the house and looked at all sorts of things trying to decide what would make a unique image.  
This is something like I had in mind, but it's not exactly what I was thinking.
Nevertheless, it was still kind of fun experimenting with different colors, backgrounds and 
depth of fields.

@f/9


 @f/40
 


To see what the other 3 photographers have for this week's Macro Monday image


Project 365-day 21

"dream"

I can play this one two different ways, both with some element of truth, but only one is the real motivation behind what drives me to keep trying, even when things don't quite go the way I had planned.  
I could say that I've been "dream"ing about this since since Tuesday, the day I should have posted this picture, but we had no snow on Tuesday or I can say that I dream of the day I can do this type of shot well. To get it in focus and tack sharp.  It was much harder than simply holding the camera still or putting it on the tripod. 
Oh, but what fun I had and worth every frozen finger tip!


Project Life 365-day 22

"makes me smile"

I ordered a replacement part for my stove top yesterday (a holiday) at 3:27pm and from Albany, NY..  When I returned home from work at 2:15pm today the part was on my front step!  






Project Life-day 19

"style"

To quote the words of the song, "forever in blue jeans," that's my style!





And just because I like adding a bit of fun to my style, here's a different edit!


Project Life 365-days 13, 14, 15, 16

A bit behind on posting but not shooting!

day 13-"forgotten"
 
This is the look we get when he thinks he's been forgotten!





Day 14-"temptation"

Chocolate...need I say more"

 
day 15-"confusing"
Rain gear along with snow shovels....is it winter or spring?
 


 
day 16-"sign of winter"

Looking up through bare trees seeing gloomy gray skies..



Macro Monday

  A couple of years ago, I did a 365 day project as a means of working through and understanding all the basic principles of photography.  It took me 390-some odd days to complete, but I did it.  Then I decided to study more, but still needed the motivation to shoot so I embarked upon a 52 week project, actually two of them.  One of them on ILP.com and the other as a blog circle project. 
For 2013, I'm truly excited to be part of another blog circle we're calling Marco Mondays.  Every other Monday we'll post at least one (or more for those overachievers amongst us!) macro shot.  
The other three photographers, Denean, Faye, and Stacey, were part of my blog circle from last year.
I love their work and am amazed at their talent.
They are, truly, inspiring!
To continue around our little circle, start here with Stacy.
   
For me, a few orchids from Longwood Gardens...because I didn't want to be the only one with only one!



Project Life 365-day 12

"mini"
 
I spent a good bit of time today trying to come up with an idea.  While cleaning I found the marshmallow shooter that each of my boys found under the Christmas tree and the light bulb went on... "mini" marshmallows.
I tried several times to get a marshmallow to splash into the hot chocolate and then just to get it in mid-air and in focus.  It didn't quite happen, so I settled for the second shot in today's post.