Photo Hunt: Standing

Still standing - but just barely. I pass this on the way to work every day and always look to see if the porch roof has completely fallen off yet.


More entries at tnchick.com: Photo Hunt

Shadow Shots: Drifting

Another quick shot in the cold, this one taken from the back sliding door. It's the path from the back door to the hubby's wood shop, mostly filled in by drifted snow. Without any references in the shot, it could be an aerial view of a mountain range, don't you think?

Meet other shadow hunters at Heyharriet:

Round Robins: Goodbye

The yard sale we held when we moved from our old house included a lot of forgotten toys our grown kids had left behind. I hope these little guys found new children to love them.

The Round Robin Photo Challenge was the first photo meme I ever did. Back then, the lively group was hosted by Steven of sometimesphotoblog,Carly of Ellipsis, and Karen of Outpost Mavarin. Steven bowed out some time ago. This week is Carly's last, and in honor of the occasion the theme is "Goodbyes".

Carly and Karen have done a fine job of rounding up topics and making everyone feel welcome, and Karen will be carrying on. You can check out the Round Robins here, and everyone is invited to join.

Carly girl, you will be missed. Karen, thanks for keeping the meme going!

Macro Monday: Small Treasures

(OK, so it's Tuesday. Better late than never ...)

The carved shell here is a little over an inch long. Small polished stones, a geode, and partially petrified shells fill out the collection displayed in a pottery dish one of my kids made in an art class.


Check out more close-up magic at Macro Monday.

Best. Gift. Ever.

My family really hit one out of the park this Christmas. They gave me a book - a real, bound book - of my own photographs.

They raided my hard drive and my Flickr account and spent hours together sifting through thousands of photos and choosing their favorites. Then they worked together on the layout of each page and paired many shots with poetry from everyone from Shel Silverstein and Ogden Nash to Cookie Monster.

And as if that weren't enough, this is what they wrote in the front fold of the dust jacket:



The irony of the thing is that at that time I had pretty much put aside my cameras and given up on photography. It was a combination of frustration with the complex new camera and discouragement with never getting exactly the shot I intended. They could always be sharper, better framed, taken from a better angle ... just better. And I couldn't seem to do better.

I lost my mojo. Where once I had found inspiration in everything from a dead leaf to the water heater timer, nothing moved me anymore. I was so done with it that I was on the verge of deleting every photo I had ever taken.








And then, this. This wonderful gift. Not just the book itself, but of the care and time and effort and love they put into it. I was humbled and flattered that they thought my photos worthy of such a project - and a little embarrassed that they kept carrying it off to show around to coworkers and family. They were all so proud of it, and justifiably so.

I had never seen any of my work printed. I was shocked to see that most of the shots were really not so bad. And some were pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

So I'm back. Still cussing and fussing from time to time, but back out there with a camera in my hand.

Along with that book, and all that love, they rescued a part of myself that was about to curl up and die. Now that's a gift.

Shadow Shot: Welcome

The sun came out for a little while today, but it was still only 17 degrees out. I opened the front door a crack, took afew quick shots across the welcome mat, and went back to my hunker-down spot by the fire.



Meet other shadow hunters at Heyharriet:

Macro Monday: Grey Ladies

Faded cyclamen blossoms trimmed from the plant and discarded. Beautiful, I think, even in decline.

And, a P.S. to the mysterious-looking shot I posted for Shadow Shots this week. Several people have written to ask how I did that, so here's the big secret:

I placed a bubble-glass paperweight close to a wall, turned off the lights, and shone a flashlight through it. You're seeing the shadow on the wall. (I was kind of hoping someone would notice the streak of light on the sphere, the "crack in the universe". Seems I'm the only Doctor Who fan in the bunch.)

Anyway. Here's another one. I may do a whole series, as the shadow changes so dramatically depending on the angle of the flashlight.



Check out more close-up magic at Macro Monday.

Weekend Reflections: Kaleidoscope

Taken through the barrel of a kaleidoscope we've owned for years. I don't know why I didn't think to try this before now. The technique needs work, but I'm excited by the possibilities.

This was taken with my old G9, as it does much better up close than the Rebel without a macro lens.

Check out the rest of the entries at Weekend Reflections.

Shadow Shots: A Crack in the Universe

Shadows are in short supply in Indiana just now, so I had to make some of my own.


I'm sure others had better luck. Just click the logo to see:

Weekend Reflections: Silver

Check out the rest of the entries at Weekend Reflections.

Macro Monday: Orbs

One of my favorite Christmas ornaments is actually the skeleton of a leaf. Dipped in silver, with the light shining through, it assumes a ghostly, ephemeral quality; an almost-transparent veil of misty lace. Seen up close, it reveals intricate scaffolding as strong as steel.

Check out more close-up magic at Macro Monday.