Searching for Spring

I know Spring is coming.  It has been a bit slow in getting here though.  We have had a lot of (needed) rain.  The other morning I went running at 7am and it was 29 degrees and windy, not my ideal!  With that in mind I went for a walk in the park searching for signs of Spring.  Here are two photos I found:

ISO 800 4mm 0ev f/8 1/1000

I deliberately blurred the background because I found it distracting from the buds on the trees.  The fast shutter speed gives away the fact that it was windy and I needed the speed to freeze the motion of the branch.

Here is my next shot.  I was a bit sad to find these on the bench.  Someone picked them and then left them there, I’m not sure why you would do that.  Although given that this is at a playground, it is possible that it was a little someone who just didn’t know any better.  Anyway, daffodils are my favorite:

ISO 800 4mm 0ev f/8 1/800

I liked the color in the flowers contrasting with the lack of color in the bench.  I didn’t arrange this photo at all, the scene was just like this and I took the picture.  Kind of neat when that just happens!

I took both of these photos with my Canon Powershot ELPH.  In Aperture I cropped them.  No other editing for either photo.

Cheers!

Weekly Photo Challenge: (Moving) Forward

Warning: this post was written by an American who loves hockey.  Who knew eh?  To my regular readers who don’t love hockey feel free to skip this post or just scroll down and hit “like” 🙂 My typical style posts will be return next time. Thank you!

When I saw that the weekly photo challenge at WordPress this week was forward, I was a bit stumped.  Then I got a phone call.  It was a neighbor.  They have four tickets and a parking pass to the St. Louis Blues game on Saturday, we can have them if we can go.  So, it was decision time.  On one hand it is a no brainer, we in this household love hockey. The seats are in the “you can actually see the players” section.  Yes, we are going.  On the other hand, we are not really over the lockout.  I love hockey but not the NHL, which is problematic.

I love this game, so I am moving forward (sort of) from the lockout.  The bottom line is though, I’m not a fan of the NHL. I don’t appreciate the way the lockout was handled.  This season we have enjoyed our hockey at local arenas.  We are happy to hear that the St. Charles Chill will be the new team in town as of next season.  We are excited to check them out.

Got some pretty good shots from last night though:

The Scoreboard before the game.

Halak warming up.

A face-off in front of the home team net.

So. IL Ice Hawks Mite level play the intermission.

Blues win 2-1! and salute the fans

If you are a hockey fan, how are you feeling about the lockout these days? feel free to leave a comment.  If you are a blogger, who has written about it, leave a link to your post if you like.

Cheers!

A Sunny Garden

These photos were taken on my iPhone on an afternoon walk.  They brought a smile to my face, hope they do the same for you.

Cheers!

Critter I Couldn’t Get Close To

This prairie dog:

ISO 640 135mm f5.6 1/200

That is about as close as I could get.

ISO 640 135mm f/5.6 1/60

A prairie dog action shot!

Part of the reason I couldn’t get any closer was there was a possum that was also wandering around nearby.  Actually, it wasn’t the possum as much as it was the woman who pretty much lost her mind when she saw the possum.  She was kind-of bouncing up and down waving at it, yelling at no one in particular, “it’s a possum!”  That was pretty much the signal to the prairie dogs that underground was a good place to be.

Cheers!

Best of the Morning Walk

ISO 100 85mm f/5.6 1/5 tripod

Yes, this photo has some post-editing done to it.  I messed with the color and cropped the photo.  I was surprised that the color in camera came out a bit washed out looking.  It was cloudy out, so I thought the light would be pretty good.  Any suggestions on shooting on cloudy days?

Had to make a quick exit as well, the skies opened up just minutes later.

Cheers!

Gorilla in the Garden

I guess technically it is supposed to look more like a jungle or something like that as opposed to a garden, but you have to have a catchy title right?  These photos were shot in the morning, under an overcast sky.  I haven’t done any post editing, what kind might you do with these photos?

ISO 100 135mm f/7.1 1/8

What I like about the one above is that the gorilla was looking at the camera.

ISO 100 127mm f/7.1 1/6

The “problem” with both pictures is that you can tell the gorilla is behind a plastic-like window.  The result is that the color isn’t great.

ISO 640 135mm f/5.6 1/50

This one I like the color better, but you can still see the reflection of the enclosure.

What settings would you use in this situation?

Cheers!

Overrun with life and I haven’t even left my yard

This bunny is responsible for starting the morning madness:

ISO 200 135mm f/7.1 1/125

Out to eat in the yard, so I have to try and sneak up on it.  Didn’t get too close.  But then I found this:

ISO 200 135mm f/7.1 1/125

This is a handheld image.  I didn’t have the tripod out this morning because I was “too busy”.  OK, or not, or yes I am busy, but that other stuff is going to have to wait.  I’m dashing back inside for the tripod and shutter release to take some more pictures before the light is gone and I also have to be moving on.

ISO 100 135mm f/29 1/2

ISO 100 120mm f/22 1/2

Thoughts on the three egg photos? Do you have a favorite?

So, I got some photos and my youngest made it to school on time. Yippee!

Cheers!

The Photo My Mom Took

This one:

A picture of me taken by my Mom.  I was looking straight into the sun, hence the squint.  Although I do have to say that every picture of me before the age of five features ridiculous hair, or me making a funny face, or both.

My Mom gave me this photo in an album she made for me when I was 18 and leaving home.  Several years later she gave me my first digital camera, with which I took the world’s blurriest photos.  Digital cameras were a new thing at the time and my mom was into computers and related gadgets. I remember her first car phone, it required an antenna on her car and practically a suitcase for a carrying case.

This blog and my current photography “career” is just the latest version of myself.  My Mom was like that too, she changed careers several times over the course of my childhood.  It wasn’t always pretty.  I saw my mother triumph and fail, stand firm and second guess herself.  This was her gift to me, reinvention and life.

Thanks for that Mom, thanks for the photo too.

Love and Miss You.

Cheers!, particularly to all the Moms.