Another Sunset...I just can't get enough of them

Summer Sunset

Spring!

A sure sign of Spring, the hummingbirds are back!

Spring?

I haven't been posting because I have been too busy with some other projects. I apologize if you are in my group and confused because I never post. I did try to contact the main blog and let them know, twice, but for some reason the message never got through. I took this picture just a few days ago, we got a record breaking 10 inches of snow at the end of May! One ski resort is even saying it may stay open until the 4th of July! It didn't seem to bother this tulip though!

Mini Assignment #4 Sihouette

Morning sun on the horses, love that silhouette!

Sand and Sun

We just returned from a week at the beach in San Diego. I had so much fun taking pictures, I am trying things I never would have in the past. We were hiking on the rocks when I looked up and saw this picture. My daughter didn't like it but I think it captures the gritty sand as well as the fascination we all have watching the waves come in. I am still a bit crazy with the camera, I took almost 500 pictures! Still trying to get over the beginners excitement I guess.

Poser

Believe it or not pelicans live in Utah. We actually have pelicans and lots of seagulls in our mountain lakes. I don't know for sure but I am guessing they migrate or maybe winter at the Great Salt Lake. Anyway on our recent trip to California I took a shot of this pelican posing for me on the pier. I have never seen one that is so colorful. The "Utah" pelicans are all white with orange beaks. That is one of the great joys of traveling, seeing the different plants and animals.

Simplicity

One or is it Two?

Action

We just hung out this bird feeder and it became instantly popular.

Light

Faucets

A bit of a twist on the theme and my first time trying to catch a drop of water in action. Not as easy as it looks!

Glow

Mountains and sunsets, two of my favorite subjects!

Green!

I think it is finally happening, SPRING! There was a hint of green poking out from the snow, can't wait for more.

Rethinking....

Yesterday I was all ready to find a new set of themes and finish out the month...then Ron aka: Danudin left this comment on my post. Ron I really appreciate your honesty and have taken a day to rethink my plan. I am going to stick to the posted themes and if I really feel energetic re-use them with the stipulation that it has to be in a totally different way. I like being a woman...you can always change your mind!

Themes to Complete the Month

I have run out of themes, used up all of this month's from the 2010 Virtual Photo Walk and the January themes I hadn't done, so what is next? I found Danudin's 2009 365 blog and thought I would get started on those themes. Sooo....today's theme is One Hundred...hmmmm..

Warning

I distinctly heard this Red Winged Blackbird warning me this morning... Summer is coming, beware. You will curse the heat and crave gallons of lemonade and popsicles. Your grass will be green and soft and need mowing, it is coming....warning, warning.

Trio

Texture

Pink

Pattern

The yearly migration pattern brings the first sign of Spring to my 6500 ft. mountain, Sand Cranes. This is another time I wish I had more zoom, every time I even stopped the car to get a picture they took off in the opposite direction. Shy Sand Cranes.

Meditative

I love to meditate on scripture stories. I like to look beyond the story and think about the principle being taught and how it applies to my life, puts me in a meditative mood.

Masculine

Just for the record I didn't take this picture, my daughter did. My husband took my 3 kids camping over the weekend and left me home ( yes, he is my hero!). I post it here to give her a chance to get some feedback for her work, I like the lines leading up to the sky...they had just shimmied through a crack full of waist deep mud so my son had his pack and shoes up high to keep them out of the mud. Did I say my husband was my hero?

Looking Down

With all that I have been learning about light recently, (thanks to the great tutorials posted) I did not notice the light on the grasses here until after I loaded the picture onto my computer. Oh well, at least I did eventually notice it.

Layers

I love all the elements in a fire. The layers of ash, wood, light, heat and all of the colors in the flames. It is relaxing and hypnotic... something primal here touches me.

Edible or Not

Six days ago I got 12 new baby chicks. I started out with 2 full grown laying hens last Fall as an experiment to see if I wanted to invest in a larger group and sell the eggs. I have loved it and looked forward to these little ones ever since. I really don't know what to expect as I have never had chicks before. I had them in a large metal tub, on a table, inside a chain link dog kennel inside my garage to keep them safe from my two dogs. In six days they have doubled in size, the little things are growing so fast I can't keep their feeder full of food. Today I went out to get in my car and one of them was perched on the top of the tub, and my dog was just waiting.... I had to revamp my entire set up to keep the little guys safe. Lucky for me today the chicks are not edible. As for the dogs, I am sure they are disappointed.

Doors and Windows

I loved this door, so many colors and textures.

Cold

I have finished all the March themes so I am going back to January to the ones I missed. Part of this challenge for me is to find something to take a picture of each day, sometimes the themes aren't so great for that particular day but it adds to the challenge.

Like today for instance, Spring is on it's way and we are having the highest temperatures of the year so far, and the theme is cold. Now last week when we got 14 inches of snow overnight this would have been easy picture taking, but today, not so much. I did see this deer trail heading off into the foothills, it reminded me of when my kids used to run out into the yard in the first snow storm bare footed and come back in laughing and very cold and leaving a trail of bare prints in the snow.

Mini Assignment, See the Light

I chose this North facing barn door for this mini assignment on light. The idea is to take a picture of the same thing at different times of the day to see how the light affects the picture. I am not sure if something North facing was a good idea, maybe the contrast would be greater if I used something South facing? Anyway it is fun to see how different each picture looks in color and texture and to watch the shadows move, I know there is a lot for me to learn here, I am still taking it all in.

7:30 am

11:00 am

3:00 pm

5:30 pm

7:00 pm

8:00 pm

Worn

This barn is on a road that I frequently drive. Until last week I had never noticed it. I have lived here over 10 years! An added bonus this blog has given to me, I am seeing things I never did before.

Unexpected

I was working on this shot for my other blog Heal Balance Live. This was shot was unexpectedly cropped by the computer, and I really like the way it turned out. I had originally planned on using a much wider version.

Umbrellas?

Try as I might I couldn't find an umbrella yesterday in my snow laden landscape. I post this picture instead, taken in the Uinta Mountains while cross country skiing. If I had never lived where it snows I would guess people would use umbrellas all the time, but in truth the snow just brushes off your hair and clothes because it is frozen so you never see umbrellas unless it is raining.

Thin

This isn't the best shot but it is the best I could get out of my camera with the low light. It was a beautiful sliver of moon this morning...

Stacked

Faith

A picture is worth a thousand words...

(Nature's) Packaging

I looked all day for some kind of interesting packaging. I was making this way too hard. I noticed this pineapple was sitting on my counter and it made me realize that nature's packaging is interesting enough to deserve a picture.

Old Fashioned

I love these old Victorians, there are many in my town that are over 100 years old that are still occupied, some by the great great grandchildren of the original owners. In fact it has become quite trendy for newly married couples to buy one and restore it. I just think they are beautiful.

Metal

Yes, I know I need to quit taking so many pictures and dust!

Disorder

Conspicuous and Inconspicuous

It wasn't hard to see the results of yesterday's storm this morning. Even the picnic table is buried. I didn't do anything with the color in this because it captures the cold gray feel of the morning and the sun getting ready to come out. I think it is it's own kind of beautiful.

Can you see the bird nest in the tree on the left? A friend told me it had to be a hummingbird nest because it is so small and covered over. I have tried to get a good picture of it before but just don't have the zoom power or a 30 ft. tall ladder. It shows up better in this picture because of all the snow stacked on top of it.

Here is a cropped version, more snow than nest.

Circular

It was an absolutely gray day...not good for taking pictures. I did pump up the contrast and brightness a little. There was a big bank of snow so I couldn't get as close as I wanted to because I was wearing sandals...don't ask. I do like this angle though they seem to go on forever and for the kids who move them every 12 hours all summer long I bet they do.

Blue

I love it when someone goes crazy with a striking color. I haven't been brave enough to do it in my house yet but this is inspiring. This time of year the dirty snow and leafless trees tend to get drab, I noticed this coffee shop and even though I don't drink coffee I wanted to sit down awhile in the bright glow of the porch and table. I used the "cartoon" filter in Gimp to bring out the details.

I was so fixated on the porch I almost missed this tree in the parking strip, also filtered in Gimp.