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Shelly > March 12, 2008

You Never Know Who is Watching

It is officially springtime around here.  Yesterday afternoon I saw a cardinal fly out of one of our vines and thought it would be so neat to find a nest and watch for babies.  We've enjoyed  several generations in the past few years but never have seen them until they ventured down to the feeder.

Very carefully I poked my head into the bushes and started looking, trying not to disturb anything I might find.  As I leaned back to move to another area, this is what I saw.  Not one, but three ribbon snakes, and they were about 18 inches above where my head had been. (I still can't believe that I didn't jump and scream.  What WAS I thinking?)

They even had the good manners to sit and wait for me to get the camera, switch to the macro lens, and come back outside.  I took about a dozen photos with different settings before they decided they'd had enough and slipped away.  I'm sure I'll see them again but probably not all at one time like this.   

If there was a bird nest in this area, I'm afraid the outlook for babies is not so good.  Maybe the bird was just resting and will find a better place to raise a family. I certainly hope so.
Shelly > January 3, 2008

New York's Favorite Color Must Be Yellow

A photographer can always count on the yellow taxicabs in NYC to add a punch of color to an otherwise gray cloudy scene.  

Since this was our first trip to the city, we took advantage of the double-decker sightseeing buses.  It was a hop-on -- hop-off tour, so we would take it into a new area, learn a little trivia along the way, and then get off to explore. 

More often than not, the bus seat was very limiting from a photography perspective, but then there were a few jewels we'd have never spotted from the ground.
Shelly > June 1, 2009

Just a Little  Light Painting Fun

"I don't want to make money. I just want to be wonderful." -- Marilyn Monroe
Shelly > July 14, 2008

ME!

Here's a HUGE salute to each of you who turns out wonderful  SP's over and over.  That's so much harder to do than it looks, and I'm asking -- BEGGING for your advice and suggestions!
(not that I plan to make the SP thing a regular event, but it is a skill I need to improve)

I had my lights and backdrop set up, and was waiting for people to come in for headshots, so I decided to play around a bit. First because autofocus would have picked up on the backdrop, I put a big cardboard sign on my stool and focused manually on that.  Then I used my timer and ran around to try and put my face in the right place.  It would have been comical to watch,  and when someone walked in I jumped up and said I was "playing with my lights."  That part was kind of embarrassing, but not too much.  I don't get embarrassed like I used to.  

This is a pretty serious crop because I was about out of the frame anyway.  There was nothing more to leave in at the top left, and I've become a fan of very tight headshots. 

I've never considered myself very photogenic and now have decided that I probably don't wear enough makeup, but I kind of liked this one because I look happy and not too goofy.  

Ran it through several different filters before I picked this one with a friendly glamor/faded effect.  It is what it is -- and that's my Picture of the Day and I'm a stickin' to it.
Shelly > May 3, 2008

Good Morning!
Add a little peanut butter for protein and honey to help it slide down.   A big cold glass of milk too.  Coffee?  Well that started before sunrise.   Ready for a busy Saturday.
Shelly > May 2, 2008

Staying up too late tonight playing!  Technically it's May 2 anyway.  

I've always wanted to create a composite photo like this one, and finally had the opportunity at a recent senior portrait shoot.  She was a great sport about experimenting. 
We took these at the elementary school that she attended, so it should be special to her.  We had been shooting on the playground earlier.
Shelly > June 21, 2008

It's officially summer on Planet My Back Yard.  Come on in.  The water's fine. 

This is my first planet ever, and I sure had fun making it. It is mostly water!  Note that the plumeria has been retrieved.  So far it's still green.
Shelly > June 1, 20087

We happened upon a watermelon and banana eating competition at the beach this weekend.  A nice sized crowd gathered to watch, but it took some time and effort to recruit four people with enough spirit to take the challenge.  The young man closest to the camera won.  His prize . . . McDonald's Gift Cards.  

"The prospect of a long day at the beach makes me panic.  There is no harder work than taking myself off to somewhere pleasant, where I am forced to stay for hours and have fun."  Phillip Lopate
Shelly > January 22, 2009

Yesterday's News -- Tomorrow's History

History happens. We are blessed to be able to recognize it.  

I can remember quite a few very important days when we KNEW history was happening.  One was the day that we landed on the moon for the very first time.  My dad made sure we followed the news all day as he reminded us that history was happening.  My brothers and I spread a roll of butcher paper out across the living room floor and colored a banner with crayons.  I think it said "We're on the moon at last . . . hooray hooray hooray"  Then I organized a bicycle/tricycle parade for  the kids on our block.  There were tons of kids, and they all came. My mom still has the banner.

When September 11 happened, I wanted my kids to mark the day and to remember what they were doing.  Because I didn't want to overload them with too much television tragedy, we watched snippets but broke it up with special activities.  We planted flowers.  We made frozen chocolate covered bananas.  We played board games.  We prayed and we talked. I hope they will remember.  If they don't remember, I'll tell them the story enough times that they will think they remember.

It's been fun watching so many families across the nation as they drove home the importance of another historic occasion for another generation of children.

 The Houston Chronicle and others across the country reported that they printed quite a few extra copies of this paper because so many people would be seeking souvenirs. 
 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/6223370.html
They even posted extra streetside vendors out throughout the city. 

They say that printed newspapers are a dying medium.  I certainly hope not. I can't spill coffee on my computer and get away with it.

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." -- Abraham Lincoln
16th president of US (1809 - 1865)
January 3, 2008

New York's Favorite Color Must Be Yellow

A photographer can always count on the yellow taxicabs in NYC to add a punch of color to an otherwise gray cloudy scene.

Since this was our first trip to the city, we took advantage of the double-decker sightseeing buses. It was a hop-on -- hop-off tour, so we would take it into a new area, learn a little trivia along the way, and then get off to explore.

More often than not, the bus seat was very limiting from a photography perspective, but then there were a few jewels we'd have never spotted from the ground.
Shelly > January 3, 2008

New York's Favorite Color Must Be Yellow

A photographer can always count on the yellow taxicabs in NYC to add a punch of color to an otherwise gray cloudy scene.  

Since this was our first trip to the city, we took advantage of the double-decker sightseeing buses.  It was a hop-on -- hop-off tour, so we would take it into a new area, learn a little trivia along the way, and then get off to explore. 

More often than not, the bus seat was very limiting from a photography perspective, but then there were a few jewels we'd have never spotted from the ground.
January 3, 2008

New York's Favorite Color Must Be Yellow

A photographer can always count on the yellow taxicabs in NYC to add a punch of color to an otherwise gray cloudy scene.

Since this was our first trip to the city, we took advantage of the double-decker sightseeing buses. It was a hop-on -- hop-off tour, so we would take it into a new area, learn a little trivia along the way, and then get off to explore.

More often than not, the bus seat was very limiting from a photography perspective, but then there were a few jewels we'd have never spotted from the ground.
See photo in original gallery.

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