Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Week 4

This is week 4 of Bacardi Mama's Hit Me With Your Best Shot photo challenge.  And it was a little more challenging for me than usual since I could no longer photograph the birds at our backyard bird feeder because of this predator.

So Mr. Right and I had to venture out and look for interesting things to photograph.  We found several and this was my favorite.  It's a shot of our frozen Michigan City harbor with the sun beginning to get low in the sky.

Of course there were several that almost made the cut including this one of the lighthouse.

And this one of the ice shelf and the lonely, now out-of-place lifeguard stand.

We liked this one because of the tracks in the sand and the ice shelf in the background.

And this one of the huge pile of snow half covered with wind blown sand had to be included because even the most depressing sights can have a silver lining.

And finally as the evening waned, I captured one last shot before it got too dark.  We like it because it almost looked like the woods were on fire.

That's it for this week but to see more favorite photos, visit Nancy at Bacardi Mama.  And for even more fun, join in.  We'd love to see your best shots of the week too!

You Capture - A Photo A Day

Beth's You Capture challenge this weeks was to take 'a photo a day' and I loved it.  It was fun taking pictures of whatever or whoever was close at hand even when, as in the first day, I forgot until the very last minute.

By the time I got outside it was drizzly and almost dark.  I didn't go farther than a few steps out the back door and captured the pond just before fish bedtime.

The next few days were a little easier.  Beth's terribly injured ankle is an awful thing but there was one bright side for me.  Not only do I get to spend more time with her and the kids, but there were many more photo ops than I would have found at home.  Here's Eli on Tuesday being the adorable little guy that he almost always is.

And here's Clara on Wednesday being just as cute as she almost always is.

On Thursday, I drove Beth to her physical therapy appointment and then we stopped by the school to check the class rosters posted at the front door.  The hard thing was that Beth had to take her pictures from the car because it's so hard to take pictures while being supported by crutches.  But I did get a picture of her taking pictures (it's my thumbnail) and this picture of her coming back to the car after double checking the rosters with the kids

Friday I was home so I turned, once again, to my backyard.  It's kind of sad that the Autumn Joy Sedum are starting to turn already.

Saturday we went to our son-in-law's birthday party.  There were many well-behaved children there but I was most impressed by these very well-behaved rottweilers.  Here they are waiting for permission to join the crowd.

And finally on Sunday evening it seems appropriate to close with a sunset picture.

To see quite clearly how lots of other people's weeks went, visit Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry.

You Capture - Pretty

Beth's You Capture challenge this week was 'Pretty' and I looked for it everywhere starting with the small pond in our backyard.  The bluebird babies have left their nest and this one prefers the pond water - despite the net he has to navigate to get to it - to the birdbath which is constantly filled with fresh cool water.  And although he isn't the vibrant blue that he will be as an adult, his camouflage colors are absolutely gorgeous.

Next I headed to Striebel Pond where there are always wildlife photos to be had.

 And flowers.

And sunsets.  I loved this one because for at least 30 minutes I saw a giant dove in the clouds.

 And then the more dramatic sunset in the country.

Finally I returned to the backyard where the hydrangeas have never been more beautiful.

I loved 'Pretty' this week.  The only really hard part was trying to eliminate some of hundreds of pictures I took.  I can't wait to see what everybody else captured at Beth's I Should Be Folding Laundry.

You Capture - Sky

Beth's You Capture subject this week is sky and I should have been VERY prepared because we got to observe the sky from Indiana to Colorado and then back again.  But I wasn't.  There are far too many distractions when we're visiting the kids or even driving in the car.   (I definitely should have left my Nook at home.)

I did however get a couple of what I thought were interesting captures - sky anomalies that I thought were just too good to be ignored.

The first one is not just about the beautiful Colorado sky a few scattered clouds but the interesting shadows those sky-high clouds cast one the mountain below.  It was interesting watching how the cloud shadows completely changed the look of the moutain.

The second one I took on the way home.  I wanted to wait until there were no wires to distract but the formation was changing so quickly and there were so many billboards ahead that I had to take it while I could.

I should have more but I don't.  To see more, though, you'll want to visit Beth's I Should Be Folding Laundry for some unbelievably beautiful Sky pictures.

You Capture - Sunshine

  Beth's You Capture assignment this week was Sunshine and I have to say I just love the title - You Capture Sunshine.  I looked for sunshine in my backyard - of course - and started with the flower beds, spirea, and dogwood tree.

And quickly moved on to my very favorite things to photograph - bluebirds!  My challenge was to find them in the sunshine and I did.  I just hope I captured them well enough. 

 

 And finally I thought to broaden my horizons by looking for sunshine in the country at the end of the day.

 

 

And with that last glimpse of sunshine for the day, I concluded my project.  For more takes on 'Sunshine', go to Beth's I Should Be Folding Laundry and if you have some Sunshine inspiration of your own, join in.

You Capture - Top Ten of 2011

Beth's You Capture this week is 'Top Ten of 2011'. This is one of my favorite You Capture projects so it's inexcusable that I didn't start on it until last night. I require much more time than that since so many of my 2011 pictures are filed in different folders; however, a quick perusal resulted in the following:

Our earliest blooming flower - the Lenten Rose.

Our most colorful winged visitor - the rose breasted grosbeak.

An unwelcome squirrel trying to push around our decorative bunny.

Sunset on Lake Michigan.

And in the harbor.

A cheeky little house finch.

Majestic blooms from our Sum and Substance hosta.

Our grandson-in-law showing his son some of the sights in our pond.

An alert meerkat living up to it's reputation for inquisitiveness and vigilance at the Rocky Mountain Zoo near Colorado Springs.

The deteriorating boardwalk on my favorite trail in Indiana Dunes State Park.

My two favorite princesses - both my namesakes - Tessa Mary and Mary Addison born two weeks apart!

To see many more varied and beautiful pictures from 2011, visit Beth's I Should Be Folding Laundry.

You Capture - Back-to-School AND Summer Sunsets

This week Beth gave us a You Capture choice - either Back-to-School or Summer Sunsets. Of course, right away I chose summer sunsets because I don't have any back-to-school people in my household. However, since I happened to be at Beth's yesterday when the kids got home, I felt compelled to try to capture Back-to-School.

Here they are right after they got off the bus and as they ran up to greet Eli and I.

And it's incredible to me how much things have changed since our kids were in school. Back then, computers were only around for games and entertainment - today they might will be an integral part of a homework assignment.

As I drove home, I started making plans to capture a beautiful sunset over Lake Michigan and I just know if there had been a few respectable clouds, I would have nailed this challenge. Instead of clouds, though, there was wind and I tried to include some of the incredible waves while being sand blasted and never taking my hand off my camera bag and tripod for fear they'd blow away.

Obviously I wasn't the only one braving the incredible, relentless wind to capture the moment.

I took hundreds of pictures and I just couldn't quite get it right. If I captured the sky, the waves disappeared in shadows. If I got the waves right, the sunset colors washed away. So I'll just include a couple of samples of what I got (including the Chicago Skyline in the next one).

After pretty much accepting defeat at the lake shore, I headed over to the harbor and captured what I think are true summer sunsets.

Even here the winds were howling but since it was a much more protected area, the gales are not reflected in the photos. And I like them better.

For more You Capture - Back to School and/or Summer Sunsets, visit Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry.