Old Picture Files - 20100811

I used to walk and take pictures at Striebel Pond all the time.  Not only was the walking good for me, but I captured some great shots back then.  I have to give some of the credit to Beth's You Capture because a lot of the pictures I took were to fit into a certain theme or challenge.

But sometimes I took pictures just to see what I could get.

I've been trying to catch up on labeling old files and I ran across these from August 11th, 2010.  The light must have been just right to make it a perfect picture taking night because I love these snapshots of a night at Striebel Pond.

 I loved the red cast on the geese in this shot.

But a few minutes later with a different background and I loved the blue cast and the fact that the geese almost stood out like they were in 3D.

When I first looked at this shot, I saw silvery water and an orderly swan family.

But in this picture, the peaceful coexistence between the ducks and the swans was the focus for me.

 And at the end of my walk I loved the silver and gold in this picture.


And this last shot was taken deep into the evening on a bridge overlooking the night resting place for almost all the birds of Striebel Pond.

The only birds that never got to sleep here were the geese.  The swans never allowed them to be anywhere near them.  (To see proof, visit the 3-post series that started here) I'm sure it was the surly attitude of the geese too because the swans got along with everybody else.

You Capture - Togetherness

Beth's You Capture subject for this week is Togetherness so of course I visited Striebel Pond because I know there's always lots of togetherness there.

And I couldn't post Striebel Pond togetherness without including some of our feathered friends.

Here are the swans all bunched together:

And here we see that although birds of a feather do stick together, sometimes birds not of a feather stick with them:

These guys were together on how to pose for the camera.

And these guys, together, weren't interested in posing for the camera at all.

For more togetherness, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry and, remember, it's more fun if you join in and post your favorite Togetherness shots from this week.

You Capture - Mornings

The things I do for Beth and her You Capture! Tuesday morning I couldn't sleep because I knew I needed to get up and capture some very early morning pictures for this week's challenge. The times on my pictures are all off by one hour because when I returned from Michigan a couple of weeks ago, I forgot to reset the time on my camera.

I got up about 5:15 and had to wait about a half hour for there to be enough light and enough color to start my project. While I fried hamburgers for Mr. Right to take in his lunch, I kept stepping out to the backyard in my pajamas to see what I could get.

When I didn't think the colors seemed true enough in my camera's review screen, I tried switching lenses. It made a difference but I'm not sure for the better.

After Mr. Right left for work, I headed around to the front of the house where I liked how the sun coming up and shining through the trees actually seemed to turn some of the leaves red.

Then I threw on some clothes, dragged a comb across my head, and headed to Striebel Pond to see what goes on out there in the very early mornings. As soon as I started my walk, I caught this shot.

Then I spotted the swans and was chagrined to see that the kids were still sleeping and Mom & Dad were just beginning to stir.

I headed to the bridge from which I often shoot and saw the geese and ducks were stretching, honking, quacking and generally starting their morning toilette.

Around the northeast end of the pond I saw the sun shining on the flag from a different direction than I'd observed before so I snapped it.

And before I completed my walk, I saw that the sun was already obscured by clouds but it still made for a pretty morning photo.

Visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry to see what other people do in the mornings; or better yet, take some photos and show us what you do in the mornings.

You Capture - Everyday Things

This You Capture was challenging for me only it wasn't. The challenge was in deciding whether or not it was okay to photograph things that were 'everyday' to me but probably not to everybody else. So I decided to do a mix.

For example. Everyday items for me (because they're found at Striebel Pond):

And everyday items for most people:

Everyday items to me and everybody else (because there are 60 katrillion of these in North America).

Then everyday items to me again:

And to everybody else again:

And then this picture has elements of both in it. The swans are everyday to me and the fence is everyday to everybody.

Everyday to most people (hopefully):

There you have it. My versions of everyday pictures. For more, visit Beth at ishouldbefoldinglaundry.

You Capture - Green

Oh happy day! One of the choices this week was green and since it's been such a wet summer and I spend so much time outside taking pictures, choosing green was a no brainer.

There was a place in the Dunes that I remembered from last year that was unusually serene and green and I thought to head out there. And there was a blogger whose blog I love and who I had been looking forward to walking with. So yesterday it all came together. Bacardi Mama and I did the approximately three mile trail in Indiana Dunes State Park. It was one of the best walks EVER! And we took some pictures too. The funny thing was that I wanted to walk this trail to capture this pond and we walked right by it. That's some good conversation!

Obviously we doubled back and captured a few pond shots.

As we walked further, there was another wet area where the green was less algae and more reflection so we captured a few shots there. I think one of these is greener but the other is more beautiful so they both made the cut.

This one made the cut because it is SO GREEN!

But as fun as Dunes State Park was, I just couldn't dis Striebel Pond completely so I have to include some shots I got there. This one I risked life and limb for. It was a secluded creek and I had to negotiate my way down a steep incline with loose and treacherous rocks. I was very brave though - three times. Because each time that I downloaded the pictures on my computer, I was disappointed and had to go back. I finally settled on this one.

Here I liked the way the green cattails looked with the blue water background.

And I knew all along that I was going to include some ducks with their green green heads. I had to be careful though because in some lights their heads turn blue!

For lots more green... or hands ...... or chairs, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry.

You Capture - Fun

I knew right away this You Capture wasn't for me. I mean I'm happy and everything and I have fun ranting about how much I don't like the fact that baseball is ruled by human beings (umpires) but it's not something you can take a picture of. So I thought about my grandchildren and that's fun but guess what, I haven't seen any of them during this assignment period.

So today, I walked at Striebel Pond which is my wont. As I got out of the car with my camera on my shoulder, I thought I ought to just leave it in the car because I can't see a single thing worth taking pictures of.

And then I started to have fun because it's really fun when you think there won't be anything to photograph and you capture this:

And then it's fun when you're trying to take a picture of a subject and you get two subjects - like this:

I was trying to get a picture of a pied billed grebe. They're a blast because they're shy and when you stop and look at them, they duck under water for the longest time. So I was waiting for him to surface when this guy flew by and I captured him.

Finally the grebe had to surface and I got him too.

And I'm always trying to get photos of the terns that frequent Striebel Pond but they're always flying so it's a little harder. But today, one of them was resting with the rest of the preeners. He's the short white guy with the black hat and orange lips.

It was fun watching one of the adult swans telling the kids to line up:

And then watching them obey:

It was fun photographing the great blue heron with the great white heron (egret) in the background. (I thought herons were so territorial.)

And it was fun spotting and capturing these beautiful purple flowers - with one type being quite a bit more beautiful -

Than the other -

Oh and there was one more fun thing going on. I noticed from a distance that every once in awhile there'd be a great deal of splashing going on around the gang of ducks, egret, and tern. When I got closer it appeared that the ducks were taking turns cooling everybody else down. They'd all be quiet for a bit then all of a sudden one or two ducks would run around splashing everybody and then they'd be quiet again. They even did it for me when I was close enough to get a picture.

So I got my four mile walk in but most importantly I had fun doing it. Sometimes the unexpected fun is the most fun of all.

To see other fun versions, visit Beth at Ishouldbefoldinglaundry. And for some real fun, join in yourself. Go take a picture and post it!