Well we've been having some really beautiful sunny days here for the past couple of weeks, so the weather is great! Although just a little rain would be nice occasionally. Such a difference to all the other photos that seem to be going up on the CY365 website, seeing that most of them live in the northern hemisphere. So here is our poinciana tree in full bloom - just in time for Christmas.
How's The Weather: The Temperature | The Conditions | The Layers Well we've been having some really beautiful sunny days here for the past couple of weeks, so the weather is great! Although just a little rain would be nice occasionally. Such a difference to all the other photos that seem to be going up on the CY365 website, seeing that most of them live in the northern hemisphere. So here is our poinciana tree in full bloom - just in time for Christmas. And now we're off to take our grandson to see the Christmas lights. He's already been last night and apparently just loved them so when I told my son we were off to see the street that they'd visited he asked if we wanted to take Hunter. Of course we said yes!
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Quiet: Peaceful | Not A Creature Stirring | Silent
I just went through the days left on my December list and I have a funny feeling that somewhere along the way I have lost a day. I think today really should be Day 351 … I wonder where that happened! When I have a little more time to spend in front of the computer and on the blog, I will go back, find it and correct the entries. Some days it's a struggle to come up with a photo, and I think I've mentioned before how similar I find a lot of the prompts. This prompt falls into that category. No early morning fog, and soft quiet snow drifts, didn't want to do sleeping animals, so I've gone with the setting sun. It is a quiet time of the afternoon when I'm winding down (especially at this time of year), the animals have been exercised and fed, and I'm getting ready to have dinner and then relax. I do think next year will be a challenge trying to come up with new ideas for photos to fit the prompts. I guess that's good for enhancing my creativity ... Through My Window: My View | Looking In | Looking Out
This was a case of taking a photo for the prompt, so nothing exciting here. I spent quite a bit of time with the water pressure sprayer thingy, trying to clean the pavers in readiness for Christmas. It was a rather overcast and dull day and not overly inspiring for taking photos. Nevertheless, this is taken through our glass doors (which I have just cleaned) and the framework forms part of the security screen. I tried to use the framework to 'frame' the picture to make it a little more interesting and I have played around in Lightroom to try and give a bit of oomph to this shot. But, never mind, I am now back on track to taking my photos each day! Boundless Spirit: Joy | Exuberance | Joie de Vivre
Sorry to post yet another photo of one of the dogs, but …no, actually, no I'm not sorry, they're worth the extra photos. Bella is 9 and her enthusiasm and joy in chasing the ball is unlimited. And even when I think she's had enough and I go over to take the ball, she's up and ready to go again. Zimi on the other hand, while totally besotted with the balls, and beside himself when it's getting close to "throw the ball time", cannot bring himself to let me take the balls away from him to throw again. I see Bella and Zimi bring such total commitment to what they're doing, their joy and ability to be in the moment is something to learn from, to aspire to. As Wikipedia puts it: "… joie de vivre may be seen as a joy of everything, a comprehensive joy, a philosophy of life …" I think that sums it up quite nicely, and I'm pretty sure Bella is smiling in this photo. Entertainment: Amusement | Fun | Diversion In a way I suppose this is entertainment. We had a thunderstorm pass through in the afternoon with dark rolling clouds, thunder, lightning, rain and wind. Quite exciting actually, I thought, but my two fierce German Shepherds were hiding behind me. After the storm passed, we were presented with amazing colours in the sky and clouds. I couldn't resist! And yes, I did miss yesterday's photo.
Progress: Forward | Movement | Continue
Today's email was about how to capture movement, in particular, someone running, so for those who are interested ... Photographing Runners Have you wondered how to create more interesting running photos? Follow a few steps to get the best running photos:
Over the past few months I've done quite a lot of photography involving movement, not only of the dogs, but also of my grandchildren playing football, and I have numerous photos I could have used for this prompt. However, today was a rather stormy day, with lots of thunder, lightning, rain, wind and hail. Not really the most conducive for being outside and taking photos of the dogs running. Actually, I don't think I would have been able to convince Bella to chase the ball while there was thunder, as she has become increasingly more and more frightened of the electrical storms since we've been down here, and doesn't like to leave my side - literally. I was reading while it was raining at one point in time, and couldn't work out what was making these strange noises I was hearing. Being from far north Queensland and not experiencing hail, it took a few minutes to realise what was happening. First stop - close the roller doors to the garage and other windows in the house, second stop - grab the camera! Wrong. Camera is in the shed so it was back to using the iPhone. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get any "good" shots. In my defence it was windy, raining and hailing, and I had two dogs underfoot while I was getting wetter and colder. Not a lot of time to experiment with angles, focussing, apertures or depth of field. Unspoken Words: Connection | Emotion | A Look
There are some prompts that seem to require taking a photo of someone. Today was one such prompt. The inspiration email talked about capturing the emotion of whoever you are taking a photo, of making a connection and getting them to relax in front of the camera so that the end result is a natural looking photo. These are the ones that are a bit tricky to do at home by myself. I have lots of photos that I have taken recently that are candid shots of people and I think I've managed to capture the emotion but they're not particularly helpful today. Bouquets of flowers are another way to express oneself without words; different types of flowers are often endowed with a particular meaning. Red roses for love, springs to mind. These are stargazer lilies and have been giving meanings in many cultures. They can symbolise romance, wealth and prosperity. The white lilies often symbolise purity. Their scent is exquisite and quite strong. Simple Pleasures: Happy Satisfaction | Clean Sheets | A Beautiful View
The simple pleasures in life - I have no idea how to photograph the many things that give me pleasure. It can be the early morning sun as I'm walking the dogs, the way the light shines through the trees. Eating breakfast outside and watching the antics of the birds as they come to the feeder. The way the little ladies come running to the fence when they know I'm going to their area. The joy that Bella and Zimi show every morning when they see me, without fail. New flowers, the setting sun, raindrops on spiderwebs, the list is seemingly endless. I think it is a way of embracing and actively enjoying and appreciating what is around me - a way of seeing and being in my world. Today my simple pleasure was when I went down to give the ladies some treats and saw next door's three week old ducklings swimming in their pond. You know the next bit - back to the house to get the camera. This time mother and father duck didn't seem as stressed by me getting close like they did previously, but I still kept my distance and used the telephoto lens. This little one put such a smile on my face when I looked at the photos on the computer. Those little feet must have been doing some serious paddling underneath the water, but doesn't it look oh so pleased with itself! Freedom: Unrestricted | Freedom | Open
This prompt falls on Remberence day - quite appropriate for Australians as we reflect on the freedoms we have thanks to all those who have served our Country and lost their lives. Obviously I didn't take this photo today - it's one from when we were on holidays in Austria and the poppies were in bloom. It's been awhile since I've used Photoshop to add text to a photo but I remembered it when I was thinking of what to do for today. Quiet Moments: Stopping | Reflecting | Reading It's probably pretty obvious by now that I enjoy taking photos of the flowers around our yard. I was walking back to the house when I noticed these grasses being lit by the setting sun. The light was just too beautiful to miss. Taking the time to stop and notice the beauty that is around provides me with an opportunity to slow down, to soak it in, to take a deep, cleansing breath and appreciate where I am in my life. I love how the light makes a perfectly ordinary flower look just so stunning. Thought I'd also share this photo - again lit by the afternoon sun.
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ARCHIVE CY365 -2014
This blog started out to be about my first 365 day photography project - one photo each day - through Katrina Kennedy's Capture Your 365 challenge Blogs I followThe more I start looking at blogs the more I find that are interesting. This is not good. I can never remember where I found them. Not to mention how time consuming they can be ...
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