I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a knowledgeable birder. I just love watching my birds out our window. Today was very dreary and gloomy, so in keeping with the "what makes you happy" theme, I decided to look for the bright colors in our birds. The finches were wonderful in their now vibrant yellows, and then the  cardinals came by. They are here often, so that was not surprising, but then they did something I had never seen before - he fed her! She stayed in the tree while he went to the feeder and brought her back a seed and placed it in her mouth.

According the 'Nature's Crusaders' blog site "This beautiful male bird also courts his future mate by feeding her seeds. When the female agrees to become his mate they sing to each other."  They only did it the one time, then flew off, so I was so surprised, that the photo isn't the greatest, but it made me very happy to have seen them courting and to have captured it at all! It also makes me happy to know I am not the only female in the world to have been courted through feeding!

And here is the goldfinch feeding them self!

To continue with the theme... Comfort is always just a handhold away for me. While sitting on the couch, I had to set and hold the camera, while Jon pushed the button because my right hand was occupied!


I love my "Frig Gallery" lots of memories and generations represented here.

Today starts a new theme: things that bring you comfort or happiness. Meet Mr. Pig. I found him about 30 years ago while we were vacationing in California. Our rental car was so small and he is about two feet tall, so he sat on my lap in the car and plane. He is a lamp and has been in various places of honor and storage during the subsequent years, but every time I look at his smile, I think of that wonderful trip and the fun we had. So he is always a source of happiness for me. On the left is a full figure of him, and below his formal resume picture.

I really like this shot. The flag is being reflected in one of the mirrors for sale. It was a grand day here in the heartland of the U.S.A.! Below is a shot of the sliver of moon that was waiting for me when I woke up yesterday- the beginning of a clear and beautiful day!

Garage sale today, and so here are a couple shots; one of the items and one of the customers. Fun day of meeting people and gorgeous weather! On the left is one of my mannequins waiting to be put into the sale. Below is one of the customers, who decided that everyone needs a bear!

It has been along day of hauling garage sale stuff out to the garages and tent.

Decided the world needs a new magazine, so published my own.

Almost missed today, but opened this carton of eggs and got inspired for this cover.

BTW: do you know that it is the genetics and breed of the chicken that colors the eggs!

My fictional magazine covers continue with what is every photographers dream!

I have heard rumors that a couple of NG photographers are headquartered in Charlottesville, VA... Maybe I will bump into them some day. I bet they have great stories!

This deer skull has resided in our yard for a couple of years now. We do find a few new bones every spring; the cycle of life and all.

Our challenge continue; to create photos worthy of magazine covers. This first one is a selfie (which proved much harder to take and focus than I thought it would!) taken to celebrate our love of self-expression through the interwebs!

This one is a more conventional solution, but just glad no one saw me out in my robe, prone on the dew-wet grass at sunrise! Oh the things we do for art!

The "fake magazine" theme continues, so today; one for Jon and one for me.

Photo one is our meal last night. Fantastic roasted pork and potatoes with asparagus... a sure sign of spring!

The second is a trade magazine that I got for many years, with a photo I took of a slug of type that was from the Wisconsin State Journal. (Pennsylvania Oil Company ad)

This week we are to take our photos as if they are for magazine covers. Then (if we want to) fake the cover.It is Sunday, so it only seems right to use the Sunday Times! And The second one is just a return to my old Graphic Design stomping grounds.


PS: note for my Graphic Design friends - these are rough layouts done in Gimp - the project is about the appropriateness of the photo!

First a selfie, then a shot of two of the other regulars; one working, one waiting.


Both take with my phone and edited in PicMonkey.

I just came about as close as ever to not posting for today. After a day of packing, purging and pricing for the upcoming garage sale and moving, I was beat. Jon handed me a glass of wine and we sat and enjoyed that, while he mixed up some dessert. Well, how could I not help but find inspiration in him!

This is the only time of year I can get into the woods behind our house. The rest of the year it is far too full of underbrush. But even at this time of year it has its hazards. The deer ate the brambles down to the snow level, but the barbs remain lower than that. This is looking straight down on one of those nibbled upon sticks focusing on the barb.

There is also a momentary creek that runs through the woods at this time of year. Below is the reflections of the trees (vertically) and the long shadows of the trees in the late afternoon sun. They combine to form a plaid!

The only good thing about the snow yesterday and today is that the birds are feeding like crazy, so time for some pics. Using a Point of View that ignored the colors and looked at shapes and values, here is the front and back of one of our many finches.

When I started thinking about Point of View, my first thought was, not surprisingly, all about angles; up, down, front, back, etc. But in thinking about it more, I realized it was also about context. Seeing/showing the daffodil's beauty in the context of the season - not just as a beautiful object - significantly improves the odds of showing why it is so welcome. See my blog post HERE to read more about this theory.

Then I also thought about POV in terms of expectations. I love the trees in the dense woods by us. I have often tried to photo them on beautiful days or at sunset or at other times of expected beautiful lighting conditions. But the trees would always meld together into one large cacophony of branches. 

I realized today, that maybe I should try another point of view. That today's fog might provide a separating denseness to the air that could define the layers of trees and differentiate them. Well it worked. I finally got the depth and definition I had hoped for.

Went to the Midwest Horse Fair yesterday. It was magnificent! The horses, the riders, the attendees, all were interesting and ripe for photography! These first three are examples of trying a non-traditional point of view (this weeks challenge in the group) . I love how the shine of the newly clipped coat shows up from this angle (left).

Below are two more examples of POV; one is just from the back instead of the normal front or side... but I love how it shows the three pony tails! The second is a POV that explores framing the object of the shot within the shot.

If I haven't bored you yet, CLICK HERE to see a larger collection of images from the show!

The group's  theme is changing from The "same object" (Zebra) to "unique point of view" this week. So today is a day of transition. First a picture of Zebra from a unique point of view, as he naps after his hard week of modeling. Then I put the phone on the floor for a unique POV selfie to start the week... We will see what happens from here on!

Zebra almost looks real zebra size as he checks out the sunrise for yet another day of modeling. 

At sunset we went back outside. The initial plan was  to just shoot his long shadow, but then decided to include me in one also.

Just one more day with of Zebra, then a new challenge starts.

Zebra strolls in the moonlight (left) after a daytime game of hide-and-go-seek (below).

Zebra decided to have breakfast with the birds today (above)... The finch wasn't sure about this, but soon was taking a ride on Zebra's back!

Later we went out to check on the progress of the Pasque flowers... Slowly but surely they are opening!

Being that he is just a wee bit vain, Zebs had to check out his "dailies" and the number of "likes" he was getting in the 365 group. But then he got distracted by all of the wonderful pictures being posted, and spent hours looking through them.

Finally he turned and announced "I am ready for my close-up". So I shot him. Then like any good diva, he turned and walked away when he had enough.

He is just a shadow of himself today. Enjoying the morning sun until we get in the car and go do errands, where he assumes his position in my purse!

Today starts a new theme, and this week it is to take a pic of the same object every day, while changing the lighting and such.

I keep a little wooden Zebra in my purse. It is a go-to guy for those times when the grandkids (or I!) get bored in the car, restaurant or elsewhere. Then he comes out to say hello. He has traveled far and wide, and is a bit worn in spots, but still pretty feisty for a zebra.

To kick off the week we went on a nature walk. It has been an especially cold and long winter for Zebra, who has not been out to roam much at all lately. First he wanted to get a meal of fresh greens, so we took a stop on the mossy logs so he could catch some rays and eat some greens.

From there, we went exploring to see how the Pasque flowers were coming along, then some tree climbing and, finally, he was a bit shocked to see the bones of someone who didn't make it through the winter.  He thought maybe, they too, should find a purse to live in.