Tuesday, November 29, 2011

365 Project -- #323-329

This is the time in my week when I look back at the images I've captured
throughout the previous week, and choose my seven favorites.
These seven--one for each day of the week--are featured below.


November 19 - November 25

Thanksgiving week is always a great week for lots of pictures.  We shared a blessed time with my family for Thanksgiving Day, and those are the images I'll be sharing here.  Don't worry; I'm sharing only seven.  I like to stick to the rules.  (I did break it once, on July 4...)

These images serve as a documentary to a fun- and laughter-filled day with my family.

We bought this turkey from our farmer:  23 pounds of free-range yumminess.

[323] Free range turkey

My dad likes to inspect the carving work.

[324] Slice it right

This is the first time in a long time that we took a family photo at the dinner table.  (My older brother and his wife spent Thanksgiving with her family, so we'll do this again next year when we're all together.)

[325] The table is set

Lots of activity going on after dinner.

[326] Thanksgiving games

Six pies.  Nine people.  You do the math.  :)

[327] Thanksgiving pie

My parents can be goofy.  Especially my dad.  I asked them to pose, and my mom did, ever so nicely!

[328] Yep, they're my parents!

Yeah, my mom can be silly, too.

[329] Whipped cream

I am thankful for my family.  They are the best.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Friday, November 25, 2011

Harrisville, and My Own Little Ritual

Tuesday, October 11.  Lake Bonaparte, upstate New York.  Foothills of the Adirondacks.  Last day at the Lake.

Part I -- Harrisville

After lunch, Mom and I drove through Harrisville on our way home from errands.  The scene below is what you see right before you hit the "business district" (really--that's what the sign says!).  This is the Oswegatchie River.  Beautiful!


So, below is the bustling business district of Harrisville--all four buildings.  Well, there's also a bakery and a library on the other side of the street.


In case you missed it, below is a more detailed look.  :)


From where I took the above image, I turned 180 degrees and jogged across Route 3 (which leads you to Lake Placid if you drive another hour or so).  Standing on the sidewalk along the bridge, I viewed the below--it is the same place where we had a picnic lunch last summer.


Now that more and more trees were turning, the colors were brilliant as they shone out between all the evergreens along the river.



And below is my absolute favorite shot of the day.


Back at the Lake house, I noticed a single tree along Hermitage Road across from the house.  First, though, below is a "before" shot.  I had inadvertently captured the tree on October 7 while shooting my tea mug (don't ask).  You can't see the tree well, since it's green.  It's that tall, skinny tree in the upper third of the image, right in the middle, outlined against the sky.


Here it is three days later, October 10, captured in another scene:


And finally, seeing it framed in the trees, I featured this pretty tree in an image taken on October 11, below.  It's amazing what three autumn days can do to a tree!


For the first time during that week, clouds scudded in with the promise of rain.  I thought for sure the sunset would be beautiful--clouds are a great reflector of color and add interest to a sunset image.  However, it was not to be.  Still, this quiet, nondescript sunset was pretty and calming to my spirit.



A little to the north of "sunset central," the colors peeked through a bit more dramatically.  I took a shot there, then headed back up to the house.  I would've stayed and taken more as the colors changed into night, but everyone was waiting for me--our pizza had been delivered for dinner!



Part II -- My Own Little Ritual

Wednesday, October 12.  Lake Bonaparte, upstate New York.  Foothills of the Adirondacks.  Last morning at the Lake.

The car was packed with almost everything, my dad and brother were finishing up the last of the winterizing chores for the cottage, and I had a few minutes to spare.  It was time for my own little ritual.

I plodded on down toward the docks, the overcast skies matching my melancholy mood.  Once again, a glassy Lake Bonaparte greeted me, quietly wishing me farewell until next year.


The colors across the bay were now brilliant and deep.


This is my ritual on the last morning at the Lake.  Right before getting in the car for the long drive home, I say goodbye.  It is my own personal ritual, though others in my family may also do it.  I need one last view--a lingering and remembering, a savoring and treasuring.  I want to get the picture clearly in my mind.  Then it's time to leave.



I will sing to the LORD,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 13:6 NASB


Previous Lake posts

Part 1 -- Autumn Lake Nature Walk
Part 2 -- Pontoon Panorama
Part 3 -- Saturday Scenes from the Boat
Part 4 -- Food! Glorious Food!
Part 5 -- People, Boats, and Pictures
Part 6 -- God's Hand Across the Sky
Part 7 -- One Last Ride in the Cadillac
Part 8 -- It Must Come Out!
Part 9 -- One More Boat, One More Campfire
Part 10 -- Walking Hemitage Road
Part 11 -- Water, Sky, Trees, Leaves 



Capturing the moments of life.

Christine

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Monday, November 21, 2011

365 Project -- #316-322

This is the time in my week when I look back at the images I've captured
throughout the previous week, and choose my seven favorites.
These seven--one for each day of the week--are featured below.


November 12 - November 18

Slow is a good word to describe last week, photographically speaking.  Ellie sat a lot, but that's okay--I was busy in the home, which I like to be, and didn't get much chance (or didn't think about it much) to pull her out and take pictures.  I have a few random shots of those few times I did get Ellie out, and then a small event with our son, Jacob.

Soooo...I made pico de gallo with most of the rest of my garden tomatoes that had ripened.  I ended up with about eight cups of salsa, which we enjoyed throughout the week.

[316] Pico de gallo

Okay, the below is a really bizarre shot.  One night we noticed that the moon was really low, heavy and full in the sky.  I've experimented with moon shots before, so I figured I'd do so again.  After trying different angles and exposures, I finally just set Ellie at f40 and took a 25-second exposure.  In post-edit, I had to jack up the fill light to see everything, and this is what I ended up with.  (The white streak is what showed up from a plane flying by.)

[317] Moonscape

The rest of the images below were taken at our son Jacob's induction ceremony for Phi Theta Kappa (honor society for two-year colleges).  We're so proud of his hard work at school, and we're really hoping that his brother Danny will follow in his footsteps.  We met a couple other homeschool graduates after the ceremony, and enjoyed some fantastic appetizers made by the Joliet Junior College culinary students.

 [318] Phi Theta Kappa

 [319] Ceremony program

[320] Inductees

[321] Signing the register

[322] Phi Theta Kappa member


That was a very nice ending to our week!  This week I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving; I'm determined to take as many pictures of family as food!  Plus, we're going on a crazy trip to Wisconsin with dear friends to get a Christmas tree.  I know for sure Ellie will produce a bonanza of great images this upcoming week!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Friday, November 18, 2011

Water, Sky, Trees, Leaves

Tuesday, October 11.  Lake Bonaparte, in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains.  Last day at the Lake.

We were too busy cleaning, winterizing, and packing to be sad that it was the last day on Lake Bonaparte.  Still, the knowledge that I wouldn't see the Lake again for a while weighed on me, so I made sure to spend a little time that morning just enjoying the scenery from our dock.



Since we're on the East shore, our dock is shrouded in morning shadow.  Looking out on the Lake makes for a beautiful scene, though!


The other side of the bay was green just a few days ago.  I love the reds and oranges among the trees.


The glassy surface of the Lake provided some beautiful reflection images of both trees and clouds.



I love this knotty, rocky stand of trees next to our little dock.  As children, we pretended this was our house, with its own doorway, rock tables, and rooms.  Grammy had old pots and pans we could use to make "sand soup" and other concoctions.


Peeling birch bark


Sigh.  It was heavenly being there!  I glanced down at the water along our shoreline, and noticed again how calm it was.  Fallen leaves drifted gently along, and almost looked like they were floating in the reflection of clouds and sky.



Yeah, I threw a fish shot in here.  I wasn't prepared to take a photo into the water, but I figured I'd try to capture one of the larger fish to show my fisherman husband.  (He appreciated the gesture.)


My favorite leaf image is below.  I love the sharpness of the leaf, with its clearly defined shadow.  It does almost look like it's floating in the sky!  And if you're reading this post in November 2011, you can see this leaf as my blog banner above.  :)


Even though I sometimes feel like this leaf--afloat without an anchor--I know otherwise.


This hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
a hope both sure and steadfast
and one which enters within the veil...
Hebrews 6:19 NASB


To read the next (and last) post about my Lake Bonaparte getaway, click here.

Previous Lake posts

Part 1 -- Autumn Lake Nature Walk
Part 2 -- Pontoon Panorama
Part 3 -- Saturday Scenes from the Boat
Part 4 -- Food! Glorious Food!
Part 5 -- People, Boats, and Pictures
Part 6 -- God's Hand Across the Sky
Part 7 -- One Last Ride in the Cadillac
Part 8 -- It Must Come Out!
Part 9 -- One More Boat, One More Campfire
Part 10 -- Walking Hemitage Road


Treasuring life's moments,

Christine

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Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Walking Hermitage Road

Monday, October 10.  Upstate New York.  Foothills of the Adirondack Mountains.  Another crystal clear autumn day at Lake Bonaparte.


A peek into our bay at the Lake

My mom and I decided to take a walk up Hermitage Road, mostly to see Charlotte (more about her below).  She was obliging toward my frequent stops and shots of the Lake and other scenes that caught my photographer's eye.  Thanks, Mom; you're the best!!

I'm going to try to do a "photojournal" post, letting my images tell the story, with a caption included every now and then.

Isn't the Lake pretty today?




Starting up the hill at Hermitage Road

St. Rita's; now being transformed into a private residence


Words needed now!  I know you're freaking out--as I did--at the below.  Let me introduce you to Charlotte, "pet" spider at the W. family Lake house.  She has been living on their deck all summer, and even had an egg sac with lots of babies!  Doesn't that thrill you to know there are potentially hundreds of little ones just like her hiding around somewhere??


Okay, quick--back to scenery and our walk!

The view from the W.'s deck

My favorite image from our walk


Back at our own Lake home...


And of course, as the hours rolled on, it was time for the end of another day.


Good night, Monday


I will sing to the LORD,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Psalm 13:6 NASB


To read the next post about my Lake Bonaparte getaway, click here.


Previous Lake posts

Part 1 -- Autumn Lake Nature Walk
Part 2 -- Pontoon Panorama
Part 3 -- Saturday Scenes from the Boat
Part 4 -- Food! Glorious Food!
Part 5 -- People, Boats, and Pictures
Part 6 -- God's Hand Across the Sky
Part 7 -- One Last Ride in the Cadillac
Part 8 -- It Must Come Out!
Part 9 -- One More Boat, One More Campfire



Capturing the moments of life.

Christine

Visit my website
Stop by my family blog
Find me on Facebook