Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- Reflections

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Reflections

Chosen by Lew.


After a scare with my computer--it sometimes refuses to recognize my external hard drive, so I thought I may have lost all my digital images--and about an hour of my time, I gained a few gray hairs and a few images to share with you here today.  I also became a world traveler for these images, from home in Chicago, to New York, and all the way to Paris.

Here is the full image from my header:

Cloud Gate, a.k.a. The Bean, Chicago, Illinois.

I left this image as I had edited it several years ago (2011).  The Bean is a great "reflector," isn't it?  Here's another very subtle image of The Bean:


Above, if you look closely, you can see the edge of The Bean.  I framed it with the tree in the foreground, and the concrete wall, so it looks like you're looking at the city skyline.  But, if you look at the buildings closely, they're a bit curved!  You're really looking at the city's reflection in The Bean.  Clever, huh?  *pats self on back*

One more stylized image from The Bean's reflection:


On to New York--not the city, but my favorite place on Earth:  Lake Bonaparte.  I photographed a 100-year celebration of one family's Lake home, when, toward the end of the event, I spotted the reflection of the Lake behind me in this gazing ball.  It was getting on toward sunset, too, hence the pinks and purples in the reflection.


Now I'm jetting across the Atlantic to Mac's side of the world, and Paris!  One of my classic favorites from our silver anniversary trip is this picture of Notre Dame across the Seine, with the lights reflecting a beautiful gold across the water.


On to the Eiffel Tower, with Fernando's and my reflections in the window as we waited for the elevator to take us to the top of the tower.


At the Grand Palais, I spotted this French flag and its reflection in the window.  I focused on the reflection, creating a bit of out-of-focus fuzz on the actual flag.


This is one of my favorite reflection photos.  We spotted this painter in a storefront studio, and my aim was to capture her at her art.  I ended up with an image that did that, but that also captured the reflections of buildings across the street, plus a whole lot to look at and let your eye wander over.


Thanks for traveling the world and reflecting on my images with me!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- Vertical

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Vertical

Chosen by me.


I had this specific image in mind when I thought about a theme for this week.  I'm always intrigued by perspective, and I was tossing around the idea of how different an image can look and feel depending on whether it's taken vertically or horizontally.  First, here is my header image, full frame:


I'm still slightly a-wonder when I see this image, and I'm saving my pennies to have it developed on a large canvas to be placed in our dining room.  Note the difference in the feeling evoked with the vertical perspective (below), which is how I usually want to orient really tall tree pictures:


These pine trees at the Morton Arboretum are massively tall, but I really think that the horizontal perspective gives a completely different feel--I get the sense of tallness, to be sure, but the sheer vastness of the pine forest overwhelms me, and I am taken back to that moment I walked among the pines, the whisper-feel of the ground as I walked by, just the silence and majesty.  I'm waxing eloquent here, but you see the difference.

One more horizontal vs. vertical, so you can see the difference.  I also like the horizontal perspective of this next image over its vertical companion.



Now on to purely horizontal images of vertical things!  Usually, I shoot fireworks vertically, because they go way up, up, and up, but I shot some of these horizontally, and was able to capture the fireworks bursting in the sky, shooting up from the water, plus the reflection.  I really like this shot.

ISO 100, 17-40mm at 17mm, f/8, 4-second exposure. 
(In case you wondered.)

Buildings are another thing typically shot vertically, but I love this next one, which really gives an impression of height.


Flowers, too, with their stems, tend to be shot long-wise.  Here are a few horizontal frames that show a vertical sense.



Well, that's what I had in mind for this week's theme.  I love trying a challenge, and I think this challenged me to see things in a way I don't usually see them.  Thanks for visiting me today, and I hope I've inspired you, too!!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- Something Red

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Something Red

Chosen by Mac.


Thank you, Mac, for choosing a bright theme in the middle of our dreary winter!  Here is my header, which I originally cropped this way (in the header, it's cropped a bit more):

 Trio of red spring flowers.

Here are the rest of my red images to brighten your day!

Street sign at my alma mater.

Punch at a barn wedding.

Baby rhubarb in early spring.

More spring flowers.
 
Now, on to summer...

Dessert at Treats 'n 'Tiques -- the cherry on the top of summer!

Fireworks on the lake.

Tomatoes, peppers, and basil.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- Spare Time

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants
Imac 
Lew

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.
Click on the other participants' blogs to see
what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Spare Time

Chosen by Craver.


One of our Headbangers, Kathy, said:  "Spare time?  What's that??"  I agreed with her, and wondered what images I could use to depict what I do in my spare time.  But then a simple solution hit me, so I rolled with it.  Here's my Spare Time header image:

Joseph gets a spare!

It was time to go way back in my photo archives (2011) to find some bowling pictures I took at one of our weekly outings with my parents.

Joseph rolling his green ball.

That's my dad below--he was 79 then, and he still bowls today at (almost) 83!



Danny mid-stride.

Thomas' smooth form.

Thomas bowls backwards--I forget what term my Dad used.  Even though Thomas is right-handed, he throws the ball toward the left, it spins, then curves back into the pins.  He was really good at it, for a kid with no lessons and no clue how to bowl, either!

What do you do in your spare time??


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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