Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New York. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- Trees

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 ~ Trees

Chosen by me.


Picked at the last minute (because I forgot it was my turn), the theme of Trees practically jumped out of my heart and into our theme choice for us "headbangers" this week.  I've spent almost the whole month of October watching the trees turn from their usual summer green to the beautiful jewel tones of autumn.  Here is the uncropped image I chose for my header:


I chose the above image because it cropped nicely for the header.  I love the brilliant colors contrasted with the water of the lake and the white and blue of the sky.  I love the vertical lines of the white birch tree trunks, and the gently curving shoreline.

More favorites, continuing with my week-long Lake Bonaparte visit.  One day we went for a pontoon boat ride when the water was sheet-of-glass still.  Below is one of the images I captured.


Another day, Dad and Mom took me out in the Caddy (my grandpa's old aluminum boat) for a final condensed boat ride, and ended up in Mud Lake, an extension off of the main lake.  It's owned by the U.S. Army, but as long as we stay in our boat we're fine.  :)

I took the below image as we were leaving Mud Lake.  The lily pads added to the depth of beauty and color I saw, and I took the photo at just the right moment.  It's hard capturing a scene in a constantly moving boat--the scenery is always changing and I had a split second to compose the image and capture what my eye saw!


Back on land at the lake, I took an early morning 30-degree (that's -1 Celsius, Mac!) walk down Hermitage Road to the nature preserve, then back around to turn off at Hotel Road which leads toward the lake and my parents' lake home.  Below is the entrance to Hotel Road.  I love the variety in the image--some live trees, some dead, all different types of trees, and all different stages of color.  This image currently graces my computer as the screen saver.


I looked up into one tree at the corner and snapped this one.


Speaking of looking up, back at home, I took this picture looking up into the spruce trees at The Morton Arboretum.  I converted the image to black and white due to the chromatic aberration (purple fringing around the edges of the trees) I got from shooting up into bright light and sun.  These tall spruces were gently swaying in the breeze as if talking to each other, and down below where I stood was peace and quiet, most sounds muffled and muted by the needled pathway.


Other images from the arboretum are below, taken over several trips in search of autumn's glory.


Pathway along Loop 4 (one of my favorite walks), colors at their perfect peak.

I'm posting two photos I hadn't realized I had taken until I uploaded the second "peak color" one; I took them about ten days apart.  What a difference a week makes!



Yellow forest scene.

I have one last photo to share--Jake's tree, right in my own back yard.  It was at its peak color a few days ago, so I stood at the back edge of my vegetable garden and shot toward the house to get this late afternoon image with the sun at my back illuminating the colors.


I love trees, especially during that one perfect week in autumn when they show their brilliant, glorious colors, as if to remind me to soak it in before the world turns white and gray and the waiting begins for rebirth of spring color.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- Selfies

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 ~ Selfies

Chosen by Mac.


I'm hopping on the internet quickly today to post this, so I don't miss a third week!  I was away for a little over a week in the Adirondack Mountains, and I took lots of pictures.  Fortunately, I took a few selfies which I'm sharing here now.

Selfie -- a picture taken of me, by me.

Below is my header image, uncropped.  The fact that I'm in this photo makes it a selfie; no one said anything about other people being in the picture!  Anyway, this was my second selfie with my wireless remote shutter release.  In case you don't know, I'm the girl on the right in the front; you can see my left hand with the remote.

Family and friends piled into the back of my cousin Al's pickup truck
to make the drive up the road to my cousins Tom and Mare's house (under construction).

Below is my first selfie (via the wireless remote) with my family and friends at Lake Bonaparte.  After our traditional Sunday afternoon boat ride (Columbus Day weekend), we gather together for a group picture to show everyone we were there.  Most of us are family, and the friends are practically family, too.


Up at Tom and Mare's new house, we posed outside for another group picture, with the house and some beautiful autumn trees in the background.


Then we went inside to pose under the rafters.  Tom and Mare have great dreams for this house, and I'm sure it's going to be beautiful.  Since there was little light inside, except one bulb and whatever light came through the window, I told everyone as soon as the camera started taking pictures we'd all have to freeze.  Camera settings:  ISO 8000, f9, 1/20 second.

Tom and Mare (on the left) with family and friends in their new home!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- Aah! Time to Relax!

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 ~ Aah!  Time to Relax!

Chosen by me.


Well, as you may be able to guess, I chose this theme to coincide with our mini vacation to the Adirondack Mountains and Lake Bonaparte, because I knew we'd be relaxing there quite a bit throughout the week!

Here is the uncropped image that I used for my header.


Jake was able to get a week off work, and he is dating a sweet young lady, Allie, who was also able to come with us and experience what a typical family vacation is for us.  The two cuties had plenty of time to sit, relax, do things together, chat, and just get to know each other better.

Here are some more relaxing images from Lake Bonaparte...

Fishing near the High Rocks.

Relaxing on Jackson Rock.

Beautiful sunset from our dock.

My morning mug of tea, a chair, a dock, and a beautiful view.

Swishing feet in the water!

Exploring the tree house.  (Allie's New York cousins came to visit.)

Playing cards on the front porch.

Since I'm a huge fan of sunsets, and sunsets at the Lake, I leave you with one final relaxing image, with a kayaker paddling by.


I hope you've had time to relax this summer!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Weekly Header Challenge -- Textures

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 ~ Textures

Chosen by Mac.


Popping in with a quick blog post for this week's theme!  We just returned home from a week's vacation in the Adirondack Mountains, at my parents' summer home on Lake Bonaparte.  All of my featured photos today are from our trip.

Here's my header image, uncropped:


This mushroom, as you can see below, was at least 10 inches in diameter--as big as a dinner plate!  My macro shot above shows the interesting texture.


Who can resist the texture of ice cream?  And whipped cream?  Not I!  We visited the local ice cream parlor, Treats 'n 'Tiques, for dessert one night.


I love the old textures in the sign below, which was hanging at Treats 'n 'Tiques.  The "'Tiques" is short for Antiques, and they have several on display, including old memorabilia from the area.


In town--and I use that word loosely because the main area of town is literally one block long--there is a park along the Oswegatchie River, next to the bridge at the end of the one block "business district."  You can see the bridge in the image below.


Above, I used a shutter speed of 1/250th second to achieve a stop-action kind of shot.  The texture of the water appears hard and crisp.

In the below shot, my shutter speed slowed to 4/10 second, and the texture of the water changed to a soft, flowing one.  Cool effect, huh?


Water can also appear calm and smooth, and I leave you with this final image of one of the sunsets.  It was a mostly cloudless evening sky, but I loved the orange radiating out from where the sun had set earlier.  The longer exposure (6 seconds) created the smooth, calm effect, which goes nicely with the peaceful sky.


That's all I could manage today; but, I will have more time to dedicate to next week's challenge.  See you then!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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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, November 25, 2014

Weekly Header Challenge - Silver and Gold

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 ~ Silver and Gold

Chosen by me.


I'll admit I was thinking ahead to Christmas when I thought up this theme.  And boy, if I look outside right now, it sure looks like Christmas--we got about two inches of snow yesterday!!  Either way, most of the images I've chosen today are also sparkly (I think that was a weekly theme last year).  Here is my header, full image:

Treats at a 50th wedding anniversary.


Two metals--silver and gold--and lots of medals!


Lots of silver and gold in this pool at Boldt Castle, Thousand Islands, New York.

Table silver at Boldt Castle.

My mom's silver servingware at Thanksgiving.

I collect snowflake ornaments for my Christmas tree each year, so here are some glittery silver and gold samples.




And one gold-topped Christmas gift.


Now I'm getting excited about Christmas--not just from sharing these images, but this year we're going to have a Christmas tree!  Yes, it's a little thing, really, but it's rather big with me after the last year we've endured.

Although I'd love to sign off with a Merry Christmas, I really need to say

Happy Thanksgiving!!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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