Weekly Header Challenge -- Letting Go

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Fishing Guy 

Kathy 

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 ~ Letting Go

Chosen by me.

Although I had something specific in mind for this week's theme choice, I thought that it would be broad enough that my fellow Headbangers would be able to get creative with it.  Here is the image I chose to use in my header:

This was my wedding dress, from almost 28 years ago!  In my journey to a simpler life, I've been decluttering and getting rid of excess in our home.  One item I ran across when we "remodeled" our master bedroom closet was my wedding dress and veil.  I was okay with donating it to Goodwill, but wasn't completely sure until Fernando gave me two thumbs up.  It was time to Let Go and say goodbye to this physical item that was no longer serving a purpose in my life.

To help preserve my memories, I decided to do a little photo shoot my the dress and veil, and had planned on doing it at The Morton Arboretum a month ago.  I had the dress ready, my camera bag packed, but when Fernando and I arrived at the Arboretum, I discovered I left the dress at home, in a bag next to the front door.  Sigh.

Seeing that my theme was scheduled for this week, yesterday seemed like a good time to get this photo shoot taken care of.  *The queen of procrastinators has spoken.*

The only logistically available place yesterday was my back yard.  I figured--why not?  This venue was also more significant to me than the Arboretum; we've lived here for 17 years and I have a special place (under "construction") in the corner of the yard.  So, that's where I went.

It was breezy and cool, but I managed to get some pretty images of the dress and veil, plus some of the details--beading, lace, fabric.  A friend made this dress for me as a wedding gift, so it was important in more ways than one to capture the details.

I've told many friends, when they've had a hard time getting rid of something with memories attached, to take a picture of that item, then say goodbye.  Having photos helps preserve the memories, detaching them from the physical item and freeing me from the burden of excess stuff.  Thanks for helping me along this journey!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge - A Few of My Favorite Things

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Craver VII 

Fishing Guy 

Katney 

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 ~ A Few of My Favorite Things

Chosen by me.

Julie Andrews' voice is stuck in my head this morning as I compile images depicting some of my favorite things...  Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

Anyway, those were Maria's favorite things.  Here are some of mine.

My goofy family (and my header image)...

A walk in the woods...

Fireworks...

Wildflowers...

The ocean...

Chocolate cake...

The colors of autumn...

Sunsets, anywhere...

My vegetable garden...

Lake Bonaparte...

These are just a few of my favorite things.  Can't wait to see yours!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge - The Sun

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Craver VII 

Fishing Guy 

Katney 

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 ~ The Sun

Chosen by me.

First, my thoughts behind the theme choice...  Since you really can't take pictures of the sun--with our DSLR cameras, anyway--I really wanted to share images that show the sun's effects.  Meaning--I can tell that the sun was shining, or I can see the sun's rays, or its effects on my subject.  And I found it a tad difficult to find good images.  Here are the ones I chose; first, my full header image:

This is my baby squash plant (it no longer looks this way; they grow quickly!).  The sun was behind it, illuminating the leaf's veins.  You can even see the shadow of the stem at about the 5:00 mark, if it were a clock.  I love how it looks like it's glowing.  Later this autumn, we will be glowing as we eat the yummy squash we'll get!

Another view of the sun on my squash.

These next two images are some of my favorites, as far as the sun is concerned.  They were taken at WIU at Jacob's college graduation; don't you love the lilacs' color and scent?  I do.  In this first image you can see some of the glow of the sun.  I decided I wanted a sun star, so I moved around until I could make that happen.

To get the defined rays--and I shoot on manual--set the f-stop number as high as you can on your camera.  This results in a very small aperture.  (Small aperture = high f-stop number.)  The small aperture, combined with a slower shutter speed, allows more light into the camera lens, and results in a sun star!  My shutter speed is 1/160 second in the below--slow enough to get a proper exposure on the flowers (any faster and they'd be in shadow).  And that's the technical how-to for sunstars!

I love the below, since it shows the sun's light more subtly on the flowers.  You can see the illumination, and how the sun rolls off the yellow petals  and into shadow.

Here's a bright, sunny day atop the tower that houses the Millenium Carillon in Naperville.  I caught a bird flying by, too!

The sun was not our friend for this late afternoon wedding.  It shone directly into our faces for the whole ceremony, and I'm sure the photographers were challenged to take good pictures of the bride and groom.  (It was a beautiful wedding, though!)

At said wedding, I tried to take a selfie as we waited to enter the reception hall.  We're too close to the lens to be in good focus, and the sun was shining in.  But it's cute nonetheless.  :)

Two more sun stars to brighten your day.  This first one is a building at the University of Illinois (Champaign/Urbana).

And my final sun star is within the tower that houses the Millenium Carillon.  Perfect time of day, sun shining through the building--rather cool!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge - Ideal Weather

It's time for the Weekly Header Challenge!

"Headbanger" Participants

Craver VII 

Fishing Guy 

Katney 

Imac 

Lew 

I'm joining in the group above for this weekly challenge.

Feel free to click on the other participants' blogs

to see what they've come up with!

Theme ~ Ideal Weather

This theme presented some problems for me!  I mean, I know what my perfect day is, weather-wise:  in the 70s, warm enough to wear a simple skirt and top, being able to have the house windows open.  But if I think of my favorite _____, I always answer, "It depends."  For instance, if you ask me right now what my favorite food is, I'll answer with something I really like but haven't had in a while (meaning I'm thinking about making it soon).  My favorite book?  Whichever happens to pop into my head.  My favorite Bible verse?  One I've read recently that impacted my life.

So--my favorite weather?  Well, it depends!  It depends on where I am, what I'm doing...  In conclusion (!), I chose this week's photos based on one of my favorite locations in the world:  Lake Bonaparte, nestled in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York.  Here's my header, taken while I was up there one autumn (my only autumn on the Lake!) a few years back:

Rich (a family friend, above), had the right idea on this perfectly beautiful, 75-degree autumn day for our last boat ride (a group of boats) around the Lake before everyone removed their boats from the water for winter storage.  Relaxing, enjoying the warmth of the sun, just being.  That's what you're supposed to do at the Lake.

What would be the ideal weather for this special place?  Let me tell you...

• Cool enough in the morning that I may have to wear a light jacket when I walk down to the dock to greet the Lake.

• The breeze would be faint--if anything at all--while I took in the blue of the water and the sky.

• Later on, it would be warm enough to go for a swim at Winter Bay, or a boat ride in my dad's Cadillac (old boat of his dad's, which he restored).

• It would be warm enough to go to the back side of Round Island where the rope swing is, for an afternoon of fun and splashes.

• It would be beautiful enough on a Friday morning to go into town (Carthage) for the weekly farmers market to browse and buy.

• It would be loon weather--whatever that is!--so I can finally get a good shot of one of these elusive birds.

• It wouldn't be too hot, though, so we could boat over to Huckleberry Rock, clamber out to find a foothold, and perch precariously on the side of the rock to pick as many huckleberries as we could!

• If I go in autumn, it would be warm enough for me to enjoy the view of the Oswegatchie River in town (Harrisville, pop. <250).

• And of course, in summer, it would be warm enough to warrant a trip to Treats n 'Tiques, the local ice cream shop 15 minutes away in Natural Bridge.

But, any day on the Lake needs to end in a beautiful evening, because even if I have to wear a light jacket for the evening's cool down, and even if I have to coat myself in mosquito repellant (I usually do), a mix of clouds in the sky means an incredible sunset is on the way.

Here is one sunset, with the photos taken several minutes apart throughout its course.

It's almost too much to take in, in just one night.  Almost.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Saturday Sunrise

I deliberately got up at 6:00 a.m.  On a Saturday.  For no other reason than to catch a sunrise.

6:36 a.m.

This is actually right down the street from my house, a mere 3/4 mile walk--if I had a good back.  There's also a parking lot at a storage facility just a football field's length away.  That's where I parked.  I think it's wonderful that the camera's lens is really a frame, and we can frame our photographs in such a way as to frame out what we don't want.  Which is what I did to capture the simple beauty of a sunrise along a busy suburban four-lane road, literally five steps from my tripod and camera.

6:52 a.m.

It wasn't as peaceful as it looks in the images, with the steady waves of cars swooshing by on their way to who knows where that early on a Saturday, and the occasional honk directed at me for the Lord only knows why.  But as the earth turned, and the sky became orange in preparation for the sun breaking the horizon, there was a simple peace about the scene I captured.

6:58 a.m.

And then there it was.  The beautiful rays of a late September sunrise breaking across the prairie.

Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning...

Psalm 59:16b NASB

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 2012 -- Week 47

Project 2012 -- Week 47

November 18-24

Welcome to my Project 2012 weekly post!  This is my time to look back over the past week, 
choose seven favorite images I've taken, and share them here with you.  
If you have a project you're working on, please leave a comment 
so I can visit your blog and see what you're up to!

Thanksgiving week is a huge photo producer in my world, and this year was even bigger.  Jacob came home from school, we baked and cooked together, our family celebrated Thanksgiving, we went Christmas-tree-hunting with friends, and finally ended the week with a little house decorating.

We started the week with a get-together so that Jacob could spend the afternoon after church with his buddies.  This is how they started their afternoon:

[323] Boys will be boys

Jacob also helped me bake pies all afternoon Tuesday.  I glanced over at one point to see this:

[324] When boys are baking

The day before Thanksgiving looked like this:

[325] Autumn fog

Here's one image I took on Thanksgiving day, at my parents' new home.

[326] Thanksgiving table

Our friends have invited us for three years now to go up to Wisconsin with them to cut down our own Christmas tree.  We have so much fun together!

[327] Christmas tree farm

Tree-cutting was short this year due to the 18-degree temps (with wind chill).  We warmed up in the car, though, on the way to the Mouse House!

[328] Mouse House

I took the below shot through my car window on the way home.  The sun was so pretty shining through the clouds!

[329] Wisconsin landscape

You may recall that my 17-55mm lens went kaput last week.  All of the images I've taken since then have been with my 50mm lens.  Using one fixed lens has been extremely challenging, and sometimes frustrating, but mostly rewarding.  I've really been stretched, but I'm also desperately trying to figure out how to afford a new lens before Christmas--there are so many picture-taking opportunities coming up!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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