Project 2012 -- Week 2

Project 2012

Week 2 -- January 8-14

1.  Take pictures
2.  Share at least one--and up to seven!
(Click on the graphic if you're interested in joining us!)

My favorite photos

It's great when you can run outside in January in a jacket and snap some shots of the early morning frost.  The sun kept peeking out from the clouds, and I kept trying to catch it as I found some autumn leaves stuck in the grass.  The below leaf stayed still enough for me to capture it, and the sun also cooperated for several seconds.  I used my 100mm macro lens at f4.5, but in the editing room I wished I had increased the f-stop to obtain more clarity on the crystals along the leaf's edge.  I still like how the frost looks along the veins.
 

[8] Frost on leaf

The bananas we used to make banana cake.

[9] Ripe!

I love washing dishes.  There is a spiritual truth remembered with every dishload of dirty dishes!  I love getting dirty dishes washed, and seeing the shine as I rinse off the soap.  I'm sure if I were a dish I wouldn't like it--I wouldn't like being dirty, either--nor would I like the stinging soap in my eyes.  But once the dish is rinsed (boy, that water is hot!) and placed in the drain, it dries to a nice, clean shine and is pretty to look at again.  Oh, wait, sorry!  I digressed--back to the below photo...

As I was washing dishes this particular evening, I placed the soapy dishes on the counter to my left, then rinsing off several at a time.  I washed and placed the bowl, then washed and stuck the fork in the bowl.  When I looked over, the fork was slowly bobbing up and down, perfectly balanced.  So of course I grabbed my camera!

[10] Perfect balance

Who ever would have guessed that we would be playing Frisbee in the middle of January?!?  I love the setting sun and the sun flare in this shot as my boys throw the Frisbee around.

[11] January Frisbee

Later, as the sun set, I was hoping for a sunset similar to this one.  I was in the same spot, too!  But the clouds disappeared along with the sun, and I was left with a rather mundane sunset.  (All sunsets are beautiful.)  When I turned toward the east, I saw wispy clouds turning purple behind this tree.

[12] Tree silhouette

The day after we played at the park, we got our first measurable snow!  I ran out in it to take a fence row shot.  I used my 100mm macro again, at f8.  I had to set the ISO to 400 to get a halfway decent shutter speed (1/200 sec.) so I could hand-hold my Ellie.

[13] Snow on fence

Aaaaand, the next day, it was back to a typical Chicagoland morning in January, grabbing shovels to dig out the driveway.  Danny single-handedly shoveled the whole thing, too!

[14] Shoveling

I hope you got some good shots this past week.  I can't wait to see them!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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With Me In The Night

Click on Katie's link above for details!!

The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime;

And His song will be with me in the night,

A prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 42:8 NASB [emphasis mine]

I wasn't planning on participating in Scripture & a Snapshot this week, but it's 1:30am and my body will not let me sleep.  In looking over my photos, this one came to mind, and the Lord gave me the above Scripture.  I bolded the words that are so precious to me even as I type this.  I am comforted, even in my sleeplessness.  Thank You, Lord!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Treasures on a Winter Walk

On another one of my winter walks--while Fernando was in therapy--I was excited to capture more of the Lord's beauty in this season of cold and stark.  His beauty is all around; sometimes I just have to deliberately stop, take a breath, and look around.  Ellie helped me capture yet more proof of His love in the beauty we saw around us.  Come walk with me!  (All Scriptures are taken from the NASB.)

You will make known to me the path of life.

Psalm 16:11a

They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house;

And You give them to drink of the river of Your delights.

Psalm 36:8

He changes a wilderness into a pool of water

And a dry land into springs of water.

Psalm 107:35

You visit the earth and cause it to overflow;

You greatly enrich it;

The stream of God is full of water.

Psalm 65:9a

Behold, I will do something new,

Now it will spring forth;

Will you not be aware of it?

I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,

Rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:19

But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen,

where My people are living,

so that no swarms of insects will be there,

in order that you may know that I, the LORD,

am in the midst of the land.

Exodus 8:22

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy

Before the LORD, for He is coming,

For He is coming to judge the earth.

Psalm 96:12b-13a

His shoots will sprout,

And his beauty will be like the olive tree

And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.

Hosea 14:6

He is before all things,

and in Him all things hold together.

Colossians 1:17

Behold, A king will reign righteously

And princes will rule justly.

Each will be like a refuge from the wind

And a shelter from the storm,

Like streams of water in a dry country,

Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land.

Isaiah 32:1-2

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

Psalm 46:4

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;

What is man that You take thought of him,

And the son of man that You care for him?

Psalm 8:3-4

Day to day pours forth speech,

And night to night reveals knowledge.

Psalm 19:2

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;

And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.

Psalm 19:1

The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether.

Psalm 19:7-9

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 52 -- Made With Love

This week's challenge:  made with love


My photo:

Banana cake with cream cheese frosting

The reason I chose this photo:

Although I love the artistic side of photography, I'm a logical and literal person.  My thought process went something like this:  What is made with love?  Well, of course the Lord made everything with love.  So that's a nature shot; but I post tons of those already.  Okay, then.  What do I make with love?  Besides a beautiful home (I hope), I make meals, laundry, school schedules...  I make food out of my love for my family, of course.  And this week's shot captures a lot of love.

My son Jacob has been asking me to make this cake.  He noticed those bananas getting overly ripe on the counter.  But I didn't have time.  For three days straight he calmly asked me if I was going to make it.  On the third day, I had a chunk of time so I gave in.  Jacob happily got ingredients out, mashed bananas, helped measure things, grease pans...  I was able to make this cake with his help.  This cake was made with my love for Jacob.  But it was also made with Jacob's love for me.  So it was made with a double dose of love.  :)

If you want the recipe for it, click here.  (It was really good.)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Beauty in Winter

Just as God allows our planet to experience spring, summer, winter, and autumn, He allows different seasons in our lives.  I love how much of the spiritual realm can be seen or mirrored in our physical realm.  With the various seasons of life, whether it is a life stage or a trial, there is beauty to be seen.

This winter season has been a very mild one in our Chicagoland region.  Over the New Year, temperatures were hovering in the 50s!  This winter, my home life has become somewhat hectic, with managing my young men's college schedules, one homeschool high school, and Fernando's therapy sessions.  Even amidst the busy-ness of life, the Lord has granted me snippets of time in which I can simply breathe, and be, and calm my mind in Him.

My resolution to find His beauty in all circumstances began with a wonderful snippet of time while Fernando was in physical therapy one afternoon.  All it took was a  five-minute drive away from Fernando's therapists' office.  This section of park is just down the street from my parents' home, too.

Bare trees reflect the complexity of the Lord's creation.  And even though it's (relatively) cold outside, winter skies can be some of the bluest.  Also, although most of what we see is a shade of brown, the shining sun can turn make it bright and golden.

Even in winter, amidst the brown and sometimes gloomy, I can find muted shades of color--almost a promise from the Lord that spring will come again.

Blue is my favorite color.  :)

O LORD, how many are Your works!

In wisdom You have made them all;

The earth is full of Your possessions.

Psalm 104:24 NASB

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 2012 -- Week One

Project 2012

Week 1 -- January 1 - January 8

It is Week One in this special year-long photography project!

Instead of the goal being to take (and post) a picture every day, my goal is to use my camera, Ellie, as frequently as possible throughout each week, and to post my (up to) seven favorite images here on my blog.  Some of these images may be from my professional shoots; most will be from everyday life.  Plus, my "favorite" does not necessarily mean an image that can be enlarged and put on a canvas (though I hope to have a few of those!).  Some of my favorite images are of my own family, or my ordinary/simple life at home, whether cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry; or nature walks, tea parties, and vacation time.

I plan on posting seven images each week, with Week 52 containing nine images for those extra two days at the end.  Here are my favorites:

Putting all the Christmas decorations away...  You can read about my ornament organization here on my family blog.

[1] Boxing up Christmas

I had to submit a photo of my husband and me for a workshop we'll be presenting at our state homeschool convention.  I used my 50mm portrait lens and a tripod, with the camera set on the 10-second timer.  I composed a shot, pressed the shutter, ran around and posed myself!  After about 40 minutes and 10 shots, I was done (my husband was very accommodating!).  I ended up choosing one of the first shots I took, too!

[2] Self portrait

I visited a dear friend last week, and her lovely daughter put together a beautiful luncheon for the three of us.  Read about it here.

[3] Luncheon muffins

A nature walk at the Naperville Riverwalk yielded some great shots.  It was so nice to have mild weather in January!  The rest of my images below are from my walk.

[4] Tree-lined path

[5] Grass on tree stump

[6] Moon through the branches

[7] Glorious sunset

Thanks for leaving an encouraging comment!  I look forward to seeing your images throughout the year!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 52 -- Resolution

I finally found a place for one of my photographic projects this year! 

I will be able to participate in this project throughout the year, without feeling the pressure to take a shot every day.  Project 52 seems to be better suited to what I want to do--focusing on a weekly challenge, and posting one photo each week.  My personal challenge will be to fulfill the assignment, since I usually just take pictures of my everyday life and activities, and don't go out seeking to take a picture representing ___ (fill in the blank).

I still plan on taking photos every week, and posting them here.  Those will be my Project 2012 images, linked from my sidebar.  On to my first Project 52 post!


This week's challenge:  resolution

My photo:

manual mode, 17-85mm lens at 17mm, ISO 400, f8, 1/100 second

The reason I chose this photo:  This image came to me at the end of a short walk I took at the Naperville Riverwalk.  I took the first images of this spectacular sunset braced against a tree trunk and branch, and then I ended up sitting down on the sidewalk and using my knees as a tripod.  I sat there for a while, just drinking in the incredible colors the Lord was painting on the sky.  This year, I am resolved to find the Lord's hand and His beauty in every situation.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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