Weekly Header Challenge -- Looking Up

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 ~ Looking Up

Chosen by Tom.

For this week's header, I have fresh, new images to share!  These were definitely an occasion where everyone was looking up, and looking all around--we were surrounded!

Some big storms came through just a few nights ago, and we happened to be out on our front lawn at the perfect time.  Sometimes we're oblivious to the shapes, colors, and scenes of thunderstorms, and we didn't think about this particular storm until we went outside to say goodbye to Jake's girlfriend Allie and her family, who came for a visit.  Sunset was nearing, and the sun was reflecting the most brilliant colors off the clouds to the northeast.

Here is my header image, uncropped so you get the full effect:

When weather "happens," digital images usually don't do justice to the grandeur and majesty of the sky lit up with clouds and colors.  But, I did my best to capture the sky.  Below, our house was framed with blue-tinted clouds.

As we turned our backs to the house and looked northeast, these billowing clouds met our eyes.

A little later, as the storms continued to develop north and east of us, we saw the color display become even more dramatic.

Besides this storm, there were other recent images I took where I was looking up.  Here's one from last week's fireworks show in Naperville:

Also, as I was gardening last week, I heard a familiar tap-tap-tap, and looked up to spot this female downy woodpecker on a half-dead tree on the other side of our back yard fence.  Yes, I garden with my camera nearby, since you all know I blog about our everyday life!  I was able to get close enough to this bird and set my telephoto to 105mm to get the below image, with no cropping.

Finally, here's an older image at my favorite portrait session location just a few miles from my house.  These are the concrete steps leading up to the wooden footbridge across the DuPage River at Knoch Knolls Park.  In order to look up these stairs, I had to crouch really low on the ground.  It's a great perspective to use with stairs!

I will be out of town for next week's theme, so I will see everyone the following week with (Lord willing) lots of new images to share!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge - Cloud Formations

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 ~ Cloud Formations

I don't usually take photos of interesting cloud formations unless something else is involved--the sun or a storm, for instance.  So with the help of sun and storms, here are my images for the week, starting with the full image from the header:

January 6, 2012 - In the dead of winter (Riverwalk Park, Naperville).

I just happened to catch this while at the park

waiting for Fernando's physical therapy session to end.

September 7, 2013, at Thomas' first home football game (they won!).

I was on the field and this was behind me just prior to the game.

I framed the shot with the speakers on poles to create some symmetry.

July 5, 2013 - Red Hawk Park, Carol Stream, Illinois.

During one of the guys' summer Frisbee games.

I actually edited out the telephone poles on the horizon.  :)

April 14, 2012.

No storm here, but these clouds were like vertical swirly things all lined up.

August 23, 2011, from my front yard mid-morning.

These summer storms are awesome; this one came in in a straight line,

barreling right toward us making things darker and darker.

I just stood there on the edge of my driveway

(that's my house on the left) watching it come in.

June 29, 2012, taken from my back yard patio.

Our back yard faces generally west, and the storms blow in from that direction.

I try to aim my camera high to avoid the signs of suburbia.  ;)

June 11, 2013, standing in my back yard.

A crazy storm blew in and the clouds were much more spectacular in real life.

August 7, 2011, taken from my front yard.

These storms missed us, and they made for a cool image

with the sun setting to the west.

May 19, 2011 -- Vero Beach, Florida.

Friends invited our family down to vacation with them for a week

in a beach house on the Atlantic Ocean.  I made the effort to get up at 6am

and trudge down to the beach to shoot a sunrise,

and this is what greeted me:  an offshore morning storm.

June 1, 2013, taken from my back yard again.

My husband loves me!  I would've missed this one since I was in the basement

editing photos, ironically enough, on the computer down there.

He called me up, saying simply, "Honey, you've got to see this."

It's one of my favorite sunset images!

July 19, 2012.  Read the next photo's caption for details!

July 22, 2012 -- My favorite place on Earth on a summer evening.

Lake Bonaparte, Harrisville, New York.

My parents have a summer home on this lake, and I've been vacationing here

since I was in my mother's womb!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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We Interrupt This Frisbee Game

I was in a bad mood for this early July Frisbee game.  Chalk it up to hormones, heat, or whatever; I just didn't feel like being around people.  It was nice to hide behind the camera for a bit in order to get some alone time.  It also helped that there were two games going on at the same time, and I was able to walk across the field to shoot the game in which my guys were playing.

Before the game started, I enjoyed the view, which was glorious with the sunlight radiating out from the clouds.

During the game, I kept hearing the deep croak of bullfrogs.  There was a pond behind me, so I turned and saw these wildflowers.

After the first game, the teams switched around and I found myself back among people.  I sat for a while, then snapped a few shots of this adorable little guy interacting with one of the moms at the field.

Aidan, the adorable little guy above, has a new baby brother.  Here he is with their mom.

And, here's baby brother with his grandma.

Aidan was getting a little ansty, or bored, like all little boys are wont to do.  I asked him if he wanted to take a picture, and he seemed willing enough.  I don't know what it is about kids and cameras, but they catch on pretty quickly, and Aidan--only about two years old--had my big 'ol camera down in just a few minutes.  I helped him point, and he pushed the shutter, saying, "Push the button!"  He did a great job, and these are the images he captured.

Grandma!

 Mommy and brother

Grandpa!

 Some Frisbee action--he even got the Frisbee mid-air!

Mommy, brother, Grandma!

Little boys are sure to put you in a good mood, and Aidan did his job well.  :)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Summer Evening Walk

July began with early June weather, and Fernando and I took advantage of the beautiful temperatures by taking an evening walk at one of my favorite portrait session sites.

This bridge is located right at the parking lot, so it's a logical place to start.  There's also lots of park to the left (of this image), with fallen logs and really cool-looking trees.

Of course we stopped along the bridge to capture the river scenes.

Looking west along the DuPage River.

 Looking east along the DuPage River.

Then there's a little paved path to walk along, accompanied by bicyclists, joggers, and other walkers.

 

Without a tripod, it was a little tricky shooting in the darker interior of the woods.  I managed to get a great shot of the sun peeking through.  You can see the bridge we crossed in the extreme right of the image.

I love shooting up into trees!  It's a super cool thing to do in the winter, when there are no leaves to block the view, and the image becomes about lines and shadows against the sky.  But in summer, there are some really neat lines and shapes with branches and leaves, and the below tree was the perfect candidate for my camera lens.

We walked a ways down the path, then cut over into the field to see if we were in time to catch the sun setting.  We were.

I pretty much brought only my kit lens, which isn't the best, so I had to really work to get a good shot in the lowering light as the sun set.  Fernando was a sweetie and posed for me, too.

This one below is my favorite, since I was able to capture the sun, some rays, and some lens flare in the fields.  It looks like a nice prairie sunset!

Once the sun set, there were still opportunities for some great shots, and clouds always help make things beautiful.  They give the sky shape and form, and they do a lovely job reflecting the colors of the sun as it goes down for the night.  The below is my standard shot when the sky is really pretty like this.  I like to put the horizon low in the image to capture more of the beauty of the sky.

Note--if the sky is plain blue (which is also beautiful!), I usually put the horizon smack-dab in the middle, which isn't something you'd normally do, rule of thirds and all.  But with a plain blue sky, it can make for a very symmetrical, and therefore peaceful, image.

To change things up a bit and capture some of the foreground in my sunset image (below), I got down low to shoot.  This way, I was able to capture some of the grasses sticking up into the sky, silhouetted against the beautiful orange of the sun.  Love this shot!

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Sunset at Home

Sometimes, just sometimes, I can get a shot of an amazing sunset right from my own home.  Who says the suburbs aren't that great?  Sometimes it's just beautiful.

From the back yard.

From the front yard.

By strategic composition, I eliminated the telephone wires and the light posts.  I think these images are worthy to be put on a card.  Or in print.  :)


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Winter Stroll

Knoch Knolls Park.  I've visited there before (see here and here).  Now, on a warm Sunday afternoon at the beginning of December, Fernando and I decided to take a stroll down some of the paths here.  The scenery did not disappoint, even at the beginning of winter.

Looking across the bridge

I spied a fisherman fly-fishing in the river!

I think the below image is worthy of a card.  I may just have some printed.

I'm not a big fan of shooting into the sun, although some photographer achieve great results using this effect.  I must say, though, that the below image turned out beautifully!

I took several shots of the sun as it set.  I just couldn't choose one; the colors were so pretty on this winter day, and the trees stood as stark spindly shadows against the light spread across the sky.

We headed a little farther along the path, then turned around and retraced our steps.

In one clearing, there were picnic tables and a chiminea backing to the woods.

We came to the wooden footbridge across the river, and it presented a pretty scene.

At the middle of the footbridge, the view was sweet and peaceful.

Looking in the other direction, the other bridge stood out against the colors of the setting sun.

I think that I've collected several images which will be turned into cards.  *happy smile*


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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