Weekly Header Challenge -- Big Bird

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 ~ Big Bird

Chosen by Tom.

These are my latest bird images; I took them just before Thomas was baptized last August, in the DuPage River.  Mallard are surprisingly large, and typically very used to humans.  After flying in, they swam right over to the shore to pose for this picture, which is my header image:

They seemed to have no qualms about us invading their space that day, though when our little crowd showed up, they swam or flew off.

I caught one of the females coming in for a landing, below; I love the crispness of the image.

They even stood there, preening away while I crept ever closer with my 24-105mm lens--no macro or telephoto lens, this was!  They didn't mind having their pictures taken at all.

Those are my big birds for the week!


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Weekly Header Challenge - Water

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 ~ Water

Chosen by Mac.

What a great theme for the middle of summer!  I have a large pool of images to choose from.  (Pardon that pun.)

Here's my header, in full image form:

One afternoon on Winter Bay, on Lake Bonaparte (NY, Adirondacks), these boys were waterskiing.  Of course I had my camera with me.  I have never in my life even attempted this sport, but it is sure fun to photograph!  A few frames later:

Wipeout!

Here are some more water images to cool you off this summer.

Fountains are great sources of water images.

Ducks like to swim and play in it.

Dogs love the water, too.

Of course, people love the water in summertime!

I love the water, too, especially at sunset, on the dock at Lake Bonaparte.

Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Project 2012 -- Week 17 -- 4/22-28

Project 2012 -- Week 17

April 22 - April 28

How to Link Up With Us

1.  Click here to read the Project 2012 Guidelines, and to get the code to place in your blog.
2.  Fill out the little form below (insert the URL of your blog post, not the main URL of your blog).
3.  Please visit others' links and leave comments; you will receive visits and comments in return!

My Week 17 Photos

I'm sure you've heard of squatters--people who are living illegally in a house not their own.  Well, we have a couple of squatters; this is the third year they've come back to live in our back yard.  But, we don't mind!  One year they nested right next to the house among the daylilies.  We missed seeing the babies--one day the eggs were there, and the next day the eggs were hatched and the ducks and ducklings were gone.  They let me get pretty close for pictures, too.  :)

[113] Resident ducks

Ellie lay quiet all week until I brought her with me to the Naperville Riverwalk with Jacob and Danny.  Jacob's college music class had a field trip to tour the Carillon, made up of 72 bells.  I'm standing beneath the biggest one, named Big Joe.  It weighs about six tons.  There's an actual carilloneur who plays the bells at certain times throughout the week.

[114] Big Joe

The facade of the Carillon tower is ugly--many people, including me, think so.  But the view--the below is from halfway up--is fantastic, and the $3 tour was definitely worth it.

 [114] Downtown Naperville from the Carillon

Even with a stiff breeze off the lake (Lake Michigan), and cloudy conditions, we could see the skyline of Chicago faintly in the distance.  (FYI, the city is about 30-35 miles away.)

[115] Chicago skyline from the Naperville Carillon

Enough of the far-away panoramic shots.  Back in my own back yard, I counted four little strawberry plants that survived their first winter in my garden.  This makes me happy.

 [116] Baby strawberry plant

I also found some columbine blooming in my garden dirt heap in the back corner of the yard.

[117] Columbine

My older brother's trailer still sits next to our pool, as it has for several years now.  I'm thinking we should charge him rent!  It makes a great, interesting photo, at least.

 [118] Old trailer

It has been cold here, and I've taken to wearing my winter sweaters again.  It is nice enough, though, that I'm a able to get outside more often and capture more outdoor things.  I'm so thankful for warming weather!

Happy week to you!



Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Whalon Lake

Just a mile or so from home lies this relatively new park called Whalon Lake.  I'm slowly getting used to the fact that many new parks in this area are devoid of trees.  Farmers used to farm this whole area of the Prairie State, so few trees existed as the farms evolved into communities, towns, and cities.  In newly built subdivisions, trees are brought in from nurseries and planted.  You can tell when you drive through an older neighborhood by its beautiful mature tree-lined streets.

But enough about trees.  Whalon Lake Preserve doesn't boast trees--yet--but there's a lake, a dog run, and lots of walking paths.  One windy day in March, I decided to hop on over to "see what I could see."  And here is what I saw:

I focused on these black ducks, all grouped together being blown about by the breeze.  I think they are American coots.  I stepped down from the dock area and carefully picked my way along the muddy shore just to get a closer shot.

Below, the duck right in the middle was buffeted by the waves--evidence of how strongly the wind was blowing!  I think these ducks were pretty brave to face that stiff breeze.

The early spring shoreline bared rocks and drab brown grasses.

I saw a hint of white on the wind-blown waves!

I turned to the brown landscape in search of something.  I was challenged to capture something pretty despite the lack of color.

Pre-spring does present its challenges--the cold, the lack of color.  But those same challenges reveal other interesting things--shapes, shadows, and detail.  I'm glad I went to the lake that day.


Treasuring life's moments,
Christine

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Photography Lessons at the Riverwalk

There is this really neat place along the DuPage River where you can sit on benches and people-watch, enjoy a dandelion fountain, even walk along the river on winding red-brick pathways.  The Naperville Riverwalk is also a great place to take photos.  And it's where my friend Janeen and I met last week--the day before the blizzard, to be exact--to teach and learn a few photography lessons.

"S" curves and curves in general

 Diagonal lines and focus

The Rule of Thirds, and the "sweet spot"

Perspective (worm's eye view--or almost)

Patterns

Just so you know, the Riverwalk is nicer in the spring and autumn for color, and summer if you love people.  Okay, it's nice in the winter if you don't mind the cold.  After our really quick photography lesson, it took me about 20 minutes of alternately holding each hand in front of the car heater before I started feeling warm.

Living life; capturing life.

Christine

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