Blossoms

      In my Grandma's town, there's a beautiful nature center with tall and short trees.  Some have flowers, others have only leaves.  Some are thick and old, others are thin and new.  It's a beautiful place, and I took, oh, maybe 200 photos there!  The wind was blowing that day, so getting a clear photo of tree leaves and flowers wasn't easy.  Patience was required.  The textures and colors of the flower petals were so soft and bright, and I took around 15 photos of different budding flowers on the same tree until I came up with this one.  What is the best flower you have ever taken?  I'd love to hear about it!  Comment below and tell me how you photographed it.

Garden Pathway

Earlier this week, my sister and I stayed with our Grandma.  She took us to the city nature center, and we walked around the place for an hour.  There were so many beautiful trees and flowers, and the twisting paths and scattered sun beams were just as pretty.  As I walked down one of the paths, I saw a bend framed by tall trees, and I took a photo to show my family when we returned home.  When I looked through the photos later on, I wanted to share it on the blog as well.  I hope I captured God's creation in this photo for you.

Spring Is Here

The snow is all gone.  Rain and sunshine are coming around.  Flowers are blooming, and I can actually see green grass again.

I really like Spring.

My family is starting a garden, too.  We kids spend quite a while hoeing and digging up dirt clod after dirt clod.  We tell jokes,  talk about the weather, and hope the wind dies down (our landlord is a self-called "anti-tree man," so it gets pretty windy at our house.).

I'm enjoying running around our yard barefoot, glad to not be hearing dead, crunching grass underneath.  Dandelions abound in our front yard, and our backyard is no different.  My little brothers like picking them for Mama, and putting them in bowls of water on our table.

Isn't Spring nice?

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Saturdays Selections: Tea Candles

I enjoy lighting candles all over the house some days.  Some are relaxing, others are awakening.
What's your favorite candle scent?

Sunset in Our Field

Not long ago, just before suppertime, I looked outside and saw this beautiful sunset!  The grass was wet, but I didn't put on shoes (if you know me, I'd rather be barefoot than have tennis shoes!  In 2011, Family Life Radio said June 1st was National Barefoot Day...oh, yes, you know I took advantage of that!).  I like how the clouds frame above the sun, and the field frames below it.

Baby's Shoes

The weather is finally warming up, so we've been outdoors quite a bit lately.  Mama put baby's shoes on (he's gotten into the habit of getting his shoes and plopping down on the floor, saying "Out" until someone comes and puts them on!), and I helped him onto the sidewalk in our backyard.  Playing with baby outside is a cross between a chore and lots of fun.  He likes to run around and swing with someone on our playset.  He's a sweetie. :)

Holding Your Hand

Aren't Moms simply awesome?
A friend of mine and her mom were at my house and requested a photoshoot for their store website.  I was really excited to do this (mostly because I'm the one who asks to do a photoshoot for someone!), and experimented with different angles until the sky was too dark to take any good photos.  That meant zooming in on funny faces, hands, and smiling moms and daughters.
I like this photo because the message it sends is friendship.  My mama and I are good friends, and I'm extremely thankful (OK, that's an understatement!) for her.

To Be A Shutter-Thug (A Poem)

*This was written after I created a poem, and one of my readers requested another one. Enjoy!

He texted me and said
"Way to go, shutterthug!"
I told him I had shot a bear...
With my camera

 So, to this day
(It happened last year)
I've liked that name
Kind of 'held it dear'

Because sometimes I
Use up memory space
And my card's filled up
Photos all over the place

So, to have someone
Call me that
Is pretty fun
And it makes me laugh

Usually I'm said to
Take pics of everything
Which is pretty true
Actually

But to be a shutterthug
Isn't so bad
And to shoot a bear, um,
Makes me pretty glad

So, if you take photos
And everyone says
"(Your name here), oh,
 Are you on Sports Mode? That's fast!"

Just take a short break

Take your eyes off the viewfinder
Say "I'm a shutterthug.  OK,
What's your career?"

Photography is great
And extremely fun
So be glad to be a shutterthug!

Monarch Butterfly On Pink Roses

Ever since I was a little kid, I've loved watching monarchs flying against the blue sky.  When I was about two or three years old, I am reported to have said, "Beeflies up in the sky."  I couldn't quite say "butterfly" back then!
So, when butterflies are coming back to our area, I like to have my camera ready.  I took a trip to our park gardens with a good friend, and found quite a few of my 'beeflies', including my second favorite: the Tiger Swallowtail.  My friend and I had a competition when we showed our photos to each other later.  It was called "Who Took The Most Photos Of A Butterfly With Its Wings Unfolded."  :)

Morning Frost and Bare Feet

Early one morning when I was waiting to start my weekly French lesson, I looked out the window and saw my whole backyard covered with a thin layer of shiny white frost.  I brought my camera from my bedroom and opened the back door.  Unfortunately,  I tend to be hasty when it comes to photo ops...I walked out barefoot.  I didn't notice until I stepped back inside and my feet were burning from the change in temperature.  I looked behind me and saw my footprint on the doormat.  "Just one last photo!"  I thought...I usually do think that!
So, I took this one photo and ran back inside to warm my freezing feet.
Sometimes it's nice to take that one last photo...even if you go out barefoot.

The Doggy Outside The Window

While waiting in the van outside Hobby Lobby one day, another car pulled up alongside us and the driver rolled down their window.  A cute little dog leaned out, and my baby brother stared at it.  He'd point and grin.  I thought it was so cute, so I took my camera (yes, I take my dSLR nearly everywhere!) and messed around with different settings until I came up with this last one.  I'm glad the driver didn't notice!  You can get dirty looks that way sometimes.

Airsofting Pals

My big brother has "employed" me as his airsoft battle photographer.  Here, he and his friend are walking through a field to their "bunker," discussing their next move.  I used my telephoto lens, because what photographer wants to get their $600+ dSLR to be shot up in the middle of a battle?  Not me!  So, I had fun photographing from the sidelines.  And my brother was impressed with my photos and video (and I also recruited my friend to take photos too...thanks, Paprika!)