Week 42 - Windows

The window in my garage. 

1/250 sec., f18, ISO 1600

Week 43 - Scary!! 

Looks like I'll have to tote my camera along while I'm trick or treating :) 

Photo Thursday - I'm White Rabbit Late on 52 Weeks.

I am so late. 

Like the White Rabbit Late. 

You know running around like crazy screaming, "I'm late, I'm late." 

How does this happen? I'm so good at keeping my kids on myself on schedule for school, football, dinner, bedtime...but I can never keep myself on a schedule for my own projects. They just seem to fit into the few spare moments I have, if any, in a day. 

I'm something like five weeks late on my 52 Week Photo project. Where does the time go? I had every intention of getting these done but before I knew another week had come and gone...and another...and another. I even took a day last week to take a photo walk around town and catch up...and then accidentally deleted most of the photos that I took, which was okay because I didn't like most of them anyway. 

Today I put my foot down. I passed the laundry and dishes that were desperately calling out for my attention. I left my daughter playing Play Dough unsupervised, though she did come help me out with some shots later on, to go to the garage and catch up on my 52 Weeks. I was determined that I could find inspiration right in my back yard and that I would only shoot ONE photo per theme. 

And I did. And, I think, they turned out pretty darn good. 

So here you go, straight from the camera, no edits....

...my very very late photographs. 

Week 32 - Intromit (to allow in)

1/60sec., F8, ISO 1600

Week 36 - No

I am ALWAYS hollering at her to get down and leave my clothespins alone! 

1/250 sec., F8, ISO 200

Week 39 - Tools 

Shot in Black and White but I think I'd like it just as much in color

1/80 sec., F8, ISO 1600 with flash

I've been really afraid to use a flash for a long time but recently I've started to get the hang of it. I still feel a little uncertain using it though. 

Week 40 - Bent

1/100 sec., F7.1, ISO 1600 with flash

Week 41 - Blue

1/100 sec., F8, ISO 1600 with flash 

Next week, if I'm not behind again, theme is Windows. 

Week 11- Smooth

This week has been spring break for my kids and although we haven't gone anywhere we have sure kept busy. The weather has been in the 80's and we've spent a lot of time outside riding bikes and playing at the park so it's no wonder that I waited until almost the last minute to finish this week's theme of Smooth.  

f14, 1/250, ISO 400

During Yahoo's naptime yesterday all was quiet in the house. The boys were playing at the park with friends so I slipped outside for a quick walk around the house looking for smooth but everywhere I looked I noticed textures. I sure hope texture is a theme for one of my 52 weeks. 

f13, 1/200, ISO 400 (This one is too over exposed to suit me)

The sky was pretty empty and smooth looking so I tried to take emphasize the blue while including some elements that put the sky in context because a rectangle of blue may be smooth but I don't think it would be interesting to look at. 

f13, 1/160, ISO 400

I like both of these exposures and just love the colors that came out in the pine needles. 

f13, 1/200, ISO 400

Next week's theme is DOOR. I have the perfect doorway I've been waiting to shoot too! I might go on a country jaunt to find some old rundown farmhouses if the weather is nice. 

Week 8 - Fall

The thing I've enjoyed most about this 52 week project is how surprising my subjects are although I have the themes listed for an the entire year. 

For example, I intended to take my boys to the basketball court with my tripod and work on some slow shutter speeds with basketballs falling from the air. I thought it would be a neat subject to play with. However the weather didn't cooperate, or did it? Instead of some warm weather we have had very windy cold days and one day with some unexpected, but very welcome, snow!

f 7.1, 1/125 sec., ISO 800

 With the snow "fall"ing I had my subject for the week. But it was a lot harder to photograph snow than I thought it would be...and my hands were getting cold. I did find some drips "fall"ing from the downspout though. 

f 7.1, 1/125 sec., ISO 800

I had no reason to shoot in black and white other than I thought it may highlight the snowflakes better. 

But, I made the mistake of shooting snow without thinking of my light meter and everything turned out just too gray. 

f 11, 1/200 sec., ISO 800

So I did do some editing on these; increased contrast and played with curves. 

This was the before image. 

Next week, Week 9's theme is LOUD!

Week 5 - Steel

Week 5 of 52 Weeks of Photography Themes 

Steel!

I have to say I am loving these weekly themes. It's so much easier than trying to come up my own ideas for photos. 

I ran up to Dodge City over the weekend, by myself!, and being the the Queen of the Cow towns brought the railroad through this part of the state I found myself taking a lot of railroad themed photos. 

f 5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 100

The Cow Catcher 

f 9, 1/13 sec., ISO 1600

 Controls for the engineer and fireman on the inside of the cab. 

f 8, 1/100 sec, ISO 800

Parts of the steam engine's wheels. 

Shooting the steam engine that sits out front of Boot Hill Museum in Dodge City was tricky because the sun was so very bright that day. I kept having to fiddle with my camera. My ISO was all over the place. Although I've always loved how bright it is in Kansas all the sun tends to wash out the colors in my photographs. But it's hard for me to shoot other than during the brightest time of the day. 

f13, 1/125 sec., ISO 100I stopped for a bit on the way home for a shot of tiny steal barbs. I just love how blurry the windmill in the background is. 

Let's see..next week, Week 6 is...

...Wire.

Whoops. Maybe I should have saved the barbed wire until next week! 


P.S. - I have a Facebook friend who is doing this project with me and this was one of hers for Steel. I just love it!! 

Photo Thursday - Horsin' Around

At night...

Photo Thursday - Take Me Out to The Ballgame

A community college baseball game.

No tickets, no concessions, no restrooms.

Just a lot of boys enjoying a game of ball.

Dad patiently explains the rules of the game.

Sister just plays in the stands.

A boy wishing he had a ball and glove to play too.

Photo Thursday - Roadtrip Finds

Just some photos to share today.

I've been having some editing fun recently.

What do your road trips look like?

My week in pictures

laughs and smiles

sharing

snow...a little bit anyway

a water adventure

Is it spring yet?

This has been my first winter in Soutwest Kansas and I've gotta tell ya...it's been crazy.

It's like Mother Nature can't decide what season it is?

We've had weather flipping back and forth between 70 degrees and 0 degrees all winter. And barely any snow. All that snow my the east has gotten all winter? I can't even imagine it. We just get cold weather.

Last week we woke up to a VERY heavy frost of the trees. It was like a thick fog rolled in overnight, condensed on the trees like icing on a cake. Then the whole day as the sun came up and warmed the air I could see all this frost falling off the tree limbs as if it were snow. Any other time I would have thought it was beautiful.

Not now. I'm tired of the flip flopping winter and the germs and the bitter wind. I'm ready for spring!

Photo Thursday - A Day in the life...

Good March morning!

Energetically working on an art project.

The never ending blanket.

Sick day, stuck in bed.

Driving by a grass fire. Didn't have to drive through the smoke, yay!

Posing with Mom....I love kisses!

What is your day like in pictures?

Photo Thursday - Kids at Play

 We are losing teeth left and right now days. But it's funnier to tease them about losing teeth because they've been fighting.

 Yahoo cooking and waiting tables.

 Yip finally stood still and let me take some pictures of him.

 Knothead - the often photographically neglected member of our family.

I don't know what my kids are going to do in twenty years when they inherit all the photos I've taken of them. If only there were digital cameras 50 years ago! I'd have so many more pictures of my parents as children.