Weekly Photo Challenge – Transient

From peaceful calm to raging storm, the moods of the weather change from moment to moment. This is my offering for the Weekly Photo Challenge, the subject of which is Transient, set for us this week by Andrea Badgley at The Daily Post.

Just before sunrise over Lake Huron in Mackinaw City.

A storm brewing over Greenbush, Wisconsin.

For more on the Weekly Photo Challenge go to Transient

Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge – Couples

This week, Cee has us looking for two of anything for her Black & White Photo Challenge. Going through the photo files it wasn’t too difficult to find pairs both in nature and everyday items.

Pairs of shoes at the Stephenson County Historical Museum in Freeport, Illinois.

Two horses waiting to pull a hay wagon at Willow Springs Garden in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Two ducks enjoying a sunny day at Historical Wheeler Farm in Salt Lake City, Utah.

A pair of warriors at the Chinese Lantern Festival in the Missouri Botanical Garden, St Louis.

Two of the elk in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Couples, Twins, Two of Anything

 

Weekly Photo Challenge – Focus

This week we’re getting in or out of focus, however the fancy takes us, for the Photo Challenge set by David at The Daily Post.  I have a multitude of images that are unintentionally out of focus. I’ve even tried using them for competitions, claiming artistic license, although the judges just weren’t buying it.  I do have  a number of pictures that, all things considered, are quite sharp. And then there are those that, by some miracle, just seem to have the right balance.  It’s sheer luck when this happens as I’m not one to fiddle around making adjustments to the camera when I’m out shooting. Even if I spent time reading the manual that comes with the camera, I’d probably never remember all the technicalities.

 

I like this shot of a swan at the Chicago Botanic Garden for a couple of reasons. The flowers in the foreground add some color to the picture but also, being slightly out of focus, give the impression that we are hiding behind them watching as the swan goes gliding by.  A similar effect can be seen in this image of a moose taking it easy at Snowbird Resort near Salt Lake City in Utah, although who was hiding from whom I’m not sure.

I think the following images benefit from having the background out of focus, allowing us to concentrate more fully on the subject: flowers at the Green Bay Botanical Garden, a young man playing the part of a soldier at the Fort on Mackinac Island and a goldfinch enjoying some sunflower seeds in our garden.

For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge at The Daily Post go to Focus

Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge – Small Steps

After six weeks of feeling poorly, culminating in a five-day stay at the hospital with blood clots in lungs and legs, the second time in eight years, I thought that Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge would be an appropriate place to return to posting on a regular basis.  Which way do I go from here?  Looking back, things could have been a lot worse.  Looking forward, I know that things will never be quite the same again.  Although it’s nice to anticipate trips, parties and the like, I’ve learned not to make plans too far in advance.  Too many of them have been cancelled recently.  But I do look forward to getting back to work in our garden and also finding things to photograph.  Small steps for now.  I’m beginning to understand how my mother felt as she grew older when, visiting some of her favorite places like the Chicago Botanic Garden, she would sigh, almost with relief, and say, “I never thought I would see this again.”

For more on Cee’s Which Way Photo Challenge go to https://ceenphotography.com/2017/05/12/cees-which-way-photo-challenge-may-12-2017/