Tag Archives: Photography
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Lines and Angles
Wordless Wednesday
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Anything that starts with the letter S
Sheltie in snow on a Sunday.
Go over to Cee’s original post to see other interpretations.
WordPress Photo Challenge: Optimistic
I’m feeling pretty lucky to be living up here in Michigan right now, as the blizzard Jonah is bearing down on the south and east. So far this winter has pretty much passed us by. Sure we’ve got a tiny bit of snow on the ground. And it has been cold for a couple of weeks, but this winter is nothing like the last two evil and nasty winters we all suffered through.
Still, this week’s photo challenge is all about looking forward from the middle of the long winter. What makes us feel hopeful that we’re headed toward warmer weather? What keeps us going when we’re tired of shoveling, scraping frost off windshields, bundling up, driving on treacherous roads?
Stopping for a quick visit at Matthaei Conservatory always lifts my winter blues. It’s tropical inside with lush green trees and flowering plants. And in the back is the dry hot air of a desert complete with intriguing desert plant life. For a little while you can lose yourself in another place. A warm place.
I always like to stop and visit a huge rotating pot full of colorful plants. The plants are changed with the seasons, but the best part of this exhibit is the kaleidoscope that transforms the colors in the pot into changeable art. I took this image through the eye of the kaleidoscope. As the pot of plants rotates the image changes.
It’s magic and always makes me smile. And smiling in winter? Well, that’s the first step on the road to optimism.
See other optimistic responses at the original link above. It’s early…so I haven’t picked out any favorites yet. But optimism is such a wonderful concept, they’re all bound to be great.
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Lights
Ann Arbor’s Michigan Theater is home to the Ann Arbor Symphony.
Saturday I noticed these two chandeliers, reflected into infinity in mirrored walls, lighting up the ornate ceiling. I couldn’t resist the capture.
WordPress Photo Challenge: Weight(less)
Sandhill cranes, though large birds, fly as though they weigh nothing at all…
…way up against the puffy, weightless clouds in the beautiful blue sky.
You can see other interpretations of weight(less) at the original WP post. Or check out a few of my favorites here, here and here.
OK…here’s another favorite from my archives:
Taken last spring on a blustery day, this couple stood on top of the sledding hill flying their kite.
For me it was easier to think about this challenge from the weightless side. But I wonder what I have in my archives that would represent weight.
I bet there’s something.
Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Buildings
You know my favorite buildings to photograph are barns. So when Cee sent out a challenge for black and white photos of buildings I knew I needed to look at my barn archive. Especially since I have recent barn photos that you haven’t seen.
While I was up north I spent a day driving through the orchards and farmlands in the center of the peninsula. There were a lot of great barns, and someday I’ll do a post about them and show you more, but for right now enjoy this one. Tucked into the hill it was home to several cows that viewed me suspiciously when I stopped to take a photo.
And you might get a kick out of this barn which is located closer to where I live. There’s an organization here that is trying to preserve old barns. And Kid Rock does live around here. So I guess they were hoping for a donation.
Just down the road is this relatively small horse barn. I always look over at it as I head into town. There are three really big horses that live here, and I look to see if they are out and about. The other day all three were lined up in front of their barn and today I was hoping they’d be doing that again. Not so lucky today. Still, it’s a cute little barn and at least a couple of the residents hung out for me long enough to snap this.
You can see other people’s interpretations of “buildings” over at Cee’s original post.
I think another fun way to approach this challenge would be to head into the city. There are some interesting buildings there, but time is fleeting and I don’t think I’ll get down there soon enough. What buildings do you have around you that would convert to black and white and retain their interest? Share them with us!
Thanks Cee!
A place
What is it about a place? What is it that imprints a place on your heart? What makes a place feel like home whenever you’re there, even if it isn’t?
Are there places that put a magic spell over you? That cling to you when it’s time to leave, begging you not to go?
Can you only have one special place like this? Or can a person have these feelings in more than one? Does everyone have such a place, perhaps hidden in their heart?
And who among us is lucky enough to live in that place that tugs at their heart? For a few months or even full time?
I’ve spent two weeks in one of my special places, way up in the tip of Michigan’s little finger.
But I feel the same sense of belonging, the same tug on my heart when I’m in the Keweenaw Peninsula way way up north. So I know I can love more than one place at a time.
Maybe it’s the peninsula thing. Being on a spit of land surrounded by huge bodies of water. Maybe it’s being far away from a city and city lights.
Maybe it’s the crisp air, the huge vistas, the wind in the trees and the splash of waves on the beach.
Maybe it’s just magic. Maybe it doesn’t have to be understood.
Maybe it just is.






















