Photography | Change Is Hard

December 28, 2014
by dawnkinster 18 Comments

WordPress Photo Challenge: Warmth

No matter what time of year you visit the University of Michigan’s Conservatory at Matthaei Botanical gardens you’ll get a warm feeling.

Warm holiday greetings!

So it’s there that I found a photo for this week’s WordPress photo challenge representing warmth. The tropical warmth of the building in conjunction with the warmth of the season.

Many people have gone out to find a bit of warmth in their worlds. You can find a few of my favorites here, here, here and here. And especially here. Or check out the original link above to see them all.

Stay warm everybody!

Christmas kaleidoscope

December 22, 2014
by dawnkinster 14 Comments

Sunday afternoon surprise adventure

Katie here! Hey, bet you didn’t expect to hear from me again so soon! My mama doesn’t let me have her blog very often you know, but since it’s Christmas and all I guess she’s feeling generous. Or she doesn’t have anything to say. Either way it works for me!

In the Arboretum.

So she was lying around the house all weekend. I was plenty bored but after awhile I just gave up and went off to sleep in my secret places. But then she turned off the TV and said: “Katie-girl! Where are you?” And of course I came running because whenever my mama calls me I get right to her as fast as I can in case she’s handing out treats and such. Well this time she was still on the sofa and she asked me if I’d like to go for a ride with her. A ride! Well OF COURSE MAMA! I jumped right on top of her and licked her in the face and then I barked and barked and barked and then I jumped off of her and ran to the door and I barked and barked and barked and then I ran around the sofa a bunch, and then around her feet while she was trying to walk and I kept barking.

I guess you get the picture.

Grandpa & Grandma’s rock

So anyway, my mama took me down to see her Mom and Dad’s rock on the banks of the Huron River. She’s been missing them lately, what with all the family movies and advertisements and stuff on TV, so she took me for a visit.

I never got to meet them.

I wasn’t the least bit interested in the river or the ducks that she said were “right there baby!”

Ducks are boring!

I was much more interested in the other people and their dogs. We only stayed at the rock for a moment or two and then we went walking in the hills. It sure was pretty back there. I guess they got a little snow, but mostly it was just wet leaves.

A little bit of snow.

As we were climbing up and down the hills my mama kept saying “Easy, easy girl” so I wouldn’t pull her and her camera down into the mud. Silly mama. Like I’d ever do that. When I didn’t have her hanging on to me I was as nimble as a mountain goat!

Running down a hill.

We had a really good time. We talked to a couple of people who were out walking their dogs. One lady in particular had a dog named Gus and we walked with them for awhile. The lady was talking to mama about camping with Gus. Mama wishes she had gotten the lady’s name, she says she thinks we could have had a good time going on walks with them again.

Lots of good sniffing!

I slept all the way home, but don’t tell my mama that. I like her to think I’m always vigilant.

Don’t you know.

December 20, 2014
by dawnkinster 14 Comments

WordPress Photo challenge – yellow

I know. Yellow??

The point of the original post was that we are surrounded with holiday colors this time of year, blue and silver, red and green. But does yellow have a special meaning for anyone this holiday season?

Turns out it does for me.

Sandy’s favorite color

This time the photo challenge isn’t about finding an interesting representation or a stunning photograph. This time it’s just about friendship and nostalgic memories.

And jingle bell socks.

You see there once was a woman here at work who loved the holidays so much that as Christmas approached she wore socks with jingle bells sewn into them. We all smiled as we heard her coming and going. I wrote about her last winter when she died after a short illness; how she was everyone’s ‘work mom,’ confidant, advice giver, listener. How we were going to miss her.

Her favorite color was yellow, and everyone at her funeral wore yellow ribbons in her honor. I pinned it to the dusty dirty wall of my cubicle last February and look at it every day. I can still hear her voice and her laugh in my head, and I hope I will always be able to bring her to mind and smile.

I’ve been thinking about her a lot these past few weeks as the holidays descend, as work stays crazy and home life gets crazier. And once in awhile when I hear the faint jingle of a bell I’m pretty sure it’s her checking in on us.

If you see me walking around grinning it’s because she’s still with me whenever I see the color yellow this holiday season.

So….how you doing girlfriend? We miss you.

Merry Christmas up there in heaven.

December 15, 2014
by dawnkinster 16 Comments

Happy Birthday little girl!

Katie here.

Guess what, Guess What, GUESS WHAT!?!?!

I am eight years old today! I think there should be a giant party and everybody should come over and tell me how beautiful I am and give me stuff, especially yummy treats, which I would not share with anyone because princesses do not share.

Oh.

Mama says I need to be polite.

OK. So I’d share with all of you. Princesses can be gracious if reminded.

I guess.

But Mama has to go to work today so there isn’t going to be a big party for me. I’ll probably just get my regular dog food too. Sigh. It’s so stinkin hard to be a sheltie princess when the mama keeps going off for entire days at a time. I mean if a girl’s a princess in an empty house and no one sees, is she still a princess? Huh? I ask you? Not fair. That’s all I’ve got to say about the matter.

The only good thing about today is that my bestest dog walker friend is going to come take me for a walk at lunch! When my mama has to go away for the day she sometimes gets my friend to come over and play with me. That’s just so much fun! She comes with treats too…so I guess my birthday won’t be an entire washout.

And my mama will come home from work eventually and then we’ll play play play! I hope. She’s been pretty preoccupied lately. The whole truck thing last week got her really sad and I had to work double time to cheer her up. I did my best work at 5:30 in the morning when she seemed to need cheering up the most. A dog always knows that timing is everything. She’ll thank me latter when she’s in a better mood. She seems a bit of a grouchy pants at the moment.

Anyway…because today is my 8th birthday and because she has to work today she took me to my favorite park yesterday afternoon. It was a gloomy day but I didn’t care, I love going to my park and she lets me sniff as much as I want. It’s the best present she could give me. Here’s me next to some beautiful tall grass. I think I make the grass look even prettier, don’t you?

At my park 12-14-14

And just in case you haven’t seen me as an cute little puppy, here’s me my first day at home. I was 3 mos old and just as cute as could be. Mama and Daddy fell in love with me the first time they saw me, even though I wasn’t at all sure about them. I hid behind a big chair at my first mom’s house and watched them. But then I let mama pick me up and it was OK after that. I slept upside down all the way to my new house, and it’s been perfect ever since. I can’t blame them for loving me right away. Can you?

First day on my sofa, March 31, 2007

I know, I know…adorable…right?

So I think everyone should go get something yummy and treat themselves on me! Sort of my gift to you from me on my 8th birthday! Happy Birthday to me!

Enjoy everybody!

November 29, 2014
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

WordPress photo challenge: Converge

Converge – where different things come together and this week’s photo challenge. I was visiting my brother’s home during the Thanksgiving weekend and climbed up into his loft.

And there I saw the convergence of inside and outside, light and dark in the angled windows of his home on the lake.

You can see other version of converge at the original link. Or see a few of my favorites here, here and here.

What do you see converging around you? Share with us…you have an entire week to find something perfect.

November 23, 2014
by dawnkinster 10 Comments

WordPress photo challenge: Angular

I haven’t visited the local hospital since the new wing was completed. It’s very beautiful. More beautiful is the fact that I wasn’t there to visit anyone, just to shoot a photo challenge.

You can see other interpretation of angular here, here, here and here. Or go to the original link and see many more! I like this one too, and her short explanation of cultural differences was was interesting as well.

Over the course of the week I expect more people will be posting their shots, so it’s worth going back to visit again later on. And look around your own world. I bet you can find something angular yourself. Post it to your blog and connect to the original link and you’ll find people stopping by that you’ve never met before. The hunt for an appropriate shot and then the visits of people from all over the world is what makes these photo challenges so much fun for me.

Come along and join the fun!

November 11, 2014
by dawnkinster 14 Comments

A simple thank you

Great Lakes National Cemetery

Today was Veterans Day; the eleventh day of the eleventh month and designated by President Wilson in 1919 as a day to honor those who have given so much so that we here in the United States remain free.

It was a day for all of us to say thank you to those who have served our country in the military.

Flowers amid the stones.

Over hills and across farmland, not far from where I live, is the Great Lakes National Cemetery. It sits on over 500 acres, was opened in 2005 and is the final resting place for thousands, and someday hundreds of thousands, of veterans and their spouses. The numbers, even now, are staggering and very visual as you look across row after row of white marble headstones. You can become lost in the vastness of it.

Thousands of souls.

Or you can stop and wander, read a few of the names and messages found there.

Wandering and reading.

Each stone honors an individual, a veteran yes, but also a person. A person that had a life outside the military, someone who laughed with family, hung out with friends, traveled, went fishing.

Sometimes the story on the headstone is simple.

Pearl Harbor survivor.

And sometimes it gives you just a tiny glimpse of the person who once walked this earth.

Animal lover.

So many of the stones reminds you how short life can be. How short it was for so many.

While we were out there we had something of a flyover. Five sand hill cranes flew in formation directly overhead, crying their own version of a patriotic melody.

In formation.

It seemed fitting.

Today was Veterans Day. But really, shouldn’t we honor those who serve our country every day? Tomorrow, the day after Veterans Day, take a moment and thank a veteran. Smile at them. Shake their hand. Buy them a cup of coffee.

This WW II veteran understood the truth.

Make someone’s day. And yours.

Let’s not forget.

Just say thank you.

November 9, 2014
by dawnkinster 7 Comments

WordPress challenge: minimalist take II

I wandered about today, camera in hand, even though the sky was mostly uninteresting. The leaves, once colored, are long gone, the crops nearly gone as well. The landscape was brown. And gray. Drab.

But that works for what I was looking for; minimalism in the country.

I honestly think the concept of a minimalistic photograph fits more into an urban setting, at least in my mind, but I wanted to see if I could show you the vast expanses of farm country here in mid-Michigan. And see if I could convince myself that minimalism can have a country side as well.

I found a few interesting things, but so many seemed busy, cluttered. I like filling the frame when I’m on a photo hunt, so it was hard to look for negative spaces, to leave part of the frame empty. I’ll show you some of the shots that didn’t make the minimalist cut, but when I came across this I had to capture it.

It’s the end of the harvest here, and the white truck parked and being filled with shucked corn by the harvester in the middle of nowhere just struck me. The muted colors, the empty field. It all shouted to be noticed.

So I did.

You can see other photographers’ minimalistic offerings here and here. Go. Enjoy. Spread your arms in all the space. You can see all of photos by going to the original post.

And give it a try yourself. No matter where you are you can find something minimal and interesting if you look.

Even way out in the country.

November 8, 2014
by dawnkinster 11 Comments

WordPress Photo Challenge – Minimalist

The concept of a minimalist photo is simple. You might even say minimal. It should contain a large amount of negative space and a somewhat monochromatic color scheme. And if you can, it should tell a story. This morning we woke to our first significant snow, so large parts of our world were monochromatic; I found this right outside my front door.

I’m not sure this is totally correct, I don’t see negative space for example. I’m hoping to get out tomorrow to search for another example. But you never know about tomorrow, so I’ll put this out there for now. You can see other examples of minimalist photography here, here, here and here. And especially this one. Or go to the original link and read all about it, then look at the hundreds of submissions attached.

Meanwhile I’ll enjoy looking for another bit of minimalism. You can too. I’d enjoy seeing what you come up with!

November 2, 2014
by dawnkinster 15 Comments

WordPress photo challenge – Descent

You can see other interpretations of ‘descent’ in the comments at the original WordPress post. Or if you like, check out a few of my favorites (so far) here, here, here and here. As the week goes on there will be more to see, so be sure to check back at the original post again!.

Oh. I liked this one too!

Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.

Tag Archives: Photography