Tag Archives: Photography
Yosemite
Yesterday we went to Yosemite National Park.
Though we didn’t stay overnight at the old hotel, I could just imagine what it must have been like in the 20’s and 30’s.
We drove and walked all over the valley floor.
Magnificent!
Gotta run!
Not in Michigan
I don’t think I’m in Michigan anymore.
And I don’t suppose the picture above is any real kind of hint. But you can try to guess if you like.
There are a lot of hills and water.
Plus a big city.
And a bridge or two.
Really, I think that’s all the hints I can give you at this time.
Sunflower inspiration
Out along a country road someone plants sunflowers. They crowd each other between the corn fields and the road. They go on for almost a mile. Every year I remind myself that I need to stop and take pictures. Every year the frost gets to them before I do.
But this year I was inspired by PJ’s sunflower photo, and the one over on Gerry’s blog. So last weekend Katie and I went out specifically to get some photos. Katie had to stay in the car, but she was OK with that.
I had a great time standing among the sunflowers.
Katie was very patient.
She’s gotten used to this Mama and the camera thing. As long as she gets to ride in the car she’s totally supportive.
Treats are good too.
You want me to look WHERE Mama?
I'll pose but I won't look at you
It’s cold and really windy, but this afternoon the sun came out so Katie and I took advantage of the perception of warmth and went for a drive. Mama took the camera. Katie sighed.
We went to a park that has a children’s play area. There’s a big sign filled with all the rules; one says ‘no pets.’
Not looking at you.
But since there wasn’t anyone around and since Katie can’t read we wandered in anyway.
Are you sure we can be here Mama?
It smells like children! You know I don’t especially like children. They’re noisy. Noisier than me. And that’s saying something.
Hey, there’s lots of places to sniff. Wait. You want me to sit where? Under these weird things? OK. But I’ not going to look at you.
Not looking at you.
Nope just not gonna do it.
Nope.
Darn! You got me!
Now wait a minute. You want me to climb up THERE? Oh yea. I can do that! But I’m not gonna look at you. You might as well face it.
Not looking at you.
Hey Mama this is fun and everything, but can we just go for a walk out in the grass?
I sat good for all your stupid pictures, so can we, can we? Just go nose around all that pretty grass for awhile?
Of course we can baby-girl. Right after one last shot.
Ok. But I’m not looking at you.
Subtly of Fall
Today the temps were in the low 40’s, the wind was howling and the rain was coming down sideways. I miss summer already. Luckily Katie and I got to go to her favorite local park last Sunday while the sun was shining and the air was still warm.
She said it was about time she got to do something fun.
She ran around a lot…
…while I noticed all the subtle colors.
Despite today’s weather we are only beginning the fall season, and haven’t reached our peak color yet.
Still, if you look you’ll see beautiful soft color everywhere.
Katie says…Hurry up Mom! Geeze I have to wait for you all the time!
Coming baby-girl, Mama’s coming.
A little competition
I’ve been thinking about Scott’s photo challenge – to photograph some kind of competition. There are lots of things that come to mind; pie eating contests, lumberjack pole climbing contests, Renaissance jousting contests, dog shows, art fairs. But none of these things seemed likely to occur somewhere that I might be.
So I fell back to a sport I used to participate in – running. I found a small 5K race (that’s 3.1 miles) only a few miles away at a senior assisted living facility and on a Sunday morning I drove over there, feeling overdressed in my jeans and jacket, to watch a group of people head off on a beautiful run through the fall morning light. (Click on the photos to see them larger and with more detail.)
As at every race there was anticipation in the air as people prepared to run.
Volunteers were setting up a table with water and bagels for race finishers.
Soon everyone was getting last minute instructions.
And then they were off!
While the runners were out on the course, the residents of the assisted living facility did their own walk around the grounds and then crossed the finish line themselves…
…and many stayed to watch the runners come in.
The winner was a young man, who came in way ahead of the rest of the pack.
The first female was also young.
All the returning racers got a cheering welcome from residents and family alike.
It was a beautiful morning for a multi-generational run.
Makes me think I should put my running shoes on and get back into the competition!
Riley's mailbox search
A long time ago, way back in August, while Reilly went for a walk around his neighborhood he noticed the fancy mailboxes there. He and his Mom suggested we all look around and see what kind of pretty or interesting or unique mailboxes we just might have near us.
Well, lots of time has passed, but I’ve been keeping this challenge in the back of my mind. Mostly around here we have pretty simple mailboxes out on posts by the side of the road, nothing fancy, nothing pretty, nothing remotely interesting. Or so I thought.
Today while driving to see if I could find a competitive photo for Scott’s photo challenge I decided to keep my eyes open for mailboxes too. Look what I found!
Down one of the dirt roads that I used to run is this mailbox, advertising the kind of person that lives there. I think this person just might be pretty handy to know.
And on another road I drive everyday is someone longing to be near the sea.
Most of our mailboxes are just, well, regular mailboxes. Though lined up like this I think they look pretty interesting.
But my favorite is this one, made out of patio pavers with a top that lights up at night. It’s something they built this summer and I’ve been admiring it for weeks.
I’m pretty happy with the mailboxes I found in a single morning. And even though there are some fun mailboxes out there, I think I’ll keep our simple brown one. It works just fine.
Katie’s waiting for some mail.
