Day 118- Texture Tuesday on Thursday

My father was a dentist in the Navy during World War II.  When I was a little girl, he gave me a box of shells from the island of Eniwetok in the Marshall Islands.  I don’t know much about his tour of duty, other than he was on the Ajax and that he not only was a dentist, but acted as a medic as well, assisting surgeons in operations aboard ship.

I used textures from Kim Klassen to enhance this image- specifically serendipity and paperstainedmusic- and am participating in this week’s Texture Tuesday (on Thursday).

kimklassencafe

Melinda2 Comments

Day 117- Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

I love my MacBook Pro.  I love my iPhone.  I expected, when I made the big switch from Windows last summer, that everything would go beautifully when it came to getting the iPhone and the MacBook to talk to each other.  Somehow that has not been the case.

I also love Google.  I became a gmail user back when you had to be INVITED or have your request APPROVED in order to use get that coveted email address.  I wasn’t invited, but eventually my request was approved. I think I only knew one other person back then that used gmail.  I eventually started using Google Calendar, which I loved (still love).  My husband has his Google calendar and I had mine, and his events could show on mine (if I wanted) and vice versa.  We could always plan our schedules certain that there were no conflicting events.

My MacBook has its own calendar and address book applications, and it took subscribing to MobileMe for $99 a year to get everything to sync. Unfortunately, I had to give up my beloved Google Calendar in order for it all to work.  It still showed up on my iPhone as an account, but didn’t sync directly with MobileMe.

It’s getting a little fuzzy now, but I think it was because I wanted all my contacts to sync that I went to MobileMe.  And then of course I had nothing but trouble.  The contacts seemed to have a life of their own behind the scenes when the application was closed.  When I would open my MacBook address book, there would be duplicates of certain names- usually the same ones. I finally fixed it through something on Google, as I recall, and now my Google Contact list is empty, and I only have one duplicating name in the MacBook address book.

I think Google and Apple don’t like each other.

Or don’t like me.

Fast forward to now. Everything was working OK until I upgraded the MobileMe Calendar (I got a threat notice from them that all would be lost within five days if I didn’t download the new version).  I did, and now the calendars don’t sync to each other. My husband almost missed an important eye appointment today, because I entered it on my iPhone and it didn’t sync.

So- I am going to the Apple Store (one of my favorite places to go- seriously) on Friday to meet with one of the One-to-One training guys for help with Mobile Me. In the meantime, I am going to try using BUMP to send my contacts to my husband’s iPhone.  This is because the last time I got help with MobileMe,  it wiped out my contacts.

Pray for me.

Melinda1 Comment

Day 116- Out of Comfort Zones

Today I watched a friend take a giant leap out of her comfort zone- and I peeked a little out of mine.

I like birds. I appreciate birds. I love to photograph birds. I think the world would be a much less beautiful place without birds. Yes, I like birds. . . . but really only from a distance.A short distance, but a distance nonetheless.  In other words, I don’t want to handle birds- bird-watching, bird photographing, bird appreciating?  YES!  Bird handling? Ewww- not quite ready for that. I’m a little squeamish.  Don’t even ask me about fish.

Today I had two up close and personal bird encounters! But- my record is still clean- I didn’t actually touch a bird.

My friend and fellow photoblogger (infocusdaily.com and Bobo’s Blog), Carol, owns an Amazon parrot (of Bobo’s Blog fame), and today I was going to meet her (Bobo) for the first time.  When I arrived, Carol announced that there would be a change of plans- we would be going on a HAWK RESCUE!  Carol had recently signed up to be a volunteer hawk rescuer, and today she received her first call. And I would be going along!

Just the two of us.

We sped to the vet’s to get a crate- and then drove a half hour to where the hawk had been found behind a tire store.  We were escorted behind the store, where we met the quiet and very injured red-tailed hawk.  I had my camera- but was so affected by the circumstances that I didn’t take time to adjust settings- I just snapped a few blurry shots.

Carol, however, took charge.  She covered the hawk with a blanket and quickly and gently lifted it into the carrier.  I was so impressed with her calmness and willingness to step out of her comfort zone to help an injured animal.  Bravo, Carol!

Once in the carrier, the hawk, which had been standing and walking around previously- lay still.  We were afraid it was dying- or dead.  Carol bravely opened the cage door and reached in to adjust the covering to make certain it could breathe.  We drove it to the vet, and later in the afternoon, Carol received word that the hawk had a severe head injury and an uncertain prognosis.  What an afternoon!

And then I got to meet Bobo- the most charming and beautiful parrot you could ever imagine!  I had planned that her photo would be my photo of the day, so I had fun clicking away as her curiosity caused her to come out of her cage and come ever closer to me.  As I snapped this photo, I noticed Carol photographing ME- which would be her photo of the day!

f/2.2, 1/80, ISO 640, 35mm

Melinda2 Comments

Day 115- Well, it’s Monday. . .

It’s Mundane Macro Monday.  I snapped a quick photo before I left for the day. It is colorful, it has a shallow depth of field, it’s a macro- it’s FANCY TOOTHPICKS!

We had these out, because our little Miles can be very particular about what foods he is in the mood for- and fancy toothpicks seem to make the meal suddenly more appetizing!

f/5.6, 1/60, ISO 2500 85mm-  I took these at 8:30 am before the “sun” (it’s a cloudy day) had reached the kitchen- look at that ISO!

Melinda2 Comments

Day 114- Easter Surprise

Mama Hummingbird has been sitting on her nest almost nonstop for the last couple weeks. I have been wondering when something would change- and today it did!

I watched this morning as Mama Hummingbird left her nest and then stuck her beak down into the nest upon return.  Must be a baby! I set up my brand new TRIPOD (Thank you, Lonnie!) on the deck and watched her sitting on her nest (Photo 1).  After about 5 minutes or so, she took off, and I watched nervously, worried that I might have disturbed her.  After a few moments, a tiny beak appeared, opening and closing, waiting for Mama to return (Photo 2).  Finally, I spotted her high in a tree close by and waited until she landed on the nest, fed her baby, and then settled down again until it’s time for the next feeding (Photos 3,4, and 5).

All photos were taken at 300mm, f/6.3, 1/250, ISO 640

Melinda1 Comment

Day 113- Beside Myself

When I started collecting Blue Ridge pottery, I concentrated on plates to hang on the wall. Soon after, it became all things Blue Ridge within a few favorite patterns. Eventually it became a quest for the harder to find items in these patterns- especially a creamer and sugar.  I never found a creamer and sugar in one of my favorite patterns, but did buy a really cute set in a pattern I wasn’t familiar with- in shades of browns, orange, and yellow (my patterns are mostly in the primary colors, red, blue, and yellow).

While my family was visiting a couple weeks ago- the unthinkable happened.  I opened a kitchen cupboard and a pyrex bowl fell out and landed on my Blue Ridge sugar bowl- and broke the handle!  I’ve kept the pieces and will fix it someday- but it won’t be the same.  Very upsetting.

My daughter’s wonderful in-laws, Moira and Wayne, were there for the visit too, and we all had a great time co-grandparenting Miles and Baby Henry.  The house has been very empty for the last week-  we miss them all! Thursday a package arrived in the mail in a Harry and David box- a gift from Moira and Wayne.

LOOK!!!!

Can you believe it????? I am beside myself with happiness!

Thank you, Moira and Wayne! We are very blessed to have you in our family!

Melinda2 Comments

Day 112- Hey, Spring!

Clouds, sunshine, rain sprinkles- I think Spring is here somewhere! Here are some spring flowers to remind us that, yes, it IS Spring!

f/8, 1/640, ISO 800, 85mm

I played and played with the exposure settings for this photo. I found I had to be a full stop more open in order to get the histogram right. Then I realized that it was, of course- all together now- the EXPOSURE COMPENSATION BUTTON!

Groan.

I love my camera, but having to use the same button for exposure compensation as for setting the aperture sometimes plays havoc with my settings.

I created a desaturated version of this image that I am playing with in Photoshop (adding textures), but can’t seem to get quite right. I’m putting it away for now, as I hope to get something else done beyond photography today!

Melinda1 Comment

Day 110- Early Start

Busy day ahead-  so starting the day with a photo and a smoothie!

f/2.5, 1/200, ISO 2500 (hey, it was still dark outside!), 35mm

I had to play with this a little more in post-processing than I planned. I brought up the blues in my drink to make it look a little more appetizing! It is really kind of a brownish pink (lots of mangoes in there, along with strawberries and blueberries)- but it tastes yummy!

Melinda3 Comments

Day 109- Awwwww. . .

If you look back over the last week or so of my blog, you will see that all my recent photos have been taken at home. Time to step out of the box! Today I had an appointment in Walnut Creek and took the opportunity to take a walk afterward at Heather Farm, right down the street from my doctor’s office. I wandered around for over an hour, mostly using my 85mm macro.

Well, 192 photos later, it is hard to decide which photo will be my photo of the day.  I have been wanting to capture a bee (not a fly) on a flower  and I’ve also been looking for California poppies to photograph.  Today, I took pictures of bees ON California poppies! Check, check!

But I decided to go for the “Awww….” factor in choosing my photo of the day- it’s a gosling!!!

f/8, 1/32, ISO 250

I used my 300mm zoom instead of the 85mm lens, because of previous experiences with chasing, biting geese (they usually go after my husband, but that’s another story!).

Melinda1 Comment

Day 108- Up Close and Personal

It’s Macro Monday- time to get up close and personal with one of my geraniums. . .

f/9, 1/160, ISO 250

I am getting a better handle on this macro thing- I remembered (after a few shots) to use a small aperture in order to get adequate depth of field.  Macro is much easier outside than inside!

Melinda3 Comments

Day 107- Beware. . .

Beware! Installing dark colored granite bathroom counters is not a good idea if you use a powder type makeup!

f/4.5, 1/80, ISO 2000, 85mm

We installed this counter and chose a beautiful dark green, because we fell in love with it.  A couple years later I switched to a powder based makeup (which I love), but this is often what it looks like by the time I’m finished.  It isn’t quite as bad as it looks in this photo though, because there seems to be bokeh mixed in with the powder (plus an interesting heart shaped bokeh in the top middle…).

I spent a lot of time stalking my mama hummingbird today, but the only photos I got were of her in her nest.  The one time I caught her flitting about, she had quickly resumed guarding her egg(s) by the time I got my camera. Hence, the makeup brush photo from this morning. . .

Melinda2 Comments

Day 106- Woolly

I started knitting as a child, then again as a teenager, and finally really learned how about ten years ago.  I have battled a serious wool addiction since then and am trying to avoid yarn stores as much as possible these days (knitting rivals photography as an expensive hobby. . .). My craft room is stuffed with yarn- leftovers from previous projects and works in progress,  as well as yarn for projects that have never gotten off the ground.  I use my carpal tunnel as my excuse, since I can only knit about an hour a day- but of course, if I actually worked an hour a day on all the yarn in my room, I would have a lot more projects finished!

So today is going to be a day where I do knit, since I am behind on a project that will be a gift (shhhh…).  But as I get out my knitting bag, I can’t help but admire all the yarn I have. This photo shows just the yarn I have displayed in the top part of my wonderful Lantern Moon basket that my daughter bought me for my sixtieth birthday.  She is a knitter too and loves wool in the same way I do. In the foreground is the blue yarn I used to knit my first baby blanket, and the pink multi-colored yarn was used for my first baby sweater.  Both baby items were part of my Grandma Hope Chest (actually a drawer) way before my two grandbabies were even conceived.  Miles has Blue Blankie (yes, that’s what he calls it) and sleeps with it every night. The pink sweater? Well, that’s still in the drawer . . .

f/1.8, 1/160, ISO 500, 35mm

Melinda2 Comments

Day 105- Garden Path

Today is a day to catch up and do some errands- with photography not really on the list.  I think it took me all of five minutes to find my photo of the day. With all the azaleas in bloom, the path in our side garden is looking colorful and Spring-like.  I decided to go for a shallow depth of field to emphasize the azaleas in the foreground.

f/1.8, 1/1600, ISO 500, 35mm

Melinda4 Comments