Nothing makes me more content than exploring flowers with a macro lens. Here’s a gerbera daisy from my latest grocery store fall bouquet.
Bejeweled
Yesterday’s snow had disappeared before lunchtime- so I’m glad I made it outside with my macro lens before it all melted away. Our shrubs and trees looked like they were decorated with little jewels as the melting bits of snow glistened in the sunlight.
Leaf Happy
Last week’s walk down Mt. Vernon Street yielded some fall photos as well as all the photos of Halloween decorations. I think I should post them sooner rather than later, because this week’s big storms may have blown many of the leaves off the trees.
Abstract Grasses
The morning light shining through the ornamental grasses out my office window took me away from my computer and out the front door with my camera and lensbaby. I took about a dozen shots as I knelt on the rocks outside (ouch!) before my knees gave out from the effort. I liked the resulting photos, which I edited with textures to emphasize the abstract qualities of the images.
Winter is coming . . .
The hush comes with the deepening of Autumn; but it comes gradually. Our ears are attuned to it, day by quieter day.
But even now, if one awakens in the deep darkness of the small hours, one can hear it, a foretaste of Winter silence.
~Hal Borland
For as long as I can remember, Fall has been my favorite season. I think I like autumn leaves on the ground almost as much as the leaves on the trees. And to my eye, they are melancholy and mysterious in black and white- I love their fragile, crispy crunchiness and ragged, tired edges- reminding us that Winter is coming (a Game of Thrones reference, with my apologies). Snow is in the forecast in the high country, but I don’t think we’ll see any here. In the meantime, I’m enjoying every minute of Fall!
Halloween Walkabout
Here are a couple more sights we saw as we walked down Mount Vernon Street.
Spirit of Halloween
Yesterday we took our annual Halloween stroll along Mt. Vernon Street, where the Halloween spirit is very evident. In this neighborhood of older homes, most houses are decorated for Halloween, and some have gone all out! It’s the most popular street in town for trick-or-treating.
White and whiter
I confess to having a photography love affair with my white pumpkins.
I like the orange ones, but there is just something about the white ones that I can’t resist!
Family History Cabinet
I’m on a mission to finish up my genealogy research and organize it in some meaningful way to pass on to future generations. There are so many aspects to this whole project that it seems overwhelming at times, and I get paralyzed with indecision over what to tackle next. I’ve researched the ancestors just about as far as I can go at this point, have a file cabinet, binders, and boxes filled with research, and have had my DNA done (twice), but I still have boxes and boxes of photos left to deal with.
I recently reorganized our front hallway dental cabinet so that the drawers are organized to make sense again. I use this chest to store and display family memorabilia from my husband and my childhoods and (mostly) from our parents’ and grandparents’ lives. I got the idea of putting this together from a newspaper article given to me by my friend, Kathryn, who spotted it and gave it to me, knowing my interest in genealogy and that I owned a similar cabinet. I’m sure I’ve mentioned more than once here that it belonged to my father who bought it used when he opened his dental practice in the late twenties. It was painted white when we acquired it, but we had it stripped to its natural mahogany. I think I should stop calling it a dental cabinet now- it’s our Family History Cabinet!
Here is a drawer with some items from my grandmother and great-grandmother. Both photos are of my grandmother, Marion Bean Badenoch, known to her grandchildren as Mimi.
My latest genealogy/photography project is to scan and restore some of my old family photos. I have hundreds, not counting those from my childhood and my children’s childhoods- so obviously, I am going to have to be very selective. I believe that the photo of Mimi in the oval frame was taken when she was sixteen (that’s what my mother told me, I think), but I’ve also considered that it could be her wedding portrait- it’s a pretty fancy dress! She went to finishing school in Boston, so it could have been taken around that time.
Here is the photo as scanned:
And here is the restored one:
Contrast alone makes a huge difference, and I attempted to eliminate most of the scratches and marks as well. I haven’t made a final decision about tone. The tutorials I’ve watched showed converting all the images to a plain black and white, but I think I prefer some brown in the tones to give a bit of a vintage look to them. Another decision to make!
I think my next photo restoration project will be the cute childhood image of Mimi sitting in the chair.
Not to be redundant. . .
These are ALMOST the end of the white pumpkin photos, but, since Halloween is over a week away, there just might be more!
Happy Hump Day!
Rolling, Rolling, Rolling. . .
If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that I treasure little family trinkets from bygone eras and that I have quite a few- being an only child has its rewards! When I started my first Project 365 almost 5 years ago (!), my daughter suggested I photograph the contents of my father’s dental cabinet which houses much of my family’s memorabilia. Over the years, many of the items have been featured, but today I am featuring some trinkets from another family.
My friend, Claudia (who is a fantastic card-maker), has always encouraged me on my photographic journey. When she learned I wanted a dish of old marbles to photograph (and to display), she gave me some that are from HER family treasures! I have puzzled how to photograph them in an interesting way. I did some shots last month that never made the blog, because they just weren’t appealing. Last weekend, I tried again.
I got out my trusty macro lens and attempted to set up a simple still life. I discovered that the garage floor isn’t level, as the marbles kept rolling around and off the folding table I use for still life. I finally set them on my old washboard, which gave a contrasting texture to the smooth roundness of the marbles- and kept them from falling onto the floor.
As I was clicking away, the wind was blowing some of the leaves I had gathered for another still life onto the garage floor- which gave me an idea!
Tucking the marble under one of the leaves on the floor kept it from rolling around. I was lying on my stomach for this shot- a pretty sight indeed!
Expect to see more marble shots sometime in the future. . .
Blowing in the Wind
Today’s photo was shot with my lensbaby and includes a couple leaves, part of a bunch I gathered while walking down our hill, and some old books of my mother’s (yes, I love to photograph old books!). Way in the back is a little clock- a gift from my god-daughter for hosting her wedding shower (8 years ago?!?). The wind was blowing into my garage studio, causing the pages and leaves to shiver and shift while I took the photo, making focusing with the lensbaby a fun challenge. Fall is slow to arrive this year, but it is on its way.
Sunny Bouquet
Nothing like a sunny bouquet to brighten up a not-so-sunny day!
Game of Pumpkins
This is what happens when I have been binge-watching Game of Thrones- and am avoiding the things I have to do by playing in Perfect Effects.
Winter Halloween is coming. . . bwaaahaaahaah!
A Change-up
I’m changing things up a bit today. The pumpkins have been put aside temporarily, because I shot some seashell macros the other day and am beginning to wonder when I’m ever going to get them posted.
Next week- more pumpkins! Stay tuned!
melinda anderson photography 