Outside: Queen Anne's Lace + bokeh

It was actually a very cold day in March sometime last year, or maybe two years ago? Who knows... Anyway, it was on a frigid day in March when I was standing on the edge of a half frozen pond in the dreary light of the morning when I finally figured out how to properly use the settings on my digital camera. Yes, I know, what better conditions than freezing air, a pond at the bottom of a steep hill, my dew soaked shoes and pant legs, and my freezing gloved fingers to finally just stand there and try every setting on the camera? Nothing ever happens on a calm, balmy afternoon in May, no.

Since that day, and even prior to that day, I have taken many many many pictures. And while I knew this before — you can take a picture of almost anything and create an image that looks good or interesting or is engaging. It's just that back in the olden days you literally paid by the image, one segment of film at a time. Other than recharging the batteries and always having to reset the time & date, my how convenient this new technology is!

Of course, even after you figure one thing out, there will always be other things to learn or experience. One of the things I find particularly visually entertaining about photography is "bokeh." I suppose, since figuring out the macro option, it's my current new favorite *thing.*

So, since summer is winding down — and man, I will not miss those 90˚F days — it was time for one last go round with the Queen Anne's Lace, this time with bokeh.

Hopefully, your summer is winding down in a pleasant fashion.

As always, if you're an 'etsian' (or even if you're not) I invite you to check out my treasuries
here or here, respectively. And if you are an etsian, and you like to make treasuries and would like to participate in the Serendipity Treasury Challenge, then check it out on this blog.

I am prone to whims...

In the grand scheme of things, I am not a meticulous planner. In fact, in the entire span of my lifetime, I have only ever purchased one "day planner." The only reason for the purchase was because it was 75% off, and because it had Salvador Dali graphics. I never wrote, much less planned anything in it...

The world is large and full of possibilities, so, I really don't see how anyone really thinks they can plan anything down to the letter, or why you would want to.

That being said, I was sitting in front of the computer yesterday, and happened to notice the light change from the window. There were clouds meandering through the sky. So, I grabbed my camera, put my shoes on, and wandered all the way out to the back of the yard and took pictures of the cloud.

Life is full of moments, and serendipity.

That and I take a lot of photos of the sky anyway. They always come in handy for digital collage illustrations of landscapes...

Anyway, between painting trees and sky washes on bowls, watching television, photographing bowls for listings, watching more television, messing around on the internet, and enjoying a summer of strawberry shortcake, I have been working up some of my sky photos. Like in virtually all areas of life, I'm not a photography purist, so I have no qualms about editing or calibrating color to my liking.
These are some of the images I have finished so far...

sunlit wisps

cotton candy clouds


epiphany

On a completely unrelated note, whilst hammering tacks on which to attach picture frame wire to some of the many paintings I have painted this summer — I watched the documentary "Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage." I highly recommend it. Rush were one of my first favorite bands, and Geddy Lee was my first rock-star crush. If you are a Rush fan, then you must own this documentary! And if you're not, then go buy it anyway, and become a Rush fan.
: )

serendipitous daisies

I have this blurb in my etsy profile that reads:

I like to stop every now and then on my way to and from work to photograph whatever strikes my fancy.

And I'm not kidding. I will actually stop while I am driving to or from somewhere just to take pictures of something.

I was, in fact, on my way to Adrian to run errands when I noticed these white flowers on the hill that comes out of the ditch on the side of the road. I couldn't actually tell what they were as I was driving by, but I knew I was going home by the same route, so I decided I would stop and check them out.

Indeed, I stopped on the way back home. I was figuring that the little white flowers were probably going to turn out to be weeds... but I could still take some pictures of them and play around with them on the computer nonetheless. As it turned out, to my surprise, growing up out of the weeds and tall grass in the ditch was a large patch of daisies. Serendipity.

I must have spent 30 minutes traipsing back and forth in that ditch...