Scavenger Hunt Sunday--Week 17

Ya'll may know by now that nature pictures are my favorite. Most of today's photos are from the walk my husband and I took earlier this week.

1. See...sea...or C

Several years ago, before I got my Canon, Joe and I walked through these woods for the first time. We came to the bank of the river and could barely see a colony of beaver at work building a dam. The camera we had at the time didn't come close to capturing the beaver at work. We began making plans to get a good camera "one of these days" and come back and get some good photos of the beaver at work.

Last week we finally made it back there with the Canon we purchased over a year ago. We were disappointed to find that the beaver were no longer there. We did SEE many small animal tracks below where we stood. We could see no beaver prints, but there were plenty raccoon tracks.

2. Chair

I had hoped to find something that would fit the prompt for chair in the woods. Joe spotted this tree root. I tried it out and found it to be perfect. The tree next to it made a natural leaning post. The chair was comfortable enough that I could have slept in it.

I have always enjoyed taking pictures, but I have never been comfortable being the subject of the photos. I have begun to notice recently how few pictures there are of me. I believe this is true with many photographers. Some day my grandchildren will want to show their children what grandma looked like. They aren't going to say "wow, she sure is ugly,"  or "fat" or "funny looking." They will be happy to have a picture or two. 

We have a website on which we have listed close to 5000 school yearbooks for sale. We are amazed at how many of the people who buy them tell us, "This is the only picture of my dad (or grandmother or aunt) I have ever seen." Pictures are important. Be sure you hand your camera to someone else every now and then. Get comfortable with allowing your picture to be taken. Someone someday will be glad you did!

3. Symmetry

                          

As we walked through the woods looking for things to satisfy the prompts (and mushrooms, of course), I had a hard time finding anything symmetrical. After all, the randomness of nature is what I like about the woods. I got home and downloaded the pictures I had taken to my laptop and began going through them. After much searching, I saw that many of my shots had the very thing I had been trying to avoid in them--shadows. Shadows! Aren't they symmetrical?

Before the "duhhh..." moment, I had decided to use one of my favorite shots from my archives. I don't know how or why, because I when I try to figure it out, my brain tries to explode, but I believe symmetry is what makes this such a cool photo. If I'm wrong, would someone who understands it please tell me?

4. Blanket

We discovered this area that was blanketed in soft. downy white loose grass. I don't know what it is called, but it looked soft and comfortable. I didn't try it out--maybe next time.

5. Giggle

I was delighted with this feather Joe found among the leaves. I didn't giggle over it, but I could imagine all the giggling my younger grandchildren would do if I tried to tickle them with it. I know, that's a little corny. Sorry about that. 

Thanks for visiting my blog. Your comments are welcome. If you would like to participate in Scavenger Hunt Sunday, just click on the link below. Happy Hunting!

Scavenger Hunt Sunday--Week 16

I found this week's prompts for Scavenger Hunt Sunday a bit challenging. It was quite a stretch for my brain, but that is a good thing, right? Learning new things is good exercise. Hopefully these will be of interest to you.

1. Camouflaged 

 The haphazard array of vegetation in this photo provides a great camouflage for a wide variety of objects that make their home in this wooded area.They are not easy to spot in this closeup photo, and even harder with the naked eye from a standing position. Can you find what I was looking for?

I found this interesting piece of art at the Tulsa Antique Show today. The square object in the center appeared to be plexiglass. The white area looked to be tiny bubbles. My guess is that the glass was heated, possibly with a torch drawn carefully over the glass until the design was formed. The intended message of the piece seems to be camouflaged within the sculpture itself. Were it not for the light behind the glass, one would have to look very close to realize that it had a form to it.

2.  Nutty

This is an old store piece that I saw at the antique show today. The signs on the top of the glass said SUPERB FOODS and HEADLIGHT COFFEE. I probably could have got a better shot of this if I had taken my time, but after I embarrassed myself by my poor choice of words when I asked the guy if I could take a picture of ... I hurried away. 

3. Old Style

I was quite young when this old style of camera was the new rave on the market. It boasted of taking a picture that was instantly developed and printed within minutes. The flash attachment even made it possible to take nice photos indoors. Another bonus was that you could find out almost instantly if you the picture was satisfactory without having to send it off to be developed. If it wasn't quite right, you could try again. I liked it then, but I won't be trading my Canon for one now. 

4. Haphazard

My husband bought me these tulips on the way to set up Friday morning. I didn't have a vase, but found a plastic canister to put them in. I arranged the flowers somewhat haphazardly in it, then after adding water, I tied a plastic bag loosely around the stems to keep them from leaning to far out of the 'vase'. By the next morning the had opened up nicely. I got home with them and started to move them into a real vase, but then I decided I kind of liked the thrown-together look.

5. Monochromatic

It took a while for me to find the monochrome settings on my camera. I practiced with it in the dusty mirror for the fun of it. I kind of liked the old style look of it and decided to keep it. Maybe I should make it my profile picture!

I used a black back drop behind the tulips. I kind of like the effect. I had to take quite a few pictures to get the effect I wanted, but I'm happy enough with it for my first session with monochrome.

Thanks for stopping by today.

I don't claim to be a photographer, but I do love capturing the memories and I try hard to make my photos come out half-way decent. Scavenger Hunt Sunday is fun to do and disciplines me to keep practicing. I share my post each Sunday with the like below.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday--Week 15

Today once again I satisfied all the prompts with photos from my booth at an Antique Show. This time we were in Springfield, Missouri. Most of what I sell at the shows is silver plated flatware. My tables are full of the silverware, therefore most of the shoppers consider me an authority. I answer many questions each weekend that I am set up at a show about silverware.

1. Looking Up

The question I hear most often is "How much is this silverware?" You'll find me looking up almost constantly to see which piece they are holding. This lady had more than one piece. She, like most shoppers, was holding the items in such a way that the pattern on the handle was covered up. The price of a piece of silverware is determined by a combination of  pattern, piece function, and condition.

2. Light


















Another very common question is, "Do you know the name of this pattern?" With the question they show me the piece they have brought from home, or sometimes a picture of it they have taken with their phone. I know the name of most of the patterns from many years of working with them, but if I don't, I can look them up in my pattern book. This nearly always sheds some light on the question. The pattern of the two pieces shown in this picture are Daffodil and Heritage. Both are very popular patterns.

3. Favorite Mobile Device

My first cell phone was similar to the small one in this photo. I have had several styles since that first one. The larger phone is a Galaxy Note 3. I like it better than any phone I have ever had. The display is big enough to read easily and when a customer sends me a picture of the piece of silverware they are looking for I can easily see it to determine the pattern.

One of my favorite things to do with my favorite mobile device is to make a note of the prompts for each week of SHS so I can look at them quickly any time I want. The little rectangle of light on the phone must have reflected from the lights that were very high up above my booth.

4. Outside

A lot of people ask how to tell the difference between sterling silver and silver plate. "Is it that sterling tarnishes?" some ask. The answer is that both sterling and silver plate tarnish. They look the same on the outside. Both of these pieces happen to be sterling, but one is tarnished and one has been recently polished.

5. Inside

The difference in sterling and silver plate is what is on the inside. Some of these pictured are sterling and some are silver plated, some are tarnished and some are not, some are in good condition and some show plate wear. The second piece from the top, a spoon, and the knife below both have large areas of the inside metal showing. Sterling will not do this. It will be the same all the way through.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday--Day 14

Early in the week I was so pleased that I would have plenty of time to take the right photos for the prompts. Just before dark Saturday evening I remembered--so much for plenty of time. I racked my brain trying to think of a place I could get to before dark to take the pictures. I managed for all but snuggle. I had to take it from my archives.

1. Beverage

My husband chauffeured me around as I searched for just the right setting... Ah ha! How could I have forgotten about the Coke Plant. We entered from behind the plant. I saw trucks being loaded, but could never get a clear shot for all the fences and stacks of trays and pallets in the way. We finally made it to the front of the building where I found this sign. The picture didn't come out as clear as I would have liked, but I didn't have time to do much playing around.

We went back around to get a shot of the trays. It was kind of neat to see the names of the various flavors they bottle in this plant.

2. Snuggle

This guy thought he could snuggle down below the grass and rest out of sight.

He hadn't accounted for my camera which exposed him big time.

It wasn't long before he realized he had been discovered and scampered off to find a new snuggle space!

3. Thick

This neighborhood had big dogs who weren't afraid to show their teeth. I took the shot of this thick brushy area through the window of the car. I suppose I should have edited out the rear view mirror.

4. Behind the Lens

I was in a dilemma as to what to use for behind the lens other than my camera. I walked back toward car after stopping by to see my daughter at work before heading on home. Hmm, there's a lens. It was with me all the time. You could say I was behind the lens of the brake lights because I was behind the car. You can also see the light that is behind the lens itself. Then of course, I was still behind the lens of my camera as I shot this. So take your pick...

5. Where were you?

The Kelco Plant is in the industrial park of our community. The painting on their sign should give you a clue as to where I was. This symbol is also on our license plate. 

You guessed it! I was in Oklahoma.

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