Day 51: Cute nails!

J has been begging: "PuhLEASE mummy--paint my nails!" 
So we did.

I was asked to post the instructions for how I did the water droplet last summer.  First, I read the camera's manual, and learned that to freeze action, you have to increase the shutter speed.  If you have a camera that has a shutter priority mode, set the speed and the camera will do the rest.  If not, just go manual, set for a fast shutter speed, make sure everything else is in line for proper exposure, and go for it.  When I first tried to catch the drop, I kept missing it.  Then I remembered reading something in the manual about being able to set the camera for 10 frames a second. That enabled me to get a couple good pictures out of...um...I won't tell you how many! 

I've been taking a few photography classes lately, which have helped a lot.  If you're interested in becoming a better photographer, take a class or two.  It'll help get you on your way and give you a good solid base from which to jump off and experiment on your own.  Also--read your camera's manual. Then reread it with your camera in your hand! That's all I had when I learned how to freeze water.  A paragraph in the manual and the decision to kick fear out on its ear.

Really guys, when I see the amazing amateur photography posted on blogs that I visit, I'm blown away.  I have so much more to learn--I'm still a photography baby--so I really appreciate everyone's kind and supportive words.   :o)

For some neat photos using the technique mentioned above, check out some of the shots at this post.  Great photos of boys in the mud!

Funny button

Saw this today and have to share it quickly.  Photo of the day will come later.  I still have to go take a picture of something, yet!  Gulp.  Maybe if I do this, something will come out good enough to post:

Day 50: Corner View--Water

There's something about the sound of water washing up on a beach or over rocks in a stream that soothes and calms like nothing else does.  Growing up at the edge of a freshwater lake, I know I was spoiled.  Even now, whenever I get close to water, I feel a sense of peace and relaxation and the atmosphere for meditation that I can't find anywhere else.

Here are a few water photos.  The first ones show the calmness of water, and the last ones area couple that I took when I first got my new camera.  I knew that I could learn how to freeze water, so spent quite a bit of time figuring it out one day this summer.  I just have to show it off!

And now for something completely different:

For more corner views, zip over to Dana's place.  She is being so good as to host while Jane is away.

Day 49: Friends Cemetery

I've always found old cemeteries intriguing.  When I was a teenager, many moons ago, I used to walk by the little cemetery in my hometown and pass a little headstone for a child, and I'd wonder who they were and why they had died so young.  As I got older, whenever I'd see an old cemetery, I'd stop and wander through the rows of headstones, taking note of the dates and inscriptions.  Shortly after I met my husband, we took a drive up through the Kootenays in BC to visit my family, and on the way back down we saw an old cemetery by a ricketty little church, so we had to stop.  Until we got chased away by the angry hoard of mosquitoes--veangeful spirits, perhaps?  We had mosquitos in the car for hours afterwards!

My children hold the same fascination with cemeteries. We live near a huge one that dates back to the mid 1800's, and the cemetery itself has a history as being the place where many of the victims of the Johnstown flood were buried. It is one of our favorite Sunday afternoon places. We walk over there, sometimes bringing a snack, and the kids have their favorite stone mausoleums that they like to visit. It's kind of funny, because last summer I took a picture of J behind some beautiful flowers. "Where did you take that?" "Um...the flowers were on someone's grave, and J wanted her picture taken with them, and they WERE pretty, and I'm sure Mrs. so-and-so wouldn't mind..."

Frankly, I think the majority of the spirits whose bodies are in the graveyard would probably find the laughter of children refreshing. We've had nice talks about life and death while walking through the cemetery. J thinks of it as a temporary storage facility for bodies until the resurrection. There's no sense of the creepy or scary. It's just what it is!

I was talking to a friend about our cemetery walks, and that it was a wonderful place to bring kids. There was plenty of open grassy space for the kids to wander, there was lots to talk about, and the kids thought it was great.

She thought it was kind of odd.

What do YOU think?

Today's photos were taken at an old Quaker cemetery in Bedford County, PA.  Drove by and had to stop. 

Day 48: The caterpillar raided my craft bin!

It's obvious that this little guy likes to deck himself out.  He even found some fuzzy bits of yarn for his feelers!  Aren't his little feet gripping the stick adorable?  And look at his face in the second picture--he looks almost like a little puppy!

He is indeed a beautiful fella.  And he liked to pose for pictures, too, which was a bonus for me! I have never seen one like him before, so if you know what kind he is and what kind of butterfly/moth he'll turn into, it would be fun to know.  :o)

Have a lovely Monday, all!

Day 47: Autumn Walk

Today after church, DD and I went for a walk into Stackhouse Park, a nature area just outside our back door. It's something we love to do whenever the weather permits, and today was a gorgeous day for it.

Day 46: Painted Cloud

A quick picture of a neat looking cloud.  There was another one that looked almost like it could be hiding a UFO  (oooooooh!!!), but I couldn't get the picture.  The clouds looked almost unreal, like someone had painted them into the sky.