Black and White

I chose this theme because, as much as I love black and white photography, I am always drawn to making my photos as colorful as possible. So I wanted to challenge myself to take a nice, colorful photo and see if I could make myself like it more as a black and white. Don't get me wrong, I really do love a good black and white photo, and have enjoyed processing many a picture black and white. But, I thought it would be fun to choose a photo that I would normally do in color.

I love how this one turned out. Miss Nora is running around having a blast (despite the intense heat). I like how the black and white make the texture of the trees and grass really stand out. I also think that since the photo is black and white, you focus a bit more on what Nora is doing, rather than say, the color of her dress or hair. It's always fun to see things in a different light. I might have to do a lot more black and white in the future!!!!

Quick side note that has nothing to do with black and white, but everything to do with Nora. Nora just turned the big 6 and I am going to hire her to style all of my photo sessions. (What child labor laws????) She brought props, told me how she was going to pose, suggested places to stop to snap away, brought a really cool change of outfit and advised me on the best way to photograph her. And she was right!!! The photos turned out great! :) -Dina 

Whenever I travel, even to a relatively frequent destination like my sister's place on some rural land near Kearney, Neb., I relish the opportunity to take photographs in a different setting. It seems like every time I go there, no matter what season, I see something new that catches my attention.

This time it was an old piece of farm machinery - a rickety tractor that apparently still works. I've always been interested in using farm implements for artistic inspiration, whether it's photography, painting, or sculpture. Shooting it in black and white adds a certain timeless element to it.  -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Decay

In The Shadows

I usually end up walking my dog right around sunset, so I had my eyes peeled for interesting, long shadows as the sun dipped toward the horizon. This week's photo was right at my feet as I looked down while walking across an empty parking lot. -Cort

 

I "encouraged" (or cajoled or threatened...isn't it all the same?) my nieces to play in front of their fence after dinner tonight. Love this shadow shot of them holding hands and twirling and dancing. And sometimes you never know what you will see in the shadows: I think Sophie's shadow looks like a genie! -Dina


Next Week's Theme: Black and White

Close up

What I really enjoy about our 52 project is seeing the world through "creative" eyes. I chose the theme close up because I love taking macro shots of my garden. There are so many interesting close up things to see. As I was walking through my yard yesterday morning, a very tiny bird feather caught my eye in the grass. Normally I would have just kept moving, but I picked it up and looked at through my macro lens and was delighted to find all those beautiful dew drops just hanging out. I would never had given the feather a second look, but I'm so glad I did. It was a lot of fun capturing nature's bling. I'm glad this project is encouraging me to take a second look! -Dina 

I'm thankful that Dina chose this theme, because it had been a VERY long time since I had strapped on the extension tube to my camera, and like Dina, I had a lot of fun exploring my back yard in magnified detail. 

Unlike most photos I take, in this case I had to wait for my subject to come to me. One of my bushes is in bloom now, and there was one bee flitting around from place to place, but not long enough for me to get a shot composed and focused. So instead, I parked my camera on one bloom, and waited a couple minutes for this guy to enter into the frame. -Cort

Next Week's Theme: In the Shadows

Nothing to See Here

Whenever I hear the phrase, "Nothing to see here," it makes me think that there IS something to see here, it's just that the person saying it doesn't want you to see it, and wants you to go away. A locked gate is a way of saying that without words, and it just makes me want to peer inside.

This gate leads to an abandoned, decaying pool in my neighborhood, which is kind of sad, especially in the summer, when it should be filled with children and squirt guns and beach balls. At night it's downright creepy, but since I can't get inside, there really IS nothing to see from this side of the gate, except the orange glow of the city night sky in the distance. 

By the way, the pool is scheduled for demolition later this year, and I can't wait for this space to become a vibrant part of the neighborhood again. -Cort

 

Nothing to see here....for now. In 27 days though, there will definitely be something to see! -Dina

Next Week's Theme: Close up 

That was Then, This is Now

My house back in 1972 when it was brand new and now in 2013. I love seeing the differences (TREES!) but I was happy to take the picture on the same kind of sunny day with blue skies and fluffy clouds and with another red car in the driveway (too bad it's not the same red mustang, ha!). -Dina 

Then: My nighttime companion when I was a young child was Dappy Dan, and if he wasn't around, I felt lonely and somehow incomplete. Now: My nighttime companion is my dog Ringo, and if he is not around, I feel lonely and somehow incomplete. I have held onto Dappy Dan all these years, and watching Toy Story 3 guilted me into bringing him out of storage and letting him see the light of day (I can't be the only one to have this reaction to seeing that movie, right?). Anyway, I tried to pose them together, and Ringo was having none of it, so I left to do other things. When I came back, there he was asleep, embracing Dappy Dan, just like I did about 35 years ago.  -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Nothing to see here

Frozen

During what is typically one of the hottest weeks of the year, I thought it would be fun to photograph the opposite. But instead of frozen temperature, I went with frozen time. I used a really fast shutter speed (1/1000) to shoot a water fountain. I love the abstract shapes and patterns that are formed, which the human eye misses because it's all happening too fast. Freezing the action like this allows you to see something mundane in a whole new way. -Cort

One of the things I love about photography is the ability to capture all sorts of moments: wow moments, beautiful moments, and day to day moments.  I am lucky enough to have dinner with my Dad and my Sis and her family a couple of times a week and I wanted a picture of this ordinary event. It isn't that remarkable of a photo, but someday I hope that my nieces might look back at this moment frozen in time and realize how special our ordinary dinners really were. -Dina

Next Week's Theme: That was Then, This is Now
 

Happiness

Happiness is watching a mama hold her brand new baby. -Dina 

I am showing you a photo from one of my happiest moments this past week, which was riding The Hulk, the first Universal Studios attraction we enjoyed on the first day of my week-long trip to Florida with my 12-year-old godson, Jerad. We spent two days at Universal, and this coaster was one of our favorite rides. Jerad rode it three times, and he's somewhere in this photo.  -Cort

Next Week's Theme: Frozen