Christmas Bokeh

Doug bought me a bouquet of flowers the other day and I finally had a chance to photograph them.  Or at least one of them.  :)

I've been playing around with shooting in B&W instead of always converting to B&W in processing.  This started as B&W and then I added a layer of light purple at about 70% opacity.

             Be sure to check out the Holiday Bokeh Party & Giveaways @my3boybarians - link up for a chance to win some great prizes! Tracey picked this as one of her Top 5 favorites this week!And this photo was picked a favorite at Earth Wonders!

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Week 47 Summary

Wrapping up yet another week.  Time is just flying by these days!  Here's how our week looked in pictures ...

20 - Alex overcoming his fear.

21 - Turkey on the school's bulletin board

22 - Sunflare through autumn leaves

23 - Alex at school's Turkey Trot fundraiser

24 - Turkeys in neighbor's yard on Thanksgiving morning

25 - Pretty view while walking on the bike trail.  Tracey picked this as one of her Top 5 6 this week.  Thanks, Tracey!

26 - Light up night in our town

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!  Ours was wonderful.  Although I was so busy preparing the meal, I didn't pick up my camera, so I have no photos except for the few I took in the morning.  :(  After the noontime feast (we ate early since my husband had to leave for work), we visited with family for a bit, then watched a couple movies.  It was a nice, relaxing afternoon/evening.


Can you believe that December will be here next week?!  I truly can't believe it!  Although I am super excited that I get to meet bloggy friend, Melissa, on December 1st!  She's heading up here to stay with our friend, Laura, for a week or so!  I can't wait!  I plan to hang with them every possible chance I have.  :)


Hope you had a wonderful week!

     

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Photos of the Day: November 24 & November 25

{November 24}

ISO 800, f/6.3, 1/100s, 55-200mm lens

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Ours was delightful.  
How ironic that on Thanksgiving morning, right after putting our turkey in the cooker, we saw these two turkeys in our neighbor's yard.  :)

I talked the family into getting a picture taken on Thanksgiving morning.  It was pretty cold out so they didn't allow me too many retakes.  This mediocre photo was the best I was able to capture.  Hopefully we'll get another opportunity soon.

{November 25}

ISO 400, f/22, 1/250s, 18-105mm lens

The kids and I went for an afternoon walk on the bike trail to enjoy the beautiful day and work off some of yesterday's meal (not to mention today's leftovers).  :)

    

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In November

Doug and I will celebrate 15 years of marriage.

And our niece's second birthday.

We will exercise our right and privilege to vote in next week's election.

And celebrate Thanksgiving with our family,


realizing just how truly blessed we are.

We will honor Veterans.


Watch a parade or two.

And learn about helping others 

through the school's community food drive.

We will pack shoe boxes for kids all over the world

so they can have a blessed Christmas.

And so they can learn about how much Jesus loves them.

I love the month of November.


This is how the first of November started here in Pennsylvania ...

Photo of the day - November 1 - ISO 200, f/9, 1/160s, 18-55mm lens on Nikon D40 
(added a layer of light purple to add to the mystery - mouse over to see original version before the purple layer was added)

Woke up to a very foggy morning ... outside as well as in my head as this cold has gotten the better of me.  
This tree is in my neighbor's yard.  I absolutely love it.  But since I can't have it, I will at least photograph it.  :)

         

The above photo was selected as one of the Top 3 for Tones on Tuesday and one of the Top 5 in Shoot. Edit. Submit.!
     



But the fog lifted and the sun shone brightly all day ...


 and we ended the day like this ...

And being out in the fresh air for a while this evening taking photos seems to have helped me feel better also.

Hope you had a great first of November!

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Photo of the Day: October 9

ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/30s, 18-105mm lens on Nikon D40

Taking full advantage of the summer-like weather we've been having, the boys and I set out on another new adventure this afternoon while Keira spent the day at a girlfriend's.  We visited a local farm/pumpkin patch where, among many other fun things, we got to meet Oops, a sweet and curious colt who was very interested in my camera.  (You can guess why his name is Oops).  :)  He was so sweet and soft, I just wanted to bring him home with me.  While the kids would not have minded one bit, I don't think the Mister would have been thrilled with me.  :)
              

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Week 40 Summary

Another fun, busy week!  The beginning of the week was cold and soggy, while the last half of the week has been absolutely gorgeous!  We even got a little sunburned today!  Let's see what our week looks like in pictures ...

2 - Cold and rainy, only the flowers don't mind

3 - A break in the clouds - found this tiny spider living on one of my gladiolus flowers - Tracey picked this as one of her top 5 this week ... thanks, Tracey!

4 - Playing with sunbursts in rain drops - again during a break in the clouds

5 - Enjoying the now beautiful weather with a walk on the bike trail - we pass this horse farm on our walk

6 - A cool mushroom that Nick found

7 - Nature walk at the lake

8 - Fun in a bouncy house

     

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Photo of the Day: October 3

ISO 400, f/9, 1/160s, 18-55mm lens w/10x macro filter on Nikon D40

I think I mentioned how cold and rainy it has been here the past few days.  Well, this afternoon the sun kept peeking out in all its glory from behind some passing clouds.  It was still chilly, but nice enough to get outside and search for something to photograph.  When I walked down to get the boys off the bus, I noticed these gladiolus flowers are starting to bloom on my bank.  Better late than never, right?  

As I approached them, I saw that this teeny tiny spider had spun her web on them.  I spent quite a bit of time trying to photograph her.  Macro photography is hard enough, but throw in a couple rambunctious boys and a dog trying to get my attention, and the occasional breeze ... well it is nearly impossible then!

I'm sure the people passing by in their cars thought I was crazy to have my camera inches away from that flower.  If only they could see what I was seeing.  :)

Tracey chose this photo as one of her Top 5 this week!  Thank you, Tracey!

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Week 39 Summary

As always, click on the links to see the full picture/post.

25 - Took the kids to a local pumpkin patch.  You can't really see the big pumpkin that Nick is standing on (had to crop it out to fit in collage), but it was really big!

26 - Photo shoot with Keira - trying to get better at portraits

27 - Nick loves to read Star Wars books

28 - Cosmos flowers at Sunset - Tracey picked this as one of her Top 5 photos this week!  Thanks, Tracey!

29 - We got to watch the Life Flight helicopter taking off.

30 - Parachute fun at soccer practice

1 - Birthday celebration this afternoon

     
Have a great weekend!

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Photo of the Day: September 5

ISO 400, f/8.0, 1/320s, 18-105mm lens on Nikon D40

Our Labor Day tradition is to watch the parade near my in-laws home then picnic with them for the afternoon.  This year it was rainy so the picnic was out.  Instead we enjoyed a nice lunch indoors together.  After the 12-minute parade.  :)  This '56 Ford caught my eye during the parade.  What a beautiful car it is.
Misty picked this photo as one of her Top 5!  Thanks, Misty!

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Week 35 Summary

We had another fun, busy week.  The kids all returned to school on Wednesday and we are all adjusting to getting up early once again.  Ugh.  You will notice that I filled all 8 spots in my collage this week.  That is because I posted photos of all 3 kids on the 31st and didn't have the heart to leave someone out.  :)


For those of you that are interested in an update on my broken camera ... the current status is that Nikon is waiting for parts to repair it.  It has been on "parts hold" for a few days now, so hopefully they will get them soon and get busy!  I want my camera back!

Anyway, here is our week in pictures ...

28 - Cool mushroom in our neighbor's yard.

29 - Pretty purple flowers (weeds?).  Tracey chose this as one of her Top 5 this week.  Thanks, Tracey!

30 - Dragonfly love.  :)

31 - Back to school.  Keira started 7th grade; Nick - 3rd grade; and Alex - Kindergarten.  They all catch the bus at different times, which is why I didn't get a photo of them all together.

1 - Black-eyed Susans after the rain.

2 - Popcorn and movie night is a weekly tradition in our house on Fridays.

3 - Alex with his new-to-him toy we picked up at a consignment sale today.

     Hope you have a wonderful week!

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Week 34 Summary

These weeks seem to be just flying by!  Yikes!  Here's how our week looked like in pictures ...

21 - An internet-free day spent putting a puzzle together with the family

22 - Went on a nature walk all by myself

23 - Back to school shoe shopping

24 - A cool-looking sunflower in B&W - Tracey picked this photo as one of her Top 5 this week!  Thanks, Tracey!

25 - Alex and his new umbrella

26 - Took the kids hiking

27 - Melody the millipede - we found her on our hike yesterday and now she is one of two new "pets".  (Nick found one also).

     

Hope you had a great week too!

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