Thematic Photographic #161 --- White

Just hours ago Carmi posted the Thematic Photographic for this week --- white.  I'm not usually quite so quick to respond, but I recently took some photos at the zoo and just happen to have.....

A White Tiger

This beautiful animal is at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska.  In addition to his unusual coat, his ice blue eyes are so captivating.  This fellow was enjoying a cat nap (sorry, just had to say it) as were most of the other lions and tigers and bears while we were there.  Just a bit of a plug -- there are more photos in my facebook album.

As Carmi pointed out, white is often a difficult "color" to capture.  I've done many weddings and whether they are indoors or outdoors, the white gowns throw the light which makes it tricky to capture the details of the dress  That's another reason why I chose to post the white tiger instead!  In any case, you will enjoy this challenge.  White after Labor Day??  You betcha!

Thematic Photographic 160 --- Shopping

For 160 weeks Carmi at Written, Inc. has challenged us with very interesting themes to stimulate our photographic creative juices.  But I think this week's Thematic Photographic -- Shopping -- is one of the most challenging for me. I mean, shopping, really! It is something I love to do in photography and craft stores, but dislike in grocery and clothing stores. Realistically, most of my shopping is done online because much of what I need for my crafts I can't get locally, or the stores I really love to browse in (Barnes & Noble) are too far away to frequent very often. Also, I don't carry the Canon 40D everywhere -- people get a little nervous about that in the local Walmart. So my take on the theme this week is a collage of common links in the internet shopping mall.

If people think taking photos in a big box store with a high caliber camera is weird, I'm sure anyone watching me take photos of my laptop screen with said camera would think I was weird!  Oh, well. Probably not the first time!  Thanks, Carmi, for another fun week! Be sure to check out what the other participants have posted here.  They are much more creative!

Have a wonderful holiday weekend, everyone!

Thematic Photographic #159 --- Vibrant

This week's Thematic Photographic over at Written, Inc. is vibrant.  That usually evokes thoughts of bright reds and blues and every color in the rainbow.  And normally I would be looking for such vibrancy.  But, Carmi, you have given this proud new mother-in-law yet another excuse to share a couple of photos of a vibrant newlywed couple.

My son Scott and his beautiful bride Paula had a full dress Navy wedding on July 29.  Nothing raises goosebumps more that the ceremonial arch presented by Scott's peers!

Of course, Paula got the traditional sword tap on the backside with the "Welcome to the Navy, Ma'am" remark.

This was one wedding I did not do the photography for, although the photos above I did take, as well as a couple hundred at the reception.  Along the theme of vibrant I do want to share a couple of photos that the wedding photographer took.....

Vibrant whites, vibrant smiles, and, yes, vibrant colors in the bouquet (and bling on Scott's uniform).

As more photos come in it is fun to relive the event of a lifetime.... a cry some more!

There is so much all around us that is vibrant.  Some of it right under our noses, some takes us by surprise.  Wherever you find it, embrace -- and photograph -- the vibrant side of life.  Hop on over to Carmi's Written, Inc. to enjoy this week's theme.

Thematic Photographic #158 --- Made of Glass

Carmi at Written, Inc. looks at life on so many levels, and for that I love to see what he will come up with next for the weekly Thematic Photographic.  It's not just the theme, but also what he captures during the week on that theme.  There is an art to looking at the ordinary in extraordinary ways, and Carmi is the Guru. That's what I was missing while away from TP and what I am enjoying the most by coming back!

This week's theme is "Made of Glass" which leaves the field wide open! Everywhere you look there is something made of glass, much of it we take for granted and never think twice about it.  A couple of days ago I was listening to the humming and twittering of the hummingbirds outside the door near my computer.  (By twittering I mean the original twitters of little birds.) This time of year the hummingbirds are storing up the sugar for their migration back to Mexico and Central America so they swarm around my two feeders and go through a gallon of nectar each day!  So, what does this have to do with "Made of Glass"?  The bottles on the feeders are glass, but the birds have no idea about that.  They only know that the little red flowers yield the sweetness they crave to stay alive.  However, if that glass bottle becomes empty, they aren't aware of that specifically, but they do seem to know that when the little red flowers go through the patio door, they come back out with more juice.  Let me tell you, hummingbirds are NOT that shy.  They will hover at the door if the flowers are dry and land on the feeders before I even have a chance to get them hung back on the hooks!

With 20-30 birds around my deck at any given moment I just had to try to capture them in flight. Even with 6.5 bursts per second it is not an easy task to get a perfectly clear photo of even one of them during this frenzy but I came pretty close.

This is one of my favorite shots. You can actually hear the clicking of little sword fights as they battle for position on the feeder.  This time I captured it!

And in the very next frame they were off (lower right corner), forgetting about the nectar.

This was a fresh bottle of nectar, still cold from the refrigerator. The condensation of moisture on glass is at times annoying, but who doesn't have fun making shapes on fogged up mirrors or windows?

Wow, those little critters can move!

Now and then one will get the feeder all to herself ..... for a few seconds!

Carmi, thanks again for another fun theme. Now I find myself looking at -- and through -- all things glass this week.  Check out Carmi's Thematic Photographic and play along with your photos of things made of glass.  Do you see anything unusual in the everyday things you never noticed before?

Thematic Photographic #157 --- Rough

This week's Thematic Photographic is rough. Ummm... so many meanings as adjectives, nouns, adverbs, or verbs.  I went with the verb -- and a cynical twist, as in roughing it.

I was browsing through my photo files and found these little fellows roughing it on my deck.

Meet Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee!

Rough can also be an adjective.  In light of the fact that my deck is 12 feet off the ground, add to that another 3 feet of railing, Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee here had a rough time getting down quickly when my dogs spotted them!

I hope you are not having a rough weekend and if you are on the golf course, stay out of the rough!  There is still time to join in on this week's Thematic Photographic over at Carmi's Written, Inc. You will find it quite fun, not rough at all!

Photos For Fun and Thematic Photographic

It has been quite awhile since I did some photography just for the fun and artistic thrill of discovery through the lens.  The weddings I've been doing are fun and artistic in their own rights, but to take the camera and shoot with nothing specific in mind just hasn't been in my routine lately.  One of my inspirations has always been Carmi at Written, Inc. who can find beauty and balance in anything that comes through the lens of his camera. And if that isn't enough to bring something to life his journaling instincts will.

About three years ago Carmi started "Thematic Photographic", a weekly challenge to photograph something within a theme. Under my very first blog "Picture This At Last" I participated nearly every week, but have been AWOL for quite some time.  Well, surprise, Carmi!  I'm back with my newer photography blog, Hampton Road Photography.

Carmi's theme this week is "Red".  This has become one of my favorite colors so I grabbed a favorite ice cream bowl and some Jelly Bellies left over from my son's wedding rehearsal dinner, dusted off my macro lens and started focusing on RED!  Here are some of my results:

My favorite Jelly Bellies are the red ones, especially cinnamon.

This one was more on the patriotic side!

I'm hoping this post will be my jump back into the more artistic photography that I really want to develop.  Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to have your comments!

Thematic Photographic #132 --- Curves

It has been such a long time since I played along with Carmi's Thematic Photographic and I have really missed it.  So, it might be a bit late to start a New Year's resolution, but it is never too late to start a new habit.  So, Carmi, I'm baaaaaacckk!  This time under a new blog name.  Formerly Picture This At Last, I started a new blog using my new photography studio name.

This week's Thematic topic is curves.  So many things come to mind for this assignment, but I thought I would post some of the photos I showcased in an earlier post about the Ozark Wilcat, a local roller coaster.

There are no cars on this roller coaster now because the park has been closed since October 2008.  As old as this 'coaster looks, it is actually only about eight years old. It was built to look like the arcade parks of a bygone era, as was the rest of the rides in the park.  At this time the fate of the Ozark Wildcat is not decided.  I'm just glad I have these photos to gaze at lore of days gone by.

It's good to be back in the Thematic Photographic.  I'm looking forward to the next topic!