December 24, 2009

Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/20
Av( Aperture Value ) 7.1
ISO Speed 200

Peace on Earth

A little cheat for today - I took this photograph yesterday while on a short hike near my home. Walking through the woods, came upon this tree, decorated with ornaments, beads, seeds, and ribbons. I like to think that this tree serves as a Christmas tree for the animals and birds, as it had many goodies on it for them to eat. A beautiful tree with an angel to look after us, and the wildlife who make this their home.

To those who visit my page; my friends, my family - Merry Christmas and peace on earth.

December 22, 2009

Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/30
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
ISO Speed 1600

Lost in the grotto

Went for a walk; the sun went down quick. I guess being solstice time of year, daylight is lost quickly. Today is the first time in two weeks it hasn't rained! Found a hidden pond with little waterfalls - a little grotto area - not too far from my neighborhood. The brush was thick, the ground was wet and seemed to be lost. We climbed out, up a steep hill, and finally got to a road where it was fenced in like a construction area. Trapped in this fenced and private area, had to make our way back to main roads. The sun went down quick, but it was a beautiful sunset rich with colors.

December 21, 2009

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Av( Aperture Value ) 4.5
ISO Speed 400

Celebrating Christmas with a tree

My first Christmas tree in 10 years. I haven't had any heart for Christmas since I was divorced 10 years ago. Everything is different now. We were remarried to each other two days ago, now we can begin living again. Ironically, having a terminal illness may make this the most bittersweet one ever. This tree shines with every light of hope and energy that I have - my happy home; It's never too late to celebrate Christmas with beautiful decoration! Thank you for this tree of love and hope. Peace on Earth...

December 8, 2009

Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/50
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
ISO Speed 1000

"Where's the fire.... alarm?"

Today's post is more of a story... My roommate called me this morning in a panic when he was rudely awakened with the sound of the smoke detector system beeping uncontrollably. No smoke or fire, but yet the alarm kept howling for probably an hour. My suspicion is that there is a malfunction in this hard-wired system - perhaps dust, or a spider triggered the alarm; maybe a short. I came home and found that all the detectors had been removed and unplugged, neatly placed in a row. One more thing to fix... {sigh}

I had a few great photo opportunities today, and wished that I had my camera with me. Instead, here's my mundane indoor shot with a story. :) Let's hope the house doesn't decide to burn down while these are sitting silent.

December 7, 2009

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Av( Aperture Value ) 5.0
ISO Speed 1600

My roommate's tasty artwork

His artwork is his food and the delicious creations that come out of the kitchen. I love to cook too, but sometimes it's nice to kick back and let the other masters have the glory. This pork, stuffed with spinach, garlic and feta was as delicious as it looks.

Confession: the pork is not a shot from today - it was from last night. My camera ran out of battery as I was running around shooting different objects today. I wasn't happy with any of the shots, but I will post one more that I found somewhat interesting, just to keep within my blog rules :)

December 1, 2009

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Av( Aperture Value ) 11.0
ISO Speed 400

Wetlands near my house

Hard to believe that it is December 1st. Still feels like fall - all the leaves haven't even fallen yet. I'm kind of a sucker for scenery shots - so here it is. I was hoping for a better reflection, but the sun wasn't just right, and the water looks a bit brown and flat.

Funny, even in the winter the Northwest always seems to stay green.

November 22, 2009

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Av( Aperture Value ) 13.0
ISO Speed 100

The vinyard down the street from my house.

A rare occasion that the sun was out today! I had to take advantage of the sun and nice afternoon weather. I didn't get much farther than the winery, but there were many photo opportunities right here. I actually had a hard time picking out a picture for my daily post.

After a few glasses of cabernet, I decided to celebrate the sunshine and blue sky with this photo, but I will post some of my other favorites on my Flikr stream.

November 16, 2009

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Av( Aperture Value ) 4.0
ISO Speed 1600

The tree in my yard with the streetlight.

This is my daily cop-out. It's dark when I get home from work. I should have brought my camera to work, but I didn't. I took an opportunity to work with what little light I had, and in this case, I used the streetlight. Again, no tripod... but for last-minute outdoor shot - it'll work for today. I think the light really accentuates the golden fall colors on the tree.

November 15, 2009

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Av( Aperture Value ) 3.5
ISO Speed 160

Near my house, in a grove of fir trees...

A rainy Sunday afternoon in the fall - this mushroom made me think of a tiny umbrella.

Nothing done in post production except some cropping for a cleaner composition. 18mm focal length is about the best I can get for macro shots with my stock lens.