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The Daily Shoot assignment - “Make a portrait of somebody today. It can be somebody you know or a stranger. Maybe even yourself.” My portrait is of my 17-year-old daughter with her new car. Quite a momentous occasion for her!

Here’s a Scenic Saturday shot – the best garage door poppies in Stevensville! These poppies (which were displayed last week in full sun) are blooming happily in the corner of Mom’s garage door. They’re rooted in the seam of the pavement, and today they had 15 open blossoms. I just think this poppy plant is amazing!

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Today's Friday Challenge for our 365 group was "Sun." Well...I was waiting for golden light so I could go to the river and catch the golden light reflecting off the water...hmph. Guess what happened? The cool thing about this shot is that you can tell (by the roof of the house in the background, and the brightness of the pavement) that this was a sunshower. The sun was shining brightly at the same time that rain was just POURING down. It was really pretty! Unfortunately, by the time the rain had passed, so had my opportunity for golden light at the river. C'est la vie.

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I can't believe that I took my daily photos before 7am and I'm just now posting my blog. You'd think I coulda snuck in there somewhere.

The Daily Shoot assignment was a "light source". Here's mine...

While I was out looking for the sunburst I encountered these lovely ladies...

I'm off to bed. It's been a long day.

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The Daily Shoot assignment today is "The world is always in motion. Make a photo that conveys a bit of your own motion to your viewer." My own motion is implied in the panning of this shot. I didn't realize just how difficult panning is! It's so hard to keep a moving subject in focus while blurring the background in a way that shows motion. This first shot was my favorite of the bunch even though the tires were cut off.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

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It's a dreary, rainy day in Scrivnerburg.

The Daily Shoot assignment is "Today's theme is the number 6. Make a photograph of the number six, six objects, or express six in an alternate way."

My desktop computer (the only one I use for photos) is on the fritz, so I'm using my laptop. I don't have photoshop, I can't easily access/edit RAW images, and I don't have all my tools/files at my fingertips. Ergh. I did edit this photo with Pixlr.com, but I feel like I was working one-handed.

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It’s been a day. I woke up exhausted – I think I’ve had too many short nights in a row. I took Austin to Missoula (a 60+ mile roundtrip) for his Monday appointment, then had to take Dale to Hamilton (a 40+ mile roundtrip) to be seen by the doctor. Turns out Dale might have pertussis. We won’t know until later this week when the test results come back, but until then we are going on the assumption that it is pertussis, and canceling all appointments and play dates. Ergh. Three cases of pneumonia were not enough for this summer after all.

So now I’m still exhausted and I’m also all driven out. I’m relieved that I don’t have to drive up and down the valley anymore this week. I’m sorry that Dale is not feeling well (he’s pretty miserable), but I’m looking forward to time at home.

On the way home from the doctor’s appointment I saw this lovely bush of roses. They were perfect for The Daily Shoot assignment - “pink.”

One more…

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This shot is from yesterday, but I wanted to share Mom’s volunteer poppies. These silly things have planted themselves – in the corner of her garage door.

My Snapshot Sunday shot one is from this evening. It was around 100 degrees here today, and our neighbor girl knew just what to do – go fishing! She was catching inflatable dolphins and an indulgent daddy in that very tiny pond. When I went to talk with them she actually had her daddy doing the fishing while she coerced the dolphins to swim. Too cute.

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Quick post because I’m exhausted! We went and spent the day in Bigfork, Montana. It’s a neat little town with wonderful shopping and art galleries. Ken and I took a bunch of pictures, but I’ll probably share more about our day and photos from our adventures on the family blog tomorrow. I’m too tired to go through all the pictures tonight. Here’s one I took after we left Bigfork and headed for home. I was going for shots of Flathead Lake, but this butterfly was eager to have his/her portrait done, so I obliged.

Here is my photo for The Daily Shoot - “Make a photo that uses negative space to good effect. Give your subject room to breathe, and balance it within the frame.”

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Late, late post this busy Friday. The Daily Shoot assignment was “Double your art today. Make a photo of something you've created or crafted.” Well, I haven’t been too creative or crafty lately, so here’s a quick shot of my two greatest creations…

I didn't actually create them, but my husband and I were instrumental in the process, so I'm claiming them! Doesn’t God do nice work? How do you like the fudgesicle faces?

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The Daily Shoot assignment is “Rotate your camera today a bit and make a slightly off-angle photograph. Use the angle to emphasize your subject.” This one only sorta meets that assignment – I did  use a different angle, and I kept this rule-breaking image (the subject is way off of where it should be, and too close to the edge, so it’s off-angle, right?), so I’m calling it an answer to the assignment.

I was going for extreme sunflare when I shot this one – the morning sunlight on the cherries was really neat.

This one was shot with my cell phone on the way home from the auction. (I got to go to the auction on the spur of the moment! Yay! It’s been MONTHS!)

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Today’s assignment from The Daily Shoot is “It's summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Make a photo of a cool, refreshing drink. Go for something creative.” I just happened to get a new goblet from the Goblet Fairy today, so I filled it with a very refreshing beverage (ice water from my cool, new ice/water dispenser on my fridge!) and took its picture.

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Quick post today. The Daily Shoot assignment was “Make a photograph that emphasizes a change in texture: smooth/rough, soft/hard, shiny/dull, etc.” I was going for smooth baby skin/rough, poky grass, but the smooth baby skin was moving. This is my friend’s 10-month-old baby, and he had stuff to do, places to go, grass to eat…

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Day 200!! Zowie Howie!!

Since Ken had the day off we all went to the river for some water fun after the errands and chores were done. I didn’t get any great shots of the kids (I was too busy watching 7 young kids!) but I was happy with this shot of Molly. She just loves the river!

 

I don’t know this kid, but I liked this shot of him jumping off the bridge. I get nervous every time I see them do this, but a friend of mine assured me (several years ago) that the river is quite deep enough here for bridge jumping.

Here’s one of Caleb at the river. He really enjoyed the inner tube.

(Little bit of a topazish adjustment on this one.)

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Today’s assignment - “Sunday Challenge: Compose an image that has a soft and dreamy look today, and make a photograph.” Here’s my answer…a self-portrait with my sweetie.

This is the first time I’ve worked at portraits in a couple weeks. Shame on me! I must give credit where it’s due – several kids helped me with the photos I took this afternoon, (Dale, Austin, Kristi, Caleb) and I’m not sure who actually snapped the shutter for this one. I think it was me, but it’s hard to tell when we took over 30 photos and everyone wanted to press the button.

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Today’s Scenic Saturday photos are party scenery! We celebrated Rose and Virginia’s birthday here at our house today (their house isn’t big enough for our party!). Everyone had a great time! Felice took a bunch of photos of the kids, so I took photos of the “stuff.”

Felice did a great job planning this party. The girls wanted an Indiana Jones theme, so they had Indiana Jones decorations, costumes, all the party favors (mostly handmade by Felice – sorry I don’t have photos of those – I didn’t get a chance!) were IJ themed…they even got to watch part of the original movie! They all loved it!

Even though I did almost nothing to prepare for this party, I’m exhausted!

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I’m really struggling for time right now, so I combined my Friday Challenge (National Hot Dog month) with my Friday Food, and my assignment from The Daily Shoot (food). This was my lunch.

I’m going to watch some tv with my sweetie. Thanks for stopping by!

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TDS abstract glass
Originally uploaded by snaphappee.elli

Here's my assignment for The Daily Shoot. "Get creative with abstraction today. Make a photograph of patterns and/or shapes that aren't recognizable objects."

Gotta run - still have work to do! Thanks for stopping!

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The Daily Shoot assignment - “Make a photo from a low point of view. Go for a dramatic effect by changing the appearance of the size of your subject.” I didn’t really get the dramatic effect with this one, but I don’t have time to try for another, so here’s my Bean being as cute as can be.

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Today’s photo has texture for Texture Tuesday, and addresses The Daily Shoot assignment, “Corners are everywhere. Make a photo of an interesting corner today, capturing its light and angles.”

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Today’s photo isn’t monochrome – it’s The Daily Shoot assignment combined with Caleb’s request for a “big, fat, juicy maple leaf.” He wanted me to pick it, but take a picture first. The wind was blowing with gusts of up to 30mph, so I had a hard time getting a sharp image, but I liked the fact that this one was sharp and had a sunburst.

The entire leaf is larger than Caleb’s face, and its stem is about a foot long. It’s big, fat, and juicy, for sure!

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It’s the last day of Summer Fest here in Stevensville, so we got one more chance to see the balloons. I went down the street for a slightly different view this time – still in my jammies. Today I had two pajama-clad kiddos and two cats with me. They all wanted to see the balloons!

The Daily Shoot assignment today is “Find a scene that's dominated by one color and make a photograph of it. Use light and shadow to accentuate detail.” I’m not sure that my photo accentuates detail, but it speaks of summer evenings at the picnic table – so there’s some detail for ya.

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I almost forgot to post today! Here’s a couple Scenic Saturday pictures. I went out in the street in my jammies this morning to shoot these. I love the balloons!

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Today was a special day! I got to go over to Spokane and meet up with my online friend Katie Trujillo. Ken, his parents, and I enjoyed our lunch with Katie and her two older boys. I wish we could have gone off and “played” for a bit, but at least we got to visit this time! (Last time I met Katie we chatted very briefly in a busy hallway.) Her boys were sweet and friendly, and it was an all-around fun time! Thanks, Katie!

The Friday Challenge for our Project 365 group is “National Grilling/National Ice Cream month.” Here’s my photo for that challenge – a Midnight Truffle Blizzard from Dairy Queen.

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It’s Thankful Thursday, and the assignment over at The Daily Shoot is “Make a photo with the number 4 in it one way or another. Maybe 4 items. Maybe a written number. Maybe more abstract.” I combined the two challenges in this photo of my 4-year-old Dubby-doodle. He won’t be 4 for much longer – I can’t believe my “baby” is almost 5 years old! He is such a delight – a sage, a comedian, a poet…

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This “thingy” has been featured before. Here’s a different view that is intended to answer this assignment - “Look for an area with a big differential in light. Make a photo exposed for the brightest area, isolating a subject.”

I’m not sure this really meets the criteria since there’s so much light in the grasses, but the pump thingy is shaded by a large tree to camera right, so it’s much darker than the sky in the background. I guess that works, right?
Someday I need to ask my Vance what this is.
Thanks for dropping by! I appreciate the support!

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Texture Tuesday and The Daily Shoot in one shot! “Today's theme is the color blue. Blue sky. Blue plate. Blue M&Ms. Make a photo of something blue and post it today.”

You even get a self-portrait in this one!

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in-the-palm-of-his-hand
Originally uploaded by snaphappee.elli

Be sure to click through and see the larger version of this.

The Daily Shoot assignment today is "Create an optical illusion using "forced perspective" today. Make a distant object appear closer than it actually is."

Caleb has his Daddy in the palm of his hand.

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Here’s a quick shot of our Independence Day celebration. I have a lot of photos, but I’m so exhausted from all the fun and frivolity that I’m not even going to look at them tonight. Thanks for stopping by!

(The Daily Shoot - It's Independence Day in the U.S (fireworks!). Make a photo with celebration as the theme, wherever you are.)

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I’m just going to post one photo quickly tonight. I’m ready to head to bed, and it’s just after 9:00. I think it’s been a busy week, and it’s all caught up with me today.

I did take a walk with Fancy, Josh, and Dale (who held my diffuser panel for me). Fancy wanted a few more pictures of her and Josh. Here’s one…

Here’s one more that I took just for fun. It has CoffeeShop’s Soft Autumn Glow action on it.

A late addition for The Daily Shoot - Find a sign in front of a vista that tells a story. (Don't walk on the grass.) Make a photograph and post it.

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I am halfway through this project! The thing that really amazes me is that I have not forgotten a day yet. I have posted every single day. Whoohoo! I don’t know why that matters to me – it doesn’t really make a difference if I post every day as long as I’m still picking up my camera and learning, but I am pleased that I haven’t forgotten.

Anyway…

I had two different challenges today. I would have loved to combine them, but it just wasn’t possible for me to carry out my vision today. The Daily Shoot assignment was “Refresh from the summer heat today. Make a photo of water in motion. Freeze it or let it blur!” Our Project 365 group’s challenge today was “the dog days of summer.” I wanted to take our dog down to the river and let her splash around – she loves water – but it’s been a bit windy and too chilly for water (for me), and I really didn’t have the free time today.

So, instead, I have two photos – here is Caleb with his new squirt gun. No one was safe – he even shot my camera!!

That’s my response to the water assignment.

And here’s the dog days of summer – Molly is enjoying our brand-new grass in our very own yard! Yay for grass!

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I’m thankful for thistles! Why?
1.) They’re pretty
2.) It sounds like you’re lisping when you say “thistle”
3.) Artichokes are thistles, and I love artichokes
4.) The word “thistle” comes out as “fffthistle” when Caleb says it
5.) Did I already mention that they’re pretty?

Here’s one more. They’re even pretty before they’re all flowery.