Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011 - July...

:: red, white and blue ::
birthday card for my brother-in-law

:: flip flops ::
standard summer footwear

:: ice cream ::
caramel cornetto

:: strawberries ::
from my own garden

:: a flag ::
on my little friend's t-shirt

:: fields ::
whizzing by on the train up to Sheffield

:: celebration ::
Christening cupcakes

:: sea shells ::
on my bedside table

:: stars ::
on my flat white

:: stripes ::
my new bag - a summer sale bargain

:: a kite ::
spotted in Aldeburgh

:: something that makes you happy (but not a person or animal)
picking flowers from my garden

Zoom…

I always forget, so am pleasantly surprised, when I realise that for the months of February and March, if you pay by direct debit, you don’t have to pay for your monthly council tax bill.  Living in London, it is my highest monthly bill, so to get a reprieve is a real bonus.

 

:: baby blue tit ::

So… having a bit of spare cash and spotting a very good deal on Amazon (33% off) I treated myself to a new lens for my camera and I am LOVING it.

 

 

I don’t know all the technical terms for photography (yet… one day… ) but I know that I can get some great shots of the birds visiting the feeders in the garden:

 

 

 

Or helping themselves to the new buds on the blossom tree:

 

 

 

Some nicely captured sunlight on acid green new leaves:

 

 

 

And some more (!) shots of the white blossom at the bottom of the garden:

 

 

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011 – March…

:: a collection ::

of brown china in my Mum’s cabinet

:: a fancy gate ::
at Kew Gardens


:: a lamb ::
a mere five hours old


:: a lion ::
at the entrance to the Palm House at Kew Gardens


:: a rainbow ::
on a new-version Monopoly board

:: a ring ::
mine


:: a shadow ::
of a wonderful day out at, yep, you guessed it – Kew Gardens!


:: an empty chair ::
pushed aside in the kitchen



:: peeling paint ::
note to self: shed needs repainting!


:: something as old as me ::
my first teddy bear


:: something green ::
daffodil stems, freshly placed in water


:: something sentimental ::
a little clay donkey and cart that my great-Nan always left my pocket money in (2 bob, back in those days!), now on the shelf in my workroom.

Photo Scavenger Hunt 2011 – February…

Forgive me from being a day late… the germs have struck again.  On the mend now, though.

:: a big lorry/truck ::

I cheated… it’s a toy I found in the loft!

 

:: a big round clock face ::

currently in my garage, but it used to be on the back of my parent’s old house.

 

 

:: a bridge ::

footbridge linking the hospital buildings at St Mary’s, Paddington

 

:: a musical instrument ::

my piano

 

:: a newspaper headline ::

the most shocking of the month

 

 

:: a park bench ::

at Kew

 

:: a postbox ::

I like that this one has GR rather than ER on it

 

:: eyes ::

of the puppy dog kind

 

:: something heart-shaped ::

on my flat white

 

:: something red ::

in the Laura Ashley sale

 

:: something with stripes ::

my tea towels

 

:: your shoes ::

year-round wear, paint-spattered

 

 

Plenty more to see over here and with thanks to Postcards from the PP for giving us the list.

Dipping my toes in…

I strongly believe in things finding me rather than me finding them.  A few weeks ago now, I was having a relaxing Sunday morning lie-in, with a big mug of coffee and my laptop when I read Lynn’s post.  I’d been thinking about doing a photography course for quite a while and when I followed the link, Vivienne’s words spoke to me very powerfully and before I knew what was happening, I had signed up!

 

 

It has been such a great thing to do and has really pushed my own boundaries with my camera.  As you know, I am a huge fan of macro and close-up photography but have never considered turning the camera on myself.  The activity for the first week was to capture our own reflection and then when we liked what we saw, to send a message to ourselves.  Vivienne encouraged us to be silly and playful and I have to admit, I have often ended up in fits of giggles at the mere thought of what I have actually been doing!

 

 

The second week was about exploring the world around us and going on a photo walk.  It was about beginning to show more of who we are through the way we spend our time.  There was also a photo scavenger hunt, which I really enjoyed interpreting in my own ways.

 

 

For the third week, we focussed on movement.  It had been so windy that past week that every single leaf left on the ground in my garden had blown up to the top and made it feel almost autumnal out there again so I couldn’t resist going outside to have a kick around in them.  I found a bargain of a remote control for my camera and I was off, snapping away at myself!

 

Now, in our final week we are being encouraged to find our own voices in self-portraiture. It’s about seeing our true selves in our photography.  I’ll be working on that in the next couple of days.

 

It is the first e-course I have done and it suits me down to the ground.  I have been able to fit it in around everything else and there has been no pressure to meet deadlines or dates.  There has been a wonderful community ethos within the private Flickr group that we share our photos in and it has been endlessly inspiring to see how the same brief is interpreted by everyone else.

 

(photo by Vivienne McMaster)

I have already decided to sign up for the next one which starts next week. It feels like I am not only learning more about my camera, but also about myself…