This Should Be Spring

I should be walking through green grass just starting to grow,
I should be hearing birds sing old songs that they know,
I shouldn't be trudging through melting snow,
I shouldn't be slipping on ice and... just, NO.

This should be spring.
How disappointing.

I took these pictures almost exactly one year ago:

Ah, how I miss the sweet air of spring. But alas and alack, spring has not sprung where I am from.

:P I'm not discontent, I'm just yearning for the lovely change of seasons that is supposed to happen about now. 

See ya soon raccoon:)

 

PS: As I am writing this, it has started to lightly snow.

Seriously? It is already lightly covering the porch. It is lightly pretty, but I would rather the light sun, lightly lighting the grass. That's a little light humor for ya;)

Mind Space

What's taking up space in your brain?

    School, relationships, work, family issues, friend stuff... It all has a place in your mind, but are you letting the wrong thoughts jerk you around? Think about it for a minute. If we constantly fill our minds with pure and beneficial things, it will show in our actions. That's what I've been thinking about lately.

Story Behind the Photo: I have such a wonderful sister:) 

I (out of nowhere) had an idea for a picture yesterday and she went along with it, even through all the randomness that is me. 
("Look down, no, more. Okay, this way, don't look so happy! Alright, not that sad, you know what I mean. Move you hand to the left... Cross your legs. Never mind, that looks weird." etc.)

Short and sweet, that's also me!

;) 

PS: Does it annoy you when I change the font/color/size and interchange them varying-ly?

A Mini-Look at Aperture

Dia duit (hello from the Gaelic Irish) friends, fellows, followers, family, and foreigners.

Here is a lovely orange:

The orange has nothing to do with today's topic :P 

I am here to show you the effects of aperture (app-er-cher) on photos. 

Low aperture (f/3.8)

High aperture (f/16)

You should take note that the higher the aperture number, the smaller the shutter opening becomes:

That's the only confusing part: remembering that small fact:)

All right! Any questions, comments, or concerns will be dealt with kindly addressed below. 

:)

He Arose!

Sparkles of a brand new snow, they remind me of the brand new beginning when Jesus Christ defeated death. His followers were without hope and just plain scared; when Jesus returned, He gave them hope and strength:)

Remember that guys, He arose.

As You've Probably Heard...

    It's Valentine's Day! 

It's not too extravagant, but I loved making it for you all:) 
This is for the normal days made special by a long-ago deed of love and bravery. 
An act of defiance and a determination to follow God's will.
To Saint Valentine, on this day of love and sweetness.

"If I sing, but don't have love,
I waste my breath with every song,
I bring an empty voice, a hollow noise.
If I speak with a silver tongue,
Convince a crowd but don't have love,
I leave a bitter taste with every word I say.
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love
Let my love look like You and what You're made of
How You lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love."
(For King and Country - Proof of Your Love)

Portraits and A Door

 Told you I'd post soon:) These are from the good ol' days of 2012! Fall is the best time for portraits isn't it? The photos below are some of my favorites!

Little brother and sister were kind enough to let my order them around for a while. Ha, who am I kidding, I tell them what to do anyways:) No seriously, they were excellent posers for me!

The colors complement each other and add a lot to the composition, I had to use a fast shutter speed 'cause she was swinging pretty fast:)

This is at Itasca State Park. There are beautiful spots for pictures everywhere! J has his favorite Webkinz: Bucky:)

"Study Buddies"

I tried to line the trees up so it would go together seamlessly and look poetic:)
("Poetic" looks like "pathetic" out of the corner of my eye, haha)










I really like this last one, which I have done something rare to: I named it!

Wait! This post is named "Portraits and A Door." So, where's the door, huh? This is for FMTSO! Yay! Oh right, here it is!

             I really like this door, saw it while Geo-Caching with my grandparents last summer. It is old and cool and dilapidated (whoo I spelled it right!) and mossy!                  

That be - ith all for now ye kindred spirits!  

PS: I updated this and added a few more photos I forgot.

Catch-Up and FMTSO!

     Okay, now that you're all "awww!" and "Look at the puppies!" I will say I'm so sorry I haven't been posting for a while. School started up some weeks ago and I've been trying to get into a routine for my last year of high school.
     I haven't taken many new pictures so I'll put up some I took earlier this year!
  In the spirit of fall time here are some of the lovely colors outside my house this year:

All glowing and fuzzy gold!
 I tried out a "soft" filter on my camera and
I quite like the effect:) 

Earlier in the summer (it seems so long ago!) my brothers and sister and I went GeoCaching with our grandparents. We had to find one in our town square and these interesting murals caught my eye. I had been seeing them all around our town and other towns around us and I finally had the chance to take a picture (or two:)!

I have no idea who painted them but they're really cool! I love the contrasting colors and the details!

My big puppies! Oh you're so cute! I could eat you up!
(Not literally, of course, but I do love my dogs:)
Notice the muddy paws: not coming inside!

                                                         Now for some textures:

I tried to get the moss and the rotting wood of the old out-house in contrast to the blue sky and living trees. I really love the mood of this shot though:P

This is also from summer:) I'm not quite happy with the bokeh (the points of light blurred out in the background) but the picture on a whole turned out well!

This next photo is for FMTSO: "Yummy." 

I love fresh cherries and blueberries! I originally snapped this last year for a photo contest in my county fair, but I touched up the contrast/hue/saturation today.

That's all eFlashed for today folks!

Buildings: Go Monochrome Day 2 (FMTSO)

      Today's project for Go Mono was "Buildings." I've always liked HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos because they bring out the highlights and the shadows very well. I went to the old county town hall this morning and got this shot.

       I really like it, and I got a few more (not for the project though):

It was locked but through the window we could see
some old school chairs and blackboards
as well as rather new voting booths:)
I like the reflection, too.

(2013 edit: I am linking to FMTSO because I'm snowed in and decided to use these lovely pics instead:) I did some research and found that this town hall was used in the 1920's and 30's. I am not sure when it was built though, so a mystery!)







S'all for now!
Later, Flashed!

Lake Itasca Beauty

        We went to Itasca State Park and I didn't get as many "interesting" pictures as I had hoped to, but I managed to snap a few;)

                  Here is Itasca lake, the headwaters of the Mississippi river!

As the sun went down I tried to get a picture with depth and color. Even with the best camera on earth, nothing can capture the feeling of standing by the lake watching the sun disappear under the water in furious red and yellow... Something like my next pictures:

The lily pads on Lake Itasca. My little brother said: "Are those what the frogs jump on?" :) 

                                                 



 So long for now, Eli ;)