Goodbye

New Year's Eve. 2011. My Gram passed tonight a little after 7:00.

Her hands always represented who she was to me. Strong. Beautiful. Loving. There.

I Love You, Gram. Happy New Year!

Saltines

Actually, I haven't needed these since Wednesday night, but they were just sitting on the counter begging me for a few shots, so I got my camera. Nausea be damned and my 230th day in photos locked up!

Helps The Medicine Go Down.....

My elbow is fine. It's my head that ails me. After realizing the only thing wrong with me was the spins from the drugs, I already stopped them. I am in great shape and ready to recover. Ibuprofin works just fine!
Thank you for all of the prayers and good thoughts!

O R

Dedication. And an easy going Doc.

Until Next Year

               Tonight I put my cutting shears down for the last time this year.

I feel it only fair to warn all of you who follow and support my blog that tomorrow morning I am having surgery to rebuild my right elbow and I will be generally out of commission for some time.
That being said, I have no idea how good the content will be, but I am committed to completing my last 37 days!
                               (Wish me luck, and you were all warned!)

Laugh

Finding inspiration.

After

                                                         Christmas morning.

Before

Christmas Eve

Woods at Night

                                      Fog, naked birch and street light after dark.
                                     Forgive me, I am tired, hurt and uninspired.

REBEL

       How could this be Minnesota on December 22nd? Blue sky, sand, sun.
                                       Thoroughly enjoying it.

Nobody Home

If you have followed along on my photography journey, you know I have an affinity for doorways. Although this doorway was great as a whole, it was the handles and lock that really spoke to me, so that is what I concentrated on.

Long Legged Lucy

I caught this spider sunning herself early this morning and it's the only photo I took today - therefore, my best shot! 
I do like the way she looks like a painting.

Sky High

I've photographed this building before, but this time I stood under the atrium and shot out for a different point of view. It was much darker outside than it appears, but a high ISO and monochrome setting make it look like dusk.

White Christmas?

   There's not a speck of snow on the ground and the forecast calls for more of the same.
                                             This might be as white as it gets.

Happy, Merry, WOW!

This is an actual tree lit with 25,000 lights! After spending the day shopping at the Mall of America, I'm feeling the season!

My Feelings Exactly

                            I don't even know what to say.  Tis' the season?!  

Duck Duck Grey Duck

For about 5 minutes the sun came out today and I just happened to be at this pond full of mallards.
I personally don't like birds of any kind, and this pond has a hot spring, so it's always full of them - but I liked the way their heads glowed in the sunshine.

Mixed Blood

I've always been drawn to this theater and have photographed it before, but I've never been happy with the results. As the rain came down tonight I decided to try my luck again.
This is an unretouched photo!
The more drops that fell on my lens, the more I liked the outcome. My camera and I were both pretty wet by this shot.

Park Bench

 When I first came upon this bench I felt like it was inviting because of the street light and because it's so warm outside, but after I set up my tripod and started playing around with different angles, I got a little creeped out by the remote feeling of it and had to make my way back to my car.
I like the creepy, so I converted to black and white for more effect.

December Rain

My favorite weather to photograph in is fog. Today there was plenty of it as the temperature warmed and the rain came. This was taken on a horse farm in Forest Lake. Unfortunately, I couldn't capture any of the horses in the pasture, because the people who lived there weren't home and I didn't want to be arrested for trespassing!

Red Paint

My basement washtub after an art project.

Elf One, Elf Two, Elf Three

A shot of the elves on a break through Santa's eyes!                                                                                                                                                                   

One Man Stands Alone

                                                            In the bitter cold.

Ride Happy

                                 Pretty much one big celebration on two wheels! 

Falling Star

I caught it! I stopped, laid my camera on top of my hat right on the snow, and took several shots. This one was the clear winner when I saw the falling star!

Silver Sparkle

         I took five photos today. You can imagine how bad the other four were.

New Tenant

Here we go again!
I haven't gotten her name yet, as we are just starting to get acquainted, but she is pregnant and has decided that this tree is home.  I will keep you posted.

First Shovel

                                      Old Man Winter is officially here.
                              It was a good Sunday to stay in if you ask me.

Snow Glow

I found this house today in South Minneapolis in the middle of the snow coming down, and tried my best to capture it how I saw it.   Breathtaking!

Time Stands Still

            I like it because when I look at it I can't tell if it's 2011 or 1979.

Moody Blues

                  Half ice, half water, with a beautiful reflection of trees thrown in.
                               I like the color, the texture, and the mood.

Space Odyssey 300

I am so jazzed about this photo!  It is my 300th photo of the year and I love it! 

They were stringing up lights around the parking lot at the grocery store, so I had the idea of standing under one of the trees with my wide angle lens and shooting upward - Voila!

                      Looks like a crazy bark -being surrounded by a galaxy!

Encyclopedia of Photography

                                                           Just as it says.

Tunnel Bridge River Fish

Like the title, a little bit of everything today. I'm not perfectly happy with the exposure, but it was taken from inside a tunnel the sun was shining into, so I'll take it.

Open Sesame

I locked myself out of my house WITH the keys! Yep, the whole lock jammed.
With me on the outside and no one else home. At the very least, I had my camera and got this shot while I waited for help to arrive.

Nutcraker of Another Kind.......

The Christmas decorations are coming out in full force! This is my bare, but lighted tree in the background.

Nutcracker

                            First night of the Holidazzle Parade!
We had a front row seat in 50 degree weather. Can't ask for more than that.

Thanksgiving

I was hoping for a more meaningful photo today, but this was the best of the bunch.
I am thankful my family is happy and healthy, and I am thankful for another 60 degree day this year!
Blessed I am.

In Flight

                                                                                                                                                                         Geese on the move.

Seeing Green

                             Me.  Still playing with my macro lens.

Skyway Shine

Downtown at the bookstore tonight and everything was wet and shiny from the melting snow.  I set a long exposure to get the light streaks from the cars passing under the skyway to get this shot.

Zombie Sunday

I don't even know what to say about him. I was using my macro lens and this is what I got.
Love it!

It's Here

                                                Winter is upon us tonight.

Frozen

I haven't had a car for 2 weeks and have been really reaching to get decent photos around my house or work.  This shot of leaves frozen in ice is indicative of what I did all day - raked and bagged leaves and cleaned leaves out of the gutters.
I am finished with leaves for the year.  Bring on the snow!
(No, I didn't fall off the ladder and hit my head!)

Sea Beauty

Starlight, Star bright, Sand dollar for my blog tonight. Well, that's proof right there that I shouldn't try poetry next!
I was playing around with my macro lens and got up close and personal with this sand dollar. Beautiful, isn't it?

Church & State

This photo looks like it could have been taken on a warm Summer day, but we all know that isn't quite the case. The sun disappeared right after I got the shot and the wind was fierce all day.
It's nice to pretend.

Cold and Flu Season

Mom's cure for the common cold, right? I took this with my cell phone camera at the grocery store tonight. I've been fighting off my first cold of the season for the past week and thought this shot was appropriate.

M3

About once a week my husband says, "Why don't you take a picture of a car for today?" Today I did exactly that. To make it even better for him, this is his car. Let me clarify. This is a model car of his BMW M3, which I took out to the driveway and snapped until it looked real.

Clever Wife.   Happy Husband.

Lucky Money

I got this charm in Chicago's China Town a long time ago and promptly misplaced it. I only recently found it and displayed it on my desk. This particular fellow with the gold dipped bottom is supposed to bring money to his keeper.
I will let you all know when the windfall hits!

Well Lit

                               I just like the way it's lit from behind.