scavenger hunt sunday

I have not been a good blogger. Life has been too busy. We are trying to get into a routine, both of my jobs have been so busy this week, and I chose to d/c caffeine this week. My Dr. recommended cutting back or d/c. So I have been decreasing and decided to quit this week. Just coffee and for now tea. I'm not cutting out chocolate. That is just pushing it! I may have tea. But for now I am not starting my day with caffeine. It has been rough! So I haven't been really focused or motivated to do much art-related stuff this week. I just took some photos for Scavenger Hunt Sunday. I did use two old photos for a few of the prompts that stumped me. I want to try and really get into next week's prompts throughout the week.

So here is my interpretations for this week:

1. High Key: Stumped me. I bought some pretty, pale pink tulips at Trader Joe's this week. I decided to photograph one of them and play with fun effects in Picnic to create strong contrasts and work with color effects. I admittedly didn't know what high key was. But I decided to just experiment instead for this one.

2. Bedroom: Loved the light streaming in the windows this Sunday morning. It makes me feel optimistic and positive.

3. Something Tiny: I bought this tiny cactus when I came back from my first trip to visit family in Southern California. It was a life changing experience. Opening up my eyes to all that is out there and I made strong connections with cousins. This little cactus sits in a tray with a photo of the sunset on the pacific and a glass jar of shells I collected while in CA. It reminds me of that trip and all the mixed feelings it represents for me: calmness, family, quiet, excitement, relaxed attitude,....

4. Off in the Distance: This is a photo I took of the "super" moon a few weeks ago. I took it from the sliding glass door of my apartment's living room. It was a cloudy night but every so often the moon would peek through. I was practicing with my new camera so some of the pictures aren't so great. But this one I love.

5. Stripes: This is a piece of sanded cedar wood. The stripes are in the rings of the wood and the shape of it's exterior. It seems silly to hang on to something like this but it has sentimental meaning for me. It was part of a tree in my parent's yard. When my dad was converting the garage into an apartment for me (and later my sister and brother), I helped him to turn that tree into one of the ceiling beams. It was an unfinished beam that showed the natural finish of the wood. I loved it. And it reminds me of working with my dad.

That's all for now!

Happy Sunday!

scavenger hunt sunday

I just found out about this weekly photography challenge.The idea is that each week there are 5 catagories that you interpret in a photograph. Fun! I just took photos around the apartment for each of the catagories this week.  Some are better than others. It was a fun way to challenge how you look at things you see everyday. Here are my images for this week's hunt:

1. Vanishing Point
My blue willow china collection. These plates make me happy. I started with a few I got after my great aunt passed away. I supplemented with a few from a local antique store. I cropped the photo a bit to have the upward perspective over to the far right of the image.

2. Square Crop
My paintbrushes. As I was searching around the apartment I took a shot of the brushes and pens on my desk. Some of these are old brushes, some are cheap, some were inherited. I edited it with a sepia tone and cropped it square. I like the perspective looking down on the brushes. I think my search for a different perspective of ordinary objects around our place was the best part of this challenge for me! I also had fun playing around with editing. I tried not to "think" too much when I took the photos and edited. Just went with it...almost like sketching when you start a painting or drawing...

3. Under
This one might be my favorite. I got this wine on a girl's weekend trip with my mom and sister last summer. We went to a little town in upstate New York where my mom lived for a few years as a kid. We stopped at a winery. This wine was delicious! But to my dissappointment, they won't ship from this winery to Massachusetts...something to do with the taxes I think. Boo!

4. "Welcome to the Jungle"
I was stumped on this one. Almost went into my old photos to find one to fit the challenge. But one shot I took from underneath of a shell whindchime I had caught my attention. I played around with fun edits to change the coloring and crop so that it almost abstracts the image. From a typical perspective the windchime has the appearance of a jellyfish. But from underneath, with a tint of blue, I think it almost looks like it could be underwater...

5. Calm
I have always loved white pitchers for some reason. I finally found one a year or so ago. I just love thier simplicity. Sometimes with flowers. Sometimes empty.

I also took a second shot for this challenge. I made Irish Freckle Break yesterday for my friends. There is something about the scent of it baking that relaxes me. I love the sweet taste with tea and coffee. It is a small treat.

I LOVED doing this creativity challenge! I will definately do it again. I am also going to try and do this week's Shoot & Edit challenge. This week's focus is "yellow." Which is ironically very similar to my shot for last week's "Spring" challenge...I shot yellow daffodils. So now I am challenged to find something else yellow to photograph....

Happy Sunday!