so my photo bud 'wendy' and i decided to get together today, cameras in tow. our ingredients to shoot? food coloring, water, a glass cylinder, white backdrop and lighting.

bka..ink photography.

yeah, i read directions, which is rare.

we shot and shot. we moved the backboard, the lighting, the angle..all to no avail! we just couldn't seem to get the right spot.

so..

we gave up.

but..

i don't give in so easily.

plugged in the shots and started to play.

i cropped and cropped.

turned one B&W.

turned one sepia tone.

hey..

i think they are cool!

so here's to playing.

and not always giving up!

blessings!

shay

dear my Nana,

here i am nana.

my first time at the doggy park.

it was a nice sunny day.

they had a little doggy side and that's where i go.

i made some new friends.

and played ball.

and ran REALLY fast.

see how fast i am nana?

that's why mommy can't take nice pictures.

cuz i'm SO fast!

i ran and ran and ran. then the brothers were hungry so we had a picnic. then i ran again.

then mommy said that was long enough for my first time cuz i was just little (ugh) and we went home for a bath cuz mommy said i was a stinky boy!

ok nana. so see. can we go when you come to meet me?

love,

dudley

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

SHS with Ashley again!

i didn't get to participate last week. which totally bummed me out. my SD card corrupted after a photo shoot, leaving me with almost 800 photos lost.

but i am back again! thanks to my BFF wendy, who took me back to Middle Creek for a repeat shoot. and as she promised, this one was even better!

here are my takes on this week's prompts..

1)water-SOOC

the lake at Middle Creek is in the background of these 'fogotten flowers'. boy am i loving manual focus!

2)light-SOOC

did i say i am LOVING manual focus? just love the haze and how the sun was setting on these 'forgotten flowers'.

3)animal-SOOC

this collie was visiting Middle Creek too.

LOVED how the setting sun gleamed on his fur, so i snuck a shot of him.

4)crowded

more shots from our Middle Creek shoot. if i was hanging with these snow geese, i would certainly feel crowded. i mean, 65,000?

5)chocolate

if you know me, you know i have chocolate everyday. it is a MUST!

so i thought i would be photographing actual chocolate. BUT on our way home from our Middle Creek shoot, i remembered we would drive by Wilbur Chocolate Factory in Lititz. so my bud pulled over and we snapped a few shots.

thanks for stopping by. as always i'd love to hear from you.

sure did miss you all last week.

be blessed!

shay

Dreaming

such a beautiful, sunny day. cool breezes. clear, blue skies. off we went to shoot. destination 'star barn' and a few barns along the 

way home.

i dream of shooting everyday.

capturing everything my eyes see.

packing a bag, my camera equipment and driving off, destination unknown.

here are a few of today's captures.

one day.

some day.

shay

iHeartfaces Photo Challenge: B&W

this is the first time i have ever participated in an iHeaRTfaCes photo challenge and i am so thrilled to join such amazing photographers.
this photo makes me smile! i just want to squeeze those cheeks! and the pigtails..oh my, i have childhood photos of myself with those same pigtails! 
hope she makes you smile too!

if you'd like to join in this challenge, link up your B&W photo over at iHeaRTfaCes!


i'd love to hear from you and make sure you send some 'comment love' to the other photographers!


blessings!
shay

For The Love of Geese

so, this past saturday morning, my son and i rose out of our beds at 0345 am and waited for wendy to pick us up. we were heading to Middle Creek in hopes to photograph 65,000 snow geese and 2,400 white swans. this area is a stopping point for these birds before they migrate back north. and for a short while, they stay on this lake at night and feed in the fields during the day.

we were truly expecting a total 'God' moment.

well, we could barely see through the thick fog as we carried our gear down the trail to the lake. it was such a creepy feeling, only seeing in front of us with a flashlight but hearing the rumbling chorus of the geese as they were waking on the water.

although the weather wasn't the best of conditions, we felt we got a few good shots. but more important than photographs was experiencing the flight of the thousands of birds off the water. it literally sounded like planes taking off right next to us.

amazingly beautiful. i mean, how could anyone witness that and not believe in our Creator? that's what was going through my mind.

on the last leg of our shoot..

my camera started reading 'no files'. long story short, my SD card corrupted and i lost almost 800 pictures.

needless to say i was upset. okay, honestly, i was sulking. grieving for photographs i never got the chance to see and memories i had lost.

*****

fast forward to today. my totally awesome photo bud text me this morning and confirmed we could head back to Middle Creek this afternoon. so we didn't even let snow flurries stop us and off we went.

even though i lost all those photos, we were blessed with clear sunny skies today and the chance to capture this beauty through our lenses one more time.

i haven't even looked over all my shots, but wanted to get this post up for you to see what we saw, feel what we felt.

so look, then close your eyes and hear their chorus, the sound of thousands of wings. as dusk fell upon us and the temperature dropped, the snow geese had yet to return to the lake. they were still feeding in the fields. so we ended our journey.

hopefully my best bud wendy will do a post on the funniest moment of our shoot today..so please stay tuned.

shay

may my eyes always be open

 my heart and soul aware

  my lens ready

for the blessings God is showing me