Shadows: Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays to the shadow hunters at Shadow Shot Sunday 2!

Black and White: Diner

Fast food seems like a real treat when served under a fabulous, shiny tin ceiling. All I had with me was my new little Sony Cybershot, which I had accidentally set to some funky effect or other that produced neon-bright colors. But once I converted to black and white, I thought the shots turned out kinda neat.





Posted for The Weekend in Black and White and for Shadow Shot Sunday 2.

52 Photos Gallery 33: Polka Dots

Gatsby Cat ponders the sudden appearance of dots on his napping spot. (They're shadows cast by a vegetable steamer held up between him and the table lamp above.)

Posted for The 52 Photos Project and for Shadow Shot Sunday 2.

Little Chair on the Prairie

There's a garden center not too far from us that uses lots of old furniture outdoors as props for the plants. I loved this old chair, and I longed to rescue it from the elements.

(*P.S. - Here's the color version:)



Posted for The Weekend in Black and White and for Shadow Shot Sunday 2.

Black and White: Beach Wheelchair

Spotted in a public shelter at Hamlin Lake beach, Michigan.



Posted for The Weekend in Black and White and linking to Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Black and White: Prophecy

I've been at a loss lately for things to photograph. Everything seems so ... dull. Boring. Predictable.

Time was, I'd roam the house and yard, happily clicking away at everything from the water meter to houseplants, sneaking up on the cat, stalking the bird feeder, annoying everyone at various events. I can't seem to get into it anymore. I look at yet another photo that's just like a million others, sigh, and hit delete. (OK, I lied. I keep them all. My hard drive is about to explode.)

I've decided to take fewer pictures in general, and to explore dramatic lighting, effects, and macro more. Maybe that'll help.

So what do YOU do when you get like this?

P.S. - This is the point of a bubble-glass globe for an overhead light, set on its side on my faux 'gator iPad cover, with morning light blazing in through the open end. I figured somebody might ask.

Linking to:
-The Weekend in Black and White
-Shadow Shot Sunday 2

52 Photos Gallery 29: Round

This Greenman medallion is a detail on a Victorian fern stand I inherited from my aunt. It's about four inches across and is one of two (one on each side) that decorate a round, wooden, ball element about a foot in diameter. It is a strange piece, to say the least, very "Captain Nemo" in feel.


Oddly, the Greenman changes personality with the light and time of day. Here he is looking rather jolly:




Here, not so much:




Posted for The 52 Photos Project
Linking to Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Shadow Shots: Whirly

When I was a kid, we called maple seeds "whirlybirds" or "helicopters" for the way they spiraled through the air as they fell. These landed on my doormat, which has a sort of whirly pattern of its own. Perhaps a case like calling to like?



  These two reminded of twins, waiting to be born:


Posted for Shadow Shot Sunday 2

The Shadow Knows

Happy Halloween!

It's the season for shadows and shades, and you'll find plenty of them at my house - and even more at Shadow Shot Sunday 2.

Shadow Shots: Sweet Willow

This massive old willow casts shifting shadows as its branches dance in the wind. It's located at TreeMendous Fruit farm in Michigan, and it provided a welcome spot to rest a bit after apple picking last weekend.


Posted for Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Bigger on the Inside

An abandoned brewery, circa 1858, was just too much to resist, even though the midday light was awful. I couldn't resist playing with the Halloween toys at Picmonkey, either. (I added the mouse and moon to the interior view.)




Posted for Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and for The Weekend in Black and White.

Shabby Chic

Taken in the beer tasting room of The Round Barn Winery in Baroda, Michigan. I was amused by the contrast of this grand chandelier against the rough-hewn beams above. In black and white, it almost has a Halloween feel, don't you think?




Posted for The Weekend in Black and White and for Shadow Shot Sunday 2.

One Brilliant Barn

These were taken at the Round Barn Winery in Boroda Michigan. The tasting building is a 1911 barn that was saved from destruction in the nick of time and reassembled on site by Amish craftsmen. It is glorious. (And the wine isn't bad, either.)

For my fellow barn lovers, here's a link to the slide show of the barn being dismantled and reconstructed: Round Barn dot com.

Linking to The Weekend in Black and White and to Shadow Shot Sunday 2

52 Photos Gallery 21: Bright

Tiger, tiger, burning bright 

In the forests of the night, 

What immortal hand or eye 

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

-William Blake

I took my visiting mother in law to see the zoo today, where a dreaming white tiger reminded me of  Blake's immortal poem, and the poem reminded me of the current 52 Photos subject. Don't you  just love it when material presents itself?

Posted for the 52 Photos Project

Shadow Shot Sunday 2

After Dark

From a recent family event. Once the guests had gone, the tent took on a life of its own, glowing mysteriously in the darkened field. Which version do you like better?

Posted for The Weekend in Black and White and for Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Shady Ladies

There was standing room only under the branches of a lone tree in an Ohio pasture. It was growing conveniently close to a fence, so I was able to snap a few shots of these curious cows.









Posted for Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and for The Weekend in Black and White.

Shadow Shots: Sneak Peek

On our way out of a ball game a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I passed by a little storage building with a mysteriously dark window way down at sidewalk level. Being the curious kind, and too old to care what other people think, we just had to bend down to sneak a peek inside.

We encountered a huge, sinister, green face peering back at us from within the deep, black shadows.




Every episode of The Twilight Zone I ever saw came flooding into my head.

Recovering from the shock, we laughed nervously at the mask, or mascot, or whatever it was, snapped a few photos, and went on our way.

Lightened and processed a bit, our bogyman doesn't look so scary after all. He does seem to be appreciating the ladies as they pass by, though, doesn't he. Which actually is kinda creepy.




For more fun in the shadows, visit Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Black and White: Covaleski Fountain

Taken earlier tonight after a game in South Bend's baseball stadium. I loved the light and the laughter. (It's one of those innocent-looking ones embedded in a plaza, starting up suddenly and soaking the unwary.)


Posted for Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and for The Weekend in Black and White.

Shadow Shots: For the Birds

The shadow of a watering can and the stream of water splashing into a birdbath. It's jazzed up a bit with the Daguerreotype filter on Picmonkey.

Posted for Shadow Shot Sunday 2

Shadow Shots: Boy in Red

Posted for Shadow Shot Sunday 2