Candy

Week 6 of the Dogwood Photography Challenge:

Artistic: CANDY! Your artistic interpretation this week should be inspired by something sweet. A great chance to play with macro photography.

I think I'll chose this first photo as my entry for the challenge. Of all of them it's the one that is most focused on the subect, which was "candy". 

I really like this second photo too. It highlights some of the pieces of my grandmother's vintage children's faux crystal tea set. It's real glass. How she managed to not break it playing with it as a child in the 1910 - 1920 era is beyond me! I only had it out on a display shelf and managed to break the lid to the butter dish. 

I like the simplicity of this third photo,

And the way the scalloped edge of grandma's little butter dish frames the candy in this one.

This last one wasn't even in the running though I liked the pattern it forms. The outer ring of candy is not in focus. The centre candy is on a tall glass and the depth of focus was just too deep to get everything at once.

Black and Blah

Week 5 of the Dogwood Photography Challenge is:

Black and white landscape: Look for a scene with great contrast that will make a great black and white.

I personally don't find black and white very inspiring, even when it's done exceptionally well. It's also very dull and grey around here lately so I find this week's challenge rather difficult.

Welcome Home Ritual

Week 4 of the Dogwood 52 Week Photography Challenge.

"Portrait: Head shot. You shot a selfie now shoot a 'selfie' of someone else!"

I don't know any people who want their portrait posted on the internet SOooo ---

This is my son's dog, Kona. I care for her during the day when he's working. When he arrives to pick her up she goes to the dogs' toybox and picks up the biggest mouthful of stuffies that she can manage. This time it was FIVE! She then prances around, head held high, moaning and groaning and waging her tail vigorously.

Kona is a Presa Canario/Bull Mastif Cross weighing approximately 70 pounds. She's an obediant, gentle, sweetheart of a dog that rarely ever barks.

RED

Week three of the Dogwood 52 week photography challenge.

"Shoot whatever inspires you. Red should be the focus of the image. Don't be afraid to be creative".

I prefer this first one but I wish I was skilled enough at editing to remove the distracting blue cloth. 

Love the glowing red of this second one but it looks incomplete without the stem of the glass. 

Week 2 - Traditional Landscape

For the purposes of the 52 week photography challenge, "Landscape" is defined as: "this category is pretty broad covering both traditional landscapes and some non-traditional areas such as urbanscapes. Don't be afraid to really explore your surroundings in this category. If the focus is the environment you are in it will qualify as Landscape in this category."

For this week in particular the challenge was, "Shoot a beatuiful landscape and share it with the world. Find a nice foreground and don't forget the sky." With the weather lately being rather gloomy and dark that can be quite the challenge! I caught these three images on an early morning walk, just as the sun was starting to peek over the mountains. 

'Meh. I don't find any of them particularly inspiring. The sky was pretty but the foreground is lacking in detail. I hope to find time during the week to get a better image for this category, but these will do for now and in case I end up with nothing better.

These images were captured with my iPhone. When I'm walking the dogs I don't want to be carrying my heavier, bulkier, "good" camera, a Canon EOS Rebel T3.

I may end up with a different image altogether, but of these three which is your favourite and why? 

A New Challenge

Seems my muse is taking me in yet another creative direction. I've joined the 52 Week Photography Challenge. All 52 challenges (one each week of the year) are listed on the Dogwood Photography web page so you know ahead of time what is coming up. This week is "Selfie, Explore the self timer setting on your camera".  

Not being one fond of self portraits or even being in front of a camera someone else has pointed in my direction, I found this week's challenge particularly difficult.

Once I had a photograph I was happy enough with I had great fun playing with the new edition of "Photoshop" that I got for my birthday. This sketch filtered version is actually my favourite of the bunch. It captures the mood I was after (not as crabby or apprehensive looking as the photo above). I like the way the washed out look made my glasses frame and focus attention on my eyes.

And speaking of crabby looking, LOL, how's this patchwork filter? Amazing how a little editing changes things the mood so much.

If you feel so inclined, do join me, either in the Facebook group (7,000 members and growing!) or on the Flickr group -- or both! It should be a fun year of personal growth.