Mums for a mom.

Lately I've been in a photographic slump.  It was a long winter and a cold April and spring seemed to be taking forever to come.  The grass was brown and the trees were brown.  The weather warmed up a few weeks ago and it was so beautiful outside but no flowers or leaves on the trees.  I would use my camera daily but not happy with anything I was shooting.  Too little color, bad composition or just bad.  On Mother's Day, my son and his wife gave me a beautiful pot of white Chrysanthemum's.  I'm not sure he if knew it or just got lucky but this winter white flowers have been my favorite to photograph.

Yesterday morning I woke up and with the soft morning light streaming in on the pot of flowers my photographic light bulb went off.  While I should have been getting ready for work, I grabbed my camera and started taking a few shots.  Since I carpool with my husband I knew he'd tell me when it was time to leave.

Today the sun in shinning, the trees have come out with their new green leaves and everything looks just as it should in the spring.  I'm not sure if my son knew it when he picked up this pot of white Mums that it would bring color back into the world for me.

I hope your day is filled with light and beautiful color, even if it's white.

The Porcupine, Pump Jack and Northern Lights

Saturday night was looking favorable for an early display of Northern Lights so my husband and I got the "Northern Lights" kit together and headed out early to a new location.  We knew we had to hike in, so the plan was to get there in daylight and wait for darkness.  On the way we pulled into an area with pump jacks and with the setting sun I thought it might be a good place to get a few shots.

As it was getting dark, I tried a longer exposure to get a little motion blur on this one.

Looking down the road, we could see a porcupine waddling across the road.  Playing Austin Stevens, wildlife hunter, I immediately tried to sneak up on the porcupine.  He didn't seem to be so afraid of me to run, but did keep turning his head away.  Must have been quite a sight to see me running from side to side as he simply turned his head.

I didn't know they had such long claws until I uploaded the photos.

After he crawled into the ditch, we carried on to our location, hiked in and sat to wait for the Northern Lights. Turns out they didn't show, but it was a good night.

April 17th Aurora Borealis

These were taken last night when the Aurora Borealis unexpectedly appeared in the skies.  My email alerts haven't been working lately, so it was a case of going outside at the right time. When I saw the lights through our trees, I too quickly jumped in the car and headed a few miles from the house.  In my haste I forgot mittens, a hat and most importantly, my flashlight.  Without the flashlight, I didn't venture through the mud too far.  It's quite amazing the sounds you can hear when you're alone on a dark road.  Needless to say I didn't stay out too long, but did manage to get a couple of shots.  The orange glow is the lights of Edmonton, 20 miles away.

 

    

Texture Tuesday and Yellow Mums

This weeks theme over at Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday is free and easy.  Any photo, any color, any texture.  In my Easter centerpiece I used egg shells for little flower pots and they haven't hit the compost bin yet so I thought I'd get a little more use out of them.

Two layers of kk_paperlove, one set at multiply and one at overlay.

Two layers of kk_paperlove, both set at multiply.

  

One layer of kk_paperlove and one layer of kk_stained linen both at multiply.

   

  

Macro Monday Mums

"Nobody sees a flower, really - it is so small we haven't time, and to see takes time"

                                                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                            -- Georgia Okeefe

Refinery Row Edmonton

Last night the IACC (Images Alberta Camera Club) was to have an outing shooting the refineries in Edmonton and Sherwood Park.  The outing had originally been scheduled for last week, but postponed due to a heavy snow fall.  Wouldn't you know it, last night we had rain.  Living in the county I'm fascinated by the lights of the city and luckily for me I have a wonderful photo buddy, who's willing to try anything.  As the club members went home we ventured out with our map in the rain.

Our first stop was at a refinery that has been shut down for a few years and it looked like someone had done a little decorating.

Because there was very little walking I was using my 70-400mm lens but the next few stops proved to be a little too windy for the lens, camera and tripod.  By the time we hit the backside of the Shell refinery the wind calmed down and we could get in a few shots before wiping the rain of the lenses.

By the time we reached the end of the map, it was getting dark and the lights of the refineries lit up but it was raining and cold and we could only get a couple of shots in before we had to go clean the lens.  With the temperature close to freezing getting in the car was a warm, welcome break.

It was raining harder and getting colder, but still time for one more shot.

Would I go out in the rain and cold again? Probably not, but I do look forward to shooting these refineries again on a warmer evening.

Easter Blues

When my children were young, it was a tradition in the house to dye Easter eggs on Good Friday. Now that they're grown with families of their own, I decided I would quickly dye a dozen for the center of the table for Easter dinner. Wanting to keep it simple, I used food coloring from the cupboard and a little vinegar. I'm not sure what I did right or wrong but I really liked the tie dye look that they took on.

In trying to make them look like speckled eggs I spattered on a little acrylic paint.

 

A few yellow tulips from the grocery store and my Easter centerpiece was complete.

 

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.