Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Macro…the heart of a flower

These days, spring comes closer, only to flirtatiously retreat, leaving me craving color.  That desire lures me deep into the heart of a flower this week with this macro shot.  Dive in with me. Drown in color! Who knows what you’ll find in the heart.

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Nature…morning light

Another month has begun.  The weather in Chicagoland is typically spring-like:  warm, cold, rain, a bit of snow, sun, thunderstorm…mix and repeat.  Underneath it all, I can feel spring waiting, edging gradually into sight.  Daffodils and daylilies bravely poke their leaves out further each day.   The cold is a little less frigid, a bit more cool.  It’s coming and one of the blessings is the longer daylight.  The downside is you have to get up earlier to catch a sunrise shot.  The upside is you can enjoy this one while still in your pj’s, sipping your morning cup of coffee or tea.  How good is that?

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Challenger’s Choice…Still life in copper

The fourth week of the month, Sally allows us to go a little wild and crazy, choosing our theme from a number of choices…maybe even one that’s not included…gasp!  My still life selection comes from Philadelphia’s Rim Cafe’s eclectic mix of decorations.

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Black & White…carousel

You gotta do something while waiting for luggage to emerge from the bowels of the airport onto the baggage carousel.  In my case, after choosing just the right spot, I take photos of the carousel.  🙂  Sally’s Black and White theme for the third Monday of the month seems like the perfect place for this shot.  We’re making  12+ hour trip today from Philadelphia to Chicago, but we’re driving, so our luggage is all with us and flies free, just like it does on Southwest.  Yes, that’s a shameless plug for my favorite airline.

Happy Monday!

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Macro…Berry red

As much as I enjoy winter, preferably with snow rather than the rain we’ve gotten recently, a hit of color now and then brightens the spirits. Hence, I offer you this as a cheerful response to Sally’s on-going challenge to us to take photos with non-traditional cameras, in this case, an iPhone 5s.

Better than any argument is to rise at dawn and pick dew-wet red berries in a cup.

~Wendell Berry

Bright reds – scarlet, pillar-box red, crimson or cherry – are very cheerful and youthful. There is certainly a red for everyone.

~Christian Dior

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Nature…desert view

On one of my last days in Arizona, my s-i-l and I hiked Wind Cave Trail, not far from Mesa in distance but, as you can see, not at all city.  It was the first really nice day in the nine I’d been there, so there were quite a few people on the steep, rocky trail.  That tan bit is one of the smoother parts of the trail.

We worked up quite a sweat walking up, but in the shelter of the “cave” (overhang), we quickly became chilly.  Emerging into the sun, we had a glorious view of the Phoenix area in the distance, the downtown area just to the left of the two little hills.  (If you click on the photo and then click again, you can see the buildings.)  The dotted line of white just above halfway is made up of the parked vehicles of the hikers.  There’s also quite a “forest” of saguaro cacti.  Although the view was great, we had to keep our eyes firmly on the trail, only looking while stopped.  You definitely don’t want to get off the trail and into the cacti without paying attention!

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Black and White…reflections

It’s certainly easy to try a photo in black and white when shooting digital!  Some photos don’t need much help, though, as in these reflections I found one cold morning on the river.  This reminds me of something the Impressionists might have done had they not worked in color.

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Macro…Drop

I admit to a fondness for shots of water drops.  Since today is the “Macro” theme, I thought I’d play with this drop a little bit.  It’s always good to begin the week with some fun. I hope your week’s off to a good start and that it’s warmer than it is in the Chicago metropolitan area!

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Nature…Shall we gather at the river?

After a several week cyber hiatus, Sally and her mobile photography challenge are back for another round in 2017.  Sally, I hope you had a wonderful and refreshing time.  Perhaps one day I’ll summon the fortitude to do the same.  🙂

Today we’re back to nature as our theme.  Supposedly geese fly south in the winter, away from the chilly northern Illinois temperatures.  But each year there are plenty of them left well into winter.  As you can see from my photo, they gather on the river en masse, honking and readying themselves for take off, although where they’re actually going is anyone’s guess. It reminds me of an avian airport with one runway.  After sufficiently getting their engines going, a small flock takes off, amid much racket.  When the proper interval has passed, then next group does the same.  However, despite all the takeoffs and the time of year, the goose population in our area is still doing well.

Other than the frame, this shot looks as it did when I took it on a cold but beautiful morning.

Sally D’s Mobile Photography Challenge: Macro…The art of seeing

Sometimes when I walk, I’m focused mainly on the big picture, the sky, the sunrise, the clouds and the plants and trees reaching for them. Often, though, I look more closely, down lower, seeking the smaller, hidden or less obvious things, their minute beauty waiting to be discovered and appreciated. That’s the fun of macro photography, seeing the other side of nature or, in this case, the other side of a leaf, and presenting it as something that looks very different.