Sunday, April 21, 2013

2013 Project 365 – Week Sixteen


We are moving into the season of a ridiculous number of photos. I’m glad that I never even tried to limit myself to one picture per day because at this point I’d probably just have to throw darts to pick my favorite – ha!

Sunday, April 14th    
This week really is all about the birds. Here are some from our back yard. I tried to do a collage that I liked, but I ended up just wanting to leave these pictures by themselves.






Monday, April 15th     
Dr. M took some pictures on his way home from work (I know, he never does that).


Heron!


And here is the man himself doing one of his favorite things.


This grackle is wondering if the man with the camera is ever going to go away!


The moon!


Tuesday, April 16th           
Squirrel antics.


Blooming trees!



Wednesday, April 17th   
Another blooming tree.


Cardinal in the back yard.


I took these pictures in the bathroom at work. I think the new soap dispensers are ALARMING! I was wondering what in the world until I sorted out what they were. And the name of this toilet paper? Let’s just say that there isn’t really any truth in advertising here.


The State of the Bug: Photoshopped! I had Mount Vesuvius on my chin this week (trust me – it had calmed down considerably by the time I took this picture!). I thought it would be interesting to see what the blemish eraser feature on PicMonkey would do. And then, for fun, I decided to go the rest of the way with a much more flattering filter. So, the Bug in the raw, the Bug with MV erased, & the Bug ready for her (photoshopped) close-up. [Note: click on the picture to make it bigger - you can't get the full effect of the volcano otherwise]


Thursday, April 18th    
Around the yard – our miniature rose is ready for its spring rebirth.


Dandelions!


Friday, April 19th  
More squirrel antics.


Another blooming tree (ho-hum – ha!).


A killdeer! We hadn’t ever gotten a picture of one before – cool!


Flowers…



Red-winged blackbird singing his heart out.


Saturday, April 20th    
Dr. M & I went to see his school’s production of Spamalot (yes, this is on my 50x50 list). It was a total hoot – I thoroughly enjoyed it. And they did such a good job. I got a picture of the Lady of the Lake, aka Guinevere, and King Arthur (looking kingly beside Dr. M).


The moon!


Go to Mamma Fran’s blog here to see the blogs of all the other Project 365 participants. Have a great week!

Most of our photos are taken with a 12 megapixel Nikon D5000 DSLR, using a 55-200mm zoom lens. This is the camera that Dr. M takes with him most days. He also takes pictures with our old reliable 7 megapixel Canon Powershot A710.  The Bug uses our new Nikon Coolpix S6200 most of the time. If you’re interested in which camera was used for a particular shot, just ask! 

27 comments:

  1. That grackle looked fierce! I love the State of the Bug. I'll have to try the MV eraser feature on some of my pics. In my graduation photo, there's a particularly prominent spot on my chin that I'd like not to have been included. A real riot of colour and fun this week.

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    1. I think I'm going to spring for the paid PicMonkey fee so I can get rid of the wrinkle between my eyes too :)

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  2. That first moon shot is my favorite of all your lunar pics. I'm not sure why; maybe the texture?

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    1. A couple of things, Stephen: 1) new lens! We now have a 55-300 zoom for the D5000 that is not only more powerful but seems to be a little better optical quality, so we can get "closer" to the moon; 2) I took that pic before dark, which meant a different set-up that gave me sharper focus and better detail. To get the look you see here, I adjusted the brightness, contrast, etc. So the result is a high relief image. Thanks! Glad you liked it :-)

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    2. That's the first thing I wondered when I saw the moon picture, if you had taken it with your new lens.

      You might as well just give us all the settings and the EXIF info on your pictures from now on. :-) Just sayin'.

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    3. A hopeless romantic likes to keep SOME secrets, PP ;-)

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  3. I love all of your pictures...but the trees in bloom are my favorites this week. I remember from living up North when everything seems to spring into bloom all at once at some point in April...it's like Spring threw up all over. We don't get that effect here in Florida, since there is always some blooming going on.

    You are too funny...taking pictures in the bathroom. Totally something I would do, too.

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    1. It IS like Spring blew cookies all over Ohio! Thanks, PP :-)

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    2. I love the idea of being outrageous. In practice, I hide the camera until no one else is in the bathroom with me - ha!

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  4. Those pics are awesome. Makes me wanna get out into the backyard more often. There's a barred owl in the woods behind my house, and for five years I've been trying to spot him. I sit on the deck with the camera trying to hone in on his call. He's so close, but I've yet to see him (or her).

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    1. It would be pretty cool if you could get a picture. I'm not all that good at taking bird photos - that's Mike's job :)

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  5. Bug,
    Oh, I have so much to comment on, but I will keep it to the moon, the birds and the squirrels.

    Your bird feeder looks like it works like ours. We bought one back in the day, and we still have it. It was called the "hilarious bird feeder." It's weighted so that when the birds land on it, it will not close and the birds can get the seeds. However, when a squirrel tries to get food, it's too heavy and the bird feeder closes.

    I always love those moon pics and they only seem to get better and better.

    And the toilet paper.... too funny. No truth in advertising. It's a sin.

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    1. Ha! Yes, that's the "squirrel-proof" bird feeder Jen bought for the tree in front of my school's library. Yeah, not so much :-)

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  6. You and Dr M were in prime photographic form. Very impressive.

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  7. So many more blossoms than we have. How can that be?
    The grackle looks wary or angry, but love the blue on its forehead. Striking pic!
    Sara and Steve B coming this week, Tues. eve. to Fri. a.m. Wish you were closer.

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  8. All the flowering trees are out in NEO, too, and some daffs and hyacinth. I've seen some squirrels that, I swear, are as big as dogs. What the heck have they been eating!? And the very, very frisky cardinals look much redder than in the past.

    Everyone wintered over better than I did, it seems.

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    1. I agree - personally, I'm feeling pretty ragged!

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  9. I am constantly working on editing volcanos & deep dark hills (that would be dark puffy stuff under my eyes) on my face.

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  10. Your hubby should print out a book of photos and try to sell them. They really are very good. Love that one of you trying to erase the spot. What is up with face breakouts at our age?!?!!? I have those days too often and I am quite a bit older than you.

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    1. I know - I am QUITE salty about the menopausal acne. Ugh!

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  11. great pics as usual - glad you enjoyed Spamalot

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  12. ha!! spamalot is hilarious. i love 'the song that goes like this'. :-)
    ok, your pictures are always so vivid and bright! do you enhance them before you post them, or is that just how your camera takes pictures???

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    1. Some of them are natural, but I enhance a lot of them. This week's are more vibrant than usual - I edited them on a monitor that seemed more muted than my regular one.

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  13. Hey! I know I'm late, but that grackle? That's exactly what I look like having spent two hours online filing for my brother's SS retirement benefit tonight!

    Exactly.

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    1. Oh you poor thing! I know know what's worse - looking like a grackle or filling out SS paperwork :)

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Thanks for stopping by - I'd love to hear what you have to say!

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