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COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
All pictures (and blogposts) are copyrighted and may not be reproduced/used in any manner without my PRIOR approval. Thank you for respecting my hard work.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Worldwide Photography Walk: Marquette Michigan Photos : Part Two

If you missed my last post, drop down and read it first.
 
This is part 2 of the Worldwide Photo Walk
that I participated in a few weeks ago.
 
 
Our community site was at Park Cemetery, a lovely, huge old cemetery full of old headstones, a pond
and gorgeous autumn trees.
 
 
Here are some more shots I took while there:
 
 

I just loved this old, ornate mansoleum (spelling?)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I loved doing this in black and white with just a touch of color in the rose.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Colorful tree spreading nature over the headstones.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Another mallard shot in the lilies...they were so pretty there that day!
 
 
 
I have a few more I will still share with you next time...
Hope you are having a wonderful autumn and treasuring each and every day of it!
 

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Worldwide Photography Walk: Marquette Michigan Photos

I was fortunate enough to be part of our area's
Worldwide Photography Walk day.

Our photo club picked the Park Cemetery

The idea is for a bunch of area photographers to go to the same site and the same time
for a limited amount of time and capture what shots appeal to you.

When the group is done, you are allowed to submit just ONE photo into the contest to win prizes if the Judges pick yours.

The club will also pick ONE more photo from all of our photos to submit on behalf of the club.
If that photo is picked by the Judges, the club wins prizes.

I thought it would be fun just to participate to see what others took in the way of photos.

Here is our group photo before we went on our photo walk (picture was taken by club member: Mike Hainstock):




I am the third one from the right (wearing the black coat and brown boots, front row).

At first, I was hesitant to go as it was pouring rain outside when I left home and very chilly. But I dressed in layers and headed out....by the time we started the photo shoot, the rain stopped and it warmed up to the balmy 40's and 50's and the sun even peeked out a few times....

I was SO glad I decided to go!

Here are some of the photos I took
when I went out with my photo club members.




I am always drawn to baby and children's tombstones...they make me sad but I can't help it....



To my surprise and delight, there was a large pond or two within the cemetery...
and?
it was FULL of ducks!!

Everyone was around the ponds taking shots, so I had to go back after everyone left to get a spot
by myself...but I did find a few mallards, and loved capturing them in my lens:



I loved the lily pads, all the textures from the autumn!





 


Stay tuned for more photos of this cemetery photography assignment....



Tuesday, October 16, 2012

U.P. Autumn Roads!

Some of you already read me on Facebook,
so you have seen these photos.
 
I am taking another photo class,
and last week's assignment was:
 
"Colorful autumn Roads".
 
 
 
Since that is one of my all time favorite things to phtograph,
I loved it.
 
 
Here are the two I submitted to class:
 
 

 
That one was taken on an old highway near where we live.
I take an autumn shot there every year and always love to do that due to its canopy.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This one was my favorite.
I loved the way the light looked dreamy at the end of the road...
 
It was a gorgeous day when we went out to take these..
and making images of it, makes our memory of it all the sweeter.
 
 
The instructor and class seemed to like them,
I hope you do, too.....


Sunday, October 14, 2012

A Decision, an Apology and a Promise......

I have come to a very difficult decision.
 
And I have three reasons for that decision.
 
So as not to cause drama, I will get right to it.
 
 
I have decided to discontinue my monthly
FREE PHOTO CONTEST
for now and during 2013 as well.
 
 
It was like my child.
 
But like any family, I had to review how things were going.
 
 
Here are my three reasons:
 
1. Entries have dropped off significantly. Not that the ones entered aren't spectacular. But I need at LEAST ten or more photos each month for the contest to have any meaning. The winners should feel good about winning against several competitors, not just two or three others. I realize a lot of the drop off in entries is because I am not blogging as often (which I hope to improve over this coming winter months, thus the word PROMISE in the title of this post).
 
2. I'd  like to give the winners something of value. I loved having widgets made where the winners could post their winning widget on their blogs for forever bragging rights. Try as I might, I could not find another widget maker for me. If you all know of someone who can do this at a reasonable rate, please send me a message? Because I still hope to do this contest again beginning in 2014, if I can find another designer.
 
 
3. My Judges got worn out. I believe I will need to recruit three SAME permanent Judges, ones that know photography and are willing to Judge the contest every month. I think I can ask someone in my photography club to do this for me, but I need to make sure when I reinstitute the contest that #1 and #2 (above) are in place first. I think that having knowledgeable photographers that are consistent and can give professional reasons why they picked the winners they do will help us amateur photographers improve as we see why each winning photo was chosen.
 
 
***************************************************************************
That being explained, I want to thank each and every one of you that submitted photos into my photography contest faithfully all these months from the bottom of my heart.
 
You have such talent. And? I loved getting your email entries...they made my day as they were entered!
 
 
*******************************************************************
 
Since I did get some entries for the last month's theme of :
"something round",
and we won't be picking a "winner"....
I still want to share them with you as I think they are wonderfully creative and they ALL deserve to win.
 
Thanks to everyone who did enter this one, and I know my readers will love looking at them as much as I did!!



This one was from Margaret Gosden. Her blog is called: "Margaret Gosden 2".






This one is from LindyLouMac. Her blog is called: "News from Italy".
 
 
 
 
 


This is from Arti S. Her blog is called: "My Yatra Diary".






This is from CrazyCris. Her blogs are called: "Here, There and Everywhere" and "Cris Crossing the Globe".


***********************************************************
Weren't they wonderful??????????????!!!!!

I am going to miss this monthly contest...but if all goes right,
LOOK for it to RETURN in 2014
along with new, consistent Judges
AND
widgets for your blog if you win!

Thanks everyone for your understanding of this decision,
and most of all, thanks to each and every one of you that entered photos over the past!!


 
 


REMINDER: All photographs on this blog are COPYRIGHTED.

REMINDER: All photographs on this blog are COPYRIGHTED.
Please do not copy any of my photographs (or narratives) without my permission! All pictures will be tracked for copyright violations.

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About Me

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I retired in June 2008 and started my blog in November 2008. I worked at several jobs as a Registered Nurse prior to retirement. I LOVE being retired! Blogging has offered me a whole new venue to start writing again and to share new hobbies such as gardening, birdwatching and sharing my nature photography. If you like my blog, PLEASE click on "follow this blog". Having a lot of followers reading my blog gives me incentive to continue to do photography and to continue to write. I also LOVE comments, so I encourage you to leave me a comment after you read my posts. Thanks everyone, for taking the time to read me!!

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