Well, I tried to get my ideal shot of "Trees" for the current Photo Friday challenge, but the weather didn't cooperate with me. Of course, the one evening with a beautiful sunset (which was what I intended to get) was the one I spent driving the boys to basketball practice. We got there early enough so I could scout the school yard for the perfect tree against the perfect backdrop, but there were too many houses, power lines, etc., cluttering everything.
We went out this afternoon since it was so nice out, but the light wasn't right for what I wanted. And the trees in our neighborhood are too young to get anything majestic.
I'll keep looking and trying for that ideal photo, but since today is the deadline for posting on Trees, I used something from last month at the Dallas Arboretum. You can find it here.
Showing posts with label arboretum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arboretum. Show all posts
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Trees
This challenge made me look at trees in winter in a completely different way. I started noticing the way the early morning and late afternoon light casts the trunks and branches in varying degrees of shadow, which would make a great black & white image. I noticed the range of green shades in the cedar trees. I saw the actual challenge in the challenge.
My ideal picture for this is barren trees against a brilliant sunset, but in the time alloted for this challenge, the conditions haven't been right. I wasn't able to get out with my camera on the few sunny evenings we've had, and the evenings I was free, the weather didn't cooperate. I will eventually get the shot I want, but not right now.
Instead I chose a photo from a beautiful afternoon at the Dallas Arboretum a few days before Christmas.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Bamboo Shoots
When I saw the emptiness of this bamboo stalk, it reminded me of our old yard in Haughton. There was a little grove of bamboo at the edge of our property that grew like wildfire. The first time Billy cut it back, he burned the stalks in the backyard. The heat built up intense pressure in the hollow sections of the bamboo and caused them to explode, which sounded like gunfire.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Dallas Blooms 2010
Well, after living here for over 6 years, I finally made it out to the Dallas Arboretum for the annual Dallas Blooms festival. Mere words cannot convey how gorgeous it was out there, so I've decided to showcase some of my best photos from the day in a slide show.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Spring Break Play List
The boys will be spending next week with Billy's parents, and I've been busy getting lots of housework done so I can spend the week playing instead of cleaning. Here's what I hope to get accomplished:
1. Get my hair trimmed. It's been probably 7 or 8 months since I had a trim!
2. Color my hair. Shall I stick with Chocolate Peanut Butter or should I go with something a little different? I'm thinking something different if I can work up my nerve...
3. Shop for beads. I haven't been to some of my favorite bead shops in a while. I'd like to see what they've got in stock for the new "season". Some of the shops bring in new items for the spring/summer, but a few others just carry the same thing all the time. I might even make it out to a new bead shop or two that I've heard about.
4. Browse the jewelry design books at Borders. I haven't done this in several months. I might even buy one if it has several good project ideas. Plus, I have a 30% off coupon that's valid through Monday.
5. Go to the Dallas Blooms festival at the Arboretum. I've never been and I'm determined not to miss out this year. There are supposed to be countless varieties of flowers in bloom. I'll be sure to have my camera batteries fully charged! I plan on staying a while and taking tons of pictures.
6. Have lunch with Billy at Ali Baba. He keeps telling me how delicious the food is, and I've yet to be able to go with him. I made a point of telling him I want to do that next week. I'm looking forward to some roasted cauliflower...
7. Go to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra! I saw a notice on Facebook the other day that DTS had some free tickets available for next Friday night. Billy was able to get us some, so we'll be hearing Mozart and Handel that evening. I can't wait!
8. Go see Alice in Wonderland. I've been wanting to see this ever since I saw the first news clip about it. A few of my friends have seen it and said it's great, and I've read that it's already broken some records. Any Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration has to be great!
9. Hit some golf balls. It's been almost a year since Billy and I got out to hit a bucket of golf balls, and I'm more than ready to hit some more.
10. Go to the zoo. Yes, I know, the boys and I just went to the zoo on Tuesday. But I want to go with my camera and Billy's zoom lens and spend all the time I want at some of my favorite exhibits, waiting patiently for those perfect shots. My hope is to get some great pics of the gorillas.
11. Get my last few months of photos renamed and organized in iPhoto. I haven't done that since November, I believe. Ugh! I keep telling myself I'll be better about it, but then I get busy with other things. When I finally do think about it, I don't have the time. I need to set aside some time each month to get caught up on that. Oh, and I need to download the boys' photos off their cameras, too. Billy and I scrolled through them just to see what was there, and Caleb seems to have a pretty good eye!
12. Get curtains put up in the boys' bedroom and the master bathroom. I finally found some curtains I like for the boys room. They're striped and match the colors flowing through the rest of the house - and they look masculine. I'm still not decided on curtains for the master bathroom, though. I may just go with the same ones that are hanging over my kitchen sink...
13. Explore the small towns around me, with my camera in hand, of course. This is something I want to do with Billy, though. I'm not sure yet if he's planned to take a day or two off, but if he does, this is high on my list. It's not something I feel I can do with the boys, though they might enjoy it. The main issue there is them getting bored while I'm trying to take pictures; but if they had their cameras with them, too, it might not be too bad...
------------------------- I'm sure more things will come to mind - certainly more than I'll actually have time to do. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to add it! I wonder what I'll actually get done...
-------------------------
14. Get an oil change and a car wash.
15. Organize my jewelry-making supplies. A while back I cleaned out a stand of drawers where I kept my Pampered Chef paperwork, supplies, etc. My intention was to store my jewelry supplies there: completed projects, bags and tags, wire, beads, etc., but I never got around to doing it.
------------------------- Update: Jacob started running a high fever on Saturday, so their spring break trip has been postponed until next week. The only thing on my list that I won't be able to do next week is attend the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Maybe next time things will work out...
-------------------------
16. Check out the new Aldi grocery store. The prices are supposed to be even lower than Wal-Mart's - but you have to take your own grocery bags and "rent" a cart for a quarter (which you do get back).
17. Go to the dentist for my semi-annual cleaning. This was supposed to have happened back in January, but I was sick and had to reschedule for March 3. Then I had to reschedule that appointment for April 27 - but I told them to call me if they had something come open during my free week. I just got called yesterday for an opening next Wednesday morning. I'll be so glad to get this out of the way!
18. Buy some new lipstick. That probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but there's a Merle Norman shade I used that I loved. When I ran out, I thought I could get something comparable from Wal-Mart. Not happening. I've tried a few different shades, but nothing comes close. I have some other shades I like, but nothing beats Rich Raisin. I need to find out where the closest Merle Norman store is so I can get another tube!
1. Get my hair trimmed. It's been probably 7 or 8 months since I had a trim!
2. Color my hair. Shall I stick with Chocolate Peanut Butter or should I go with something a little different? I'm thinking something different if I can work up my nerve...
3. Shop for beads. I haven't been to some of my favorite bead shops in a while. I'd like to see what they've got in stock for the new "season". Some of the shops bring in new items for the spring/summer, but a few others just carry the same thing all the time. I might even make it out to a new bead shop or two that I've heard about.
4. Browse the jewelry design books at Borders. I haven't done this in several months. I might even buy one if it has several good project ideas. Plus, I have a 30% off coupon that's valid through Monday.
5. Go to the Dallas Blooms festival at the Arboretum. I've never been and I'm determined not to miss out this year. There are supposed to be countless varieties of flowers in bloom. I'll be sure to have my camera batteries fully charged! I plan on staying a while and taking tons of pictures.
6. Have lunch with Billy at Ali Baba. He keeps telling me how delicious the food is, and I've yet to be able to go with him. I made a point of telling him I want to do that next week. I'm looking forward to some roasted cauliflower...
8. Go see Alice in Wonderland. I've been wanting to see this ever since I saw the first news clip about it. A few of my friends have seen it and said it's great, and I've read that it's already broken some records. Any Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration has to be great!
9. Hit some golf balls. It's been almost a year since Billy and I got out to hit a bucket of golf balls, and I'm more than ready to hit some more.
10. Go to the zoo. Yes, I know, the boys and I just went to the zoo on Tuesday. But I want to go with my camera and Billy's zoom lens and spend all the time I want at some of my favorite exhibits, waiting patiently for those perfect shots. My hope is to get some great pics of the gorillas.
11. Get my last few months of photos renamed and organized in iPhoto. I haven't done that since November, I believe. Ugh! I keep telling myself I'll be better about it, but then I get busy with other things. When I finally do think about it, I don't have the time. I need to set aside some time each month to get caught up on that. Oh, and I need to download the boys' photos off their cameras, too. Billy and I scrolled through them just to see what was there, and Caleb seems to have a pretty good eye!
12. Get curtains put up in the boys' bedroom and the master bathroom. I finally found some curtains I like for the boys room. They're striped and match the colors flowing through the rest of the house - and they look masculine. I'm still not decided on curtains for the master bathroom, though. I may just go with the same ones that are hanging over my kitchen sink...
13. Explore the small towns around me, with my camera in hand, of course. This is something I want to do with Billy, though. I'm not sure yet if he's planned to take a day or two off, but if he does, this is high on my list. It's not something I feel I can do with the boys, though they might enjoy it. The main issue there is them getting bored while I'm trying to take pictures; but if they had their cameras with them, too, it might not be too bad...
14. Get an oil change and a car wash.
15. Organize my jewelry-making supplies. A while back I cleaned out a stand of drawers where I kept my Pampered Chef paperwork, supplies, etc. My intention was to store my jewelry supplies there: completed projects, bags and tags, wire, beads, etc., but I never got around to doing it.
16. Check out the new Aldi grocery store. The prices are supposed to be even lower than Wal-Mart's - but you have to take your own grocery bags and "rent" a cart for a quarter (which you do get back).
17. Go to the dentist for my semi-annual cleaning. This was supposed to have happened back in January, but I was sick and had to reschedule for March 3. Then I had to reschedule that appointment for April 27 - but I told them to call me if they had something come open during my free week. I just got called yesterday for an opening next Wednesday morning. I'll be so glad to get this out of the way!
18. Buy some new lipstick. That probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but there's a Merle Norman shade I used that I loved. When I ran out, I thought I could get something comparable from Wal-Mart. Not happening. I've tried a few different shades, but nothing comes close. I have some other shades I like, but nothing beats Rich Raisin. I need to find out where the closest Merle Norman store is so I can get another tube!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Nature
Several posts back, I mentioned that I wanted to do more with my photography. One of my goals was to participate more regularly in Photo Friday, but I just didn't make the time to sort through my pictures or go take any that fit each week's theme. Now I'm ready! I would like to catch up with the older assignments from this year, so I'll work on that soon.
This is one of my favorite flower photos from the Dallas Arboretum, taken last summer when I had a chance to go by myself and take my own sweet time doing whatever I felt like doing.
The bright, warm colors match my bedroom, so soon I'm going to have this printed poster size so I can frame it and hang it above my bed.
This is one of my favorite flower photos from the Dallas Arboretum, taken last summer when I had a chance to go by myself and take my own sweet time doing whatever I felt like doing.
The bright, warm colors match my bedroom, so soon I'm going to have this printed poster size so I can frame it and hang it above my bed.
Friday, September 18, 2009
More Plants
I had a hard time choosing just one plant photo for this week's Photo Friday assignment. Here are my other favorites.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Benches
The second photography assignment I gave myself at the Arboretum was benches. There are benches everywhere, and I know I would've gotten several more shots if we had ventured farther than we did. But we were limited on time and Jacob's first stop had to be the Texas Discovery Gardens. No water walls for me...
I took one picture that I thought would be near perfect, but I forgot to check my settings - and check the image right after I took it. It was too dark. I'll play around with Photoshop and see if I can salvage it. Otherwise, I'll have to find it again next time we visit.
I took one picture that I thought would be near perfect, but I forgot to check my settings - and check the image right after I took it. It was too dark. I'll play around with Photoshop and see if I can salvage it. Otherwise, I'll have to find it again next time we visit.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Circles
My friend Laura is a great photographer and has inspired me to take better photos. While reading her blog one day, I came across a link to a photography site about giving yourself a photography assignment when you go somewhere for the umpteenth time. We go to the zoo and the Arboretum frequently, but how many pictures can you take of the same thing? I was inspired!
Jacob and I went to the Arboretum yesterday and I was excited to take on my assignment of photographing circles, the idea suggested in the blog article I had read. Here are a some of the circles I found.
Hydrangeas are almost circular...
While I was there, I found something else to serve as a photography assignment. Those are coming soon... :o)
Jacob and I went to the Arboretum yesterday and I was excited to take on my assignment of photographing circles, the idea suggested in the blog article I had read. Here are a some of the circles I found.
Hydrangeas are almost circular...
While I was there, I found something else to serve as a photography assignment. Those are coming soon... :o)
Metal
This is one of the shots from my Circles photo assignment.
See more "Metal" at Photo Friday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)