350/365 - Green and Gold

It's nice to know that when all else fails, you can always throw everything out of focus and look at the pretty dots of light. ;o)

224/365 - Crepe Myrtle

These white crepe myrtles are finally growing into more of a tree shape and size instead of the shrubby things they've been for years. They still have a very weepy habit, but that's ok. I'm just glad they're finally staring to to look more like trees!

. . . I wonder if the arc of them we planted in the northwestern corner will slowly grow into more treelike shapes, too. . .

178/365 - Bone Bokeh

A tree, through a bone-shaped hole in a circle of construction paper taped over the lens.

177/365 - Starry Tree

I can't remember how exactly I found this technique, but I was very excited to finally understand how people got that neat heart-shaped bokeh in their photos.

Read this article to learn how to make your own custom-shaped bokeh. (It's so wonderfully easy-- practically free-- and fun fun fun!)

There are more photos with unusually shaped bokeh in my Flickr photostream, if you're interested.

117/365 - Lens Reflections

While changing lenses, I noticed all these colorful reflections of the light bulbs overhead.

106/365 - Curled

This sepia-toned selection of dried, curled leaves brought to you by January, the month of dried, curled leaves. ;o)

(It was this, an "atmospheric" photo of backlit weeds, or purposely out-of-focus pines.)

54/365 - Sunset Blur

I feel a little pretentious taking these purposely out-of-focus photos, but I still do enjoy taking and looking at them. I guess it can be excused, so long as I don't start spouting nonsense about the deeper meanings of the colors and their juxtapositions.

"The frantic burst of pale gold surrounded by mottled blue is obviously a symbol of humanity, isolated in a cold and impersonal universe.  However, the lighter field further off hints that perhaps there is something more beyond our current level of knowing.  And then there is the diagonal bar of black, which has no fewer than twenty accepted interpretations. . ." ;o)

No, it's just a pretty (imho) play of light and dark, gold and blue.

52/365 - Dainty

I believe I may have mentioned that I love backlit grasses. ;o)

I decided it was time to go back to the "old" (SLR) camera. The new one is undeniably convenient--  and it takes video, too, which is nice--  but this one's just so much better in most ways.  You have so much more control with it (and I already know how most of it works (g)).  I think I'll be sticking with it for most photos.

50/365 - Christmas Lights

(I've made it to the fifty-day mark!)

We put up our Christmas tree, but it's still not completely decorated. It's pretty even as it is, though. Surprising, how much difference in mood a few strands of Christmas lights can make. . .

(There's something strange here, though. Maybe I need to look into cleaning the lens. . . This was taken with the DSLR. The point-and-shoot is nice, but Donald was right-- the SLR is better. There's really no comparison.)