Spring Tulip

I love Spring. I love when the earth is coming alive and everything is in bloom!

These tulips were so beautiful...I had to snap a pic! Spring never lasts long enough, so I enjoy it as much as possible.

Trumpet Flower Fairy

As I was out in the garden watering this morning I saw that my Trumpet Flowers were still open. They open up at night time and they are often closed by the time I'm out watering. But it was quite cool over night so they must have been responding to the cooler weather. So I decided to snap a few photos while I was out there.

I took these pics with my iPhone. The pics are always better on my digital camera, but I thought these came out pretty well. I got as close as I could to these flowers, which are quite large.

There is something really beautiful about trumpet flowers. I love how the petals curl up at the ends.

Every once in awhile it's nice to see a black and white photo too.

For this one I think I spy a friendly little fairy visitor enjoying the trumpet flowers as well. ;)

Sunnyflowers

One of the things I love best about summer (since I don't like the heat--or the fact that my A/C has been on for a month and a half!) is the beautiful flowers I see all the time. I saw this beautiful sunflower outside of a restaurant recently.

You have to find the beauty in the little things all around you every day. Am I right?!

Hope you find some beauty in your day too.

For the Birds

I've just been having so many great wildlife encounters this week, I feel like Snow White or Cinderella. Now if i could just get these little critters to do some housework for me. :)

This little bird was out by my door, chirping and chirping and chirping this morning. I opened the door to see him sitting there and chirping away. We had a nest in one of our trees so I'm thinking he may have come out of there. I hurried to get my camera so I could snap some pics.

He sat there and posed quite still for me, long enough for me to get a few digital photos. This one was the best. I went to get my phone to get a few pics on there too, but when I got back he got spooked and flew away. I'm glad I got this shot though. Such a pretty little bird. 

Here's to capturing even more nature over the summer. 

I Spy a Fox

The Hubs and I didn't just see Barns when we went on our Sunday drive over the weekend. We also saw something I've never seen in the 29 years that I've lived in northwest Ohio: a Fox! He was on my right, out in a field, when the Hubs and I both saw him at the same time. So we slowed down and then pulled off the road in order to get a better look. The fox was heading toward the road, seeming to want to cross the street. I took a few photos as he wandered along. Then he sat down in the field and just looked at me, with the sun setting behind him.

He sat there for a little bit just looking at me, until he finally got up the courage to cross the road. He sure was beautiful. And it was so neat to see a Fox that close up, and one that didn't seem to mind having his picture taken either. 

I wish I always had that kind of luck when I have my camera with me, especially considering that this part of Ohio is really not very scenic. But hey, I'll take what I can get. Hopefully I find even more wonderful things to photograph this summer.

For the Love of Barns Digital Photos

The Hubs and I went out for a drive over the weekend, and I decided to take along my camera. I tend to do that, even though there's not always a lot to see in northwest Ohio (it's kind of flat and boring here, folks). But I got lucky this time when we happened upon some old barns as the sun was going down, so I hopped out of the car and snapped a couple of digital photos.

There were two barns, both on the same property. I took the color photos but also decided to transform them into black and white too, to see how I liked them. I actually love them both ways, but I think the black and white has a slight lead for me. Though I love the sunset glow that hits both of the barns just right. :)

So tell me what you think. Which pictures are your favorites? The Color? Or the Black and White? I'd love to hear from you.

Photography Moments

I was out and about for a drive over the weekend with the Hubs and I decided to snap a few photos. Then when I got home I decided to add some digital magic to them. So I thought I'd share them with you.

I'm looking forward to the temps getting more spring-like so that random weekend drives will be more frequent. Let the flowers bloom, Mother Nature. I'm totally ready for Spring!

Lilies at the Farm

The Hubs and I bought an old house on an old "farm" recently, which we intend to remodel (it needs it from top to bottom) and move into within the next few years. We put our camper out there in the mean time as a little getaway place, and we like to just hang out there sometime for peace and quiet.

What's been really fun for me though is discovering all the nature and wildlife that's out there. There are frequently deer and wild turkeys running in the fields behind our property; that area is owned by a farmer who has crops growing there. On our property though I discovered lots of different flowers at various times over the spring and summer. One of my favorites were the lilies that were growing right next to the old grainery building that will one day become my studio. I snapped a couple of photos of the lilies and thought I'd share one with you.

Aren't they pretty? We have some other lilies that grew out there too, along with some other things...and lots of wild daisies. My mom would have loved those, as daisies were her favorite flowers. I like to pretend that she makes them grow there for me...or at the very least, that she's with me when I'm walking around enjoying them. 

Flowers always make me smile. They're like a free little gift every time I visit the farm. Can't wait til I can move out there and plant a garden and just enjoy all the nature every day.

Happy Birthday, Michael!

In honor of Michael Jackson's birthday (he would have been 53 today), I created something special to add to my growing collection of Digital Collages. I will post that photo below this excerpt from one of Michael's books, Dancing the Dream. So this is Michael, in his own words.

“Consciousness expresses itself through creation.
This world we live in is the dance of the creator.
Dancers come and go in the twinkling of an eye but the dance lives on.

On many an occasion when I’m dancing, I’ve felt touched by something sacred.
In those moments, I’ve felt my spirit soar and become one with everything that exists.

I become the stars and the moon. I become the lover and the beloved.
I become the victor and the vanquished.
I become the master and the slave. I become the singer and the song.
I become the knower and the known.

I keep on dancing and then, it is the eternal dance of creation.
The creator and creation merge into one wholeness of joy.

I keep on dancing… and dancing, until there is only… the dance.”

Michael Jackson, Dancing the Dream

The photos are from one of my favorite photoshoots for Vanity Fair magazine. They were taken by one of my favorite photographers, Annie Leibovitz. I hope you like this little piece of digital Michael Jackson Art. :)

Elvis Jumpsuit Sketch

I wanted to add Elvis to My Digital Sketchbook and since the anniversary of his death was last week, I was thinking about him anyway. So I created this digital art in honor of the one and only King of Rock and Roll!

It's a classic 70's Elvis, in a beautiful blue jumpsuit. This is the kind of image that comes to mind whenever I think of the 70's era Elvis. The King may be gone, but his music and memory live on!

Timeless Beauty Digital Collage

Time for another great challenge at the Collage Obsession blog. The challenge theme is, Time. So I've entered another one of my Digital Collages for this challenge.

I started with one of my own digital photographs of a full moon that I took over the winter. I edited it quite a bit to enhance the colors and clean up the image--because it's a challenge to get a good photo of a full moon! I added a clock image to the moon, a beautiful lady image by Leonardo da Vinci,  and then all the additional graphic elements to embellish the collage and try to match its theme. I really love how it turned out.

I Do Believe in Fairies

I'm sure it's fairly clear by now that I love taking pictures of my granddaughter. I also have a thing for fairies. And it must be equally clear that I'm rather obsessed with digital photos and digital art right now. So please forgive me if I post another digital image creation of my granddaughter. Or should I say, the fairy who looks just like her...

I absolutely love how this turned out.  My husband even requested a printed version of it. Believe me, THAT is a compliment. And somehow I think there are more fairy photos in my future. ;)