Around the Farm

I spent some time today taking pictures around the farm. I am posting quite a few pictures today. My goal is to only post pictures that were taken that day. Because of that, there will be days that I post lots of pictures and other days when I only post one. I am considering posting each picture separately from now on; that way each image will have it's own link. However, I would probably post pictures in a series in one post. I am also considering creating a split post where the picture and title will be displayed, but you would need to click on it to read any additional information about the picture. I think this will create a cleaner blog. Please let me know what you think about these ideas.

Wheels on Ice

Cauldrons of Sleet

Evergreen Winter

Twin Silos

Hide and Seek

Sledding

Here are some black and whites of cattle. I always really like farm animals in black and white. It gives them some sense of majesty in my opinion.

Larger Picture Size

Due to the traffic coming from Our Blogger Templates, I have decided to add a few pictures to this post so that people coming strait to this post can see my work as well as an example of the larger picture size that I use on my photoblog. Please feel free to look around, and don't forget to stop back by! I have also added a new post on exactly what I've done to adjust for these larger sizes. You can see that here.

Original Post
I have finally found a relatively easy way to upload larger pictures. This one only has a few steps instead of five steps like most tutorials. I hope you like the new format. I am not planning on changing all old posts, but will be posting larger photos from now on.

Here is the link to Our Blogger Templates where I found the tutorial... just in case you need it.

Forgotten

I can't quite remember when this birdhouse fell or was taken down, but it has just been left leaning against the tree.




These are my niece and nephews' sandbox toys. There is no real sandbox, just a sand pile, and since it is completely covered with sleet, these toys just looked abandoned because of the weather. I love the bright colors against the white sleet.

A Winter Walk Through The Woods

Buds in Ice


Forgotten Deer Stand



I loved this hollow log and the textures it had. I took pictures of various logs, but this was by far my favorite.



I was lucky to come across these berries in ice. There are not many berry producing bushes in the woods around my house.


For the story about my trip through the woods, go to my my blog, Living Single In Small Town America.

More Winter Wonderland

I decided to add a few more shots that were taken today. Taking pictures of snow and ice is one of my favorite things to do. I hope you enjoy these.


A look out over the countryside.



Here's another shot of the sun coming up over the trees. I really do live in a beautiful part of the world, and I am lucky that I can take pictures like this from my front porch...literally.



One lone country road...This is the view looking down the road that leads to my house. I love the ice and snow on the cedar trees. I would love to get out and take some shots around the countryside, but I do not have a four-wheel drive vehicle anymore and am not ready to brave the bad roads just yet. I may put on some winter gear tomorrow and attempt to walk around the house and through the woods some if the sun is out and it looks like I might be able to get a few good shots.

Winter Diamonds

I loved the way the ice had collected on the barb wire fence and took several shots. I finally decided a shot angled down the fence line was the way to go. I took several shots with the camera lens focused on different places along the fence. This was my favorite.

I took this picture shortly after the sun rose over the trees. I like how the sun is glinting off of the ice on the tree limbs.

I have been wanting to post pictures since yesterday, but couldn't due to my internet being down because of the winter storm. I have satellite internet and the weather interfered with my internet connection.

Sunny Days and Sooty Hands

This is an old milk container that I have sitting outside my house. I'm pretty sure I still had the micro setting on the camera and that is why only the container is in focus. I wish I had taken some with the grass more in focus to see which I liked better.

I used a sepia tone on this photo of a simple outdoor water hydrant. I am always amazed at how simple everyday things can look through a camera lens.

My (almost 3-year-old) nephew had been "helping" his dad and grandfather do some construction. I think he had been playing in the nails and that's how his hands became so dirty. I also think this would look good as a black-n-white and may try that as well.

Fauxtique

Once again I had to figure out what to take a picture of because outside was not an option (it's overcast today). This is actually great because it is making me focus and be more creative. I like the outcome of this photo. It is just a 3 drawer storage unit that hangs in my bathroom, but I think it looks pretty nice in this photo.

I used the micro setting on my Nikon as well as my shoe-mounted flash. Without that flash, I wouldn't have been able to get this picture. The shoe-mounted flash allows me to direct the flash away from the subject so it is not washed out by the flash.

Various "Old" Photos

My mother has about 50 hummingbirds that she feeds every summer. She asked me to take a few pictures and I managed to get a few really good close ups.

This is some zebra grass in my back yard.

I just love my niece and nephews, and think they make great subjects for my photos. As much as I would love to share more pictures of them, I do not feel comfortable posting pictures where people can see their faces. There are a couple of reasons... first, they are not my kids and I don't think it is up to me to decide if their pictures are posted on the World Wide Web (and I'm not sure my brother or sister-in-law would be comfortable with it). Second, I have no idea who all might see these and am uncomfortable with the idea that some skeevy pedophile could have access to the photos.

I love this shot of The Niece running. It's not very often that I can get candids of the kids because they love to have their picture taken.

This is a shot of my dad on the combine in the field below my house. I shot this through some tree branches.

Spiral lights

This is a close up photo of one of the lamps in my house. I think the pink plastic circles against the spiral shaped bulb make for an interesting photo.

I find it a lot harder to find good subject matter inside my house than I do outside, but it was dark when I arrived home today. I may have to start taking my Nikon to work so I have a chance for a variety of shots; I just don't relish having to lug around the big bag in which I carry my Nikon and all its equipment.

Abandoned

I took this shot of an abandoned birdhouse right around sunset. I had a few others that I had taken about 15 minutes earlier, but I liked the effect the sunset had on the contrast of this photo better.

Tip: Always try to keep in mind the Rule of Thirds when you take a photo. Split the image that you see in a grid of 9 squares (3x3). Try to keep that grid in mind as you manipulate where you want the subject(s) to be placed within your shot. If you notice, on this photo, I have the birdhouse in the right 2/3rd of the picture and the barbed-wire fence is in the bottom third. Keeping the Rule of Thirds in mind helps make your photos more interesting and can also frame your subjects.

American Pride

I thought that considering today was Inauguration Day, I should take a picture of something patriotic. I did a little Photoshop work on it to make the flag stand out. I also had to flip the picture because the wind was blowing the flag the wrong way and I needed the light to come from behind the flag.

Little Feet

This is a photo of my niece while swinging; she loves to swing.

A New Idea...A New Blog

I am setting up a new challenge for myself. I have decided to work on my photography skills by creating a photoblog. I thought about posting photos on my main blog site, Living Single in Small Town America. However, I decided that I wouldn't feel compelled to post as often, or to work on the quality of my photos. I use to be a photographer, not professional, but I took classes in college and loved to take artistic shots. Since the age of digital photography, I have quit working on the artistic for the most part. Of course, a huge stumbling block to my artistic side came in the form of my niece and nephews. I love taking pictures of them and they are great subjects; I even manage to get some artistic shots of them.

Now I am going to challenge myself to take pictures everyday and post at least one of those shots. Someone I know posted a photo everyday for a thousand days...I'm not sure I am up to that task, however, I would like to get in 4 or 5 photos a week. Sometimes I might even post an old photo; I have several that I would like to share, but I will always let you know that it is an old photograph.

I hope that my talents will improve as time goes on, and that you will keep coming back for more.