Day 118- Macro Magnolia

I've felt very rushed for shots this week. School always becomes a bit frenetic this time of year, what with end-of-year assessments, performances, field days, Step Up Day, etc. I shot this same magnolia last spring, but I hadn't purchased my macro lens yet. A new take on a previous shot!

Day 117- Sand Dollar

Spent last weekend cleaning out at my mom's second (and now only) house. Lots more stuff in this attic to rummage through. One fun find was a collection of sand dollars, likely over 40 years old. I processed this shot in PSE9 with an effect called Fresco.

Day 116- Almost...

My classroom's Journey North tulip garden is almost ready to boast its first bloom! Any day now!

Day 115- Rain on Rhododendron

It's raining again. On the lookout for ways to use rain to my advantage! Still loving this Lomo camera effect!

Day 114- Easter Tulips

Brought these tulips to Easter dinner at my mom's.

Day 113- Columns

Here's another shot from this week's Quebec trip. These are some columns outside the Basilica St. Anne de Beaupre. The exterior architecture was just as beautiful as the interior.

Day 112- Hotel du Parlement de Quebec

Plenty more shots from our trip earlier this week to Quebec. This is a portion of the Hotel du Parlement de Quebec. The architecture is grand, and the Quebec flag was blowing in a stiff wind that day! However, not a cloud in the sky!

Day 111- Underwater Floral

Today's Daily Shoot- #ds522 Make a photograph that features water today. I have lots more photos to share from our trip to Quebec, so I'll be posting them in the coming days. This was shot in one of the Aquarium du Quebec's tanks. It looked just like an underwater flower blowing back and forth in the breeze!

Day 110- Is This April?

We traveled back home via a different route. Granted it was chilly in Quebec, but after overnight freezing rain across the border, it seemed more like January!

Day 109- Aquarium

Day #2 in Quebec- after touring the old city and the Citadelle, my daughter's choice of activity was visiting the Aquarium du Quebec. Part of the main building features a salt water tank that you can walk underneath! Very cool!

Day 108- Basilica

So my family and I have been away for a few days- off for a short vacation in Quebec. (Had my Quebec blogger-buddies in mind while there!) First stop- Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. This was my fourth trip to Quebec, and I come here every time. I am not Catholic, but I just find this building to be so calming and peaceful. The architecture is amazing!

P.S: Sarah- I totally agree- my original was pretty dark. However honestly, that's how dark it really was in there. But in order to help others fully appreciate the beauty of the basilica, I've gone into PSE9 and lightened it more. Hopefully this helps.

Day 107- What Is It?

For those who like mysteries, any idea what this is?

Day 106- Dreaming of Crocus

For those of you who commented that there was no such thing as too many crocus shots, here's one more... this time likely the last of the year. I didn't plan on the dreamy quality of the shot, but I like it.

Day 105- Cratered

I shot something similar to this last year, except that that rock was easily 3 times the size of this piece of granite. And then there's the weird cratered quality of this one. Found it out in the driveway. Can't quite figure out what might have made those indentations!

Day 104- Daffodil

The daffodils are up!

Day 103- Student Driver

My daughter passed driver's education last fall. But now comes the formidable task of mastering a standard shift car! And it's not been quick and easy, but then again was it for any of us when we learned? I mused one day that in respect to the other driver's on the road, I wish we had a magnetic sign that would alert other drivers to the fact that she might roll on a hill, etc. My husband assured me one could buy such a thing on eBay. And what do you know?!? By the way, practiced a bit with PSE9 and the magic wand to select everything but the magnets, to which I added an effect called Watercolor.

Day 102- I Am the Eggman

Our 17 year-old son is a fan of eggs. He'll cook them just about any time of day and/or night as a meal and/or snack! I prefer the cardboard egg cartons as they're easier to recycle. These styrofoam cartons are a dilemma for me after they've been emptied. Does anyone have any creative uses for these cartons?

Day 101- Magnolia Buds

The magnolia bush at school has lots of fuzzy buds. Tried a view into the sun and added the PSE9 Lomo camera effect. Very funky, that's for sure!

Day 100- Got Crocus?

Yes, it's another crocus shot! But they will so soon be gone. Trying to capture as many images of them as possible while I can. Tulips and daffodils... get ready!

Day 99- Feather

We found this feather on our lawn yesterday. Looked like it had been broken off. Not sure if this belonged to an owl or a hawk, although I'm hoping it wasn't as a result of a tussle in our dooryard. Beautiful colors, though!

Day 98- Grid

Today's Daily Shoot- #ds509- Make a photograph that features a grid of some sort today.

Day 97- Tennis Bench

Dropped my daughter at school yesterday morning, hoping to be inspired by something. As I was driving off, I spied the tennis courts, where she's started another season playing. This poor bench looked cold, neglected, and in need of some attention.

Day 96- Shiny

Today's Daily Shoot- #ds507- Make a photograph of something shiny today.

Day 95- More Crocus

Couldn't resist a few more macro shots of my crocuses. Loved the way they were covered in raindrops this morning! Spring might actually be here!

Day 94- First Crocus

Yes, I know I've already posted the crocuses at school. But until they show up in my garden bed, they aren't half as relevant!

Day 93- Creepy Crawly

Out on a walk yesterday, I spotted this iridescent brown beetle walking along the snow in our driveway. It was about 2-1/2" (6 cm.) long. I've never seen one of these before, but I'm thinking it's a wood borer of some type. It was trudging quite slowly in the snow. Perhaps last week's warmer temperatures had faked it out before the snow on Friday? I searched online for quite a while, but can't figure out what he is. (I'm HOPING not invasive!) Any ideas?

Day 92- Sell By...

...ah, I guess today! :)

Day 91- One Last Shot...

We had an April Fool's Day snowstorm today. As much as I hated seeing yet more white stuff fall from the sky, I decided to try for one last snowflake shot. It was really coming down, and I found (after peering through the macro lens) that the reason it looked like giant flakes falling, was that it was really a conglomeration of multiple flakes stuck together. Decided to try and add some spring color to this shot. I am not happy with how it came out, but I have decided that flakes with a heavy water content are not the most cooperative for shooting!

Day 90- Perfect Banana

Now this is my idea of a perfect banana! A little green on the ends, with lots of yellow and no brown spots. How do you like yours?