Last Ode To Roses?

Maybe not yet...!

I was out trying to take a few photos of those colourful maple leaves when I was attracted by these roses. Several large bushes of roses still displaying their beauty despite the cold and rainy weather of the last days and some of them still ready to bloom!

I decided to let them have the stage today to honour their beauty and stamina, wishing you a wonderful Thursday!

Creative Exchange

This is my submission for Lisa's Creative Exchange. It started yesterday and you should really go and have a look - it's fun!

For this photo I used a texture from Flypaper Textures and played around a bit with my Photoshop Elements 6. I'm not so experienced with that software and normally I rather like to spend my time taking pictures than editing photos on the computer (or rather learning how to handle PSE...). But today I wanted to create something special for the Creative Exchange and it was raining anyway, so I didn't miss much outside. I enjoyed playing around with the photo and hope you like the result, too.

Have a wonderful Wednesday and enjoy your creativity!

A Little Step

Yesterday I had my "in search of my picture of the day" walk. As the sun came out between the clouds now and  again, I decided to have a look whether some of the flowers I usually see on my way wanted to be photographed.

But then, at a crossroads where I usually turn right, something bright red on my left side caught my eyes! I turned left to take a closer look, when suddenly something orange twinkled out of the green at my feet. And there I found those - I don't know their correct names, I just call them "orange lanterns"! I love those lanterns and didn't even know they were there. And I still wouldn't, if I had walked my usual way. That really taught me to walk with open eyes and leave the proverbial trodden path now and then...

I wish you a wonderful Tuesday with a few surprises at your hand (or at your feet)!

P.S. Thank you all so much for your nice and encouraging comments! I'm sorry I couldn't post or comment your blogs the last days as I was having trouble with Blogger. I'll try to catch up!

After The Storm

Yesterday we had a fierce thunderstorm that put an end to a few really lovely sunny days and destroyed some of our flowers on the balcony. In return, however, the storm left something I was delighted to find today! To me, chestnuts are a beautiful signal for autumn and I must admit that I'm a collector...

Have a wonderful weekend with something beautiful around!

Tumultuous Days

The last days were tumultuous to say the least and while I found a little solace in the soothing green yesterday, it is this sunflower today. 

A friend brought it by today to cheer my husband and me up. I was so touched by this gesture that I decided to show you this flower in all its beauty. I intended to take a macro of it for Macro Friday (as Macro Friday was so much fun last week) but all my shots were absolutely disappointing - blurred in a very unattractive way despite using my tripod! However, I had set my mind on shooting this flower today and couldn't find an apt substitute. And although I'm not totally satisfied with my photo today I wanted to post it as a "thank you" to our friend. I cropped it a little bit on the right side and touched it up a bit with a texture to give its beauty credit that somehow doesn't show in the picture as I wanted it to.

I wish you a happy weekend and always a good friend at your side.

Wordless - Almost

Today only my photo of the day for the 365 Project. Thank you all so much for visiting!

See you tomorrow with a few more words!

Couldn't Resist

Do you know that urge that you have to take a photo of something whenever you see it, no matter how many pictures you have already taken of it?

Well, I do...! I don't know how many photos I already have of that flower but I can't resist to view it closely whenever I come across one of its kind, bend down, circle it, try new angles and take a few photos of it.

I wish you a wonderful day with the subject of your desire in front of your eyes or your lens.

Almost Early Morning

I must admit I'm not really a morning person... but I've seen so many beautiful early morning shots that I decided to give it a try.

Today I had the opportunity to start this sunny day with an early morning walk and I did it!!! I learned that it was still not early enough to shoot something like this but I enjoyed the walk so much! My decision is made: this was not the last early morning walk...

Autumn? Not Yet...

Really - I was over it, done with summer, that somehow only existed on the calendar...
I went out today to shoot autumn and then this caught my eyes... and I decided to give a last tribute to summer!

I wish you a happy Monday with a hint of summer still in it.

Bittersweet Day

The last 6 months my husband had been training with an admirable enthusiasm - his goal: to participate at a triathlon that took place yesterday. He was in a really good shape and so looking forward to the event... and then he caught a very bad cold. He had hoped up to the last day but unfortunately it was not possible for him to start.

I think you can imagine his disappointment! We went there, anyway, to cheer on the team he was training with. He put all his energy in waving and clapping and shouting. Everyone of this team finished and the team spirit was fantastic.

Today, his cold is much worse than yesterday, but he just said to me that it was worth it. And guess what - he's already making plans about a triathlon next year...

Macro Friday

It was really difficult today - nothing I got in front of my camera turned out satisfying and I was really at a loss what to capture. Then I read about Macro Friday at Justine's and Lisa's blog and decided to give it a go.

Due to, hm, let's call it "unfavourable weather conditions" I was confined to shoot inside using my tripod (which I absolutely dread!!!) and after several unsuccessful attempts in my kitchen I decided on taking photos of my box of felt-tip pens.

Have a colourful weekend!

Time

As I'm  bit pressed for time at the moment I just hopped in to show you today's photo for the 365 project. I'll catch up reading all your blogs and answering all your nice comments - promise!

I wish you stress-free days!

Flowers

A few months ago, someone asked me what my photographic preferences were. My spontaneous answer was architecture... I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have expected that, and I wonder myself when looking at all the pictures I took since the start of my 365 project and during August Break...!

I don't know whether that's due to pure laziness (it took me just a step out on my balcony to get the above) or a longing for colour during this year's rainy summer but I captured a few...

Have a colourful Wednesday and a few flowers to brighten your day!

Photo of The Day

Today's photo for the 365 project - I can't believe it, but it really looks like the end of summer...

A little "Hello"

As this wet and cold Monday still sees me on my couch with tea and medication I decided to just post a picture that reminds me of a warm and sunny day!

Thanks so much for all you good wishes! Have a wonderful Monday!

Hot Lemon

The wind, the cold temperatures - I don't know what's exactly to blame, but I'm down with a flu...

At least yesterday's splitting headache hasn't come back yet and I use this opportunity to just drop a short note and catch up on reading my favourite blogs and visiting ABC (I really missed that yesterday!), while drinking hot lemon as a variety to the litres of tea I'm having.

I wish you a nice day and hope you are well!

Enjoying The Sun

This morning, the sun was shining and I went out as soon as possible to catch a few rays. After those days and weeks of rain it feels like a waste of time to be indoors when the sun finally decides to peep out from behind the clouds! Obviously, I wasn't the only one who was enjoying...

I hope you enjoy your day, too!

Change of Plans

Today, I planned on taking macros of flowers. I saw it all in my mind, knew exactly, where I would head - there is a spot where still a few roses are giving their best and a few other flowers had survived the rain. I even thought about submitting a photo to Lisa Chaos's Macro Monday, which I had read about in Justine's blog.

BUT... there's a stormy wind today, no chance to get even one decent shot of the flowers. So there I was, disappointed, looking for something not so wind-blown and it took a long walk in that cold wind until I found it. It is a photo of a flower all the same, but one not waving vehemently in the wind but floating gently in the water.

Have a happy Monday and maybe an alternative for your plans up your sleeve!

Morning walk

Since August Break I almost never leave the house without my camera. This has reduced my walking speed and distance pretty much but I feel I‘m working on my strechting and crouching competencies in return. ;-)
And I see a lot of things I otherwise might have missed.

Hope you see pretty things on your Sunday!

Rain again

For today, the weather forecast had promised sun with a few showers, and then it was POURING! 

Yes, I admit it - I‘m moaning... complaining about the rain! I was exasperated and eyed my surroundings (indoors!) suspiciously, totally at a loss, what I should take pictures of today. Apricots, tomatoes, peaches - I had already covered those a few days ago. My coffee cup - not so interesting... Cake - eaten before I even thought about eternalizing it in a photo. While I was pondering several compositions - finally - the rain stopped. I ventured into the wet and cold outside ...

and I found the above photo. Well, I have to admit, rain has its benefits, too. 

I wish you a nice weekend with the weather of your preference.

Ahhh

Ahhh- that‘s Darrah Parker‘s prompt for the „Slice of Life Tuesday“ flickr group this week. 

For me that‘s...

• a cup of really hot tea (black‘s my favourite) when I‘m cold, 
• a cup of coffee with a muffin (or insert almost any cake here...) in the afternoon, 
• chocolate (nuts, almonds, well, I fear the list would be endless...) 
• curling up on my couch wrapped in a thick snugly blanket reading a book...

This dayspa‘s window I came by today reminded me that getting a massage is a big AHHHH and that I should treat myself more often with such an indulgence.

I wish you a happy Friday and a gorgeous ahhh-moment today!

Photo of the day

It may have been around the beginning of 2010 that I read about some people doing a 365 project. I thought this was really cool but didn‘t consider it for myself. That idea, however, kept coming back into my mind and then, a few months later (on May 23, 2010 to be exact) I decided to give it a go myself! I wanted to focus more on photography and thought that project would be ideal to achieve this goal. 

I knew I had to start right away, on this very day, not waiting for a „first of a month“, „first of a quarter“ or any other specific date, or I wouldn‘t start at all!  And I set up my rules... Every picture must be perfect, outstanding, a documentation of my getting better in photography. During that process I must learn every little secret of my camera. I have to take pictures of something grand, nothing average... and a few more. Ha!

Well, to make a long story short, I loosened up on my rules. ;-) 

I discovered that I give my best every day when taking my pictures. And I realized that after those 365 days I may not be the photographic genius I would like to be, but that I will have found something beautiful in every single day, however hard and demanding a certain day may have been.

Have a nice day and find something beautiful in your day, too!

TaDa!!

Here it is - my first post in my first blog ever! A memorable day - at least for me...! I have tackled the challenges this new medium presented for me and I‘m sure to be changing and adjusting the appearance of this blog, but for the moment I‘m satisfied and pretty proud of myself for having come so far.

I hope you enjoy my blog and come by time and again - and leave a comment or two how you like it!
Here we go!