Valfal's photos

Saturday Self-Challenge: Intentional Camera Movement I had taken photos of my outdoor Christmas lights earlier in the week and then yesterday had some time to experiment a little more, this time with my Christmas cactus. The photos I took of my outdoor "Christmas tree" lights are in the notes.

One of the lovely fountain shows that were seen this past summer at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. HFF and a wonderful weekend, ipernity friends!

Macro Mondays 2.0: Zipper

Saturday Self Challenge: Create an Album Cover May the magical music of Christmas light up your December! A couple of "samplers" from the album: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK60Cwwp_EI www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFpr37ib8rc

A view of the Susquehanna River where it empties out into the Chesapeake Bay. Pictured is a train tressle and in the distance is Hatem Bridge. More information can be found here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susquehanna_River HFF and a great weekend to all my ipernity friends! :-)

I don't normally re-release photos I have already posted, and I intended to keep this private. I sometimes post photos on another site, and wanted to edit this photo without being seen, but I see I forgot to make the image private, lol! Thank you friends, for your positive responses in spite of this image being a "re-run"! :-))

Experimenting with black and white flower photography.

Experimenting with black and white flower photography.

Saturday Self-Challenge: Multi-color A prism effect from the beveled glass of my front door. I was going to photograph something else, but this effect provided me with a unique opportunity. ~~~~~ Un effet prisme du verre biseauté de ma porte d'entrée. J'allais photographier autre chose, mais cet effet m' a offert une occasion unique. ~~~~~ Ein Prismeneffekt aus dem abgeschrägten Glas meiner Haustür. Ich wollte etwas anderes fotografieren, aber dieser Effekt bot mir eine einmalige Gelegenheit. ~~~~~ Een prisma-effect van het afgeschuinde glas van mijn voordeur. Ik zou iets anders gaan fotograferen, maar dit effect gaf me een unieke kans. ~two more images in the notes~

Macro Mondays: Love I know this is an unconventional symbol of love, but my niece (who is also my goddaughter) gave me this silver charm on my birthday last year to commemorate those special times when we each bought a pair of the same colored Vans sneakers as a symbol of our love and friendship. We did this for several of her birthdays. ~~~~~ Ich weiß, dass dies ein unkonventionelles Symbol der Liebe ist, aber meine Nichte (die auch meine Patentochter ist) hat mir an meinem Geburtstag letztes Jahr diesen silbernen Charme geschenkt, um an diese besonderen Momente zu erinnern, als wir uns jeweils ein Paar der gleichfarbigen Vans Turnschuhe als Symbol unserer Liebe und Freundschaft kauften. Wir haben das an mehreren ihrer Geburtstage getan. ~~~~~ Je sais que c'est un symbole d'amour peu conventionnel, mais ma nièce (qui est aussi ma filleule) m' a donné ce charme argenté l'année dernière pour mon anniversaire afin de me souvenir de ces moments spéciaux où nous avons acheté une paire de baskets de la même couleur qu'un symbole de notre amour et de notre amitié. On a fait ça à plusieurs de ses anniversaires.

Saturday Self-Challenge: Jewelry I decided to use jewelry inherited from my dear mother, who loved jewelry with a passion. I keep it all in her favorite jewelry box, a souvenir from a small shop in New York City's Chinatown. Every time I look at it, I think of my mother and how beautiful she looked whenever she wore it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ J'ai décidé d'utiliser des bijoux hérités de ma chère mère, qui aimait les bijoux avec une passion. Je garde tout dans sa boîte à bijoux préférée, un souvenir d'une petite boutique du quartier chinois de New York. Chaque fois que je la regarde, je pense à ma mère et à sa beauté quand elle la portait. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ich entschied, Schmucksachen zu verwenden, die von meiner lieben Mutter geerbt wurden, die Schmucksachen mit einer Neigung liebte. Ich bewahre alles in ihrem Lieblingsschmuckkästchen auf, einem Souvenir aus einem kleinen Laden in New York City's Chinatown. Jedes Mal, wenn ich es ansehe, denke ich an meine Mutter und wie schön sie aussah, wann immer sie es trug. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ik besloot sieraden te gebruiken die ik heb geërfd van mijn lieve moeder, die met passie van sieraden hield. Ik houd het allemaal in haar favoriete sieradendoos, een souvenir uit een kleine winkel in New York City's Chinatown. Telkens als ik er naar kijk, denk ik aan mijn moeder en hoe mooi ze er telkens weer uitzag wanneer ze het droeg.

A beautiful flower-lined corridor inside the conservatory at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, PA. Can you see the fence? It's right behind the pillars. ;-) HFF and H.A.N.W.E. to all my ipernity Friends!

These are the last of my dahlia blooms rescued just before the subfreezing temperatures arrived later that evening. Sigh.... ~Best viewed enlarged on black~

Exploring the use of abstract unfocused photography to create a mood.

Saturday Self-Challenge: unfocused abstract photography This was a tough challenge mainly because I had difficulty finding the right subject to snap a photo of. After many failed attempts, I settled on this image of the speedometer in the dashboard of my car. To give it more interest, I cropped and processed it to heighten the colors. I must say that I learned much from this challenge! Thanks for suggesting this challenge, Sami! * P.S. I've included another photo that was considered for the challenge in the note. :-) *

A morning shot on the Promenade in Havre de Grace, Maryland. HFF and H.A.N.W.E. to all my ipernity friends!

I spotted this Bald Eagle flying overhead and landing in a tree quite a distance from me. Luckily I had my 300mm lens, but unfortunately, I did not have a tripod handy. I wasn't expecting to see a sight like this!