Valfal's photos

Saturday Self-Challenge: Holiday food - includes candies, baked goods, beverages, just anything that relates to this holiday season wherever you are. Holiday goodies for sale at Bonboy's Home Made Candy shop located in Havre de Grace, Maryland.

Saturday Self-Challenge: 'Rule of Thirds' Composition (Suggested by Diederik) This week I began Christmas decorating by putting up my aluminum tree with vintage glass Polish ornaments. The tree is from my childhood. A very Merry Christmas to all my ipernity friends and may the New Year bring you blessing and joy!

Saturday Self-Challenge: Suggested by Sami, use the edge of a photo to cut the main subject in half. Two items from my salt-glazed pottery collection. This week's topic was a challenge, but in a good way. It is difficult to photograph only half of the subject and make it look artistic rather than accidental. These two items of pottery looked so nice together that it gave me an idea I thought would make them great subjects for this challenge. The technique of cutting the subjects in half enabled me to focus on their complimentary shapes.

The woodlands of Winterthur Gardens and Museum near Wilmington Delaware. Thank you so very much for all your kind comments and stars; they are most appreciated! :-))

Saturday Self-Challenge: "Art in general...create an image inspired by one of the artists." My cat Rusty relaxing in the easy chair. Original image is in the note. I used the DEEPART Program to process this image. If you are interested in trying it out, here is the link: deepart.io/page/about

The 50 Images-Project Experimenting with the DEEPART processing program on my antique bottle. deepart.io/page/about Thank you so much for your kind words/faves, my friends, so very appreciated! :-)

Saturday Self-Challenge: Contrast My Christmas cactus putting out new buds right on schedule this season. I always loved the contrast between red and green, and I love the contrast between light and dark even more!

A beautiful sunset captured by my husband during our trip to Sanibel Island, Florida 12 years ago. The bridge pictured is the only way on and off the island. The HFF to all my ipernity friends and a very Happy Weekend!

Saturday Self-Challenge: Frame Within a Frame Photographed during "the Golden Hour" at Winterthur Gardens near Wilmington, Delaware. It was unusually mild for a November day.

What a beautiful day it was to tour the gardens at Winterthur near Wilmington, Delaware; warm and sunny!

Saturday Self-Challenge: Autumn My flower garden produced more than flowers this year. A seed spontaneously sprouted that eventually grew to be a huge plant that produced these three pumpkins. In the notes are several photos of this very healthy pumpkin plant. You can see it got so big it invaded the driveway! We had to swerve around the plant whenever we wanted to park near the garage, lol. I think it came from a seed of a pumpkin we displayed last year that rotted in the garden. I tried to remove as many seeds as I could, but apparently I didn't get them all. Since this plant grew on the opposite side of where I displayed last year's pumpkin, I figure it had to be an animal that dropped a seed or two over there. It was definitely the most unusual surprise that ever sprung from my garden! ;-)

The leaves of a Japanese Maple in my front yard just after a spring shower last May. This image is unprocessed, straight out of camera. *Best viewed large on black* Thank you so much for your comments and faves, dear friends and visitors! :-))

Ducks and geese resting alongside the Promenade in Havre de Grace, Maryland. HFF to all my ipernity friends!

One thing I love about autumn is when I see these fuzzy little caterpillars crawling on the sidewalks and streets looking for a warm place to overwinter. Known as the black-ended bear or the woolly bear, they are caterpillars of the Pyrrharctia Isabella (Isabella tiger moth). I spotted this little cutie on the sidewalk to my front door. Woolly Bears have also been used to foretell how cold winter will be. More information on these interesting creatures can be found here: www.almanac.com/content/woolly-bear-caterpillars-and-weather-prediction *Best viewed on black*

My grandson Logan enjoying the immersive experience of a "Grounds for Sculpture" exhibit. This indoor/outdoor art museum located in Hamilton, New Jersey is a must for anyone who appreciates sculpture and horticulture. Logan is a precocious budding artist himself and quite enjoyed visiting this unique and wonderful place! :-) For more information: www.groundsforsculpture.org

I visited Grounds for Sculpture, a park full of sculpture displays located in Hamilton, New Jersey. It is a fascinating place. The particular display pictured above captured my attention because it illustrated a dark time for many people who lived through the Great Depression of the 1930s. This worldwide financial collapse was the result of rampant greed that drove financial speculation in the 1920's. The sculpture was created in 1991 by artist/sculpter George Segal (1924-2000), titled "Depression Breadline". For Sight and Sound: "Brother Can You Spare Dime" sung by Bing Crosby www.youtube.com/watch?v=eih67rlGNhU

This Friday is a special one for me because I turn 60 years old today; yes, I am the rare lady who does not mind telling you my age! Why try to hide it? ;-) To all my ipernity friends, especially to those who share my birthday, HFF!

My cat Rusty giving me the sweet baby eyes as he settles down for his afternoon nap.