Valfal's photos

Macro Mondays: create a red or pink macro abstract filling the image to the edge with color. Sunlight going through a red glass and reflecting on my wood floor in the living room. An image of the full shadow is in the note. HMM and have a safe week, everyone!

Saturday Self-Challenge: Still Life Two beautiful pieces of salt glazed pottery from my collection along with two bunches of dried lavender from my garden. Stay safe from the Corona virus, and enjoy the springtime blooms, my friends! Hugs to you, Pam :-)

Macro Mondays: Twisted The twisted leaves of my air plant (Tillandsia). Have a safe week, my friends; may the virus stay far from you!

Saturday Self-Challenge: "Panning" To be sure, this was not an easy challenge! After reading articles on the technique, I decided to enlist the help of my loving husband and his VW Beetle. After fiddling with settings I started taking image after image. This was the best of the lot. I thought it would be interesting to use selective color to further isolate the car from background. Looks best enlarged on black. The unedited version of this image is in the note. Have a great weekend, my friends! Huggss and well wishes to Pam!

I have been in the process of restoring family photos from my childhood this past year. In this image my sister Bridget (on the left) and I pose in a photo booth while vacationing at Asbury Park, New Jersey USA, August, 1968. She was 8 years old and I was almost 12 at the time. Sometimes you don't realize how much time has passed until you look at childhood photos!

Macro Mondays: Water Drops

Saturday Self-Challenge: "Surreal Photography" This was an interesting yet tough challenge. I had trouble even coming up with an idea. Then I saw my crystal ball that I keep on the coffee table and came up with an idea...I hope this qualifies as surreal. It certainly qualifies as weird! Have a wonderful weekend, my friends! Huggs to Pam!

These beauties lined the pathways of the conservatory at Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania USA.

Macro Mondays: Nature A couple of days ago I went to Longwood Gardens for the purpose of catching some macro shots of nature at its finest. I was lucky to arrive during their annual "Orchid Extravaganza" exhibit. There were thousands of different species in every color and size. These little orange beauties in the photo are among the smaller varieties (shown actual size). Unfortunately I was so interested in taking the photo that I forgot to read the identification label. HMM, everyone! And thank you so much for your visits and comments, very appreciated! * Edit: Many thanks to cammino for identifying this orchid! It is Cattleya aurantiaca

Saturday Self-Challenge: Stairs I had an opportunity to visit Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania yesterday to take some pictures of the gorgeous flowers and of this beautiful staircase located in the main conservatory. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! Hugggs to Pam!

Macro Mondays Aluminum An aluminum token that belonged to my father-in-law. On it are his initials, his ham radio call sign and the name of the local group he and his fellow ham radio operators belonged to (it actually began as a joke term coined by one of the members). He probably got it on a trip to a tourist site that offered machines where you could create these personalized tokens. They were especially popular back in the 1950's and 60's. Have a wonderful week ahead, everyone!

Saturday Self-Challenge: Dramatic Picture This was an interesting challenge.There are many different interpretations. At first I thought the most obvious was an image with a dramatic story (Look at my first effort below), but after looking at examples provided in articles on the topic, I realized that lighting can also provide a dramatic, eye-catching mood. I happened to glance over at a couple of my teddy bears being illuminated by late afternoon sun, and had to capture it. Have a great weekend, everyone! Bear hugsss to Pam!

A alternative image for the Saturday Self-Challenge (the topic: "Dramatic picture")

Macro Mondays: Something you can see through A radiometer on my living room window sill (while actively spinning). I found this subject very challenging to photograph clearly while using a macro setting. Have a good week, everyone!

Saturday Self-Challenge: Shoes This was one week where I wished I had some old beat-up shoes "with character" to use as a subject, but the oldest pair of shoes I could come up with are the old Keds I wear when I garden. The second photo below is of my newest pair of sneakers, Vans with a warped check design. Have a great weekend, friends! Big HUGGGS and well wishes to you, Pam!

An alternative image for Saturday Self-Challenge .

I wish a special lady a wonderful birthday! HUGGGSSS