365 Alternates

This is my other alternate for today, some little plastic hearts laid on on a mirror. Simple and fun! :)

This morning I was amazed to find a bunch of incredibly tiny spider webs, all glistening with dew droplets. I didn't have a tripod or flash with me, and the pictures didn't turn out well enough to use. So out I went with the macro flash and I tried again. These droplets are so tiny that I had to hope I was focusing on the edge of this web. I had no idea there was a little buddy crawling on one of the droplets, what are the odds?! :D By the way, the droplets clearly show the duel flashes, gleaming brightly on either side! Amazing!

This is a group of budding leaves on a bush I found. I really loved the little "hairy" tendrils on it! While I was on the hike, I took pictures of lots of other things, and below you'll see a wasp gall and a pine cone that turned out nicely! :)

At one point during the hike there was a bathroom, and while Steve was away, the macro junkie did play! I had such fun taking rusty bolt shots, and this one and the two below are my favorites!

This is the lovely Applegate River. We have been on several trails that travel beside it, and we were married at a lodge that overlooks this river! Below is a picture of some happy folks out for a boat ride on the Applegate Reservoir. Doesn't that look like a lot of fun! :)

When I saw this picture on my computer, I thought it was nice but I was unhappy with all the clutter around it, so I decided to do a lot of cleanup and show the before version so you can see what I did! I very rarely go to this length to alter my pictures, but I had fun with this one. In the end, I am happy with the way it turned out, but I don't think it's as nice as my pick of the day! :) Photoshop's healing and clone tools are incredible for touching up an image!

This is my alternate pick for today. I had a hard time choosing which was better for the pick of the day...do you have a preference? (By the way, I decided that this image didn't want any frame. I tried different ones but in the end, it looks best without one! :)

I took some pictures of the birds at our feeder today because I was busy with a project and couldn't get outside. This is a Pewee, and he's got a sunflower seed held down between his feet. You should see these guys hammer away at them to get the good stuff out! I didn't really like the feeder behind him so I turned this into a textured image. I hope you like it! :) Thanks to Brenda Starr for the texture!

Here's a section of the amazing sunset sky as the sun sank below the hills. So beautiful. I'm glad I was there to capture it!

This is a macro view of a tiny screw on the graphics card, along with a background brimming with bokeh!

These are rows of extremely tiny rectangular um...thingys on the video card which look like a miniature city block of streets and lines of little houses! :D Isn't that bokeh fun?! :)

These crocuses are so stuffed together that it's really hard to get a picture of one without all the others crowding into the frame. I was going to dig up the bulbs and separate them this past fall but I wasn't positive where they were and I didn't want to risk damaging any of them. So after they're done blooming and the leaves fade, I'll dig them all up, and spread them out! :)

I was going to pass this picture by but I kept going back to it. Something about the soft focus all over except for just a bit on the bud reminds of a watercolor painting. I hope you like it! :)

Dedicated to my 365 pals, Kat , who's recovering from cancer surgery and is in my thoughts every day, and to Stephanie Calhoun , whose amazing textured images inspired me to try this for myself! You two are awesome!! :D This is another crocus image I took, and this time I had fun playing with it! My desire was to get some separation from the other crocuses crowding around it, and immediately I knew that this would look nice as a textured image! If you haven't tried this yet, please do, it's such fun! Thanks to Sienna62 for the texture! Explored on March 6, 2013. Highest position: #389.

In the center of the tiny stream, I found a beautiful moss-covered rock, and on it, I found some beautiful leaves with burgandy edging. As I attempted to take pictures, I saw something tiny land on a leaf, and was just able to focus on this nearly microscopic fly, less than 1/16" in size! To understand how small this little guy is, the leaf it's on is only about 1/3" in diameter!!!! Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet and cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. Wikipedia: Jonathan Swift

I found this snail shell on the way back to the house today, laying at the base of a dead tree. Like the fern, I felt this image could use some dressing up, so I added texture and a quote! Thanks to Brenda Starr for the texture! Norman Cousins (June 24, 1915 – November 30, 1990) was an American political journalist, author, professor, and world peace advocate. Wikipedia: Norman Cousins

I can't resist sharing more pictures of these beautiful crocuses in our garden! Here's one covered with morning rain!

Here is a close up showing the wonderful stained-glass effect that happens when a film of water fills a tiny square of mesh! I added a bit of saturation to give this image more color, I hope you like it! :)