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    A second look: summer photography wrap up

    July 2, 2019 - By 

    I haven’t been using my “big camera” (my DSLR) all that much lately.

    Its a shame really since I love photography. Over the past couple weeks when the weather has cooperated, I’ve tried to get in the habit of using it again. I really need to keep up on my skills…I’ll be taking Senior pictures for Mini-me NEXT summer. Geesh…the time certainly flies.

    Take a look…

     

    9/23/2016

    2016 Summertime Photo Scavenger hunt wrap-up

    The summer has ended and so has the hunt for photos. I like to wrap things up with a recap of the old and any newly snapped photos. This year I only missed one on the list but got an alternative to takes it’s place. In the past I’ve gotten every single one including the alternates.

    1. A “wild heart” – a naturally occurring heart (like the rock above, but it doesn’t have to be a rock)summer photo huntHostas in my backyard

    2. A footprint or pawprint

    paw-print

    Husky paw print

    3. A skeleton, bone or x-ray

    bones-collageAt the orthopedist

    4. A book or magazine read during 2016

    books

    Lots of books…can’t stop reading…

    5. A porch or deck

    deck collage

    Trex Deck at the MN landscape Arboretum

    6. A camper (caravan)

    summer photo hunt

    Camper trailer

    7. A family gatheringsummer photo hunt

    Independence day gathering

    8. A drawing, art project, artistic photograph, scrapbook page, greeting card, or art journal page created by you.summer photo huntObviously this isn’t my only creation of the summer…if you’d like to see more just browse around the blog. 🙂

    9. Someone playing with, in, or around water.summer photo hunt4th of July waterfight….a tradition

    10. A bicyclebikeAt a parking lot next to a state bike trail.

    11. Fresh producesummer photo huntBeans from my garden and CSA box

    12. A windowwindowThe broken remains of my drivers side window…you can read about it here.

    13. The moonsummer photo huntLucky low light shot of the moon over the house.

    14. A buffet of foodsummer photo hunt4th of July gather again…

    15. A team logoteamsSome of our beloved local teams…current and former.

    16. A map showing a trip taken during the time period

    map

    Mini-me and I traveled to Alexandria over the summer for a girls weekend.

    map-2This close-up map has both lakes that we stayed on…if you look closely you can see my reflection.

    17. Twinssummer photo huntI took a bit of liberty with this one just because it made me laugh.

    18. A supermarket cart, basket or trolley full of groceries cart

    Back to school stock up at Target

    19. A seasonal cocktail or beveragesummer drinkMoscow Mule…favorite summer drink!!

    20. Someone laughing

    This is the one I didn’t get mostly because I don’t show faces on my blog if at all possible.

    21. A photograph of you with a newspaper or calendar page from the time period covered in the Hunt. Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.

    timely-photoI believe this one is self explanatory

    Alternatives – if you’re having trouble finding any of the above, you may substitute from this list (but you may not substitute for item #21):
    alternative 1: a lighthouse

    No lighthouse either

    alternative 2: a baby (human or animal)

    alt-baby

    Can you see the baby? Cute little “O”.

    That about wraps it up. I’m not sure what happened to Rinda’s blog as it hasn’t been updated since June but I do know that the Facebook group has been active so I’ll be posting there. I do hope to continue with photo scavenger hunts…they are really fun and a real challenge at times to get creative and think outside the box.

     

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    Thanks for stopping by for Second on the 2nd.

    Second on the 2nd

     

  • Blog - Photography

    T Tuesday: Chinese garden edition

    July 3, 2018 - By 

    Last Friday Mini-me had the day off of work…yes, my little baby girl has a job. How does this happen?!?  The forecast had nothing good to say. Hot and humid with extreme heat warnings. So we figured the best course of action would be to go walking at the MN Landscape Arboretum. Yeah…good choices did not prevail. But that’s ok…all’s well that ends well as the old saying goes.

    We headed out early for a little fuel in the form of Chick-Fil-A biscuits and iced coffee.

    The Arboretum recently opened a new Chinese garden that we had completely forgotten about until we happened upon it on our 3 mile walk…technically its a drive but biking and walking are welcome.

    As you enter you pass under a lovely arch…this is it from the back of the garden.

    This plaque greeted us as we passed through the archway.

    In the distance we could see large interesting art pieces drawing us further into the garden.

    As well as the geometric red fencing that was the perfect perch for several birds as they sang their beautiful songs over the pond.

    The area is quite sparse at this point. That may be purposeful. All I know is that by this point in our trek we were very overheated.

    Mini-me caught a bit of breeze in the shade of a pagoda.

     Ahead of us on the crushed gravel pathway was this gorgeous dragon.

    He looks very fierce. The detail of the work that the artist was able to create on the large scale using metal intrigues me. Evidently he is just on loan to the Arboretum. I wonder when and if they will have more permanent installations in that garden.

    We will definitely be making more visits to the Arboretum as summer continues. We like to walk, take photos and chat together. Its nice having grown up conversations with my kids. Ones that don’t involve nagging about chores, homework or how much time they spend staring at screens. (as I sit here staring at my screen)

    Today has a list as usual for me. It keeps me on track. In fact a friend and I are texting a photo of our list each morning to each other and then again in the evening to hold us accountable for checking stuff off that list. So far, so good. Of course this week with the Independence Day holiday things are a little wonky but stuff still needs to get done.

     

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?
  • Blog - Creativity - Photography

    T Tuesday: photography adventure edition (part 2)

    May 8, 2018 - By 

    Last week I left off with the conservatory portion of our day trip to recreate the missed field trip. Next to the conservatory is a zoo. Como Zoo.

    As children, both Mr. G and I visited this zoo with our parents….rode the giant tortoise, looked at the gorillas behind the bars and saw Sparky the Seal perform. Things have changed for the better over the years. The habitats are continually being improved. Mini-me has even witnessed change in her years. When we got there we saw that both the seal and polar bear habitats were changed or changing. Good news for those critters.

    The big cats are a favorite of mine…

    Watching this big guy walk was like seeing a giant version of Marvin. He saunters when he walks.

    The lions were thoroughly enjoying the sunshine.

    And who could blame them when just off to the side was the remains of our snow.

    It is Minnesota after all.

    I have one more part of our adventure to share with you next week.

    Since this is T stands for Tuesday I had to share my birthday present to myself. I picked it up at Caribou (the best coffee place in my opinion…no affiliation, just a very smitten customer) while getting my free birthday drink.

    This weekend also brought prom for J. He went with a bunch of friends and had a wonderful time. I once again wish I could show you my favorite candid shot from pre-prom pictures. It captured his personality perfectly….but I respect their right to privacy even now that he is an adult.

    School is winding down…yet so many things that need to be done.

    T stands for Tuesday

    What are you doing today?