pink

This weeks challenge on Inspiration Avenue was "Pink", & this time my entree is only 2 days later (we're getting better).

Next weeks theme will be "travel", i have some ideas flying round my head & if you're interested in joining in the fun just visit the Inspiration Avenue blog for more information.

morning stroll ...

To say my life has been a little hectic this past month is putting it mildly, i feel like i have gone from one thing to another (all good by the way) without stopping anywhere in between. Well this morning i got to stop, take a breather & i headed up onto the hills above our house with my friend Karen (who's currently living with us) & her dogs. & you can imagine the fun we had trying to get Shelby to stand still long enough for me to take this picture when she had all that wide open space to run around in!

Within that previously spoken of "few weeks" i feel as if autumn has passed me by & winter is obviously creeping round the corner with last night being our first frost. On many of the trees the leaves haven't just turned by disappeared & the hills where i ran this past spring & summer have taken on a whole new feel altogether.

We saw a number of roebucks (they're little deer) whilst we were heading up the hill, a sight that to me is still a little breath taking even though i grew up glipsing them occasionally. & as the weather gets colder we'll probably see more as they come out of the woods looking for food. The shot is under exposed but i wanted to include it as seeing them is always a little special to me.

I think i noticed the change in colours today for the first time, they are softening, becoming muted & the brights of summer are disappearing. It's both a little sad but wonderful in it's own way as winter appears & mother nature takes on a new feeling. Which in turn brings out new shades in my photos, colder colours are replacing the warm golden hues of summer.

Despite this there were moments of colour, maybe not as vivid as during the summer months but maybe the muted surrounding gave them the appearance of being that bit more brighter! Now you can't miss the occasional shade of red, pink or purple like a beacon calling out to you.

But i did have another reason for my wonderings this morning. A few weeks ago within Inspiration Avenue, the weekly challenge had been "shimmer" & it had seriously stumped me. So the challenge i had set to myself for the next few days was to catch up on some of those i had missed & the current weather seems to have inspired me, with the combination of morning dew & light creating these wonderful patterns on the grass. The ordinary we see every day takes on a new look as the light dances off it.

& whilst my initial idea for this challenge came from the grass, it is not my final image but the combination you see below. I admit i got a little carried away with my photos of the dew but what's the point of a macro lens if i don't use it to full advantage? Plus it is kinda pretty! in my mind though it's not just the dew that creates the "shimmer" but the white of the flowers. & on reflectiong, looking at this image makes me feel like winter's already here.

Hope you all had a wonderful monday!

orange - inspiration avenue weekly challenge

This weeks "weekly challenge" in Inspiration Avenue was "orange". So here i was a little stuck for a while, i mean whilst many would think Halloween with this i don't, being British & all. Orange to me is bright & bold, it reminds me of summer, my second cat Sandy (if you hadn't already guessed he was one big ass ginger tom) & one of my favourite t-shirts. (if you want one check out Palmer Cash ... they are awesome, & i really cannot begin to describe how much i love to shop with them!!)

So i went back through my work to see what i already had, & nothing was really orange, or stood out to me. I mean i had some stuff i took out & about but nothing that screamed orange.

September is here but Autumn isn't appearing & as i said I'm not such a fan of Halloween, although i might still go out & buy a pumpkin for some photographic fun. & so i went literal ... i went an actual orange. Started photographing that on a bright red chopping board & then remembered i had some orange paper so ended up with the orange on orange paper & well I'm not sure you can get more "orange" than that. Although in taking the shots this isn't the one i thought I'd end up with but then that's half the fun of editing ... isn't it?

So anyways here's my submission for this weeks photo challenge ... hope you like it. & you have until Sunday to get your entry in ... have fun people!

The Inspiration Avenue weekly challenge

I belong to a group of artists on Etsy known as Inspiration Avenue. As a group we work within different mediums, selling a variety of products but act together as advisers, colleagues & friends. Recently we decided to start a weekly challenge, a way for us to push ourselves & each other within our various mediums in a little friendly challenge. We each get to choose a "topic" it could be a color or a word or just something to get those "creative juices" flowing, & i get to choose the first topic of (drum roll please) ... Summer.

Now i know summer is all most at an end, & possible for the past couple of months it has been our inspiration already but now the seasons are in theory starting to change & we are experiencing a new side to it. In choosing it as my topic i want the artist to be able to take this ending into account, as well as all the things they have experienced the past few months. & i am assuming all those taking part in the challenge are in a part of the world where june, july & august are considered to be the "summer" months.

Summer as defined by the dictionary ...

sum·mer ¹

n.

1. The usually warmest season of the year, occurring between spring and autumn and constituting June, July, and August in the Northern Hemisphere, or, as calculated astronomically, extending from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox.

2. A period of fruition, fulfillment, happiness, or beauty.

3. A year: a girl of 13 summers.

v. sum·mered, sum·mer·ing, sum·mers

v.tr.

To lodge or keep during the summer: summered the herd in the south meadow.

v.intr.

To pass the summer: They summered at a beach resort.

adj.

1. Of, having to do with, occurring in, or appropriate to the season of summer:summer heat; summer attire.

2. Grown during the season of summer: summer crops.

So what's summer to me ... it's about bold colors ... yellow, green & red. It's being outdoors, long lazy days spent with friends & family, vacations, sun, sea, sand & ...! BBQ's, picnics, camping & traveling, big blue skies & glorious sunshine. It's about happiness & smiling, being silly & having fun. When i imagine summer i see sandcastles & children playing, lying by the pool & margaritas in the shade. No school & no work (for some), flowers, dresses & skimpy clothing.

So now i turn it over to you guys ... & anybody else out there who wants to take part in the challenge. You have 7 days to create something that falls under this theme, interpret as you will & i can't wait to see what we all come up with.