Happy Halloween... Flash Contest!

So I'm in the mood to hand out some treats... That means I've got a two-part flash contest for you!

The rules are this: Take a look at the image I've posted for this contest.

What do you see in this picture that is not really there?

The first person to message me the answer via my Facebook fan page will win a 6-note Floral Thank You gift card pack from my Portraits from a Moonlight Garden series.

But I'm not done!

Tell me a short story (150 words or less... and less can really be better here!) about the image. You've got until Midnight tonight (East coast time) to get your entry in. Whoever sends me the best story via my website Contact page wins a floral pendant from the Portraits from a Moonlight Garden series.

Please pay attention to the rules... They're simple, but you have to follow them to be entered in the contest and win!



Happy Halloween... Take 3

Got Gothic?

Happy Halloween... Take 2

Have you ever looked around and just thought about what exactly is growing close to you?

Happy Halloween... Take 1

The obligatory pumpkin shot... just in time for Halloween...

It only gets abstract from here...

Friday Photo... and My 100th Post

A Little More Autumnal Color

At the End of a Long Day...

Happy Monday

Rain Lily

I'm still going through images from a recent jaunt out to Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in Belmont, NC. People are incredulous when I mention that I like to shoot there all year long... "Is there anything worth shooting right now?"

Always! You just have to open your mind to the tiny, demure beauty that just is...

A Photo for a Sunday Afternoon...

We, as humans, often attribute human characteristics to nature... Such as nature is cruel or mean or heartless. Sometimes it's inviting or seductive.

Nature is really none of those things. Nature just is.

These mushrooms sprang up in Freedom Park after a recent flood there. They weren't long for this world because, well... quite frankly, mushrooms are not really all that durable. But they did mark the event.

Sometimes I think that it would behoove me to follow nature's example of just being. But as a photographer, that's not my nature. My nature is to capture fleeting moments of life and archive them so we don't forget.

Life moves fast but it is ultimately made up of individual moments strung together.

Autumn Color

Trees are not the only source of vibrant color in the fall... Kind of strange how a photographer who specializes in, and pretty much thinks in, black and white can be so happy about color.

So I tried a little experiment with this image. Above is the image as it came out of my camera earlier this month. It's part of the exercise of me pushing my own boundaries.

Below is the same image, but how it would normally end up... I think I'm still growing as a photographer...

Photo for a Rainy Day...

Friday Photo

Autumn Light

I love Autumn...

Life has been stressful lately. Things have not all gone as I had hoped. And there are quite a few days when I would prefer to just duck under the covers and wish it all away.

But then Autumn happens to mosey in... Maybe it's the golden hue everything takes on.... That burnished light seems to give me a sense that there's a promise that will finally be fulfilled right around the corner.

And I hope again...

Altering Your View

This image is another from my Polaroid transfer experimentations.

The original image, shot with my Bronica SQai medium format camera on Ilford Delta film, is one of my favorites. The original image is 6X6 square, however, the Polaroid film is not, so I end up with a crop.

I really lucked out with the tearing of the emulsion. I don't think I could have planned it better!

Photo for a Sunday Afternoon

Just posting something pretty and vibrant before I have to go out and mow the lawn... You'd think with the fact that I am a floral photographer that I would love yardwork. I don't. It just has to be done and I'd rather share something beautiful with all of you than go plug in the mower.

Okay... I don't think I can procrastinate any longer...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Shooting for Myself

Today was the first day I've gone out and shot purely for my own enjoyment for a long time. You see, it's a birthday present to myself. No, my birthday is not today... but this is the first day of my birthday month. In my family we celebrate for the entire month... partly because there are so many of us born in October, partly because life sometimes dictates that you just have to celebrate whenever you can.