January 26, 2010

I've finally caught up on my postings on this blog. Thanks for being patient with me. Sign up as a follower to let me know you're here looking.

January 25, 2010

I travelled by myself to Europe in 1984 never having gone anywhere by myself before, let alone to a foreign country. I bought a ticket to Paris to return a month later. Little did I know it would be the adventure of a lifetime. I landed in Paris on July 13th and didn't even have a hotel reservation. For some reason I thought I could get on a plane, land in a foreign country and just wing it. Well, I did and was surprised at how friendly and helpful people were. This photo was taken towards the end of the trip when I went to Brugge, Belgium. Walking down a side street I felt I was being watched so turned and there was this mural painted on the wall. I had to take the picture.

January 24, 2010

I'm constantly amazed at how many different ways a flower can be photographed. I try to find the best angle. This photo was taken with me laying down on the ground, with the camera on the ground angled up.

January 23, 2010

One more flower....taken at the Convent in Richmond, NH.

January 22, 2010

These Crocus flowers were taken at Pickety Place in Mason, NH. That is a very nice place to visit to photograph flowers in the spring.

January 21, 2010

My 2010 goal has been to post a photo a day and I'm trying to catch up. I hope you enjoy this photo. I use it on a greeting card and is very cheerful looking to me. I'll catch up with my posting soon.

January 20, 2010

For years I had been thinking about the Chincoteague Ponies that inhabit this island in Virginia. This April while driving to Florida I decided it was time to take a side trip and finally see this area. This photo was taken about 6 a.m. on the island and what a beautiful place it is. Unfortunately the ponies were quite a distance away so we didn't get a good viewing of them. But this view was worth the trip.

January 19, 2010

Today I start a new chapter in my life. I have found that happiness can only be gotten by an inventory of our inner self. We must take care of ourselves. No other person can make us truly happy. We have to find that on our own. I thought marriage would make my life happier and it did not. Today I am divorced. It is a sad day indeed yet I know I will carry on, a stronger and better Carolyn

January 18, 2010

When I've needed help in life I remember this Bible passage:

Matthew 6:33

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

January 17, 2010

Flowers are a gift from God.

January 16, 2010

Flowers have always cheered me up. I hope they cheer you up as well.

January 15, 2010

I've been not up to posting photos for the past few days. I'll continue to post one photo for every day. I'll catch up soon.

January 14, 2010

Everyone seems to like this photo. It's a rose I photographed either at the Rose Garden in Niagara Falls or at a rose garden in Rye, NH. I'm not sure which one. This rose was stunning.

January 13, 2010

We traveled to Ireland for our honeymoon and I also received a grant to study the Celtic High Crosses while I was there. It was an exciting time and I was so in love. There were several crosses to photograph and this one was in Clones. We got to the city square and couldn't find the cross and we looked all around and couldn't figure out where it was. It was pouring rain to we were so frustrated and cold and wet. We stood in the square where the map said the cross was to be found. Funny thing is we were standing right in front of the cross the whole time. It was right in front of us and we didn't see it. Such a metaphor for life. Sometimes we have things staring us in the face and we fail to see it. My life has been very blessed and God has been a big part of it but sometimes He's shown me things and I haven't seen them....although they were right there all the time. I so wish that God was precise and would just say, Carolyn look to the left....or to the right. Instead He remains silent and wants us to figure it out for ourselves.

Ireland 2008

This was a neat looking shop in Ireland. Maybe we all need to be "Stone Mad" to have a gallery? I loved the colors. I hope you do too.

January 12, 2010

I'm writing in RED today because it's one of my favorite colors. When I'm not into a real color I like white. I once had a closet full of just white shirts in college and someone asked me why. I replied "Isn't that what angels are supposed to wear?". It was funny at the time. I'm hoping that some of my photos appeal to people and help them remember good things. Sometimes a flower can make you think of spring when it's freezing cold outside. Sometimes a photo of a horse can bring back a good memory of riding horses as a child. A photo of a cat can bring comfort and a smile. I hope my photos bring out the best in people and help you get through the day. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Carolyn

January 11, 2010

The year is already seeming to go by fast. Spring is right around the corner and new things will be happening for me this year. Here's the photo for the evening.

January 10, 2010

This is one of my favorite flower photos. It was taken at Pickety Place in Mason, New Hampshire about 3 years ago. If you haven't visited there, you should take the ride in the spring. They also have a small restaurant there and gift shop.

January 9, 2010

This photo was aptly named "Mr. Ed" by one of my Facebook friends. I was traveling through Hubbardston this fall looking for a horsefarm my Chiropractor had told me about and did locate the place. There were no horses around so I drove on and got lost. I drove what seemed to be in a circle and I ended up back at the same place I started. I looked towards the barn and lo and behold there was a horse with his head sticking out the barn window. I stopped the car and was able to get this image. He looks like an Arabian but I'm not sure.

January 8, 2010

I still haven't gotten my photoshop uploaded to this new computer but this was an image I took at Leu Gardens in Orlando a couple of years ago. It didn't seem to need much editing, so here it is.

January 7, 2010

I almost forgot to post a photo today. Here' something random I took off my hard drive. I believe this was a building across the street from a turn off on Rte. 1A going from Hampton to Portsmouth. It may be Rye, NH.

January 6, 2010

I don't have a photo to post tonight that's new but here's one I may not have posted. I decided to hook up the old computer as well as the new and try to adapt to the new one as I wean myself off the old. I used to see the world in black and white and now it appears that I'm noticing shades of grey. It certainly reduces my stress.

Anyways. Here's the photo. This was taken at Johnson's Sugar House in Orange. They serve a nice breakfast and sell Maple Syrup.

January 5, 2010

Today I finally hooked up my new computer. It has much more RAM so I should be able to edit in photoshop a lot faster and without many glitches. Today I had a fairly good day. I met with a client this morning to discuss selling his land and then made some home baked beans. Along with that I tried a new recipe that I was going to make at Christmas time but never got around to it. It's called Steamed pudding and has applies, nuts, dates, and spices. It came out pretty well.

I can't edit tonight so can't give you my best shot of the dessert but here goes. Tomorrow I will be loading Photoshop CS3 and my other photo editing software. New computers can be a real pain in the neck.

January 4, 2010

Not much new to say today. I was sad when I woke up at 5 a.m. thinking about my pending divorce (January 19th). I have to meet with my husband on Monday the 11th to discuss finalities and I'm not sure how I will react. I will probably cry because I don't have an attorney. I never like unhappy endings.

On a lighter note, I'll post a happy photo here to end the day. Well, maybe not happy but hopeful for the future. Trees are interesting. They are all old looking and bare and gloomy in the winter and then in the spring they sprout new leaves and are beautiful throughout the summer. In the fall they make a grand exit with their foliage, the bright reds and oranges. Then they hide out for the winter yet again preparing to surprise us all in the spring. Perhaps thats the way my life will be. Just a little gloomy now but surprising in the spring!

January 3, 2010

Today I'm rearranging my desktop to accomodate all my peripherals. I have an Epson 2480 Photo Scanner, an Epson Printer, a Canon 9900 printer (for the nice shots), a Nikon Super Coolscan 4000 to scan negatives and slides, my DSL modem, telephone, speakers, Viewsonic monitor, 2 external hard drives, a Wacom Drawing Tablet, an external mini drive, an external floppy disk drive (does anyone use those any more?), and a desk lamp. All the cables drive me nuts so I'm going to go to Radio Shack today to see if they have some sort of clamps to keep them all tied together and neat. Oh yeah, and I have to make room for both computers, the old and the new. I wonder if I can hook them both together? Hmm.

I went to North Adams last week and on the way, along Rte. 2 (The Mohawk Trail), I noticed a small gift shop with a very large colorful indian out front. He must have been 20 feet tall. I passed by but the light was so good I had to turn around and take several shots. Here's one of them. Remember if you pass by something you think would make a good photo, turn around. It's worth it.

January 2, 2010

Today I slept late and the phone rang at about 8:20 a.m. I didn't pick up but just stayed in bed until then, the doorbell rang. Now I knew I had to get up. Fortunately, it was my friend Norm plowing my parking lot since it snowed about 5 inches this morning. I happily spent the morning snowblowing and shoveling and feel good about getting a little exercise. One New Years Resolution is to lose 10, 15, maybe 20 pounds. Depends on how motivated I get. After watching "The Biggest Loser" last night I realized what a wimp I am when it comes to diet discipline. These people who have lost 100 pounds are amazing. I complain about not being able to lose 10. Time for some attitude adjustment.

Now to discuss photography... I posted this photo on line last night but wanted to post it here and explain what it is. In Turners Falls, Massachusetts near the Hallmark Gallery (formerly the Hallmark Museum of Contemporary Photography) if you drive down a side street from the main street there is a little outside display of childrens artwork. There were several LP records afixed to a frame and so I took a few shots. I've posted both the original (smaller size) and the HDR Photomatrix version which is obviously a photoshop plug in. I used the trial version to see if I liked it. What do you think?

New Years Day, January 1st, 2010

Its New Years Day 2010. I promised to "try" to post a new photo here every day for the next 365 days at least. The photo above was taken at the Gardner Municipal Golf Course the day after the ice storm of 2008. Perhaps I was crazy to go out to photograph but I didn't think I'd ever have a chance to see this type of scenery in our area ever again. As I was driving down Park Street I started to have my doubts with all the power lines down and trees in the middle of the street. But my little Toyota Corolla maneuvered through the debris and I was able to get many fine shots. The saddest thing to see was the destruction of all the trees along the side of the road on Green Street next to the golf course. Mother Nature certainly gave me some interesting shots that day. Although the house was cold, the power was off and we had to learn how to start a fire in the woodstove, I know that God provided me with images that will last a lifetime. I expect I will have many more opportunities to capture interesting images in the future.