Chicago Nights

This isn't a view that is usually seen of the Chicago skyline and I think it might be my favorite.


The docks by Northerly Island last night. I think the sky might have been painted this beautifully in honor of John Mayer(who was in concert and will be staying in Chicago until after the 4th of July).. Lol... Okay, maybe not, but still it was awesome to hear amazing music along with this amazing sunset.

Mother and Child 2

I felt bad for posting something that wasn't my best, so here's a better version of the earlier post. I just went into Adobe Lightroom and messed with the exposure and clarity a little, literally 3 clicks and I was done. I love that program.

Mother and Child

This is a Justin Gaynor inspired shot. It's not necessarily good enough to put his name even near it, being that it's a bit over exposed and a little blurry, but I do love it anyway. And it shows just how bright it really was that day at the beach on Montrose.

I want out!

Two little girls who really didn't like being stuck in their strollers and really I don't blame them. Who really likes the feeling of being trapped? I know I don't.

A Request

Two posts today, because I was requested to take some macro shots of grass. I took it as a challenge to make grass look interesting, give it the "alien" effect so to speak. So here's the result-I'm not so sure they're very "alien" but I think they are kind of interesting anyway.

Red Soxs #11

Here's the beauty of baseball at dusk part of the last post.... ;) Go Red Sox!!

Children Inspire/revised

Breaking away from my love of macro, I thought I'd pull into showing some of my favorite inspirations- children. Not my little sisters necessarily, but other kids that I shoot candidly. I've been hanging around my nephews' baseball games lately and I have to tell you, there is something about baseball at dusk. It's so pretty.. for lack of a better word.. Anyway, I'm going to try to post a few candids when I have time(still trying to nip algebra in the bud).

I just realized that I didn't really explain this shot to y'all- they were definitely not playing baseball... lol.. they were playing "football" with the Gatorade bottle and the little girl is curiously examining a water spout.

Deeper Meaning(prayer request)..

While struggling to find the deeper meaning of algebra, I find myself trying to find the deeper meaning in other things as well. I've been facing a few issues this week, mostly those in my head- trying to figure things out prematurely, as usual, trying to plan ahead. My mind is going 240 and doesn't want to stay put, so I'm a bit in need of prayer. If you can spare a minute, please say a prayer for me. My focus and motivation is key in the next few days to be able to finish this algebra by the deadline of June 16th. Things as of right now aren't looking so great, but I know that with God things can change in a matter of minutes, seconds even.

Thank you in advance!

Staying positive and confident :)

Lonesome...

... and in pain. Sun burnt, mid-back down my legs, from being in the sun all day at the beach. I asked for it tho, I didn't apply sunscreen to those areas and of course, I am burnt to a crisp. Think of a lobster.. yeah- that's me.. lol BUT I'd rather be burnt than be white! and in a few days the red will reduce to a golden brown.


This shot I call "Lonesome." All alone, lost, not knowing exactly what to do, it's looking to the sky as if asking "what's next?"

Clouds

Storm clouds, calm before the storm clouds, wisps and horsetails, puffy ones and ones that look like fields of cotton- there are so many different types of clouds. I used to know all the scientific names, but I have since forgotten how to identify each type. Anyway, as you can see, they fascinate me and this week end I was able to see many different types. There were night storms and morning calms, it was very beautiful. These are in chronological order from Friday evening to Sunday evening.

Friday after a storm.

From the window of the Loews Cinema

Saturday evening

Horsetails and so many others!

Sunday morning right after my hosta shots, before church..God's here :)
I think maybe momma is too ;)
Look at the dimensions, that cloud was HUGE!

Me and My Raindrops...

Normally, I wouldn't take pictures of boring hostas but with beaded raindrops on them, definitely! I love the look of rain or dew on flowers or leaves, probably because of the way the magnify and refract light making them seem like they sparkle. This and the last few posts were all from last weekend and I'll be continuing with those shots probably for 2 or 3 more days. Just wait till you see the crazy clouds that preceded and followed that rain!

P.s. These shots look a lot cooler when they're on a large scale, so I suggest clicking on them to get the full effect.

Lurking

Same straw flowers as yesterday, only these are lurking in the shadows. I liked the darkness and subtle yellow against the cloudy blue sky and also the way the flowers are hugging the treeline.

Surface of the Sun

What I love about these straw flowers is that while shooting them I literally thought, it's like being on the surface of the sun, with out the heat of course lol.

If it were ever really possible to get that close to the surface of the sun, I wonder what it would look like... I guess like fire, but probably in shades of white and blue as opposed to yellow and orange.

Still Loving Macro..

And another setting I discovered on my camera this week called the "magnifying glass" setting, which is really awesome! I'm not sure which ones(this one or macro) I used it on because I kept switching back and forth while going through my sister's latest "shipment" from Platt Hill Nursery. I captured as many as I could before she and her husband took them off the deck, using both macro and magnifying glass. The centers just really grabbed my eye. Especially the center of this one, with the light behind it, it looked as if it was an alien or some odd creature peeking out the middle of this trumpet-like flower.

I Love Macro

Photos produced out of boredom while driving through the countryside of Indiana- Inspiration on this one below, Lance Shields- I love my macro setting ;)