This month’s project snuck up on me. I had originally meant to focus on just capturing images in black and white. Using whatever subject appealed to me. However, I found myself taking a lot of images of pets and so my subject changed of its own accord. So, this month was filled with photos of furry critters, bugs, and even some slithery creatures that I was just lucky enough to observe. The most special little things this month were the two baby bird nests. One was on my parent's property so I have been lucky enough to watch them grow and the other nest was found during a camping trip my husband and I took with some friends. I don't usually find bugs, in particular, to be very fascinating but by making a point to get a little closer than I usually would have, it was neat to see how neat they actually are. There was one bug that I was not able to get a photo of because it FREAKED me out! I was backing out of my garage and on the wall, at eye level, was a spider which was as large as the palm of my hand. This startled me so much I immediately called my hubby to express to him how huge and awful this situation was and tell him how scared it made me, to which he just laughed, of course! My sweet son, Blake, got out of the truck, took his notebook that he was writing in, and smacked that thing dead. He was so chivalrous and he sure felt proud to "save mommy!" Spiders don't usually freak me out that bad but I also have never seen one so large before! The birds were abundant this month and everywhere I seemed to go one would fly off or just sit and observe me watching it. Camping allowed for a lot of opportunity for the creepy crawly things. Again, this subject snuck up on me… I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Another lesson this month taught me is that as long as I have SOMETHING to shoot with I am a happy girl. I shot these with my big DSLR camera, my camera phone, and my small point and shoot camera. They aren't all perfect, but they are perfect for what I had at the moment that I took them.
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It's always such a peaceful thing, to me, to spend time in nature. To just walk around and find all the natural colors that started showing themselves this month has been wonderful! It was fun to have my munchkins walk with me and look for any flowers that were sprouting. We found them everywhere! As a bonus this month, due to Mother's Day, I was spoiled with some pretty flowers for my planters and pots and my mom gets them also, so I was able to use some of those for this project as well. Some of the wildflowers I stumbled upon; I don't ever remember seeing before not to mention, I would never be able to name them all! Some of these I have probably walked by thousands of times without even acknowledging them below my feet or above my head. In fact, in our backyard alone, I discovered 3 different flowers I didn't even know we had - and we have lived here for almost 5 years!!! It sure opened my eyes this month. Photography really is a way to slow down and notice the little things... I hope you enjoy these as much as I did capturing them. Pink, purple, white, orange, yellow, and even hues of blue were the colors that exploded this month of May. View more:Go out there & look around. You may be pleasantly surprised at what you might see if you slow down and look in different directions. Peek into things and you may find a beautiful little egg hidden deep in a bush. Or look up and you may find a lone spider tending its web. No matter what, just slow down and look. I promise it will never be a waste of your time.
Once again, for the entire month of April, I chose to focus on one idea and run with it. I know the saying goes, "April Showers bring May Flowers," however, there wasn't much rain this month - there were even a couple of days with snow. I love Spring. It's so wonderful to see all the new growth in nature. This month really allowed me to see this first hand as each day I went to the same spot and took a photo of this beautiful and unique tree growing over this lovely babbling brook. I know the early shots of this don't look very different. About 13 days into this project, I decided to start taking a photo of the buds growing on the tree and added those to each image for each day. This really give you an idea of how quickly things do fill in. It was awesome to see this happening in just a short 30 day project! Slow down... Take time to notice the small things... Enjoy what's around you all the time! Macro/Micro/Close-up March: I used this month to just get up-close to anything and everything that caught my eye. My kids even gave me little ideas to use (their cars and little bug). I got a new kit that allows me to magnify things at different levels and I had fun exploring with that this month. I love the idea of "If Walls Could Talk." If walls could talk!! I took this month to explore and let my imagination run away with me. I love the old, old buildings in my community. Some of these are places I drive by often, and others were from trips that we took this month. Some of these buildings were hidden and I had to hike to get close and others were easily seen from a main road. I have a romantic (old soul) side who likes to imagine young couples who would sneak away from mom and dad's prying eyes to steal some kisses in the hay loft. I like to imagine Grandma and Grandpa sitting on the old creaky porch, drinking sun tea, watching their grandkids playing on the same soil where they raised their own children. I am in awe of those people who had such simple lives. When compared to now, in a time where we are just bombarded with electronics in all aspects of our lives; well it just doesn’t leave much to the imagination anymore. Travel consisted of horses pulling their buggies where their owners only had a blanket to cover their laps and a hot brick to keep their feet warm. Traveling to see your family took days instead of minutes or hours. I loved the railroad towns and can easily picture what it would have looked like for people coming and going. I always thought I grew up in the wrong time period because I was always a huge fan of stories like "Little House on the Prairie." There was no need to answer to anyone or to rely on anyone but your own two hands and your family. You put down roots wherever you wanted and created a home and a life with your spouse and the babies that came were truly gifts from God. Letters to your family back home were such precious items to send and to receive because you actually had some worthwhile information to share. Now, with things like Facebook, you really have no opportunity to share some "new" news because people are so willing to overshare every detail of their life. Small talk fills up our lives now. Back then, they grew their own food and harvested their own meat. Children wouldn't turn away from fresh veggies because it was what was offered and they enjoyed eating them because they helped with the chores that provided that bounty and there was a sense of pride with that. We live in a world right now where everything can be done at a touch of a button. I am victim of it myself. The conveniences of today are wonderful in many ways but with advances like we have been given also comes laziness and ignorance. We don't have to think about things anymore because YouTube will teach us. I have a computer in my back pocket that I can access anywhere I go. Working on this project this month, I wasn't seeing old, run-down buildings; I was seeing a glimpse of the past. Of a time when things were less stressful and less drama filled. Things aren't built like they used to be. A handmade anything will always beat any factory-made something. I took a lot of time driving around and finding these old and rustic buildings to capture for these 28 days of February - to a simpler time. I enjoyed my project this month! It was an opportunity to slow down and enjoy and observe my surroundings. It was fun to imagine these buildings in their prime!
I stepped out of my box many times for this month and I do like the results. Not all of the images are my favorite, but I do have a few that I have fallen in love with (yes, I have fallen in love with me this month), as silly as that sounds! ~MY FAITH~I am a very faithful person. It is something that I loved sharing with my grandma growing up and my faith is a big part of who I am today. This church is especially special to my family because this is where I married my husband and where all three of my children were dedicated to God. ~MY HUSBAND~~MY SON, GAVIN~My number one of two - my baby "A" – my son Gavin. Gavin is such a sweet boy! His hugs are the best as he squeezes me in the middle with all his might and “smooshes the stuffing” out of me. Gavin is my first born (a mere 28 minutes older than his brother). I was able to hold this handsome boy for a few minutes – just him – one baby in my arms for just a few minutes. I was able to look into these eyes and thank God that he was healthy and that he was mine. Almost 8 years old already and I am thrilled to be on this journey with Gavin, watching as he grows. ~MY SON, BLAKE~
~MY DAUGHTER, EVETTE~ This beautiful little girl is the little life that completed our family. Evette is a 4th generation name. Her great-grandmother was Jeanette Joann, her grandmother is Nanette Joann, her mommy (yours truly) is Danette Joann, and she is Evette Joann. She is charismatic, outgoing, silly, kind, and loving. She is the epitome of a “mini me.” Whatever mommy does, baby girl wants to do. She is keeping me girly! Painting our nails, curling our hair, putting on makeup… She asks to do it all with me and I have so many photos of these events with my little bug. ~MY FURRY BABY, FUJISU~
~OTHER FAVORITES (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)~ |
Danette Badger
Last year I participated in a challenge with a wonderful community of talented photographers to capture a photo a day for the full 365 days. I made it through the entire year and was so proud of myself that I succeeded in such a challenge. It is not as easy as it sounds and it turned out to be such an awesome project. It deepened my love of photography even more. This year I decided that I will do another 365 challenge but with my own ideas and interests. I have chosen a topic or topics for each month and I will share my images at the end of each month. Thank you for looking and I hope you enjoy! Archives
June 2015
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