Wordless Wednesday - 'Tis the Season

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Monochrome Monday

My Dad (4th from front on left) and my Mom (floral top beside him) out on the town with a group of their friends. This would be the early 40s. I knew the couple directly across from them as they stayed friends forever. I remember the day my Dad almost cut his finger off with his table saw and we were tourniqueting it (his finger, that is) just as they dropped in for an unexpected visit. Mr. A. rushed Dad and my Mom to the hospital while Mrs. A. stayed with us three girls. Dad didn't lose the finger, but for the rest of his life it had a permanent crook in it. Click to enlarge photo.

To participate or to see other Monochrome Monday contributions, see Aileni's site here.

Skywatch Friday - Summer Reminiscence

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Although it's sunny and warm right now and officially autumn, the light seems to be at a different slant. I'm already feeling a bit sorrowful at the loss of summer. I'm also starting to get that hibernation feeling. I just want to curl up in cosy flannel with warm socks on my feet, drink hot cocoa, and go to sleep. I get that feeling every year at this time and have to fight it very hard. SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is very common where I live because of the lack of sunlight throughout the fall and winter. So today I'm posting a photo of part of the farm at Campbell Valley Regional Park that I visited in July. The photo takes me back to that day when it was so hot I relished time in the shade of the huge evergreen and deciduous trees that bordered the farm. I recall sitting on a park-type bench under one tree and taking in the moment. There were soft fluffy clouds above, moving and shifting slowly in the calm breeze. I thought I saw a shape in the smaller cloud that hovered above the roof of the farmhouse. What does it look like to you?

To see other Skywatch Friday photos or to participate, click here.

Wordless Wednesday - Senior Moment

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Monochrome Monday - Barn

This is a barn not far from where I live. It's on the way to the dyke where I occasionally go for a walk to see the driftwood that comes in on the tide at Boundary Bay and where on a clear day Mount Baker in Washington State reaches magnificently to the heavens. One day on the way home, I decided to pull the car over and take a photo. I just liked how it turned out, particularly the textures of the bare branches, dry grasses, and the barbed wire. Be sure to click on the photo to see it in a larger format.

To see other participants in Monochrome Mondays, visit aileni here.

Seasonal Delights

Monochrome Monday - Old Farm Wagon

I took the above photo (click to enlarge) on July 19th at Campbell Valley Regional Park, Langley, BC, where I wandered around the valley floor that led to open pasture and to woodland and creekside meadows. I visited the restored Rowlatt farmstead, complete with old farm machinery and a rebuilt barn. If you'd like to see the slideshow I did on it, click HERE. You will also see this photo in its original colour format.

Monochrome Monday is hosted by aileni at Loose Ends. To join in or to see other participants' photos, click here. It provides an opportunity for you to showcase B&W pictures along with sepia, altered colour images and, of course, old black and white snapshots.

Fly Free, Kathy

In honour of my friend Kathy, who recently passed away after a lengthy battle with breast cancer.
You're free as a kite now and the angels will guide you into heaven.

Monochrome Monday

Here's my contribution - luggage and kerosene lamp circa 1940's found at Murikami house, Steveston, BC, before the Japanese were sent to the interior of BC (Kootenay region) because of Pearl Harbour. Click to enlarge.

Monochrome Monday is hosted by aileni at Loose Ends. To join in or to see other participants' photos, click here.

Photo Hunters - STRING

The theme this week is "String(s)" and I was trying to figure out how to make a photograph of string interesting. Now some people, I'm sure, thought of musical instruments with strings - like a guitar, violin, cello, etc. And others perhaps thought of food like spaghetti or angel hair pasta. Still others might have gone with a badminton or tennis racquet. However, since I'm still learning all the functions of my camera, I decided to go with a simple macro of some twine that I found in my junk drawer. (You all have a junk drawer - you know you do!) Does the photo remind you of anything else? Click to enlarge.

Happy Photo Hunting, everyone! To see photos from other participants, go to tnchick here.

Italian Men - the original

A few people have commented that they really wanted to see the original photo of the four elderly Italian men that I posted for Creative Photography #11 (see below). I changed the original into a pencil sketch version using Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition 3.0 and cropped it a bit. Well, here's the original. Hope you like it as much as I do. Please click to enlarge.

Creative Photography #12

Even though as a CPJ my photo doesn't get voted on, I thought I'd share this photo that I caught in mid-July at the Westham Island Bird Sanctuary. Such a sweet picture! I sneaked up behind this family and got the photo right through the long grass. And they never moved a muscle. I did nothing to enhance the photo - it's exactly as taken. Click to enlarge and then check out the official Creative Photography site here to see participants' photos.