Day 30

Little stream, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Home again and just looking through all the pictures I shot this weekend. This is a little stream up in Fish Lake, Oregon. This was my best attempt at a slow shutter speed. The light was too bright to go any slower.

Day 29

Sunflowers at Sunset, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Still shooting my heart out in Oregon. These are sunflowers in my mom's yard. The sun had just disappeared behind the mountain.

Day 28

Heart Rock, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I'm on my laptop in Oregon so I'm limited on editing this weekend. This is one of my mom's many heart rocks. She collects them as she comes across them and her house and garden is filled with all shapes and sizes of them.

Day 27

Sleeping Tika, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

"Don't bother me mom!" Between my child and my cat no one wanted to pose for me today. I had to wait patiently for Tika to go to sleep and quickly snap this.

Day 26

You are here, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Six months ago we decided to pack up our lives from Virginia and move back to our home, Idaho. This old globe has survived many moves. It is my husbands from his childhood.

Day 25

Keys to my heart, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

A little experiment with my white desktop, a lamp and the speedlight. I am so happy with how this turned out. I love it!

Day 24

Storm Aftermath, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

As we were finishing up dinner tonight I commented that it seemed really dark out back. I went out to look and could see a big dust cloud making its way towards us. I instantly went for my camera. While I was changing lenses I saw my new patio set go flying across my yard. This is how I found it. The umbrella was bent at a 90 degree angle. Thankfully everything else survived...except the plant which was kind of dead already.

Day 23

American Flag, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I was messing around with shutter speed for my online class today and even though I had a few that were blurry from movement I like the crisp, sharp one best.

Day 22

Brick Arches, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

All across the country today people gathered for a National Photo Walk. This was organized to promote Scott Kelby's newest Lightroom book. I signed up and attended without knowing a single soul but I am very glad I did it. I am smack in the middle of updating all the photos from today so I am just kind of throwing something out here for today so I can make my "365" goal.

Day 21

White Daisy Back, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

While shopping at Costco today I stopped to admire the flower bouquets they had for sale. This bunch of bright Gerber Daisies caught my eye. It was good practice for me to take home and shoot while trying to apply some of what I have been learning in my classes. I taped a piece of black paper to the wall and set them next to the window to get some natural light.

Day 20

Cat Tails, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Such a great day to be outside today. Cooler weather, a nice breeze and blue sky.

Day 19

Me, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I looked a little silly trying to get this shot but in my opinion, it worked. I couldn't get a self portrait I liked with the self timer so I decided to hand hold the camera and lay on the couch for a nice neutral background. I am actually really happy with how the light turned out - dorky or not.

Here is the other one with a little more playing around in Photoshop.

Day 18

Markers, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I ran out of time today so this is the best I could do. Markers from my scrap room. Basically this is me saying: "Oh crap! I didn't take a picture yet and my camera battery is almost dead!"

Day 17

Sunset Tree, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I knew the sunset was going to be a good one tonight when I saw the clouds coming in. A wind storm was also picking up creating a lot of dust so this ended up with a little more noise than I wanted. Even though I had the camera on the tripod it was still moving a little due to the wind.

Day 16

Purple Flower, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

No idea what kind of flower this is. If I have nothing else for inspiration then I tend to fall back on flowers. Not sure what will happen come winter.

Day 15

Ferris Wheel, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

The Western Idaho Fair started yesterday. Our only chance to go together as a family was today. I don't think we could have picked a hotter day if we tried!

My favorite part of the fair has always been walking through the expo building and admiring the photography exhibits. Next year I vow to enter my work as well.

Day 14

Plums, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

The plums on the tree in my Dad's backyard are on with full force. This is my second attempt at photographing them and I'm still not happy with it. I did some experimenting with Photoshop to attempt to make it more appealing.

Day 13

Black-eyed Susans, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I love this patch of Black-eyed Susans that is at the park by my house. Today I braved the heat to take some shots in the bright harsh sunlight. I need to go back and try again when the sun is a little softer.

Day 12

Band-aids make everything better, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I had great intentions of going out to take some shots of daisies today. On my way out the door my daughter cut in front of me and my toe collided with her ankle. It hurt like Hell and my daughter instantly starting crying. At first I thought I had hurt her worse than she hurt me but I soon realize she was crying because she knew I was hurt. After a half hour of her hysterics I was finally able to calm her down by putting a band-aid on my jammed toe (I don't think it's broke). She of course, needed one as well.

Not the most exciting picture for today but it makes a great story to remember down the road.

Day 11

Tika, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I'm a little distracted today with starting an online photography class and also scheduling a private lesson for the same day. So I'm scrambling to get my assignments done.

Which leads to me snapping an quick photo of our cat, Tika, while she is sitting on my desk watching me fret.

Day 10

Me up close, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I made it to the double digits! Today I wanted to experiement with the mirror. The original of this one is actually of most of my torso as well but after cropping it to a square size I kind of like the look of the zoomed in version better.

This is my camera and my first SLR; a Nikon D50. I also use a Nikon SB600 Speedlight and the lense is a Nikkor 28-80mm.

Day Nine

My Hubby, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

My husband was out working the yard this evening and I snuck out for some quick shots. I tried to get some of my daughter as well but she wasn't as cooperative. I spent so much time trying to get her to pose I forgot about the burgers on the BBQ and burnt them to a crisp!

It has been just over a week at this project and I am already learning something. I am really happy with how this turned out. I have a feeling a lot of my 365 photos will end up in black and white though. I just love that style.

Day Eight

Thistle2, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Great photo day! We took a road trip to visit my dad and step mom camping in Cascade, ID today. I am so glad we did! I got a ton of great photos and had fun playing around with some shots. I had a really hard time choosing which one I would showcase for my blog and "official" 365 photo for today so I ended up choosing the best of my thistle shots.

If you want to see the rest of the pictures from today I am working on getting them edited and uploaded to my Flickr album.

Day Seven

Morning Shower, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I'm not feeling that great today and it is incredibly hot outside. So, I was inspired this morning to take my camera (carefully) into the shower. This isn't the best shot in the world but it gave me a chance to work on my Photoshop skills by adding a little vignetting.

Day Six

Smiles, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I didn't forget to take a picture yesterday. My DSL was out all night, the HORROR! So I'm just a little late uploading to the web is all.

My little monster is all about this 356 project. Every day she asks about taking pictures. Today she wanted me to take them of her outside. Instant gratification is great for children, they love the preview screen.

Day Five

Little Red Car, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

My daughters most favorite possession, her Little Tyke's Cozy Coupe car. She has had this since she gave up her pacifier and it was the only thing she cared about arriving safely when we moved across country.

I had a hard time getting the lighting right with this shot. I ended up aiming the speedlight at the wall to bounce off the flash since the top of the car blocks out most of the light.

Day Four

Lunchtime, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Some days we pack up our lunch and head outside to the backyard where it is still shaded and cool on the patio. My daughter, unlike her mommy at that age, loves olives. Of course, they have to be eaten off finger tips in order to really be good.

Day Three

Summer heat, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

Typical Boise summer weather. Our thermometer sits on the hot side of our house so I don't know if it broke 100 officially or not today, but it bet it was darn close.

Day Two

Wrought Iron, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

When all else fails look around the house. I was a good photo blogger today and brought my camera out with me but the item that inspired me the most was in my own home. I love these wall hangings that are in my dining room.

Day One

Tika, originally uploaded by Shutterbug Cel.

I just returned home from visiting friends in our old home state of Virginia. They suggested I start my own 365 photography blog after I expressed my desire to pursue photography further. So here I am, weary from travel, barely unpacked and deciding to start my blog tonight.

Tika, our kitty, turned out to be my first model. Not much for holding still and much more interested in loving the camera and telling Mommy how happy she was that I was home.