February 28 Nuthatch

February 28 Nuthatch, originally uploaded by NedraI.

I love these little guys. Instead of flying from branch to branch they tend to hop all around the tree. I sat in the garage doorway today taking some pictures of the birds. I could hear the cardinals and blue jays but they never came in close. I also saw a huge woodpecker fly by but he didn't land for a photo op.

February 27 (21) Cayuga Lake

February 27 (21) Cayuga Lake, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Daily Shoot: The horizon can be a strong composition element. Make a photograph that emphasizes the horizon today.

Another day of cheating! I ventured out to make a trek to the drug store to pick up some meds for my back but that was it. Still not up to stopping to take a picture. Hopefully I'll be feeling better tomorrow.

This is a picture from last Sunday in Ithaca. I took this while waiting for my daughter's hockey game to begin. Look there's color on a few of the trees! It was 39 degrees and the sun was out! Beautiful day.

February 26 Sandy Garden

February 26 Sandy Garden, originally uploaded by NedraI.

took this shot as a reminder so when gardening time rolls around I'll remember why the garden and brick area where the swing sits is full of sand! The new blower throws that snow too far!

Snow Plow

Snow Plow, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Today’s Daily Shoot assignment is:
Novelty can help goose creativity. Go somewhere today you've never been, even just a different street, and make a photo.

Well, I'm cheating today. We did go down to Cooperstown but every road we traveled we had traveled before and although I took my camera it never came out of the bag. I hurt my back on my first attempt at shoveling the sidewalk this morning. As a matter of fact I squatted down to get this shot and I wasn't sure I was going to make it back to a standing position by myself! So I've decided on a shot of something I've never shot before will be my novelty for the day.

I can't imagine being someone that would have to shovel this heavy stuff by hand, even with a healthy back. It was too high to drive

Fence

Fence, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Negative space can be just as important to a composition as your primary subject. Explore negative space in a photograph.

The snow collected on the fence today in an unusual way.

Snow Holes

Snow Holes, originally uploaded by NedraI.

We had a wet heavy snow over night. Everything looked beautiful this morning. As I headed out to take a few pictures before work I was surprised to see snow hanging on the underside of this fence and a light post. I only had one chance for this picture. I had no sooner snapped the pic and my dog came running up and jumped on the fence and that was the end of it.

Sunshine

Sunshine, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Monochrome photos don't have to be the result of processing or desaturation. Find a monochrome composition and shoot it.

Just a quick shot tonight of a couple of the copper molds hanging in the kitchen.

February 22 Squares

February 22 Squares, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Squares and grids surround us in our built environment. Focus in on some squares today and make a photograph.

Some good ol' fashioned blocks. I played with these as a child at my aunt's house. When my son was young she passed them along to him. They show some wear and tear and have provided hours of entertainment. I hope someday they'll be used by our grandchildren.

February 21 Taughannock Falls

February 21 Taughannock Falls, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Today we went to Ithaca for the last time to watch my daughter play hockey. After the game we took a scenic tour on the way home. We made a stop at this falls. It was beautiful. I watched a huge chunk of ice fall off and the noise was great. As I watched in awe I forgot to snap a picture!

Seed Ball?

Seed Ball?, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Backgrounds are tricky. They can make a subject stand out or distract from it. Make a photo with a good background today.

I like the diagonal lines going in the opposite direction in the background of this shot.

These little things hang on the tree with the interesting bark. The trees look like they have Christmas decorations on them!

February 20 Grandma's Oatmeal Bread

February 20 Grandma's Oatmeal Bread, originally uploaded by NedraI.

An old adage in photography says if you want to improve your photographs, move closer. Fill your frame today!

I've started reading "In Defense of Food" and I just spent 5 days with my brother and sister who are much healthier eaters than I. I'm going to attempt to begin establishing better eating habits. I'm not a terrible eater but know I have much room for improvement. My first attempt today was making our favorite bread and I used a combo of unbleached white flour and whole wheat flour instead of regular white flour. I'm going to continue to work on making small changes towards healthier eating and more than likely some of those changes will be described here.

February 19 Lights at O'Hare

February 19 Lights at O'Hare, originally uploaded by NedraI.

If you fly United and end up at O'Hare be sure to check out this walkway between terminal B and C. I loved it!

I enjoyed my spare time at the airport today. Besides this spot there was a walkway between two other terminals that was light and airy and filled with artwork. I took some pictures there as well. When I felt I had finally taken enough pictures I sat down at a charging station and started uploading the day's shots. This picture is my favorite of the day.

Frame

Frame, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Daily Shoot # 95 Frames outline the focus of a subject. Make a creative photo with natural framing: windows, doors, trees, borders

This shot caught my eye as I was out on my walk today.

February 18 Bird of Paradise

February 18 Bird of Paradise, originally uploaded by NedraI.

These were in bloom when I was here last April. Today I discovered one in bloom in a corner near the clubhouse. I love these flowers, there are so unlike anything in NY!

February 17 Flower

February 17 Flower, originally uploaded by NedraI.

I'm not sure what kind of flower this is but it was very pretty. It was found right along the road so I was happy that I could photograph it up close. As I walk through the retirement village I'm always on the look out for things to photograph but I'm very careful not to step onto personal property.

February 16 Bark

February 16 Bark, originally uploaded by NedraI.

I love the different textures in the bark of this tree.

February 15 Mom

February 15 Mom, originally uploaded by NedraI.

My mom will celebrate her 80th birthday next month. As an early present all her children came home this week. It's not very often that we all get together as she lives in AZ, my sister is in NE, one brother is in OR, the other in IL and I'm from NY. It was a very relaxing week. Mom loved having us there but hated to see us go as well. We're hoping to repeat this next Feb. or perhaps April. I hope it works out.

February 15 Veins

February 15 Veins, originally uploaded by NedraI.

I noticed the sun shining through these leaves on this morning's walk. Such a beautiful pattern.

February 14 Riparian Preserve

February 14 Riparian Preserve, originally uploaded by NedraI.

On last year's trip to AZ I came across the Riparian Preserve by accident. This year it was the only excursion I made. My sister and brother in law went along and we had a very enjoyable walk snapping pictures the whole time. This guy attacked some Canadian Geese and then came running and squawking back to join his own kind.

February 13 Odd/Even

February 13 Odd/Even, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Odd or even: Compose an image with an odd or even number of subjects today, and make a photo.

Shooting towards the window did not make for the best exposure today. However, I wanted to capture the feel that I'm in an airport. This is the absolute lightest I have ever traveled. I have to change planes twice on my trip from upstate NY to Phoenix and I didn't want to worry about my luggage not making all the connections. I also wanted to avoid the bag fees and by the looks of it everyone else is trying to avoid that as well.

I think my camera equipment and laptop take up more room than my clothes. Priorities!

February 12 Winter Olympics

February 12 Winter Olympics, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Continuing the Friday fun theme, make a photo that goes with the title of a book you've read.

If I had known I was going to take this picture I would have looked through the titles of my Olympic books at school before heading home. So for now Winter Olympics will have to do. After vacation I'll look at the titles and come back and change it to one I've read. The only adult Olympic book I've read is Crashing the Net and that doesn't quite fit this picture.

Erin Hamlin is a local girl participating in the luge this year. She's from a neighboring small town. It's great to see the communities supporting her with signs. This week I showed some of my classes the official Olympic site and had them check out the pictures, videos and athletes pages. Many of the students have connections to Erin and are so excited to see how she does.

Good luck Erin!

February 11 Bird House

February 11 Bird House, originally uploaded by NedraI.

I took pictures of these bird houses earlier this winter but I failed to get a picture that showed the license plate roof and the decorative front. So, this morning the sun was out, I wasn't running late and I was going to the school that these are near so I stopped to get another shot. The sun being out made it seem warm. I found myself standing out there with no mittens and my coat unzipped, of course it was almost a balmy 20 degrees!

February 9 First HDR Photo

February 9 First HDR Photo, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Franz Kafka said "Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." Make a photo of something beautiful today.

We usually refer to this plant as our Thanksgiving Cactus because that's when it blooms. This year it is treating us to a second round of its beautiful flowers. I'm thrilled because I wanted to try an HDR photo last time it bloomed but didn't get it done. So when I saw today's topic I knew this was the beauty I wanted to capture. I followed the advice from an online article on how to take the photo and step by step directions for working in Photoshop from an article in Popular Photography. I am pleased with my first attempt.

February 8 Treat Time!

February 9 Treat Time!, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Pet photos are such a cliche, but they're also cute. Make an interesting photo of a pet today. (via @rmanalan)

Gertie was wanting a treat tonight. She will now put her head in the bag but she cant' quite make it to the bottom. I finally tipped the bag to help her out.

February 7 Snow Flurry

February 7 Snow Flurry, originally uploaded by NedraI.

We had a few snow flurries this afternoon. When I looked out the window I noticed they might be good ones to photograph. There were some nice ones but most were too small to get a get a good macro shot. Here's my favorite from today.

February 7 Tell a Story

February 7 Tell a Story, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Challenge: Practice storytelling today. Look for 3 images that tell a story, and make a set of photos that go together.

This weekend my daughter participated in the Sarah tournament in Erie PA.The 16th annual tournament is dedicated to Sarah Backstrom, a hockey player, who lost her fight to leukemia.

Tournament officials are an important part of an event like this. They put in long hours before and during the event. From the standpoint of a parent it seemed like a well run event. Here an official oversees the girls as they come in and sign an official roster.

When we go to hockey games we're always hoping for a good rink. My standards for what makes a good hockey rink differ from what my daughter would consider a good rink. I think a rink is good if it offers a comfortable warming room, good coffee, heaters in the stands, clean glass, and it's great if it has free wi-fi! My daughter would consider it a good rink if it's real cold, has hard ice, and fair refs.

February 6 Penguins' Fan

February 6 Penguins Fan, originally uploaded by NedraI.

My daughter has been a Penguins fan since she was very young. Since she's going to be attending college 40 miles from Pittsburgh she decided to buy a jersey on our trip to Erie. She's hoping the college will be sponsoring trips to Penguin games next year. She was debating between the blue jersey and the black. She ended up going with the black.

February 5 Miracle

Miracle, originally uploaded by NedraI.

More fun on a Friday: Make a photo that goes with the title of a movie you've seen, interpreted any way you like!

I'm not much of a movie watcher so this morning I joked that if our daughter's hockey team beat the Canadian team today I could use a picture and call it Miracle. We had heard that the it was an A team so the girls and parents alike were expecting another loss for our girls. However, the Canadian team came on a bus and got lost and arrived at game time. So they had dressed on the bus and came on the ice a little off their game. Our girl's played well and game away with a 5-1 win. A plus for us was that our daughter, who just switched from defense to offense this year, had her first ever hat trick! Way to go girls and good luck in rest of the tourny.

February 4 Photo Storage

February 4 Photo Storage, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Contrasting ideas engage the mind. Make a photo today that tells a story with contrasting elements. (via @dibytes)

I have two shelves crammed full of photo albums. But nothing from the past two years. Now all the photos are stored on external hard drives. Some people say they'd miss looking through the albums. That is nice but I rarely do that and it's easier to browse through the hard drive and nice to see the pictures enlarged on the screen. Which do you prefer?

February 3 Rose Thorn

Rose Thorn, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Make a "sharp" photo today any way you interpret it, either tack-sharp focus or a subject that is sharp itself.

Having been stuck by rose thorns many times I have to admit I've never stopped to look closely at one before. They do have some interesting colors.

February 2 Snowflakes

February 2 Snowflakes, originally uploaded by NedraI.

I had about five minutes to take some snowflake pictures before heading off to work. Why wasn't it snowing yesterday morning when we had an hour delay? Oh well.... At least I managed to take a few pictures. I cropped in on the pile of flakes to bring out this little gem. I played around with Camera Raw to get this effect.

Winter Farm

Winter Farm, originally uploaded by NedraI.

It's Groundhog Day in the U.S. Make a photo that illustrates whether it's more like winter or spring where you live.

I stopped and took this from my car window on my way home from work. It was too hazy today to see the Adirondack Mountains in the distance. Tonight I played around with Camera Raw. I took out the blues and added a softer touch to this photo. I'm just learning Photoshop/Camera Raw, I welcome any helpful hints/advice/critiques.

February 1 Tractor

February 1 Tractor, originally uploaded by NedraI.

Orange! Keep your eyes peeled for anything orange today and make an interesting photo.

This tractor belonged to my cousin. He passed away when he was a teenager due to cancer. My aunt and uncle gave this tractor to my son when he was a preschooler. My husband enjoyed fixing it all up to it's original condition. Both of our children had fun driving it around. When they outgrew it my husband suspended it from the ceiling of the garage so we could still see it and enjoy it instead of sticking it in the attic out of site. I hope someday we'll have grandchildren driving around the yard on this beauty.