a year of happy

one hundred photos update

A few months ago,
I started a "100 Photos Project."

I'm working with and watching 
some wonderful photographers
in the blog world
as we are trying to
take one hundred photos
based on our own theme.





It's kind of like a 365 project,
except not so strenuous--
as in 100 photos in a year
instead of one a day for a year!

I am enjoying it so much!

My theme is "Simple Pleasures."
Other themes I've seen are
Still Life, Landscapes, Portraits, and more.






You can see my entire project
at A Year of Happy: One Hundred Photos.

And you can view all of the photos
from the 72 members of the group
at the 100 photos Flickr page.
You should take a look--
there are some really terrific photos!

Today one of my photos
is being featured
on the 100 Photos Group Feature Blog!
What an honor!





Would you like to join the project?
Pop in to see Toni and send her an email--
she'll get you started!

Also, be sure to check out
The Blog Cafe!
We're so excited about it--
and we hope we'll see you
here on Monday!

right in the middle of town

I took "A" to school this morning.

The sun had just come up,
and the shadows on the mountains
were so beautiful.

Carrying my camera around with me
has made me stop and notice things
that I hadn't paid any attention to before.

For instance,
about a mile away from my house
right in the middle of town
and across the street from the cemetery
lies this open field.

I drive by it several times a day.

And yet I've never paid attention
to the beauty of it all.

But when I look at it
through a camera lens,
I realize how breathtaking it really is.

Right in the middle of town.

Some people would pay
big bucks for a view like this!

playing with water for team up thursday

UPDATE:


This week I've joined up
with a Flickr photography group
called Team Up Thursday.

Every Thursday,
members of this group
post a photo based on a theme.

Here's what's fun about it.
Everybody is teamed up
with somebody else, 
and the two of them
pair their photos together
and then post them in a diptych.

This is my first week
and my partner is
Arizaphale from Australia.

Arizaphale blogs at
"Now Where Did I Put
My Flaming Sword?"
Her blog is so much fun--
she makes me laugh
every time I read it.

Arizaphale in Australia
is 17 hours ahead of me
over here in Utah.
So my Thursday
is basically her Friday.
And when she's awake,
I'm asleep....it could
get really confusing!

This week our theme is Water.


And here's our Water Diptych:





Click on it to see it full size.



You can see all of the group's photos
on the Team Up Thursday Flickr page.
And if you'd like to join in the fun,
it's not too late.
Visit Megan at Mental Inventory
and she'll get you set up!

___________________________________

At first,
I couldn't think of a good way 
to photograph water.

I took this shot.





It was fine, but boring.
I wanted to try to see
water in a different way.

So I put food coloring in it.




It still wasn't quite
what I was looking for.

So I thought I might
play it safe and I
started hunting
through my archives.

I found photos
from our vacation at Bear Lake,



 


and camping trips to the Uintahs,






and a trip to the Northwest.







They all have water.

Then "J" came over --
and told me,
"You've got to take a new photo.
You can do it!"

So we started brainstorming.

And we had so much fun
finding beautiful ways
to see water through a camera lens.












Thanks for your help "J"!
I'm learning so much
about photography from you!

signs of spring

I went out with my camera
to see if I could
hunt down
any signs of spring.

Look what I found!










Are there any
signs of spring
in your neck of the woods?

shoot

I've been out practicing
with my camera lately.

Officially, I have taken
over 3,000 pictures
since Christmas.

And unofficially,
only a handful of them
have even been worth sharing!

It's a really good thing
we've got digital cameras.
Can you imagine
how much money
I would have spent
developing all the ones
that didn't work?!

Here are a just a few
of the things
I've been working on:





and in black and white:






my friend debbie's orchids....






even closer.....







clementines....




 



jill's lamp....







and birds on a wire.






I'm really loving
this new camera!

If you see a middle age lady
out taking pictures
in her pajamas,
it's probably me!

____________________

Stop by tomorrow....
I'm going to tell my
Life Changing Moment #4.
It's the one about a trip!

_________________________

You can view my
One Hundred Photos collection here.

one winter morning

Early Saturday morning,
D was out shoveling the walks.
He called in to me.
"Grab your camera!"

So I slipped on some shoes
with my leopard print pajamas,
grabbed a coat,
and ran outside.

When I saw it, I said,
"I need to get in the car for this."

I thought I would just drive up the hill
so I could get a better view.

An hour and a half later,
with my shoes soaked through,
and still in my leopard print pajamas,
I finally got home.

It was one of those snow days
that there really are
no words to describe.

You just have to see it.

.

.

  

__________________

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pride or prejudice--which one would you choose?

This Mr. Darcy.....

.

.

Or this one?

.

.

And which Elizabeth Bennet
do you favor?

There are so many great
characters
in both movies....
like Mrs. Bennet,
and Jane, and Mr. Collins.

I own them both,
and
I enjoy them both.
But I confess,
I do have a favorite.

However,
times are tough
at my house right now,
because I'm
the only girl
at home.

I can't get
anybody
to watch either one with me!

Which movie do you like best?
Just leave a comment and
let's discuss!

(I'll tell you my favorite in the comments...)

.

________________________

Click here to see
Photo 6 of 100,
boughs and berries in melting snow.

 

Don't miss a day
of happy...
subscribe in a reader!

And click here
to get
100 photos of happy
in your reader too!

..

.

looking for it

We're in the thick of
January gray.
For what seems like weeks,
we've had that horrible
winter phenomenon
called an inversion,
where the valley air is filled
with smog
and we haven't even seen the sun.

The storms have finally come,
which hopefully means
that the air is clearing
and the sun will come out soon.

With all this gray,
it means that I've had to
look really hard
to find something good
to take pictures of.

But looking hard
is good, isn't it?
When you find something
beautiful,
it means that much more.

It was in the dismal gray,
that I found these berries....
.



.

and these branches.....

.

.

and this birdhouse.

.

I'm really excited
about my One Hundred Photos project.

I've posted photos 4 and 5:

.

4:: for the birds

5:: pear and pomegranates

. .

Click over to my project
and see what I've been doing!

I've also spent a little time
checking out the photos
of others who are participating.

Take a look at these gems.
I think you'll like them!

.

umbrella and scarf by Toni

finding light by Lisa

mason jar by Emerald Lane

.
. .

How about you?

What are you doing to
look for the good
in this January day?

. . .

one hundred photos of happy

Would you like to join me
in a new photography project?

I ran across a blog
yesterday
that I'm really excited about.

It's called One Hundred Photos.
The creator, Toni, has given herself
a personal challenge--
to take 100 photos
following a specific theme
throughout the year.
She says:

One Hundred Photos was created as a personal challenge to myself. A focus that would hopefully hone my skills and spark inspiration, but also teach me to dig deeper when I feel uninspired. To look harder when I don't see anything around me. In the end I will have a collection of 100 pictures that I can look back on to see how I've grown as a photographer--not just with my camera, but with my eyes and heart too.

_____________________

Toni has invited
anyone who is interested
to join her in her
One Hundred Photos Project.

There really aren't many rules.
You can choose your own theme--
or you don't have to use a theme--
you can link up with her project,
and you can even post your photos on her
Flickr group page.

I love this idea--
and I think it fits perfectly
with A Year of Happy.

So I'm going to do it!

Every so often,
I will post my photos here,
and I'll also post them at
A Year of Happy: One Hundred Photos
so they can be viewed
as a collection.
My theme will be
"Simple Pleasures."

Although I've never studied
photography,
and have so much to learn,
I'm excited to get familiar
with my new camera,
and explore the possibilities.

My first two photos
have already been posted
on this blog.
You can view them
in the collection....

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1:: hot cocoa on a sledding hill

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2:: making music

.

Here is the third photo:

3:: winter treasures

.

You can also visit
my "One Hundred Photos"
by clicking the link above
in the navigation bar,
or by visiting
www.ayearofhappyphotos.com.

If you'd like to participate,
visit onehundredphotos.blogspot.com.
I think it will be fun!

..

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