Lens play

This is a reverse lens photo.

I took the lens off of my camera and turned it around then got very close to this wasp or hornet, I don’t know which it is.  It never bothered me as I took quite a few shots. Below is a regular shot with the lens attached as it should be.

Next are free lens photos. Again I take the lens off of the camera but I don’t turn it around. I just hold it out a very slight bit and then tilt it either forwards or backwards, right or left hoping to find the sweet spot. It doesn’t always happen but I like the results even so. I usually don’t even know until I look at the photos on the computer screen.

So this one with the two dogs didn’t really work out but I still like it. The next few I consider a success!

These shots of the clouds are regular shots with the lens attached. Last night the clouds and sun were painting some of the most beautiful scenes ever!

Below is an afternoon shot of a yummy cloud.

So won’t you give the free lens and reverse lens a try? It’s great fun and you can’t really mess up. Sometimes the mess ups are nice as well. I had already heard about reverse lens photography but not free lens until I read the latest edition of Artful Blogging Magazine.

I just found a wonderful tutorial on how to free lens at the blog, A Beautiful Mess.

Everything you need to know! I will be reading it as well since the original information I read wasn’t very detailed. Sorry I tried to link to the magazine and blog but it is not working.

 

 

 

 

 

Lilly

I Have The Best Daughter In The World!

I say that I have the best daughter in the world because she is always willing to help out an animal in need. Many times she goes above and beyond to help them.

Tonight we drove by an area where a house was torn down that used to have a lot of cats running around and sleeping on the porch. The house was torn down a few weeks ago and I stupidly thought that whoever had lived there must have made arrangements for the cats. Whether it was the person who used to live there or the person in charge of that person or whoever, they did not. We discovered the cats there this evening. She drove right to the store and bought cat food and a water bowl for them.

We went back and they all ran into the woods that surround the house. To our surprise we found that someone had been leaving food for them. Then we walked around behind a big tree into a nice little shaded spot and there was a lot of old empty food containers and cat food bags. It looked as if someone was trying to keep them fed and watered. We did wonder if a homeless person might have been staying there also. It was getting dark so we couldn’t really get a good look behind the hedge of trees and bushes.

Tomorrow I will call our No-Kill shelter and pray that they will for once have room for animal that I call about! At least we know they have enough food and some water.

So I have to say it again, I have the best daughter in the world! She is an animal hero.

Quick And Easy Window Dressing

I made this quick and easy window dressing for the larger window in my kitchen. My house is most definitely not formal at all. Some things are even put up temporarily, just to see what I think about them.

I like bright colors and whimsy.  I’m not at all above decorating using kids toys. Who doesn’t like toys?!  Why do we have to hide our inner children? I can play too. Or at least look at fun things that make me smile.

So here is a curtain that I made and threw up in a jiffy. My kind of timeframe.  I used iron- on hemming tape, probably the wrong way but it worked for the purpose, a babies teething ring and super glue.  Yes I have moved on from staples and duct tape to super glue. Works great when you don’t get it on your fingers or in your eye!

I had this really long piece of material that my daughter left here many years ago and I just rediscovered it in a drawer.

I super glued the curtain to the window frame (a tiny bit) because I couldn’t find a little tiny nail.  You can do things like that when you have an old crappy house.  Then I super glued the teething ring to the bottom of the window sill and to the curtain behind it to keep it in place.  If I decide in a few months that I want to replace it I will just take it down and paint over the chipped paint.  See I told you, quick and easy window dressing. And fun! Makes me smile anyway.

I call it my Happy Curtain.  Go ahead let your imagination go. Look for something you can use in an unusual, creative and unexpected way, something that will make you smile.

Easter Inspiration Painting

I woke up to a most beautiful day and went straight outside and started painting. The painting morphed several times into different subjects until it finally showed its true colors. I knew it was right when my heart felt light and happy but also realized the sadness involved. When I could sense God weeping for his only Son that he sacrificed for us so that we could have eternal life.

After I was happy with the background I laid this little twig against the painting. I liked the way it looked but didn’t want to attach it to the painting. The little twig is a dogwood tree that I tried to transplant from my son’s yard to mine. It was never happy after being moved. My husband thought I had told him to chop it down and after he did I felt so sad about the little dogwood. So I am thrilled that I was able to use in my painting after all. I laid it against the painting and painted the shadow of it.

It was so beautiful outside, I was inspired by all of the sun, greenery and bits of pink flowers that I could see.

These are close ups of the painting since they are a little difficult to see in the large picture.

The canvas which is actually a 27 x 23 piece of plywood. I leaned it against an old lawn chair because I knew I would be using a waterbottle to spray it as I worked on it.

This may be available in my Etsy Shop later. I hope you all have/had a fabulous, grateful and thought provoking Easter Sunday.

My Own Private Island

I feel like a bear out of hibernation! I love this time of the year. I am in the mood to paint again so I have been working a little bit here and there on my island painting. I want to work on the water next but I am a little hesitant as I do not want to mess up the water!

In the Yard

Ten Ways To Make the World a Better Place

1. Smile for a stranger and say hi.
2. Hold the door open for someone.
3. Allow someone to go ahead of you in a line.
4.Turn your music down.
5. Surprise a few children with a new backpack full of school supplies.
6. Cut someone’s grass for them.
7. Pass out cold water bottles to homeless people where ever you see them.
8. Help a stray dog or cat. Give them food, water and shelter.
9. Buy a pre-paid gas card for someone.
10. Donate blood.

Need a hammock in a hurry?

Then Tim Anderson who writes a column for Make Magazine has just the sheet for you. Yes that’s what I said, sheet. All you need is a sheet and some rope. This snuggle type hammock is my favorite kind so I will be giving this a try. Just not right this minute. I feel a nap coming on. So while I nap you can check out his instructions.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Instant-Hammock/

Bugs, Parent and Baby