Red Berries

Big Spider

My husband didn't find her very pretty but from the moment he shuddered and called me over to see her, I was spellbound by her grace. She leisurely climbed what she had spun letting me capture her in all her beauty. I couldn't help pairing her bulbous eight-limbed body against an orange background. It is almost Halloween after all.

More Euphonium

Worked a little Picnik magic on my euphonium player today. He's so cool!

A Boy and His Dog

I had a chance to help out a friend today and was rewarded with some free entertainment courtesy her boy and his dog. These two had a blast playing in some raked up leaves and for a few minutes were very content to let me snap away. The dog almost seemed to plead with me take her portrait when she quietly nestled in the pile after the boy got a splinter. She sat looking at me and cocked her head when I pointed the camera her way. The boy, not so much. He was all about jumping and diving and throwing as little boys should be.

Our Beloved Euphonium Player

In the hands of a fourteen year old boy with a younger brother, the euphonium is not a musical instrument; it's an instrument of torture. The overwhelming urge to practice rarely occurs when younger brother isn't at home. No. It comes upon the fourteen year old boy when younger brother is trying to watch television or listen to tunes. Where the fourteen year old boy practices depends entirely on where younger brother is trying to peacefully enjoy himself. I can pull the fourteen year old boy aside and explain to him that the gig is up, that we all know what he's really trying to do and he will in every instance defend his pure motives, his desire to do his homework, his love of music, etc., etc.

I have visions of hauling my fourteen year old to emergency one of these days with his head stuck in his beloved euphonium which of course would happen after younger brother got thoroughly fed up and smashed it on his "innocent" noggin. He doesn't know it but I think I may have saved his life today or at least spared him time, pain and embarrassment at the hospital by luring him outside to get pictures of him masterfully playing "Frere Jacques" or some equally great tune in all of nature's autumnal glory.

He tooted for a few minutes and I snapped as much of it as I could and then it was over. I guess he got the attention he wanted because he marched back inside and miraculously "practice" was over and brotherly love was once more established as the two trotted off to shoot each other in some video game.

Fall Foliage

I love nature. She's so quietly obliging when it comes to photography. I can approach her with my Nikon in full view and she doesn't sigh, cringe or duck and weave. She's endlessly patient as I experiment with aperture and never whines, "Are we done yet?". I can take one picture or a thousand and she never tires of me admiring her beauty. It matters not to her if I spend two minutes focusing my lens on her or two hours. Her constantly changing wardrobe almost begs to be captured and she never asks what I plan on doing with my photos. They can be deleted as experimental failures of they can be posted as successful images; it makes no difference to her. She's stunningly beautiful whether I care to notice or not.

Today I did care to notice. Her colours were so vibrant set against the blue of the sky and the warmth of the sun. She left me with some burrs and two very wet feet but she also gave me some shots I'm happy to call my own. She's at her most colourful now and it was a joy to do a shoot with her. Yup. I love nature.

Autumn

This is what I see looking out my back window. So beautiful.

Yellow