Day ThirtyTwo FINAL SHOT

Here is my final shot for the contest between the other participants who completed the month. I took 6th place (out of 18) with a score of 7.196 (out of 10)

Day ThirtyOne

Here we are, day thrity-one. Last day of the month of January, last day of the challenge. Tomorrow we head into the contest! I don't think this challenge was as 'hard' or as 'stressful' as I've heard about in the past. It was actually pleasant and not hard at all. No day did I have to force myself to do this challenge, I was up for it each day - even while sick! It has been quite fun. I thought about taking this into the 365 day challenge to take myself through the backyard each season. But I know once we hit the middle of this year, life is going to be really busy and there is no way I'd be able to keep up with it. I look forward to the next 30 day challenge!

Thanks to everyone who has taken time out of their busy schedules to leave comments here! It's been a fun month and now I'll be lost as what to do with the time I normally shot, post and visit everyone else's pages!

Day Thirty

I was thrilled when I woke up this morning, walked past the back door and saw lots of frost! Back on Day Eighteen is when we had frost last. The Hens&Chicks were another option for me with the last frost, but I chose the yucca instead. So, today I went back to these.

Day TwentyNine

Well it wasn't as windy today as it was yesterday, but it sure felt colder. Today I unbuttoned a middle button on my coat and tucked in my camera because I was sure it was going to turn into an icecicle! When I came in today my fingers were redish purple and once the warm finally kicked in, they burned like they were on fire...owwie! Why oh why did I chose an outdoor theme!? Only a couple more days.

Ok, so I'm not as interested in my subject as I am in the colors of the background. :) I just wish I'd have gone a little higher in my angle to the subject to get rid of the sunlit strip of ground along the top. Oh well, I still like the colors.

Day TwentyEight

Whoa it's cold out there! It's so windy things are blowing away from behind the garage across the yard. From what the weather says it's 25mph wind but it seems stronger than that.

I don't really care at all for this photo, but I'm not going back outside today.

Day TwentySeven

Brrrr! Winter is back for sure. Out with the unseasonal warm and in with the typical cold - again! The dusting of snow from yesterday was gone, but the dusting from overnight was still there.

After taking shots of a couple other subjects, walking back to the door to come in I saw some leaves on the driveway. This one was curled up and standing on its tips, like it was tippy-toeing through the snow. A few seconds after the wind gusted and blew this little fella away. I feel like I go back and forth between liking an image and hating it. It's like I initially like it, then through the day when I look I feel 'meh' about it, then there are moments of liking it again.

Day TwentySix

It's been a while since I had an actual rose in my shot, so I thought it'd be time to throw another one in here :) We only had a dusting of snow that pretty much is just blowing away. But there are some light flurries right now.

A wise ol', amazing photographer once expressed his love for a certain crop, so since I was having issues I thought I'd give it a shot and see how it works out. I hope I didn't ruin his like for it! :P

Day TwentyFive

I was pretty stumped today ... har har har ... It rained a lot yesterday and everything is really wet and squishy. When I walked out there I wasn't sure what I'd find this gloomy day, and when I stepped on the grass I got that sinking feeling ... har har har ... that I'd find nothing. But as I stood by this stump with the dog running full blast past me spraying mud all over me, I chose this. Nothing spectacular, but it's supposed to get cold again and snow the next couple days (we'll see) so maybe then I'll get something pretty again.

Day TwentyFour

Ugh, rain rain go away come again some other day! January and I had to deal with going out in the RAIN! It's pouring out there. The rain is icy cold - and it is WINDY! The things I do for you people :P So I had an umbrella and instead of using it to keep the rain off of me, I used it to try and block the wind. It's really hard to focus when your subject keeps moving quickly toward and away from you. My pant legs are drenched, so is my coat. I kept the camera dry though. So I had the camera in one hand, the umbrella handle being held by my shoulder and neck and my other hand holding the thorny stems to try and keep it still (that didnt work because the leaves were blowing regardless). I left my focus and just moved my body closer or farther away to get it in focus because my hands were occupied :) This is what you get for today because I wasn't staying out there any longer.

On the other hand. Went to the Ice Fesitval yesterday. I got out my camera take one shot, try to take another and it says "card FULL" .... WHAT??!?!?! Why now? I've been so horribly lazy about clearing my card each day that I had 400+ RAW photos on my card (only 2gb). I meant to do it yesterday but I ran out of time before leaving. So, that totally sucked. I started deleting certain photos individually to clear some room, trying to make sure I didn't delete the ones I needed to keep for my original files. But regardless, before I went out this morning I cleaned out my card and started fresh :) Lesson learned!

Day TwentyThree

Little fuzzy, spikey, balls on a stick today :) I am totally running out of things to shoot out there!

Just a quick, simple one today. Have to get ready to head out to the ice festival. Need to go today since it'll be colder today than tomorrow. Tomorrow, supposedly, is supposed to get near 50F and rain - not a good combination for ice and snow sculptures!

Day TwentyTwo

Ah color! After days of little color I decided this is what I was going to do for today. There is a half barrel of these - I believe they are called Hens&Chicks - on the back deck. Another snow-less cold day outside.

Sorry for no description of things yesterday - I just had no idea what to say with that one :)

Today I'm feeling much better. The sore throat is gone, and I'm left with a stuffy nose - but that is something I can deal with since there's no pain involved!

Day TwentyOne

Day Twenty

Day Twenty .... wow, this is really starting to go by fast!

Still sick here, feeling a bit worse than yesterday. But I'm not going to give up because of a miserable bug - because I know I'll feel better soon and I do want to continue. Even if today felt like I ran a couple miles walking across the backyard and nausea is kicking in - but I don't care this challenge is so much fun :)

Day Nineteen

Woke up this morning with a horrible sore throat and stuffy nose. I could feel something coming a couple days ago and predicted that I'd wake up feeling like crud. I still went out and the cold air was like a knife on a sore throat! I tried, but this is definetly not my best for sure.

And now that it's uploaded - I'm going back to bed!

Day Eighteen

I stepped out late this morning. It's a fairly gloomy day, gray skies, crunchy icy ground. I noticed that there was a layer of frost on just about everything. No more snow yet, just frost. Have you ever really looked at frost? Up close? In detail? It makes neat little patterns, looks like tiny shards of glass strewn about. Some of the plants looked like they had little razor blades lining their edges sticking outward.

Day Seventeen

This past week's temperatures have been above freezing. Especially the past two days near 40F (3C). With the sudden jump in temperature the snow melted very quickly. The fast melting snow caused the backyard to flood. Today is supposed to be 41F (5C) high. When I was out this morning, it sure wasn't that warm yet. It was still quite cold out. All the water of the melted snow was still frozen. I nearly fell on my butt a few times trying to walk across the yard.

I figured what better way to show why I nearly fell on my butt. So I decided today I'd capture the flooded, frozen ground. There was an area of fallen leaves underneath the ice, some of the leaves managed to stay atleast partially above the ice. I actually really like this photo. There is something about it that I love.

Day Sixteen

A lot of the snow has melted but there are some patches that remain that were deep. Neat plant here - kind of reminds me of a birdcage.

On another note - the furnace is fixed and it's kicking out some really hot air! Yay!

Day Fifteen

As I predicted this warmer weather is making the snow melt pretty quickly. It's gross and wet and slushy outside. Just a quicky for today since the furnace decided to crap out this morning. It's getting quite cold in here now, thankfully it's not as cold outside as it has been. Either bundle up inside today or head out and do something somewhere else until Mr. Furnace can be fixed :)

Day Fourteen

Wow, what a gorgeous day today! Sunny and a warm 32F (0C). What a change from the rest of this month. This week is supposed to stay up in the 30s - my guess is that most of the snow will melt now in the sun. I love how this challenge is getting me outdoors for a bit of fresh air each day in the winter.

Walking around I made sure to keep my eyes on the low to the ground weeds since I've noticed some interesting shapes in there. I spotted this little tiny branch and decided to take a closer look, and what I found was this. These are TINY, the little daisy like flowers are only 1/8in (.3cm) in size. But they were soo cute! In times like these I wish I had a macro lens. My 50mm does pretty good, but I can't get the super clear sharp as a tack photo that I could get otherwise.

This little weed/plant/flowerything makes me think of spring, and it was nice to see against the sparkling glittery snow.

Day Thirteen

Yes, another rose - but I just cannot help myself. Seems to be the only place with color and I gravitate to it. It's still so full of life. If there were anything else holding so much beauty I'd use it.

It was very cold out this morning. As I shot away my fingers started burning from the cold, and the cold wind blowing caused my eyes to water. I couldn't see very well anymore and my hands were burning so I came inside hoping that there was something that was good. I couldn't see well enough to make sure things were in focus. When I checked I decided that this will do for today.

Day Twelve

The sun was shining and the snow was sparkling like glitter. My eyes were watering from the brightness and I didn't grab my sunglasses. What to shoot, what to shoot? I walked around and around looking for color somewhere...nope nothing new with color. Oh dear, this is again getting hard. I realize that I may not always find color, so I need to focus on the tiny details of the backyard, that very rarely - if ever - have been seen. The tiny hairs, the little balls of fuzz, the curves and veins and bends and twists. And....

Oh Bananas! Look - these are neat! What are they? I don't know, but they have dried up and look like 1/2 inch size dried bananas! Now where are the mini monkeys - I would like one to keep in my pocket :D

Day Eleven

Seems that I'm gravitating towards the rose bushes! Should have chosen January in the Rose Bush as a theme instead of January in the Backyard. The rose bushes seem to hold the most winter beauty in the backyard. I'm quite alright with that seeing Roses are my favorite flower - all because of their smell...so sweet like candy.

Another day of flurries. Two feet from my back door was Hanging Rosetta. Hanging Rosetta has taunted me since day one. She just hangs there. I've tried to capture an image of Hanging Rosetta many times. Although I have found she has been boring and I've been unable to get anything that pleases my eyes! Until today, with the overnight and early morning flurries HangingRosetta has collected her fluffy white stuff. With more fluffy white stuff on the ground, and a yet unshoveled driveway - snow provides the nice white backdrop for Rosetta.

Beautiful Hanging Rosetta I finally got you!

Day Ten

Day Ten, one-third of the way through! This challenge is going by pretty quickly, and I think I'll be sad when it's all done. Atleast that is what I say now .

The bushes that are typically covered with little burgundy leaves are now bare. Bushes of twigs and thorns. Except for the lone strand of out-of-season pinkish orangey leaves sticking out like a sore thumb. Perfect, just what I'm looking for - the sore thumb of winter.

Day Nine

I woke up early today. Before breakfast or shower I bundled up, grabbed my camera and headed out to use the early morning golden sunshine. A familiar subject from a past day was staring the sun in the face absorbing it's warmth. Providing different lighting and colors today I chose it again. Seems like it is going to be a beautiful day outside. My hands were still warm and toasty when I headed in.

Day Eight

We got several inches of snow yesterday, about 3-4 inches. There was another set of shrivveling red berries hanging from a fence. They were topped with a bit of snow. I haven't seen anymore berries around, just these and the ones from day one. I hope the snow doesn't melt today or overnight. There are some more shot out there I'd like to get tomorrow. We'll see how that works out.

This picture is looking different on here today than it does in my files on my computer, the red is looking terribly pixely. I tried re-uploading it, but it still looks different. Oh well.

Day Seven

Day Seven! I've made it a week into the challenge! Hooray! I'm having an extrodinarily good time with this challenge, and I'm glad I decided to participate. Still a ways to go, but I know I'll make it!

We didn't get any of the snow the forecast was predicting, as expected :) Even more of the snow is melted. The background of this image is generally shadowed by trees and garage so there is significantly more snow than anywhere else. If I turned around and shot the opposite side, it'd be green instead of green/white patches. It has definetly been an odd winter this year. But here is another plant past its prime, but still standing strong, long, and lean.

Day Six

Another warmer day outside today. Most of our snow is melted. Just some patches here and there. But I believe last night they said a snow storm was coming today, but we'll see. Weather people are always wrong!

Back to the same rose bush as day four and five. It is technically on the neighbor's property, but a couple feet away from ours. The side of the house the neighbors never see but we do. This rose bush is gigantic! It's several feet taller than me. The stems are huge too, most atleast 1/2 inch in diameter if not more. That means gigantic thorns! Trying to get a shot for today I needed to get close. In the process I was stuck several times, but that's ok - not like I had bare skin out there other than my cheeks.

This rose bush is providing me with these gorgeous colors. I love these colors - deep purples, greens, coppers.

Day Five

I'm not exactly sure I like this. When I look at it I kind of feel confused and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the many colors of it, or maybe the background of bricks and leaves that is distracting. Maybe I need a different crop, sliding the dried flower to the left corner instead of the right so it curves into the photo instead of out...hmmm.

I'm having a hard time now finding interesting things. There are things, but they are kind of blah . Five days in and I don't know if I'll be able to find 31 photos out there! Hopefully tomorrow will bring something!

Day Four

Much warmer today. I was able to spend some time out there searching around for something perfect. I am really loving the perfect white backdrop the snow is providing for my subjects. I'll probably kick myself later for saying this, but I can't wait for more snow! Why? Well as I was walking around I saw plenty of subjects for future days, but I'm going to wait for more snow (if we get any) to get what I want.

Today I found this beautiful dried rose. It seems the beauty of warmer days sticks around to keep us happy in the colder days. Even if it's past its prime, it still holds the soothing qualities of its many layers. Just now instead of bathing in the warm sun, each petal hugs itself to keep warm. I'm not sure how much longer little red will stay with us laying around at the foot of the bush, but now she'll stick around forver 'frozen' in time.

Day Three

Today was an evil cold day! 3F (-16C) with high winds bringing the wind chill much much colder. I went out in search for today's photo. I walked sideways and backwards keeping my back to the wind and my hands inside my sleeves and inside coat pockets. Just a few seconds of my hands exposed, my fingers were numb. I began thinking that I may have picked a dumb topic HAHA! I tried and tried to get a shot out there today, but with the high winds and instantly numb fingers I didn't get anything I liked. I headed in to warm up a bit before trying again. Standing at the back window looking out to try and grasp an idea I saw the condensation drops in a row across the window and a row of ice formed...inside! The warmth of the house against the chilled window didn't mix too well. There, I thought, my subject. It's still the backyard - but more so the barrier between me and the insane windchill!

Day Two

This morning stepping outside it was a lung freezing 10F (-12C). It's not supposed to get any warmer today. It's one of those days where you think "is it spring yet?!" It's definetly warmer than it will be at some point this winter though, as winter has just begun. Snow has suprisingly held off here in Michigan until the past week, as warmer southern states who never get snow have been dumped on! It may have flurried, but it melted right away.

Yesterday afternoon/evening though the sun came out for a visit and warmed us up a teenytiny bit. Just warm enough to let the snow melt some more. This morning the ground isn't snow covered so much anymore. Stepping on the crunching ground I see little flecks of green and gold. The dead cold grass mixed in with the still alive but dying green grass is peeking out of the white snow. Almost as if it were screaming at me saying either 'look at me look at me I'm still alive!' or 'goodbye for the next 5 months!' Just another reminder that winter lasts far too long in my backyard. Generally October - May is super cold and snowy.

I miss you soft green grass. See you in the spring.

Day One

I stepped outside to find something in the snow flurrying freezing day. I walked around and stood at a small, now dead and frozen, garden. I stepped one foot in and looked around. I spotted one branch with berries on it way down near the ground nearly covered in the tall, dead weeds. I fiddled with the branch to bring it up off the ground then stepped back for a moment. Suddenly I hear a loud noise and a big furry creature dashed out infront of me and across the backyard. I jumped back, startled, and said outloud "holy sh*t!" as I quickly realized a rabbit had been hiding a few inches from my foot. The rabbit sat inches away, still and stealthy, undetected by me for quite a while!

With my heart pounding and my fingers freezing I snapped my first 30 day challenge photo.