ROUND ROBIN PHOTO CHALLENGE: Nostalgia

For some reason when ever I think of 'nostalgia' I think of music.  I may picture in my mind an image of an item, but just as clear is a tune of a long gone era, usually associateted with the subject of my mind's eye.  For that reason I chose to focus on music for my nostalgic post.  Do you remember the old 33 LP's or the 45's?  Or what about the 1/8 inch thick 78's!

My love for music began with a piano.  While I never progressed further than a two finger rendition of 'Chopsticks', the piano is still one of my favorite instruments.

ROUND ROBIN: NOSTALGIA

A PAINTING, by Dorn

If I could paint, this is what I would paint, and I would hang it on the wall above my couch.  But I can't paint so I pretend and I hang my 'paintings' on my blog instead.

Every picture I take has a story that goes with it.  While this picture itself appears serene and peaceful,don't be fooled by the tranquility it depicts. What is going on behind the camera is the exact opposite.

I had just attended the funeral of a friend and needed some quiet time.  I thought a walk by my favorite ponds would ease my mind from the pain.  What I encountered was a whole different type of agony.

Mosquitoes!  A whole squadron of kamikaze, blood thirsty, life sucking critters with me on the menu!  At first they flew along side me like escorts, then they were in buzzing in my ears, peeking up my nose and harassing me with their fly-bys.  Before long they were sucker deep in my flesh, sucking more blood from my body than I ever knew I had.  I probably lost a pound or two from blood loss alone.  How I held the camera still long enough to take this picture, I'll never know. 

But yeah, if I could paint, this is the picture I would paint.  And I would hang it on the wall above my couch.

TESTING, TESTING, 1, 2, 3.....

Its been a while since I've been able to work with my camera.  In the meantime I have been doing a lot of reading on how to take better pictures.  My first accomplishment, moving out of the center of the frame.    While it is necessary for some shots, so much potential is lost if the subject is always smack dab in the center.(thanks plittle).

This colorful, furry little creature is the larvae of the 'milkweed tussock' moth.  I have seen hundreds of its younger, smaller and less hairy siblings during my visits to the milkweed field but this was the first time I'd ever seen the larvae in this stage.  Ironically it will morph into a rather dull, mono-color brown moth.

ROUND ROBIN CHALLENGE: Transportation

I did not get to go out today in search for inspiration for this week's challenge since my paparrazi husband decided that his need for MY camera out weighed mine and he took off with it.  That left me with the easy task of finding my favorite 'transportation' pictures in my library of 100,000's of shots.  I have always been fascinated with hot air balloons and it has been a long time dream of mine to one day ascend into the clouds in one.  While I have never actually been in one, the hot air balloon is by far my favorite vehicle of transportation.

This may not be the best picture... in fact its a poor example of contrast, color and lighting, but truth be known it is my favorite balloon picture.  Just looking at it transports me back to the moment in time when I took it.  I remember that I was happy that morning, with my son home on leave before departing for the first half of his tour in Iraq.  I can almost feel the peacefulness and contentment I felt that morning as the balloon floated with seemingly weightlessness high above the mountains in the crisp morning air.  One day I hope to know the feeling of looking down on those mountains with the same peaceful contentment.  For now I must be content with this picture and the memories it invokes.

ROUND ROBIN PHOTO CHALLENGE:  TRANSPORTATION

BIRD WHISPERER

Yesterday Art was treated to a little interaction with some playful birds who have chosen our cul de sac as their nightly hunting grounds.  At first the birds, whom I've not been able to identify yet, were chasing insects in the evening sky, but they quickly changed their target when Art climbed up on the truck. There were approximately 10 birds doing fly bys, coming very close, but never in a threatening manner.  This picture is actually a compilation of 4 shots taken a few seconds apart.  Close up shots of the birds were out of the question, they were just too fast for me.

TESTING VIDEO EMBED

WONDERFUL WORLD by Louis Armstrong & Kenny G

Just testing out a new trick I learned over at Pixel Pusher Embedding YouTube Video In Your AOL Journal.  If you just get this text along with an empty screen, don't worry, it just means I'm not smart enough to use this technology yet.  If you do get the video screen, double click to start.  Click again and it will take you directly to YouTube.

Tip:  if you try to embed videos into your beta journal, do all the text editing before adding the video.

YEAH, YEAH, I KNOW....

Its been a while since I've posted anything.  We've finally gotten some much needed rain which limited my photographic opportunities so I busied myself with other things I've been neglecting, like fine tuning my skills of procrastination.  The rain has let up and I should have some time to get out with the Nikon soon, but in the mean time here's another little musical slideshow featuring some of my favorite recent pictures you might have seen posted here, set to the wonderful sounds of Louie Armstrong and Kenny G.

Sights and sounds of My Life (WONDERFUL WORLD)