L is for Love With Skin #AtoZChallenge

As part of my series in the A to Z Challenge, here is L.

This is my friend, Rosemary, with some of her reasons for living. When we get invited to go out to her place, I always take my shooter and I am never disappointed with my takes. She is a great subject because she doesn't pay any attention to my lens and just carries on with the business of feeding and loving her animals. As you can see, the love is mutual.

 

Who is your love with skin?

 

love, susan

K is for Kids #AtoZChallenge

This post is in my April series of A - Z Challenge.

Kids Spell Love: 
T - I - M - E

 

When I'm carrying a camera, I see things I may miss otherwise. Most times I go out in the world with zero expectations about what I'll find to shoot. It's better that way. Keeping an open mind and a ready camera is best when looking for messages. This may have been taken on a long road trip, or a Sunday drive. I don't remember.

 

Do you go on Sunday drives?
Where do you go?
Do you pack a picnic?
Do you take pictures?

 

love, susan

J is for Japanese Garden #AtoZChallenge

We're halfway through the A - Z Challenge and this is perhaps my favorite photo in this series.

My favorite destination these days is the Manito Park gardens in Spokane, Washington. Pictured here is the Japanese Garden, which is one of several themed patches of beauty in this park. When I visit any botanical gardens, the Japanese garden is always my favorite, followed closely by butterfly houses. This image was shot on a clear September day. I wish you could see the rest of this park ... you'd be amazed! Just writing this makes me want to get in the car and go tomorrow.

 

Do you have a botanical garden near where you live?  Have you ever visited a botanical garden?  

 

love, susan

I is for In Lansing, Michigan #AtoZChallenge

I know.  My "I" is a stretch.

I've only been twice but I love the capital building in Lansing, Michigan. It is set dead-center of a street where I can go stand in the middle of a mini garden to shoot a pic. This one I took on our last trip there in May, after having dinner with our kids at a downtown watering hole. I wish you could see the inside of this historic building. It is worth half a day to venture through. I'd like to think most capital buildings are worth seeing.

 

Have you been to your state's capital building? Did you go inside? Did you think about all the laws that are made there, and how it must feel to have that for a work place?

 

love, susan

Almost Mid April Haven't Finished the Taxes Life List

As I Look Out the Window the sunrise is promising a beautiful day. It's still colder than usual in the mornings but gradually warming every day. Too early to plant but it won't be long now until it's safe.

As I Ponder My week has already started out at a full run. I leave next week for my Nashville trip and have many things to do before now and then. I wish not to stress over any of it. Perhaps today I should make a list of to-do's.

What I'm Learning I got hit hard with allergies last Thursday. I suffered all weekend until a good friend turned me on to a peppermint essential oil she whipped up for me. I place a drop under each nostril and it truly does have amazing healing power. Mostly, it cleared my head. I hate taking chemical for such things so this new cure interests me.

What I'm Creating I took my dog out over the weekend to do a little agility. I'm trying to create a better behaved dog. Working with her makes it easier to have her in the house. She needs the mental stimulation. I also went out to a friend's house last night for a photo shoot with her animals. My friend is an artist and wanted some frames she could use to draw her fur babies. Fun was had!

What I'm Watching Saturday was a movie marathon day as my allergies kept me down. We watched 4 movies: The Untouchable, Take, and I can't remember the other two. Also, we are a couple episodes into Grace & Frankie on Netflix ... loving that!

What's On My Camera Now that the weather is better, I'm getting more time outdoors. This is from my shoot last night out at the farm. 

A Quote I Want to Share

None are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm - Henry David Thoreau

 

 

A Final Thought There may not be enough coffee in the world this week as I zip through it. Work is getting busier with spring and drunk drivers. I like to be busy but wanna stay on top of things. New day. Woke up with a good attitude and hoping it lasts me the entire week. That's all.

love, susan

H is for He Who Humors Me #AtoZChallenge

My hubby is a great sport when it comes to having his picture taken. I discovered this location near the airport where the backgrounds are colorful and run down. I wanted to test it before I took a family there for a photo shoot. Since this day, I've taken quite a few people to this great location for a shoot. I keep thinking I should start a file listing my favorite locations but haven't done it yet.

 

Do you have favorite places you go to take photos? Do you have a favorite spot where you write or make art or read?

 

love, susan

 

 

G is for Get the Shot #AtoZChallenge

The Saturday Market in Pasco, Washington is a great place to go for colorful shots. I truly love to capture people randomly but I'm still a big scaredy cat when it comes to asking permission to take a stranger's photo. So, I stand back with a long lens. 

 

What is it about your craft that scares you? 

 

love, susan

F is for Flight #AtoZChallenge

Every April, the pelicans fly in for fishing at a levy near my home in Eastern Washington. I never tire of traveling out to Horn Rapids to watch them eat and fly. I didn't realize how magnificent these birds are until I saw them form a ballet in the sky. My favorite scene is when they come in for landing. By this time of year, the temperatures are perfect for bird watching and definitely a welcome sight after a long week at the office.

 

I'm grateful to have a hobby that takes me outdoors to see the wonders in this world. Sometimes I have to shoot a hundred frames to get one good shot. I don't mind.

 

What is your favorite hobby? Tell me about it!

 

love, susan

 



E is for Evening Shoot #AtoZChallenge

This is a young friend I've been photographing for two years. She loves to find new locations and took me to a sand dune near my house last fall to shoot senior pics. How I have lived here for 8 years and did not know about this spot is beyond me. We had been shooting all afternoon and this was our last stop in a race against sundown. I love how this one turned out. It doesn't hurt that she is the cutest thing on two legs.

 

This day reminded me how important it is to have friends of all ages and from all walks of life. They know things.

 

What have you learned from your friends? Do you find new places where you live and wonder how it escaped you?

 

love, susan



D is for Day Trips #AtoZChallenge

 

 

This image is from a day trip my buddy and I took to Spokane. She hadn't been up there for at least 20 years and I don't need much of an excuse to get in the car to go. We visited the riverfront in downtown Spokane as well as Manito Park, Trader Joe's, and the downtown U.S. Post Office (great old federal building). She loved going to Trader Joe's maybe the most.

On this day, we went into the old post office to see what kind of photos we could capture. This post office has those original vintage mailbox doors with gold colored combination locks on them. They don't make them like that anymore.

This photo conjures up great memories of that day.

 

Do you ever take day trips?
 

love, susan

 

C is for Cemeteries #AtoZChallenge

My photo walking buddy and I visited several cemeteries in October one year. It may seem odd to some but we're always looking for new ideas and since Halloween was upon us, the thought didn't seem too far fetched. We had a blast!

 

I've always been intrigued by morbid things. The most frightening thing to me are the tall statues at cemeteries that seem to be looking right at me. I still get the chills when I view this one.

 

Did you ever watch Dark Shadows back in the day? Do you ever visit cemeteries to read the old head stones?

 

love, susan