30/366

New Year's Eve, Dec 31, 2020

I don't think there's a single person who's sorry to see this year end.  Because of God's grace, His will really will prevail and I've been praying that His will would be that things get better~~that the evil will be revealed and that goodness and sanity will prevail.

While I was trying to think of something to photograph today, I decided to try a still life of some of my favorite books.  Once upon a time when I was younger, I bought almost every book I wanted.  I had so many books I didn't have enough bookshelves.  Then I purchased a kindle and decided I didn't need or want all those hard copy books so I began getting rid of the ones I hadn't re-read or even handled for a long time.

Still.   Too.   Many.

When I knew I would be moving, I became brutal in riding myself of things I didn't need and didn't want to bring with me, especially since I was relocating to a much smaller space than I was used to.  I managed to hold onto a few of my favorite books, ones I knew I wanted to read again or share with other people.

These are just a handful of those favorites.  

Making this image also gave me a chance to practice a photoshop technique that I'm interested in.

So here's to a Happy New Year's and new year to y'all.

29/366

I was trying to learn a process in photoshop and wasn't being too successful.  But while searching around, I tried something else and came up with this.  I really need to get a book or take a course to be able to do some of the things I'm interested in.  

It has taken me years and years just to learn the little bit I know about photoshop, mainly because every time I learned a technique, I never had the opportunity to use it and then by the time I wanted to try it again, I forgot everything I learned.

You really have to be immersed in a new technique before it becomes second nature.

This will be one of the images I use for my notecards.  I struggle to come up with new images for the cards.  Can't keep sending out the same images, eventually  people will begin to get repeats.  How boring.

28/366

A Great Antique Find

I decided to register for an online Still Life photography course because it was on sale for a great fee.  I'm loving learning how to put textured backgrounds on my images, although the instructor is using a different version of photoshop than me~~the different functions are all in different places so it took me forever to get this one image to my liking.  

The day after Christmas I spent several hours wandering around a couple of antique shops.  I despaired of finding any boots that were within my budget, but I found these in the 2nd shop I went to.  Sadly, they aren't my size, but they're perfect for photos.

27/366

Checking Out the Tree on the Morning of  Christmas Eve Day

My daughter and I and two grand kiddos went to this fantastic burger place for breakfast in one of the nearby towns this morning.  They usually aren't open for breakfast, but since this is Christmas Eve day they made an exception.  They were also running a competition for the best photo of people wearing their PJs.  The winning photo will win the maker a gift certificate.

Right inside the entrance they have a beautifully decorated Christmas Tree. My grand kids are very difficult to photograph but while I was trying to get them to turn around they decided to both look at the tree and the ornaments so I grabbed this shot which I actually like a lot.

Maybe we'll win the gift card.  Maybe not.  Either way, it's still one of my fave burger places.

Merry Christmas to y'all, 2020.

 26/366

Faux Christmas Present

I went to the zoo this morning to see what they had on display for the Christmas season.  It's really difficult to photograph the decorations without getting unwanted items in the background, but I managed to capture this faux present to my liking.  It's not a world class photo, but I kind of like the simplicity of it and how intensely colorful it is.

There's a string of mini-lights inside the box and I bet it looks really sweet once the sun goes down.

25/366

Another Yard Display

On my walk this afternoon I saw this yard display.  I've seen it before, but today it was late enough in the afternoon that the lights were on but there was still too much daylight for the words to show up in the image.  Each candle had a different word. 

The two on the left:  Hope, Love.       The two on the right: Peace, Christ

I should head over there one day before Christmas when it's closer to dusk and try to get an image with the lights showing more clearly.  

Jesus is the reason for the season and thank God some people remember that.  

24/366

Working the Quilt

Two of my grandkids are graduating in June 2021.  In all the years I've been sewing, I've never made them quilts, so I decided that's what they'll get for graduation.  

They may not be too excited right now, but just maybe they will think fondly of me when they use the quilts years from now when I'm no longer able to be with them in person.

These are squares for the first quilt. Only 22 to go.  It's a work in progress but I think it will be done soon. Then I can get started on the 2nd one.

23/366

The New Chess Set

My friend just received this new chess set and he was setting it up to take some photos of it.  Of course I offered to make a few images of him with the board. 

I only had my cell phone with me, but I think it did an admirable job of capturing the board and my friend.

22/366

Public Display

I took a ride into town yesterday to see the public display of Christmas decorations as I mentioned in the previous post.

I often use my images for notecards that I make.  I just played around with this image to see how it would look as a card.  I deliberately edited it to have the high-key background. I'll keep it even though I'm not really enamored of it.  After a few weeks, when I look at it again, I'll be more discerning about whether I should use it or not next year.

In the meantime, it's was just a fun experiment.

21/366

Christmas Details

I took a walk around downtown this morning.  It was a beautiful, sunny day, no jacket needed.  The convention center always displays a huge tree right in front of the main doors.

I think it's lit at night, but I usually don't go downtown at night, although one of these days I should schlep my tripod down there and try to get some sunset photos of the tree.

I love the way the Christmas bulbs reflect the Convention Center.  It was tricky to make sure I wasn't in the reflection, but I think this perspective works.

 20/366

Change of Mind....Again

Every year I determine that I won't be sending out Christmas cards.  I make that decision for several not very valid reasons:

**cost of cards
**cost of stamps
**does anyone really care if they don't get a card from me?
**too time consuming
**too lazy

Then, about 3 weeks before Christmas I start feeling guilty and my common sense kicks in:

**who doesn't like getting mail that isn't bills?
**I really want to touch base with folks I haven't seen in a long time and may never see again in this lifetime

**cost of stamps is a small thing in the big scheme of things
**cost of cards, ditto previous statement
**stop being so lazy

So I started my l card campaign and naturally ran out of cards.  In the next day or two I'll head to the store for more, thereby paying full price for the cards I need.  Right after Christmas I'll go back to the store for cards for next year, but then they'll be on sale.

Next year I'll probably make the same vow to   not.  send.  cards.  but then I'll have a change of mind...again!

19/366

Another version of the historic train station I photographed yesterday.  Yesterday's pic was of the vine covered loading dock around the other side of the building.

 18/366

Defunct Loading Dock Door

There's a beautiful old train station downtown.  It's on the Historical register and it's been for sale for quite a while. 6.5 acres for $1 million +.  Wow!  If I could afford it, I'd buy it and convert into a home for myself. 

The building is right in the middle of an urban area so there's no real landscaping around it.  With a little TLC I'm sure it could be significantly improved and would look like an oasis in a desert.

I can't afford it, so it's just a figment of my imagination. There was actually a realtor showing it to a prospective buyer today when my friend and I were wandering around looking for photo ops.  

This is the loading dock door~~there are so many vine branches that in the summer it's impossible to see there's even a door there. 

I hope whoever purchases the property does so with the intent of restoring its former glory.

17/366

Water Pipes

Today as I was driving to a friend's house, I saw these pipes in the field.  There were a lot of them, so I knew there is some construction in the future, but I wasn't sure what they are actually for.  When I arrived at my friend's house, I asked her if she knew and she said they are water pipes.  So there ya go!

I love the color of these pipes~~it contrasts so nicely with the dead grass and winter landscape.  I only had my phone with me...I've carried my big cameral with me so many times when I never took it out of the bag that I decided to leave it home today.  So naturally a scene presented itself.  

There's a saying that the "best" camera is the one in your hand at any given time, so today my best camera was my phone.  Not usually my camera of choice, but today it worked.