APAW Challenge – Okay Bokeh

This week, Nancy Merrill is looking at depth of field as the subject for the Photo A Week Challenge.  I have no clue how I get the results that I do.  As I’ve said before, I wouldn’t know an f-stop from a truck stop, but somehow the camera seems to know what I want and every once in a while it cooperates.  You say you want bokeh. Okay.

For more on Nancy’s Photo A Week Challenge go to Depth of Field.

 

APAW – On The Horizon

Nancy Merrill is looking to the horizon for her Photo Challenge this week. Here are just a few of the horizons we’ve seen on our travels. The first one is in Wyoming.

Then two in Wisconsin, the first at George K. Pinney County Park in Door Country and the second in the Kettle Moraine area.

The next two were in Utah, the first at Antelope Island and the second at Arches National Park.

The horizon from Galveston, Texas and one in Nebraska.

The horizon off Mackinac Island, Michigan and one in southern Illinois.

 

For more on Nancy’s Photo A Week Challenge go to On the Horizon.

APAW – Things With Wings

Nancy’s choice of subject for this week’s Photo A Week Challenge is Things With Wings so to kick things off, I brought back my feathered friend from the Chicago River for another appearance. I took so many shots with different poses and angles that I don’t think I’ve ever had to use the same picture twice.

Some beautiful wings at the Chicago Botanic Garden butterfly exhibit. A must-see at the Garden every summer.

Taking a stroll around our own back garden earlier this year, it was good to see plenty of bees buzzing around, and as usual there were grasshoppers galore.

For more on Nancy Merrill’s Photo A Week Challenge go to Things with Wings.

A Photo A Week – Reflections at Cantigny

The subject for Nancy Merrill’s Photo A Week Challenge is Reflection and I seem to have captured one or two at Cantigny Park in Wheaton without even realizing it. Quite often, I’m not fully aware of everything that’s in the picture when I take the shot so sometimes it’s nice when something unexpected shows up, especially when I can use it for a photo challenge.

For more on Nancy’s Photo A Week Challenge go to Reflection.

A Photo A Week Challenge – Water

Nancy Merrill is looking for water for her Photo A Week Challenge and luckily my trip to Elgin on Saturday morning resulted in some pictures of the Fox River. Who would think that this……….

could so quickly turn into this.  The river by the Veterans Memorial Park and flowing over the dam by the Kimball street bridge.

For more on Nancy’s A Photo A Week Challenge go to Water.

APAWC – Angry Birds

Nancy Merrill has chosen birds as the subject for this week’s Photo A Week Challenge and many of you will know that the only way I’ll take a picture of a bird is either from a safe distance or from behind a window or similar barrier.  My life-long fear of birds has kept me at a distance from these beautiful creatures but it doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate them or enjoy capturing the occasional image.   However, these birds were definitely not in a mood to be trifled with.

One angry bird!  This swan did not appreciate an over-inquisitive visitor to the Chicago Botanic Garden getting too close to its young ones.

Never get between a hawk and its dinner. This angry bird evidently didn’t welcome anyone else getting near the plat du jour.

This bird, at Brookfield Zoo, was decidedly cheesed-off about something. It kept marching up and down and making a lot of noise and I, for one, wasn’t about to get in its way.

Also at Brookfield Zoo, this eagle obviously considered it an invasion of his privacy when I used the long lens to get some candid shots.

For more on Nancy’s A Photo A Week Challenge go to A Photo a Week Challenge: Birds

A Photo A Week Challenge – Mountain

This week, Nancy Merrill has us looking to the mountains for her Photo A Week Challenge.

Taking a picture through the dirty windshield of a fast-moving car is not the most ideal way of capturing a shot but I managed to salvage this view, seen in Colorado, with the help of a little HDR.

On our way through Wyoming we drove along the Snowy Range Pass where we encountered some wonderful scenery.

And then on to Utah.

During our stay in Salt Lake City we took a side-trip to do a little hiking near Alta.

For more on Nancy’s A Photo A Week Challenge go to A Photo a Week Challenge: Mountain