A pictorial hobby
Ilona talked about what we do when we’re not writing. I take pictures. I do this because it’s calming and I think it’s fun and interesting to capture a moment to share. I don’t know when the photo bug got me, though here’s a funny story about me being a crazy picture taker. 
During a vacation to Ireland (had dreamed of going for ten years!), my hubby and I stopped at this lovely restaurant in Galway to have lunch and wait out a short rain shower. It was in July (btw, the best time of the year to go…ie, usually sunny and in the 70s) and once the rain stopped, the sun quickly came out, casting a rainbow across the inlet right outside the restaurant window. I’d never seen a rainbow disappear into water quite like that. I could see every band of color distinctly, hitting the water like a colorful slide. So I jumped up and went outside to take photos (will have to post a pic here if I can find the digital file). While I was outside snapping photos, this older man leans over from his table and says to my husband in his Irish accent, “They don’t have rainbows in America?”
Here are a few fun pics.
Right after a rainfall, spider webs can be gorgeous.
Nature’s Diamonds
On a stormy day, the dark sky and sun burning on the brilliant leaves were beautiful contrasts.
Sunfire
Took this for my FIL. He planted it for me because he knows I love bleeding hearts. Can you see the heart and the tears?
Bleeding Hearts
When I lived in Albuquerque, I was in awe of the beauty of the Sandia Mountains. This unique color doesn’t happen every day, but if it’s going to happen, it’ll be between 3-5pm when the afternoon sun hits the mountain just right, giving off a beautiful coral pink color. Sandia means watermelon in Spanish.
Sandia Mountains
It’s not everyday you get to witness this. Mother walking her babies to the water for the very first time. They’d hatched in my neighbor’s planter. Yes, her PLANTER!
Big day
Hasn’t every girl wanted to see the Hope Diamond up close?
Hope Diamond
And just for fun, guess what this is…
I used to spend a lot more time taking pictures and I miss it. How much time do you spend on your hobbies?
Oh, cute little baby birds! I’ve been picking up my hobbies again, little by little. Taking more pictures over the last year. Even practicing a little Kenpo.
Yes, it’s baby birds. They nested in an eave underneath my deck, so I took the picture through the deck boards.
Kenpo, huh?
Wow, they made it hard for you to get that shot! And yes, Kenpo. It was the meanest martial art I could find. Turns out the experience’s very useful for writing fight scenes. *g*
awesome pictures! I like looking at pictures, but I’m too lazy to take them. that’s h2b’s hobby… he’s crazy about it
and the little birds are cute
Yeah, you kinda have to be crazy about it to haul that camera everywhere. Though it often means you’re never in any of the photos.
and I get to haul all the other stuff when we go hiking, cause h2b’s huuuge back pack is full with cameras, lenses, filters and a tripod mounted on the side.
Wow, beautiful pictures!
Thanks!
Thank you!
I’ve tried to reply to you like three times. Dunno where they’re going. *sigh*
Go figure this one shows up! Anyway, I said..thank you!
Bleeding hearts are my favorite kind of flower too. Sadly, I can’t manage to grow them, but I love them anyway.
I love them! I like when the bottom part pops open and flips upward so you can see the ‘tear’ like this:
It’s such a pretty plant. I would never be able to grow them on my own. I have such a black thumb. Nah, that’s all my FIL’s doing. I’ll be lucky if they come back next year.
Oh, that’s lovely. The sunfire photo is fabulous too.
I also take pictures when I can. My most recent session at the Australian Reptile Park was quite productive: a number of decent pix and a case of heat exhaustion.
I am a camera person, as well. Lots of neat places to take pictures in middle-of-nothing land. Old slave houses, grain bins…fun stuff. Also, I like to chase my children around with the camera. Here! I show! Baby.Two babies.
Hrrmmm…no HTML. Bwaha…
Ooh, I’d have a field day with these: Old slave houses, grain bins
I also love reading and wineries and procrastinating… *G*
The hope diamond’s impressive, eh? I liked the curse behind it myself…like any writer would! LOL!
I wedge in some reading at the very least before sleep. Mid semester I generally have a breakdown, throw everything aside and binge on fantasy for about a week, then can put my nose back to the grindstone again. When my brain is too fried for anything else, I put in a movie to listen to as I bead. I now have a wonderful digital camera that fits in my bag with my wallet so I can whip it out at odd moments, like snapping a pic of a rusty train trestle the same color as the autumn leaves it arches over. The camera focuses very well and gets great detail – but the files are HUGE! Haven’t actually had a chance to play with dolls much, since I stopped teaching. Not longer a weekly call for writing prompts:)
=A
Hehe, I wonder how many people go on reading binges of a specific genre for a bit? I’ve done that!
Yeah, the huge files are an issue with cameras but most programs make that easy to fix.
I recently took a crime scene photography class. While I loved the content & the subjects, really, I’m kind of a bonehead when it comes to taking pictures. The word “focus” and I do not get along. So I’m a little envious of people that can snap pictures.. I especially love wildlife shots and pictures of athletes.
Spend a lot of time reading. Writing. Torturing the cats with the laser pointer & doling out the drug known as catnip.
YESSSS, autofocus is my best friend. Crime scene photos, huh? Bet anyone who saw your photos outside of class would freak. LOL!
I love the tree. It’s so striking.
Thanks. Full disclosure on that one. I did enhance the blue…in the background…though the yellow is pretty much as it was taken by my camera.(I only did it on this one because I blew up the photo and framed it.) It was so cool to see the sunlight only hit the tops of the trees and leave the trunks still in the shade.
Not enough time. Of course, I tend to collect hobbies (because I’m interested in everything) which really spreads the time thin. I’ve been weeding some out lately, though.
Those photos are beautiful. I took a photography class in college, but I didn’t persist in it because I don’t know what to do with the photos after I take them.
Yeah, I know…sometimes this picture taking gig is only appreciated by me. But it’s fun!
tell me about it…. h2b takes tons of pictures. thank heavens for digital pics or we’d likely need a storing room just for his pics. And another one for my books *grins*
I love taking photos I just ummm kinda stink at it. My sister and daughter have a natural talent for though..
I love to read. The house is so full of books that there isn’t much room for people. lol
I’ve never taken photography classes and all the stuff I’ve taken is mostly point and shoot, but I’ve been told I have a good eye for it. Dunno if that’s true, but it sure is relaxing.
Beautiful photos! I love the bleeding hearts, especially the close up. I’ve dabbled in photography myself. I even took a four classes in it while in college (I needed some humanities to complete my degree). We did a lot of black and white photography. Developed the film and photos, cut the mat board, the whole nine yards. It was fun.
Now I’m more of a point and shot gal. I’ve got the fancy digital SLR and the lens, but I just set it on automatic and go. I figure the camera’s smarter than me at getting the exposure right. I lean more toward sports photography myself…or whatever the kids are into.
Oh, I should’ve mentioned that the close up of the bleeding heart was from the web…just wanted to show how they look when in full bloom.
Black and white photos are awesome. It’s sometimes harder to figure out the right lighting/shadows and such but when you do, those photos can be really great!
I’m SO point and shoot…AUTO is my friend! But I do want a camera that does more like night photos and really great action shots.
Great photos:) My daughter could barely walk and she would touch our bleeding heart SO gently. It’s still our favorite flower and she’s 9 now. Actually, gardening is something I love. It seems to reduce stress for me.
I take photos too, but haven’t been outside of the US yet, hopefully we’ll make it to Ireland and Wales, where my grandpa was born.
Aww, even children see their beauty. There is something very delicate about the bleeding heart, yet captivating!
My FIL is the gardener in our family. He loves working in his yard and his flowers are just gorgeous.
You’ll fall in love with Ireland!
After our vacation was over, my hubby asked me if I thought the trip was worth it…did it meet all my expectations or had I built it up in my mind all those years waiting to go to be better than it was? I said, “No,I loved it…I felt very connected to Ireland. When can we come back?”
Summer in the 70s! My Celtic blood yearns for that. Unfortunately, it’s stuck in the harsh land of Australia, where summer is in the 90s and 100s – feck this! Grr…
Sunrise in Kilifi, Kenya
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Hope one of the links work!
My hubby is from the Albuquerque area and I have to agree the Sandia’s are beautiful at sunset! We went to the top last year at night to look at the city lights! Some day i hope to make it during the day so i can get a better idea of how high up we really were.
The actual height is between 11 and 12K feet. As far as how far you can see…if I remember right, someone said you can see mountains up to 70 miles away on a clear day, because the desert is so flat. Albuquerque is gorgeous at night. I always said it looked like a Christmas tree turned sideways because it was crystal clear and the town twinkled.