Sun set with a twist…
Silhouettes and clouds…
words for Seth’s photos…
writing has never come easily to me, I generally write something over and over until I like how it reads, which is why I don’t often write a great deal on this blog…I’ve been doing a weekly column for an online newspaper, regarding my jewelry business since June and I have to admit the writing is flowing better. so much so that I actually took up a writing challenge…
one of the blogs I follow, SethSnap has a post now and then where he shows a photo then asks his readers to write the words for it…can be what ever you want to in the way of writing. below is my first attempt, I really didn’t think just allowed the words to come to mind then typed them …these are the photos Seth offered…please click on either photo to be taken to the his original post!
Winter
two huddled together
sometimes it feels like forever
under the white blanket…
awaiting the sun’s radiance
they must have patience
the warmth they are craving
forces them to wait
with promises of sun kisses
when the white season has ended…
thank you to Seth for allowing me to use his photos here for this post!
a mixture…
when I went for my walk yesterday I only managed to get one photo…didn’t see anything new and interesting, this is the only thing that caught my eye…happens that way sometimes…I’ve walked past this tree many times but always from the opposite direction so I’m assuming I didn’t notice the gnarly branches/trunk…I will have to walk that way again to see if I can get a better view of the one branch in particular…
I won’t tell you were I found this web… 😉 I will say spider webs are very interesting…the intricacy and designs always amaze me…
more warm weather shots…
Daytona Beach, 2008 or 09 not sure which…I used to enjoy visiting…was rather disappointed the last time I was there in 2011… 
Daytona Beach…found these two photos, figured they would make good warm weather shots 
PS…it is considerably warmer here today 9F, a balmy day… 🙂 so I’m going to walk today, will take photos but they will be snowy winter ones!
baby it’s cold outside!!!
enough said about the temperature! but it is freezing…
I’ve two photos of a gorgeous blue sky with white fluffy clouds, that I took the last day I was taking photos, the day I took all the snow photos…feels like a long time ago! these photos are soft, delicate and fluffy… 😉 I love to watch the sky/clouds, there is always something wonderful to see…
summer photos in honour of the snow!
I’m late again today…we had at least 10 inches of snow Friday over night and we are expected to have close to the same again tonight! Ok…I really think it is time for someone else to take a turn…seriously, I won’t mind… 😉
In honour of all that snow I’m posting summer photos…
above is a small view of a few of the great shops on 5th Ave., Naples, this was early in the morning when it wasn’t busy… 
this photo is of Callander Bay, east end of Lake Nipissing(approx. 3 kilometres in diameter) but something I’ve not shown before as I don’t have many photos of this area…I will have to take more as it really is very lovely, more so in the summer! 
above is on the drive to key west…coming up to a abridge, not sure if it is the long bridge or not…excuse the antenna…
this is one of the public accesses I like to stop at on my walks…this was taken November 13, 2012, on a blustery day…Lake Nipissing is famous for being calm one minute and gale force winds the next, which has led to some rather frightening times on the lake, when I was younger…not gale force this day but windy non the less…
this is the exact same location…a bit broader photo, you see more of the trees on the left. this exactly one month later…December 13, 2012…looks more calm and serene this day!
clear skies and ocean…except one!
I have many more snow photos but I thought maybe I should show you something else…we did get some snow last evening…not sure how much…enough to need to shovel!
this is in new town in Key West…it is not far from where you come on to the island…pretty but I prefer old town, it is much more quaint!
Key West marina…there is a nice boardwalk, with restaurants, in case you need to keep your strength up…
this is Lake Nipissing when the water has been drawn down, the left hand point is called Cheery Point…they draw down the water every fall to avoid flooding in the spring…I used to live to the right of the photo…we had a huge sand bar, often similiar to this, most falls…in the twenty years we lived there I remember a couple of times we had flooding in some areas along the shore line…we had damage done to our break wall and water came up very close to the house…I moved from this house in 2010…
more snow coming…maybe!
these photos were taken two days ago…I’ve a few more, but will wait awhile before I post more…as I don’t want to over do it with snow! Having said that we have a snow squall watch for later today with possible low visibility… I ‘d like a mild spell before more snow thanks 😉
both the photo above and below is a house I walk past almost daily…the trees and shrubs are gorgeous any season of the year but extra specially pretty when laden with snow…
this tree is just up the street from the photo above…you see I take photos of what I see when I’m walking…my intention is to go for a drive and take photos of something other than where I live but I haven’t gotten around to it yet…one day! I must say the two photos above have only been re-sized/cropped nothing else…the one below was back-lit as I thought it brought out the branches more, while leaving the sky alone…
snow day!
the scenery today was amazing…we had fresh snow over night and this morning it looked like a “winter wonderland”…as much as I’m not a fan of winter I have to admit days like today are so beautiful, especially when it is sunny as it was today! today I used the Sony camera my son lent me and I think the shots turned out much nicer…the whites are much nicer, whiter and brighter!
this is my favourite photo I think…all I did with this photo was add the copyright symbol and resize it…
see how delicate these branches are, yet they are able to carry such a heavy load!
signs of the times…
I’ve visited this public beach access often during my walks this fall, always finding it clean…but…the other day when I stopped by to take photos I found these two signs, along with the full garbage can? we have such a beautiful water front, we should respect its beauty…it is such a sad state of affairs when it is necessary to post signs to remind people to clean up after their dog!!! never mind the logic of people who feel it is acceptable to throw their garbage around the access…as I mentioned I’d always found this access clean but on that day someone had walked their dog and didn’t clean up after it…were they snubbing their nose at the sign? truly sad…
by the way…there is the blue snow again…
went for my walker later today just in time for the beginning of what ended up being a stunning sunset, saw part of the final performance but wasn’t able to photograph it as I had an appointment but this is one of the photos I managed to get…the sky and sunset colouring is relatively accurate but as you can see the snow is blue…I managed to get the snow close to white in my photo program but then the sunset was way off…so I chose to leave the snow blue…as I’m sure I’ve mentioned before I’m a complete beginner so I did a bit of research and as most of you will know it has to do with the “white balance”…my son lent me his Sony camera to experiment with, his camera has a setting with one for a “whitish scene with high brightness” which I think should help? I’ll give it a try and see what happens…
beautiful sky…
what a glorious day for a walk…it is warm today, sunny and smells like spring…what more could I want? I know the warm spring like weather is only just for a day or so but will enjoy it while I can…the sky was that strikingly beautiful blue with some fluffy, powder puff type clouds…I live in a small city so it was very difficult to get any photos of the sky with out trees…now don’t get me wrong, trees are one of my very favourite items in nature to photograph…but today was about the sky! I’m going to have to take some time and go for a drive outside the city…
I captured some descent tree shots, but was very disappointed with some of the lake nipissing shots, not sure what happened…when I took the photos into the sun the sky was close to natural but with the sun behind me the whole photo is terrible? Oh well…another day to try…
just after sunset…
haven’t been on a boat of any kind in too many years to count…just after the sunset…west coast of key west
was feeling like a water shot today…doesn’t look like much but there is a tiny outside restaurant to the left…we go there at least once when I visit my Mother…it actually is very quiet, and peaceful…good food as well!sad island…
this tiny island is at the end of champlain park…to the left is the lavasse river…looks rather sad with the water out and the leaves off the trees, grass all brown…
birds in the tree…
this tree is in my back yard…one day this fall I happened to notice dozens of tiny birds, not sure what they were, flying all around…many of them landed in the tree. the black dots you see are all birds…didn’t manage to get them all as I scared many away when I went outside…
Jade…
here is something a bit different for me…this is Jade, my daughter’s pride and joy! I rarely take photos indoors…I wasn’t happy with the colouring of the photo so I tried black and white…for the last number of years the only photo software I’ve used was Picasa…simplistic but honestly all I really needed at the time. upon visiting a new blog friend I heard about GIMP…I downloaded it but I think it will take me awhile to familiarize myself with it…I was considering Photoshop but I think that might be a bit too complicated for me right now?
tree fence…
I like tree fences such as this…makes for nice privacy in the back yard…it isn’t mine though…if it was mine I’d trim about two feet off the top come early spring…will ensure the body of the fence grows denser…
holding on…
this tree is in my front yard and I noticed last winter the stately old fellow holds on to it’s leaves for as long as it can! Here it is January 4th., and he still has many flapping in the wind…as you can see a bit of a gloomy day…
NOTE: this is the second picture I’ve posted of my tree today…this one is a better shot…
fort zachary park beach…key west
key west doesn’t have wonderful sandy beaches as they are all man made…this one… if you look closely you can see the beach is small pebbles…very hard on the feet…walking in sandals or water shoes is a must…as mentioned before I don’t go there for the beaches…having said that south beach has a much nicer sandy beach, although very small…there is also higgs beach, which I don’t have any photos of, rather small but the sand is better there & smathers beach, the couple of times I ventured there I found the shore line littered with weeds…
this is a shot of the partially frozen lavasse river, at the mouth of lake nipissing, which is in champlain park… I’ve visited here many times over the last twenty years as my home was a 5 minute walk from here…here it comes…
when I began this blog I consciously didn’t write…my thought was keep it simple…only show the photos, not who I was as a person by writing…I think my photos are very much a part of who I am, but sometimes I feel the need for words…I’ve been visiting a couple of photography blogs since I began this blog…the people have inspired me a great deal, to do what is in my heart..here goes!
west side of Fort Zachary State Park…Key West
happy new year!
I wondered what I should post for my first in 2013…I decided on a photo of two of the views I love most…a sunset on lake nipissing. This was taken a few years ago…
off premier road, lake nipissing
this was taken a few years ago…when I lived on the shores of lake nipissing…funny how when something is there for 20 years it becomes common place, but when gone you feel the lose! This was part of my view for twenty years…I moved two and a half years and miss it more each day…
Happy New Year to you and yours…may 2013 bring you health, happiness & prosperity!
south beach…key west
this is as you can see a tiny beach at the southern end of Key West…I’ve stopped by and took a few photos, but never actually sat down for the day…in all honesty, in my opinion, Key West isn’t the spot to go for a fabulous beach…although this one is not bad…I enjoy Key West for the smallness, the sun, & the friendliness of the “natives”…having said that it isn’t a place for everyone…I think you will enjoy it if you are somewhat of a “hippy” at heart…or a bit artsy… :~)
partially frozen…lake nipissing
this photo is from a few weeks ago…just before we had the 10 inches of snow, I haven’t been able to get any new shots at the access as the snow plows have pushed up mountains of snow, blocking my path..have to say I’m past climbing up mountains of snow!
Leesburg waterway to Lake Harris
Love sitting at the small uniquely interesting outdoor “bar/cafe” that is to the left of this photo…it is usually peaceful, now and then a boat will pass by, would be a great place to sit and read!. When I’m there this winter I will take a photo of the bar/cafe…it is old, and run down, in terrible shape really, I’m sure it hasn’t been updated in years but I like it regardless…
second half…
I’ve begun using my son’s Sony camera and I don’t know if it has a panorama setting, so I took this photo in two sections, I can do a panorama shot with my iPhone but it was too cold for it that day…the sun was setting behind me giving the sky a beautiful look!
fun with photo manipulation…
Hmmmm…I”m new to the world of photography in this manner… I’ve taken photos all my life of family, my trips, jewelry to post…but…I’ve never taken photos to post on a blog for others to see!
On my new journey something I’ve been seeing in my travels around photography blogs is photo manipulation. The only program I have to work with my photos is Picasa…jewelry photos doesn’t require any special effects! Having said that I just learned I can do some very interesting photo manipulation with Picasa. I’ve added a few photos…it was fun to experiment…
This is the original, all I’ve done is crop it…I think the redishness is from the sunset behind me when I was taking this photos?
I’ve added a boarder & used the heat map setting…this one was fun!
I’ve used infrared film, lomo-ish, and added a boarder, mysterious!
I’ve used tint & saturation…love cobalt blue, so this is a favourite!
First let me say Merry Christmas! May your day be filled with love…
I took a few photos of my tree to post but because it is done in chocolate brown, lime green, silver and a touch of red it didn’t show up nicely…so I decide to show a few of my decorations!
This little bear is hand made by a friend of mine…he is just under 4 inches tall…has movable arms and legs… definitly a work of art!
This is a hand cut and painted glass decoration!
The star isn’t handcrafted but looks like it could have been…I just like the design.
Again this is a hand cut and painted glass decoration…
sunset behind…
I took this photo a couple of days ago…the same day I took the sunset…in fact the sunset is behind me in this shot…in case you were wondering, I have a fascination with trees, but I particularly love trees like this one, alone, naked without its leaves…
Merry Christmas everyone…may you have a safe, healthy, happy holiday season!
snow day…
Didn’t venture for a walk yesterday as it was a “snow day”. I went for my walk this morning…although the wind was biting when walking into it the sun was shining brightly, wonderful day for a walk! I’m adding a few photos today as I want to show how much snow we received in about 18 hours…I’m not a winter person so I’m not thrilled but I know those who were thrilled! The photo I posted yesterday morning gives you some idea of how little snow we had before our “snow day”…Environment Canada weather offices says we received approx. 24cm or approx. 9.5 inches of snow…give or take! Definitly more than I would like…
Parking lot pile…lakeshore drive! 
sidewalk plowed on lakeshore drive…
snow over hang business, lakeshore drive…
again parking lot piles!
to the left of where I’m standing taking the photo is a unique outdoor establishment serving cold beverages, and delicious food…wintery lake nipissing
this was taken a week or so ago…in the last 12 hours it has snowed steadily…haven’t gone for my walk yet today, but will take photos when I do
passing by…
this cruise ship is passing by the beach at fort zachary state park in key west…
all alone…
it is funny sometimes how the smallest thing catches our eye…
spotted this little fellow on my walk today…frothy at the shore…lake nipissing
this was taken a few short weeks ago…how I miss the open water!
Heather Cote... 