11 - Clouds

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the more enjoyable subjects, I found myself grabbing my camera a lot this week.  On the days when I didn't see any clouds at all, it made me appreciate how precious they are.

Clouds make a photograph so much more interesting.  What would a sunrise or a sunset be without them?  This week I saw new shapes and colors that I had not noticed before.  That is what this blog is all about... discovering and observing.  Enjoy!

Field Clouds.  A beautiful spring day in Dundee, Michigan  Photograph by Robin Anderson

 Angry Clouds.  A storm was coming in at sunset.  I stood in the parking lot of the local grocery store and shot these clouds.  They were changing so fast.  Every time the shutter released, the picture looked entirely different.   Photograph by Robin Anderson

Clouds from Heaven.  Luna Pier, Michigan.  Photograph by Robin Anderson

Shops of Avondale at dusk in December.  Photograph by Deb Fewell

From Sugarloaf mountain, NC.  Photograph by Deb Fewell

A pack of Jacksonville 5th graders enjoying the sky at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA.  Photograph by Deb Fewell

Looks like a little girls profile, looking down with long frizzy hair flowing out behind her.  Photograph by Sheila Harris

This reminds me of the times I would lay on my back as a kid and look for shapes of things in the clouds.  Sometimes I still do this, but I never tell anyone what I see.  Photograph by Ellen Palmer

A storm's a brewin'......I really thought it was going to be a tornado.  We were scared to death because we had no where to go.  It left as quickly as it came.  Photograph by Ellen Palmer

A rainbow cloud. Photograph by Ellen Palmer

This was taken in Key West.  The sun was setting, and the clouds turned a bright orange!  Guess I could have used this for the sunset/sunrise pictures! Photograph by Laney Griffin Robinson

This was taken in Vilano Beach.  Can you tell a storm was brewing?  Photograph by Laney Griffin Robinson 

This was taken on the Inter-coastal Waterway at my Dad's memorial service.  The sun was setting, and the sky's couldn't have been more beautiful!  Photograph by Laney Griffin Robinson

This picture was taken on my way home from work this past January.  It is amazing how fast the reflected color on the clouds change from minute to minute.  Photograph by Dan MacKillop

Storm front moving in.  Dundee, Michigan.  Photograph by Dan MacKillop

This is the first tornado that I have ever seen.  It only took 48 years.  Photograph by Dan MacKillop

This is my son Anthony fishing on a camping trip in St. Augustine a few years ago.  Photograph by Steve Alvarez

When my son was playing High School soccer I took a lot of photographs.  This was just before the start of the game and I was up in the press box before going down to the field.  Photograph by Steve Alvarez 

My youngest son an I took a boat trip from our house to the Jacksonville Zoo.  In order to get to the zoo, we had to go through downtown Jacksonville.  I took this photograph of the Main Street bridge. One nice thing about taking pictures from a boat is the lack of distractions and a clear field of view, however, you can struggle some times to get foreground objects. In this case, I chose the boat :)  Photograph by Steve Alvarez

10 - Funny T-shirts

"Did you know babies are nauseated by the smell of a clean shirt?"
Jeff Foxworthy

Funny T-shirts - What a great theme for a photography blog, thanks to my oldest friend of more than forty years... 

Of all the things I have saved from my childhood, t-shirts are my largest holding.  I have swimming t-shirts, running t-shirts, funny 

t-shirts, work t-shirts, even sleep t-shirts.  I have favorite t-shirts, soft t-shirts, and holey t-shirts.  At the end of the day, they give me comfort!  Enjoy!

For four years I checked the box that says, "NO", until that last quarter!  It was worth getting the t-shirt 20 years ago...  Photograph by Robin Anderson

Anyone who knew my mom, knew that this was her favorite restaurant.  She bought everyone in the family one of these T-shirts.  This is me in my t-shirt in 2012.  Photograph by Robin Anderson

Photograph by Laney Griffin Robinson

Photograph by Laney Griffin Robinson

 Photograph by Sheila Harris

 Photograph by Sheila Harris

Photograph by Sheila Harris

Photograph by Mary Kay Clemens Mathis

 Photograph by Mary Kay Clemens Mathis

Photograph by Sheila Harris

 Robin bought this shirt for me...  I love the movie The Big Lebowski with Jeff Bridges.  "The Dude abides".  Photograph by Dan MacKillop

 I bought this shirt in Memphis on Beale Street.  It has good memories for me.  Photograph by Dan MacKillop

9 - Easter

"Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life". - S.D. Gordon

Do you remember school bulletin boards?  Thank goodness some things are still the same as when I was a kid.  Photograph by Laney Griffin Robinson

Our decorated tree in the front yard.  Usually,, there are no flowers on it before Easter.  I guess I am going to have to cut the strings to get the eggs off because the tree is now leafy green.  Photograph by Ellen Palmer

 Hiding over 300 eggs for the annual family egg hunt.  Photograph by Ellen Palmer

Cashing in the Loot.  Photograph by Ellen Palmer

We typically have a huge Easter party at my parent's, but due to health problems with both of them...they wanted a quiet Easter luncheon.  So no egg hunting with the big family gatherings this year.  Photograph by Grace Dorado-Foster

 Photograph by Becky Trailkill

 Photograph by Becky Trailkill

 Photograph by Becky Trailkill

Cupcake Easter eggs...  what???  I had to take a picture of these for the blog courtesy of Wal-Mart.  Photograph by Robin Anderson

What says Easter and Jesus more than chocolate?  Photograph by Dan MacKillop

Photograph by Dan MacKillop

This baby bunny was found in our yard when we lived in Estral Beach, Michigan.  The kids all thought is was the cutest thing they had ever seen.  It is one of my favorite memories as a mom to see my young children marvel at nature.  Thank goodness for old photographs to help preserve the memory.  Photograph by Robin Anderson

8 - Reflections

The wonderful thing about using reflections when taking photos is that they can completely alter the image from something fairly straightforward to something richer or abstract or otherwise more artistic." ~Vailancio Rodrigues

While I was out shooting photos for the blog this week, I walked back to my car and saw some of the best reflections of the day.  Photograph by Dan MacKillop

I turning onto a country road when I saw this reflection.  An old farmer came out and it was clear that he did not appreciate the whole idea of me shooting photos for art sake.  Photograph by Dan MacKillop

This was the last day of vacation in Neptune Beach, FL.  This shot jumped out at me.  I love the reflection of the palm trees in the front door.  Photograph by Dan MacKillop

A trip to the dentist yield a couple of shots with reflections.  The blinds are reflected in the chrome of the faucet.  Photograph by Robin Anderson

Feeling confident that I had my shot for the blog... I was surprised when this opportunity appeared.  My poor children put up with a lot from mom.  Photograph by Robin Anderson

This image was shot with 3 different exposures... too light, too dark, and right in the middle.  None of the photographs work when they stand alone.  Merged together, this is the result.  Photograph by Robin Anderson

This was taken at Munson Park, Monroe, MI on the running trails.  Needless to say, it was a wet walk!  Photograph by Jack Jansheski

This is a pond in the backyard of a family friend that lives in Tallahassee, FL.  Photograph by Laney Griffin Robinson

 Portofino Hotel---Orlando, FL Universal Studios 4/2011 Photograph by Laney Griffin Robinson

This was taken at Black Mountain Ranch of Sam and Tripp and some other kids fishing.  I never noticed their colorful reflections in the water before!  Amazing what you can find when you start looking for something!!  Photograph by Laney Griffin Robinson

Photograph by Mary Kay Clemens Mathis

Photograph by Sheila Harris.

Photograph by Sheila Harris.

This was taken the same Washington DC trip.  This monument is at the end of the Korean War memorial is a great reminder of those that sacrifice for us everyday. Photograph by Steve Alvarez

This is the side wall of the Korean War memorial in Washington DC.   This wall is designed to reflect a group of soldier statues as they make their way through the field.  The people etched in the monument are the everyday workers that supported and aided our troops on the ground.  If you look closely, you can see 2 levels of the reflections...1 is the soldiers, the other is the reflections of the visitors as we walk by, read, and reflect.  Photograph by Steve Alvarez

This was taken during a School Safety Patrol trip to Washington DC with my middle son Anthony in 2004.  We happened to be there the week (the day after!) they dedicated the WW II Memorial.  Photograph by Steve Alvarez