All posts tagged: Taken with the Canon

Weekly photos 23/52

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This week was the first of the summer holidays from school and it went pretty well, the weather was kind to us and we had a day trip out to go up the Gateway Arch in St Louis and lunched at one of the food trucks at the City Garden. Today is lovely and cool, but alas it won’t last, so we are enjoying it while we can. 1. Sketchbooks for sketching and scribbling. 2. Breakfast in the city before we visited the arch. 3.  The 250 years of St Louis cake outside the old Basilica. 4.  Cake at the Old Courthouse. 5.  The arch cake. 6.  The arch and some lovely clouds. 7.  Look there’s me at the base of the arch. 8.  We saw lots of cakes, this one is at the fountain on the other side of the Old Courthouse. 9.  Love this pink suit at the City Garden. 10. On the big screen at the City Garden. 11. Lunch from the Fire (food) truck. A good week was had and here’s …

Through The Lens Thursday 23. Sunset.

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This week’s ‘Through the Lens Thursday’ was ‘Sunset’, so all week I have been checking the skies like a crazy person around 8.20pm every night to see if we have a pretty sunset.  I caught a couple, but I think I like this photo best.  You can just see the moon peeking out and I like the silhouette of the buildings. This was a new photo taking experience for me, I had no idea which numbers to use to get the sunset and my camera did a bit of complaining (ie refused to take lots of photos, until I got the numbers right!). Here are those numbers ISO 1600, 18.0mm, f/16.0, 1/160s. ‘Through the Lens Thursday’ is hosted by Greta of GFunkified and Alison of Writing Wishing and I am enjoying taking photos with them every week!  Next week is ‘Deep’.        

Weekly Photos 22/52

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This week has been a hot and steamy one, the future of the St Louis summer.  My plants are loving it though including my newest addition, five little tomato plants which I got from my friend in exchange for some edamame plants.  I love that I can trade veggie plants! Friday was the last day of school for the boys, so that is the end of 3rd and 7th grade.  Almost three months off with no real plans, I wonder what we will get up to?  Are you off for the summer?  Got plans? 1.  Flowers rained off the trees after a storm on Monday. 2.  Delicious Tortas De Aceite. 3.  An early morning shaft of sunshine. 4.  Dewy dandelion clock in the early morning sunshine. 5.  1972 in a local wall. 6.  Juneberries off our tree, maybe heading for a pie?  Or muffins? 7.  Curling garlic scapes. We are looking forward to a week of late starts, Swingball and maybe a trip up the Gateway arch in St Louis.  I hope you have a …

My Favourite Things

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I am participating in a super fab blog course called ‘Blog with Pip‘ which is taught and supported by Pip Lincolne of the Australian blog ‘Meet me at Mikes‘. Along with the other students I am joining in a group post called ‘My Favourite Things’. If you pop over to Pip’s post, the rest are at the end, along with mine! So, My Favourite Things are? Well, all sorts really, want to see? Okay here we go. Vintage anything, my latest find was this 1970’s wrap skirt.  It is floor length and I love it! Being able to go into the garden and grab the herbs I need for those nachos or that pasta dish.  Growing things, especially food, is the best. Reading aloud to my youngest son, I am aware that he soon won’t want me to read to him so I am hanging onto this for as long as I can.  At the moment we are reading ‘Itch’ by Simon Mayo and it is very good, very exciting and suspenseful. Taking photos, even …

Weekly Photos 21/52

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The garden is growing and the seeds are sprouting. I have given the Edamame a teepee to grow up and the sunflowers are 12 inches tall and hanging onto bamboo poles to direct them skywards. The surviving sweet peas also have a teepee and hopefully the birds will leave the remaining plants alone and I will have the sweet smell of my all time favourite flowers through the summer. I am enjoying my new blog and painted an idea for the title which I am not sure I will use! I had a good time practicing my brush script while doing it though. 1. Girl Fifteen gets painted 2. We found a leaf which looks like a pair of lips! 3. Chalk crossing. 4. Vintage Ladybird book. 5. Potato flower. 6. Gooseberry. 7. The last seed husk. 8. The latest summer footwear! Have a fab week, work hard and be nice (as you always are!).

Through The Lens Thursday 21. Street

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I have been taking part in Through the Lens Thursday this year which is a project to improve our skills at using a DSLR camera on manual mode rather than auto. It has been a wonderful experience so far and I am learning so much as well as seeing improved photos. My previous pictures are over on my blog at CatsEatDogs, click over if you like and have a look. Every week there is a prompt to inspire our photos and this week is Street. This photo was taken as I walked to the post office (I don’t usually carry my camera to the post office, but I knew I needed a photo and I knew I would be seeing streets!). I must admit the streets are uninspiring locally but this restaurant is housed in one of the few original buildings left along this street. I think it used to be a shop back in ye olde days. I have never been in, but I like the building, just shows there is usually something interesting …

Weekly Photos 20/52

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  1.  My neighbour’s lovely onion head flower. 2.  Birdy at the zoo. 3.  Seal teeth. 4.  Seal watching. 5.  Hippo behind the fish. 6.  Rain soaked Peony. 7.  Clouds on Hipstamatic. 8.  Watching kickball. 9.  Thistle at the Metro train track. This week was hot and cold and sunny and rainy.  Pretty much all weather covered!  I survived a school field trip to the zoo where we saw lots of animals even though it rained all day.  I had a small group of kids to herd and they all had a great time, not a single complaint about the rain! I have been stalking the neighbourhood flowers, they are so glorious, I have to snap photos whenever I get chance.  The peonies were so gorgeous in the rain, I didn’t care that I was on my knees with my camera trying to get the best angle with flower and raindrops in perfect harmony (and focus). I haven’t used the Hipstamatic app for a while as sometimes all of those lens/film choices get a little …

Through The Lens Thursday 19. Dream.

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Dream.  A photograph of a dream?  Following a dream?  Dreaming?  What to take? Then, on the walk back from school, I spotted a circle of mushrooms on the path through the woods. Don’t we all dream there will be a crowd of fairies in every ring of mushrooms or toadstools we see?  I do! Alas, if there were any fairies present here, I missed them.  I had to clear away a few leaves and get down almost on the ground to get this shot, so I feel certain I would have spotted any. I know, I know, I was in the middle of the woods crouched on the ground photographing mushrooms!  All the time hoping that no-one would walk by!! Do you take photos all over the place? Are you bothered if anyone thinks you are a nut? I am pretty self conscious to be honest and looking a fool is not my top priority. Having said that, if I want the picture, I can usually summon up some courage from somewhere.  So there I …

Through The Lens Thursday 18. 3 Things

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  This year I am participating in Through The Lens Thursday which is a project thought up by Alison of Writing Wishing and Greta of GFunkified.  Every week we take a photo using the camera on manual setting, so that we learn lots of new camera and photo taking things through the year of weekly prompts. This week’s prompt is ‘3 Things’.  I found the abandoned, hatched egg this morning and the sycamore seeds, and I added the dandelion clock once I had put the ‘things’ together.  I was happy that the dandelion didn’t shed all of it’s seeds immediately and let me get a photo. A little nature collection. Do you pick up stuff as you walk?  I usually just photo interesting things as I see them and leave them, but today I needed my 3 things,  so I did some gathering!