Sunday Stills Challenge - Self Portrait

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is Self Portrait. I'm still a little up in the air about this one since I have not posted any real pics of myself on this blog yet. There are a couple pics that show my reflection, but that is it. It's kind of nice to maintain a certain amount of anonymity. But at the same time, it might be fun to open those flood gates. There are certainly plenty of pictures that I have thought about posting but didn't because there was someone in them.

On a side note: does that make me a bad mom since I consider my animals my children and freely post pictures of them every where?!?

Anyways, once I read what the challenge was this week the first thing I did was google "self portrait". I wanted to find a definition of it to see what I could do to still take the challenge, but not put a head shot up. Self portrait is defined as a picture of oneself taken by oneself. Well, that sounds like something I can work with. The only request in the challenge was that there wasn't a camera in front of your face and no pics from the archives. I guess it does imply that it should be a head shot, but it doesn't say that it needs to be a full on face shot.

Doing some more googling on self portrait tips, there were hints and tips for taking them, ways to make them interesting and then I found this interesting webpage. In reading thru it, I found the words I was looking for..."A self-portrait doesn't have to be of your face..." Yes! My get out of jail free card! :-)

So this week I've tried to get some interesting self portraits. I've tried some different ideas and this is what I've come up with...

I tried the shadow across the ground. Cheyanne was helping me take pictures so that lump by my leg is her.

Then I tried the barn wall.

Again, Cheyanne had to help me.

Then Mister decided to join the party too.

Then I convinced Midori to stop playing with the lens cap long enough to snap a pic...yep, that's me with the totally cheesy grin reflected in Midori's eye ball.

Then I tried doing just part of my face, zoomed in on my eye. I like it that you can see the trees and sun reflected in my eye on this one.

These were actually my first attempts at the self portrait when I was still debating whether or not to post an actual picture of myself. I decided eh, what the heck...

I just balanced the camera on the back of the couch, turned all the lights off in the house and used the flash and macro setting. The portrait setting wouldn't focus so close. Then I used the 2 second delay so I could get both my arms in the picture and voila!

There were plenty of pictures of me smiling, but for some reason I liked these serious ones better. No clue why.

So there we have it. I opened those flood gates. Not sure if I will continue to post pictures of me or not, but those are my self portraits.

Fun fact of the day

Ok, atleast I think it's a fun fact. I'm sure most of you don't really care.

Last weekend I had a clinic to go to at an arena that I've been to before. I have always taken the main interstate down there before, but this time, when I googled directions to it, the map suggested I go a different route from my house. It was about 30 miles shorter and would save quite a bit of time. Anything that was going to let me sleep in a little longer was worth a try!

Besides, I hadn't ever taken the highway we live close to all the way to the end so I was curious what it was like. I'd heard it is a beautiful drive and had been wanting to check it out. The drive certainly did not disappoint, though I was really wishing I had a fun little sports car instead of a lifted truck. It was very curvy-twisty-turny and would have been a blast in a quick little car.

Not that I speed or anything. Of course I'm a law abiding citizen every minute I'm behind the wheel. Yep, that's me.

Anyways, where was I. Oh...so the drive was great. I got there right on time, even after leaving my house late. I had planned to allow some extra time, just in case I got lost or something. I've never been known for my great sense of direction. The clinic went great, I got out earlier then expected and headed back home. That is when I noticed the fun fact of the day.

I did not pass one single fast food restaurant. I drove over an hour each way and did not see one single McDonalds, Burger King, Jack In The Box, Wendy's...nothing. I don't think I even passed a Subway!

Unfortunately, the reason I noticed this was because I was starving and had avoided the long line at the bathroom before I left the arena. I figured I'd just stop at a fast food joint for a potty break and some fries and enjoy the drive home. No such luck.

Thinking back, I don't think I hit a single actual red, yellow and green traffic light the whole way either. There were the flashing red and yellow warning lights at intersections, but no real traffic lights.

Did I mention I drove over an hour each way?

Seriously, how many people can say they drove over an hour from their house and didn't pass one single fast food joint or hit one single traffic light? I suppose for a lot of rural America it's not such a huge thing but in western Washington it just seemed weird.

That is all. Now you can continue on with your day content in the knowledge that you know someone that can drive over an hour and not see any fast food restaurants or traffic lights. I'm glad I could bring you that peace. Carry on.

Our guests

The other night when I went out to feed the horses, these two surprised me when I opened up the grain can. I guess surprised is a bit of an understatement. They scared the poo outta me! I screamed and both myself and the can lid went flying across the feed room.

Once I recovered from the initial panic and realized that they weren't able to jump out, I had to run and get my camera. Of course the battery in my new camera was dead, so these were taken with my old camera. They still turned out pretty darn good so I guess I'll keep it around for a while. :-)

The mice were actually kinda cute, ya know, for rodents.

I was the last one to grain the horses too so I can't even blame the boyfriend for not shutting the lid tight so they were able to get in there. Darn it!

Oh well, guess it's time for a barn cat. Chey ought to love that!

Sunday Stills Challenge - Motion

The first Sunday Stills challenge that I am taking is In Motion. "This can be anything that conveys motion." Since the weather around here is horrible this week and I can't really think of any indoor action shots that wouldn't suck, I decided to cheat just a little bit and go back to some older pictures.

This challenge also happens to coincide with a blog that's been percolating in my head since I took these pictures a month and a half ago. It has everything to do with motion and these pictures definately "convey motion"!

First off though, this is my "official entry" for the Sunday Stills Challenge: In Motion...

This was a beautiful, sunny day in January that we pulled the horses blankets and turned our two mares out together to romp and have some fun. This is Sugar and she was not waiting so patiently for her turn. This was about a half a second after her halter was off. Brat. There are a ton more motion shots here, where I originally blogged about that day. I was shooting on the continuous action shot mode. I did make a few minor adjustments in the color and exposure with my Windows Photo Gallery program to perk it up a little bit. Unfortunately, it does not edit out the obnoxious white electric tape fence.

When I was going thru all of the pictures from that day I noticed something interesting. I had to really pick thru the pictures of Sugar to find ones where she didn't look like she was about to fall over or like a complete retard. She just wasn't that graceful looking. Midori, on the other hand, was totally photogenic and I was hard pressed to find a bad action shot of her. Atleast one that was her fault or caught her in a bad position. There were some bad ones, but I was still getting used to my new camera and the bad ones of Midori were mostly my fault.

It is funny looking at it though.

First up, lets look at their roll. It's pretty much the first thing they do when they get out there.

Midori is on the top and this was the goofiest pic of her in the bunch. She is right in the middle of flipping sides so her back is arched and there is a lot of effort going into the roll. She still looks pretty coordinated though. The second pic is Sugar. This was a pretty typical picture of her rolling. Her legs are going every where and I've never seen her roll from one side to the other so all that effort is just going into getting mud on every single square inch of her.

Next up, the running.

Above is Midori running. Perfectly horsie and graceful. Below is Sug running. Perfectly...not horsie or graceful. I don't even know what is going on in the first picture. The last two I was waiting for the nose dive and flip, but somehow she caught herself and kept on going. No idea how she managed that. (Not sure why, but when the sun was bright in the picture it would show streaks, still need to do some research on the new camera to get that to stop, so just ignore the crappy quality of the shot and pay attention to how funny Sug looks!)

And last, their "bucks". I use the quote marks because they are pretty pathetic bucks. Not that I'm complaining.

Above is Midori's "buck". It's decent, coordinated. Spunky, but controlled. In the pic to the right Sug is the red head on the left and that is her "buck", if you can even call it that. I think the tail gives it away. There was obviously some effort, though she just looks gangly and awkward.

It really made me think looking thru those pictures and noticing just how different those girls really move. I wonder why they are so different also. I suppose it could be their age. Midori is coming 7-ish (she's not registered) and Sug is going to be 4 this year. They both look and move great under saddle. Sugar has never struck me as uncoordinated under saddle, just a little baby-ish at times.

The boyfriend says it's because of him, that she's a reflection of him, just like Midori is a reflection of me. lol I'm not sure that's entirely true in this particular case, but I think I'm going to go with it anyways.

So there's my pics of motion. I'm anxious to see what the next challenge is and hopefully I'll be able to actually challenge myself to take some new pics! :-)

Sunday Stills Challenge

I found a new blog that I think I'm in love with. It's Sunday Stills. It's basically a weekly challenge to take a particular kind of picture and post it for the world to see. I think I want to give it a go. I definately need to broaden my picture taking horizons, since I seem to be pretty stuck in the rut of macro. Not that I mind...I'm in love with macro, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a little motivation every week to try something new. And I'm always up for any excuse to take more pictures!

I'm pretty sure I'm not disciplined enough to actually meet the challenge every single week, but I'm looking forward to trying!

PS - I found Sunday Stills just by browsing thru the list of blogs that are followed by blogs I follow...if that makes any sense. A lot of blogs have their list of favorites on display and I've found some really fascinating blogs just by clicking thru them. It's a big, blogging world out there and can be lots of fun to explore when you've got a minute!

Progress

I can't even express how excited I am about this project. I have dreamed for I don't even know how long of having my very own real arena at my house. Now I can see that dream becoming a reality! I'm ecstatic!

The boyfriend totally rocks on the tractor! He's been a busy bee around the property playing with his new toy and getting things cleaned up and looking good. I was blown away the other night when I came home to the arena-to-be all graded out, looking level and beautiful. Of course I had to grab the camera and take pictures.

*grins*

Important Health Advice for Women! Sorta.

Do you have feelings of inadequacy?


Do you suffer from shyness?


Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?


If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist about Margaritas.


Margaritas are the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident about yourself and your actions.

Margaritas can help ease you out of your shyness and let you tell the world that you're ready and willing to do just about anything.

You will notice the benefits of Margaritas almost immediately and with a regimen of regular doses you can overcome any obstacles that prevent you from living the life you want to live.

Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past and you will discover many talents you never knew you had.

Stop hiding and start living, with Margaritas.

Margaritas may not be right for everyone.

Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use Margaritas.

However, women who wouldn't mind nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it.

Side effects may include:
Dizziness
Nausea
Vomiting
Incarceration
Erotic lustfulness
Loss of motor control
Loss of clothing
Loss of money
Loss of virginity
Table dancing
Headache
Dehydration
Dry mouth
And a desire to sing Karaoke

WARNING:

The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you are whispering when you are not.

The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.

The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to think you can sing.

The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting

Amen to that!

Thank god for 'ritas and to my sis for sending this to me!