144: Float

When I knelt to take this photo, I thought of Cathrin Schulz's Poolside series. I love the calm and simplicity in this series. I discovered Cathrin, along with David Welch, who I mentioned the other day, through the Hey, Hot Shot! blog that I've been following for the last few weeks. Many thanks to Beth of ...the year of the written word... for pointing me in the direction of this fascinating and motivating website.

143: Ikebana

142: Basket of Plenty

Inspired by a serendipitous chain of events: came across David Welch's Material World project, which includes a cornucopia image, then discovered a basket of laundry tipped on its side with most of the contents strewn into the room.

141: Paper Birds

140: Last Day

Today was my last day at my job, and I felt some pressure to find all the great photo ops in the vicinity. This was in a window as I walked from my car into the shop.

During a break, I took a walk in the alley behind my job. For some of the non-blue photos, you can go here. One of my favorites in the day lily shot.

This shot, a stop on the way home, was inspired by Jehan's New York 365 project, particularly this image. Hoping to try this scene again when the lighting is not so bright.

139: Pool Party

Shadows on the wall of our dining room this morning. No relation to the pool party but too pretty to skip.

 

138: Big Sky

 

137: Poolside

We filled up the wading pool this afternoon, as we've been doing frequently. I really like to get the kids outside for at least an hour, preferably more every afternoon, but when it's 90+ and humid, this is the only way to make it bearable.

My preschooler son called me over to show me the "fire" he was making in the water as he sprayed the hose across the surface. Of course when I inverted the colors, that's exactly what it looks like!

136: Smurfs!

My mother made this cross stitch for me when I was in first grade and obsessed with the Smurfs. In my search for links to explain Smurfs to readers, perhaps younger or older than myself, who were unfamiliar with these bizarre, charming little blue people, I discovered a new Smurfs movie is due out next month, starring none other than the likes of Neil Patrick Harris and Hank Azaria! I honestly don't know whether to be thrilled or horrified.

135: New Ways of Looking

My son, looking through a blue plastic bin top.

Bricks, with inverted color and ripple blocks effect.

134: Neon

I've been toying with the "neon" feature on Picnik but so far the effect has been pretty cheesy. Today I hit on the type of image that would work best for the idea I had in mind. I could have played with this all evening, but stopped myself at four photos. Items are named at the bottom of the post.

Knife block, light bulb, pie tin, dish cloth.

133: Stormy Weather

I can't decide if this picture is better off with an explanation or without it. So here's fair warning. If you don't want to see behind the mask, read no further.

This is a string of lights reflected in a puddle on a smooth, black table after a rainstorm today. I inverted the colors on Picnik and it captures my dark, grumpy mood on a long, grey day more accurately than the original.

132: Surprising Finds

 

A snowglobe* in the pantry...

...and a pretty plate in a dusty shed.

*This globe was on loan to a friend to use in her fantastic project, Snowglobe 365. My toddler is fascinated with it and each time she finds it, I move it a little higher. So far the pantry shelf above my head seems to be safe from her surprisingly long reach.

131: Out of Character

I found this bag at Target for $2.50. Two dollars and fifty cents! For that price, I thought it worth trying something new, something completely outside of the realm of my usual style. I'm not a purse person by nature, but as a mom with a daily photography project, I need to carry my camera with me in a way that provides some level of protection. I like the way this bag stands up on its own, and the open top provides easy access to the camera, or my keys, or the kids' sunblock.

Editing photos to this obvious level also feels out-of-character for me, but on days that we don't leave the house, I'm enjoying the challenge of creating an interesting moment out of the every day objects around me.

130: Supersize

These are not in my neighborhood, but they are the same size and style as the trash cans the county government recently supplied to us. I'm so frustrated by these gigantic containers. A 95-gallon trash can used for weekly pick-up sends the message that this is a normal or average amount of trash created by a single household, yet my four-person family fills this size can once every three to four weeks. 

To provide some perspective, I gave birth to my daughter in a tub just 5 gallons larger than these monstrosities. Sitting at the bottom of the tub, with my legs stretched out, the water came almost up to my chin. 

129: Vessel

This image brought to mind a woman's waist. Woman... mother... vessel. Too much of stretch?

128: Wood Grain

127: Twins

There was actually a triplet as well, but I didn't have a chance to photograph all three together.

126: Circles and Lines

125: Looking In

124: I Spy

  

123: Tread

122: Working in the Garden

 

   

I spent a few hours working in the garden today. The hottest part of the day, to be exact. I planned to get out there this morning, but first one thing came up, then another, and before I knew it, it was 1:30. Once I finished, I started planning out dinner in my head, then realized I had yet to take a Blue photo today. I felt proud of the work I had accomplished, I was wearing a blue towel around my neck to help keep me cool; a self-portrait seemed only natural. I'm finding myself ironically drawn to self-portraits lately. My natural tendency is to shy away from this genre, which heightens the challenge for me. 

121: Walled Garden

120: Simple but Powerful Advice

119: Walking

My son and I took a walk around our neighborhood this morning. In theory, it was a photowalk for both us, but he's easily frustrated by his camera, and handed it off to me early on.

After lunch, all four of us headed over to Belle Isle. We spotted this collection of blue items on one of the old bridge piers almost immediately, but couldn't tell what we were seeing until we got home and looked at the photos on the computer. A village! Complete with steepled church, lighthouse and houses on the hill. Such a  neat find. Click on the photo to see a larger version of the Little Blue Village.

And a few of the other sights and activities we saw while exploring the island today...

118: Saw Blades

 

117: Extreme Action Action Figures from Beyond Outer Space

Many thanks to my son and his friend for creating this scenario, saving us all from another ho-hum around-the-house shot.

116: Storage Jar

115: Heat

The kids and I went to the Children's Museum in an attempt to avoid the heat and humidity today. 

You may notice that we spent most of our time outside. At least we had a change of scenery.