The sky's the limit

Over the past month the skies in both morning and evening have been amazing. I have been taking lots of pictures of them. I have shared a few pictures and was talking to my friend Brenda -- who always encourages my photography and follows my blog-- about them .  I decided to devote this entire post to the skies. The title for this post is courtesy of Brenda. Thanks.

The first group of sky photos was taken on the morning of October 5th at my sister's house. 

took this one about 6:30 in the morning. I loved the color and the texture of the clouds, plus the silouette of the trees...

and another pinky sunrise through the trees. There are either tons of trees or wires all around my sister's house so I could not get unblocked sky, but I like the leafy effect

My sister drove me up the hill to get the next few shots. The fog was clinging to the hills and the sky was keeping the streaky blue and pink -- great morning for pictures

sharing this one because of the way the sun is highlighting the clouds at the top and giving a hint of yellow. With all the textures of the fog and the branches and the layers of clouds, I just love it

I chose this one because of the silouette and then the streaks and swirly clouds. It creates a dreamy texture that I just loved.

The next series of photos is from Wednesday October 7th. These were taken in the morning and were of the hills just outside of downtown State College.

I love how the color is like flames just above the hills ....

This one was all about the layers in the clouds. Dark on the bottom, blue sky in the middle and then bright fluffy clouds on top...simply awesome 

And this one is for the streaky effect-- I like how it feels like it is coming out of the mountain in rays..

The next series was taken on October 10 in the evening -- on the way home from Bellefonte. These were all taken through a car window....

The combination of colors in this scene is what really drew me to it. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful sky to top it off. It almost looks like a painting, and I love how the light feels like it is coming from the tree on the left ..

The patterns of the streaks is what made me take this picture. It looks like someone took a paint brush to the sky ...

The way the light reflected on the the stone barrier made me want to capture it 

And more streaks just a little darker and more vibrant 

The last series of photos are from October 16th. The first group is from the morning. The light was so beautiful I just had to take some pictures as I was walking to work 

This was one of my first wow sightings that morning. I really love the yellowy clouds and the way they are whispy. I also love the contrast with the blue sky and the dark branches ...

Those of you who follow me, know my love for reflections -- the sunrise was behind me and just looked impressive in the windows. I also like the darker texture to the sky above the windows 

This was all about the shape and varied brightness in the clouds themselves. the sun was just shining through them and silouetted the tower and the trees ( and yes this was still morning) 

and the same scene from a little farther away -- the sun was definitely shining through the clouds more in this one. I love how there is the bit of smoke on the left and how the red tree is on the right also the amount of light in the foreground is nice ...

And now last but not least, the evening of October 16th. We had a brief rain storm and though the sun had come out, there was stil quite a bit of cloud cover... 

This is taken from the 5th floor window of the library -- I love the texture and color of the clouds and especially how the edges are highlighted by the sunlight 

Also taken from a 5th floor window, just a different view. This was right after the rain -- you can see it on the roof still. I love this one for the purple tint to the clouds and also for the golden reflection in the windows and of course the wet look of the roof 

A shot of the same location from the morning. This too has the puff of smoke but such a different feel. The smoke tower feels like it is glowing and I love how the clouds streak and swirl behind it. I also like the shadows in the foreground 

And yes this is a view of the old main tower -- I love the light on the buildings and then the stripes of clouds behind it. The purply blue of the sky just adds to the beauty for me 

Can you tell I take my time walking home (or the sun just sets really really fast) . I love this one for the yellow color of the clouds, for the thickness of them and also for the way they stripe across the sky. Also the light poles show the scope of the scene ( they are just dwarfed by the clouds) 

Color, texture and whispy edges -- need I say more???

I love the color of the sky and the hills -- the hazy effect is very nice-- and then the bird flew through the scene making it even better ...

And finally as it got dark, I took these pictures of the moon. It was such a perfect sliver . I love the dark dusky ble and had to put the branches in for comparison ...

And then over the roof of a building -- just makes me want to say Good Night Mary ....

And that closes this installment of my blog. Thanks as always for sharing it with me. I have a few more sky photos that I want to share from this week and who knows what else I will find in the great big world of ours. Until next time ....

Dogs, nieces, and sky

As I mentioned in my last blog post earlier this week, I have been doing a lot of  practice with my camera out and about in the world. For this post I am going to share some of the fun dog photos I took, some photos of my nieces and a very cool sky (all while I was home) I am also going to share some photos that I have taken around campus of animals, the light and the sky. 

This is my nephew's dog Bandit. He is such a cutie. I took a bunch of practice shots of him when I was at home at the end of September and beginning of October. This shot was on a lazy afternoon. He was enjoying the sun and just happened to look up at me. 

I could not believe I got this shot. I was walking around with the dogs exploring the back yard. I stopped and said Bandit and this is what I got -- so love the look on his face :D 

Later the same morning,  I got these pictures of my sister's dog Marley. I could not believe that I got this shot. She was running up to me and stopped -- it looks like she is laughing -- love it 

And another just a few minutes later. The fuzziness in front of her nose is the mist from her breathing out. Again I love the expession on her face. It looks like she is asking now what? 

Another of Bandit -- this one from the first week of October-- Bandit loves to play tug of war with the rope at his feet. I was sitting on the couch and he dropped it in front of me and gave me this look. I could not resist 

For this one, I was outside taking pictures of the fall morning and Bandit came out on the porch. My sister's pool was still open and I was at the right angle on the hill to see this -- and knowing my love of reflections, you know I had to take this photo

Bandit running down the driveway. His legs are so short and his ears swing -- so cute

And this one is classic Marley. She loves her squeaky balls and she was ready to play

The next series is of my nieces. These were taken in the first week of October. We were decorating for Halloween .. 

Alyssa being afraid of the spider web. Took this using my umbrella and speed light 

Lexi pretending she belongs in the graveyard -- I didn't even coach her. Also took this one with my unbrella and speed light . 

The had this big black cat for the yard and wanted to pose with it. So much fun 

Just out in the yard -- asked them to give me a silly pose and this is what I got. Love thse girls

And then I asked for a nice pose/ smile. Couldn't have asked for better light 

 And the final batch of photos from my trip home. On the morning of October 5th it was chilly and misty. My sister took me out with my camera to get these photos ..

The fog was thing and hanging around late into the morning. I loved the colors of the sky and also the texture of the fog in this one. So fun to get this shot. 

This was on the same hill -- just a little different spot. I tried to get more of the trees and less of the sky and was pleased that I could see the barn and the fall colors of the trees....

I love all the purples and blues in this sky. The striping was awesome and then the added bonus of the fog still hanging in the mountains

And one final shot -- a little more silouettey - I loved the contrast of the bare trees against the beauty of the sky. 

Thanks again for sharing my photos with my. I was going to make this post longer because I have some cool animals and sky  and just some general lighting photos that I want to share, but I decided to share that for another day so that I keep on better track with my posts. Stay tuned :D 

Flowers and reflections -- and some bees

Over the last 2 months I have been going out and about quite a bit just capturing the beauty of mother nature and working with the natural light. I really do loose myself in it -- so much so that I have been spending more of my free time in the great out doors than I have on the computer or sharing things on this blog. This post is some of the flowers and reflections that I have taken on my adventures .... 

These were so beautiful and I loved how the light made them glow ....

Loved this shot for the contrast that is created by the lighter leaves behinid them. I loved the shapes and the colors and the way the light added dimension

very proud of this shot. I took this on an overcast day between 5 and 6 pm and just loved the way the light affected the water-- and also that the water was so smooth that you could see the reflection.  also love how the lighting makes the flower glow ... 

and another one from that same overcast day. just love the colors and the reflection .... 

These are from a more recent trip to the same lily pond -- not quite as overcast so a few more colors in the  leaves. -- love the different types of reflection here and the matching leaves around the flower..

I love this one for the simplicity of the flower and the reflection and also the fact that you can see some of the clouds in the water... 

Love this one for the clarity of the reflection and the shimmer in the water. Can you tell I love going to this pond ? 

and this one is a favorite because of the shapes and patterns of the flowers  especially the one in front

I love how contrasty the reflection of the flower in this one is compared to the actual flower and the patterns are just perfet -- I also love the yellow in the center

Something a little different from the same pond. I love how these leaves are curved -- if I was frog or fairy sized I would be sitting in the middle or leaping between them :D 

And one more reflection photo -- I love the matching colors in this -- the pink flowers on the shore and then the pink flower -- plus all the different water lilies that I captured 

I had to capture this as soon as I saw it. The was the light was hitting it made it glow and the color was just so striking -- and then the shape makes it look like a jaw 

The bees were loving these flowers too 

This bee was definitely enjoying it -- the flower made the perfect platform and I caught it :D 

Again loving the light -- it was so perfect that it made this flower glow. The twisting pattern of the vine was an added bonus.

I like this one because the angle of the flower was pretty fun to begin with and then being able to see the ball of pollen on the bees leg -- pretty awesome and not something I see everyday ...

 

loved the shape and different colors in this flower-- the curl reminded me of a snail shell..   

And had to include some sunflowers because they are big and beautiful. Took this one at my sister's house mid morning. Again the way the light was hitting it made the petals glow ...

And another bee photo -- they have also become a favorite subject. I loved how close I was able to get t this one and also love that you can see the sunflower seeds too 

I love this cluster of sunflowers because of the orange that runs through adding color and contrast. I also like how I was able to catch the buds and the bee flying in from the left 

loved the combination of the orangey flowers, the blue sky and then the bee on the lower flower ...

And last but not least some reflections of the night sky -- i love the colors and textures in this -- the moving water the pink and the rocks -- makes me just want to sit there ...

I love how this is a strip of color because the water was moving. It adds a dreamy quality to it ... 

and love this one because of how still this pool is. It has color, clouds and a perfect silouette of the plant. As soon as I saw this I new I had to take a picture... 

Thanks as always for sharing my photos with me. I am having a lot of fun taking the camera out at different times and in different light and seeing what different and beautiful things I can find. The peacefinding and practice will continue. For my next post (which I hope to post in the next few days) I will share some photos of the animals that have been part of my journey ....