Trinkets in the Dark

Hi everyone!

Last November, I decided to experiment with shadows and exposure on my camera! Here are the results. 😀

For this picture I zoomed in while the shutter was open.

For this last picture, I waved my flashlight in front of my camera for this cool effect!

Thanks for reading!

Cherry Blossoms

Hi everyone!

The world is kind of crazy right now, so I’ll take you virtually to the cherry blossom festival in DC. Unfortunately, this year the festival is closed and police are blocking all of the paths to the tidal basin, so these pictures are from last year!

Here are a few black and white photos!

Have you seen cherry blossoms? Are you as excited as I am that spring has arrived?

Thanks for reading!

A Squall in Acadia

Hi everyone!

Last summer I went to Acadia Maine.

One afternoon, I was standing on the deck of the cabin eating some raspberries, and enjoying the nature around me.

Then, I noticed some large clouds approaching and took out my camera to get a few cool shots.

Within a few minutes, the storm had reached our cove and I rushed inside to protect my camera.  The rain pounded against the glass windows and the wind blew the deck chairs onto the lawn.

After a few minutes, the short little squall disappeared leaving us with a clear sky!

Have you ever been caught in a short storm?

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Sunset in Acadia

Hi everyone!

Today I’m posting a few photos I took near the water during a beautiful sunset in Acadia.

What photo is your favorite?

Thanks for reading!

 

Moss on the Rocks // Acadia

Hi everyone!

Today I’ll be sharing some interesting photos I took of moss on giant boulders.

Thanks for reading!

Chinatown Street Photography

Hi everyone!

Last fall I decided to walk around Chinatown and snap a few photos for a street photography contest.  My hands froze because of the chilly weather!

 

Then I took an underground train where I also took a few photos.

Have you ever been to a Chinatown?  Which photo did you like the best?

Thanks for reading!

 

I’m Back! + The Pottery Yurt

Hi everyone!

I’m back!

I haven’t posted in so long because this year has been very busy, but I really want to start posting here again. I have so many photos I can’t wait to share!

Today I’ll be showing you a co-op art studio near me.  They have a yurt pottery wheel studio, which can be very crowded at times!

Today I will be taking you through the complex process of pottery wheel!

The pot is thrown on the wheel.

Then the pots are fired for the first time.

Off to the glaze yurt.

Next, the pots are dipped in buckets of specially made glaze.

The glaze dries on the pots on the holding shelf.

The pots are fired at over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit in the kilns.

After cleaning the pottery yurt for the next artists, the process is finished.

While it seems like it should be a quick and easy process, making a single pot can take months of hard work.

Which photo is your favorite? Have you tried a pottery wheel?

Thanks for reading!

Patron Saint Parade

Hi everyone!!!

I haven’t posted in a very long time! But I’m back! 🙂

Over in Italian cities (I don’t know where else they do this, so it may be in other countires), they have a patron saint.  In Florence, they celebrate their patron saint by putting on a parade and having a soccer/rugby match in Santa Croce square (a church square).

This was actually the day we left for Pisa, so we didn’t see the match.  We did see the parade!

It started at the Duomo and ended at Palazzo Vecchio.  This was the small morning parade.  The evening parade was from the match square to somewhere (I don’t know where it ended! :-)).  The people in the parade were dressed in costumes from the 1500s.

At the Palazzo Vecchio, they stopped and the color guard tossed their flags.

What do you think of the pictures? Which was your favorite?

Thanks for reading!

Oltrarno

Hi everyone!

Today’s post will be full of pictures from Oltrarno, a residential neighborhood across the Arno river from the main part of Florence with palaces and cathedrals.  We took a walk around this neighborhood before visiting the Pitti Palace and Boboli gardens, where the important Medici family eventually lived.

Oltrarno is known for its artisans and quaint roads.

Some workers….

Fruit from a local market.

We got some strawberries and they were really yummy!

A side street.

 

Flowers in a window box.

A scooter.

What do you think? Did you like this photo+caption post?

Thanks for reading!

 

Pisa

Hi everyone! Today’s post is pictures of Pisa!

We left the Florence train station mid-morning.

Pisa, which is most known for it’s leaning tower, also has a large church and baptistry built in the Medival ages. Surprisingly, they do not look gothic, which was the traditional style of the time.  They have more of a Renaissance appearance.

This is the front of the baptistry.

This is the front of the church.

This is a view of the Church and Baptistry from the top of the leaning tower!

And now for the leaning tower! It really does lean!

The tower will not fall over because they have poured cement into the ground underneath!

Look at the amazing ice cream! 😉

Actually, a nice tourist gave me an ice cream cone which was perfect for a funny photo!  It was super hot so if I’d had any gelato it would have melted in seconds!

I did get to go up the leaning tower!!!!! My favorite part was climbing it because I had a weird sense of vertigo, as the stairs were somewhat leaning too! (you can’t really see it in this photo.

To reach the top level, I had to climb a small spiral staircase!  Because so many people use them they are slippery and quite hard to walk on.

Here is some cool architecture at the top.

The view was great! We were hoping we could see the sea from the top, but it was too far away.

On the top, I sat on the side that was leaning.  After a while, we climbed down and went back to Florence.

Do you like the photos? Which is your favorite? Have you been to Pisa too?

Thanks for reading!