Becky’s Squares photo challenge has returned. I sadly thought so some time back, but now it appears that it is really back.
This month’s theme is Renew. Or Burgeoning. Or Moving Forward. Or Reconstructing. You get the idea
MAY Squares #1
Category: Nature
Nature’s brush paints delicately eccentric circles
Debbies Six Word Saturday
I used less clarity and texture in the image below and it turned out more like a painting.
delicate blooms
We had a few days of spring, so I took advantage of the opportunity to capture the mandatory photos of snowbells. As one of the first flowers of spring, they symbolize new beginnings, hope, rebirth, and the ability to overcome challenges. The sight of these delicate blooms filled me with hope and positivity.
However, nature had a surprise in store for us – a fresh coat of snow arrived just two days ago. Despite the unexpected turn of events, I seized the opportunity to capture the enchanting snow-covered landscape. It’s fascinating how the same scene can take on a different, yet equally captivating, appearance with a layer of snow.
As I’m writing this, a snow blizzard rages outside. While witnessing a snow blizzard at this time of year wasn’t what I had in mind, it’s a poignant reminder of nature’s unpredictability and the beauty it holds, even in the midst of unexpected circumstances.
Posted for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge
Hydrangea Edits
The delicate beauty of hydrangea petals as they slowly deteriorate during the winter months is truly captivating. The intricate lace-like patterns that emerge from this natural process are a testament to the mesmerizing transformation that nature undergoes throughout the seasons. It’s truly remarkable how something as fleeting as the delicate decay of flower petals can create such a stunning visual display.
I love trying to bring it out details in my edits. If you are not familiar me as a photographer, I love the editing process. The framing of the subject and capturing the mood and details. Mostly, I do my best to stay true to the subject, just to enhance it a bit. Sometimes, well quite often I take artistic liberty when editing. I often convert the images to black and white as I find it it brings the essential part to focus. Or I play with the tone of the photos. Both styles shown in this post.
The last two images are true to what I saw. The last image is the original RAW shot, no edits. Above it is a a cropped and slightly edited version and on the top you see how I played with the image.
Posted for Cee’s Flower of the Day
one new beginning
The arrival of a new season brings with it the promise of fresh beginnings and sun-filled days. As I eagerly anticipate the arrival of spring, it’s the perfect time to share this photo taken a few years ago. The minimalist aesthetic of the image and how the bokeh in the background adds an ethereal quality. It serves as a timeless reminder of the beauty found in simplicity, and the art of capturing fleeting moments in time.
Sunlit moss creates enchanting forest ambiance.
Orchid
I’ll take the easy, most obvious way out of this week’s One Word Sunday challenge .
Here is an Orchid for your eyes to rest upon.
Moody
Silent Sunday
Macro Monday
Cup Lichens for Marco Mondays
At this time I was trying to capture lush, green mossy surface with intricate textures visible. The light was soft and diffused, highlighting the delicate structures of both the moss and fungi without casting harsh shadows. I like that there is a mix of green hues, ranging from bright lime greens to deeper forest greens in the vegetation. Cup Lichens with slender stems and cup-shaped caps are emerging from the moss, adding diversity to the scene. Most cup lichens grow on the ground but some can also grow on deadwood or as epiphytes on trees.
Flower of the day – Daisy
That’s what I am calling this flower, even though when I googled it could also be Mayweed. It is pretty, that’s enough for me, one of my favorite flowers, it is sunny. Brings summer to mind.
Golden barley sways in sunlight breeze
I found this image from my archives, it captures a close-up view of a green barley field with individual barley stalks and their grains clearly visible, highlighted by sunlight. The grains are at various stages of maturity, with some appearing golden and others green.
I am rather happy with this, but I’ve never posted it before as I like the softness and movement of it. It shows how you see even your own images differently as time passes and you look at your photos with fresh eyes.
For Debbie´s Six Words Saturday.
Monochrome – flower bouquet
Posted for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
Flower of the day
little bit of red
Red berries on a snowy day, that’s it.
Red is the theme
Hard to find red at the moment, but these I did find – still fitting for the season.
This week’s topic on CFFC is “red”. Cee asked us to Use our imagination and see what we can come up with. Be creative … not sure about that. They are red, these apples and berries.
Flower of the day – frosty rhododendron
Last Photo for November 2023
Last Photo for November 2023 that’s what bushboys world wants to see with following rules and tags
Your last photo doesn’t have to be on the very last day of the month if you didn’t take any photos on that day. Maybe it was earlier in the month when the last photo was taken.
This one is from my Sony and a macro lens of the colorful berries, but my focus went a stray…
The view from my bedroom was taken with my iPhone 14, just because I spotted some blue sky, it was on the 29th.
So let’s see what you have for **
The rules are simple:
1. Post the last photo on your SD card or last photo on your phone for the 30th November or whenever your last photo was taken.
2. No editing – who cares if it is out of focus, not framed as you would like or the subject matter didn’t cooperate.
3. You don’t have to have any explanations, just the photo will do
#TheLastPhoto and #LastOnTheCard
Wordless Wednesday
#WordlessWednesday
Gray days of November, so dreary
Gray days of November, oh so dreary,
Dampened spirits, and a heart full of drear.
The skies are gray, the winds they do howl,
As if the world itself were lost in a droll.
The trees stand bare, their leaves long gone,
Their branches skeletal, a somber song.
The grass is parched, the flowers all gone,
A desolate landscape, a winter’s dawn.
The days are short, the nights are long,
A time of rest, but little song.
The world is quiet, still and cold,
As if the season’s chill had grown old.
But even in the gray, there’s beauty found,
A time for reflection, a time profound.
The world may be dull, but not the heart,
For in the gray days of November, we find our part.
So let us embrace the gray, and all its might,
For in the darkness, there is still a light.
A light that shines within our souls,
A beacon of hope, in the gray days of November’s role.
For Debbie’s Six Words Saturday.
close ups of a flax wreath
Flax – I have a flax wreath on my door. So here are some close ups of it.
In addition to their visual appeal, red berries have symbolic meanings in different cultures. They are often associated with love, romance, and renewal. In ancient folklore, red berries were believed to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits.
The close-up shots reveal their intricate details and the play of light on their smooth surfaces. It’s fascinating to observe the variations in size, shape, and texture among different types of red berries.
Posted for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge
the honeydew (Armillaria borealis)
The honeydew mushrooms with nice bokeh background, I m happy how I was able to capture the texture especially in the first shot. Color version of the previous post of mushrooms
Colorful bokeh was a nice surprise 🤨
Posted for Leanne’s Monochrome Madness
Have to be careful
This summer/ autumn the mushrooms have been really popping up, I don’t remember when we have had this much of them pop up in our yard. I Don’t recognize them from each other, so I don’t pick them up. I take photos instead and buy the ones I eat, better safe than sorry .
The white fly mushroom (Amanita virosa) is deadly poisonous. Dangerous cell toxins damage internal organs: kidneys, liver, heart muscle, brain and blood vessels.
The white fly mushroom is completely white, and the color does not change from contact or other handling. The cap is egg-shaped when young, then bell-shaped and almost flat when old. It is sticky when wet and silky shiny when dry, and slightly yellowed in the middle when older. The gills are permanently white.
The leg is also completely white. Its upper part has the characteristic sign of a fly agaric: a ragged and hanging ring. A good sign is also the thick, lumpy basal part of the foot surrounded by a sheath.
fly agaric have been popping up some of them are rather big
I did some search about these mushrooms, and was surprised that they are editable. The cap of the honeydew(Armillaria borealis) mushroom has clear scales, the ring is strong and effervescent. The scales of the tadpole mushroom, on the other hand, are insignificant, its leg is club-like and often dirty yellow. The ring of the species is thin and pendulous and often disappears completely.
The way the species grow is also different: the mushroom grows in dense clumps on the stump.
the smell of autumn fills you up
Mushrooms pop up in the rain
My first post to the this challenge, six words in the title and photos to match it.
three versions
Editing is fun, and i make several editing versions of my photos and I try to pick the one I like the most.
I saw this challenge and thought I’d give it a go. This is for April as I could not find one for May.
The original one.above and black and white version below
I now days always shoot in RAW and am able to play with the photo in so more ways than if I did with JPG.
In this version I added light to the background, changed the tones more towards blues.
The last one I turned the shot into autumn tones and the mood changed totally
One-to-Three Photo Processing Challenge-April 2023
PS the header is slightly different from the original, did you happen to notice that? I added some softness to it
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 