#SquareTops: Tree Buds and Moon

For Becky’s SquareTop challenge today, here is my offering: I was planning to feature the buds on this tree, but then I saw the moon rising between the branches. That is really tops – you can’t get much higher than that!

January Square 11: Moonlight

I have two square photos of moonlight. The first one was taken last March, when the full moon was rising over the houses across the street in our Des Plaines neighborhood. The second one was taken a few nights ago, when I knew the moon was full but it was cloudy. So the second photo […]

CFFC: Shiny: Photographic Effects and Mistakes

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge theme this week is shiny. Using photographic manipulation and mistakes added to the shiny-ness of some of these photos! Icicles – I got the effect I was looking for in this shot, with the late afternoon sun shining behind the icicles to create a golden glow. (Taken from my living room […]

Camouflage and Contrast

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge for this week is Standing Out or Blending In. Camouflage (blending in) is a common way in nature for animals to hide from predators or so they cannot be seen. It was hard to spot this eagle at first, because his brown feathers blend in so well with the tree branches. There’s […]

CB&WPC: Two different things

Cee’s B&W Photo Challenge this week is to feature two different things.

WPC: Making the Temporary Permanent

The Weekly Photo Challenge theme this week is Temporary. Nature’s beauty has an element of permanence, in that there is always beauty to appreciate at any time of year and the fact that the seasons come and go and nature “repeats itself.” Still, in spite of this repetition, none of nature’s beauties are ever exactly […]

Two Tuesday Challenges: After dark…

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is 4-letter words starting with the 4th letter (D) and Dutch Goes the Photo’s challenge is dark, so this works for both! I was even inspired to write a poem to go with my photos, but the pictures were all taken this year so the last three photos haven’t […]

WPC: Night lights

Some of the most spectacular “shining” comes from the moon. I have often tried to capture the full moon as it rises or sets. Night shots can be somewhat eerie, appropriate for Halloween! Here are some of my efforts, for the Weekly Photo Challenge: Shine. Street lights create some spooky effects, too. Note: All photos […]

Word(s) of the Week: Nyctophilia and Nyctophobia

Nyctophobia (also called noctiphobia or scotophobia) is defined as an abnormal fear of the night or of darkness. A person with this fear may be characterized as nyctophobic. Here is how the night might sound for one who suffers from nyctophobia: Scary Sounds from a night in the wild Am I nyctophobic? I’m not afraid […]

WPC: Half-Light

The Weekly Photo Challenge is “Half-light”. I have seen “half-light” occur at dawn, at dusk, when there is a full moon, or when there is a storm. At daybreak, the light emerges slowly as we see through a sort of haze. At dusk we can still make out objects and the sunset may produce brilliant […]