February 28 - Puffy flowers

Thorsten brought this house plant home from the store and I have never seen anything like it. It looks like a cross of some crazy orchid and a pitcher plant. I am actually a little afraid that it will attack us in our sleep. So, if my blog stops here, you'll know what happened.

February 27 - I hate cough drops!!

Lozenges. Cough drops. Mentholyptus. Echineacea. Sage. Thyme. You name it and we have tried it. I am so sick of being sick. I have been meaning to check the stock prices for Kleenex and Vicks. Must be sky high.

February 26 - Come on Baby, Light my Fire...

Today, Leif and his Papa did some male bonding by cutting some wood (actually, our Christmas tree!) and having the first fire of the year in our outdoor fireplace. It was so much fun to watch them from inside the terrace doors and see them working together like a couple of lumberjacks.

I can't wait for summer nights sitting on the terrace by a nice fire...

February 25 - Spiralling

Perhaps the title means that I am feeling overwhelmed and am spiralling downward into an abyss of dismal darkness that no light can penetrate. Or, it could be that it is late and I hadn't taken a picture yet and just grabbed my spiral notebook to grab a last minute shot so I didn't miss a day. You guessed it... the answer is B.

I like the way the light works in the black and white version of this shot. Plus, there was a big piece of red fluff stuck in the top of the coil that really showed up in the colour version. So, it was either shoot something else or get rid of it. Instead of cropping it out, I chose to black and white it. Tricky, huh?

February 24 - The Necklace

This is one of my fave pieces of jewellry. I bought it in Mexico a few years ago and love to wear it. Again, I was playing with background colours and just seeing what made the turquoise colour look the best. Definitely, the red.

I have been looking at some portait photos lately because I would like to tackle that at some point. I have been nonplussed by some that have a white background and others just have that extra something on white... seems that it is in style these days but it has to be done really, really well to look good and to compliment the person being photographed. So, I was thinking about the role of a good background... that's what got me going on the necklace.

Well, there was that and the fact that I am so tired of winter that even living in the memory of Mexico is better than being in the cold rain.

February 23 - Chestnuts and Storm Clouds

A stormy day... Leif and I did manage a little bike ride this afternoon. Chestnuts are hanging everywhere these days... they always remind me of some kid's Grade 6 Science Project on the Solar System. I was trying to capture the stormy sky and just wanted something to silhouette in front of it.

February 22 - Grape Hyacinth

In hopes that spring will come soon, we have been buying different kinds of bulbs to have around the house. Just as a reminder that spring DOES come. These grape hyacinths were sitting on the dining room table and looked so luminous in the sunlight (which there was little of today... another rainy German winter day!). I wanted to catch the way the light made the little curly edges transparant. To do it, I had to use a high ISO which made it a little noisy. Still looking for the perfect balance for low light stuff.

February 21 - The Castle at Koenigstein

Mommy, do you think this water pump works?

Leif and I did some walking around Koenigstein this afternoon and found some really neat things in the little town. One of them was this water pump. I just caught him before he asked if it works.

Koenigstein is a little town in the mountains just a few minutes from our house. It has two of the most awesome castle ruins. This afternoon, it was foggy but I had the feeling it was going to clear, so Leif and I hopped in the car to have an adventure. We drove through the hills all the way around this castle and stopped a few times to walk and take some pictures.

I know that makes two pictures for the day but I just couldn't choose!

February 20 - Pale Petals

I bought these tulips the other day since they stood out amongst all the brightly coloured tulips in the bucket. They are mostly white but have a tiny bit of pink in the petals. I wanted to try to get accurate colour when shooting something subtle. I also played with cropping in an unusual shape because, when it comes down to it, how many pictures of tulips can you really look at?

February 19 - Backstage

Leif and I started some bean seeds in pots in the kitchen window. Actually, we started them in a glass vase so we could see how the seed bursts open and the roots start to grow and later transferred them to a pot of soil. He looked at them every day (numerous times!) and sprayed them with his little spray can. Oh, and he sprayed the window. And the curtains. And the fridge. Oy.

Today, I caught a glimpse of the beans through the curtain and thought that it looked like we were watching from the wings and the plants were onstage... with the bright lights shining on them. I know... man, I need to get out more... lol.

February 18 - Tick, tock...

Again, a macro. And, again, an old object. I am finding that my camera is much better for macros than for landscapes or portraits. Either that, or I need to do some reading on how to make it work better for those things.

But, for today, a pic of Thorsten's pocket watch which belonged to his father. I had some fun playing with the editing. I started out on my normal order of steps but decided to try something a little different with it.

February 17 - Surf Souvenirs

Summer will come again. Right?
I can't hear you!!!!!!


I have been doing a lot of high contrast stuff with objects that are colourful. So, I wanted to challenge myself to shoot some things that have muted colours and to shoot them on backgrounds that were similar to their own colour just to see the differences in exposure and lighting.

February 16 - The Snowdrop

I noticed these in my neighbour's garden yesterday and stopped this morning in the snow to get a macro shot. I forgot to check my settings again and my high ISO meant it turned out pretty noisy but I like it anyway... the snow melted before I could get back outside and try another shot!

Come on, Spring!!

February 15 - Backyard Candid

We spent a lot of today working on the kitchen. We got to the point a long time ago where it was workable and that is where it stayed. So, now for the details. Time consuming, annoying, but feels good when it's done.

That's another strange thing I have found moving to Germany... when you rent an apartment or house, you usually bring your own kitchen with you. Cupboards, countertop, the whole gig. Weird, huh? Once it's done, I will have an easy pic of the day. But, for today, I ran outside just as we were losing light to snap something, anything. This little birdie's timing was perfect!

February 14 - Lighten Up!

Today, we took a lovely Valentine's Day walk through the town we live in, Bad Soden. Beautiful blue sky made it hard to believe it was February. I did learn something about living in a small town, though... everything is closed after 1 on Saturday. I already knew about no shopping on Sundays but, come on!! We tried to go to the dry cleaner but missed it!

Today's pic is a shot from the stairwell down into one of the fountains in town. We live in a spa town where people come to drink, inhale the vapours of, or swim in the water from many different natural sources. The pic is basically right off the camera... I have been doing a little bit too much editing these days. Time to lighten up...

February 13 - Yo, Ho, the Mistletoe!

Every time we go to the mall nearby, we pass a stand of trees that is covered with mistletoe. I had never seen real mistletoe growing wild until we came to Germany. They are just round balls of parasitic plants that feed off the host tree. Kind of makes you want to kiss someone, eh?

The shot was taken out the car window with very little set-up. Hence, the editing. As I was playing with colours and exposure, it started to take on a real impressionistic flavour. And, I liked it.

Oh, and I have to admit that I actually took this picture yesterday. My camera didn't see the light of day today.... just too busy.

February 12 - The Blue Tractor

This morning, I wanted to experiment with colours, backgrounds, filtered black and whites, and a little editing. So, I picked through Leif's toys again. Not sure who plays with them more... lol. Again, a vintage toy macro.

The sunlight was streaming in through the window in Leif's bedroom so I grabbed some backgrounds, a few trucks and tractors, and started shooting different combinations. There was just something about the way this dark brown background really made the colours of the tractor pop.

February 11 - Hey, bud!

I walk by these buds everyday... and I stare... they are so fuzzy, so full of promise. But, I guess spring is still a while off. The background is a stand of dark green evergreens. I like the way they disappeared when I did a little editing on the exposure.

February 10 - The Hills Near Home

Well, another rainy day here in Germany. Leif and I spent the day playing and cleaning up the house. Well, mostly we played with stuff and then I cleaned it up. We did take a drive to pick up a few things and just to get out for a bit. This is a shot of the hills and farms around our place.

What I realize is that I have been working on macro stuff and really haven't done any good landscape things lately, this one included. I need to read up on settings for landscapes and how they differ from close-up stuff. So, for now, I will just process the snot out of them so that it looks like that is what I meant to shoot.

February 9 - Headlights

Today was another inside day... it was wet and cold and Leif is still not feeling great. So, we shot some more of his toys. Today's subject was an old ladder truck that belonged to his Papa. It actually has little fake diamond headlights... pretty cool. I did a macro, manual focus and a black and white conversion.

February 8 - The Taunus Mountains

We live at the base of a small mountain range called the Taunus. Leif and I took a walk late this afternoon around some community gardens just outside town. The sky was filled with grey clouds and the light was poor, but there was a neat little stream and lots of great opportunities for some better shots on a clear day. So, I'll add it to the list for a sunny day.

This shot is totally overprocessed... I couldn't get the look I wanted while editing... too blue or something. Anyway, it has a nice view of the mountains and the countryside.

February 7 - The bloom

Ok. So, it was getting late and I hadn't taken a pic yet. So, I decided to get some shots of whatever the heck I could find around the house. Just in case you wondered, dust bunnies don't make good photos. And, there are lots of those around the house.

This is a macro shot of the little plant that Leif picked out the last time we went grocery shopping. It was challenging to shoot at night... gotta get tomorrow's before the sun goes down! I did some editing just for fun.

February 6 - The Gate

One of many interesting things I have found in Germany is that a lot of people have their doorbell on the fence post outside their gate. Usually, there is a little speaker and the person asks who it is while you are standing on the street. This is a shot of a gate that we walk by often... ok, it doesn't show one of the doorbells I am talking about... lol. But, every time I look at it I think it is kind of cool... with the old paint and the hand-painted number on it.

February 5 - Smoke

I was delighted when I saw this shot... I love the way the vase caught the light and how the trail of light looks like a column of smoke rising up or a sunbeam breaking through the clouds.

I have been watching tutorials online for a few weeks on "light painting" and decided that today was the day to try it. Luckily, we have an interior bathroom with no window which made it easy. After a few tries with various glass objects, I decided to see how the light would bounce around in a cut crystal vase. I love this one!

February 4 - Holly Berries

On the walk home from kindergarten, I asked Leif to show me some things that he thought were interesting enough to take a picture of. Since that was my only chance to take pics today, I had to choose between this, a lightpost, and someone's doorbell.

Still working on macro shots. I did a little editing but was pretty happy right off the camera.

February 3 - Frosty

This morning was a frosty walk to school. I spied this frost pattern on a car on the way to school and caught it on the way home just as the sun peeked over to melt it away. It reminds me of a stormy ocean or a relief map of some snowy mountains.

February 2 - Tulip

Well, another Groundhog Day. I hope we won't be disappointed! This shot is in anticipation of an early spring. I shot it on macro and used the manual focus and like the way the sun streams through the petals. My original intention was to shoot my "Punxatawney Phil" groundhog mug with the tulips but this one just stood out.

February 1 - Promises, promises...

Today, we went for a drive in a new direction. Less than 10 km from our place, we came upon another amazing little town. Eppstein has a great castle, the narrowest streets I have seen so far, a great church at the base of a mountain, and the perfect feeling of small-town Germany.

This shot is a tree that had pussy-willow buds on it. I lifted Leif up, pulled off his mitts, sat him on my shoulder and let him stroke the little fuzzy buds. It was so sweet to watch him delight in the feeling.

When I saw this shot after I downloaded it, I thought of the promises contained within it Yes, spring WILL come, even if it doesn't feel like it. Yes, God IS God and will continue to be so, whether I feel it or not. And yes, I will teach Leif these things.