Through A Photographer's Eyes: June 2011

Quarterly Top 5 Photos

Linking up with three different bloggers for this. Here are the top 5 photos of my precious little girl.

Didn't sleep last night. This stomach flu is brutal. Don't even have to tell you where I spent the majority of the night. Not as bad today but still feeling yuck. So, I am using a picture I took on our hike the other day because I know I am not feeling well enough to take one today.

Day 180 - Butterfly

I know...a totally non-creative title but I think I may have caught the bug my baby girl has so my stomach is pretty tore up and I just want to go lay down. I will have to catch up on everyone's blogs when I am feeling better.

Favorite Photo of the Week Winners - Week 5

Wow! 49 entries this week! Thank you so much for your participation. As always I had a hard time choosing the top 5 but finally narrowed it down to these.

Don't forget to grab your button.

Naptime Momtog

I've seen this cool texture on a few other blogs and I just love it. Beautiful contrasting colors, great lighting and such a unique texture!

Kassie's Beach

This picture makes me wish I had a dog. The lighting in this shot is spot on and the look in his eye is challenging someone to try to get the toy away from him. I like the hint of a wave in the background too.

i take pictures

I love the simplicity of this shot. I am always so impressed with Danelle's photos. Her lighting is always absolutely perfect.

My Reflection of Something

I like the texture in this photo. It looks like a painting. So bright, summery and cheery.

My #1 favorite photo of the week is...

Homesick

So silky soft and smooth. A perfect picture of peace and elegance.

Congratulations, Henrietta on being this week's Favorite Photo of the Week! Grab your button below.

Look for the next contest on Friday...

Day 179 - Case of the Yuckies

What do you get a toddler that doesn't feel well? A sock monkey and some gatorade. I spent the morning cleaning up vomit and other yuckies. My baby girl caught some sort of bug going around. It's been quite the miserable day for her. Poor thing kept tugging at her shirt because her belly hurts. Hopefully her 4 1/2 hr. nap helped. Poor baby girl. Hope this is only a 24 hr. bug and hopefully Mr. Sock Monkey helps a little too.

Would love to see your blog spaces. Click on the button below and link up to join in on the fun.

Day 178 - Strawberry Shortcake

First, could you please take a sec and go vote for me? Thanks!

When I walked in the grocery store the other day I saw strawberries and angel foodcake sitting right next to it and had an instant craving to have some. Of course it's not complete without whipped cream on top, right? Let me tell ya, this tasted as good as it looks if not better! I also love the plate it's on. My mom gave them to me. My dad bought them for her when we lived in Germany. I look forward to passing them down to my daughter some day.

'Where I Blog' - Linkup

One of my really good blogger buddies, Lisa over at The Army Chap's Wife came up with this great idea to take a picture of where she blogs. A couple of other people have left comments on her blog with links to where they blog too so go check that out! I thought it would be fun to give us all a glimpse into each others' lives from where we sit. You can just take a snapshot or put some fun labels on it like I did. So, add your link to the bottom of the page and lets see where we all spend our hours frying our brain cells. :) I will keep a tab at the top of my blog if you want to check back from time to time and see where all your other bloggy buddies hang out. The linkup will be open indefinitely so join in the fun any time.

Here is Where I Blog:

Link up below and either grab my button or link back here. Have fun!

This Week's Featured Linkup - 'The Simple Things Challenge'

It's time for my 2nd Linkup Feature...

Rebecca over at Simple As That hosts the linkup called "The Simple Things Challenge on her blog. She has included the details of her linkup below:

It's all about capturing photos of the simple, everyday things that bring us joy. Come link up every Sunday. The linky ends Wednesday evening.

Click on her button to check out her linkup and join in on the fun!

The Simple Things will now be included on my list of linkups under the tab 'Other Linkups' found at the top of my page. Rebecca, please be sure to include my button below on your blog so others can find their way to this helpful list of linkups.

If you would like your linkup featured on my blog, please click on the tab at the top of the page entitled 'Get Your Link Up Featured' for details. The next linkup will be featured next Monday.

Day 177 - Purple and Blue

What a gorgeous color combination, right? This is why I love to get out in the great outdoors. So much beauty and so many great photo opportunities.

Don't forget to submit your favorite photo of the week into this week's contest. Just click on the Favorite Photo of the Week Contest tab at the top of the page.

Just added a Facebook page and button on my side bar. Click "like" if you want to make my day. :)

Project 365 - Week 25

Click on the titles to see the full picture
1. Happy Father's Day
2. Uniquely Designed
3. Mourning Dove
4. After the Sprinklers
5. Eggs in a Basket
6. Killdeer in Flight
7. Mountain Medley

Only 3 more days to vote! Please click on the Circle of Moms button in the top right hand corner of the page and give me a thumbs up. :)

Day 176 - Mountain Medley

We went on a beautiful hike as a family today. It was my baby girl's first hike and she did great in the backpack carrier we bought for her. We were surrounded by so much natural beauty. I just love all the colors in this photo. Only God could make something so beautiful!

Please continue to vote for me on Circle of Moms. Just click on the Circle of Moms button on the top right hand corner of my blog and then give me a thumbs up. Only 4 more days! :)

Also, just a reminder you have till Monday night to submit your photo for my Favorite Photo of the Week contest. Just click on the contest tab at the top of the page.

Day 175 - Killdeer In Flight

Our usual Friday morning visit to the lake always yields awesome photo opportunities. Today was no disappointment. I was trying to sneak in on 3 different killdeer but they spook really easy and don't let you get close at all. Apparently I got too close cause this guy took off. I had to crop this down to really show the details, but it turned out pretty cool., huh?!

Favorite Photo of the Week Contest - Week 5

Week 5 is here for the Favorite Photo of the Week Contest. You continue to impress me each new week! If you are not yet a follower please become one so you will be notified when the contests and winners are posted.

Details:
1. Linky opens Friday at 12:01am and closes Monday at 11:59pm.

2. Winners will be announced the following Wednesday.
3. Photo must be taken this week.(Sun - Sat)
4. Only one entry per person.
5. "Favorite Photo of the Week" button must be on your post in order for it to qualify.
6. Link only to your blog post not your main blog url.
7. If you have more than one photo on a posting please specify which photo you are submitting.

8. If you submit a photo you are granting me permission to copy and paste it onto my blog if you win.
9. It's not mandatory but do try to visit other participant's blogs and give them some comment love.

10. I will choose the top 5 photos and the overall winner from your entries.

Here is my personal favorite photo from this week:

Day 174 - Eggs in a Basket

Literally! I sat on the couch tonight without an ounce of creativity left inside of me. Do you ever wander around your house just looking for something to photograph? I was too tired to even wander. I sat on the couch and mentally wandered around the house without moving. I finally came up with this idea. It was all I could do not to dig into my archives and cheat again. Now, if you will excuse me I need to go use the rest of my energy to go put the eggs back in the fridge. :)

Blog Reading Made Simpler - A MUST READ!

This is so awesome I had to dedicate an entire post just to tell you about my discovery today!

Oh my stars! Let me just say....my blog reading life just got SOOO much simpler. I follow a lot of blogs (104 right now but it's about to be more)...so many that I had to spend way too much time trying to catch up on all the recent blog posts I hadn't read yet. I even had to stop following some blogs because it got to be too overwhelming for me and I was spending more time on the computer reading blogs than I cared to. I had to go to my Dashboard, scroll down to my Reading List of blogs I follow and then click on one post at a time. I even got creative and I would click on one which would open in a new tab and then while it loaded, I would go back to my blogger tab and click the next one and so on and so forth till I had about 20+ tabs open with all the posts I hadn't read yet of all the bloggers I follow. Are you totally relating with my problem right now? Well, guess what! There is a solution. Prepare to give me a cyber-hug because the link I am about to give you will change your blog reading forever!

You MUST go visit iheartfaces post on this very subject. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to let iheartfaces introduce you to The Land of Next.

You can hug me by going to the Circle of Moms button at the top right hand corner of my page and voting for me. :)

Since no post is complete without a photo, here ya go...

Vegas made of legos.

Day 173 - After the Sprinklers

I wanted to title this post "After the Rain" but it didn't rain. Sounded good though, right? :) This was just the effects of the sprinklers. lol

Just wanted to take a quick sec and thank all of you who have been voting for me on Circle of Moms. At over 400 votes now, it is so obvious to me that I have a great supporting group of friends. Thank you all so much. To vote, click on the button at the top right hand corner of the page. You are allowed 1 vote per day. One week left to vote!

Favorite Photo of the Week Winners - Week 4

Woo hoo! You all one upped last week's submissions. Thanks to each and every one of you who participate. Every blogger who hosts a contest or a linkup knows how encouraging it is when people actually participate. Speaking of, be sure to check out my newest feature I have going on for those of you who host linkups. You can find details on how to have your linkup featured by clicking on the tab at the top of the page entitled 'Get Your Linkup Featured'. For those who are looking for more linkups to participate in check out the 'Other Linkups' tab at the top of the page and be sure to spread the word by grabbing my linkup list button under the 'Buttons' tab.

Anyway, on with this week's top 5 photos! Don't forget to grab your button.

Homesick

The colors and the selective focus in this photo are just brilliant. It just pops!

My Photo Adventures

I love the black and white conversion on this. The delight on her face is so endearing and the details of the water splashing is incredible.

Picking Poppies

Insane details! Birds are not always easy to capture but this shot of this Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is exceptional.

The Adventures of Mr. No

What really stuck out to me the most in this photo is the way the gorilla is framed in this picture. Most people would either center him or put him to the left or to the right in a horizontal frame. Artistically framed, simple background causing your eye to go straight to the intended subject.

My #1 Favorite Photo this week is....

365 Journey

I just smiled contentedly when I saw this picture. Such a peaceful shot. Jamie has so much talent. You all really need to go by and pay her blog a visit and follow her. She has a great eye for some wonderful photos. Congratulations, Jamie on photographing my favorite photo of the week.

Look for the next contest this Friday! Can't wait to see all your artistic displays.

Day 172 - Mourning Dove

I rushed home tonight to try to get a picture real quick before I completely lost all the daylight. So glad people keep these seed bowls out and so thankful for my 200mm lens. Imagine the shots I could get with a 400mm! Someday...

Day 171 - Uniquely Designed

I never really noticed before how you unique and intricate each spider web is. It's really a work of art.