#AlwaysLearning

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 4-Motion Blur

“Whatever it is you’re scared of doing, Do it. Make your mistakes, next year and forever.” -Neil Gaiman

Welcome back to the 52-week photo challenge. This week our assignment was to photograph motion blur, which was something I’d never attempted before. I was required to get more comfortable with using my camera in manual mode and to use a slow shutter speed. Mistakes were made. Lots of them.

While most of my photos were an epic failure, I did learn a lot. Next time I’ll need to buy or borrow a tripod and perhaps a flash. So many of these images are so close to being good but are blurred in places I don’t want them to be. Not quite there. I went out twice (once during the day and once at night) and these are the best images I was able to capture. While I love the one with my daughter, I think the one with the fire is the best example of motion blur. Let me know what you think.

Thanks as always for cheering me on and have a wonderful day!

Here are some bonus photos not using motion blur also taken this week:

  • Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com.
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Photography: Fall Decor

“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” -Anne of Green Gables

I happen to agree with Anne, there’s something magical about Octobers. While our family is experiencing a bit of a rough patch, we still made time this week to put up our fall decorations and notice the changes in our yard. All the trees are dropping their leaves, my pineapple guava plant is almost ready to harvest, there’s a large mushroom bloom growing along one of the garden boxes and everything feels just a bit more relaxed in the golden light.

For my photos this week, I’ve tried to capture a bit of the feel around our house. I hope you enjoy this selection of images and have a wonderful week.

  • Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW

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Photography: Plant Nursery

“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”—Vincent Van Gogh

This morning I visited my local plant nursery and spent over an hour wandering the aisles photographing everything that caught my eye. I was pleased to find lots of colorful plants and several buzzing bees. The weather was nice and cool with just a hint of the autumn breeze which will soon become my everyday companion.

I’ve edited the ten best images and hope you find them interesting. May your week contain a little adventure and perhaps a surprise or two.

Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW

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Photography: Neighborhood Sunrise

“The morning steals upon the night, Melting the darkness.” -William Shakespeare

A gorgeous friend of mine writes and talks a lot about joy—seeking it out, the importance of recognizing it, and fighting for it even when it feels ridiculous. She inspires me all the time and this morning I did something purely for the joy of it. I hiked to a park by my house with my camera to capture the sunrise. It felt luxurious and I basked in the beauty of the world for an entire hour alone.

My mother-in-law has entered hospice care within the home of my kind, caring, and incredibly giving sister-in-law. This time in our lives is hard. Watching a woman of immeasurable strength and love fade before all our eyes is beyond difficult. While I don’t know what this next part looks like, I do know that even within these hard moments we can find gratitude and even joy.

All the photos above were taken with my Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.

Here’s a bonus iPhone self-portrait:

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Photography: Shooting Through the Chaos

This week was another busy one. It seems I’m running from one place to the next with barely enough time to write or photograph. It was my nephew’s graduation and we have family visiting from out of town. I’ve gone to bed late and woken up early each day and I still feel behind in everything.

I’m disappointed in all my photos this week. I’m not sure if I’m simply exhausted or I’m at the tipping point where I can see the faults in my work but do not have the skills yet to fix them. I’ve included two photos from the graduation and a few from a visit to the California State Railroad Museum.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you have a great week.

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Photography: Haziness Abounds

It’s been an incredibly busy week with my daughter graduating from 8th grade. Between crying, looking through old photos, and running from one event to the next, photography has been far from my mind. I’ve been feeling blurry, scattered, and overcome with many emotions.

Although I wish I’d taken photos of all the events, I really couldn’t. I needed to see and feel it all without hiding behind the lens, to be fully present with the community we are leaving after 13 years. I did manage a few photos around the house this week, and I’ve been given permission to share some of the senior photos I took of my nephew a few weeks ago. He graduates at the end of this week and I’m going to have a lot more chances to cry. He was the tiniest baby I’ve ever seen and he’s grown into a handsome, funny, and amazing young man.

I hope you enjoy my photography offerings this week.

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