Photos By LeAnne

Ten Truths About Me

2012-03-04T17:53:00.000-06:00

This week at Beyond Layers we were asked to share ten truths about ourselves. We were also invited to take a photo to go along with it and I'll just use this week's self portrait for Urban Muser's "In the Picture" challenge. I took this shot with my iPad 100 pictures in 1 app and used a combination of effects starting with "The sky was as blue as your eyes." The theme for our self portraits

Gatherings

2012-03-03T11:24:00.000-06:00

The Shutter Sisters' One Word Project for March is "Gather" and I cannot think of a more appropriate word to describe the month ahead with my son coming home from his post deployment leave. There will be many gatherings large and small throughout the month with family and friends. The photo above is at my parents place, the yellow ribbon on the old oak tree that my boys love so much.

Signs of Spring

2012-03-02T07:33:00.000-06:00

The park across the street from my office is a virtual oasis in the middle of the area. I don't know why I don't take advantage of it more. Someone has planted a grove of daffodils in a clearing under the trees. There aren't many in bloom at the moment, but I imagine it will be quite breathtaking when they are in full bloom. I'm planning to make it a point to go out each day and check on

February Mosaic

2012-03-01T06:31:00.000-06:00

"That which is false troubles the heart, but truth brings joyous tranquility." - Mevlana Rumi The picture above is my February Mosaic based on the color purple and the them of "tranqility and stability" for Magnetised by Life's monthly mosaic challenge. Purple hyacinth bought at Kroger and shot with my 50mm f/1.4 lens Berry scented candle that was a Christmas gift. It smells scrumptuous

In the Trees

2012-02-29T07:10:00.001-06:00

Today's Quotography challenge theme is "trees" so I took my camera to the park across the street from work to see what I could capture on my lunch hour - hoping to add to my cache of bird shots for World Bird Wednesday as well. I hit the bird jackpot in a little section of brush beside a creek. Dozens of birds were flitting around playfully in the branches along with some squirrels. I was

Texture Tuesday White eDition

2012-02-28T06:02:00.000-06:00

""White...is not a mere absence of colour; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black...God paints in many colours; but He never paints so gorgeously, I had almost said so gaudily, as when He paints in white." -- G. K. Chesterton " For some reason, without intention, this week seems to be all about color. Yesterday, was blue and today's Texture Tuesday theme

I Got the Blues

2012-02-27T04:00:00.000-06:00

Today's Macro Monday theme over at Flickr is the color blue, so the blues are what we have for today. Born with blue eyes, a close up shot of my eyeball seemed like a logical choice. My son also has a poker set that I spied when going through junk stored in the basement, so I let the chips fall and came up with this shot. While visiting with my parents on Saturday, I spied this cool blue

More Family Portraits

2012-02-26T10:18:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post, yesterday was a big day for photography. The light outside was bright, which created an awesome environment for taking stills in my basement "studio." My goal was to have a week's worth of photos for the upcoming prompts and linkups ahead of time so I am not tempted to sacrifice sleep to get my blog out each day. Of course, the world would not come to an end

A Warm Couch on a Cool Afternoon

2012-02-25T20:11:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Geri at My Heart Art for introducing me to this great little iPad app called 100 Cameras in 1. This is a powerful little app for creating and saving all kinds of effects. The possibilities are truly endless. The effects also have interesting names and I used "A Warm Couch on a Cool Afternoon" as the inspiration for this week's "in the picture" self portrait challenge. I did make

It Ain't Pretty

2012-02-24T17:36:00.002-06:00

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but I didn't think this angel statue was particularly pretty. In fact, it was a bit frightening in a way. Since today's Pixel Dust Photo Art challenge was to show a piece of photo art that wasn't pretty, so I thought this fit the bill. Maybe I'm being a little harsh. She sure is interesting and does have a certain charm about her. I used Bonnie's "

Gratitude and Perspective

2012-02-23T17:43:00.003-06:00

This week over at Beyond Layers, Kim told a story about a man she encountered at the grocery store who was clearly struggling to stretch a little bit of money as far as it would go to buy food. In a spontaneous act of kindness, she paid his grocery bill. The man reminded her of the ways she has been blessed in her life, and asked us to consider our own blessings and share our stories of

Unidentified Flying Object

2012-02-22T17:07:00.000-06:00

For World Bird Wednesday, I thought I'd throw this little guy out there for possible identification. Today's photograph was taken in Sewanee, TN last April. I was so hoping that I would have a bald eagle to show this week, and the small group that went in spite of the iffy weather forecast did indeed spot some and have the photos to prove it. Durn it. Maybe someday. Speaking of weather,

Like Sands Through the Hourglass...

2012-02-21T11:33:00.010-06:00

So are the days of our lives... Sometimes life feels a bit more like a soap opera than I would like. For today's Texture Tuesday challenge, Kim wanted to see what we could do with her lovely "Felicity" texture. This one was an instant fave, and given its ornate nature, I knew I needed a simple subject. After returning from my morning walk, I noticed an hourglass peeking out from among

Busy Bee

2012-02-20T15:56:00.000-06:00

That's me! Going waaaaaaay back into the archives today ( April 2009) for something to share with the Creative Exchange. After yesterday's gloomy post I thought something a little brighter and more cheerful would balance things out. The weather today is equally cheery and makes me long for spring to hurry up and get here already, but it looks like a roller coaster ride is in store with

Facing the Darkness

2012-02-19T17:14:00.000-06:00

Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality Presented in Four Paths, Twenty-Six Themes, and Two Questions It is difficult to admit to a dark time in a public forum, especially when you know that family and friends are reading. At the same time, life is not always tea and sunshine and who are we helping by pretending that it is? Life is good. Being alive beats the alternative.

A Quiet Corner

2012-02-18T18:49:00.000-06:00

“Dogs are wise. They crawl away into a quiet corner and lick their wounds and do not rejoin the world until they are whole once more.” Agatha Christie I have very little to say today. The only thing grayer than the weather is my my mood. So, today I offer you a couple of sweet pics of my grandog Crockett never fails to bring a smile, however small, to my face. Black and White effects

Dreamwonder

2012-02-17T09:23:00.000-06:00

Today's PhotoArt Friday challenge was to use one of Bonnie's texture on an image and finesse the image using layer masks. My Valentine's flowers taking a final bow with her "Dreamwonder" texture. I also used Topaz on this, but honestly don't remember exactly what I did. But, I like the vintage feel. Busy day today, so I'm out. TGIF! Today's Linkups

Mental Vacation

2012-02-16T13:03:00.000-06:00

Four years ago, I did something brave. I went on a week-long Caribbean Cruise all by myself. For some, this would not be considered exceptionally brave. There were many single women on board and they weren’t first-time adventurers either. In fact, I know quite a few intrepid women who trot around the globe without a second thought. I'm not one of them, but I aspire. I’ve traveled

Valentine's Day Surprises

2012-02-15T10:00:00.000-06:00

I made it through yesterday pretty well, all things considered. These lovely flowers from my dad came in the afternoon and were so sweet I had to share. Even though it looks like the roses on the card were a part of the design, they are actually the entire bouquet that I photographed and layered on top of the image in multiply and soft blend modes in Photoshop. The somewhat vintage effect

A Call to Be Happy

2012-02-14T06:29:00.000-06:00

Today's Texture Tuesday challenge centers on the word happiness. I shot this image using my new Nikon 50mm f/1.4D lens to capture the dreamy effect. For texture, I used Kim's "Aurora" texture and #6 from Shadowhouse Creation's February 2012 collection. The word happiness correlates to my word of the year, calling. After all, living out our calling should be cause for joy, right? At the

Night the Beloved

2012-02-13T06:46:00.000-06:00

If my schedule allowed, I would probably be a total night owl. When the nights are clear and the stars are shining, I could sit for hours on my back deck and look up at the sky. When I'm not exhausted from overworking and undersleeping, the writing muse most often visits me in the night. Alas, that is not the life I lead. So, this will be short and simple. Today it is back to work and

Simply Wonderful

2012-02-12T17:53:00.001-06:00

February's In the Picture self-portrait project theme is "Write On!" We are encouraged to incorporate written words into our self-portraits. There is also a weekend "love note" challenge going on over at 52 Photos, so I decided to incorporate the two. The inspiration for this love note is a song by Gary Go that simultaneously sat me on my behind and lifted me to my feet the first time I

Clues to My Calling

2012-02-11T09:43:00.000-06:00

The primary motivation for our trip to Topsail was so I could capture a beach shot for my Scavenger Hunt 101 challenge. Of course, I couldn't resist taking some shots of my son and his wife. The lighting was great and the ocean served as a wonderful backdrop. As soon as I posted the photo on facebook, a friend of mine commented that I had found my new career. I'm not necessarily looking

Adrift

2012-02-10T21:48:00.002-06:00

I'm coming in just under the wire for this week's Photoart Friday. As expected after our long drive yesterday, I slept in and drifted through my day not really accomplishing much. My older son and I did have some quality time catching up, which was good. Otherwise, the day sort of just got away from me. Tomorrow, I'd planned to take a zoo trip with my photography group, but it is supposed

This And That Scavenger Hunt Catch-up

2012-02-09T03:30:00.000-06:00

I'm still participating in the Scavenger Hunt 101 Group at Flickr and this week provided me with several of the sought for items. I specifically waited for my son's homecoming to capture item #25 - an extravagant drink. The formal name is "Mi Cabana Happiness" but we call it the Happy Pineapple. With a pricetag of $10 a pop, and some unknown (but positively delicious) "secret ingredient,"