Day 118: April 28, 2010

More Oak Tree

Time got away from me today - no time to shoot.  This is another one from yesterday - not as sharp as I'd like, I was focusing more on the light from the setting sun and the composition.  I need to take more time and set up the tripod, especially on breezy days!

Day 117: April 27, 2010

Shadows, New Leaves, and a Bird!

The oak trees have new yellow leaves/seed pods and I liked the contrast of the yellow against the blue tonight.  However, after I uploaded this pic to my computer I noticed the shadows the setting sun made with the branches on the trunk and if you embiggen the shot you can even see a little robin on one of the branches! I didn't even know it was there when I took the picture!

(Also - what did Blogger do it's picture uploading interface?!  I mean it works, but I'm not sure why it needed to change!)

Day 116: April 26, 2010

Cloudy Sky

The rain is gone and the sky is blue again.  The clouds made a nice contrast today.  I shot this quickly while my daughter ran into the library to pick up some books she'd requested.

Day 115: April 25, 2010

Raindrops on Tulips

The fog never completely lifted but turned into rain.  It rained off and on the rest of the day.  After dropping my daughter off at her watercolor class at the Toledo Museum of Art, I noticed a long row of these bright pink tulips edging the drive along the parking lot.  The rain had let up momentarily, so I took a quick picture.  I like the textures and details visible in this shot.

Day 114: April 24, 2010

Images in the Fog

I did not take any pictures Saturday - the day simply got away from me.  Instead I deliberately did two different photo shoots today to make up for it.  The first one resulted in these images (the second resulted in Sunday's post - the one after this).  

This morning I awoke to incredibly dense fog.  I couldn't see much beyond the flag that hangs from my front door.  By 11 am, the fog had lifted somewhat, but still hovered thickly in low places.  I went to see what I could see in a small park in my neighborhood.  At the entrance (at the back of the parking lot behind the Knights of Columbus hall), was this communications tower, surrounded by a square of fencing topped off by barbed wire.  I liked the way the top of the tower seems to disappear into the mist.  This photo is squeaking in under the (barbed?) wire for Monochrome Weekend.

The photo below is of the "sledding hill" in the same park.  I swear this hill was ten times taller 30 years ago!  Kids still drag their sleds here in the winters as it's the only place to go sledding in the neighborhood.  It's harder that I thought to capture the effects of fog.  This is something I want to research more about and try to improve on.

Day 113: April 23, 2010

Zoo Tunnel

Every time I go to the zoo, I say "I miss the tunnel!" This is the preserved entrance to said tunnel - while it's no longer used to get zoo visitors safely from the parking lot to the zoo grounds underneath Anthony Wayne Trail (a 4 lane, divided highway), I assume it's still used to get to various pipes and sewers.

The tunnel was dank and dark - a concrete lined hole in the ground with no ramps - strollers were lifted by strangers down the steps (and then up the steps on the other side).  There was minimal lighting - yellow and flickering.  Water dripped from the ceiling onto your head and there were often puddles to dodge.  Once you got over your fear of the tunnel as a kid, it became the BEST part of the zoo - a wild echo-chamber to run through yelling at the top of your lungs!  It was a little freaky in the middle when you could look up the ventilation grate and hear the cars whizzing by at 50mph on top of your head.  It smelled weird.  It was loud (every kid under 15 was yelling just to hear their echo and every mom was yelling at them to stop and slow down).  But it was THE TUNNEL!

The parking lot is still across the "street" from the zoo, but it's much bigger (and nicer) now and is connected to the main zoo by a covered foot bridge OVER the street.  They've also added more animal exhibits on the parking lot side of the zoo, including the new African Savanna area.  It's all very modern and new and clean but I still miss the tunnel!

Day 112: April 22, 2010

Happy 40th Birthday Earth Day!

Today is Earth Day! Earth Day was born the same year as I was!  Our school celebrated in a big way - complete with cake! I took about 80 pictures of the kids, but once again, since I don't have their parents' permission, I can't blog them here.  The only pictures from today without kids are of the cake!

Day 111: April 21, 2010

A Little Birdie Told Me

One of the neat places at the Toledo Zoo is the Aviary.  While some birds are behind glass or behind netting or wire screens, there are several areas in which the birds fly free.  Each area is populated with birds and plants from a particular area of the world.  These rooms are filled with filtered sunlight and a wide variety of birds.  They are FAST birds, however! Tricky to get a good picture of them!  I captured this little guy as he stopped for a drink at a bowl placed on the ground.

Day 110: April 20, 2010

Pink and Blue

I have no idea what these flowers are - they could be "weeds" for all I know. They are one of the first things to appear in spring and bloom all at once.  They are about 12-15" high with these delicate blue flowers.  If anyone knows what they are called, please let me know!  Last year (my first spring in this house), they were all blue.  This year, they are all blue but one. There is one pink blossom smack dab in the middle of a sea of blue and green.  

Day 109: April 19, 2010

Let's Go Fly a Kite...

This is from the new children's area at the Toledo Zoo called Nature's Neighborhood.  They tell all the children to meet their parents at the kite if they get lost.  It's visible from anywhere in this area of the zoo.  It's quite stationary but gives the illusion of flight.

Day 108: April 18, 2010

Blossoming Trees

We went to the Toledo Zoo today - my daughter had an interview to become a volunteer Zoo Teen and we took advantage of the decent weather to enjoy the zoo afterwords.  I took dozens of photos of animals, but very few came out well - I only had my kit lens with me and no tripod.  But the zoo does have a lot of gardens as well and all the trees were in bloom.  The tree blossoms were a variety of colors, from the pink above, to the white and red of the photos below.  

Day 107: April 17, 2010

Green Leaves and Blue Sky

The only pictures I took today were of my new Godson at his Baptism!  And his twin brother. And their sisters.  But, since I won't post pictures of anyone without their permission (or their parents' permission) and since I forgot to ask my brother.... you get a picture I took yesterday!

Unfortunately, yesterday's weather didn't stick around, but it's SO nice to see green everywhere, I'll take the chilly days too.

Day 106: April 16, 2010

Reflections of Spring

Took a walk in Sylvania's Harroun Park today - can't believe I've never been there! I want to back and spend more time exploring all the paths.  Everything is green and the frogs were chorusing.  There was evidence of much flooding everywhere and the creek was running pretty fast.  Some of these trees are marked with a white dot of paint - hoping that doesn't mean they are slated for removal.

I really like what is happening just under the log in the picture below - this was a very shallow amount of water - it's hard to tell what's above water, what's a reflection, and what's a shadow.

Today's post is inspired by Weekend Reflections.

Day 105: April 15, 2010

Sunset

I actually took this one last night on my drive home from Ann Arbor.  Don't worry - I pulled off US23 and found a parking lot first!  The combination of clouds, jet contrails, trees, and sunset colors combined in a really compelling way for me.  I simply HAD to stop and take a picture.  While I do take my camera with me everywhere, I don't have my tripod in my trunk for some reason.  I need to rectify that - the light was fading fast and the shot probably could have benefited from a longer exposure.