Monday, August 22, 2011

Finding inspiration…

I’ve been in a slump these past few weeks and have hardly picked up my camera.  I’m feeling a bit homesick lately and even though I am grateful for the opportunity to live overseas, I am ready to move home and be closer to family.  Homesickness, lack of inspiration, and other life events had gotten the best of me lately and photography was not on my priority list. 

But, what better way to get out of the photography slump then to head to Paris to celebrate our 2 year anniversary!  Both Brandon and I have been to Paris before, but this was the first time that the two of us have gone alone.  We hit most of the major tourist attractions, but decided to make this Parisian vacation a relaxing one.  The first photo pretty much sums up our vacation.  We wandered around Paris and made several stops along our adventure to lay on the grass, chill in the park or dip our feet in the fountains.  This was exactly what I needed.

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I’ve been playing around a bit with HDR and decided to try it with the scene below.  The lighting and shadows were extremely harsh with the mid-day sun so I was hoping that the HDR would bring back some of the detail lost in the blown highlights and dark shadows. 

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and then, she {snapped}  Favorite Fridays at Skinned Knees

No matter how many times I go to Paris, I always love to visit the Louvre.  Even if we don’t go into the museum, I love the scene outside.  The gorgeous architecture and pyramids still amaze me with their beauty; and I absolutely love watching all the people relaxing and walking around outside. 

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Saturday, August 13, 2011

Things that make me happy…

Kitty paws

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and cat naps.

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Saturday, July 23, 2011

Uninspired…

Maybe it is the rain that we have had lately, I’m not sure.  But lately I’ve been a bit uninspired to pick up my camera.  I’m pulling out some photos from earlier in the summer and hoping that it will motivate me to get out and take photos.  Enjoy, and hopefully I will be back soon with some new ones!

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Saturday, July 9, 2011

Celebrating the 4th of July in Luzern, Switzerland!

Brandon and I headed to Luzern, Switzerland for the 4th of July weekend and fell in love with this city!  Besides the fact that the city (and country) are ridiculously expensive, the city was so beautiful and clean, and just wonderful!  Luzern is one of those places that is just so easy to enjoy and you actually feel like you are on a vacation.  We were lucky enough to meet up with one of my photography forum friends and her husband, and we took a trip up to Rigi Kulm (over 1700 meters elevation) for some photos and sightseeing.   While it was a bit hazy, the view was amazing and it was great to be able to talk photography with someone and get some tips from a fabulous landscape photographer.
The first photo is one of my favorites from the vacation and was taken right outside of our hotel.  I love this photo because I think it captures the serenity and beauty of the city and reminds me of our wonderful time there.  It was really a fabulous vacation for so many reasons!
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                                        and then, she {snapped} 
                                                                      Scenic Sunday  Favorite Fridays at Skinned Knees
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These are from the top of Rigi Kulm. 
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Even with the gorgeous landscape, I still broke out my macro lens to get this shot of this crazy flower.
ETA: My wonderful husband found out the name of this flower, it is the Round Headed Rampion Phyteuma orbiculare! 
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Saturday, July 2, 2011

June Favorites…

June was such a busy time for us with traveling and other little side trips.  It is hard to pick a favorite photo from June, because I have so many photos that make me smile and think about the great summer we have had so far.  Since I have already shared quite a few of my favorite photos, I’ll share one of Brandon’s favorites (and mine too).  This was taken at Schwetzingen Palace earlier in June.

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Sunday, June 26, 2011

Miasto Ceramiki

I dragged Brandon on a pottery shopping trip to Poland this weekend, and I secretly think he actually enjoyed it!  Not only is it always fun to visit a new place, but the pottery was beautiful and we were lucky enough to get a tour of one of the pottery factories and see how these gorgeous pieces are created. 

I seem to be oversharing a bit lately with posting so many photos, but I was so impressed with the whole pottery making process that I just had to share!

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Poland-16-1Getting ready to go into the kiln.

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The artists at work…

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Poland-63-1The finished product!

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Look kids, Big Ben…

Yes, I know that Big Ben is actually the bell inside the tower, but I just had to pull out a quote from Clark W. Griswold.  I normally love the look of blue skies and white billowy clouds, but for some reason the dark storm clouds make this shot more interesting for me. 

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