Project 366

A project I undertook in 2012 to share one photograph I took each day of that leap year. The subjects are diverse and show the development of my own photographic skills as I learned how to use my camera and compose photographs as I wanted them to be seen and enjoyed.

Things That Obscure the Light – 44/365

Posted by Ellie

These poplar trees are not supposed to be here. We had arranged last year to have them cut down as they are mostly dead and risk, in a wind storm, falling on our car, or the barn. But the tree fellers never did turn up and cut them down. And so here they stand. This morning, their fingers of branches and twigs seemed to be conspiring with the mist to block the light of the sun. As a result, the sun had an eerie, unnatural effect. Such is life. Some of the things that hide the light are subtle and invidious, like the mist. Others are obvious and in your face. With the best will in the world, you can't always remove them, even the most obvious ones. You have to make the effort to look around and through them to see the light. Because it is there.

For #365project +G+ 365 Project by +Simon Davis-Oakley +11656122390215382493
#myownbackyard by +Craig Pifer
#themagicoflight +The Magic of Light by +Ray Bilcliff +Hamid Dastmalchi +Paul Stein
#close2home +Close2Home by +Brett Sivits  +Rebecca Johnson +Pia Raben  +Shaun Stewart +José Juan Escudero +Howard Weitzel +john adams


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Joni and the Invisible Fence – 43/365

Posted by Ellie

Joni is a very fortunate puppy. (In more ways than one, I hear you shout. 😉 ) She lives in a house in the country with a large garden. But she also lives in a house right next to a main road where cars regularly ignore the speed limit signs as they drive by. This would normally make running free in that large garden a little risky, to say the least. Life would be tense for us all, whenever she went out to wander around. However 12 years ago, when the last Joni was a year old, we invested in an invisible fence ( +Invisible Fence® Brand ) and the wire was dug in around the whole perimeter of the property. It worked for that Joni for all of her life as well as for our other little Lhasa Apso, Mel.

This type of containment is sometimes misunderstood to be cruel, but in fact it is a wonderful way to keep a dog safe. Joni has had her first week of training and now never goes beyond the boundaries of her property. She has not been 'shocked' into this behaviour. In her training period, whenever she approached the little blue flags that showed her where the limits were, she heard a tiny buzz sound and felt a little tingle in her neck from that collar you see. She would jump back and you could almost see her mind working and she figured out what this meant. Now she doesn't even feel or hear that, as she has been shown exactly where she can go, as free as a bird puppy. She runs like a lunatic all over the property, wherever she wants to go (with me panting behind her, trying to keep up) and enjoys the full benefit of all that space. She gets her exercise and we can all relax while she does. She is really a very happy little puppy.

For  #dogsgallery  +Heinrich Wagner +Dogs GALLERY 
#hqspanimals +HQSP Animals curated by +Alejandro J. Soto +Krystina Isabella Brion and +Andy Smith  
#dogloversworldwide +DOG LOVERS Worldwide by +Robert SKREINER +Roswitha Böhmer +Thomas Henry
#noapologies   #bordercollie   #puppy   #snow   #JonisDiary   #AdayinthelifeofJoni 


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Winter Wonderland, February – 42/365

Posted by Ellie

Every day  Every moment is unique. From one minute to the next the sun moves across the sky from sunrise to sunset, the colour and quality of the light changes, a cloud passes, trees and plants grow. In the winter we have very occasionally a soft and fluffy snowfall, with perfect conditions to resemble a film-set winter wonderland. The temperature has to be right, the air has to be perfectly still so that the snow stays on the trees and outlines every twig and branch and every needle of the evergreens. When this happens (which often seems to be in the night), the moment is truly wonderful and, in the stillness, with the snow softly falling, you could really find yourself in a dream world. To have two days of this type of snowfall is very rare. If you don't have your camera and take the picture when the moment is upon you, you lose it forever.

Yesterday morning was the morning after the second consecutive one of this kind of snowfall. The trees here looked as if they were hanging with cotton balls.

By this morning there was little snow left on the branches as it had all fallen to the ground. The special feel is gone until the next time. This is one of my favourite trees in our garden and you can just see our house roof behind it. I had not realized quite how much the trees on the right, and this tree itself, were leaning away from the prevailing wind direction until I took this photograph.. 

I took this photograph specially for +Heiko Mahr who asked me if it looked like a winter wonderland where we live. As you can see, it did look like it, Heiko! And no doubt it will again before the snow melts.

#365project +G+ 365 Project by +Simon Davis-Oakley +Patricia dos Santos Paton

#whitewednesday +White Wednesday by +Synnøve Zynne Tilrem
#winterwednesday by +Antoine Berger +Logan Miller
#hqsplandscape , +HQSP Landscape curated by +Hallie Guilfoyle +Michael Garza +Nader El Assy +Vinod Krishnamoorthy +Luca Ferroglio +midori chan

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Winter Fields, Late Afternoon – 41/365

Posted by Ellie
I drove home late yesterday afternoon and passed this field that I photographed in the Spring when the new crops were just beginning to appear above the surface of the ground. The neatly ploughed rows followed the contours of the dips and swells in the land. (That image was entitled ‘Contours’ and you can see it here https://plus.google.com/u/0/105804664540125819976/posts/amt9CtPMipT )

Now all the crops are harvested and the land is covered in a cold protective blanket, waiting for the Spring to release the icy grip of winter. And so this time it is the rows of frozen corn stalks that show the contours of this land.

For:
#hqsplandscape , +HQSP Landscape curated by +Hallie Guilfoyle +Michael Garza +Nader El Assy +Vinod Krishnamoorthy +Luca Ferroglio +midori chan
and 
#365project +G+ 365 Project by +Simon Davis-Oakley +Patricia dos Santos Paton

#landscapephotography +Landscape Photography +Landscape Photography Show +Margaret Tompkins +Carra Riley +Jim Warthman +Kevin Rowe +Jeff Beddow +Tom Hierl +Carolyn Lim +Tom Sloan +Howard L. Smith +Jack Stepanyan +Kai Kosonen +Tony Heyward +Sheila B. DuBois +Sandra Brown


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