A Photo a Week Challenge: Something New

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We recently bought a new mirrorless camera. It’s been really fun playing around with it. I still need to get used to a lot of things with it, but I plan on taking a lot of pictures with it in the next few weeks. You’ll probably see some of them in future challenges. This recipe for venison stew is not new to me, but I had just finished making this pot of stew when I took the photo, so it was new for dinner.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO (OR MORE) THAT INCLUDE SOMETHING NEW.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ tag.
3. Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
4. Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Cracked

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Most of the time, we don’t want things to crack. When it comes to artisan bread, the more cracked the crust, the better. My brother gave me the recipe for this delicious loaf, and it has become the most requested item from my kitchen. It’s pretty easy to make, you just need a dutch oven that will fit in your oven. I use a smaller enameled one I got at Sam’s Club, but my brother uses a standard camping one.

Here’s the recipe: The Best No-Knead Bread

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO (OR MORE) OF SOMETHING THAT IS CRACKED.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ tag.
3. Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
4. Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Nostalgic

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I’ve mentioned before that my mom’s dad built a cabin in the Uinta Mountains in the 1950s. He was a postal worker by trade, so it’s a bit clumsy, but after nearly 70 years, it’s still standing. When we go up for a weekend, there are a few things that are “must haves”: s’mores roasted in the fireplace, sugar wafer cookies, and breakfast toast cooked on the old wrought-iron griddle. This is seriously the best toast ever. I’ve tried making it at home. It doesn’t taste the same. Not even close. Years and years of seasoning have gone into that iron, and there’s nothing else like it. Anyone up for a nice mountain adventure?

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO OF THINGS THAT SOMETHING THAT MAKES YOU NOSTALGIC.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ and “Photo a Week” tags.
3. Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
4. Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Christmas Memories

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Growing up, Christmas was always filled with amazing smells. My mother and both of my grandmothers would bake and make candies and various treats to share with neighbors and at family parties. My favorite were the spider cookies. They are semi-sweet and butterscotch chips melted then mixed with crunchy Chinese noodles and peanuts. Then you drop them by the spoonful onto wax paper and let them harden (or chill them in the fridge if you don’t have the time). Salty and sweet and crunchy all at the same time. I recently made some for a church party, and when I bit into one (to test and make sure I got it right), I closed my eyes and was instantly in my mom’s kitchen, nine years-old, and hearing my mom and my grandmother talk about everything that still needed to be done before Christmas.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE ONE OR TWO OR MORE PHOTOS OF YOUR CHRISTMAS AND/OR HOLIDAY MEMORIES.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ tag.
3. Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
4. Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

Thankful November 16th: Food

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I always like to joke that without food, I would die. I suppose for me, the real truth is that I would die a little inside if I couldn’t cook and bake. I love making good food for people I love. And I love watching them enjoy what I’ve made. My mother and both of my grandmothers were very good cooks, and I learned some fun recipes and technics from each of them. Now I get to bake and cook for my husband, who isn’t a finicky eater, but always goes out of his way to praise whatever I make for him.

Thankful November 1st: Traditions

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This isn’t a photo challenge, unless you want it to be. I’ve decided to post a photo each day of November of something that I’m thankful for. Our Halloween tradition is to have homemade chili, watch fun movies, and hand out candy to Trick-or-Treaters. If you knock on our door, we don’t even require a costume. You’ll still get a good amount of chocolate. I’m grateful for fun traditions. Traditions keep us grounded with our past. When we start a new tradition, it also helps us mold our future.

A Photo a Week Challenge: What’s For Dinner

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For Father’s Day last year, we bought my husband a Traeger Smoker. Since then, it’s been a rare week that it hasn’t been running. So far, my favorite meal has been smoked salmon, not the smoked salmon that is dry and doesn’t have to be refrigerated. We found a great recipe for a dill/mayo glaze. It went so well with the fruit and romaine salad. This was the first time I’ve tried fresh peach in a salad like this — I highly recommend it. Now I’m hungry.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO A FAVORITE MEAL.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ tag.
3. Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Still life (sort of)

A still life is a painting or photograph that features inanimate objects, typically bowls of fruit and bottles wine. For my still life, I’ve chosen a bottle of fruit. Once again, it is fruit season in Utah, so we, of course, are bottling fruit. This time, it’s cherries.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO OF STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ and “Photo a Week” tags.
3. Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
4. Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Squares and Circles

Sorry about the late posting for this week’s challenge. I guess my photo is my excuse. Yesterday was insanely busy, and I didn’t realize that I missed the challenge until I was in bed last night. This week’s challenge is all about mixing squares and circles. Photography is a rectangular activity. Even though our lenses are round, the output is not. You can create a round image using post-processing methods. You can also create a round image using scissors on a print (very old-fashioned). I used the cropping tool in Photoshop to put my round pie into a square.

For anyone who is interested: my pie is a take on a blueberry sour cream pie recipe that I found online. A friend asked me to make a pie for a church fundraiser dessert auction dinner that’s tonight. When I mentioned the blueberry pie, she asked me to it with raspberries instead (she’s not a fan of blueberries) because she wants to buy it. I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO (OR MORE) FEATURING SQUARES AND CIRCLES TOGETHER IN YOUR IMAGES.

Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, I’ll come up with a theme and post a photo that I think fits. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog (a new post!) anytime before the following Thursday, when the next photo theme will be announced.
2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “A Photo a Week Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use the “postaday″ tag.
3. Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
4. Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Broken

Switzerland has a wonderful breakfast dish called Eibrot (egg bread). It’s like French toast, only you break up the bread into bit-sized pieces. My grandmother’s parents immigrated from Switzerland, and I grew up eating this wonderful stuff but calling it something else (that I don’t even know how to spell, so I haven’t tried).

For more from this challenge, visit Weekly Photo Challenge: Broken.

*Disclosure: This picture is from my recipe blog, so even though it doesn’t have my usual watermark on it, I did take this picture and it is my property and used here with my permission.