fall – nancy merrill photography

A Photo a Week Challenge: Not What It Seems

I found this truck and pumpkins driving along a rural highway a few Januarys ago. The pumpkins are props for a fall corn maze and are made of wood. When I saw them, I was surprised that such large pumpkins had survived the winter, until I realized that they weren’t real.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO OF THINGS THAT ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM.

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

Here’s how it works:

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.
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.
Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Faded

Recently, I’ve noticed that many photographers are using a less vibrant, almost faded look for portrait photography. I like the look, but I still like a bit more color when I’m working on photos I’ve taken of people. Flowers, however, can look really cool when you take the vibrancy down way low. I love the look on these late roses from my garden this last fall.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO USING A FADED TREATMENT.

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

Here’s how it works:

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.
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.
Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: #GiveThanks

In the United States, today is Thanksgiving. Even though there is a lot of controversy about our history and what and who we should celebrate, I’m still grateful to live in a country that values freedom. While we may not be perfect at honoring that value, I do believe most of us try. Last Friday, the leader of my church asked everyone, worldwide, to flood social media with posts about gratitude using the hashtag #GiveThanks. It has been amazing to see the tone and feeling of my Facebook newsfeed shift from anger, fear, and division to hope, gratitude, and love for others. I hope that this continues not just through the holiday season, but becomes a permanent part of our lives and thoughts as we give thanks for what we have and who we have in our lives.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone, American or not. I hope that your days are filled with love, joy, and happiness.

(P.S. The second photo is to show off a little. I’m loving the flakiness of my pie crust turkey but please ignore the slightly too-dark edge. 🙂 )

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

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

Here’s how it works:

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.
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.
Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Joy

I know this photo isn’t in focus. This awesome dad of identical twin girls was having fun running around with them, and as you can see from their faces, the girls were having even more fun. These little sweeties were so much fun to photograph. And even though I have some great portrait-quality photos, this is the one that makes me smile the most. They love their dad, and he loves them to the moon and back. Not only are they showing so much joy, but I had a lot joy sharing this time with them.

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

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

Here’s how it works:

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.
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.
Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

Photo a Week Challenge: In Memoriam

The Memorial Day after my father-in-law passed away, we bought two mum plants. One we put on his grave; the other we planted in our garden. His birthday was last month, but because it’s been such a strange weather year, the mums didn’t bloom in time for it like they usually do. Today was the first day for good pictures of the blossoms. I love having this living reminder of a loved one no longer with us here.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO (OR MORE) THAT FEATURE A MEMORIAL OF ANY KIND.

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

Here’s how it works:

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.
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.
Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: The Road Not Taken

I love this road. I love this road in every season (even though I’ve only been here in winter a couple of times). This road is truly less traveled by, because our cabin is in a gated community in the Wasatch National Forest. Only cabin owners and forest rangers have keys to get in. While this summer was severely dry, we still got the amazing golden Quaking Aspens this fall, and I am so glad. They really make me wax Robert Frost when I’m wandering through these dirt roads under their golden canopy.

The Road Not Taken — Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO FEATURING FORGOTTEN ROADS AND PATHS.

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

Here’s how it works:

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.
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.
Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: October

Fall is my favorite season of the year. I love wearing sweaters. I love the cooler weather. I love all of the holidays from October through New Years. In the northern hemisphere, October is the first real month of fall. The mountains in Utah turn the most beautiful colors. This year, I’ve really appreciated being able to escape the craziness of the pandemic and the U.S. election cycle by heading up into the mountains. Our latest trip was this last weekend, and the mountains and quaking aspens did not disappoint.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO THAT REPRESENTS OCTOBER IN YOUR PART OF THE WORLD.

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

Here’s how it works:

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.
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.
Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

A Photo a Week Challenge: Something Baked

Okay, okay. I know this pie isn’t baked yet, but it was soon after I took this photo. When summer starts turning toward fall and all of the fruit trees are bursting with ripe fruit, my heart turns to pies, especially apple pies and peach pies. This pie happens to be peach. I have been using my mom’s no fail pie crust recipe for many moons now, and it has failed on my only once (and it was my fault; old flour). Not this time. This time, the crust was the flakiest, melt-in-your-mouthiest I have ever made. I doubt I’ll ever be able to duplicate it. I sure love it when my kitchen smells like a bakery.

Here’s the finished product.

IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO OF SOMETHING BAKED.

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

Here’s how it works:

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.
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.
Come back here and post a link to your image in the comments for this challenge.
Follow nancy merrill photography so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements.

Thankful November 6th: Utah

Earlier I posted about how I’m thankful for the beauty of our wonderful earth. Today, I wanted to focus on my home state of Utah. Utah has amazing diversity in nature, from lush forests to desert to red rock formations and mountains. When the Mormon pioneers first settled here, the leader Brigham Young prophesied that the industries of the pioneers would make the desert blossom like the rose, and it truly has. The Salt Lake Valley has a population of over 1 million people, and the state has a population of over 3 million.

I love traveling around this beautiful state, photographing nature and people across the landscape.

Thankful November 2nd: The Beauties of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies,
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.
Folliott S. Pierpoint, 1835-1917

I have been lucky enough to do a bit of traveling around this amazing planet on which we live (that sentence structure is a nod to all of my English professors at the University of Utah). I’ve been to Asia, Europe, Mexico, Great Britain, and most of the United States of America. Everywhere I go, I find beautiful things to photograph and wonderful people who fill my heart with happiness.