When I found my husband, I really hit the jackpot. I was in my early 40s. I had never been married and had reached the point where I was fine with that. Funny how life has other plans for us sometimes. We met doing a play at a local community theater. I was the music director, he was a bass in the chorus with a small speaking part, and when the show was over, I took him home and kept him. That was almost 12 years ago, and I now can’t imagine my life without him. And while he is the first one to admit that he isn’t perfect, he is perfect for me.
Tag: river cruise
Thankful November 2nd: The Beauties of the Earth
Oberhofen Castle, Switzerland 
Queen’s View, Scotland 
Pink dahlia 
Big Sur cove
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.
Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Lines Angles
For more from this challenge, visit Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Lines Angles.
A Photo a Week Challenge: View
As photographers, we get the chance to take a lot of pictures of many things: scenery, family, scenery, buildings, scenery, pets, scenery. You get the picture (pun intended). I can’t think of anywhere that I’ve ever been where I thought “Wow, I never want to take a picture of THIS place.” And I’m really glad about that. The world around us is amazing. Every place has it’s own type of beauty. These pictures are from our trip last summer to Europe. The top one is looking through a convenient “National Geographic” frame at the windmills at Kinderdijk in The Nederlands. The pictures below are from stops in Germany along the Main and Rhine Rivers. So this week’s challenge is to find the beauty in your view, whether it’s just outside your kitchen window or from a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO OF YOUR FAVORITE VIEW OR VIEWS.
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.
Cee’s Black & White Challenge: From the Side
On our last day in Budapest, we were walking back to our boat when we passed a wedding party heading to another boat for the reception. The bride and groom lead the group (we think from the Cathedral, which was within easy walking distance). They stopped just before entering their gangplank for a quick conference with some of their family, and I was able grab this quick side shot of them.
For more from this challenge, visit Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: From the Side.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Shiny
While it might seem counter-intuitive to use a night shot for a shiny theme, I love how the lights on the Chain Bridge in Budapest, Hungary shine in the dark.
For more from this challenge, visit Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Shiny.
A Photo a Week Challenge: Colorful
I’ve done several color challenges lately, so this time I decided to go for the whole shebang. I’m looking for the most colorful thing you can find to photograph. This amazing building is the Old Town Hall in Bamberg, Germany. From Bamberg’s tourism site: “According to legend the bishop of Bamberg did not grant the citizens any land for the construction of a town hall. This prompted the townsfolk to ram stakes into the river Regnitz to create an artificial island, on which they built the town hall they so badly wanted.”
The Hall includes an archway (shown below) to the bridges that allow people to cross the Regnitz River.
IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO (OR MORE) THAT HAVE COLORFUL SUBJECTS.
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: Black & White
I love editing in black and white. When I was still shooting with film, I loved using black and white dedicated film, especially for slides. There’s something amazing about black and white images. They are instantly nostalgic and artistic. Street photography seems to be especially suited for black and white treatments.
IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO OR TWO (OR MORE).
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.
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Color of Your Choice
I have chosen yellow. This is the Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria.
For more from this challenge, visit Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Color of Your Choice.
A Photo a Week Challenge: Depth of Field
Depth of field in photography (and light in general) is how narrow a strip of what you are looking at is in focus. In photography, the depth of field is controlled by two things: your f-stop (aperture) and the length of your lens (mm). To narrow your depth of field using aperture, use a smaller f-stop number. This will open your shutter wider and let more light in. I know this seems counter-intuitive, but that’s how the light refracts. Also, longer lenses (50 mm and higher are so much fun for portrait work) will give you a narrower depth of field. So if you want to shoot something up-close and personal with great bokeh (blurring) in the background, use a smaller f-stop and a longer lens. If you want to capture a grand landscape, use a shorter lens with a higher f-stop. Simple, right? Right.
IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A PHOTO OR TWO (OR THREE…) PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR DEPTH OF FIELD.
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.
nancy merrill photography 