Sunday Stills Challenge is Christmas.

Christmas is the wonderment of children...

wearing crowns from Sunday School.

of family

of grandparents with grandchildren

of mothers and children and love

of children and toys



 of grandbabies.

beautiful Christmas decorations.



Merry Christmas everyone.  Remember the Christ Child. and may you feel the love and peace of the season.

Sunday Stills "Pets"

Three years ago this week will be the third anniversary of Sunday Stills. The very first challenge was Pets……so in honour of Ed and Sunday Stills lets do it again.

Happy 3rd Anniversary!!!   This week's Sunday Stills challenge is "Pets".

Starlet

Shaggy in the fading light.

Shaggy

Lady our Springer Spaniel

Posie our Australian Shepherd

Click here to view more Sunday Stills "Pets" photos.

Sunday Stills "Backlit"

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is "Backlit".

I has a hard time finding something that would work.  I like this first one the best. Can you guess?

It is ice/frost on the car's windshield. (We got out first snow of the season, about 5" yesterday).

You can alost see the grain of the material that these leaves are made from.

Light coming through 2 windows.

The first one is the front door with sunlight coming through.

This is the glass in the back door with the outside light on last night.

Click here to see more Sunday Stills "Backlit" Photos.

Sunday Stills "Bokeh"

This week's Sunday Stills challenge is "Bokeh".

 

 

From Wiki: “Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Bokeh is often most visible around small background highlights, such as specular reflections and light sources, which is why it is often associated with such areas. However, bokeh is not limited to highlights; blur occurs in all out-of-focus regions of the image.” Bokeh is not just for DSLRs with fast lenses. While bokeh is easiest to create with a DSLR due to their larger sensors, it is not impossible to do with a point & shoot.

 

 

Bokeh is created in one of two ways. A short focal length between the camera and the subject and wide aperture (small number, i.e. f/2.8 if your lens will open that wide) while keeping the background as far away as possible. A long focal length between the camera and subject, and the widest corresponding focal length while still keeping the distance between the subject and background as large as possible. A longer focal length will increase the depth of field – a larger focus plain – so the background would have to be farther away than with short focal lengths, otherwise it will all be in focus!Bokeh generally falls into two main categories: Hollywood style and cream cheese.

Click here to see more Sunday Stills "Bokeh" photos.

Sunday Stills "Portraits"

This week's Sunday Stills challenge is Portraits.

Makenzie. I love side views.

The amazement.

The Firefighter.

 Brothers Caden and Tyler.

 Tyler's eyes, drowling,

and smiles!

Hubby

my first buddy, Starlet.

Sunday Stills "Potluck with a Purpose"

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is "Potluck with a Purpose".  We are to pay more attention to the anglethat we are taking a shot from.  Some photos could be cropped to make better, or not.

Today, our soon-to-be 3 year old grandson, Caden, came to spend the day. He loves his Pop's tractor. Grandma has a tractor, too, and he knows the difference. 

We have an old lawnmower that he loves to climb on and pretend to turn on and mow. I tried to keep him off of it early this summer, when he was 6 months younger, to keep him from getting hurt. To no avail. I think it's in his blood. We don't have a large farm, but Hubby's family did.

Which is better, the photo with the tractor or the closeup?

Another tractor shot?

Or the close-up?

Then Pop let's Caden on the BIG tractor.

I love his smile!

Caden loves to make the bucket go up and down!

Click here to view more Sunday Stills photos.

Sunday Stills "In the Dark"

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is "In the Dark".

Click here to view more Sunday Stills ''In the Dark" Photos here.

Sunday Stills "25 and 50 Steps"

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is "25 and 50 Steps".   Holly suggested this and sent Ed both the instructions and the photographs. 

Choose a starting spot, walk 25 steps in any direction and take 3 photos. The 25 steps can be outside your home, inside your home, in your neighborhood or away from your neighborhood.
Once your steps have been counted out, you must anchor one foot, you can pivot on that foot but your anchor foot may not move.

I walked out my back door, and took 25 steps down the sidewalk.

Off to my left was this tree with bright orange leaves. We have very few trees that actually turn colors, as most of our trees have leaves that start to turn yellow, then go brown and fall off.

Straight ahead is a very special start. I just started turning this area into a perenniel garden this summer.

Off to the right is my horse barn. I just love the double X doors.

I took another 25 steps, and then I could see both trees with leaves that were changing color.

I came closer to the center flower garden area. This area has also become a resting area for one of my son's beagles, who just left us after 12 years.

 Then looking down, the brightly colored leaves.

Click here to see more Sunday Stills "25 and 50 Steps" Photos.

Sunday Stills "Focusing on the Foreground"

This week's Sunday Stills challenge is "Focusing on the Foreground".

Is it better close up?

or with a broader presence?

Is it better without a fence?

Sunday Stills "Vanishing Points"

This week's Sunday Stills Challenge is "Vanishing Points". I hope I did this challenge correct. I thought it would be hard, then went out horseback riding, with a few shots in mind. Thank you, Linda, for posting some examples.

Then I remembered some shots that I took in CO of power lines and in SD of a buffalo herd.

Let me know what you think and which one you think is most correct!  Thanks!

These first ones are when I went riding today, and thought of the trees, the crops, the round bales, even though the round bales didn't turn out like I wanted it too.

I actually love this shot, with the rain clouds moving in, to give more depth to the background,

 The round bales, but I wanted a longer row, but couldn't find one,

the rows of harvested, and unharvested corn, going over the hilltop,

 the treeline disappearing into the sky, or the rows of harvested corn, ???

Last year, in Colorado, I took the following shots of power lines and telephone lines. I need to know which one/s work?

mabe too vague, but I love the bright, blue sky, and the boldness of the first power line, yet the others are in the background, disappearing into the distance...

and my favorite, while in SD last year, I was lucky enough to see this herd of buffalo moving from the forest to the open grasslands. Breathtaking, yet powerful. I zoomed out, but we were really close. You can see the edge of the road.

Click here to see other Sunday Stills "Vanishing Points" photos here.