WW: Something From Nothing

Cattails.

Weeds.

Overgrown brush.

Barren fields.

Overlooked landscapes... But when captured through the eye of my camera, these otherwise unsightly, unappreciated scenes have a beauty all their own.

LEAP INTO SPRING
Just a reminder that the Leap into Spring Photo Challenge Finale is open through Friday, May 18th 11:59pm CST. Submit your favorite spring photos to be entered into the drawing. All are welcome regardless of experience, camera equipment and whether or not you’re experiencing spring at the moment. We have an awesome lineup of prizes! 5 copies of Topaz Adjust, subscriptions to This Life, a photo book from Adoramapix, a design pack from Life-n-Reflection, a print from Veronica Armstrong Photography, and a camera strap cover from Forshee Designs, to name a few.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate you taking the time to leave kind, thoughtful comments and link up here at Project Alicia.

Now, without further ado... let's get this WW party started. Just grab a photo and link up below! And if you'd like to connect with other WW participants, click HERE.

Leap Into Spring Photo Challenge Finale

I can hardly believe we're already to the close of our Leap into Spring Challenge! Can you believe another season is nearly gone? I've thoroughly enjoyed looking through all of your photos over the last 5 weeks as we've worked our way through the different prompts. You leave me inspired and in awe! You can find a sampling of your extraordinary talent over in our Pinterest Board.

Please continue to press that shutter! As with anything in life, practice only makes us better at our skill.

And just a heads up, we have a fun summer project in the works I think you're gonna love, so stay tuned!

If you missed any of the weeks, make sure to check out our photography tips...

Golden Hours

Composition

Perspective

Capturing Movement

White Balance

Thanks so much for your continued support and participation. It's been so much fun capturing spring with you! 


Here's a quick recap of our spring challenge...

Week 1: Sunshine/Light



Week 2: Easter/Eggs



Week 3: Blossom/Trees



Week 4: Rain/Water



Week 5: Grass/Green

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Our finale giveaway just wouldn't be possible without a little bit of help from our wonderful friends.

Thank you to the following sponsors for their generous prize donations and support:

ThisLife ThisLife is an online service that automagically organizes photos and videos from your computer, Facebook, Instagram and more, in a chronological timeline; safely storing them in the cloud. Now available on your iPhone and iPad as well.

Topaz Labs Topaz Labs’ innovative image enhancing plug-ins improve your workflow and streamline productivity with its easy-to-use interface. Powerful. Professional. Flexible. Available for Photoshop, PSE, Lightroom and more.

AdoramaPix Impeccable service. Affordable prices. AdoramaPix is an awesome source for fine quality photo prints, photo books, photo framing, gallery wrapped canvases and all of your photo finishing needs.

Life-n-Reflection Life-n-Reflection is your one-stop shop for gorgeous custom card, photo album and collage templates and photo enhancing textures as well.

Veronica Armstrong Photography Veronica Armstrong is a talented New York based photographer who creates “pretty prints for pretty places”. Her growing collection of prints are a feast for the eyes – textures and light reign supreme.

Forshee Designs Practical. Pretty. Handmade. Forshee Designs is overflowing with beautifully handmade camera strap covers, laptop sleeves, iPad/tablet/e-reader sleeves, aprons and more. Custom orders accepted as well.

And thank you to the following blog sponsors and business owners for their monetary contributions:

Twenty lucky winners will have a chance to win one of these awesome prizes:

Five (5) winners will win an annual subscription of ThisLife's Adventure Box package, valued at $80 each.

Five (5) winners will win Topaz Labs fabulous Topaz Adjust plugin, valued at $50 each.

One (1) winner will win a custom 26-page 8" in spine photo book from AdoramaPix, valued at $40.

One (1) winner will win a lovely card bundle template of their choice from Life-n-Reflection, valued between $24-30.

One (1) winner will win a 11 x 14 "pretty print" of their choice from Veronica Armstrong Photography, $25 value.

One (1) winner will win a beautiful camera strap of their choice from Forshee Designs, valued between $19-27.

One (1) winner will win a gorgeous Daisy & Elm camera charm bracelet, valued at $30.

One (1) winner will win a $50 gift certificate to Photojojo.

Three (3) winners will win a $25 gift certificate to Photojojo.

One (1) winner will win the "Beyond Snapshots: How to Take That Fancy DSLR Camera Off 'Auto' and Photograph Like a Pro" book, valued at $16.

Rules: The linky will be open from Friday, May 11th 9am CST – Friday, May 18th 11:59pm CST. Submit your favorite spring photos to be entered into the drawing. Link directly to your blog post or Flickr photo, not your blog’s homepage or Flickr photostream. Link back to the Leap Into Spring Photo Challenge in your post. One entry per household, please. All are welcome regardless of experience, time commitment and whether or not you’re experiencing spring at the moment. All winners will be chosen at random, prizes will be matched as best possible, no exchanges. Winners will be announced on Monday, May 21st.

WW: Vintage Inspired Shoot

Using natural light is tricky business. Unreliable forecasts. Too sunny at 8:30 AM. Then storm clouds at 7:00 PM at a time that would normally be perfect. Thorns. Not enough time for a second location. Missing props. Cranky neighbors that want to have you arrested for "trespassing", which I'm about 96% positive we weren't. So many obstacles with photo shoots. Luckily for me this little thing was as cute as a button. She waded through weeds as tall as her and kept a smile the whole while. Of course the strawberry crush helped a little. ;)

The shoot was something I've been thinking about ever since I laid eyes on this abandoned house. Luckily I found a few more props the day before at a nearby antique store. I removed the wire and nails and gave the frame a fresh coat of paint. The polaroid and suitcase were other lucky finds. I'd love to have a whole warehouse full of props, but hubs isn't so fond of the idea. So... I get little bits here and there and use what I have.

Brenna Drew was the perfect compliment to this old house. I clicked as long as I could and in spite of the numerous hurdles placed in my path, I was really happy with the outcome. Thanks to mom and big sis for being such great help!

Go take a stroll down my vintage inspired shoot...








































Oh, and just a couple quick reminders:
It's not too late to link up your "GREEN" photos for the last week of the Leap into Spring Photo! Challenge! And swing by this Friday, May 11th with a favorite spring photo for a chance at some Ah-MAZ-ing prizes. It's gonna be a Sa-WEET FINALE... 5 copies of Topaz Adjust, subscriptions to This Life, a photo book from Adoramapix, a design pack from Life-n-Reflection, a print from Veronica Armstrong Photography, and a camera strap cover from Forshee Designs, to name a few.

If you missed my DIY: How to Fake Polaroids post last week, swing by and give it a look. It's had over 3,000 pageviews so I guess divulging all those secrets paid off.

Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate you taking the time to leave kind, thoughtful comments and link up here at Project Alicia.

Now, without further ado... let's get this WW party started. Just grab a photo and link up below! And if you'd like to connect with other WW participants, click HERE.