Crazy Days of Summer Photo Challenge Week Nine: Bubbles

Turns out spectacular bubble shots are hard to come by. (Unless you have a zillion dollar slow-motion camera.) Check out these UN-freaking-believable shots of a bubble bursting- soap molecules and all. (Not to intimidate you or anything.) I'm just mesmerized.

Perhaps I set my expectations too high for this one...

Between heat indexes ranging 100-115, thunderstorms, last minute Chicago excursions, and inopportune photo ops-- I was ready to call it quits. But hey, on an up note, all bubble making tools are 50% off at Walgreens right now. Go stock up! Or make bubbles yourself. Either way, a cheap way to spend some of those last days of summer.

Here are some of my traditional bubble shots.


This is one of my favs. It has a nice reflection of the beautiful natural setting and little man in frog catching mode blurred in the background. Love the reflection from the water.


Pokey was the only willing subject with the heat, but her attention span was short lived what with all the distractions and all.


Who knew a dead cicada could be more entertaining than bubbles? (This would have been perfect for critters.)


My neighbor drove by as I was lying on the ground at a local golf course attempting to capture the bubbles floating in the air. I had to chuckle. I'm sure she thinks I'm nuts. Good thing she doesn't know all the crazy stunts I've attempted for photo ops. Shh...


This may be the best shot from the bubble making machine. It was a pain to keep unclogged. Any tips out there?


This one is slightly varied from the first pic with the sun setting in the background. A difficult time of day for crisp shots with so much movement.




This one was late afternoon against a dull, cloudy-ish sky. Kinda cool. I added Florabella's halo action to give it a little pop.

And before I forget I wanted to mention that bubbles are not exclusive to summer. Try pulling them out this winter.

This shot was taken a couple winters ago. It's not the best photo, but take a closer look at the bubble. If it's cold enough, the bubbles may freeze and you can end up with something pretty interesting that will entertain the kiddos for a while. Little Man was totally enthralled.

Just so you know, it took several different photo shoots to get this handful of semi-decent keepers. Hope your efforts are more successful. And if they are, by all means please share your secrets. If not, don't get discouraged! Keep at it.

Another idea for bubbles is to use seltzer or carbonated soda. You may remember this pic from a few months ago.

(This orange/sprite shoot produced way more keepers than all of my bubble photo shoots put together this week.)

You can see more of the collection as well as instructions for how to achieve this here.

There are also a couple of these available for purchase in my etsy shoppe.

That's all I've got today. Can't wait to see your bubble shots.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Share your favorite images inspired by the Crazy Days of Summer theme-of-the-week and grab our sweet button while you're at it!

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Please link directly to your Crazy Days of Summer blog post or Flickr photo, not your blog's home page or Flickr Photostream. Feel free to share your photos in our Crazy Days of Summer Flickr Group as well.

The linky will remain open from 12:00am Friday – 11:59pm Wednesday.

Make a few new friends by visiting and commenting on the previous entry in the linky list.

Each Thursday, a few of our favorite images from the Crazy Days of Summer Photo Challenge will be selected and featured at Project Alicia and Live and Love Out Loud.

You can find more details about the meme as well as updated themes in my Summer Photo Challenge Page located in the tab to the right under my header.

The theme for Week 10, Aug 5th is summer treats. How hard can that be? Just take a drive to the DQ with camera in hand.

Don't forget to stop over at Kristi's place to check out her bubble pics. I think she has a few tricks up her sleeve.

Top Five Pics of the Week {Crazy Days of Summer: Week Eight}

Motion is defined as "the act or process of changing position or place". Sounds simple enough, but it proves to be quite the difficult task in terms of capturing it in a photograph. And yet you still managed to deliver some great images this week.

Here's a quick rundown of some useful motion photography tips to bookmark for future reference:

Kristi from Live and Love Out Loud shared a cool tutorial for creating a spinning panning effect and a great example using Curious George.

Audrey of The Daily Wyatt shared a tutorial of her cheat spinny photo. A must see! (1st photo below.)

Christine from More To Me shared her camera settings for her cool streak of light from a moving automobile. (2nd photo below.)

Jaymi of live.love.travel shared another one of her fabulous jumping sunset pics. If you missed it, make sure to check out her jumping silhouette tutorial she shared a few weeks ago. (5th photo below.)

And (insert drum roll) here they are...

Top Five Pics of the Week

Submitted by The Daily Wyatt


Submitted by More To Me


Submitted by Bumbles & Light


Submitted by Naptime Momtog


Submitted by live.love.travel.

Thank you so much for joining Kristi (of Live and Love Out Loud) and I in the Crazy Days of Summer Photo Challenge.

Don't forget to join us tomorrow, Friday, July 29th when we tackle a new theme: bubbles. It will open at 12:01 AM. All are invited regardless of skill level or time commitment.

For additional details and a complete list of upcoming August themes, head on over to the Summer Photo Challenge page.

WW: In Search of Horses and Other Adventures

I had grand visions of seeing wild horses running on the beach. Their hair blowing in the wind. After several visits to the Outer Banks it was my one and only wish.

Unfortunately there were no horses to be found on any beach, at least not the one that we were on- the one clearly advertised with wild horses. We did find a couple nibbling on some shrubs at a nearby beach house. That would have to suffice. (You may remember the photo below from a couple weeks ago.)



And when they say 4WD required, they aren't kidding. You see, for even the chance to see the wild horses you have to go into this section of the beach that is filled with rugged, deep grooves and then be prepared to play chicken with the oncoming vehicle in your set of grooves. Our little Acura SUV didn't seem to cut it. About half way through our horse hunt the undercarriage of our MDX fell off. Literally. Hubs stopped and picked it up and did later manage to clip it all back on for the 21 hour drive home. But it certainly added some unexpected adventure. I so wish I would have snapped a pic of that hunk of car just lying there in the sand.

(Note to self: Take the guided jeep tour next time.)

But after we had driven all the way to the Virginia border on that rocky ride it seemed a waste to not get out and at least snap a few pics to document this momentous occasion.



But Pokey wasn't having it. She had one thing on her brain- to catch a sand crab. And that was it!



I persevered and snapped anyways. And with or without her cooperation I managed to capture a few sweet pics of her playing on the beach in her cute outfit. (Thanks to my SIL for the adorable headband.)





Then once she got the sand crab accomplished, she was finally willing to pose for a few.





Such a beautiful setting for photo ops. How could I resist?



The end.

I'm not sure how ya'll are doing it, but it seems summer and blogging just don't mix well for me. I'm doing my best, but between vacationing, showings, open houses, photo shoots, entertaining kiddos, and all the other stuff I'm failing to mention-- I'm wiped. By the way, I'm currently headed home from 2 fun-filled days in Chicago. (This post was scheduled. I'll do my best upon my return to make visits.)

Feel free to join Kristi (of Live and Love out Loud) and I for the Crazy Days of Summer Photo Challenge this Friday, July 29th, for our new theme- BUBBLES. You can also find the new list of August themes here.

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Thanks for stopping by! Link your photo(s) below. And make sure to check out some of these other fab WWs!

Crazy Days of Summer Week Eight: Motion

Welcome to Week Eight of the Crazy Days of Summer Photo Challenge. The theme this week is motion.

Capturing motion in photography is a cinch if you are wanting to freeze water droplets or a jump suspended in air. All you need to do is set your camera to shutter speed priority (TV) and bump the shutter speed up. It works best on a bright sunny day like the ones we have been having this week here in the midwest. The brighter the day, the higher the shutter speed can go.

These water pics were taken with my Canon 50D at around 1/1250th of a second, f/2.2, ISO 100, 50mm. Processed with Florabella's Halo action.

These collages were free handed in Photoshop Elements 7. The frames are Krafty Photo Frames from K Pertiet at Designer Digitals. And totally off topic, isn't my niece beautiful? And a dancer to boot. (She was a fabulous, willing model for photo ops. There will be more of her to come...)

Unlike freezing motion, capturing motion blur is a skill that is difficult to master. And if you want to do it beautifully? It may take a lifetime to accomplish. I look at photo magazines and marvel at their exquisite shots that appear seemingly effortless.

One method is panning. For part of my spring photo challenge I shared some examples of panning with bikes and scooters, a technique that requires you slow the shutter down and pan your camera as you follow your subject. The goal is to keep your subject clear while blurring your background to give it the effect of movement.

Earlier this week we also tried a merry-go-round. I feel sick just looking at this. And funny enough, my entire family was sick after this ride. Possibly heat related? My focal point was Pokey. This one was really tricky since it was circular. Not spectacular, but I'm sharing it because photography is a process. I am learning and growing every. single. day!


It also works well for runners, automobiles, and skateboards. And as we learned yesterday, shopping carts. (Don't mind my daughter. She is a bit melodramatic and was convinced she was experiencing heat stroke.)

Oh, and FYI: the lighting in the grocery market was less than conducive for stellar panning pics, but it sure was entertaining and we got some interesting looks.

For better panning instruction, go here or here. (Some great links to bookmark for us aspiring photographers.)

I recently had the opportunity to watch a sunrise in the OBX, North Carolina. If you knew me at all you would know what a big deal it is that I woke up before the sun.

For this photo I set up my tripod and set the f-stop to 32 and the shutter speed at 1 second. If I'd known what a cool effect this was going to be I would have played around more with shutter speed. Longer shutter speeds are key to achieving that soft “dewy” look so common to moving water. Generally, speeds of 1/15 second or longer will blur the water to create this artistic effect. The best advice I could offer would be- Don't be afraid to play around a bit. You learn best by trial and error.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Can't wait to see what kinds of motion you managed to capture.

P.S. One of my photos was featured at Family Fountain in a post entitled Balanced Lives. Definitely worth a read. A great reminder to slow down and not forget what is important in the scheme of life. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Share your favorite images inspired by the Crazy Days of Summer theme-of-the-week and grab our sweet button while you're at it!

<center><a href="http://www.projectalicia.com/2011/05/unveiling-summer-photo-challenge.html"><img border="0" src="http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo34/iowalish/summerbuttonfinal200x200.jpg" /></a></center>

Please link directly to your Crazy Days of Summer blog post or Flickr photo, not your blog's home page or Flickr Photostream. Feel free to share your photos in our Crazy Days of Summer Flickr Group as well.

The linky will remain open from 12:00am Friday – 11:59pm Wednesday.

Make a few new friends by visiting and commenting on the previous entry in the linky list.

Each Thursday, a few of our favorite images from the Crazy Days of Summer Photo Challenge will be selected and featured at Project Alicia and Live and Love Out Loud.

You can find more details about the meme as well as updated themes in my Summer Photo Challenge Page located in the tab to the right under my header.

The theme for Week 9, July 29nd is bubbles. I can't wait!

And mark your calendars now, here is a list for the new August themes:
Week 10, 5th- Summer Treats
Week 11, 12th- Fun with Friends
Week 12, 19th- Blue Skies
Week 13, 26th- Sweet Summer Finale

Don't forget to stop over at Kristi's place to check out her cool motion pics!

Top Five Pics of the Week {Crazy Days of Summer: Week Seven}

Each and every week the picking seems to get harder and harder. Critters was no different. Unlike my counterpart, who was a little freaked out by this theme, I thoroughly enjoyed looking through each and every entry. Macro shots, collages, farm pets, zoo animals, beach treasures... I even loved the creepy crawlies. Thanks for stepping up to the challenge and sharing your wonderful critters with us here for the Crazy Days of Summer Photo Challenge. For those of you who didn't participate this week, I hope you enjoy a sampling of our favs.

Without further ado, I give you the...

Top Five Pics of the Week.
Submitted by Naptime Momtog


Submitted by My Reflection of Something


Submitted by Blue Skies Photography


Submitted by My Photo Adventures


Submitted by Jenny Rain

Thank you so much for joining Kristi (of Live and Love Out Loud) and I in the Crazy Days of Summer Photo Challenge.

Don't forget to join us on Friday, July 22nd when we tackle a new theme: motion. All are invited regardless of skill level or time commitment.

For additional details and a complete list of upcoming themes, head on over to the Summer Photo Challenge page.

WW: The Leftovers (the non-food kind)

Do you ever go through your leftover photos and wonder what you will do with them? I know they won't win any awards, but they each tell a unique, personal story. It's so hard to part with them. Ok, so I admit it. Deleting pics isn't my strong suit. (Hubs just bought me a new 2 TB hard drive.) I may even have a small photo hoarding problem. And ironically enough I just ran across this article about deleting pics ruthlessly.

Maybe one day, but for now I'm am giving them a day to shine.

My son actually took this pic of me and I repurposed it as my new button.


This is one of my kid's favorite pastimes these days.


I love the simpleness of this one.


This one was an experiment in the dark with hardly any natural light. A little tricky without flash, and definitely needs more work and probably a tripod. But isn't it sweet?


Taken after one of our family runs.


A common photo op around here. This toad was captured by Pokey.


A gift from my Little Man. Such a thoughtful gesture.


This was the same day as the trek through the creek I shared a few weeks ago.


Taken for a photography challenge. Hubs hated it.


Another shot by Little Man.


Love the sky in this one. I added a couple different textures to give it a little more interest.


Rejected for my flower photo shoot. I kinda like the canvas effect it has going for it.


The one hour the kids were with hubs for father's day between a soccer tourney and hub's night shift.


Another photography challenge reject. But I kinda love it.


This was meant to be a silhouette shot, but the settings weren't right. I just love the natural expressions though. If it weren't for the scary ape shirt from Uncle Hans it might be more tolerable.


A recent find thanks to mama cardinal dropping it on our deck. After some fb discussion, we are pretty positive it's a tomato worm.


This one reminds me of a setting in the Lion King. Not sure why since it looks nothing like Africa.


How can you delete peonies?




And this is a sneak peek of a photo shoot I did in North Carolina of my brother and beautiful sister in law. Happy Birthday, Nate! You can see more of the collection at alicia ann photography.

Ok. That's all I've got today.

<a href="http://www.projectalicia.com" target="”_blank”"><img src="http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo34/iowalish/wordlesswednesdaybutton.jpg"/></a>

Feel free to join Kristi (of Live and Love out Loud) and I for the Crazy Days of Summer Photo Challenge this Friday, July 22nd, for our new theme- MOTION.

Thanks for stopping by! Link your photo(s) below. And make sure to check out some of these other fab WWs!