Day 231 - Before the sun rises

I had forgotten I still had a few pictures unedited from a morning walk in early November.  I know the picture is grainy, but I think that lends to the feel of the photo.

Day 230 - Khemisset in miniature II

Ok, I know it's getting boring with the miniatures, but I had to give it one last try (for now).  This is another photo from Khemisset, Morocco.  I think this one looks better than the last one I posted, which I think is because this one has more colour.

Day 229 - Khemisset in miniature

All the articles and instructions have said that they best way to use this technique is on pictures take from a higher vantage point.  This one was take from the roof at night, and though it works, I don't really love it.

Day 228 - Fes in miniature II

This is my second attempt at the tilt-and-shift effect on my Fes photos.  This one worked out better.  I think the colours really help creating the toy-like image.

Day 227 - Fes in miniature

Here is my first attempt at turning Morocco into a miniature!  This one didn't work out as well as I thought it would, but it's still fun.

Day 225 - Tactile art

I saw this piece of art a doctor's office.  I was so compelled to touch it to feel the various textures, but refrained and took a picture instead.

Day 226 - Minature

Months ago I saw an article on how to edit photos to make it look like you shot it with a tilt and shift lens, and I have wanted to try it.  Since I'm currently focussing on the editing aspect of photos, I thought I woud give it a try.

I have to say, this was fun, and so funny to see the picture look like it was shot of toys!  I think I'm going to try this effect on a few of my Fes photos!

Day 224 - Edited Ferris Wheel

This picture might look somewhat familiar.  This was a picture that I also took at the CNE in late August. I like the picture enough to want to post it, but I really didn't like that the lights were missing on the ferris wheel, so I spent some time editing it to add the lights where they were missing.  I have to say, I like this shot a lot more now, but it has made me very weary of what you can do with just a little knowledge and the ability to Photoshop!

Day 223 - More lanterns

This is another one of the lanterns.  This is one that sits on the floor (as opposed to hanging).  I liked the light it emitted.  I have never seen this type of lantern in anyone's home, but I think it really would be a very interesting, ambience-setting piece of décor.

Day 222 - Lantern for sale

I haven't had much time to go out and take new photos, so I've been going through the photos I have taken from the start of this project to post.  This is one from the CNE in late August, at a stall selling Moroccan wares.  I actually had to spend some time editing this one, since there were a lot of distractions in the background.  If I had more time, I would have edited the price tage that is hanging from the lantern out too!

Day 221 - Shy kitten

Finally, working through all my Morocco pictures and editing, and found this cute little guy!  I have so many pictures of cats, since they were EVERYWHERE! This little guy was at our host family's family's place.  We wanted to play with him, but he kept running away.

Day 220 - Happiness of being with those you love

Taken at a friend's brother's wedding.  I love these girls!  They have been the best of friends for ages, and whenever they are together, you can feel there is something special about their friendship.  I was mourning the fact that I would soon have to return my brother's camera to him, and so they humoured me with taking photos... or allowing me to capture some images at the wedding.

Doesn't this just scream happiness to you?

Day 219 - More doorways...

I was looking for something on my HD, and I found some photos from a "photo walk" I did years ago.  Apparently I always had a thing for architecture - doorways and arches in particular.  I liked this photo in particular from that walk.

Day 218 - Docked

Looking for a picture of the American flag, I realized I have not processed many of my pictures from my trip to the US.  I really liked the colours in this one... and I guess I must have been tired when I edited, because, I just noticed that the horizon is off on this one.

Day 217 - Old Glory

Since I was talking flags yesterday, I wanted to post another one of the US flag.  Actually, it started out with me looking for a Canadian flag to post, but I couldn't find one, I settled on finding another one of Old Glory. One of the nicer shots of the American flag, I captured. I realize that part of the flag is wrapped around the pole, but I still like it, especially against the blue sky.

Goal for flag day, take a nice shot of the Maple Leaf.... and that will be just in time for the Winter Games this year!

Day 216 - Moroccan Flag

I know I commented on September 27 about the ubiquity of American flags in the USA, well, the same is true of Morocco!  I am working on a project which has me going through my photos of the trip, and I was amused at the number of flag shots I have.  I guess, if you are Canadian, you only flag wave when you travel... or during the Olympics, of course!

Day 215 - Naturally

Here is a picture of one of my hosts/guides while in Morocco.  I haven't posted many (if any) pictures of people from Morocco, because I didn't have permission.  You have seen this person a couple times before in the post that had me reflective post about seeing the world from the back seat of a car, and where I talked about telling a story with photography.

So, why did I want to post this picture? Some of my favourite portraiture are photos where the subjects are not posed or are taken by surprise. I've talked about this a bit before, and this shot reiterates my sentiments. Have you ever noticed when there is a camera around people start acting different -- unnaturally, even? Some people are good at posing; others, not so much.  I find I really like the photos when people are caught off guard, even when they are good at posing. There is something a little more intimate about capturing that moment when they have let their guard down, and the image looks and feel more natural.  Isn't that what photography is all about?

In this case, I can't remember if I even had to call my friend to get his attention for this shot, or he had just turned to look at me at an opportune moment... whichever, it is one of the photos I love from my trip.

Day 214 - Dreaming of Morocco

Although I love the cold weather and the snow, with no one to enjoy it with, I'm thinking of warmer climates!  If you know me, than this is very odd.  I've been staring at this picture I took in Marrakech (Marrakesh), which is one of a sequence, that shows the moon setting and the colours in the sky changing as it did.  Alone, something about this image in colour just didn't feel right.

Day 213 - Time to leave...

My last day at a knowledge retreat, I just had to take pictures of the lobby.  It always looks so nice at Christmas time.  I love this spiral staircase, and hope to take pictures on it one day!

Day 212 - Leafy green

Little bored with all the semi monochromatic photos I've been posting and looking through.  They were in colour, but really didn't look it because of how grey the days were.  So, I took this picture of a random plant I saw at a hotel recently.

Day 211 - Melting

The ice is melting.... and everything still looks stunning at sunset!

Day 210 - Buurrrrr-ds

As I waited for my sister outside, I noticed the birds in this tree.  I watched as flew from branch to branch trying to find a perch that was not covered in ice.  I'm not sure if the ice made their normal perch too slippery or if the ice was too cold for them to stay still for too long, whatever it was, they didn't seem to happy.

Day 209 - Frozen in time

I don't know, I just really liked this shot.... what do you think?

Day 208 - The ice thickens...

Yes, I'm obsessed with the ice. This is a look at just how thick the ice build up got... making so many trees bow to the earth.

Day 207 - Jack Frost's world

So, this is a look at my street during the ice storms.... It looks like Jack Frost unleashed his furry on the world.  If you look very closely on the right side of the photo, you can see that there is a large portion of a tree on the road... felled by the weight of the water frozen to its branches.

Day 206 - Freezing rain

This particular branch caught my attention, since the frozen water drop was so long. It really does speak to what has been happening with the weather - the water freezes on the branches, slowly melting through the day, only to freeze at night.  I guess this drop got caught-up in the cycle.

Day 205 - The silence of the night

So, the freezing rain lasted more than a few days.  I LOVED it!  It was so beautiful, particularly at night.  I loved how everything looked covered in ice. Don't you just love it?

Day 204 - Another self-portrait

I thought I wouldn't be posting another photo of myself, but I liked this one.  I loved the way the colours looked against the white snow.

Day 203 - Peeking out

It's been a little cold, so, this is what moved me to photograph.  I liked this photo because it is both cold and warm.... The outside is definitely cold, and the curtains are very warm.

Day 202 - Video screen shot of Andalusian Gardens

So, I was uploading videos, and found a few videos from Morocco that I had forgotten I had taken.  This is in the Andalusian Gardens in Kasbah des Oudaias  (Kasbah of the Udayas) in Rabat. I LOVED this whole place.  That day I realized I had not taken much video, so I took my camera along and tried my hand at videography.  In the end, when we got to the Garden, I was torn between taking video and taking pictures!  I guess that is the danger of having 3 cameras with you!  I just discovered that my camcorder allows you to take images from a video, so that is how this was generated!

I could have spent the whole day here.... I guess, just another place to visit again when I'm not so rushed. 

Day 201 - Happy 2014!

I have been a little busy with life recently... which is not a bad thing.  So, I didn't get a chance to shoot a new photo for New Year's, as I had intended. I spent some time looking for an appropriate for the occasion.  I found this photo I had done to experiment with light writing for a contest I wanted to enter.  Again, I never did enter the contest with this photo, but thought it was time to share this one.

Salaam to the New Year! Hope it is filled with all that is bright, peaceful, and good!