The 366-day photography project: week 51

I am now closing in on the conclusion of my 366-day photography project. I have spent so much time with my camera that it is starting to feel like an extension of myself. I would recommend this project for anyone. It is a good way to document your world. It is also a good way to see the beauty around you. When you have to look for something or someone to photograph, you are really looking at your world. If you want to be a photographer, you'll find that the more you practice your art, the better your skills will become. You will think about composition and about framing your picture. Sometimes you'll miss and your picture will not be awesome. That's OK, too. You'll figure out what happened and you'll fix the problems for future pictures.

So, my week. Well, it's been very warm and dry. We are now in a severe drought. The lawns are brown and the ground is hard and cracked. Fortunately, the flowers are still blooming and the bees are still busily pollinating them. I spend much of my time pruning shrubbery, rather than weeding.

On Sunday, Dawn and I co-hosted coffee hour at church. I brought home-made cookies, fruit, and cheese. Dawn brought some lovely treats, including the goodie shown below in two pictures (the plate of goodies, which consists of strawberries, a brownie, and a marshmallow, and a closeup of aforementioned goodie).

It tastes as good as it looks!

After church, I went to check out a little flea market. It seems to be new. This lady is selling jewelry. One group was selling cotton candy, and another group was selling second hand merchandise. I found a pair of Sketchers sneakers for five dollars. They were a perfect fit so I bought them. They are comfortable and look great. They are good for short walks but my running shoes are better for longer walks. 

Seen in the back yard.

For me, painting clouds is a challenging task. I spend a lot of time looking at them and wondering how to reproduce them on paper or on canvas and make them look as alive and as vibrant as they do in real life. Clouds don't have well-defined borders, which makes them difficult to draw and paint. It's not like a building or a tree. Painting clouds will continue to be a work in progress for me as an artist.

Monday evening, at the public library.

The full moon rose on Tuesday.

... a big ball of light...

It looks as if the trees are reaching for the moon.

The clouds look different every day. This is the sky on Tuesday, when I went outside to take a walk.

Rose of Sharon with buds.

A closer view of the inside of the Rose of Sharon.

Little flower bed next to a mailbox.

Insect busy inside a daisy.

Here is the busy river.

Seen on one of my walks. 

Just bee-cause...

Bee convention!

The moon breaks through the darkness. If you want to know more about breaking through the darkness, I can suggest A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle.

Haircut appointment on Wednesday. I walked over a bridge and took a picture of Woods Creek.

Creative planter.

Thistle, with a bee.

On the day after the full moon, this is the sunset over the east river.

The moon in the darkness.

On Thursday morning, I was busily pruning shrubbery at a garden on the river. This is my view from that customer's garden.

As I was pruning a small tree, a praying mantis started climbing up my legs and onto my shirt. It is a very attractive and large insect.

Here is another view of the praying mantis.

On Friday, I took a walk to the library.

Bee convention.

In the evening, my friend Amy and I took a ride to the west side of Grand Island. The sun was setting, and I took these pictures. I think that at least one of them could serve as a reference photograph for a painting.

Saturday morning. The bees are always busy, and they are happy to pollinate all plants, even those that we call "weeds."

Have a great week! Look around at your world and take some pictures! You may be surprised by what you see.