On the Hunt for Joy Challenge – Week 9 – Shop Your Home

…thanks to Cee for hosting On the Hunt for Joy

“Shop your Home” simply means finding things in your house that bring you joy. Here are a few things that bring joy to me.
In the mix are my paint brushes, my teddy collection, my old nutcracker that needs gluing and my books.1-F47688-C-FA28-4-BEF-8059-90-AEE641-B824-1-201-a
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Hint of Spring in February

…not all of February was cold and snowy

Last weekend we had beautiful weather that brought the walkers, dogs and photographers out in droves. I think people knew that more snow and colder temperatures were on their way so they took advantage of the cleared paths, sun and warmer climes.050-C6016-EFC2-43-FC-BCA4-EF096425-C551-1-201-a
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Smartphone Photo Challenge – Week 9 – Mood

….thanks to Maranto Photography for hosting the Smartphone Photo Challenge

The mood here is serene and calm. I tried to capture the warmth of the setting sun even though the temperatures were hovering around freezing. I added more saturation and vibrance to this photo.5-D85-FA51-D92-C-4280-8490-BAAE7-B9-CEF5-C-1-201-a

For this one I added more contrast and vibrance. This intensified the colour of the water and helped to make the foreground and swan stand out more. Capturing the swan between the branches gives this photo a bit of a mysterious mood.
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Lens Artists Challenge – #86 – Treasure Hunt

….thanks to Travels and Trifles  for this week’s theme

This week’s theme is very long and detailed so I’m cutting and pasting the instructions here:

This week we’re going on a Treasure Hunt! The challenge is to search for specific items – either from your archives or newly captured – from the list below. Extra credit items are a bit more challenging. Focus on quality over quantity and hit us with your best shot(s)!  

  • Challenge Items: Sunrise and/or sunset, Something cold and/or hot, a bird, a dog, a funny sign, a bicycle, a seascape and/or mountain landscape, a rainbow, a church, a musical instrument, a boat, a plane, a waterfall
  • Extra Credit Items:  An expressive portrait of one or more people, a very unusual place, knitting or sewing, a fish, an animal you don’t normally see, a bucket, a hammer, a street performer, a double rainbow, multiple challenge items in a single image. My opening image, for example, includes a sunrise, a seascape and birds in a single shot. See how easy it is?! 😀

My favourite portrait of my granddaughter.

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Sunset at the cottage
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Strange fish
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Rhino at the Toronto Zoo
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Street Performer in Hamilton
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Sunrise in the Neighbourhood
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Water fowl in the Park
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Two more recent sunsets in the park
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