12/30/11

winter beach -day363


winter beach -day363, originally uploaded by tpurk.

Finally got out of the house this month and took a walk on the beach - with Steph & Chris! The fresh air felt great and the conversation even better. Loved the chance to spend some time with them during their visit.

birch -day362


birch -day362, originally uploaded by tpurk.

I've been in the parking lot of the post office many times and never noticed this row of birch trees. Now in winter they stand naked and stark against the gray sky but gorgeous in their textured skin.

I added a slight sepia tint; black and white seemed too harsh.

12/28/11

Pinecone -day361


Pinecone -day361, originally uploaded by tpurk.

Loved this pinecone in my floral centerpiece. Added a little texture, just because.....

whirlyball -day360


whirlyball -day360, originally uploaded by tpurk.

Since Stephanie & Chris are visiting Ron & Jeanne, we thought it would be a fun whirlyball group, so we met for dinner and all headed north to play. Even though we haven't played for probably 15 years, it came back to us fairly quickly. Good times!

pier -day359


pier -day359, originally uploaded by tpurk.

Took Pat & Mike sight seeing in the drizzly, cold, damp Seattle weather. A truly authentic experience!

Christmas family - day358


Christmas family - day358, originally uploaded by tpurk.

Christmas morning with Pat and Mike visiting.

elf -day357


elf -day357, originally uploaded by tpurk.

A favorite Mark Roberts elf in my collection.

holiday mugs -day356


holiday mugs -day356, originally uploaded by tpurk.

The end of project 365 is near and my ideas are running short.....

12/22/11

foggy morning -day355


foggy morning -day355, originally uploaded by tpurk.

My first outside shot in weeks I think! The wires don't even bother me....maybe because there are SO many.

12/21/11

Peace ....and quiet -day354


Peace ....and quiet -day354, originally uploaded by tpurk.

For Mortal Muses prompt of peace...my take on it this week is time for peace & quiet = reading and a cuppa in a perfectly silent house!

The end is near!!!! Only a little over a week of photos to go!

12/20/11

christmas zoom -day353


christmas zoom -day353b, originally uploaded by tpurk.

I'm trying one of Kat's suggestions of using a longer shutter speed (2 sec here) then zooming while exposing. I had some interesting effects; this was one of my faves. I like how the bead garland showed up here.

Paper -day352


Paper -day352, originally uploaded by tpurk.

I'm done with the wrapping paper this year, but the boys will need to wrap their gifts when they come over Christmas Eve so it stays out a little longer!

tis the season -day351


2011 day351 santa-ED, originally uploaded by tpurk.

More Santas and some processing with textures fun. Christmas is only a few days away - shopping is done, decorating is done, house is tidy.....now it's time to sit back and enjoy it all!

12/18/11

party -day350


party -day350, originally uploaded by tpurk.

Dressed up for an annual holiday party - we figured out we've been going to this progressive dinner party with this group of friends for 20 years - from back when Eric was in kindergarten!

12/17/11

candlelight -day349


candlelight -day349, originally uploaded by tpurk.

Happy Holidays - I love this set up with the tree behind but I should probably find something different....

12/15/11

a little more bokeh -day348


a little more bokeh -day348, originally uploaded by tpurk.

Still experimenting on getting that blurry light effect.

a little more bokeh -day348


a little more bokeh -day348, originally uploaded by tpurk.

Still more experimenting to get those blurry light effects in the background. This is sort of what I wanted.

glow -day347


glow -day347, originally uploaded by tpurk.

For a blog prompt somewhere but I hadn't taken a candlelight shot in months so thought I'd give it a try. I like the reflection.

12/12/11

me -day346


me -day346, originally uploaded by tpurk.

This month's prompt on GPP Street was to get out from behind the camera so I had a little private photo session today.

Took about a gajillion photos to come up with a hand full of okay ones.... The light was very odd coming in the window, so I did some post-processing to get this effect.

12/11/11

poinsettia -day345


poinsettia -day345, originally uploaded by tpurk.

I have a huge costco poinsettia in the window so I was trying to capture the texture in the petals. I have a glitter snowflake tucked into the plant - that's making the bokeh.

12/10/11

eclipse day 344


eclipse day 344, originally uploaded by tpurk.

We were up at 5am to watch the lunar eclipse and it was beautiful until this point....then the clouds moved in and we didn't see any more! :(

outside lights -day343


outside lights -day343, originally uploaded by tpurk.

Deck lights - got an interesting hexagon shape in my bokeh.

12/8/11

Santa -day342


Santa -day342, originally uploaded by tpurk.

I love this Santa's face so wrinkled and careworn. Was trying something different with the lights that wasn't totally successful, so you'll probably see more light pics.

12/7/11

Cup of cheer -day341


Cup of cheer -day341, originally uploaded by tpurk.

A holiday still life prompted by one of the many artsy blogs I follow and attempt to participate in.

12/5/11

Christmas mum-day339


-day339, originally uploaded by tpurk.

A closeup of a holiday floral arrangement I made for the party last weekend - a fuji mum in that luscious lime green and a couple of shiny ornaments - wasn't careful enough with the reflections, but oh well.

12/4/11

Christmas bokeh -day338


Christmas bokeh -day338, originally uploaded by tpurk.
Tried a little holiday bokeh after reading Kat's tutorial on Christmas lighting (KatEyeView.com). I don't think it's 100% successful, even after the crop so I'll try more versions tomorrow. I was undecided between these two attempts - what do you think?


I enjoy trying to capture light, so this is the perfect time of year to experiment with it.  The tripod will be staying up for a few days....

2011 day337 bunco


2011 day337 bunco, originally uploaded by tpurk.

Party night - I had fun using my zentangle skills to decorate the $$ envelopes. It was fun to host this again after so many years away!

2011 day336 flowers


2011 day336 flowers, originally uploaded by tpurk.

I dusted off my floral design skills to make a couple of arrangements for our holiday bunco night. Just like riding a bike, it all came back to me!