Sssssss

Mike (Ozark Photos) and I walked some of the South Creek Greenways Trail today. Of course, I didn't have my macro lens and it was almost 1:00 on a cloudless, sunny day, but this is the first time I have seen a snake on the trail, and it had to be recorded! It is 50 degrees F today, down from 80 yesterday. A beautiful day for a walk!

Tulip Time

Some of the many tulips at Nathaneal Greene Park.

Spring Gardening

I am very fortunate to live near Nathaneal Greene Park. I'm not sure if the work is done by volunteers or park employees, but there are many flower beds and I always enjoy going to see what has been done and what is blooming. There is also a Hosta garden, but they are just starting to emerge. We passed a small tax increase last year so they can add a botanical garden, which is still in the planning stages, but I am looking forward to it!

Purple

This was taken in my back yard. I'm not sure what it is, but it is filled with purple flowers at the moment!

Docked

Taken at Lake Stockton with my point & shoot. While it takes a good picture, it is hard for me to compose my shot just using the small screen, especially in the sunlight. It never fails that a photo op will happen when I don't have my camera!

Weed in Bloom

While this may be a weed, it does have a colorful bloom!

Tree 3

This was the third "single" tree. My son wondered why I had to take 20 shots of it (from different angles and positions, of course), and my friend kind of shook his head but figured something good would turn out. I didn't do much processing on this shot, as I decided I liked the contrast of all the colors.

Tree 2

Another of my single trees--and no, Mike, there was no chopping involved! I must admit I was tired when I wrote yesterday's comment, though.

Tree

I have been in search of a lone tree for a long time. I was fishing at Fellows Lake with my son and a friend and found three trees that seemed like good candidates for a single tree shot. These are both from the same original, but I used curves on the bottom one. (None of us got any bites, but I did get some good photos and we all had fun!)

Courtyard Cafe

Taken at the Mariott Courtyard Cafe. The first one was adjusted with curves, the second was inverted. I have been very busy lately, and have fallen WAY behind on comments. I am still looking at and enjoyiing all the updates though!

Bridge over Lake Springfield

7:03 AM

I am NOT a morning person, but today I got up at 6:00 to shoot the Frisco Highline Run for Scouting which included a 5k race and 1/2 Marathon. The top shot is at 7:03 and the bottom shot at 7:29. Shooting the event was a lot of fun--I'll probably post a couple of shots in the next day or so.

Textures

The contrast of the leafy fronds against the hard stone caught my attention.

Trees on a Hill

Taken yesterday at Lake Springfield Park.

"Mike's Tree"

I decided to check out the Lake Springfield trail Mike (Ozark Photos) mentioned in his post a few days ago. Found the tree, and it is really neat. I wish the sky had been cloudless for better contrast. Thanks, Mike, for giving me a new place to shoot!

Weathered

Part of the barn at Close Memorial Park.

The Clean-Up Crew

The two drinks left on the table caught my eye as I was wandering around Close Memorial Park. When I got a little closer, I saw the squirrels, cardinals (there is a female by the table leg) and some little black birds (the 3 black "dots" on the ground) having their own feast on the crumbs.

Into the Night

This was actually taken in bright sunshine, and it just didn't work so I tried inverting. I think it gave an interesting feel to the shot.

Daffodils

I have so many daffodil shots that I thought I would put a few together. I'm not sure of the best way to do this, so if anyone knows a good method, please let me know! Here is what I did: I decided how large my entry would be, figured out the size for each photo to fit, resized each photo and moved them to the matte. (My other idea was to create a really large matte, move each original shot to the new matte and then resize the whole thing.)

Among the Rocks

Taken at Close Memorial Park.

Reflections

Took this on a walk with Mike (Ozark Photos) today. I like the effect of the ripples.

Blooms

I love those purple flowers (don't know what they are, though.) The bottom shot is from the same place as a few posts ago. What a difference a week makes!

Flowers

Found these bright flowers at Nathanael Greene Park.

Rope

This rope was found just like this at a Girl Scout camp that has not been used for about 30 years. The buildings are falling apart and the place is visited by drug users and/or gangs at night, as there is graffiti everywhere. It just seemed strange to find a rope hanging on a tree in a place long abandoned. (The last 3 days I have been taking part in a side challenge at DPC using only the resize and sharpen tools, and posting the edited version here. This is not my favorite shot from today, but it is the one I am using at DPC and I don't have enough time to edit anymore right now.)

Garden Fence

Blooms along the fence of the Demonstration Garden at Nathanael Greene Park.

Tracks

I went to Nathanael Greene Park this morning to check out the flowers, and shot the tracks outside the park before I left.

Locked

Geranium

Since I am originally from Texas, I was used to annuals living for years. That doesn't just happen in Missouri without some effort. I brought my Geranium in last fall and it had at least one set of flowers all winter. This is its latest effort (in front of my blinds from a few posts ago.) It will probably go back outside in another month or so.

More Color!

When I went to the park on Monday there were only a couple of plants blooming (the purple flowers). I went back today and the daffodils have opened. Of course, by the time I got there the sun was too high to get great shots, so I now have an excuse to go back again! The bottom shot was also taken today. These seeds have been hanging on since fall!

More Signs of Spring

One of the reasons I moved to Springfield was to have 4 seasons, and I enjoy them all. I do get tired of winter by February, and look forward to the colors of spring. I was delighted yesterday when I saw some signs that spring is just around the corner.

Spring is Coming!

I went to the Demonstration Garden in Nathaniel Greene Park today expecting nothing but winter blah. I was surprised and delighted to find a bit of color emerging from the remains of the fall leaves.

Thread

Took a shot of a spool of thread against a black background. It was OK, but it was brighter inverted and in a different color, so I went with that. (I'm really ready for some spring color!)

After I looked at this on the blog, I didn't like it as much, so I added the original version.

Blinds

I first had this idea in January, tried a few shots that didn't come out, and left the idea on the back burner. I recently saw a couple of blinds shots on other blogs I visit and decided to try again. The first is the "real" shot, the second is the same shot inverted.

Branson Landing

This is Branson's newest addition. There are shops, restaurants, a hotel (and maybe condos, I'm not sure), and a walk along a finger of Lake Taneycomo. It is a great place to spend a day.

A Visit to Branson

I don't know what these buildings are, but I liked the roof line of the bottom one. There are trains there, but I am not sure it is a station. (Near Branson Landing in Branson, MO)