looking back {at photo walks} through the looking-back glass

this is one of my favorite photography quotes {especially because of how perfectly it compliments my blog name}. i sort of took it on as a motto a while back when i used to carry my camera with me everywhere i went. things are a bit different these days. but i still love the quote. now-a-days, i still look, see, stop and photograph... but usually within in the confines of my home, and usually the same subject... isaac. good thing i could never tire of taking his picture!

 

i've been thinking about this lately... how i never go on photo walks anymore. i took those walks all the time before isaac was born... even when i was pregnant, i would make a point of going on them. granted, i never did anything major, exciting or glamorous... like photo walks through paris or new york city on hiking in the mountains or along the california coast. about the best i could do was a day-trip to chicago to take pictures. other than that, it was mostly around here... in my small downtown or through the nature preserves in my area.

but at least i was doing something. and i miss that something... those walks. just me and my camera and for-the-most-part silence. always therapeutic. usually a learning experience... both in photography and in life. always reflective. always full of anticipation... i couldn't wait to get that s.d. card home and in the computer to view my photos on a bigger screen and see what i managed to capture that was worth keeping and posting.

well, needless to say, it's a bit difficult to get out and do this like i used to, now that i have an {almost} fourteen-month-old. even when i do have some time {if mr. b. watches isaac for me}, i feel like i don't have the energy... or if i do have it, i feel like i should spend it on something else that needs my time and attention {like little projects here at home and such}.

so, i'm using these two-year-old photo-walk photos instead... looking back through the looking-back glass. it's nice to finally post these, as i never got around to posting them when i took them a couple years ago. i am smitten with the color combo of blues and yellows. i got as far as starting to process these shots, but never posting. i think i know why, though... they were taken just one week {exactly} before i became pregnant with isaac. life changed just a little after that. it's been a bit of a whirlwind ever since.

i do look forward to more photo walks again some day... taking isaac with me, too. i'll buy him a little starter camera, and he can follow in his mama's footsteps... his mama's literal photo-walk footsteps, as well as his mama's love-of-photography footsteps {if he wants to, that is}.

what about you? have you gone on any photo walks lately? where do you like to go? what is a dream photo-walk location of yours? where would you like to go that you have not yet?

me? i'm still holding out for a trip to paris some day.

{p.s... i thought i'd do a moving picture monday link-up, since it's been so long! if you are not familiar, go here for the sccop. if you are and you know what to do, link below!!}

slow down, little monkey + an overdue moving picture monday

i don't want to miss it... so i put it all down on "paper"... in my digital scrapbook. in less than two weeks, isaac will be a year old. i could seriously cry when i think of that. i wonder where this time has gone. truly. i won't lie. i miss the early days. but had they not passed, i would not now be appreciating all the milestones and accomplishments my son has reached or the wonderful things about him now that make him uniquely him at this specific time. to be sure, there will come a day soon when i will miss the stage he is at now. i know i am not the first to experience this, nor will i be the last. but that does not make it easier. and that does not mean i should not write out where my heart is... it's just where it is at and how i have to express it. and just the way i want to remember this little orange monkey hanging from the ceiling fan, i want to remember where my heart is.

that said, i am truly enjoying my son. i've been unbelievably busy with many things... all interwoven into my time with him... raising him, loving him, teaching him, knowing him, soaking up all that is this wonderful, beautiful, growing, curious, sweet boy.

i've chosen to blog less and focus more... on him... on things that need doing... on me... on this family... on my creative loves {even though blogging is one of them}... on quietness {if you were reading here at the beginning of the year, you may remember that quiet was my word for the year}.

so that is why i have not been around much {and why i have not taken a single photograph in weeks!}... and why there have been no moving picture monday link-ups lately. sorry about that, for you who enjoy the link-up!

i have to be honest... though several people expressed interest, not very many participate. so i lost steam in doing these. between that and my choice to prioritize some other things in my life over blogging, moving picture monday almost went by the wayside. but i think i'll see it more as being put on the back burner, instead.

today it's on the front burner, though! here's mine...

sorry for all the animations of isaac's toys all the time... that is my world these days, you know.

did you make any animations over the last few weeks? or will you today? if so, i'd love to see it. you can link up below... all week, as usual.

i must say... i've missed seeing the other photo animations of the regular contributors... and even the not-so-regualr. that's half the fun of doing moving picture monday! they always get my creative juices moving. so i look forward to seeing them again.

cheers to you for a good week ahead. i hope the weather is as beautiful by you as it is by me! happy monday!

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  

never made and animated gif and wanna know how?
go here for a photoshop tutorial.

or go here for an elements tutorial. if you are new to moving picture monday and want to participate with a moving picture, here's what you do...

first, grab the button below

{by copying and pasting the code that is in the box below the flying birds gif} and add it to the html of your moving picture post so that you can link back to the party here from your blog. <center> <a href="http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/search/label/moving%20pictures%20link-up"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF0xyJyhyphenhyphenVUMDHMy46d7YMcdYeAz1iyDGReI-DbtV-D47LrmzT__0_vJ-m729TX7Ln722GWySkClmZldqQpWjxezDi0R1dsPuc5LL6xheOZ0c3e1p4dBUdUcQqRLpC7Zs79KYGRQYKf4/s1600/moving-pictures-button_f.gif" /></a></center> then link up to your post here, by adding your link at the end of this post in inlinkz. and finally, have fun! {{NOTE for first-time participants: after you submit your entry and inlinkz takes you to the page where you can grab an image from your post for the thumbnail link, it will let you choose your gif image {and crop it, if you want}, but it will not actually show up, because it does not recognize gifs, so inlinkz uses the little blue cartoon face for the link instead. i'd rather have an image that reflects my blog for my link, so i just choose my profile picture instead.}}

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

eleven months, an extreme (sort of) makeover and a day-late moving picture monday

a long {but good} weekend made for a slow start to the week and a no-show for moving picture monday. {if you were planning on linking up yesterday, i'm sorry to be posting so late. but if you have a moving picture, please still do link up at the end of this post!} the theme for this week was creatures, which is why i was excited when mr. b. told me that he saw a bunny in our front yard on saturday. i was going to shoot the bunny. {well, not literally, of course.} but when i went out to get pictures for m.p.m., that rabbit was nowhere to be seen. so i decided to shoot the next best thing... isaac's new bunny pull toy. isn't it cute? i just got it from the land of nod outlet.

i know this moving picture is similar to isaac's dinosaur moving picture, but i just had to make it.

speaking of isaac... he is eleven months old today! it's not the most exciting milestone, especially when the big no. 1 is right around the corner. but i am posting about it anyway, because after being asked several times "how old is she?" by others who have recently met him, i figured maybe his hair was getting a bit long. so i got out the trimmers and buzzed it as short as his dad's hair. now they really look like twins.

i'll be sure to get some photos of the two of them together soon, so you can see just how much.

but for now, i've posted the pics from our first outing post-hairloss. we walked to a nearby garden/park to enjoy the first nice day we have had in a while.

as with the sand in florida, isaac is not yet used to grass. he avoids touching it like the plague. and if i sit him in it, he gets very unhappy with me and does everything he can to find his way back to the stroller... without touching the grass, if at all possible.

but that's just it... it's not possible to get back to it without touching the grass. that's what made these photos of him so funny to me. you can see in his face just how torn he is between staying where he is in the grass and getting back to the stroller... but having to touch more of his bare skin to the grass in order to do so. 

such trepidation... even just to touch it, let alone sit in it. you'd think there was a scorpion in the grass.

apprehension turns to utter disapproval and unhappiness...




i guess he chose the lesser of two evils...














isaac's thought bubble: {"free at last!"}

me: "isaac, you be careful!"

i just had to laugh at his little gaze over my way... to see if i was noticing that he was kneeling up in the stroller, even though i told him not to. trying to look all innocent, as if i didn't see him climbing and trying to stand up. nice try, buddy.

me: "get down, isaac."

isaac's thought bubble: {"but, mahhhhhm... i don't want to!"}

after about a half hour, he finally got a little more used to the grass... easily distracted by the rocks at the edge of the garden that looked like they would be a yummy morsel. {oh, dear... here we go. boys and their rocks and dirt and all that stuff.}

linking up with my next photo here...

well... i may not get him to smile like an angel in this grass. but at least there were some pretty bright red flowers to serve as my back drop... making even faces of disapproval somehow look endearing.

i'm not sure what this flower is. but i know i like it!

by the time we left, he almost forgot about the weird, cold texture under his feet, and he was back to his old self... getting into everything he could find, watching the passers-by, looking around for birdies, listening to the trucks in the distance.

and me? i just took it all in... enjoying how cute he looks in his new do... how it completely changes his appearance and, strangely, his personality also. {that's what happens to me after a new hairdo, too.}

i enjoyed looking closely at the details, finding beauty in everything about our time there... the weather, getting to know him, the colors, the trust, discovery, the milestones, the miracle that i'm a mom of an eleven-month-old who's become my entire world.

somewhere in that stretch toward the end, he grew to like it there. i dare say, he did not want to leave. i can easily say, nor did i.

my eleven-month-old, blue-eyed, four-toothed, teething, trepid, trusting, wonder-filled, messy, rock-eating, dirt-digging, sometimes whiny, mostly happy, babbling, laughing, dogs- and planes-fascinated, rocky tee-wearing, music-loving, dancing, getting-ready-to-walk, mischievous, short-haired boy {becoming more and more boy with each passing day} who i simply adore. 

getting to have you in my life fills me with joy.

happy birthday, sweet baby {not for long} boy. in one month, we celebrate the BIG one. but just so you don't think that every other day is any less special than the day you turn one, i celebrate today, too. because i celebrate you.

mama loves you!

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

if you had a moving picture that you wanted to link up, please do! {see below}. if you want to, but don't know the ropes, see my last moving picture link-up post for details.

moving picture monday... cuties

you know those latest advil commercials where the advil box appears in the same position from frame to frame, but in each, a different person is holding the box?

well, i really hoped to do something like that for my food-themed moving picture today, but instead of holding a box of advil, it would be a cuties brand mandarin orange. and instead of having a bunch of different people holding the orange, it would be me each time. and in each frame, i'd be in a different place... like the living room, or the dining room, or at the park, or in the car, etc.

you get the idea.

and then i was going to say something to the effect of "we love cuties around here so much, they go everywhere with us."

and then, i was going to show this photo...

'cause we really do love them that much! they are a staple in this household... and beyond. they are a favorite snack of isaac's. and when mama peels one for him to devour, she can't help but steal a few juicy sections for herself. just because. such sweet reward for taking the time to peel her baby boy's treats all those times.

so you're probably wondering where my advil-like moving picture is. truth is, i tried it... and was not having much luck. i think i may need to put my old lens back on to get something like that to work, but i'll definitely try something like that some day. and when i do, i may need to recruit the help of another person {like dear hubby}, because it was just too difficult to get everything just right when i was the one holding the cutie.

so i did this animation instead...

and i like it, because it whimsically depicts just how fast a bag of those cute little balls of citrus goodness goes around these parts. in fact, my son loves them so much, he'd eat them with the peel on. believe me!... i've seen him try! that, however, is an entirely different story for another time and another post.

today, it's just the bag of {disappearing} cuties.

do you {or your kids} love these too? even the marketing for cuties is... well, cute! an entire web site is devoted this brand of mini orange. must be because they're so delicious! and their commercials???... a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e.

weird... that's two advertising shout-outs i've given in one post! i should get paid for this! =)

okay... that's all i got for today. anyone else out there got a moving picture they want to link up with? i only had one submission last week {and such an adorable one it was!}, so i'm wondering if this link-up thing is tapering off, or if some of you have good intentions to make one and link up at some point, but just have not gotten around to it. hopefully, it's the latter. just in case it is, i'll keep doing these for a while... i still enjoy making them, even if there are no others posted that week.

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

if you do have one for today... or will have one {it's open all week, remember}, here's what you do...

first, grab the button below {by copying and pasting the code that is in the box below the flying birds gif} and add it to the html of your moving picture post so that you can link back to the party here from your blog. <center> <a href="http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/search/label/moving%20pictures%20link-up"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF0xyJyhyphenhyphenVUMDHMy46d7YMcdYeAz1iyDGReI-DbtV-D47LrmzT__0_vJ-m729TX7Ln722GWySkClmZldqQpWjxezDi0R1dsPuc5LL6xheOZ0c3e1p4dBUdUcQqRLpC7Zs79KYGRQYKf4/s1600/moving-pictures-button_f.gif" /></a></center> then link up to your post here, by adding your link at the end of this post in inlinkz. and finally, have fun! {never made and animated gif and wanna know how? go here for a photoshop tutorial. or go here for an elements tutorial.} {{NOTE for first-time participants: after you submit your entry and inlinkz takes you to the page where you can grab an image from your post for the thumbnail link, it will let you choose your gif image {and crop it, if you want}, but it will not actually show up, because it does not recognize gifs, so inlinkz uses the little blue cartoon face for the link instead. i'd rather have an image that reflects my blog for my link, so i just choose my profile picture instead.}}

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

the moving picture theme for next monday is creature. do whatever you like with that! i can't wait to find out what others might do! i'll see you with my next moving picture link-up in a week... and hopefully even sooner with a submission from you this week!

moving {beach waves and big bird that i don't know the name of} picture monday

i had hoped to get these done by this morning, but both catching up after vacation and getting a new computer yesterday put me behind for getting moving on my moving pictures. and on top of that, none of us have slept well here since we got home. we must be missing florida more than i realized.


anyway, if you were planning to participate with a moving picture, i apologize for the lateness of my post. i do always leave the link-up open all week, so there is always still time.

i should know the name of the bird you see above {do you?}, seeing as every time i go to the gulf, i see these big birds roaming the beach in search of fish to dive-bomb in the shallow waves. they are tall and awkward, but i think they are so cute. i just love their long legs and long necks... giving them so much character and whimsy to their walk. and that little flap of feathers on the back of their heads always gets me... the way it's always flapping around in the wind. too cute.

since the theme for this week is officially shapes {though, you are welcome to post any moving picture with any theme}, i thought i would add this moving picture in addition today...

our first night and first full day there, it rained. but by early evening of the first day, the rain stopped and gave way to a beautiful, dramatic cloud-filled sky. it was now nice enough to take a stroll on the beach and get some photos {though still quite cool}.


i could sit and watch waves wash ashore on the ocean all day long... i love the different shapes that the waves make as they tide in and out, leaving a trail of foam behind. it's interesting to watch how the shapes of each one interplay with each other.


i'm not in love with my photography for either animated gif this week. but i did take these outside at times when i could not see the lcd screen on my camera very well, so i had no idea if the photos were turning out right. {that's my excuse, and i'm stickin' to it! *wink*}

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

have you a moving picture today that you would like to link up with? just follow the steps below. i would love to see what you've done if you made one for this week... shapes or no shapes!

first, grab the button below{by copying and pasting the code that is in the box below the flying birds gif}and add it to the html of your moving picture postso that you can link back to the party here from your blog.
<center><a href="http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/search/label/moving%20pictures%20link-up"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF0xyJyhyphenhyphenVUMDHMy46d7YMcdYeAz1iyDGReI-DbtV-D47LrmzT__0_vJ-m729TX7Ln722GWySkClmZldqQpWjxezDi0R1dsPuc5LL6xheOZ0c3e1p4dBUdUcQqRLpC7Zs79KYGRQYKf4/s1600/moving-pictures-button_f.gif" /></a></center>
then link up to your post here, by adding your link at the end of this post in inlinkz.
and finally, have fun!
{never made and animated gif and wanna know how?go here for a photoshop tutorial.or go here for an elements tutorial.}
{{NOTE for first-time participants: after you submit your entry and inlinkz takes you to the page where you can grab an image from your post for the thumbnail link, it will let you choose your gif image {and crop it, if you want}, but it will not actually show up, because it does not recognize gifs, so inlinkz uses the little blue cartoon face for the link instead. i'd rather have an image that reflects my blog for my link, so i just choose my profile picture instead.}}

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

the moving picture theme for next monday is food. so many possibilities to get creative with there! i'll see you with my next moving picture link-up in a week... and hopefully even sooner with a submission from you this week!

have a great week!

little laundry girl

how cute is this little darling? she's my niece... isaac's only cousin from his dad's side of the family. the three of us paid a visit to the three of them {my niece and her mom and dad} last saturday. it was so much fun, and it was a trip i was very happy to make, especially for isaac's sake, as he rarely gets to see his sweet cousin who is just eight months older than he is.

a short while before her little "laundry-sorting" stunt, her mom had been telling me how much she enjoys taking clothes out of the dryer and putting them back in and repeating... doing so, meticulously {one item at a time} and repeatedly each time she finds a dryer-full. i found that to be adorable and thought to myself how sweet it must be to witness it. to my delight just minutes later, sure enough... little lu-lu {which is what i call her} found her way down the hallway and sat with the laundry-closet door and dryer door open, and all the clothes pulled out onto the carpet.

sitting among the clothes, i assume she was carefully examining each article to see if it was clean and dry. *wink*. so adorable it was!... and of course, i had to grab my camera to sneak up on her and capture it all.

here are some non-moving views of her playful mischief! {actually, it doesn't seem mischievous at all, when i think about it... rather, it seems like she is going to be one great helper... and possibly a clothing designer when she grows up??}




how cute are those curls?... and the big round eyes?!! i don't know which one makes me melt more. and then there are those ever-so-kissable baby cheeks that i just wanna pinch {gently, of course}!

she contemplates her about-to-be actions...

and she's off!


it's almost as if she was looking for something in particular... she was very determined.



as you can see, she did catch me catching her... after she first pulled the clothes out. but most of the time, she was not even aware of my shutter-happy presence. i kept back a bit so that she would not know i was there to record her every move. crouching down, i brought my camera low to the floor and snapped away. when i started clicking, i didn't have a moving picture in mind. but i thought the shots i got turned out to be perfect for one.

so, although the theme is for this week is shadows, i realized i could still use this animation... if i approach it from an "out-of-the-box" sort of angle. after all... i was taking the pictures from the shadows of the dim end of the hallway where she would not notice my presence. {i did have something fun and much more shadow-related planned for today's animation. but i simply could not get to setting it up and creating it during my very busy week. that's okay, though... the same "rule" that goes for everyone else should also apply to me too... the "rule" that says the theme each week is not a must to follow... it's just a suggestion.}

okay... so that's my late-but-better-than-never moving picture for this monday. for those of you who might have been waiting to participate, i apologize that it took me so long to post the link-up. i actually thought i might not get to it today. but i pulled it off at the last minute. and as always, it's open for a week... so there will be plenty of time to submit if you were planning to.

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

new to this and want to join the fun?

if you are a new reader here and don't know how to make animated gifs, but would like to, you can see my photoshop tutorial for making them here. if you have photoshop elements instead of regular ol' photoshop, you can read an excellent tutorial for making them here.

if you are not a new reader and/or already know how to make animated gifs, but have not linked up with one here before, here's what you do...

just grab the button below{by copying and pasting the code that is in the box below the flying birds gif}and add it to the html of your moving picture postso that you can link back to the party here from your blog.
<center><a href="http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/search/label/moving%20pictures%20link-up"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF0xyJyhyphenhyphenVUMDHMy46d7YMcdYeAz1iyDGReI-DbtV-D47LrmzT__0_vJ-m729TX7Ln722GWySkClmZldqQpWjxezDi0R1dsPuc5LL6xheOZ0c3e1p4dBUdUcQqRLpC7Zs79KYGRQYKf4/s1600/moving-pictures-button_f.gif" /></a></center>
then link up to your post here, by adding your link at the end of this post in inlinkz.
and finally, have fun!
{{NOTE for first-time participants: after you submit your entry and inlinkz takes you to the page where you can grab an image from your post for the thumbnail link, it will let you choose your gif image {and crop it, if you want}, but it will not actually show up, because it does not recognize gifs, so inlinkz uses the little blue cartoon face for the link instead. i'd rather have an image that reflects my blog for my link, so i just choose my profile picture instead.}}
•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

i was thinking i'll take a short break from these link-ups and skip next week. so, the moving picture theme for two weeks from today is shape. very vague... but that's the way i like to keep it! i'll see you with my next moving picture link-up in a couple weeks... and hopefully even sooner with your submission to this one!

have a great week!

moving picture monday {words edition}

good moving picture monday morning!... theme WORDS! the link-up is open for a week.


thanks so much to everyone who gave me feedback about m.p.m. last week! it was very much appreciated.

based on a couple conversations i had with others last week, i got the impression that not everyone caught that the theme for today is words... {it was sort of buried at the bottom of my post under a lot of rambling *wink*}. if you didn't catch it and have already done a moving picture that is not words-themed, no worries... please post anything you'd like!

in fact, that was what i wanted to make a special point of today... that even though i am now going to do moving picture mondays with a theme prompt, they will merely be a suggestion or something to nudge you in a direction if you are struggling to come up with an idea for your moving picture that week. but you are welcome to link up with any theme you like each and every week... as long as it's moving!

each week, i'll post the new theme for the week to come at the end of my post.

anyway, with words being the theme for today, i thought i'd play around with the blinds and the light coming through the window... highlighting one of my favorite words... create. i have this little decorative word stand in my office as a reminder to be creative... even on days when i might not feel creative or on days when i don't have as much time as i would like to devote to creativity. i know my animation isn't very elaborate. but with the busy easter weekend i had and the crazy busy couple weeks ahead, i had to keep it simple.

so i simply put my camera on the tripod and opened the blinds a little at a time... then closed them.... taking one shot in-between each rotation. it made for a nice play on shadows.

...speaking of which, that is the theme for next week... SHADOWS. play around and see what you can do with that for next week! {i try to keep the themes somewhat general so there will still be a lot of room for variety.} until then, i can't wait to see what you came up with today for the theme words, or otherwise.

if you have not participated before, here's what you do...



just grab the button below{by copying and pasting the code that is in the box below the flying birds gif}and add it to the html of your moving picture postso that you can link back to the party here from your blog.
<center><a href="http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/search/label/moving%20pictures%20link-up"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF0xyJyhyphenhyphenVUMDHMy46d7YMcdYeAz1iyDGReI-DbtV-D47LrmzT__0_vJ-m729TX7Ln722GWySkClmZldqQpWjxezDi0R1dsPuc5LL6xheOZ0c3e1p4dBUdUcQqRLpC7Zs79KYGRQYKf4/s1600/moving-pictures-button_f.gif" /></a></center>

then link up to your post here, by adding your link at the end of this post in inlinkz.

lastly, have fun!

{{NOTE for first-time participants: after you submit your entry and inlinkz takes you to the page where you can grab an image from your post for the thumbnail link, it will let you choose your gif image {and crop it, if you want}, but it will not actually show up, because it does not recognize gifs, so inlinkz uses the little blue cartoon face for the link instead. i'd rather have an image that reflects my blog for my link, so i just choose my profile picture instead.}}

if you are a new reader here and don't know how to make animated gifs, but would like to, you can see my photoshop tutorial for making them here. if you have photoshop elements instead of regular ol' photoshop, you can read an excellent tutorial for making them here.


once again... the theme for next week is SHADOWS.

moving picture monday {with a theme}... and a few questions {if you would be so kind as to answer them}

is it really monday already? wow, that week went by quickly! it seems like i did the last moving picture monday link-up just yesterday. i guess i've been away from blogland more than i thought i would be... i published only one other post since last monday's.

but here i am again for another link-up post... i made it back for the fourth moving picture link-up! i wasn't sure how long i would do this little project... i'm still not sure, actually. i guess it depends on how much interest others show. so far, there has not been an extremely large number of participants. but it's still early, so i want to give it a chance to get moving {haha...pun intended}. 

that's where you all will come in at the end of this post... or where i hope you will come in. i will be including a short questionnaire about moving picture mondays, so as to gage where i might go with it from this point on.

but on to the fun part for now... my moving picture!

after my lack-luster moving picture from last week, i thought i better come up with something a little more creative... something that looks like i put a little more time and effort into it. for this one, i simply put the camera on a tripod and set my focus button to manual. then, i just started snapping away, turning the lens a little each time between shots so as to bring the out-of-focus branch into focus and then back out again.


here is another less intricate version using a branch from that same tree, but one that has only just begun to emerge {it does not get as much sun as the rest of the tree, so it's a little bit behind}...

with today being only the second day of april, i wanted to use this shakespeare quote... "april hath put a spirit of youth in everything."

but then i decided my photos were not very "youthful", and i thought this quote was more suited...

yesterday the twig was brown and bare;

today the glint of green is there;

tomorrow will be leaflets spare;

i know no thing so wondrous fair,

no miracle so strangely rare.

i wonder what will next be there!

~l.h. bailey

before i wrap this post up with my last few thoughts {and questions} about moving picture mondays, i wanted to feature one of the moving picture submissions from last week... cathy's lovely animation of umbrellas in the rain.

i thought it went well with my springy theme today. i don't know why, but it reminds me of a nineteenth century painting... perhaps a "monet meets a rainy, moving version of seurat's most famous painting"?? isn't it fun? i wish i could feature them all, but for space' sake, i have to limit to just one per week. thank you so much to all who participated last week! {and each week so far!} i hope you all will be back again this week!

one of the photographers/bloggers who contributes here on moving picture mondays suggested that i offer a prompt or theme for these link-ups... so that those who might be interested in participating will have some sort of jumping point or inspiration to guide their animation concept... an idea of what to animate with their photos.

i actually thought of that back when i started moving picture monday, but i wasn't sure if i wanted to do that, because i wanted others to have the flexibility to do absolutely anything they wanted with these. and i thought that would make for some interesting variety, because that is what makes these so much fun... the endless possibilities! but then i realized it might be a good idea, so i'm going to try that out.

of course, if you were planning on submitting a link today, to an animation you already made, it will not have been made as a result of a theme given by me, since i did not give one last week. so for this week's link-up, i will leave it themeless. {although, the theme i chose to go with is emerge, and you can too... if you'd like! i thought it would go well with spring and the new life all around us in this new month of april. i may come back to that theme again before spring is over.}

okay... that's it!

if you are going to submit today with the theme of your own choosing and you've submitted before, you know the ropes. if you have not submitted before, here's what you do...

to join the fun, grab the button below{by copying and pasting the code that is in the box below the flying birds gif}and add it to the html of your moving picture postso that you can link back to the party here from your blog.
<center><a href="http://itsjusthowiseethings.blogspot.com/search/label/moving%20pictures%20link-up"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvF0xyJyhyphenhyphenVUMDHMy46d7YMcdYeAz1iyDGReI-DbtV-D47LrmzT__0_vJ-m729TX7Ln722GWySkClmZldqQpWjxezDi0R1dsPuc5LL6xheOZ0c3e1p4dBUdUcQqRLpC7Zs79KYGRQYKf4/s1600/moving-pictures-button_f.gif" /></a></center>
then... link up to your post here, by adding your link at the end of this post in inlinkz.
lastly, have fun!
{{NOTE: after you submit your entry and inlinkz takes you to the page where you can grab an image from your post for the thumbnail link, it will let you choose your gif image {and crop it, if you want}, but it will not actually show up, because it does not recognize gifs, so inlinkz uses the little blue cartoon face for the link instead. i'd rather have an image that reflects my blog for my link, so i just choose my profile picture instead.}}

if you didn't make a moving picture yet but planned on it, we can try out this new theme/prompt idea this week, and you go ahead and make your animation with the emerge theme, too... but don't feel like you have to!


if you are new here and don't know how to make animated gifs, but would like to, you can see my photoshop tutorial for making them here. if you have elements, you can read an excellent tutorial for making them here.

okay... one more thing...


if you would be so kind, can you answer these questions in a comment to help me get a better idea of where i should go with this moving picture monday endeavor?

one... should i keep doing moving picture mondays?... indefinitely? {i almost gave up last monday, because it looked like only one other person was going to join that week.} these take some time. i love to do them, but it's a lot of work to set up the link-up each week in addition to shooting and creating my animation. {especially when i have a baby at my ankles letting me know he wants me to play with him instead of other photographers/bloggers. *wink*} 

two... if i do keep hosting moving picture monday link-ups, should i incorporate the idea of giving a theme prompt each week? {in other words, are you less inclined to participate without some sort of guideline or inspiration for your animation subject?}

three... do you think i should do these once a month instead of every week? {i'm just wondering if readers choose not to participate because it's too time-consuming to be a weekly thing.} 

four... if you have not participated, is it because you don't like linky parties, or is it because while you do enjoy making animated gifs, you would rather do them on your own at your own pace, not within the community of a link-up atmosphere?

five... are you apprehensive to try making an animated gif {and thus joining the link-up} because making animations seems too difficult or intimidating?

six... if you have no interest in creating animations with your photos, do you still enjoy seeing others'? and if so, do you simply like to view, but choose not to comment on m.p.m. posts because you feel like you shouldn't join in on comments if you are not going to submit your own animation? {if that is the case for any of you, i hope you will not feel that way... i hope you know your are perfectly welcome to comment on m.p.m. posts, even if you are not participating with a moving picture of your own... and i'm guessing the other participants would appreciate your input, too! so, please... feel absolutely free to chime in.}

i think that's it for my questions. i hope i covered all that has me curious about what others think of moving picture mondays. and and all thoughts and ideas are very welcome! as always, i look forward to seeing any contributions. each week, i continue to be delighted seeing the creatively different things you all do with these. i hope you feel the same about my animations! and as always, i will leave the link-up open for a week! happy animating!


oops! sorry... one more thing again... feel free to leave some ideas for themes i can use in the coming weeks. but until i get your ideas, i'll go with one that i came up with for next week. it is words. it's a somewhat vague subject, i know. but i want to keep these themes more broad so that there is still a lot of room for a wide array of ideas that you can come up!