Well, I normally don’t mess with my camera settings much, hoping just to get the most accurate representation I can for pretty flower and scenic shots, but . . . I was at a conference of the Graphic Artists Guild and at the awards dinner someone showed me this cool technique. You set the shutter speed to 1/4 second and make the flash fire and sort of swoop the camera while you’re snapping the shutter. It helps to have a bright light source in the view, too. And yes, this one IS straight out of the camera! Was this fun or what? Please let me know if you like experiments like this, or if I should stick to flowers and scenic shots.

I found this site, ACoLab, that encourages artists to move a bit out of their comfort zones and the current theme is “Dreamland.”

If there is only one photo here and you’d like to see the whole blog, click on Sara’s Fave Photos.

I just love the way this rose looks. So tenderly colored, so perfect.

Pink Saturday has lots more pink things, and SOOC has more straight-out-of-the-camera photos. Today’s Flowers has blooms from around the world. Do check it out!

I’m trying out something new, for me: Twitter. Hey, better late than never. You can follow me @SaraLChapman, and I’ll be letting the world and my Twitter followers know about new posts here as they arise from my magic computer.

If there’s only one photo here, you’ve arrived from a link. To see the entire blog, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos, here or above.

I took this for the bright colors of the purple flower, but really, I think the black one is more interesting. Can you see the silky texture of the petals? I once saw a huge Georgia O’Keefe painting of a white and a very dark petunia, and the brilliant, almost iridescent quality of the actual painting of the dark one made me a fan of in-person art forever. In any case, I think it’s amazing what growers have accomplished. Truly this pansy is practically black. No color or other adjustments have been made.

Visit SOOC for more straight-out-of-the-camera photos, Color Carnival for more bright colors and Macro Flowers Saturday for more of those. If there’s just one photo here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for more.

Kale can be quite delicious if you cook it right, but this kind is just for pretty, as my mom used to say. A local nursery had such a nice collection. It’s practically a flower, don’t you think?

Visit Macro Friday for more macros of all kinds. This one is SOOC, or straight out of the camera. And as usual, if there’s just one photo here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the full blog.

I like the lighting on this post a lot so I’ve put it in the Best Post of the Week category. I hope you agree.

I know everyone likes the sunshiny skies, but since this IS Seattle, once in awhile I have to show what it truly looks like. These clouds over Volunteer Park do have a little tone variation, and you can tell I’ve lived here for a bit, because I do appreciate that the clouds aren’t just one tone of gray! Seattle doesn’t actually get any more rain than New York City, say, only about 36 inches a year on average, but it sure is cloudy, a lot. Did I mention dark and cloudy?

Anyway, be sure to visit Skywatch Friday for more skies all around the world. Outdoor Wednesday has more outdoor photos of all kind, and Scenic Sunday has more great scenery. If there’s just one photo here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the full blog.

Here’s a video with a few seconds of water gently splashing into the fountain surrounded by ferns at the Volunteer Park Conservatory.

Visit Watery Wednesday for more kinds of water photos. Weekend Reflections has more intriguing visual reflections for you, too. And if there’s just this one video here, no photos, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the full blog. Don’t forget to scroll down for the hungry fish at the bottom of the page.

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a leaf with colors like this. Some kind of maple, for sure. I took this in the open shade, on a sunny day right after a lot of rain, so the wet road is actually reflecting the blue sky above it. Believe it or not, the color is totally accurate, or SOOC (straight out of the camera).

Do visit Ruby Tuesday for more photos with red as a key component, Mellow Yellow Monday for yellows, and Macro Monday for more close ups. Color Carnival has more bright colors.

As always, if there’s just one photo here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the whole blog.

Here’s a shot from the archives of pretty pink azaleas, taken at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in January (!) Thought you’d like a cheerful flower photo on this gray day here in Seattle.

I’m trying out something new, for me: Twitter. Hey, better late than never. You can follow me @SaraLChapman, and I’ll be letting the world and my followers know about new posts as they arise from my magic computer.

Visit Macro Monday for more neat close ups, if you have a chance. And if there’s only this one photo here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the whole blog enchilada.

The weather is gray and rainy, no surprise for Seattle, so here’s some sunflowers taken last month at the Pike Place Market to cheer us up.

Today’s Flowers has more pretty flowers all around the world, Mellow Yellow Monday has more photos with a splash of yellow, and Color Carnival has more bright colors for you. Visit and enjoy!

As usual, if you see only one photo on this page, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the rest of ’em!

I’m not sure what to call this hallway I saw in the airport the other day. It certainly looks like waves to me. Since it was practically monotone anyway, I thought I’d go all the way to black and white. Can you see the height of the high heels the woman is wearing? I hesitate to tweak the lighting too much to show them well, as I’m afraid of ruining the mood. What do you think?

Visit Hey Harriet for neat shadows and Weekend Reflections for more reflection photos. A new meme, Sunday Creative, asks for posts with the theme of “Lonely.” I think this qualifies.

If you see only one photo below, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos for a page with a surprise at the bottom.