Album Bokeh Thursday from Janet Brien

Bokeh Thursday: Ice Cube

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 05:09:18 +0000

The theme this week is "Cold", so I went for something easy and fast, since I had a lot of moth pictures to finish up for my presentation. Although I got lots of nice choices to pick from, I only have time to share one this week! Next week I'll be more prepared!! :D

262/365: "Mishaps are like knives, that either serve us or cut us, as we grasp them by the blade or the handle." ~ James Russell Lowell

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 04:00:13 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

4 more pictures in notes above! :)

It's BOKEH THURSDAY again!! Today's theme is "Tools", so I went over to our shop and found some different tools that would make some fun, bokehlicious images. This one is my favorite, a utility knife in candy apple red with gnurled texture that burst into glorious bokeh in the sunshine! :D

James Russell Lowell (February 22, 1819 – August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets who rivaled the popularity of British poets. These poets usually used conventional forms and meters in their poetry, making them suitable for families entertaining at their fireside. Wikipedia: James Russell Lowell

Bokeh Thursday: Utility Knife in Bronze

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 04:00:05 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Steve loves cool gadgets, so when he found these utility knives, he needed to have one in red and one in this beautiful bronze color. Both of them are also perfect for BOKEH THURSDAY! :D

From Wiki:
A utility knife is a knife used for general or utility purposes. The utility knife was originally a fixed blade knife with a cutting edge suitable for general work such as cutting hides and cordage, scraping hides, butchering animals, cleaning fish, and other tasks. Craft knives are tools mostly used for crafts. Today, the term "utility knife" also includes small folding or retractable-blade knives suited for use in the modern workplace or in the construction industry.

Bokeh Thursday: Pair of Wrenches

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 03:59:57 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Here we have the open-end wrench and the socket wrench. Wiki's description says , "A wrench is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning."

Did you know that there are at least 47 kinds of wrenches???! WOW!! And, in England, wrenches are called "spanners", and the two tools above would be called an "open-ended spanner" and a "ring spanner"!

If you would like to know more about the ever-useful wrench, Wiki has a great page here: Wikipedia: Wrench

Bokeh Thursday: Shop Vac

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 03:59:47 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

How would we ever get by without the serious sucking power of our friendly, hard-working Shop-Vac?! These vacuum cleaners are like house vacuum cleaners on steroids!!

From Wiki:
Drum or shop vac models are essentially heavy-duty industrial versions of cylinder vacuum cleaners, where the canister consists of a large vertically positioned drum which can be stationary or on wheels. Smaller versions, for use in garages or small workshops, are usually electrically powered. Larger models, which can store over 200 litres (53 US gallons), are often hooked up to compressed air, utilizing the Venturi effect to produce a partial vacuum. Built-in dust collection systems are also used in many workshops.

Bokeh Thursday: Pen

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 20 Sep 2013 03:59:33 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Drawing a simple line can create fun bokeh too, and this ballpoint pen is the perfect tool for the job! :D

From Wiki:
A ballpoint pen is a writing instrument which dispenses a viscous ink from an internal reservoir through the rolling action of a metal ball at its point. This "ball point" may vary in diameter, and may be made of brass, steel, or tungsten carbide.

Originally conceived and developed as a cleaner and reliable alternative to quill and fountain pens, ballpoint pens are now the dominant writing instrument. Millions are manufactured and sold every day, worldwide, with low-cost and ubiquity assuring that there's always a ballpoint pen within reach.

This so-called "invention that changed the way we write" has also influenced the way art is made; some professional artists use ballpoints to create fine artwork. A popular disposable model has gained recognition for its industrial design as part of the permanent collection at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Designer ballpoints are also produced for the high-end market by pen manufacturers, and prized by collectors.

255/365: "The intention of a photographer is to capture the beauty in places, obvious or hidden, in which modern age and technology cause us to dismiss." ~ Anonymous

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 03:52:39 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

4 more pictures above!

IT'S BOKEH THURSDAY!!! HURRAY!!! :D This week's theme is "Fruity," so today I pulled out all the fruit we had, and I also looked online to confirm what I'd read somewhere: did you know that bell peppers are considered to be a fruit?! So are tomatoes, by the way!

I love to use water droplets for sparkly bokeh and use a spray bottle to mist my subjects. If too much water is sprayed on, droplets form and naturally I cannot resist taking pictures! This is a picture of a pair of bananas with the focus on a droplet that was slowly making its way down the skin. When I saw this on the computer I thought it looked like something from outer space! In fact, it looks like it could be a person who's sweating in fear, looking out at a planet beyond...maybe I'm slipping into dementia! :D

Explored on September 13, 2013. Highest placement, page 3.

Bokeh Thursday: Raisin Bokeh

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 03:52:22 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Our friend Michael has a grape vine in his back yard and he's been giving us bags of grapes whenever we visit. I found this shriveled up grape at the bottom of the bag and thought it would make a great subject!

Bokeh Thursday: Group of Grapes Bokeh

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 03:52:12 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

The grapes we get from our friend Michael are smaller than store grapes and round instead of oblong. They are deliciously sweet and though they contain seeds, they're not hard and don't need to be removed. We wolf these tasty grapes down by the groupful! :D

Trivia question!
Do you know the answer to this without looking it up on the internet?
Who refers to a "bunch" of grapes as a "group" of grapes?! I never call them bunches ever since I learned this and I absolutely love it when people try to correct me when I say I have a "group" of grapes! :D

WHO SAID IT?! :D

Bokeh Thursday: Orange Bell Pepper Bokeh

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 03:51:56 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

I had a lot of fun slicing a bell pepper in half and taking pictures! They are really gorgeous and interesting at a macro level! I also learned a lot. Most especially, I needed a deeper depth of field to get the pictures I was hoping for, so I'll retake them at a later date. I did get some nice pictures though, and I especially liked the way this one looks, like some strange orange cave with a stalactite forming!

By the way, do you know the easy way to tell which is the right word: stalagmite or stalactite? I found a super page on wiki to explain! Wikihow.com: Tell the Difference-Between Stalagmites and Stalactites

Use the term stalagmite when you are referring to the calcite deposits that build up from the floor. Think of ground, which starts with "g", which is also in stalagmite, to help you remember.

Use the term stalactite when your are referring to the calcite deposits that build down from the roof of the cave. Think icicles, or ceiling, words which also have the letter "c" in them, to help you remember.

Bokeh Thursday: Sea of Grapes Bokeh

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 03:51:41 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Have you ever noticed the condensation on grapes when you take them out of the refrigerator? This is what that condensation looks like when a macro picture is taken with sunlight hitting it! :D

Bokeh Thursday: Inchworm

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 03:55:16 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

3 pictures above in notes! ENJOY!

When I found out the weekly challenge was "Measurements", I had fun thinking about what I should take pictures of. Then, I went to take care of my caterpillars and it hit me! I sang out loud to my big, fat, fluffy caterpillars, "Inchworm... Inchworm... measuring the Marigold... you and your arithmetic... you'll probably go far..." All night long I was humming that song! :D

This morning I found a caterpillar that was an inch long and used him as a model on my ruler! Then, I took him outside an placed him on one of my Marigold seedlings and he measured the stem for me... 1" long! :D (see the inset picture!)

If you'd like to see the video from "Hans Christian Andersen", it's just wonderful and features Danny Kaye singing "Inchworm"...ENJOY!!! :D "Inchworm" from "Hans Christian Andersen"

(I have two other picks for Bokeh Thursday in the next images! :)

Bokeh Thursday: Micrometer

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 03:55:07 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Over at our shop, Steve has all kinds of interesting tools for measuring. This one is my favorite!

From Wiki: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrometer
A micrometer (/maɪˈkrɒmɨtər/ US dict: mī·krŏm′·ĭ·tər), sometimes known as a micrometer screw gauge, is a device incorporating a calibrated screw used widely for precise measurement of small distances in mechanical engineering and machining as well as most mechanical trades, along with other metrological instruments such as dial, vernier, and digital calipers. Micrometers are similar in use to vernier calipers but are more precise although the modern digital caliper has blurred the distinction between them. A precision instrument for measuring very small distances. A typical one is the micrometer caliper. The spindle is a very accurately machined screw. It is moved by turning the ratchet knob or thimble until the object to be measured is just barely enclosed between the spindle and the anvil.

Bokeh Thursday: Power Meter with Texture

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 03:54:58 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Around the outside of our house is our power meter and I thought it might make a fun bokeh image for the Measurements theme. I added some texture to give it some depth. Thanks to Jerry Jones (SkeletalMess on Flickr) for What the Faux

Bokeh Thursday: Jeweled Beads in Water

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 03:23:30 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

3 other pictures in notes above!

Always so excited about Thursday because I get to partake in the weekly challenge for Bokeh Thursday! This week's theme is "Water". No restrictions, so I had fun trying a few things and ended up with this image of jeweled beads sitting in a large drops of water! The other dozen attempts didn't work, and I tried taking pictures of water splashing on a mirrored surface and no...I wasn't satisfied by any of the 40+ attempts I made! :D This picture I was really happy with though, I hope you like it! :)

(You can see my other 3 picks for Bokeh Thursday above in notes, or you can see the larger versions!)

Bokeh Thursday: Silvery Water Beads on Roscoe's Web!

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 03:23:21 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

2 more pictures in notes above!

I originally planned to take this pictures with Portia, the beautiful Golden Orbweaver who lives next to our porch, but the pictures didn't even come close to turning out. Portia wasn't impressed by me spraying misty water on her and I didn't want to frighten her so I went inside to think of what to do. HELLO? ROSCOE'S WEB! Every day, Roscoe hangs out up in the corner of her nook, but the beautiful orb web she built the night before is usually still intact during the day. How perfect. No spider to disturb! I sprayed the web with water and grabbed the camera with my Twin-Lite flash attachment in place and took a bunch of pictures! It was really, REALLY windy, so even though I was using a flash, I had problems with blur in many pictures. I'd wait for the web to be still and take pictures but at macro scale, even a breeze will make the subject move enough to be blurry. However, I did get a few nice ones, including this one! :)

Bokeh Thursday: Blue Water Beads on Roscoe's Web!

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 03:23:13 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

For this picture, I decided to use Topaz Labs' Black & White Effects, which is an ENORMOUS suite of filters in black and white and mono- and duo-tones, plus many specialized filters too. Powerful, fun, ultimately customizable, I always love to have the excuse to use this fine set of filters! This particular filter was in their Cyanotype collection, called "Yale Sky."

By the way, if you're interested in trying this amazing set of filters out, Topaz gives out free trials to let you try their products. If you like playing in black and white, you will LOVE these filters!! Topaz Labs: Product Downloads

Bokeh Thursday: Pair of Water Beads on Roscoe's Web!

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 30 Aug 2013 03:23:07 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Here is a pair of water beads clustered together on Roscoe's web. Natural coloring on this one, isn't it cool how using a flash can dramatically change the way your background looks?!

Bokeh Thursday: Cha-Ching

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 02:59:49 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

2 more pictures above in notes and a link to a music video too!

I really enjoyed myself with this week's Bokeh Thursday challenge! I took many different pictures but this one was my favorite and features a Mexican 50 centavos piece! Please roll over the picture to see my other two pictures! :)

Bokeh Thursday: I See Me!

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 02:55:58 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

This morning I was replying to comments when I ran into one of my groupmates in the Bokeh Thursday group. They had a picture up for today's theme, "In the Kitchen," and I screamed at the monitor, "AHHHHHH!! I FORGOT!!!" Well, no worries, it was the morning, but it's so much fun to get dramatic! :D

I grabbed my camera and macro flash and entered the kitchen, wondering what wonderful thing I would find for the theme. My first idea was a shiny tea strainer, and it worked quite nicely, but I wanted a second subject, so I looked for something else. Hmm...*pulling open drawers*..."OH! MEASURING SPOONS!!" It didn't even occur to me that I could turn this into a silly selfie...I started out with my flash on, and getting blown out shots from the reflected spoons...so, I turned off the flash and tried again. "HEY!!! LOOK AT THE SILLY GIRL IN THE SPOON!!!! YAYYY!!!" :D Since the spoon's reflection turned me upside-down, I did the same to this image and now you guys can see me taking this picture with the flash attachment in place but not turned on! NEATO!! Oh yeah, fun bokeh too! :D :D

By the way, if you enjoy taking pictures with bokeh in them, you might be interested in this group. Lots of very nice people and we would love to have more join in the fun! Bokeh Thursday