Photos, videos and docs of Janet Brien, with the keywords: "collage"

Agate Collage & Taking a Short Break (+5 insets!)

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Tue, 10 Mar 2020 17:22:29 +0000

(+5 insets!)

For the first time in my 55 years, I am experiencing what it's like to deal with two world-wide catastrophes: a real pandemic and the worst world-market crash in history. On top of that, it's an election year. That's a lot--it translates to be a very disturbing brew of anxiety, stress and fear. We joke, "the world is going crazy" but right now it's actually the reality in many places. Stores are devoid of cleaning, disinfecting and many medical supplies. People are hoarding. The populace is warned not to gather--the entire country of Italy is on lockdown…it's almost unbelievable!

It stands to reason that everything going on right now is very disturbing--and from what I can tell it's not going to get better for a long time. It feels very overwhelming because there is horrible news on so many levels, in so many directions. Even by limiting my exposure of news, it's still hard to see even the headlines as the world seems to figuratively crash and burn around us.

Although this coronavirus is really more like a bad cold to the overwhelming majority of the population, I know a lot of older folk who I love dearly, and this virus has a field day with anyone who has respiratory problems and/or those who are over 60. It's very hard for me to deal with this fear for the people I know who are susceptible.

My natural inclination in this circumstance is to run and hide, something I've always done. Maybe it's not the best way to deal with situations but it's how I tend to be.

The way I choose to "check out" is to disappear into a game for a while until I feel like the coast is clear. So that's what I'm doing right now and it's helping a lot. I'm not worrying as much anymore about everything, all day long, and the waters are calming down.

That being said, I'm not going to be around ipernity for a little while…could be a few days, could be a few weeks. I don't know. I did want everyone to know that Steve and I are fine and very happy to be on our rural oasis on 26 acres!

Today's Pictures
When I took pictures of my second batch of tumbled stones last week, there was one rock that I loved but which didn't fit into my 9x9 grid, so I'm sharing a triptych of it today! It's an agate which I found on our property and though it's not a really fabulous example of agate, it's totally spectacular in its own right, and so I've presented it to all of you to enjoy too! :) You'll find an enlarged inset for each of the views and I hope you love this pretty rock as much as I do! :)

I am also sharing two insets which show the incredible bed and drawers that Steve built for me!! Our RV has two bedrooms--the master and another bedroom which is quite tiny but perfect! This little room came with a couch and fold-out bed but we never intended to keep it. Instead, we pulled out the couch, Steve built me a bed frame and we ordered a custom mattress to fit the space (the mattress was surprisingly affordable at $130 and is the most comfortable bed I've ever had!). Then Steve built me three deep drawers with soft-close slides and spent quite a while to get a blended stain which went with the trailer. He finished last week and I am absolutely over the moon with joy. The whole unit is so professional that it looks like it came that way to begin with! I'm so happy!! YAY STEVE!! :) (By the way, the reason Steve and I sleep apart is because he snores and this way we both get a good night's rest.) :)

*****
Pam, I loved your comments about my rocks, thank you so much! And I have to admit…*blush*…I too, have licked rocks to see what they look like when wet! LOL…I'm actually going to bring a spray bottle with me when I go hunting so I can get an indication whether a rock is worth picking up or not. I'm glad you enjoyed my show, it has been very gratifying to know that so many people really liked seeing all of my rocks. :) Anyway, I hope you are doing ok! You've certainly been in my thoughts lately. Stay safe my dear! *BIG HUGS from my oasis in southern Oregon*

Explored on 3/11/20; highest placement #14.

365 Project: December Collage

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Thu, 02 Jan 2014 04:48:15 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

This is the last picture of my 365 Project, the December collage. What a crazy challenge. Now that it's over, I'm kind of amazed that I was successful, given all the issues that could have gotten in the way. I am going to take a very short break from photography. It won't be long, but I want to do something else for a while, just to refresh myself. I'm not burned out at all, but I would like to have a couple of weeks where I don't think about taking pictures. I plan to post images here, but I'm going to put photography on the back burner for a little while. I have work projects and other things going on, so it will be nice to have this committment off my shoulders to concentrate on other things.

Hooray, I'm done with my 365!! :)

Snowy Fliers!

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 06:00:37 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

While I was taking pictures, I managed to get some birds in flight, and though they aren't the best in clarity, I think they are really neat, especially the one which shows the Junco with open wings and its reflection in the heated bird bath! :)

Amazing Find: Cannonball Fungus!!!!

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 04:52:17 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

7 pictures above in notes (1 enlarged version for each collage picture and three other pictures)

This kind of find is so exciting to me! I've never seen anything like it before, and though I spent a long time searching online, I couldn't find any pictures of this type (species info below!). In any event, I was delighted to have found this interesting fungus. With globes, each stands only 2-3 mm in height, very small.

A HUGE THANK YOU AND HUG to Chrissy for identifying this fungus for me!!!! It's called Cannonball Fungus, or "Sphaerobolus stellatus" and you aren't even going to believe this...like its name says, it HURLS a "cannonball" of spores (see inset image) away from itself to spread its spores!!! Check out this animated gif here to see! Cannonball Fungus in Action! ) Can you say TOTALLY COOL AND AMAZING?!!!!! WOW!!! Here's more information about this cool fungus, and once again, THANK YOU CHRISSY!!! :D Tom Volk's Fungus of the Month for July 2005: Sphaerobolus stellatus, the Cannonball Fungus

365 Project: October Collage

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 02 Nov 2013 04:40:21 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

How can it be that there are only two months left in this project?! And to think I've taken pictures every single day for over 300 days now...it's just insane! :D In fact, it has become such an entegral part of me that I can hardly remember not doing it! Thanks to all of you for the wonderful support and encouragement you've given me through the months! *hugs all around* :)

Spotted Towee in a Tiff (Angry Bird!) :D

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Tue, 29 Oct 2013 05:09:22 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Note above for translating! :)

As I was stepping outside to walk down to the Parasol mushroom, I heard a couple of birds yelling at each other and slowly creeped closer to see if I could spot either bird. Happily I was able to watch this angry Spotted Towee tell the other one how unimpressed he was and exactly how he felt about the situation! :D

From Wiki:
The Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) is a large New World sparrow. The taxonomy of the towhees has been debated in recent decades, and formerly this bird and the Eastern Towhee were considered a single species, the Rufous-sided Towhee. An archaic name for the Spotted Towhee is the Oregon Towhee (Pipilo maculatus oregonus).

Morning Romp! (and lots of notes!)

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 12 Oct 2013 04:11:21 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Many notes above full of fun and frolic! :D

This morning when I went out with my camera to get my Picture of the Day, I took the dogs with me and had a great time watching them run around and play. All three of them were in high spirits, and even Molly--who doesn't usually bother with Zoe and Moosie's games--joined in for the fun and games! :) With such silliness going on, I thought it would be a great opportunity to take pictures of them!

365 Project: August Collage

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 02 Sep 2013 04:20:13 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

And down goes another month! It's gotten to the point with my 365 project that it seems as if I've always taken pictures every single day. It is so interesting to me how my whole day revolves around my project. On one hand it's not so great, because I'm so focused on getting my pictures taken that I am very protective of my time and sometimes feel worried if we spend the whole day out because I need to be sure to get my picture done. On the other hand, I'm very good about going out and spending just a short time taking pictures and I'm finally ok with it. That used to be a real battle for me. I'd see something I wanted to take pictures of, but I knew I already had plenty of images to choose from for my project, so I'd force myself not to take the pictures, which would make me very annoyed. Now it doesn't bother me at all. Unlike at the beginning of the project, I'm now confident that the relatively small number of pictures I take will be plenty. Only rarely do I have to take more. It's nice to be getting a higher ratio of good pictures, and I can tell you this: I would not be as good at photography if I hadn't taken on this challenging project! It's made me a bit obsessed about getting my pictures done, but it's a small tradeoff for getting such a rich reward!

Busy Little Ants!

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 20:31:26 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

1 note above (top right)

This collage shows "near misses" of some ants that I captured running up and down a Chicory stem. They were getting ready to cut down the flower stamens and then haul them away to thier ant hill. They were running around so fast that I didn't think I'd have a single picture that would work. As it was you can see that my depth of field is too shallow on all of these pictures. I only got a fine sliver of each ant, not good enough. In order to compensate for their fast movement, I made sure to take pictures in the bright light and with a higher ISO. It worked quite well, except that I should have upped my aperture to include more of the ant in focus.

365 Project: July Collage

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 03:56:16 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

It really is incredible to see the months passing by, day by day, picture by picture. I've had a fantastic time, I've grown so much as a photographer, and I've made so many friends here on ipernity! It's great to be here, and I'd like to say thank you for all the support!! I started this project over on Flickr, but I'll be finishing it here on ipernity! My how times have changed since the beginning of this project!!

Jumping Spider Collage

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 24 Jun 2013 03:25:54 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Jumping Spiders are favorites for many people who like arachnids. It's easy to understand why. They are extremely curious and intelligent and will turn around to look at things, including YOU! They are fun to watch as they crawl around and they can jump quite a distance for their small size! In fact, they will often jump on your camera lens if you get too close! Jumping Spiders also have extremely good eyesight and they are easy to recognize because their main pair of eyes is very large and look like headlamps! There are over 5,000 species all over the world, and some species are so beautiful they would take your breath away! Here's one type called a Peacock Jumping Spider!

Soggy Birds!

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:15:32 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

It has been raining like cats and dogs the past couple of days and even though we hoped for snow, we're very happy to see the downpour, as it's been unseasonably dry this year and we need the rain badly. However, the birds are getting a little tired of the wet conditions! I couldn't resist taking pictures and you know, I don't think they are very impressed with me! :D :D :D

This image was taken in January, 2012.

European Starlings: Can't We All Just Get Along?

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:23:58 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

In regards to our feisty, noisy new visitors, the European Starlings, I think it's only fair to share some images of their rude behavior when at the feeders! They have absolutely no manners and spend more time chasing one another from the feeders than they do actually eating! They also don't care if the part of the bird feeder they're going to land on happens to be A BIRD...were these birds raised by a pack of wolves?! :D :D :D

This image was taken in January, 2012.

European Starlings: Look What I Can Do!

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:11:11 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

This picture makes me laugh. Even though this male European Starling is just landing next to this female, it looks like he's showing off like a little kid trying to get attention, "Look What I Can Do?!" So funny!! :D :D :D

This image was taken in January, 2012.

European Starlings: Beautiful Details

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:20:40 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Every day now for the past couple of weeks, we've been visited by a flock of about 20 marauding, noisy European Starlings that descend upon our feeders like feather-covered locusts. They are as beautiful as they are boisterous, and this collage is an attempt to highlight their irredescent array of colors. I have taken the liberty of pumping up the saturation a little bit, but when the sun shines on their feathers, these colors are true! They are absolutely stunning birds!!

This image was taken in January, 2012.

European Starling Male in Flight

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:13:52 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

We have been getting visits from a new species of bird at our feeders, the European Starling. These birds zoom around in a tight flock and are noisy, aggressive, quick-moving birds that remind us of a bunch of punks that get what they want by pushing all the other birds out of the way. However, they are also stunning to see! We've been taking pictures from our kitchen window through the glass and this is a collage of a bird flying up to land on a wire crook under one of the feeders. They aren't really clear but I thought they were neat enough to share as a collage! I hope you like them! :)

I have two other images uploaded today that I hope you'll take the time to see!

Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :)

This image was taken in January, 2012.

Dumping Water on the Burn Pile

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 04:12:42 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

Yesterday's collage included a picture of Steve pouring water on the burn pile at the end of the day. However, I realized that unless you KNEW what you were looking at, the picture was completely confusing. After all, how many people use a tractor's bucket to pour water on a burn pile?! In fact, before we start our burn, Steve puts our tractor nearby, raises the bucket up, and fills it with water as a standby in case of an emergency. (The people next door have had run-away burns TWICE; just last week they had the fire department come out to douse a burn...YIKES.) We also have a hose there and I routinely spray around the edges of the burn if I see any indication of scorching.

Steve discovered last year that dumping a bucket of water from the tractor is perfect for dousing the fire! Using a hose works ok, but dumping a massive amount really drowns and cools the whole burn area. We have discovered that using a hose to douse a fire isn't thorough and even when you're SURE you put the fire out, DAYS LATER, the embers will sometimes burst into flame again. It's hard to put the base of a fire out completely, but this method really works!

It's also fun to photograph! This collage shows pictures of two separate water dumps. (He put three loads of water on just to be sure the fire was completely out.)

365 Project: February Collage

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 04:47:09 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

How amazing!! Two months have now passed in my 365 Project! It continues to be a huge delight in my day and I try very hard to take pictures that are interesting and high quality. I think that my photography continues to improve with this challenge, so I couldn't be happier! A huge thanks to each and every one of you who have followed my project, supported me and left me so many fantastic comments!

I got to see Red Stiletto's 365 collage before I began putting mine together and I really liked her idea to showcase the most popular picture of the month, so that's what I did for mine too! That Sharp-Shinned Hawk got Explored to #95 and has gotten 897 views so far, holy cow!! :D

Reunited! (I wish this was my 365 pick!)

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:44:16 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

About a month ago, Zoe took her favorite tennis ball on our walk, but at one point she dropped it at the edge of our frozen pond, where it rolled out onto the ice. Oh, that was a very sad panda!! I kept an eye on the ball, and yesterday I finally found it bobbing at the edge of the pond. I called Zoe over and when she saw her ball, she got very excited and cautiously scooped it up. Suddenly, all was right with the world again!! We went up to the house and I got my camera and spent the next 10 minutes tossing it for her to chase and fetch while I clicked away! I had such fun taking these pictures, I kept looking to see if I got anything good and couldn't stop laughing! This set of pictures is my very best pet portraiture to date in my opinion because I think I've totally nailed Zoe's personality!

Luscious Leaves

nobody@ipernity.com (Janet Brien) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:34:13 +0000

Janet Brien has posted:

[best appreciated at full size against black]

How in the world did I forget about this collage? I'd been putting this together back in January and then put it aside for some reason...and forgot about it! EEK! A week or so ago, I was looking through my staggering numbers of photo folders when I found this file! I had some pictures that were too small for my regular finished size but I thought they were too pretty to not show, so I put them together into this collage! The only thing I had left to do with the picture was to add the text at the bottom, so here it is! :D

These images were taken in January, 2012.