“ Hard Day Exhaustion (inspired by Walker Evans) ” I used the random generator and was given American photographer Walker Evans. The photojournalist was best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration documenting the effects of the Great Depression, although he did work before 1929 and after. I knew I would submit a B&W photo for sure and set out thinking about different backdrops. On Tuesday my husband was working outside all day in the cold and he had a hard da

"Rogue Mum" I didn't have a lot of time this week, but I grabbed a few photos here and there as I was cleaning stuff out and while walking the dog. Fill the Frame week is one of my favorite challenge weeks. I planted some mums a few years ago and didn't expect them to come back and here we are on the third year. This year the plants are pretty lanky and the flowers are a little past their prime, but I still liked this close up. Out of all my photos this was the only one that

“ Zoom! ” This old pickup truck is behind an antique store & used to be hidden from view until a bike trail was just paved behind the building over the old rail tracks. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it as I was striding up the trail. I actually took a photo of it on Week 44, but someone said - use that for Wabi-Sabi & thankfully I was still in the area to do it this week. I took photos of it on Monday & I'll post those on my blog, but on Thursday I went striding

"Nope, Nope, Nope, and Nope" 1st idea for the week: my regularly scheduled dental cleaning because I was terrified of dentists for years. My dentist said it couldn't be allowed though because another patient had just unknowingly taken photos & there was a fine because of it. 2nd idea for the week: the elevator for 2 reasons - my new dog is scared of it & I've been stuck in enough of them that I have a healthy suspicion. But I couldn't get an elevator by myself for long enoug

“ Walls Aren't Just for Buildings ” This was a fast photo at 70mph and I was not driving just to clarify that upfront. As we approached this mountain pass on Friday it just struck me how this really is a wall. Carved decades ago for the highway, it stands mightily above the drivers going through the pass. I loved the colors of the rock and the curve of the wall. This week I looked for arches, but couldn't find a one, I'll probably find several on Monday. LOL. I did take sever

"It's All in the Hand" Last year I did a last minute photo for "Low Key" and I didn't challenge myself really. This year I decided to work on something everyday and do a variety of objects and techniques. I even went a little "horror" with a few of the pictures which is totally NOT me. I'll post them at NicoleBeusHarris.com/blog just for fun. What I learned this week - I have to use a tripod when working with low light situations, my hands shake too much these days. I also le

“ Stepping Out Boldly ” It's the first week of year 3 for me & I'm stepping out of my comfort zone. See I'm usually very comfortable being the wall flower. I like being behind the scenes & I like to be unnoticed. That's not always an easy thing to do with how my life changed 7 years ago, but now I need to take control of it & step out in the manner of my choosing. It's a new 52F year & a new stage of life for me. (Background - I had an idea for a white concrete wall as the ba

“Fear of Failure, Fear of Success, an Ode to week 104” My 104th consecutive week and I was really looking forward to this challenge, but as usual I procrastinated, over-thought, and reworked my ideas! Anyone else look forward to things and then completely shutdown when it's time? Sometimes you concentrate on the failures of the past or just keeping everything from falling down behind you, so much so that you fall just short of the end goal. This is what I like to refer to as

“ I Feel Like a Giant! ” My life varies a lot, that happens when your life is a political calendar & things change by the hour - so I chose the only thing that is almost a daily routine for me. I bought this elliptical strider on June 1st & could barely get down my driveway & back, but now I'm doing 3-4 miles a day the majority of days. I hope to get up to 10 miles in an hour as my ultimate goal, but I also get stopped daily by people wanting to know what it is & how hard it

"Natural Curves" I took photos throughout the week and there were several I wanted to submit and didn't, but there was some wailing and gnashing of teeth trying to decide. Even the 4 people I rely on to break the tie in my head all had a different favorite. Finally today (Sunday) they all "liked" my last photo which I am submitting. Now mind you - it's still no ones favorite but they all thought it was in the top 2 or 3 of my photos this week, so I ran with it. I thought abou

“Last Day of Summer” My husband and I swim a minimum of a half mile a day Memorial Day through Labor Day - it's our summer tradition. Today (yes I took this and submitted it on Monday - new record for me) we swam a mile which is also our tradition to close down the pool. It was the perfect day for the pool - temperature, low wind, friendly neighbors, and lots of sun. Since this week's challenge was "Man" I figured this was a good way to capture my husband and the end of summe

“ Last Birthday? ” So my birthday hit me a little hard this week since all the kids forgot it was my birthday, but there was another reason as well - I got into a pattern of thinking about last birthdays. I've had several friends die in the last year and it really makes you think about your own mortality even if you're not that old. You add COVID into the mix and I think we've all thought about mortality quite a bit. I wanted myself faded and blurred out to a good degree beca

“ Not Your Mother's Opera Glasses ” I found these retro "opera glasses" at an antique store this week and I liked that they were more modern than my real vintage pairs. I felt the age of them would work in a photograph advertisement whereas the older pairs would have been historically drawn. I originally had a much more elaborate plan for an advertisement and my first attempt at the ad was more complicated, but not as intricate as my mind had envisioned. I think I always over

"Finding Peace" I didn't feel like taking photos much this week after I took so many pics of my dear Reagan dog while he was dying. I originally had planned on using his curly hair as my texture photo. So this photo will have to do to keep my streak alive. I am very blessed to live so close to the water and many different little beaches and docks. This one that we came upon on Saturday is at a quiet retreat for veterans who need to recover. I really liked how the sand was was

“Darkness & Depression” I'm going to be really real right now - my son, my constant companion as a single mom for 14 years, leaves for college this week and I'm not handling it well. I know that I'm supposed to be happy and it's a new stage and my husband (for the last 4 years) and I get more time together - but this photo is how I am feeling right now. I have 5 step-children (also all grown) and I have step-grandchildren, some local and some distant and I enjoy them all, but

“Who let the dogs out?” I used the random generator & got a much easier song line this year than last. So I thought about doing the real meaning of the song, but couldn't find willing models. Then I thought about stinky feet coming out of shoes, but after the laughter died down and considering I had a house full of family visiting this week I went for the easy shot - my dog. This is Reagan, he's been in some other photos, but he didn't mind posing again. We took him out on th

We may be partners because we're married, but we're also each others biggest rivals. We have contests in how fast we swim our daily half mile, shoot at the range, chess, Scrabble, and air hockey! About a year and a half ago - right before COVID - we picked up a used air hockey table at a local auction. It cost us a 'whopping' $40 for this 7 foot table that takes up a good third of the guest bedroom for the grandkids. Yet it is so worth the real estate that it occupies. Not on

"Hubby's Favorite" Distortion is a lot harder than it sounds - sure you can play around and lots of shots are distorted, but finding something that speaks to you can be difficult. This was a Sunday night photo and it is my husband's favorite picture from this week. It was recommended that I try to crop out the marina on the left, but we felt it took away from the clouds appearing like steam rising from the glass. So I just tried to mute the colors a bit more and make it less

“ Antique Calligraphy/Pen Nibs ” I actually do a lot of photography for my clients, but this week stumped me. I didn't want to show any favoritism by promoting one over others in the challenge. I also did not have my lightbox with me, so this week's photo required more clean up than it would have had I had it. What I did have is an antique store display full of Speedball nibs & so I used it. My thought process was thinking about a magazine ad & something clever to say that mi

“ Double the Pleasure ” This wasn't my planned photo at all this week, but in the 7 years I have been on the Eastern Shore for summers - this was the first time that both paddle boats came down the creek at the same time. I couldn't resist. I still get so excited when I see the drawbridge go up and I hear the paddle boats slowly coming down the creek. I'm like a child being handed a present to unwrap. I take a photo every single time I see them. So Saturday it was double the