Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

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Are You Ready To Take Spring Snapshots?

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by Kimberly A. Cook          (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Last Tuesday Velda the hedgehog at the Oregon Zoo predicted an early Spring. Seems Phil the Groundhog said the same thing, but Velda has a better record than Phil, so hedgehogs rock! True to both their predictions, signs of the coming Spring abounded this past weekend.

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Real live crocus. Yes!

 

On my way to my writer group, I stopped at my carpool buddy’s house. She needed to take her dog Amos, a Corgi, for a quick walk before we left. Amos was not too thrilled about the “quick” part of the walk, he wanted to mosey. I couldn’t blame him. So while they were off finding the perfect tree, I wandered in her front yard taking photos.

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How is this for a pink beauty? I have no idea what it’s called besides pretty!

 

My carpool buddy is a member of the camellia society and you can see why. I could not resist the pictures. So here are a few of my favorites.

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Another stunner. How gorgeous is this?

Not to be outdone, these red berry things looked gorgeous too. They felt like the holidays but looked like Spring. How do they do that?

 

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Pretty to look at but I bet you shouldn’t eat them; whatever they’re named.

 

Then the next day on my way back from the grocery store Super Bowl morning, I took a wrong turn but ended up with a perfect view of Mt. Hood. We say “the mountain is out” around here when we can see it, so this gorgeous sunny Sunday was the perfect time to get a picture of her with all her snow.

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Gorgeous Mt. Hood, no longer naked, but with a fresh coat of snow. She’s a beauty! 

So have camera will travel! Right around my own neighborhood. Are you ready to take Spring snapshots?

 

 

Can You Capture The Sun Rays Of Fall?

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by Kimberly A. Cook          (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

When I took a three-month camping trip to Europe in 1983, I carried 70 rolls of film with me. Some of my best shots were sticking the camera out the window and just shooting. Shit shots, I called them. Nothing to lose!

The rolling clouds, the Washington gorge hills, the bridge and the Columbia River; without ever leaving my car!
The rolling clouds, the Washington gorge hills, the bridge and the Columbia River; without ever leaving my car!

On our recent adventure to Hood River we went to one of the Columbia River parks for a look-see before heading home. It had started to rain and the wind was whipping up in the gorge, so I did my usual and took a few pictures from the car window. Just like in Europe. (Yes, I rolled the window down.)

Sometimes the most important thing as a photographer is to just take the shot. I had some cars coming toward me and I was about to hold up someone driving behind me, so I grabbed the shot. I’m pretty happy with it.

One of the reasons I always carry one of my little Canon Elph cameras with me is I never know when I might see a photo I need to take. Kind of like the Boy Scouts, always prepared. Which includes a fully charged backup battery too.

With the leaves starting to change colors and the pumpkin decorations everywhere, this is a great time of year to capture the golden light in the morning and evening. You don’t need a ton of equipment or to even get out of your car; be lazy and creative. You might be able to use the photo for a blog post.

Whether taking pictures on the road, in your own backyard or trying to capture your pet’s latest antics, for us photo freaks it’s always a good day to take a picture. The weather folks say the rains are coming in this week. Yeah! Cloud and rain pictures! Woo Hoo!