The Mall Parking Lot

With the promise of an empty house all to myself this past weekend, what did I do? I went shopping at the mall, something I almost NEVER do unless coerced by one of my kids.

The newly opened Sephora store was my only stop, because it complete sucked me in. And I don't even wear makeup. Something about those sparkly displays, those beautiful colors, the flawless skin, pouty lips and eyes on those perfect models just draws me in. And yes, I dropped over 100 bucks there. And no, I didn't take any pictures, but I wanted to.

But I did witness the last glimmers of light in the sky as I left, and swung to an empty section of parking lot to capture it.


Exposure 0.167 sec (1/6)
Aperture f/2.8
Focal Length 36 mm
ISO Speed 500
I steadied the camera on the side view mirror of the car, since there is no way I can hand hold anything slower than 1/60 sec

I then decided to set my aperture to f/22 and included the lamppost that was illuminating the parking lot, for some star bursts:

Exposure 4 sec
Aperture f/22.0
Focal Length 40 mm
ISO Speed 500
I sandwiched my lens in the crook of space between the side view mirror and the car. Sometimes you have to improvise at these things!

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Stormy Start, Beautiful Finish

An inch of rain overnight, several thunderstorms and grey clouds this morning.

But it all cleared away this afternoon for a spectacular finish.

These caught my eye as I pulled into the driveway at 7pm. I forget what they are, and please excuse the growth of weeds in the background (you would think I would take better care of the landscaping right in front of the house!).


My friend, Lisa, has the most abundant (ie, gorgeous) collection of iris in her backyard. I started to take pictures from the street, but she saw me and welcomed me into the backyard. I realized it is really hard to take pictures of masses of flowers, so I tried to isolate them instead.


Tuesdays are quite crazy for me from a schedule standpoint - lots of activities to take kids to, so I only got these two pictures processed. I plan to get caught up later in the week.

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Flare Two Ways

Beautiful spring days means plentiful sunshine in the afternoon, perfect for some lens flare.

Most of the flowering trees have faded, but my hawthorne tree has just started.

I boosted the color here using The Pioneer Woman's Boost and Lovely and Ethereal actions.

Another variation - using the Faded Action


I couldn't decide which one I like more, so you get both of them today!

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