Weekly Photo Challenge: Mirror

As Jen H issued this week’s challenge, she said, “This week’s challenge is all about reflections.” Reflections, mirror images, are fun to capture. Whether it is a shiny paint job or placid lake, the reflection seems to double the beauty.

The first was taken a year ago. My mother was a day away from graduating to her heavenly home and was a patient at the area hospice home. A church member’s grandmother was also a patient there and the granddaughter and her husband rode their new Harley Davidson Screaming Eagle Glide (CVO) to the home. As a diversion, I took a few minutes admire their new ride and to get a few shots of the beautiful bike. What made this picture special to me was the reflection of the hospice home in which my mother spent the last two months of her life.

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The second image was just taken today. While it was not the most spectacular sunset, the local state park lake was relatively placid, offering a nice mirror image of the opposing bank and the sky.

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For more examples of “mirror” click HERE.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Frame

The bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was one of those events that you remember where you were on April 19, 1995, when that act of domestic terrorism happened. I’ve had the desire to stop every time I driven through OKC, but had never taken the time until last October during a leisurely trip through Oklahoma.IMGP1114-2

The Memorial is bounded by The Gates of Time –twin bronze gates frame the moment of destruction – 9:02 – and mark the formal entrances to the Outdoor Memorial. 9:01, found on the eastern gate, represents the last moments of peace before the blast.

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The west gate is inscribed with 9:03 which is the minute that the rescuers began their recovery work.
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The reflection pool between the gates represents the time of the blast.
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The Field of Empty Chairs is arranged in nine rows, representing the nine floors of the building and the arrangement of chairs indicate the floor on which the victims were at the time of the blast. Five additional chairs are on the end, memorializing five victims who were outside the building.untitled-2
The outside inscription on each gate and the museum is: “We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.”
It is indeed a moving memorial, remembering the 168 people, 19 of whom were children, who lost their lives on that tragic day.
For additional contributions to the theme “Frame,” click HERE.

  Weekly Photo Challenge: Morning

The best part of high humidity on a early summer mornings is that the huge spider webs that have been woven overnight are more visible.

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I love the appearance of God’s handiwork and these transparent “stands of pearls.”

You can find more wonderful pictures of “Morning” HERE.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Look Up

This week’s 4th of July parade included the Elks Lodge Clowns with this high riding unicyclist. For the kids, getting candy is the highlight of the parade and receiving a sugary treat from this clown requires that you “look up.”

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You can find some more examples of what’s above you when you “LOOK UP” these additional examples of this week’s photo challenge.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Landscape

 

Following Cheri’s suggestion to check out the “Finding the Best Shot” post, I chose to show both landscape and portrait orientations of the same sunset.  Which do you prefer?

While the landscape orientation is a rural Iowa shot, it almost has an African savanna feel to it.

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Before the sun went totally behind the horizon I took this portrait orientation, allowing me to zoom in on the trees and catch the “fire” in the trees.

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For more examples of the week’s landscape theme, click HERE.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Weight(less)

Our city has the privilege of hosting a hot air balloon competition every September. An average balloon system – envelope, gondola, fuel tanks, and 40 gallons of fuel – will weigh about 600 pounds, deflated on the ground. Adding two to three people will increase the weight by another 300-500 pounds. But, once the envelope is filled with hot air…weightless!

This post is in response to the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Circle

Flying over Kansas on Wednesday, I caught an optical phenomenon that I had never seen before: a glory. glory-Edit

From Wikipedia: The glory consists of one or more concentric, successively dimmer rings, each of which is red on the outside and bluish towards the center. The effect is believed to happen due to classical wave tunneling, when light nearby a droplet tunnels through air inside the droplet and, in the case of a glory, is emitted backwards due to resonance effects.

Though the “glory” effect may have a scientific basis, I believe that all creation bears the mark of THE Creator, thus helping us see glimpses of His glory.

11 Be exalted above the heavens, O God; Let Your glory be above all the earth. Psalm 57:11 (NASB)

May your New Year be truly glorious!

Click HERE for other examples of this week’s challenge: “circle.”

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: (Hawk) Eye Spy

IMGP8096This post is dedicated to the Iowa Hawkeye football team (12-0), playing Michigan State on Saturday for the Big 10 Championship. GO HAWKS!

Last August, I spied this red-tailed hawk on a telephone line as I drove down the street. He obliged by allowing me to take a few photos from my car before flying to a nearby tree. I was able to walk within about 30 feet, the hawk keeping his eye on me!IMGP8076 copy copy

We continued our stare down for a while, but….IMGP8078 copy copy

…he finally blinked!IMGP8086 copy copy

For more examples of this week’s theme, click HERE.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Transition

While not quite winter, we had our first snow last weekend. It wasn’t much, but because the temperatures were above freezing when it started, there was a layer of ice/slush under the snow that required a shoveling of walks before parishioners came on Sunday. As I shoveled, my attention was captured by the maple leaves, dancing on top of the snow – a sort of last hurrah as we transition from fall to winter.

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Fall into Winter

For more takes on this week’s theme, click HERE.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Ornate

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The Iowa State Capitol Building in Des Moines was recently refurbished, including the regilding of its dome with 23-karat gold leaf. Built between 1871 and 1886, it is the only five-domed capitol in the country.

Iowa State Capitol Building

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “Ornate.”