Juxtapose...

My sincere apologies for such a lame-assed picture today. I've been awake since 3 a.m. and have been suffering with a mild bout of insomnia over the past few nights. I was lazy in my photography today and for that I feel bad. Feeling tired and a little grumpy at having to return to work after a long (but crappy-weathered) weekend, I was greeted by a beautiful sunrise as I left my house this morning. In fact, the beautiful colours seemed to lure me into a better mood. I took a few shots of the sunrise as I was driving into work. This one seemed to work the best as I was stopped at a red light. I really like how the beauty of nature found in the sunrise and the bird sitting on the light post in the back juxtaposes the ugliness found in the man-made technology of the traffic light, telephone poles and electrical wires.

Mags.

Larger Than Life

Today's challenge was to make a bright, cheery photo outdoors.

This was a challenge since it was a craptacular overcast and drizzly day. I headed to the local community park to take photos of the bright, over-sized flowers and butterflies found in the water park area. Thankfully, the park was deserted and I was able to snap away without having parents think I'm some creeper takin' photos of their kids (sidenote: Does anyone else encounter this? How do you get around this? It seems to be a touchy subject and I'm not sure how to deal with it other than avoiding these areas.......but I digress). I loved how the bright orange colour in the flower and butterfly really stand out against the dull grey sky......I had a hard time choosing a photo and I decided to post some of the other contenders on my blog: http://magneticmags365.tumblr.com/ .

Mags.

Healthy Hand Washing

A person's hands can tell a story. Today's challenge was to take a picture of someone's hands.

I am a self-proclaimed germaphobe. When out and about, I sanitize my shopping cart prior to touching the handle, I don't touch railings, or god forbid...door knobs and handles. And I always carry hand sanitizer in my purse. While I don't think I have OCD, I do wash my hands frequently throughout the day. I am appalled at the number of people who don't wash their hands regularly, especially after using the bathroom. I thought that perhaps people don't know how it's properly done so I put together the 11 simple steps to healthy (and hygienic) hand washing:

1) Remove jewellery and wet hand and wrists with warm water.

2) Use 1 or 2 squirts of liquid or foam soap

3) Lather soap and scrub hand well, palm to palm.

4) Scrub in between and around fingers.

5) Scrub back of each hand with palm of other hand.

6) Scrub fingertips of each hand in opposite palm.

7) Scrub each thumb clasped in opposite hand.

8) Scrub each wrist clasped in opposite hand.

9) Rinse throughly under running water.

10) Pat hands dry with a clean towel.

11) Turn off water using the same towel.

It is recommended to wash your hands for at least 15 seconds (or, the length of time it takes you to sing the alphabet or the Happy Birthday song at a normal, NOT fast, pace). Regular and proper hand washing is perhaps one of the best ways to preventing illnesses such as colds and flu. :-)

Mags.

Colourful Indoor Water Fun....

Water sustains life. Colour enhances life. Today's challenge was to make a photo combining colour and water.

With the weather being cold and yucky today, I needed to figure out a creative way to combine colour and water together in an indoor environment. Rooting through my kitchen cabinets, I came across some bottles of food colouring and began to experiment by adding a drop or two into a container of water. I realized I needed to move fast as the food colouring sank quickly to the bottom. I played around with different shots stirring the food colour until the water became solid colours of blue, yellow and red. I even took it one step further by combing the primary colours into solid secondary colours ( orange, purple and green). I eventually settled for this shot. I liked the way the movement of the food colouring in the water took on a ribbon-like appearance.

Mags.

Cheap, Cheerful and Cherished

Today's challenge was to make a photograph of the least expensive thing that I cherish.

As I've mentioned in a few of my earlier entries...I love me some bling. I've definitely got champagne taste but live on a beer budget. This shot is of one of the many blingy, chunky pieces I own that I absolutely love. A friend once called it my "Wonder Woman" bracelet and I'm proud to say it's one of my favourite pieces I own. The price tag? A whopping $18!

Mags.

Hideously Beautiful

Today's challenge was to make a beautiful photograph of something commonly thought of as ugly.

I decided to take a photo of this ugly gargoyle that is actual an incense burner. Not really a fan of the incense but had to light one up in order to obtain the smoking action.

The history of a gargoyle is quite interesting. According to Wikipedia, in architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building. Preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls is important because running water erodes the mortar between the stone blocks. Architects often used multiple gargoyles on buildings to divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize the potential damage from a rainstorm. A trough is cut in the back of the gargoyle and rainwater typically exits through the open mouth. Gargoyles are usually an elongated fantastic animal because the length of the gargoyle determines how far water is thrown from the wall. 

The term originates from the French gargouille, originally "throat" or "gullet" and similar words derived from the root gar, "to swallow", which represented the gurgling sound of water (e.g., Spanish garganta, "throat"; Spanish gárgola, "gargoyle"). It is also connected to the French verb gargariser, which means "to gargle." The Italian word for gargoyle is doccione o gronda sporgente, an architecturally precise phrase which means "protruding gutter." The German word for gargoyle is Wasserspeier, which means "water spitter." The Dutch word for gargoyle is waterspuwer, which means "water spitter" or "water vomiter." A building that has gargoyles on it is "gargoyled."

A grotesque figure is a sculpture that does not work as a waterspout and serves only an ornamental or artistic function. These are also usually called gargoyles in layman's terminology,] although the field of architecture usually preserves the distinction between gargoyles (functional waterspouts) and non-waterspout grotesques.

Gargoyles are said to scare off and protect from any evil or harmful spirits.

Mags.

O(bsessive) S(ink) D(isorder)

Today's challenge was to make a monochromatic photo.

Those who know me well know that I am plagued with a form of OCD...I've labeled it as "Obsessive Sink Disorder". Nothing drives me around the bend more than a dirty kitchen sink. It started off as a 21 day challenge to see if I could ensure my sink was clean and empty every night before I went to bed. That was over 6 years ago and I'm still going strong except now it's gone a little overboard. I've successfully trained the other half to put dirty dishes directly into the dishwasher--do not leave them in the sink. Anytime water is run in the sink, a dishcloth is used afterwards to mop up any water drops...immediately. My nightly cleaning kitchen sink cleaning routine consists of rinsing the sink, cleaning the sink with a non-abrasive scouring pad and cleaner (like Vim), rinse thoroughly, dry with a dishtowel until completely dried followed by a spritz of windex wiped dry with clean paper towel. I follow this routine religiously. So you can imagine my horror when I came home tonight and found this in my sink............

Mags.