Dancing cow-creamer and its momma

This time DPS's weekly assignment asked us to use natural light as the source of light.

Description:

This week: "Lighting: Natural Window Light". As the days grow longer in the northern hemisphere and shorter in the south, we are all aware of sunlight. For this assignment, I want you to find a window or doorway and observe the light that comes through it at different times of the day. Use it to light your assignment image. You can do a portrait, but if you don't have a willing model (and not interested in a self-portrait), try a still life. Be very aware of shadows and how they can add to or detract from your image.

I say, this was a tough one. I decided to use two very soft-lined objects: a ceramic cow-creamer and a ceramic butter-holder. Both white. On a white table in front of a window.

I shifted the objects and observed how the light reflected from them during several hours. I ended up with a bunch of photos and had a hard time deciding which one I would post as the entry.
Here they are, my cows. Which one is your favourite?

Number 1

Number 2

Number 3

Number 4

Number 5

Number 6

Number 7

Number 8

Number 9

I still haven't  decided. Strange, I like each one of them for some particular reason. I guess my choice will depend on which one of them best corresponds to the given assignment.

DPS's assignment: Get Down

The idea of this week composition assignment was to get down and to shoot upwards.

Here is my entry:

Odd numbers

It has been quite a while since I participated in the assignment of  Darren Rowse's Photography School.

This week the assignment was simply: Odd numbers.

And here are my odd coffee cups:

Three is a crowd

A pile of three

Three in a row

Just half a cup, thank you

DPS's Weekly Assignment: Vertical lines

DPS's Weekly Assignment: Diagonal

Darren Rowse's Digital Photography School assignment encourages one to look for diagonal lines.

Mine are from canola fields that are now blossoming. And as Otepää is hilly, there are some spectacular undulating yellow diagonal lines that - at least to my mind - are pretty fantastic and border true art.

DPS's Weekly Assignment: Framing

Here is my entry for this week's assignment: framing. No more needs to be said, right?

DPS's Weekly Assignment: Landscape

This week's assignment (May 18 - June 1) was landscape, and not just any landscape, but one with the foreground in focus.

The assignment was fun! I visited several scenic places in the neighbourhood and found interesting landscapes with neat foregrounds. Choosing the entry picture was the hard part.

In the end I chose the one below for the entry: Green fields

Green Fields

Other candidates for the entry were:

Dandelion Fields

Rapeseed Fields

Besides the fields, I also took pictures of Lake Pühajärv (The Holy Lake), which is our home lake close to Villa Ottilia.

Today it was pretty windy and it was very obvious that the summer is not yet here. Perhaps in two weeks' time, but not yet.

So I tried to capture the desolate feeling of an empty beach on a windy day with these pictures.

Empty slide waiting for children to come and play

The weather changes quickly from sunny to cloudy

The cafeteria waits for clients to enjoy the view

DPS's Weekly Assignment: sadness

The assignment 11th to 25th of May was sadness.

And here is my entry:

An old woman watching the time go by in a window. It has been taken in the small border town of Valga, Estonia.

Valga itself is quite a sad town - people are poor, the town has little to offer to its citizens. Young people are moving to bigger cities. The old remain, as they have nowhere to go.

DPS's Weekly Assignment: The workplace

Darren Rowse's Weekly Photography Assignment was this time: The workplace.

My workplace is my home. Namely, I run a small Bed and Breakfast enterprise called Villa Ottilia in Otepää, South Estonia.

Otepää is best known for its winter – actually the town proudly calls itself The Winter Capital of Estonia. Summer is nice too. And spring and autumn. So there are actually four good seasons that lure customers to us.

At the moment we are having none of those four. I guess the next three weeks are the dullest time of the year, both visually and business-wise. Nothing happens. And it is ugly outside. Snow is melting fast, making puddles of sloshy sleet.

So, there is not much work for me at the moment – at least not in the hotel sector. However, somebody forgot to tell it to the family dog, who considers himself a self-appointed guard dog. He sits on the garden wall protecting the house and waiting for the appearance of any customers.

It seems that some of us just cannot take it easy!

Latte at his workplace

Old faithful

Darren Rowse's Photography School's weekly assignment was shoes.

Instead of choosing a glamorous pair with bling-bling that would sparkle in all colours of the rainbow I decided to take a look at an old pair of boots that have come to the end of their journey.

Old faithful boots, the things we have seen together and the places we have been together!

Thank you for the ride!

Rhino in detail

A few years ago we made an unforgettable journey to Nepal during which we visited the jungle in Chitwan.

In Chitwan we also took part in an elephant safari and by accient came across a rhinoceros lying in a mud pond. The moment was exciting and brief. Wobbling at the back of elephant I managed to take just one photo of that great animal. And even that was not so good:

So, this time, when Darren Rowse's Photography School's assignment was 'detail', I decided to make a study of rhino in detail

This is what I came up:

Here are some other pics from the same session:

DPS's assignment: Weather outside - at the seashore

Last Thursday we had a spot of incredibly good weather. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. Which was really a nice change to the overall grayness that has prevailed most of this winter.

We have two houses is Estonia, one in the south of Estonia, at Otepää. Another in the north, at Võsu, on the Gulf of Finland. It was time to visit the Võsu house.

While my husband was busy shovelling snow,  I spent a few hours at the shore photographing the magically beautiful but desolate seashore.

It was a bit like Sophie's choice, which photo to choose for the assignment.

I ended up with this one: changing cabins waiting for the summer guests. It is going to be a long wait:

Other favourites of the day include:

A solitary snowman looking at the sea

A deer ventures on the frozen sea

Käsmu Gulf in the evening sun

A boat that is not going anywhere for a while

Two huts at the seashore

Last shot of the day: a dead standing tree at Käsmu

DPS Assignment: Weather outside

DPS's newest assignment is weather, which has been the constant topic whenever two people meet.

The winter has been very very snowy, yet mild.

Snow is nice, but too much is too much. I am so ready for the spring. First signs are already in the air: the dripping of icicles: