Day 30 - Newspaper

Sorry, no story about newspapers this time - there's simply too much else to say ;).

So! It's finally arrived! The final day of the 30-day challenge is here! Like always, it's a bitter-sweet moment. It's a bit of a relief that it's over - I won't have to plan a specific shot each day anymore. Surprisingly (not) carrying the camera around everywhere can be a bit of a nuisance, not to mention the times the battery has died on me (one of them being today), which has been very irritating to say the least. And I can live without the embarrassing shots of bus-stops as people walk by thinking I'm crazy! Also, no more cases of "camera-eye" (fucuseyeus stangeis) or "trigger-finger-itis" (itchyis spasmus), fellow photographers, you know what I mean!

However, I also love the challenges! I'ts such a great opportunity to get to know the wonderful people who play, and see their awesome shots each day. I've seen so many beautiful shots that make me think and break my own habits, and it's been such a joy to see people develop and breaking barriers of their own.

Another great thing is the comments I have received. They have been such a silver lining to every day (not cloud). Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for taking the time to stop by and sharing your thoughts. You're the reason why W1K is a great place to be and I hope we'll keep in touch :).

Also, thank you to all you other visitors who have stopped by to take a gander each day. Seeing the stats map of all the people who come here, from all over the world, is just sooo cool! I hope I'll see you around here too! And feel free to drop me a line whenever :)

Finally I want to say congratulations to everyone who made it, and well done to those who tried! It's been an amazing challenge this time! You're all winners in my book!

Cheers!

/MrsHjort

Day 29 - Morning

This was one of those nights when I didn't sleep well. When that happens, I always result to that old trick of turning around 180 degrees, not from left to right, but from head to toe. And thus, this was the sight I woke up to this morning; Mr's toes, in all their glory!

Mr and I have our own little inside jokes about each other's feet. Mr is a football referee, so his feet are very rough. I playfully nag him about it and he repays by making fun of my, in his words, "nonexistent" little toes. I do have little toes though, it's just that they're kind of crooked and they fold in behind the toe next to them. Consequently, when I wear sandals, it looks like I have only four toes. I guess neither of us have very pretty feet haha.

/MrsHjort

Day 28 - Padlock

I love those bridges filled with padlocks symbolizing the love two people share. We don't have one in my home town though, instead I had to come up with something of my own. So, why not Mr's and my own padlock locked together :)

It's been eleven years now, since I met Mr. It's strange to think - time flies by so fast! Though at the same time, I cannot even remember what it was like before I met him. It's been eleven very happy years, and I just know, we're going to stay locked together forever :)

/MrsHjort

Day 27 - Danger

This is our little huntress from day 6, wide awake this time, and in the process of clearing our house from mice. Here she is with her pray, seconds before devouring it and thus sending it to mouse heaven ;). With her sharp claws and pointed teeth she's the most dangerous thing here! You'd better watch out, or you'll be next!

Or not, haha! Freya's the most lovable cat there is. I know, everybody says that about their pets, but in this case it's true. I have yet to meet someone who she hasn't charmed. She's one of those cat's who'll walk right up to anyone and rub her face against them all lovingly and purring.

Yes, yes, I know, I am the crazy cat lady, but guess what! I don't care, and I love it :)

So, let's end this rambling of mine with a nod to Renato; here's today's sound ;)

Steam Powered Giraffe - "I Love it"

/MrsHjort

Day 26 - Night

It seems like it always dark this time of year. Here, up north, the sun is down as I go to work, and it's down when I get home again. Winter makes me feel like a bat, or some other nocturnal creature. It's really quite depressing. I even take extra vitamin D because of the lack of daylight...

December always makes things a bit brighter and happier though. I love it when people start hanging stars in their windows and decorate their gardens with lights. It makes every house look cozy and it brings the promise of Christmas. Even the cold feels just a tad bit warmer when you're surrounded by beauty. The best thing is when we've decorated our Christmas tree. Nothing beats coming home to the pitter patter of cat feet and the twinkling lights of of the tree, decorated "American style" with a gazillion colorful Christmas balls. That's a magical feeling :)

/MrsHjort

Day 25 - Shadow

I had been thinking of doing this shot all day, but when I got home Mr wasn't in the mood at all. "Oh come on, whyyyyyy?", was his response as I told him of my idea, and I soon gave up om coaxing him into being my model - he just hates when people take his picture and he avoids it at all costs.

Instead, I shot various small things lit from the side with a torchlight. I even tried doing this sort of thing with myself as a model, but I soon gave up because I just couldn't get the focus right by myself. It was just too frustrating this late in the evening, with my stomach roaring for food.

As I looked at the fruits of my work on my monitor, I felt very discouraged. None of the shots were up to my standard... What was I to do? "Alright then!" The sound or Mr's voice was music to my ears and thus I got my shot in the end. Leave it to him to save the day!

Thank you Mr, you are simply the best :D

/MrsHjort

Day 24 - Entrance

This is our front door. We've got one of those old fashioned door knockers that you seldom see anymore... or well, at least it's that way here in Sweden.

Strangely, there are people who don't know what to do when they climb the stair up to our door. They stand there confused, scratching their heads, looking for the doorbell button. Sometimes they end up knocking with their fists. Isn't that odd? Maybe they think the knocker is just for show, maybe they're afraid it will make too much noise, or maybe they're so "modern" they don't know what it's for in the first place. Who knows... Either way, the knock is a dead give away of people I don't know, usually they're salesmen, and in that case I like to pretend I didn't hear them. Handy isn't it ;)

/MrsHjort

Day 23 - Travel

A car is a good thing to have. It gives you a lot of freedom and it's hard to manage without it. We used to manage quite well before, that is before we bought the house, but now it's getting harder and harder...

Mr and I are currently waiting for our car to get assembled, and we look forward to it like children before Christmas. Hopefully, it will be ours before then too! It's our first car and we're both very excited about it. We've already named it too. We like to name our stuff haha. It started with our auto-mower, which is called Dandelion, and our car will be named Roach. Ten points to you if you can figure out how we chose those names ;).

Do any of you name your stuff too?

/MrsHjort

Day 22 - Shop

As I said before, I no girly girl, I've never had that "shopping rush" and I've never understood the obsession some people have with shopping. I like to be in and out of a store as quickly as possible or, even better, shop online and avoid the hassle altogether.

Sometimes you get lucky though. I work in the city center and this Friday I walked by this store I've never really noticed before. That's when I saw this knitted poncho hanging outside. It was one of those rare things I liked straight away, and I had been thinking of buying something like that to keep at work, so I bought it. I was in and out of the store in under a minute! If only it was always so easy :)

/MrsHjort

Day 21 - Souvenir

As some of you know, Mr and I got married in Thailand, and for that reason everything Thai has always had a special place in out hearts. Our favorite restaurant is Thai, we make a lot of Thai food, there are many Thai knickknacks in our house and we have been known to listen to Thai music now and again.

This is one of my favorite souvenirs, though it's actually more of a piece of art. You'll fine this woodcarving in our living room, hanging next to the cabinet I shot back in day 4. It was one of those things I fell in love with at first sight. Mostly because it reminds me of that magical little resort where we got married. They had lots of pretty woodcarving there :)

/MrsHjort

Day 20 - Library

This is part of our little library at home. We actually have one, though it's also our guest room with a hide-a-bed :). Anyway, Mr and I have organized it to our taste with genres and series in mind. Though I don't actually know how these three ended up together. Maybe they're all religion to Mr haha.

Me? I'm a fantasy girl. It started with "Lord of the Rings" way, way back, and I've never stopped since. My favorites? Andrzej Sapowski and George R.R. Martin. They have both managed that great feat of bringing a whole new world to life, with all its nuances and complexity. I love that it's not ever "happily ever after" with them, but rather "anything goes". Never before had I encountered fantasy with a higher sense of reality than many other "finer" works of literature. I've read far too much of that, let me tell you, and I never liked it...

A few year back, I studied "English Literature" at the university, or so it was called, even though the works originated from many different countries. We had to read a lot of "fine" works then. Works like "Disgrace", "Pride and Prejudice" and "Beloved"... I hated them all with a roaring passion! Just as I hate the very concept of "finer" literature. Why should one kind of literature be considered "better" than the other? Just because a it's a different genre? It does not automatically make it more enjoyable to read, and that's what counts. I say "to each his own". Read what you like and to disregard the critics. Everything is subjective anyway :)

What do you enjoy reading?

(And if you enjoy "Pride and Prejudice", that's fine too ;) )

/MrsHjort

Day 19 - Bus Stop

This day has been that kind of day when you ask yourself "what more could possibly go wrong" and then yet another thing does...

First off was the coffee vendor at work. It broke down just in time for breakfast and, since I was in charge of "fika" today, I had to run out to buy coffee for the regular coffee maker. On my way to the store, my boots died! The heel of the left one just came straight off! And totally without warning too! I just took another regular step and crack! Off it went! So, I have been walking on tippy toes with one foot and regularly with my other one all day long.

The death of my boots also meant that I could not do the shot I had planned today - since it involved a bit of walking to get to the right place. So, I had to do the shot after work instead, after a stop by my house to change shoes, and that meant shooting after dark. As I got home, I deiced to try out my brand new one legged camera stand. It turned out to be a bad decision though, because it was so cold it was hard to hold it straight (I was shivering), and all shots ended up more or less blurry. Well, at least I got something in today. But ugh! Some days things are just not meant to be! Maybe I should just go to bed now and be done with it...

Sorry for whining, but it's just been one of those days today

/MrsHjort

Day 18 - Boots

Yup, today you get to see my current favorite boots. I'm not one of those shoe buying girls who have loads and loads of shoes though, so don't expect a girly story. Let's just say that there are are few things I hate more that going shopping. At least with clothes I can shop online, but shoes are an other story. Shoes have to be comfortable in a whole different way, and for that reason, when I find shoes I like, I wear them until they fall apart!

I remember a pair of boots (sort of like these) that I had way back. They were the most comfortable footwear I've ever worn, including slippers! When they "died" I wished I had bought a dozen of them so that I would always have a pair :)

/MrsHjort

Day 17 - Hand

Today, Mr and Morris are my models. I knew I wanted a hand holding something for today's word, and in order to crate a bit of symmetry to my poster I decided on cat hand, aka. paw ;). Neither of my models had much patience with me though - Mr sighed at my camera lens, which is kind of sluggish on automatic focus. "Just shoot already" he said whining as I tried to explain the process of shooting (it's not as simple as he thinks). Morris on the other hand wanted to bolt off to play. You see, all our cat's always freak out and run around like mad when we get home from work. Cranky Mr + crazy cat = good luck Mrs!

Fortunately, I was lucky! I got this shot quick, and I'm happy to say it turned out just the way I wanted too :)

I hope you like it.

/MrsHjort

Day 16 - Scarf

It's sort of fitting that today's word is scarf... You see, I just got a cold and have been working from home all day. It's great having a job where you can actually do that! I've had a lot of soup, tea and have been dressing warmly in my comfy clothes (including a scarf).

Since I'm not exactly my usual energetic self today, this will be a bit shot, sorry about that! Now I'm gonna go huddle up under a blanket with the first cat I find, some more tea and a good book. If you're interested, it's "A Song of Swords - Steal and Snow", and yes, it rocks ;)

Catch you later

/MrsHjort

Day 15 - Pocket

I never liked this blouse... The color is lovely and all, but I never liked the way it fits. It's one of those that has a rubber band sown into the lover hem, and it always ends up creeping up towards my waist, so I have to pull it down all the time. Ugh! I just hate that!

We've all had those clothes that we never really liked. Whether it be that we dislike the way they fit, their color or the material. That last one especially was a pain growing up. Remember those itchy sweaters our mums had us wear, haha, terrible!

Thankfully we can dress any way we want as adults. Now we're left to make our own bad choices shopping ;)

/MrsHjort

Day 14 - Legs

Today's picture is of Morris, wearing white gloves and a black coat. He's a very stylish gentleman who always wears black and white - it's a very elegant and timeless type of fashion.

Needless to say, after yesterday our cats have gotten even more hugs and kisses than usual. And, today's word meant I just had to shoot kitty legs :).

So here's Morris - not rolling around on the chilies this time, but sitting in our window, keeping robbers and highwaymen away. He's really good at that! I've never seen either! He must scare them away with his stern glare ;)

/MrsHjort

Day 13 - Coat

Today's picture was really simple, both in shooting and editing. I simply hung Mr's coat on a hanger, used a garment roller to remove the cat hair and draped his scarf by the left breast pocket. Post-ed was real simple too - just some routine sharpening, contrast adjustments, color enhancements and I'm done.

Today has also been filled with ups and downs. The ups have been at work - things are going very well and I really like it in general. I just could not ask for a better boss or colleagues! The downs have been really heartbreaking though - my mother-in-law's cat had to be put to sleep today (from old age). So, needless to say, there has been a lot of laughter and smiles today, but tears and sadness too. My thoughts are with you today, Aila, if you're reading this. I send you all my love and hope you find the strength to move forward. Know that you're always welcome at our place!

/MrsHjort

Day 12 - Tea

I'm one of those who people who really, really, really enjoys tea. So much so I even have whole kitchen drawer devoted to the noble drink. You're sure to find something to your liking there. I have everything from the boring fruit teas (Mr likes the stuff) to spicy cinnamon (my favorite! It smells like Christmas!), smoked tea or herbal blends. Yum yum yum! What's your favorite tea? I love tasting new flavors and I can always cram in more in there somehow :)

You'll get to see a "bonus shot" today. You see, this is one of those shots I spent more time editing than I did shooting. The shooting part was done in the time it took to pour two cups, but the editing took so long my tea got cold. I don't mind though, hot or cold, it's fine either way to me.

Anyway, as you can see, there's a load of stuff I fixed in port-ed. The big obvious stuff are the pesky shadows and irritating bluish color drift, but there are also some less apparent things like selective sharpening and blurring, selective color manipulation and loads of other small enhancements to make things more appealing. I was working with nine adjustment layers and eight ordinary ones before I was done. Phew!

So today was kind of the opposite of yesterday, which was all about the setup. Funny how photography can be so different day to day. The important thing is that I'm happy with the end result.

I hope you like it too :)

/MrsHjort

Day 11 - Color

This most be the most elaborate setup I've ever done! And the strangest one too, but hey, whatever works!

This is a bundle of straws. I put them on a mortar, that stood on a chair, that stood on our kitchen table (this is not usually the case though haha, if you're wondering :P). The kitchen lamp behind my setup caused lens flare, so I used a tripod and remote. I also held up a kitchen towel behind the straws, and let the light shine through it instead of directly at the straws. Though that turned out too dark, so, I decided to put an empty jar behind the straws, a jar to support my phone. The phone was set to use its own little flashlight (you know, that itty bitty one that it uses as a flash) to shine through the straws.

So there you have it, this is how I spent my afternoon haha!

/MrsHjort

Day 10 - Lemon

This drink is very typical of Sweden, 10 points to to anyone who can guess what it is. We usually drink it around Christmas and Easter, it's a Swedish tradition and I used to long for the holidays just because I would get to drink this. I'll give you one more clue; it's made from juniper berries and it tastes sweet with a bit of a bitter aftertaste. Can you guess what it is yet?

It's Julmust! And not the ridiculously sweet soft drink version, but the real thing, made from real berries in a small "musteri" in Brunneby. Good stuff, I just love it with lemon :)

Cheers!

/MrsHjort

Day 9 - Vegetable

I thought of paprika from the very start, when this word first showed up in the random word generator. So, after work I went by the store to pick up the prettiest ones I could find. I ended up buying one of each color (except green) and laid them out on my kitchen counter as soon as I got home. The only thing was, it didn't really look that interesting... Sure they were nice looking, but something was missing! That was when one of my cats gave me an idea.

You see, our cat Morris has quite peculiar taste when it comes to food - he loves chilies! When ever we're coking, he lies down on a plate where we usually keep them and just rolls, and rolls around on them like he thinks they're catnip! Gosh, he's such a weirdo! Anyway, adding the chilies was just what my shot needed. That little extra spice to turn things up a notch

Thank you Morris, you may be weird, but you're
the good kind of weird :)

/MrsHjort

Day 8 - Cholcolate

Shooting this I used similar techniques as when I shot tea, and soup a while back. Shooting food is a question of speed and preparation (not just of the food itself). Therefore I set up the arrangement before actually pouring the hot chocolate in. I was a bit worried the piece of chocolate would melt against the hot glass though. That's when I figured I'd put a nut behind it to lean against, and it worked like a charm.

When all was in place, I poured the drink and snapped away. Though I soon realized I'd need an other light-source in front of the glass - the subjects got too dark against that bright background. I immediately ran upstairs to get my flash, but when I got back, there was too much condensation already. So, I poured the chocolate back into the pot, to reheat on the stove, and took out a fresh glass to repeat the procedure. It turned out much better the second time, and it was yummy too ;)

/MrsHjort

Day 7 - Measure

It's not easy shooting stuff like this all alone! There are lots of things to coordinate at once - the rate of sugar poring down, the position of the scoop, the camera angle and the focus.

I had a little whoopsie today as I pored the sugar with my left hand while trying to compose with my right. I have to admit, the mess it made had me a bit annoyed at the time, but, as soon as I saw the result, I realized it was the best shot of the session! Isn't it wonderful how things turn out sometimes? I just love how playful it looks - as if a child was poring, helping its mother with the baking. Let it be our little secret that it was really just a clumsy 20+ Mrs, with an itchy trigger finger ;)

/MrsHjort

Day 6 - Pet

It's been a long day today! Don't get me wrong though, it's been a good one. I got lots of stuff done at the office, went to after-work with my colleagues, and had a couple of glasses of nice wine. Not too shabby! As I went home, I only had one thing left to do - take a photo of a pet.

Easier said than done! None of my cats were cooperative today! I chased them around for nearly an hour and never managed anything better than a few snapshots. I even edited some of them, desperate to make them into something better, but no matter what I did the results were subpar. After a lot of frustration my kitty got just as tired as I was, and then I finally managed to get a decent shot of her, as she drifted off to sleep. Good night dear readers, sleep tight, I know I will ;)

/MrsHjort

Day 5 - Leisure

Mr and I recently decided to turn part of our attic into a gym. I was a bit surprised at the suggestion at first, but hey, what the heck! I haven't been to a gym for years, and if I had one at home, it might just be convenient enough to actually go to. So, we set up a training bike up there, a bench press, some weights, dumbbells, and... a punching bag? Yep, we've really got one! I was the last person on earth to think Mr the type to go for one. Though, I have to say, I like that you can still get surprised by someone even after 11 years of living together.

So, now we've got our own little gym to go to, and the best part is; we get to pick the music :). Today was Metallica (Black Album), followed by Tiger Army (Music from the Regions Beyond). Good stuff!

Cheers

/MrsHjort

Day 4 - Pottery

As I went hunting for pottery in my home today, I found out that I don't have much of it (not counting porcelain of course). In fact, I was so discouraged, I went to several stores after work to see if there was any nice looking pottery to buy, only to find out that A. all stores had more or less the same stuff, and B. none of it was to my taste. Things seemed bleak... I couldn't shoot the tea pot again - I've done that before and it would be boring, neither would my plates do - too boring, nor my vase - too boooring!

That was when I remembered these little jewels, and bippety boppety boo, today's shot ended up featuring my living-room. Even the bad lighting ended up being a good thing - because that's why I decided to get down on the floor to steady my camera. Necessity really is the mother of invention haha ;)

/MrsHjort

Day 3 - Wood

This is a subject I just love and have used several times in the past. I never shoot the whole thing though, just bits and pieces of it. This is our grandfather's clock - a lovely piece of furniture with many little details, it's simply marvelous to shoot.

As I hinted at in a comment yesterday, it's really getting dark up here in Sweden now. Sun rises at 7:30 and sets at 4 pm. Ugh! I just hate the darkness of the winter. Anyway, this means that you'll have to plan ahead when it comes to daylight, and therefore I shot this just before I had to run off to get to work, haha.

I hope you like it.

/MrsHjort

Day 2 - Stream

It seems things aren't quite going my way this time - nature didn't provide this day either. I left work early today - in order to go and shoot a stream while there was still daylight - but when I got there, it was all dried out! Massive facepalm! So, sadly I didn't get the shot I wanted, and had to fall back on my backup plan. So, instead of cascading water, you get to see this birdie instead. It's not nearly as dramatic but it's way cuter ;)

Hopefully things will go my way tomorrow instead. Let's hope that the third time is the charm.

/MrsHjort

Day 1 - Grass

So! November has finally arrived! This month I will be following a list of words as my theme. The list was created using a random word generator and I think it makes things more interesting and challenging than simply shooting random stuff on a broader theme. So, the first word of the month is "Grass".

I had thought of doing a shot like this today, but unfortunately, nature didn't provide - it was both dry and cloudy. However, nothing can stop a trigger happy girl with an itchy index finger, and thus I thought - "If you can't make it, fake it". And so, my neighbors ought to have been a bit surprised by seeing me today, with a spray-bottle in my hand and my backside in the air as I was crawling around right in the middle of my lawn haha. I hope you like it :)

/MrsHjort