- “To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” — Elliott Erwitt
Those of you who hang out with me here on my blog and on my Facebook page know how much I enjoy taking pictures and sharing them with anybody who will take the time to give them a look. That sharing pictures is so much different than it used to be. And easier. And cheaper.
When I got my first camera as a Christmas present when I was maybe nine or ten, a girl like me who had to buy her own film and flashbulbs and pay for the eventual processing fee, had to be really sure she wanted to take that particular picture. You couldn’t just point and shoot everything and take a dozen pictures of the same thing hoping to get that perfect shot. Well, I couldn’t because I didn’t have a money tree anywhere around my house. Or an allowance. I don’t remember exactly how I came up with those long ago photo taking funds, but I did have fun when I had some fresh film in the camera and knew I had the opportunity to take either twelve or twenty-four pictures.
But oh, how much more fun it is now to simply pull that ever present (well, most of the time anyway) phone out of my pocket and snap away whenever I see something that catches my amateur photographer’s eye. I enjoy taking nature shots. I like catching a butterfly sitting still enough for me to zoom in on it and I like a peaceful pasture scene or a snake in the grass. I have taken a zillion or two photos of flowers and I’m always ready to take another one. And no need for me to even mention the hundreds, maybe thousands, of pictures I have of the grandkids. That has slowed down some now that the kids are older and not as ready to pose for the camera. They are even mostly past the take a dozen selfies stage.
I have also taken many pictures of my furry buddies through the years. I used up some of my precious film back when I was a kid taking pictures of my dog buddies then. And now, I can go wild snapping photos of the dogs. But Frankie isn’t much better at posing than the grandkids. He’s always too busy for pictures. My sweet Oscar, the dog I had before Frankie, was much readier to take a selfie with me any time I wanted. But with Frankie, I have to try to hang on to him to keep him in the picture and then something always jerks his attention away. Plus Frankie has made it more interesting taking my nature shots too since I often have him on leash when I spot that perfect picture. Do you know how hard it is to hold the leash of an impatient dog while you try to focus in on a flower? And forget the butterflies if he’s ready to run through the bushes!
Now I have Marley, dog two. Marley doesn’t have to be leashed when we go walking. He comes when I call him and doesn’t like to get out of sight even when the wild turkeys waggle their wings at him and Frankie is off for the chase. On those occasions when Frankie isn’t on leash, of course. When the turkeys waggle their wings at him when he is on leash, I better have my feet set and ready to hang on or I might be chasing turkeys at the end of a leash too. But sweet Marley stays with me. At least he has so far. I’m hoping he’ll teach Frankie some manners and that Frankie won’t teach Marley some bad tricks.
Name the Caption Game
I’ve been trying to catch a good picture of Marley and he’s not much of a poser out in the fields either. But I did catch this picture of him this week and bingo, it looks perfect for our first “Name the Caption” game. The game is simple. All you have to do is make up a caption you think fits the picture and leave it in a comment. That will get you an entry in a drawing for winner’s choice of one of my books and a grab bag book by a different author too. Each time I post a new photo for you to caption and you leave a comment (any comment will do if you can’t come up with a caption) then you’ll get a new entry in the drawing. Deadline for entries will be September 14, 2019 at midnight EST. I’ll use a random number generator to pick the three winners. You do have to be at least eighteen years old to enter.
So what caption would you add to Marley’s picture here? He’ll be glad to hear what you think and so will I.
Comments 67
Author
Love all the captions, everybody. You people never cease to amaze me with your imaginations and how you think up fun things to say. Thanks for playing the caption game. I’m getting ready to put up a new photo for what you might think in a little bit.
Was that thunder I just heard?
Author
Thunder doesn’t make Frankie happy, so it could be Marley was trying to be a friend to let him know it was time to find the house, Janice.
If that yellow jacket gets any closer, I’ll show it just what a real beeline to the house looks like.
Author
I don’t know if Marley would, but I do know Frankie is not happy when a horsefly starts buzzing him, Sandi. It could be we would all make a beeline to the house if yellow jackets started attacking. 🙂
“What’s that?”, wonders Marley.
Author
Could be, Linda Dianne. Marley is in a new place with new sights to see.
Thank you Lord, for placing me in a caring home and for my new master who is kind and loving. Also thank you for Frankie and the fun we are having together…..happiness is belonging to a family !
Author
Always good to remember to thank the Lord for our blessings, Nancy. So could be Marley’s doing that or he might be wishing his former owners would show back up and get him away from one crazy black dog!!
“Yes I looked up
And he looked down”
That’s the best I could do Ann.
Author
The opposite dogs, Lisa. But they do seem to be getting along okay. Marley likes to be close to Frankie so if Frankie looked down, Marley might look down too. 🙂
Did I miss my flight already? I was only a couple minutes late.
Author
I think that plane went without him, Jolene. Maybe next flight. 🙂
Seriously … I have to put a kink in my neck for you to take my picture??
Author
Cute, Megan. Marley isn’t a very good poser. A very eager to be your friend dog but does make some funny moves when I click the camera.
Do I smell fall? Or maybe a rabbit?😅😊🍁🍂🐇🐰
Author
From your e-mail address, Grace, I’m guessing you’re a dog lover the same as me. So you just might know how dogs think and how very much they might like catching the scent of a rabbit.
“Look,Ma! A plane! “Or,”Did ya get my good side,Ma?” 😘💜Psalm 125💜
Author
He does seem to be trying to point something out up there, Emily. And you’re maybe the third to suggest he worries about catching his best side in the picture. 🙂
Are there dogs in Heaven?
Author
I feel like there have to be, Una, to keep some of us happy. 🙂 And it could be Marley is checking things out up that way to see what he can see. Maybe he’s trying to catch a sniff of heaven.
“It’s a bird, it’s a plane, NO, it’s SUPER DOG!!!”
Not very original, buts it’s the first thing that came to my mind as soon as I opened up the email! 😉 I commented before I read your blog. Hope I didn’t miss anything important. Now I’ll go back and read it. 😊
Author
You never miss anything too important in my posts, Karen. Just a little fun, I hope. But you did go back and take a look. Some of the others commented with Marley catching sight of Superman, but I like thinking it might be super dog. Now that’s definitely fun.
Hey Frankie you better get down from that tree theres no turkeys up there
Author
Frankie, the tree climbing dog, Shirley. That’s got me smiling, but if he saw a turkey up there, he’d try it and Marley might be trying to make him behave.
“How did that get up there?”
Author
Hmm, maybe Marley spotted a kite eating tree, Alice. Or a ball. Marley does like his balls and toys.