2 Things Challenge: Soft/Brilliant

The 2 Things Challenge for the holidays is Soft/Brilliant.  Every year during the holidays, the people who own this small lake near Highway 26 in Columbiana float a tree of lights out on the lake.  The lights are brilliant as you drive by, but the reflection tends to have a more soft appearance.  

Okay, okay, the night I stopped to make the photo, the lake was incredibly still and the reflection was not much softer than the actual tree, so I softened it up a smidge.

A Snail's Pace

I don't know where he thought he was going on a chilly morning, but I don't think he made it.  He was still here that afternoon.  Poor fellow.

2 Things Challenge: Apple/Art

The 2 Things Challenge this week was Apple/Art.  This is the remains of an apple that was my lunch on Thursday.  Is it art?  Or is it just a photograph of garbage?  I do remember thinking as I ate it that I wanted to carve it into this exact shape with my teeth, so . . . maybe it's art.

Up Close and Very Personal

Looks almost animal, but it's an orchid.

It Was a Cold and Foggy . . .

. . morning yesterday on Lay Lake.  Very little color, but some fruitful silhouettes. 

2 Things Challenge: Full/Feminine

The 2 Things Challenge this week is Full/Feminine.  In an early photography class I learned that curves are feminine and straight lines are masculine.  Here I managed to get two full curves on the road and more on the fence, so this is a definitely full feminine composition (ignore the tree trunks, what tree trunks, they aren't really there).

Confederate Rose

This is called a Confederate Rose.  I have no idea why, because it is not a rose (probably some type of hibiscus) and while it may be more acclimated to the southern climate, I don't know of any particular affiliation with the CSA.  The thing I find most intriguing about the bush is the transformation the flowers go through in such a short period of time.  On day 1 they open into a very nice looking white flower, with maybe just some slight tinges of pink.

 Overnight they change completely into a pink flower, just as pretty, but very different looking.

 Then, just as quickly, they are gone.

Photos of three different blossoms taken on the same day in November.