December 28 - Bath time - My grandson in the tub. Today is January 14, but I just got a minute to upload some pictures. I have a few from December so I'll just go ahead and put them in their appropriate spot. I hope I have more time for my daily journal in January. So far, it hasn't been too good. My life has been very busy.

November 30
Popping Open
This one bud was sticking out from the rest of the flowers. I thought it was a good opportunity for a shallow depth of field shot. When it appeared on my monitor, it just "popped" out at me.
I didn't do much to the image at all, just a bit of curves and minor sharpening.

An alternate shot here: http://www.susanappelphotography.com/gallery/707261/3/113952371

November 29
Roasted and Salted

I bought a big bag of raw almonds at Costco. My husband likes them roasted. Here's how: Spread them on a foil lined cookie sheet in a single layer. Spray with olive oil cooking spray.(lower in calories) Sprinkle with salt. I prefer kosher salt because of it's flaked style, it seems to stick better. (This is granulated style Sea Salt, I'm out of kosher.) Bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes stirring once.

November 28 - Pepper

It's been a while since I had time for a "daily" photo. We had the family here for Thanksgiving and I had lots to do to prepare. I should have a little more time now... until I get pressed with Christmas. Whew!

I picked some small branches from our California Pepper trees and added some peppers from an assortment that I bought. These assorted peppers are actually from many parts of the world. The black peppercorns are from the Malabar Coast in India. The white Muntok peppercorns come from the island of Bangka in China. Green peppercorns are grown in Brazil. Pink peppercorn are actually dried berries from the Baies rose plant grown on the French isle of Reunion.
I got all this data from the label on the jar.

November 18, Saturday -
I got out the tripod and tried this shot again. The flower came out sharper this time. There was not a lot of light, so there was not much depth of field, but I focused on the center of the flower and that's nice and sharp. There was some light in the background and I like that some of the leaves are visible. Makes it look a little more natural than it did with a totally black background. I guess I like different things on different days.
If you like the dark background, I did take another one without light behind it. You choose. (added for Sean) http://www.susanappelphotography.com/gallery/707069/1/111261111

November 15 - The end of the day. I only had about five minutes to find a shot before the sun sank behind the hill. This rose seems to be watching the sunset too.

November 13 - The morning clouds and fog are as depressing as a rainy day. But, an orchid plant by the window, with it's long lasting blooms, can bring cheer for many days. I'm getting lots of pleasure from this one. This is the second bloom on a plant that I got last Spring. This was shot hand-held and did not seem real sharp to me, so I put a 20% gaussian blur on it to deliberately soften it. I used a duplicate layer with soft light to darken the background. I liked the surreal look and chose it over another shot that was more natural looking.

November 12 - Paper Whites - Here is a little cheer for all of you experiencing rainy weather today. I was able to catch some sweet morning light and I especially like the way the strappy leaves and the curved stems surround and point to the flowers. This is aue natural at it's best.

November 9 - Autumn Leaves - I'm spending more and more time raking leaves. I like to get the gardens cleaned out before winter so there isn't a lot of debris to rot during the rainy season. That is, if we get rain this year.

November 6 - I have a beautiful bunch of bulbs blooming in my garden. I don't know their name because they were planted by the previous owner. They bloom in Spring and Fall. It's fun to see plants getting flowers and new growth now. It's as if they are confused and think it's Spring. These are under a tree in the semi-shade. It's so difficult to get the right light on white flowers. I'm real happy with the way these came out. I didn't have to do much to it at all, just the RAW processing. There was not a single blemish on the flowers either. Well, I see a tiny notch on the edge of one petal, but no bugs or spots and all at their peak. I'm so excited!