Number Three-Hundred-And-Thirty-Seven: Hibiscus Central

Today in the front yard Essie suddenly called me over to the flower bed, all excited. There was a hibiscus blooming, big as a lunch plate, and she was extremely impressed with it. I was too, frankly, as I wasn't even sure at that time what kind of flower it was and had to ask my mom later. I took some shots of it but was underwhelmed with the framing due to other greenery getting in the way. There's another one that'll bloom soon toward the front of the garden so hopefully I'll catch that one. I liked this cropped down detail of the center of the flower, though, and the detail in the petals.

My iPhone is still acting buggy after its adventure in the kitchen sink but I am currently able to take pictures and get them onto my computer, at least.

I took the photo with Camera+, cropped it, used the Shade filter from the Scenes menu and the Fashion filter from Effects.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Thirty-Six: A Lawn Less Mowed

Oh, my little iPhone is still on the fritz. I thought it had escaped harm but this afternoon it went buggy again. I threw it back in the bag of rice and I'm going to wait another twelve or so hours before I check it again. Let's cross our fingers! The final month of AOMi is in jeopardy over here.

In the meantime here is a photo I took a lot earlier this summer when the lawn mower broke down. My sister had mowed part of the law (which had become more of a safari than a play area for Essie) and I was taken by the silly poignancy of this tableau; the impotent mower shamed by the job left undone.

I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Fashion filter from Effects.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Thirty-Five: Accidents Will Happen

Well. Today was the day I've been dreading. Not Day 325, no. The day that something terrible happened to my iPhone. I was about to do some dishes and (stupidly, I know) set it on a small shelf above the sink because I was expecting a text and wanted to know as soon as it arrived. One second I was staring at the sink filling up and the next my phone went BLOOP into the water. I got that thing out so fast I hardly remember doing it but that brief second or two was enough to mess it up. It's acting weirdly.

I am doing recommended things to try to minimize the damage; mainly storing it in a baggie of rice to draw out the moisture inside of it.

So, yeah. Art On My iPhone is experiencing some nervousness over here. Luckily I do have a small cache of edited photos for emergencies such as this so while my phone recuperates I'll have a few to offer. Today's photo was taken during a trip to Ottawa in the Glebe. This laid back cat didn't even bother to get up while I admired him, just meowed at me and watched us go by.

I took the shot with Camera+ and cropped it but sadly I don't recall if I used a filter on it or not. I'm betting I did but I didn't take notes.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Thirty-Four: Light And Colour

So this triptych was a sort of experiment in colour, I suppose. Essie had some 3D chalk and after a piece was left on the driveway mom ran over it with the car. It exploded out in this neat pattern that caught my imagination and I took some shots of it. Essie noticed all the little shards and picked out some of the larger bits, showing me how there was a core of a different colour embedded in the outer shell.

I took the shots with Camera+ and edited them there, cropping and using the Black And White filter from Effects on the Essie pictures and the Vibrant filter from Effects on the chalk shot. Then I imported all three into Diptic where I assembled them into this triptych.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Thirty-Three: Festive

My mom must have recently bought these flowers because I haven't really noticed them until just in the last few days. Taking pictures of really red flowers is never easy but I took some anyhow to see how they'd turn out. I liked them but they were pretty blown out looking until I did some heavy editing.

I took the picture with Camera+, of course, because it's what I always take pictures with these days. I imported it into Snapseed, though, because I knew I'd be messing around with the Drama filter and boy, did it deliver drama-wise. I cropped it first, then hit it with the darkest Drama filter the app has and was really taken with the result. Dare I say it looks almost Christmas-y? I do dare because I am so over summer. Bring on fall and winter!

Number Three-Hundred-And-Thirty-Two: Climbin Ur Treez

I swear this isn't going to become Kevin On My iPhone; he's just been really cute and funny lately so I kind of can't help it. Anyhow! Today a crow lured him up into the oak tree in the front yard then flew away tauntingly once Kevin got up there. I was a bit worried we were going to have a 'cat up a tree can't get down' incident but after a bit of messing around he just jumped down all cool.

I don't know about you but if I were a bird or squirrel in a tree and saw this looking at me I'd be scared.

I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it to a square, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Faded filter from Effects.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Thirty-One: Quite A Pair

I can't really get enough of cute little Kevin The Cat. Now that we spend a lot more time in the front yard (since Essie knows enough not to throw herself out into traffic this year) Kevin just suddenly appears around our ankles while we're sitting on the front step, acting like he's owed all the affection in the world. And I'm always, "Of course you are!"

This is quintessential Kevin and Essie. He appears, accepts his petting and admiration and Essie makes a little fuss over him. Then they both play around and he leaves after a bit, satisfied. Check out the cat smile he's giving here!

I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it freehand, then used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Hipster filter from Effects. The Hipster filter isn't my favourite due to how sepia it makes everything but it did lighten Kevin's face up a lot.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Thirty: Damselfly

I got this shot of a Damselfly in front of the house the other day. It sat remarkably still for a long time and allowed me to take a bunch of shots of it (for which I was grateful since very few were focused well enough) until I was finished. I called Essie over to have a look and she got to inspect it as well and then it flew away all of a sudden.

I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it and used the Cloudy filter from the Scenes menu and then the Fashion filter from Effects.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Twenty-Nine: Brown, Orange And Blue

Today was my younger sister's birthday (Happy Birthday, Mimi!) and her daughter July took it upon herself to buy balloons and decorate the house with those, handmade banners and other decorations that she whipped up on short notice. She also makes the best handmade cards for people (they're kind of notorious in our family for their awesomeness.) I liked how this orange balloon hung from the basket planter I featured on Day 134 and Day 167.

I took the shot with Camera+, then imported it into Snapseed where I cropped it and used a Vintage filter on it. The Vintage filter nicely disguised where the wall and ceiling met in the top right of the picture where I couldn't crop them out.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Twenty-Eight: Rose And Sun

My mom's rose bushes drive me a little crazy because every time there's a perfect bloom I want to take a picture of it and then I do and then I have bajillions of photos of perfect roses that all kind of look the same. Yep; another delicate pink rose. Oh! Yet another stunningly lovely cream rose! Can't post those every day, sadly.

But I still take the pictures because I can't seem to help myself. And every now and again something happens to create a lovely and unexpected result, like today when I was trying to capture this rose against the clear blue sky and got the sun in the shot accidentally. So dramatic!

I took the shot with Camera+, then imported it into Snapseed where I cropped it and used the Drama filter on it.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Twenty-Seven: A Beautiful Surprise

I took today's photo at the same fence at which I took the pictures from Day 315 and Day 319. I noticed these brightly coloured… pod lantern things? I don't know what they are! But they're beautiful.

I took the picture with Camera+ and cropped it. Any filters or colour tweaks minimized the texture of the pod lantern and I liked the colour as is.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Twenty-Six: Rojo II

Back on Day 147 I took a picture of the tail light of my mom's car. I was SO pleased with how it turned out, just fascinated with all the reflections of my hand taking the photo inside. Well, the other day Essie pressed her face up against the same tail light and was blown away by the exact same thing. "There are so many me!"

I took the picture with Camera+ and cropped it to a square. I was happy with the colour and light so left all that as is.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Twenty-Five: Rainbow Ribbon

I picked up a ribbon on a stick from the dollar store for Essie the other day. She appears to have been born with the concept of rhythm gymnastics hardwired into her and will use many different substitutes for a ribbon on a stick; strings, those plastic straps that go around newspapers and flyers, a length of cord… the list goes on. She currently prefers sticks from the oak tree with TWO leaves still attached at the end for fluttering. Not three, not five. TWO. Anyhow; I bought this ribbon on a stick and while she enjoys it from time to time she still likes her own inventions best. So July and I seem to play with it more than she does.

I took all these shots with Camera+, cropped them and used the Night filter from the Scenes menu on them. Then I used Diptic to combine them in this triptych.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Twenty-Four: Acorn Hat

I'll be honest; there isn't much I don't love about today's piece. The bands of colour, the texture, the reflection of my hand and iPhone in the water. It just does it for me! I've posted pictures before of Essie playing in a puddle in the driveway and every now and again I will turn on the hose just to create a pool of water for her to play in in the particular spot in the driveway where water collects. I did this today at her request and got this fortuitous shot of an acorn hat sitting there.

I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it and used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Twenty-Three: Ethereal Apples

I took this in the backyard from under the apple tree, as I'm sure is obvious. So much love/hate for this tree (which I've mentioned before.) The apples are never edible. It's a shame because they look so luscious a lot of the time, but they get worm eaten and spotty before they ripen enough. And then they fall all the time and we fear them seeing as how we use that tree for shade. I really loved the glow of the light between the leaves in this shot, though.

I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Fashion filter from Effects.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Twenty-One: A Flower For Keller

I took this shot tonight while sitting out front with my mom watching Essie play and people walk past with their dogs. Mom had watered the plants so these were false raindrops but they still looked pretty. This one goes out to Keller, though; my cat who had to be put down today after fourteen years of being a quiet, shy little sweetheart. She was not outgoing or zany but she was affectionate with people she trusted and was beautiful.

I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it, used the Auto filter from the Scenes menu and the Fashion filter from Effects.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Twenty: She Built It

There are some rocks that are supposed to be ringed around the base of the oak tree in my mom's front yard. Over the years they've migrated and various children have pried them up and played with them. Essie is fascinated with them, of course, and wanted to build this rock tower today while she and July were playing outside. I tried to help but she didn't want any assistance so I just sat back and took some photos.

I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it and used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Nineteen: Return Of Bamflower

So while walking Essie to daycare again this morning I went past the chain link fence through which the flower from Day 315 grew. There had been a thunderstorm in the early hours of the morning (from what I hear; I slept through it) and the flowers were spotted with raindrops. Lovely.

I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it and used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Eighteen: Mmmm, Pie!

A while back we took Essie to Toronto for her three-year neonatal followup visit. I find these visits nerve-wracking and this one was no different. I felt coming out of it that Essie did really well, although something that stuck with me were the frowny faces that the evaluators made over Essie not pretending that little red blocks were actually apples to feed to a teddy bear. They felt that it was necessary that she be able to pretend that an object was another object, and I couldn't really tell them whether or not she did this at home for certain. I thought she might, but I didn't know it was something I was supposed to be watching for specifically.

So today when I saw her gathering up acorns and leaves with this chunk of rock and talking about blueberry pie I wondered what she was up to. She came running up the walkway and pressed it all into my hand, assuring me that she was giving me a 'beautiful blueberry pie'.

I think she's pretending just fine!

I took the shot with Camera+ and cropped it. That's all.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Seventeen: Rugged Cross

I was on the front step watching Essie play in the yard this evening when I looked down and saw this bit of rosebush (I think) that had dried out and fallen to the ground. I was struck by how much it looked like a cross and figured it was appropriate for today, it being Sunday and all.

I took the picture with Camera+, then imported it into Snapseed where I cropped it, used a Drama filter on it and then a Vintage filter. I haven't been using Snapseed as much these days which is a shame because it's such a fantastic app and between it and Camera+ and their user-friendly interfaces I can't really see myself needing much more when it comes to editing iPhone pictures.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Sixteen: Climbing To The Sky Again

The hornet nest above my mom's doorway has afforded us a lot of hornet interaction in the last little while. I can't say it's been pleasant but it is sometimes exciting! My older sister visited for a short while the other day and we sat out on the front step chatting. I noticed this hornet climbing around on some plants and took some pictures of it but it wasn't until after that I noticed it had only one wing. Poor hornet. :(

I took the photo with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and then the Depth Of Field filter from Effects.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Fifteen: BAM!

This flower was sticking through a chain-link fence while I was walking Essie to daycare the other day. I loved the optical illusion of a glowing star it gives when looked at straight on down the center, and loved it even more after I edited it and just thought 'BAM!' every time I see the picture, like it's exploding violently or something. The little dusting of flecks on it must be pollen.

I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it and used the Backlit filter from Scenes.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Fourteen: Castles In The Sky

While playing in the front yard today Essie noticed that the clouds had broken up somewhat and there was a lot more blue sky. She took the opportunity to get down and cloud-gaze for a bit to try and find some shapes.

I took the pictures with Camera+, cropped them, then used the Black And White filter on them. After that I imported them into Diptic where I assembled them into this triptych.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Thirteen: WHO'S Lenny?

This image is extremely similar to Day Two-Hundred-And-Seventy-Three. It's an alternate shot that I edited differently in order to capture the shadows that they cast in the evening sun. The reason that I'm posting this one today is that Kevin came back! Yes, we hadn't seen him in quite a while and I was getting pretty worried that he was gone for good (while hoping that his owners had decided he should be an indoor cat.) Tonight, though, he showed up again with a collar and tag proclaiming his name to be 'Lenny'. What kind of maroon names a cat LENNY? He's obviously a Kevin!

I would have taken another photo of Kevin tonight except I had neglected to bring my iPhone outside with me; something that rarely happens. So it's this old shot to celebrate the return of Kevin!

I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it and that's it. I really wanted this one to keep as much of the natural light and colour as possible.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Twelve: Look Inside

This tree picture was another that I took at Lake Ontario park. I actually took a somewhat similar picture back in March on Day 217, but this tree was bigger and the weather was better. I am pretty fascinated by tree trunks that have large holes in them like this, although it's a kind of creeped-out fascination, I admit.

I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it a bit, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the So Emo filter from Effects.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Eleven: Up, Up, Up!

I went sailing for the first time today. The marina where the boat is docked is on the north side of the lift bridge on the La Salle Causeway so leaving and returning meant coming back as close to the top of the hour as possible so that we could catch the bridge going up. Sailing was great! I'm looking forward to trying it without Essie along sometime so that I can enjoy the full experience without wrangling her but she had a great time as well.

I took this shot with Camera+ and used the Clarity filter on it. I didn't have to crop it or use any other filters. It was a freakishly beautiful day out and all the colours were bright and lovely.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Ten: Ant Herder

Today's photo is another of the bunch that I took while we were in Niagara On The Lake last weekend. It was blisteringly hot so I ended up putting Essie's hair up in a topknot to keep it off of her neck. I got this shot of her chasing ants while we were in the bandstand and kept coming back to it for the texture of her hair.

I took the shot with Camera+ and then used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu. I didn't use any other filters because I liked the colour the way it was.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Nine: Earth, Wind, Water, Sky

Today's shot is one I took at Lake Ontario Park over the last week. I really liked the textures in this one; grass to rocks to water to sky.

I used Camera+ to take the picture, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Ansel filter from Effects. I appreciated what Ansel did with the light and shadow of this one.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Eight: Ins And Outs

We got this inflatable wading pool for the backyard on a super-hot summer day after Essie had begged and begged and begged to go to a beach. Since that first day she has preferred to play around the sides of it from the outside instead of getting in; scooping water out to water plants, 'wash' toys, wet her hands for catching bubbles. Everything but wade! It wasn't until this week with her cousin July encouraging her that she finally decided that it was fun to play in as well as around. I posted a similar picture to this on Facebook but absolutely loved the focus in this one; Essie and her splashing so blurred and full of motion, July's hair and expression so detailed and awesome.

I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Fashion filter from Effects.

Number Three-Hundred-And-Seven: Among Us

Another picture at Lake Ontario Park. I noticed this fungus growing on the trunk of a tree and liked the contrast of its curvy lines and soft colour against the coarse bark.

I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the So Emo filter from Effects. (I think if I were fated to be a fungus I'd be emo about it too.)

Number Three-Hundred-And-Six: Awakening

Some of my favourite photos are ones I take without quite realizing what I was framing. I saw how this tree had a strange branch reaching up and wrapping around itself but it wasn't until i got home and looked at the pictures I'd taken that I saw how it looks like a creature disengaging from the tree and climbing upward. Creepy, but fantastic.

I took the shot with Camera+ and then used the Clarity filter from Effects and the Faded filter from Effects.