photographer choice

Has the month of June been as crazy for some of you as it has for me?

Work has been hectic (for part of the month), I had a couple of trips to the Doc (had something hanging on a bit too long, so had my normal checkup, then went back for some chest X-rays… things were OK and it seems to be clearing up, slowly), and I’ve been busy on weekends. I had a bunch of images for this month, but after this past weekend, I decided to go in a different direction — graduation.

My niece, Nicole, graduated high school this past weekend. It seems like yesterday that she was a week little tyke and now she’s all grown up, driving, and planning for college.

Crazy.

Anyway, I opted to make that my “topic” for the Anything Goes theme. I look forward to seeing what everybody else came up with for this theme.

So, without further adieu… here are my five!

1. Graduated

The moment where she goes from high school kid to young adult!

2. Look what I have!

As her line started to file down, I realized I wasn’t going to get a good shot from my seat. So I moved to be able to actually see and got a few good shots. She also saw me, so she hammed it up a little.

3. Yahoo!

Think she’s happy?

4. The shindig

These were at the graduation party.

5. Now and future

Cameron always finds a way into these monthly challenges, so far be it from him not to get a snapshot with his cousin the graduate! It’s years in the future for him to get his own cap and gown!

That’s my five and now it’s your turn!

If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below. And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!). Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too!

Also, don’t forget to get back here tomorrow, July 1, to see the theme for July!

NOTE: I set up a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

May went by in a flash. The weather in my area got better and work was so crazy, I almost forgot about the challenge! Thankfully, I didn’t!

And now it’s June.

Is it just me, or does it seem like yesterday that 2015 was just beginning and now we are starting the halfway month? Sheesh!

So this month, I’ve decided to make it a little more relaxed. You’ll see when you get to the theme what I have in mind. I hope you all enjoy it and I think it will give everybody a chance to really show what you have. Hopefully this will be a month where a lot of people get involved so we can really see the photographic side of everybody!

Before we get into all the normal stuff — a quick reminder to try and visit and comment on others who are participating. I’m as guilty (some months) as anybody else about getting too lax with it and for that, I apologize. But this is a community, so come back here and visit and see the others who post after you. I leave the link live for about 5-6 days on purpose, so people have time to link up. Let’s all get the best out of this experience as we continue to grow.

The theme is below. But before we get to that … let me remind you of some important items:

• I set up a Facebook group for those who are interested. Reminders and maybe some discussions or other things can be done there.
• If you haven’t already, attempt to check out everybody’s posts and consider commenting. These challenges are great for personal growth, but it’s also nice to be interactive with all the others in the challenge! That’s one of the best parts of this challenge — interacting and seeing other people’s work!

Before we hit up this month’s theme, for new people, allow me to refresh the rules a bit.

Here’s how it will work.

• On the first of each month (or close to it), I’ll have a blog post here with the theme for the month.
• Over the course of the month, participants will take photos with their interpretation of the theme. On the last day of the month (or close to it), participants should  publish their blog post, which will include five photos from the month. (please don’t recycle photos from the past … the idea is to hopefully challenge you to go out and take new photos each month to interpret the theme). And please only use photos you took.
  
• I’ll have a link-up thing at the end of my post so people can come and post the links to their posts so, hopefully, everybody can go go check out and comment on other posts.

There is no rule on equipment or anything. Use a cell phone. Use film. Use a point-and-shoot. Use a DSLR. It doesn’t matter. Just make sure you publish your blog post on the last day of each month, come here and link up.

It’s simple!

Your blog posts can be as simple or as in-depth as you want. I’ll likely talk a little about each photo. But if all you want to do is post photos, feel free. The idea of this is to give a small challenge and give everybody a chance to express themselves with photography, participate in a challenge and have something to blog about.

That’s it. Easy, right? So join in! Help us continue to grow this challenge by telling fellow bloggers/photographers about the challenge and hopefully it can become a great monthly thing!

For those still with me, this month’s theme is: Anything goes. That’s right — whatever you want. Mix and match. Have some fun. Take advantage of the weather. Show us what you have! And have fun with it!

Let’s see what you have for this one! And let’s see if we can get some others interested in joining us! Pass along the word!

Please make sure your blog post publishes Tuesday, June 30. Then come back here and link up.

If you think you are going to take part in this, drop a comment below so we can see who all might be trying to tackle this challenge!

History of the challenge (past month’s themes – links to see everybody else’s posts are at the end of the linked post):

• March 2013: My World
• April 2013: Transportation
• May 2013: Night
• June 2013: Bridges
• July 2013: Signs
• August 2013: Summer 
• September 2013: Outdoors
• October 2013: Fall
• November 2013: People
• December 2013: Festive
• January 2014: New
• February 2014: Red
• March 2014: One
• April 2014: Smile
• May 2014: Fun
• June 2014: Vehicles
• July 2014: Baseball
• August 2014: Colorful
• September 2014: Black and White
• October 2014: Photographer’s Choice
  
• November 2014: Where the streets have no name
• December 2014: ‘Tis the season
• January 2015: Games
  
• February 2015: Winter
• March 2015: Two
• April 2015: Friends and Family
• May 2015: Spring
• June: Anything goes

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

This month has flown by. And one thing I realize is the lack of use with my main camera. Therefore, this month I’ve got a good mix of photos with the main camera and with the iPhone.

Spring is in the air and that means a lot of things. I tried to think of different things for this one, so hopefully you all enjoy!

Anyway, without further adieu… here are my five!

1. Chalk art

The weather gets warm and chalk art starts to come out. It’s even cooler now that Cameron is doing it as well. I love this shot because he’s so focused!

2. In bloom!

With the warm spring months, color starts to be all around us!

3. Baseball

The spring also signifies baseball season!

4. Colors

I love the colors that come with spring!

5. Geocaching

I am a fair-weather geocacher … so when it’s warm, I’ll go. And I’ve been doing a lot this spring!

That’s my five and now it’s your turn!

If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below. And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!). Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too!

Also, don’t forget to get back here tomorrow, June 1, to see the theme for June!

NOTE: I set up a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

What a great month we had in April.

And all despite having some snow still. Can you imagine? Argh!

Alas, it seems like we’ve turned the corner. The sun has been out more. Temperatures, especially during the day, have been rising. And it is starting to feel like winter is finally leaving. Who knows how long of a spring we’ll have. Before we know it, it will be hot all the time!

Either way, it’s a new month — and, thus, a new theme for the challenge.

But first…

Allow me a moment to get on a quick soap box (and this goes for me, too!) — visiting others. One thing I’ve loved is watching the Photo Blogging Challenge grow. I know some people have come from the WordPress blogging class thing (as we’re linked up there) or others found it different ways. But one thing I love about this challenge is the community feel. It’s not just a linkup, it’s a way to talk and interact with people.

So don’t forget to go back and visit some blogs, drop a note etc. I only got through about half last month — and I will go back and finish — because work has been crazy. But usually, I wait until the linkup closes and then go hit everybody. I love seeing what people have done. But what’s disappointing is when there are 10-20 links in the linkup, and people only have 4-5 comments. I know that not everybody is in it for that, but let’s make a community out of this.

Build the whole experience here — see what others have done. Come back, see those who linked later than you. Go visit them, drop a note, and interact. That’s what this is all about — having fun and interacting and such. Experience all sides of this. Some people’s blogs are awesome well beyond the challenge posts!

Anyway… off the soap box.

The theme is below. But before we get to that … let me remind you of some important items:

• I set up a Facebook group for those who are interested. Reminders and maybe some discussions or other things can be done there.
• If you haven’t already, attempt to check out everybody’s posts and consider commenting. These challenges are great for personal growth, but it’s also nice to be interactive with all the others in the challenge! That’s one of the best parts of this challenge — interacting and seeing other people’s work!

Before we hit up this month’s theme, for new people, allow me to refresh the rules a bit.

Here’s how it will work.

• On the first of each month (or close to it), I’ll have a blog post here with the theme for the month.
• Over the course of the month, participants will take photos with their interpretation of the theme. On the last day of the month (or close to it), participants should  publish their blog post, which will include five photos from the month. (please don’t recycle photos from the past … the idea is to hopefully challenge you to go out and take new photos each month to interpret the theme). And please only use photos you took.
  
• I’ll have a link-up thing at the end of my post so people can come and post the links to their posts so, hopefully, everybody can go go check out and comment on other posts.

There is no rule on equipment or anything. Use a cell phone. Use film. Use a point-and-shoot. Use a DSLR. It doesn’t matter. Just make sure you publish your blog post on the last day of each month, come here and link up.

It’s simple!

Your blog posts can be as simple or as in-depth as you want. I’ll likely talk a little about each photo. But if all you want to do is post photos, feel free. The idea of this is to give a small challenge and give everybody a chance to express themselves with photography, participate in a challenge and have something to blog about.

That’s it. Easy, right? So join in! Help us continue to grow this challenge by telling fellow bloggers/photographers about the challenge and hopefully it can become a great monthly thing!

For those still with me, this month’s theme is: Spring. I’m thinking this will be an easier one for the month and hopefully one you all can have a lot of fun with.

Let’s see what you have for this one! And let’s see if we can get some others interested in joining us! Pass along the word!

Please make sure your blog post publishes Sunday, May 31. Then come back here and link up.

If you think you are going to take part in this, drop a comment below so we can see who all might be trying to tackle this challenge!

History of the challenge (past month’s themes – links to see everybody else’s posts are at the end of the linked post):

• March 2013: My World
• April 2013: Transportation
• May 2013: Night
• June 2013: Bridges
• July 2013: Signs
• August 2013: Summer 
• September 2013: Outdoors
• October 2013: Fall
• November 2013: People
• December 2013: Festive
• January 2014: New
• February 2014: Red
• March 2014: One
• April 2014: Smile
• May 2014: Fun
• June 2014: Vehicles
• July 2014: Baseball
• August 2014: Colorful
• September 2014: Black and White
• October 2014: Photographer’s Choice
  
• November 2014: Where the streets have no name
• December 2014: ‘Tis the season
• January 2015: Games
  
• February 2015: Winter
• March 2015: Two
• April 2015: Friends and Family
• May 2015: Spring

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

I am looking forward to seeing what everybody does with this one.

Did you go more traditional (I did)? Think outside the box? Something else? More friends? More family?

Anybody who has been a part of this challenge for a while had to know the direction I was going … my nephew/godson Cameron was going to be a massive part of this one.

And so he is.

I can’t lie though — there’s a bonus photo at the end. The first five are my “picks” for the month, and the sixth is a bonus as it’s a shot of all the nieces/nephews at Easter.

Anyway, without further adieu… here are my five!

1. Dinner time

Easter dinner and Cam was getting the food on. That weekend, I had rented a fisheye lens, so a few images in this set are with that lens.

2. What you got?

Cameron was a tad interested in the camera as I took shots of him. And how about Cam rocking the bow tie?

3. In control

When Cam got hold of the remote, there was no telling what was going to happen.

4. Cotton candy

And here’s Cam with his first taste of cotton candy. He didn’t have a ton of it, but he sure seemed to enjoy what he did have.

5. Laughing

Is there anything better than a child’s laughter?

Bonus! 

All the young’uns at Easter.

That’s my five and now it’s your turn!

If you took part in this month’s challenge, make sure to link up below. And for those of you who participated, make sure you try and get to other people’s blogs and comment (here, too!). Let’s continue to grow this challenge and have a strong community. Come back and check out the others who link later on, too!

Also, don’t forget to get back here tomorrow, May 1, to see the theme for May!

NOTE: I set up a Facebook group for those who participate in the challenge and are interested. I’ll post any announcements there and hopefully it can be a place where things are discussed and some interaction etc. You can access it here.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!