Going on a Scavenger Hunt! Oh, the things I will see.

My Photo Scavenger Hunt

The assignment was to take pictures of something colorful, something small, something important in nature, something gross and something camouflage.

Something Colorful....

Maple tree buds without editing

I edited this picture by enhancing it in iPhoto. I increased the sharpness and decreased the shadows.  I took two colorful pictures because I am not sure which photo I prefer.

Photo 2 of Maple Buds without editing

On this photo I cropped using the rule of thirds.  I also enhanced it in iPhoto by reducing shadows and increasing sharpness.  I go back in forth on if the background is too distracting.  What are your thoughts?

Something Small...

On my journey to find something small, I enlisted the help of Carson, our neighbor, and my son Will.  Of course, my two little minions were able to find something so minuscule.  They found a little, red insect that I would have definitely overlooked. 

As far as editing rules I uses the "rule of thirds" and cropped the picture so the object of interest was not in the middle.  I also used size relationship.  The boys' fingers lets the audience gauge the size of the object. I also lightened the photo. 

          This picture is the unedited version.

Something Important in Nature..

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.” 
― Virgil Kraft

The beginning of spring.  A time of the year the gives rebirth to our beautiful nature.  Nothing gets me more excited after a long, cold, snowy winter then seeing a little green pop out from underneath the dreadful, brown, winter ground.    Spring is the signal of a new beginning for nature.  The plants, trees and animals come out from their long winter slumber. 

Something Gross, EWWWW....

Finding something gross was more of a challenge.  I looked and looked. I couldn't find anything too disgusting.  My minions were still hard at work helping me find something gross.  They had plenty of ideas, boogers, trash,  a dead worm that turned out to be a rusty, bent nail, but nothing stood out. I finally found these dead, contorted roots.  The shaped stood out to me.  It reminded me of something that would have grown and twisted around a poor maiden in a fairy tale.

Something Camouflaged....

There is a reason why creatures have the ability to camouflage and one of them is to hide from me.   I surveyed my yard and neighborhood for those organisms that like to hide from plain view.  I finally had to think like one. Where would I hide.  Under a rock of course!  My little bug finding son always knows where to find them, so sometimes thinking like a 5 year old boy is a good thing.  Under the pavers around the mailbox is where I find the gold!  Pillbugs (a.k.a. The Roly Poly)!

Nature always seems to amaze me.  I think about the ways organisms have adapted to their surrounding for purpose of survival.  

If you are ever bored or just need a challenge, look up camouflaged animals on the internet. It's a good time!