My Best Attempt...

At being a photographer....

My niece Harmony posted some new family photos on her blog. The pictures were amazing. The photographer (her neighbor) is so inspiring. Her style is so fresh. She really captures the true moment with her work. You can see some of her work at

http://artphotographs.blogspot.com/

So after looking at EVERY photo on her site, I became inspired again. Especially since some of her photos were taken with a "point and shoot" camera. My sister says that Photoshop is the new "darkroom". Hopefully I will have more time to learn how to add such great color and effects. The above photo was taken off the Oceanside California Pier.

Sometimes though...we capture pictures that just naturally turn out surprisingly well. The light just happens to be right and everything works. (Haulover Cut..North Miami, FL)

I decided to be brave and post some of my favorite pictures. Non-Photoshop...just regular dumb luck! Most of these were taken with a 1 MP camera! (Jupiter Island Beach, FL)

This one of the Hotel del Coronado, in San Diego really surprised me. I was really hoping that the moon would show up on this beautiful night! This hotel is so full of history. It was even the location for Marilyn Monroe's film "Some Like It Hot". http://www.hoteldel.com/about/history.cfm  should you want to plan a vacation.

This is a picture my husband took of the Star of India also in San Diego. She was built in 1863 and is the oldest ship that still sails regularly, and the oldest iron hulled merchant ship still floating. The day he took this picture, she had a lot of sail up, even though she was tied to the dock. Here is a link to a full picture of her if you are interested. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Starofindia.jpg

Another picture of Oceanside Pier. We used to take long walks along the sand at dusk until the sand was too cold for our feet. My little "sweetie pie" would even watch for the 'green flash'!

Back to Florida... this is Boca Chita Key out in Biscayne Bay (Miami). You can only get there by boat. This is not a real lighthouse, but you can go up inside when the park rangers are there.

As the former owner was preparing the island for his own private use his wife was fatally injured... on the island. She later passed away and he found the memories too deep to continue to work on developing the property. Rumor is that she fell down the steps inside the lighthouse... spooky! http://www.key-biscayne.com/kb/keys/bocachita/

And lastly, another peaceful picture of Oceanside, California. Not very often do you have this much beach to yourself, especially in California! I just love the way the kids are just exploring life. So simple. I wish I could freeze time...

Now it's your turn to post your favorite pictures!