New Designs at my Zazzle Storefront!

Look for a personalized gift at Zazzle.

No need to buy anything when you visit my Zazzle Storefront, but I wanted to let everyone know that I have designed a number of new products, from iPhone and iPad cases to men's and women's t-shirts and an all new 2011 Calendar of my best flower images!  Check them all out by clicking on any of the individual links within the panel, or just click HERE to go directly to my Zazzle store! 

Let me know what you think!  And if you would like a different item designed with any of my photographs, just drop me a line to let me know and I'll be happy to do it!  Cindy

A Little Witch on Halloween. . .

Once upon a time, there was a little witch on Halloween. . .

She wore pink striped tights and shoes blacker than midnight. . .

You had to watch out, or she would CURSE YOU! 

Of course, when that happened, the Good Fairy would always show up to say, "Snap out of it!"

Hope your Halloween was as fun as ours was!  Cindy

Ginger Gold

It's a grim, drizzly, rainy Novemberish afternoon here in Portland, Maine, so after eating doing my errands and eating lunch, I headed upstairs to my new tabletop "studio" (an EZ Cube with lights ) to take pictures of some beautiful, locally grown Ginger Gold apples I bought at Rosemont Market.

Ginger Gold Apples 1

Ginger Gold Apples 2

Ginger Gold Apples processed with a Painterly effect in Photomatix Pro

Ginger Gold Apples--another view. . .

Anyhow, it was a nice way to spend the afternoon, while listening to Chill Lounge type music on Pandora Radio to the accompaniment of rain on the skylight above me.  Hope this post finds you warm and cozy indoors on this chilly, Autumn afternoon!  Cindy

Chase's Daily, Belfast, Maine

I really enjoyed photographing Chase's Daily, a wonderful vegetarian restaurant in Belfast, Maine over the past year.  Portland Magazine just published a couple of the pictures in their November 2010 issue, but I wanted to share a collage of my favorite shots that might offer you a bit more of the flavors of Chase's.  Chase's is located in the heart of Belfast's downtown at 96 Main Street.  (Phone: 207-338-0555)  They are committed to providing great local produce at all times of the year, as well as wonderful brunches, lunches and dinners.  My personal favorites when I visit are the goat cheese tartlets and the cherry tartlets.  Don't miss this Downeast gem!

In order of appearance:
1st Row: Beets, Bok Choi, Big Squash
2nd Row: Dried Beans, the front window, fresh greens
3rd Row: Gourds and Squashes, peppers, Emily Kourand, waitstaff, squashes
4th Row: Empire Apples, Delicata Squash, Diners in the dining room on a Sunday morning.
5th Row: Mesclun greens, the coffee grinder, Holli Merri, Assistant Baker, Back Door Sign
6th Row: Antique stools at the counter, the famed Cherry Tartlets, Bread for Sale, a squash

Please feel free to forward my blog posts to your friends and relatives, and be sure to show your support for my work by clicking on the Follow button in the upper right hand column of Photo Quest.  The only list it will put you on is my list of followers, promise. . .  Thanks for all the nice comments and visits to my blog everyone!  Happy November 1st!  Cindy

Some recent shots from this Autumn

Route 116, New Hampshire

Saco Heath

Saco Heath Forest

Saco Heath Aspens

Red maple, Yellow Fern

Halfway up Mt. Washington--5 image handheld panorama

Mt. Washington Base--12 image handheld panorama

Glen Elis Falls, New Hampshire--20 image handheld panorama

River Road Antique Cape and Autumnal Windbreak

Saco Area antique truck

New Gloucester winding road

These past two weeks, I've been busier than a one-armed paper hanger, as they sometimes say in Maine.  I've been taking Autumnal pictures for Maine Office of Tourism and Visit Portland all over the Greater Portland area and other parts of Maine.  I couldn't get to nearly as many places as I would have liked, of course.  And then we had some rain during the height of the foliage time, which took a couple of shooting days away, but I think I've managed to accrue a few nice images.  We also spent the weekend in New Hampshire, with my parents-in-law, and I got the chance to take a ride up Mt. Washington (only halfway actually, because the winds were literally 80 mph on the top!) and see the beautiful Glen Elis Falls.  I didn't have a tripod, so I couldn't capture Glen Elis the way I wanted to, but what I got will do for now!

Hope all you are all having a wonderful, colorful Autumn, as we have, and that you've been able to get out and enjoy the weather and the beauty of wherever you happen to be.  Thanks for looking, as always!  Cindy

My Panoramic Article published

I am happy to announce that Mark Goldstein, the Editor of  Photography Blog  in England, has published my article discussing how to create beautiful panoramic photographs!  I hope you'll take a moment to click on the Photography Blog link and read my article and share it with your friends and family as well.

The article, which contains many of my architectural and landscape panoramas as examples, has step-by-step instructions with screenshots of the individual actions you need to take in photoshop to stitch together and then complete your panoramas. 

If you want to share any of my posts using any online social media sites, you can either click on the share link directly below each of my posts, or scroll down a bit on the right side of the blog to the "share my blog with your friends" area, where you will find many social media sites to click on and share. 

You can also "follow" my blog, by clicking on the button on the right side of the blog that says "follow," which doesn't mean anything more than that you are showing your support for my photography.  

I'm also happy to report that since I added a site counter to Photo Quest a few months ago, I've had almost 6500 visitors to the site.  Thanks to everyone who supports my photography by visiting and reading! 

Best wishes everyone and have a great day!  Cindy

Sushi for lunch. . .

I was in the mood for a little food photography this morning, so I picked up some Sushi for my lunch and photographed it first!  The first photo is of Japanese Avocado and Vegetable Rolls, and the second is of Brown Rice and Salmon/Avocado Sushi.  (Hint:  I didn't actually drink Sake with my lunch, but it looked nice as a still life. . .)

In search of the elusive Monarch. . .

A couple of mornings ago, I drove out to Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth, to try to find the last of the Monarch Butterflies before they head off to parts Western.  One of my fondest dreams is to someday see their wintering grounds in Mexico or California, where they cluster so thickly on the tree trunks it looks as though the trunks are blossoming.  I had a great time, however, haring around after 15-20 of these beauties as they flitted from cluster to cluster of New England Aster. 

Sunset at Bug Light

Last night, when I left my home to photograph South Portland, Maine's iconic Bug Light, there was hardly a cloud in the sky.  But by the time I made to the tiny lighthouse, a lot of beautiful ones had rolled in.  Sunset was very pretty indeed! 

Senior Portrait Shoot

Last Sunday, I spent a really fun hour doing a Senior Portrait session with Gabe.  He had some really good ideas for the pictures, one of which was to include him with his violin, as he is an amazing violinist/musician.  We decided on a more "edgy" urban look to the photos, rather than a "pretty" bucolic setting.  So we started at one of Portland's graffiti walls, behind ASYLUM, the dance club, and moved on to my favorite of the two places (although it was hard to choose,) the very narrow alley between two buildings on Exchange Street.  I used my ultrawide lens to get a really interesting look for him.  The top left and bottom right shots are both HDRs, or High Dynamic Range photography: three separate exposures, bracketed to expose best for highlights, midtones and shadows and then combined together using a program called Photomatix.  It made for a couple of dramatic, gritty shots that really make Gabe look great!