Challenged: A Photo a Day

Monnie Ryan

Monnie Ryan is one of those people who does SO MUCH and does it SO WELL that we wonder how in the world she finds the time, energy, talent, and intestinal fortitude to cope with it all!  As you can see by her biographical sketch, which only touches the surface of her list of accomplishments, she is quite an awesome woman.  And as you can see from her photographs, she is also a super talented photographer.

Not only does her story relate the challenge (relentless pursuit of a photo a day) that she has set for herself, but it is also a mini-primer on how NOT to miss a great shot.  I hope you enjoy it and learn as much from Monnie's story as I did!

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Thanks for stopping here to see the latest post. I'd love to know what you think of the "Relentless Pursuit" series. Please leave a comment below for the author or email me with your suggestions on what you'd like to see on this blog. Also, PLEASE click the green SU icon at the bottom of this post to recommend the blog to Stumble Upon members. It will dramatically increase the "exposure" of our authors' work.

If you have a story to post on this theme, contact me. And be sure to take a look at my Photography site. I'd love to hear from you! Also, consider forwarding the link to "Relentless" to your friends and family. Thanks again!

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Michelle Alton

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Challenged:  A Photo a Day   by Monnie Ryan


Those of us born under the Aries sign of the Zodiac are easily bored (or so astrological pundits would have us believe). We embrace change, have a strong urge to fix things that ain't broken and constantly are on the lookout for our next challenge. It was the latter, I suppose, that prompted me to join a group of online photographer friends who at the beginning of last year embarked on a special project: We would, we pledged, take at least one photo a day for the entire year. It turned out to be a frustrating, demanding and sometimes nearly impossible experience -- but one that was so satisfying (and decidedly unboring) that I'm doing it again this year.

Like many photographers I know, I have favorite photo subjects; flower close-ups, lighthouses, covered bridges and anything with rust on it are at the top of my list. But I reckoned that embarking on this photo journey would force me to open my eyes to new possibilities (whether I wanted to see them or not). And looking back on that first year, I realized that only a handful of flowers, two lighthouses and one covered bridge fill the 365 slots. Some days, subjects almost jumped in front of my camera begging for attention; other days, not so much. It was on those other days that another side of my Aries personality was called into play: stubbornness (or, as Jack, my husband of nearly 49 years, prefers to call it, damned stubbornness).

As I’ve wandered along my photographic path, a few folks have asked why on earth I'd want to undertake such a project. That answered (see the above explanation), they go on to ask how on earth I’m able to come up with a different photo every day for an entire year. Now that I’ve passed the halfway point of a second year, I've learned quite a bit that might help others follow me on a similar journey. So for whatever it's worth, I'll share what I've learned as part of my ongoing relentless pursuit (and a few of the photos as well).

Don’t leave home without it. No matter how good your camera is, it won’t work if you don’t have it when you need it. It’s safe to say I never walk out the door without at least one camera within easy reach (heck, I've even been known to carry it down the short driveway to get mail out of our box). There's one in my pocket when I wander through our neighborhood on my morning walks. I'm a state-certified volunteer long-term care ombudsman, so it's in my bag when I make my weekly nursing home visits. Grocery runs and department store stops? Well, you get the point. Here’s another, also from the voice of experience:  Be sure to keep your batteries charged (and carry extras) so you don’t run out of juice at a crucial moment.

Sunny Delight (Nursing Home Window)

Lighten up. Admittedly, I love competition -- make that winning -- as much or more than the next gal (yet another Aries trait). But the goal of taking a photo a day isn't getting an award or seeing your photos hanging in a gallery. Rather, the purpose is to expand your photographic horizons and, most importantly, create visual memories of where you've been and what you've done for an entire year. Whether it's a grandkid acting silly, somebody's cute pet or a stained glass window inside a local pub doesn't matter - it's the effort that counts.

Miss Lucy

Look, listen, stop. Wherever you go, keep your eyes and ears open (that means if you’re out for a walk or run, unplug the iPod). Look right and left, of course, but don’t forget up and down; some of my most interesting shots came from a ceiling or floor. Listen for noises like birds chirping, engines revving up and children laughing—and when one of those happens within range of your lens, stop and capture the action.

Pier Pressure (Avalon Pier, North Carolina Outer Banks)

Think outside your box. I’m not about to stop loving those flowers and lighthouses, but staying within my comfort zone does little to foster creativity and virtually puts the kabosh on the photo-a-day thing. Nothing comes to mind? Visit websites haunted by other photographers, like BetterPhoto.com, Redbubble.com, Zenfolio.com, Digital Image Cafe (digitalimagecafe.com) and social networking sites like Facebook. You'll be amazed at what you'll find to inspire you!

Off-Track (rusty railroad hingers, Delaplane, Va.)

Tune in. The daily newspaper, local TV newscasts and such are other terrific sources of photo possibilities. Checking them often can lead you to kite-flying and pizza-eating contests, balloon fests, wine-tastings, flower shows and Civil War reenactments -- each and every one a gold mine just waiting for you to dig in. Ask friends, neighbors, family members and co-workers to clue you in when the flowers in their gardens start to bloom, their churches are having a strawberry festival or their kids are playing in Little League games. Go online and sign up for e-newsletters at websites of convention and visitor bureaus, chambers of commerce and local, state and national parks so you'll be notified of upcoming events

Stirring the Pot (apple butter-making demonstration, Beaver Creek
State Park, East Liverpool, Ohio)

Point and shoot. If it's not moving too fast (and sometimes even if it is), it's got potential. Don't wait for the perfect opportunity; a telephone pole, an empty cigarette pack someone carelessly tossed in the street or a patch of weeds by a wood fence are fair game. Often, something that didn't turn me on in the moment turns out to be a real gem; and even if it’s a total dud, the great thing about digital photography is we can quickly dispose of anything we don't want or like.

 Don't Fence Me In (Mineral Ridge, Ohio)

Put your feet to the fire. Putting the above strategies into play means plenty of opportunities will come knocking at your door most days; but sometimes, there’s simply no place to go and no one to see. That’s when I tell myself I have half an hour to find something -- anything -- to photograph (or else)! Over the course of this year, for instance, I’ve pointed at and shot everything from old books to vegetables to buckles on my shoes to my husband's [nearly] bald head.

Wisdom Through the Ages (old family Bible)

Get creative. Don't automatically discard a ho-hum photo; instead, try turning it into something special by "doctoring" it up in a photo editing program. Don't have one? Picasa is quite good and free (download it at picasa.google.com). Or, upload a photo at Picnik.com, jazz it up and save the changed version on your computer. You may be happily surprised at the results. A bunch of drab backyard leaves turned jazzy with a touch of the Fractalius filter; adding a focal zoom filter to fall leaves in a pond at our local park turned it into a contest winner

Rockin' the Lily Pond (Mill Creek Metropark, Youngstown, Ohio)

Above all, I encourage you to get out there, try new things and practice, practice, practice. If that results in an occasional honor or prize along the way, that’s wonderful. If it doesn’t -- and there will be plenty of times when it won’t -- that’s fine too. Just relax, have fun and go with the flow. Who knows? Like me, you just may end up with another favorite photo subject or two to add to your list!

Monnie's Brief Biography

A one-time university administrator with a master’s degree in higher education administration, Monnie retired in 2003 after 14 years as managing editor of The Business Journal in Youngstown, Ohio. She continues to serve as online editor, columnist and feature article writer for the newspaper on a part-time basis and writes two online blogs, one in which she reviews northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania restaurants (http://mahoningvalleyeats.blogspot.com). Her nonfiction articles have appeared in more than 20 national magazines, and her photos have earned numerous national, state and local awards. She’s been married for nearly 49 years Jack, a retired English teacher who’s also a photography nut. You can see more of Monnie's photography at her gallery: http://photosbymonnie.zenfolio.com


Monnie's Bonus Shots

Lilies of the Field (Mill Creek MetroPark)

Dilly of a Dahlia (Mill Creek MetroPark)

Walk This Way (Whalehead Club, Corolla, N.C.)

A-Tisket, A-Tasket (woven basket at Hobby Lobby)

Fabrics of Our Lives (local Hobby Lobby store)

Let There Be Light (local pub window)

Fall Patio at Mill Creek MetroPark (Youngstown, Ohio)

Jazzed-Up Leaves (our backyard)

Big Red (Holland Harbor Lighthouse, Holland State Park, Mich.)

Pardon My Back (dahlia from nursing home garden)

Dumpster Rust (dumpster in Sharon, Pa.)

 Sharps Island Lighthouse (Chesapeake Bay, Md.)

Annisquam Lighthouse (Glouster, Mass.)

On-Yums (Farmers' market, Canfield, Ohio)

Wiswell Road Covered Bridge (Ashtabula County, Ohio)

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   All photography by Monnie Ryan
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*** I Need Your Story! *** { I'm Serious!} If you have a story to post on this theme, contact me, please! We haven't a single story on tap. I'm working on one, but it won't be ready in time for next week. Please consider sharing your tales of Relentless Pursuit!  Give you imagination a stretch--your story can be about any sort of Relentless Pursuit, fact, fiction, poignant, or humorous.  And I'd be appreciative if you also take a look at my Photography site. I'd love to hear from you and work with you on your story!--
Michelle Alton

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Will to Survive

Mike Clime, with whom I've been acquainted online for several years, does most of his talking through the art of his photography. What little I know about him I've discerned through his collection of images. So imagine my surprise and delight when he offered to share a story on my blog!

From the title, you know that the theme revolves around man's relentless will to survive.  I think you'll find Mike's harrowing story to be riveting and an eye-opener!

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Thanks for stopping here to see the latest post. I'd love to know what you think of the "Relentless Pursuit" series. Please leave a comment below for the author or email me with your suggestions on what you'd like to see on this blog. Also, click the green SU icon at the bottom of this post to recommend the blog to Stumble Upon members. It will dramatically increase the "exposure" of our authors' work.

If you have a story to post on this theme, contact me. And be sure to take a look at my Photography site. I'd love to hear from you! Also, consider forwarding the link to "Relentless" to your friends and family. Thanks again!
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Michelle Alton

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Will to Survive (Click on a photo to enlarge it)

Since the age of 18, I have been a deer hunter.  In fact, in the past 41 years, I’ve only missed one Season!  If readers are offended by hunting, I offer this:  Hunting actually strengthens the deer population by weeding out the weaker and less intelligent animals, allowing the strong and smart deer to reproduce and enhance the gene pool.

Aware of Me

There were three of us when we first started hunting-- my Dad, his friend Virgil, and me.  In those days, we considered ourselves lucky if we even saw a deer, let alone shot one.  Today, deer are so ubiquitous that the Conservation Department requires hunters to purchase a doe tag too even if the intention is to hunt for a buck.  Since the goal of the hunting season is to thin the deer population, leaving a doe alive allows her to breed and produce one or two fawns each year.  So, you pay double for the privilege. 

As an aside,  by the time I buy my license, drive up and back, stay in a hotel for two nights and take my deer to the locker for processing, I have spent over $1,000 for two days of hunting!

Anyway, over that 41-year period our deer party swelled to 12 people or more though it has now shrunk back to six, with the ages ranging from the mid 50’s to the mid 70’s.  We hunt in Southeast Iowa.  Most people think of Iowa as being flat, but that is far from the truth.  The area where we hunt is very hilly with deep ravines.  This is a story from one of our hunts back in 1977.

Doe in Pachysandra          (photo by M. Alton)

We always go first to Virgil’s property to hunt.  On this day, it was four degrees (F) below zero.  I drove my pickup down to his place.  Later that day we decided to go to Tom’s farm to hunt.  His farm has 500 acres of timber.  None of us had ever hunted there before.  I left my truck at Virgil’s and rode over with my Dad to Tom’s place.
When we all got there, we proceeded to the timber area which is about a half mile from the buildings on the farm.

Backyard Herd    (Photo by M. Alton)

I hadn’t gone half a mile before I encountered a pond.  For some reason, I decided that I should be on the other side of it.  The pond is in a deep ravine-- naturally!  I made the decision to cross the ice.  It was only about three steps to the other side.  On my second step, I broke through the ice and fell all the way in.  Without panicking, I threw my gun up onto the bank and grabbed a small tree to pull myself out.  I yelled for help.  My Dad came over.

Dad was an old-fashioned sort of guy who was never openly loving or demonstrative.  And yet, he was a wonderful man—a much loved school teacher.  After his death, the school district honored him by naming an award for him.

For some reason, on this day, Dad wasn’t especially helpful.  (I still love him—God rest his soul).  He died in 1994, while doing chores on his farm.  But that is a tale for another day.

Soaking wet, shivering,  and frozen, I told him I was going back to the truck.  He must have forgotten to give me the keys, and I didn’t realize that they weren’t in the truck.  In the zub-zero temperature, my wet clothes instantly froze.

My next decision was to head East to the road, which I thought was closer, rather than trying to trek back South to the farmstead.  I ended up walking more than a mile, through the timber, shivering hard, until I finally came to the road.  My gloves were frozen on my hands and my arm was frozen in the position of carrying my gun over my shoulder.  I could have been one of those “mannequin mimes” you see busking for dollars in city squares.

Luckily, there happened to be a truck coming down the road so I stood in the middle of the road and motioned wildly for him to stop.  He and his passengers were deer hunters too, and I explained what had happened.  They offered me a pint of brandy and a ride.  I think I drank the whole thing quickly which turned out NOT to be a very good idea.  Again, I will spare you the details of that story.

When I got back to the truck, I could not find the keys since Dad had taken them with him. I could not start the truck or run its heater.  The guys hunted very slowly as we have to use shotguns and you have to be very patient and stealthy. You see, a shotgun shoots a slug that is only accurate for 100 yards, and that is a very long shot through the trees in the woods.  So you have to walk very slowly and as quietly as possible to be able to sneak up close enough to get a clear shot.

No clear shot!  (Photo by M. Alton)

I think it was about two hours later when they finally returned.  All that time, I was sitting with my teeth chattering and body shaking mightily.  My Dad took me back to get my truck, and I was somehow able to drive myself back to Dad’s farm.

When I got there, my wife had to help me get my clothes and gloves off as they were still frozen to my body.  She ran some warm water in the tub, and I slowly eased myself in to soak.

I recovered fully and did not even get a cold from it—although, I do have a spot on one shin that doesn’t grow hair on it anymore.  Actually, I believe that the extreme cold probably saved my life!  If it had been warmer, my clothes would have stayed wet instead of instantly freezing, and I probably would have become hypothermic.  Even to this day I would prefer to avoid cold weather, but if I’m going hunting, I’ll brave it happily.

Three in One

They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and I can attest to that after living through the frozen pond ordeal.  I’m sure I would now have the mental fortitude to handle almost anything that Nature imposes on me.  But nevertheless, I’m hoping that I passed my last major test in that winter of 1977.

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  Unless otherwise noted, all photography by Mike Clime

Mike's Bio Sketch:

Mike was born in Iowa and grew up in Ottumwa, IA. His wife was born and raised in Ottumwa too. The couple moved to St. Louis after college where Mike taught Junior High school for one year. They then moved to Mt. Pleasant Iowa where he taught High School for several years. He then went back to being a student and ended up  in St. Louis again, working for Ameren and training people how to operate the electrical grid.

Both kids live in Kansas City where the Climes hope to move when they retire. Only one baby left at home and that is Cody, my his German Shorthaired Pointer.

You can view more of Mike's photographs here.

A small eclectic sampling of his work follows:

Mike's Bonus Shots:

Penny Lane (Nova Scotia)

Aglow (Chicago)

Iowa Sunset

Enchanted

YAHSOF

Solitude (Nova Scotia)

Clipper Deluxe

Smile

Stiff Neck (Philadelphia)

Cove Explorer

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*** I Need Your Story! *** { I'm Serious!}If you have a story to post on this theme, contact me, please! We haven't a single story on tap. I'm working on one, but it won't be ready in time for next week. Please consider sharing your tales of Relentless Pursuit! And I'd be appreciative if you also take a look at my Photography site. I'd love to hear from you!--
Michelle Alton

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And I'm Still Learning...

Photo by Leif Kjaer

Danish photographer couple, Kiki Kjaer and her husband, Leif, travel the world in pursuit of adventure and the perfect picture!  You’ll love Kiki’s humorous self-deprecating style that takes you on a journey that will keep you smiling; and all the while you will marvel at the artistry of her photography.

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Thanks so much for visiting "Tales of Relentless Pursuit." If you have a free moment or two, please check out my Photography Website, Your Best Shot, and sign up for the mailing list! And also consider sending the link to this blog to your circle of friends.

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Michelle Alton

P.S. To enhance your viewing pleasure, click on a photograph and it will enlarge.

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And I’m Still Learning...

I love to travel!

And I’ve been a traveler all my life.  My parents took me traveling before I could walk.
I got my first camera when I was 13 - and I can’t remember a time when I didn’t use it to capture moments that I wanted to keep.   And I never travelled without some sort of camera. But it wasn’t until I got my first digital in 2006 that I started to enjoy capturing  subjects other  than family and friends and ‘holiday shots’ – you know – the kind of shots that scream: “I was here!”

I started with a pocket digital camera, that I can’t even remember the name of - and my husband, Leif bought a Minolta Dimage Z1.  I soon found out that he took far better pictures than I did, so I swapped mine for a better camera, but still a small pocket camera of some sort.

Still Leif took so much better photos than I.

So I upgraded myself to a Minolta Dimage Z5 – only to discover that my image quality didn’t improve much. That’s when it hit me: Leif WAS a better photographer! HA! He notices everything in a scene and quickly decides what to include and what not to include. He sure has that gift of ‘seeing’ what is in a scene and for choosing the best and most unusual angles.

I spent most of my time taking pictures of what I thought I saw (mind you – I can stand in front of a cathedral without noticing it!) and then returned to my computer only to find out all the things I had missed!  This I usually found out when I looked at Leif’s pictures and saw all the things that he was able to capture.

But I started learning.

Traveling in the USA and Canada

In 2007 I bought my first mirror reflex camera: a Canon EOS 350D. Later I got a Canon EOS 30D, then a 40D and latest a 50D. And I also started to find out the value of good lenses. Today I mostly use a Canon EF 24 – 105 mm f/4 as my all-around lens, a 100 – 400 mm f/4.5 – 5.6 for wild-life photography, a 24 mm f/1.4 for portrait photography and a 100 mm f/2.8 macro lens.

And I started to teach myself everything I could about my cameras and photography- from A to Z and took on-line courses as well. Leif never bothered with any of that – he just went out and took awesome pictures.  Lucky bastard :}!

Okay – now is probably the time to tell you all that I love and adore my wonderful husband.   He is my reason for living. It’s as simple as that.

My Cowboy, my Love -- My Life!

Leif and I have toured the States (The Southwest is our favorite) and several areas in Canada for the past 16 years, almost every year.

Leif and I in Sedona, Arizona

Monument Valley. Camera: Minolta Z5

Sandstorm in Monument Valley. Also captured with Minolta Z5 – and
 the first image I ever entered in a competition

We simply love the grandeur of the landscapes. Coming from a country where the highest point is 170 meters above sea level we of course LOVE the Rockies!

Turquoise and Green. Alberta, Canada

  Columbia Icefield Reflections. Also from Alberta, Canada
 

Everywhere Leif turns – I turn, sure that there’s something worth capturing. Mostly there is.  So he shows me where to look – and more often than not he ‘gives’ me the first – and best – shots.

And I’m learning.

As I’ve revealed ‘seeing’ is not my strongest point. But sometimes it seems that Heaven and Earth get together and decide that today they’re going to give me an awesome experience – to take home to Denmark with me. Another explanation could of course be that I just happen to be in the right place at the right time :)

That happened for example last year when we were on our way back to Calgary after a 10-day stay in Jasper and Hinton (Alberta, Canada). I was very keen on visiting Peyto Lake.  I had heard of its beauty and wanted to see it for myself. It had snowed in the mountains  the days before and this day was cold and foggy. The path to Bow Summit, from where you can see the lake, was icy and slippery. And people coming down from the Summit reported that they could barely see the Lake because of the fog. The path was long but I continued. When I stepped onto the platform and saw the lake, I also saw that the mist that had covered the lake was beginning to evaporate – disclosing the bluest lake I had ever seen.

I gasped – and so did others who were standing there.  It was truly magical. I could almost hear a symphony!

I enjoyed the view for the next five or ten minutes (and took pictures of course) and then turned to walk back. When I turned my head again to see the lake for the last time, only a moment later I saw that the lake had again disappeared into the mist. I almost got goosebumps!

Peyto Lake

 Peyto Lake III

New Family

Photography has also given me a new sister and brother-in-Law!  It’s true. In Alberta Canada lives this  wonderful couple named Laura and Dale Swan. Laura and I are both part of the “Better Photo” community and ‘met’ there. We started our friendship by talking about photography. And over the past couple of years we have become very close friends.  And we’ve sort of adopted each other.

Leif and I visited our new family last year. And it was the most wonderful and unforgetable trip. And it turned out that Laura has the very same talent of seeing things that Leif has. So on this trip whenever we enjoyed the company of Laura and Dale, it was Laura who gave me all the best shots.  We love them both dearly.

Capturing Wildlife 

Leif and I are always on the lookout for breathtaking views, which of course in the States and Canada are where we find ourselves – or around the corner.

But it’s when I see an animal in the wild that I go crazy. And I must admit: I really do go crazy. I leave my brain in the car and just head out thinking that I’m safe. I simply LOVE animals!  On a trip to California in 2007 Leif and I visited Sequoia National Park.
 
There are always places that will ‘call on’ us. And one day we stopped by the road and went only a few meters into the forest among the giant Sequoia trees when Leif spotted a big brown Mama Bear with two little cubs, heading our way.  At this time my longest lens was a 70-200 mm and it just wasn’t enough!  And I was so anxious to get a good shot of these magnificent animals that I forgot all about boundaries.  I couldn’t get close enough.

Leif walked away from the bears, knowing that they were heading his way (why didn’t I see that?). I just moved towards the little family. At some point they were hidden from me behind some big bushes and I moved closer. In my immense wisdom I thought I could sneak in on them – or I didn’t think at all.

Suddenly Mama Bear came charging through the thick bushes – right at me – with a roar that almost blew my cap off.  I never imagined that a bear could move that fast and I just stood there - absolutely still with my camera in my hands – and stared at her while she came roaring at me. I was spell bound and I was like: WOW!!!

It was awesome! I enjoyed every second of being in contact with this big animal. Why was I not afraid? Because I DIDN’T KNOW I WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AFRAID! And that’s probably what saved my life.

Mama Bear stopped suddenly - probably about ten meters before me. Her thick coat took a little longer to settle as it sort of rolled and swayed to a stop. Funny the things I noticed. Then she stood there and stared at me and I stared back.

Oh, I knew she was ANGRY.  She was VERY angry. But it never occurred to me that she would hurt me – I was convinced that she just wanted to tell me to back off!

After what seemed forever, probably only a few seconds – she turned her head and the rest of her followed – back to her little ones.  She continued her walk deeper into the forest. We followed her for a while – but at a more respectful distance.

Later I learned that every year many people are killed in the States by bears.   And most of those “crazy tourists” are still holding a camera in their hands!
I came to realize that this moment – awesome as it was – was not one of my most brilliant moments. Crazy tourist!!

Hmmm! This bear I captured in Yosemite

 Mamma Bear and Cubs, as they walked away from us

The next year we visited Yellowstone.  Also here we met a bear. And like always I was out of the car before it stopped and before anyone else got out of their cars
.
This bear was alone and didn’t bother about all the crazy tourists in their cars. And he didn’t mind me. I was standing about 2½ meters from him – in the middle of the road – and he was lying on the roadside when I took this shot. He never even looked at me. I know! I took about 100 photos of him.

Wildlife – Stop and Smell the Flowers

Only later – a couple of years later – when we saw bears again - in Canada - did I remember Sequoia  - and I am a little proud to say that when we saw bears in Canada, I kept a safer distance.

Photography

For the past six years I have been submitting my images to various photo competition sites and so far I’ve got over 400 Pictures-of-the-day, several Pictures-of-the-week, some Finalists and Pictures-of-the-month plus 3 Pictures-of-the-year. So I must have learned something!

But I am still learning!

I love to capture the beauty that constantly surrounds me and I love more than anything to watch – and photographically capture animals. I can get almost as excited about seeing a chipmunk as I get seeing a coyote or an elk.  And I do respect them. Only my eagerness to capture them often comes in the way and I don’t ‘see’ their boundaries.   Happily most animals will just disappear when I get too close.

And I am learning that too.

A curious chipmunk

In the Wild - Marking Territory

Wildlife - On the Move!

I also very much enjoy macro photography.  Getting that close to an insect or a flower and later looking at them on my computer, seeing detail that I didn’t know was there is to me one of the biggest wonders of photography.

Flower and the Bee

Still Holding On

I also do portraits and find it very rewarding to communicate with other people in this way. I do like to work in Photoshop and sometimes I even do something creative.

The Artist at Work

Big Charmer

Just an Apple. Inspired by Laura’s work

But mostly I use it to make improvements on my images.

This I’ll never stop learning.

About Kiki Kjaer

Me (photo: Leif Kjaer)

I'm 59 and  married to Leif for almost 27 years. We live in Denmark; we have no kids (sadly).   I’m a vegetarian, a horseback rider and  have a Black Belt in Taekwondo.

Me on horseback in Canyon De Chelly (photo: Leif Kjaer

In my younger years I worked at a travel agency and have been all over Europe and also visited Greece, Turkey, Sri Lanka and West Africa as a tourist.  But since Leif and I visited the States for the first time in 1994, it has been the States or Canada for us ever since. We love the sceneries and the wild-life and we love the American and the Canadian people.

But we also love living in Denmark – especially at this time of year when a light green carpet gently covers the whole land.

Forest Walk

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  Unless otherwise specified all photography is by Kiki Kjaer.

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What do you think of the "Relentless Pursuit" series. Please leave a comment below or email me with your suggestions on what you'd like to see on this blog.


I need your Story!

If you have a story to post on this theme, contact me.  We have Zero stories on tap and I shall have to resort to posting my own work!  Please consider sharing your tales of Relentless Pursuit!  And be sure to take a look at my Photography site. I'd love to hear from you!
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Michelle Alton

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