Body  /ˈbädē/  n.  The physical structure of a person or an animal, including the bones, flesh, and organs.

I call this “In Your Arms.”  And yes, it is an arm.  I’m just no sure if I’m feeling it these days.  I need a swift kick in the butt to get my creative juices going.  I always seem to have these grandiose ideas and not be able to see them into fruition.  So sad.  I will have to up my game a bit in the next few days.  Not sure how, but we’ll see!

Earth  /ərTH/  n.  The softer, friable part of land; soil, especially productive soil.

Today’s challenge was earth.  I couldn’t think of much else, although my vision of this photograph was a lot different than what came out.  I’m not exactly happy with the final product, but I’ve been pretty busy and can’t do much about really fine-tuning the image.  So here is what I have!

Pair  /pe(ə)r/  n. A set of two things used together or regarded as a unit.

Well, I missed my first day yesterday since we started the 30 Day Challenge.  But that’s okay.  I’m doing double-time today.  Today, I have a pair of queens.  This one is called Queen of Hearts.  I noticed that the queen on the card wore mostly red, black, and yellow.  Since I didn’t have any yellow clothing, I just wore a red shirt with a black scarf.  I also noticed the queen is holding a small flower.  Since I don’t have any small flowers, I got a peony instead.  It’s a little funny looking, but I think it may work.  What do you think?

Purple /ˈpərpəl/ n.  A color intermediate between red and blue.

Today’s photo was manipulated quite a bit in Photoshop.  The Russian dolls were actually red in color and I changed the hue and saturation so the purple would stand out more.  Look closely, or you might miss my creepy face in each of the dolls’ faces.  This one took me the longest, I think, out of all my manipulated images so far.  It had twelve layers before I flattened the image.  I’m not sure if it looks real or not, but I have to say that I kind of like the element of falsehood.  So today’s something purple is actually bumped up red.  Enjoy!

Reflection /riˈflekSHən/ n.  1. The act of reflecting or the state of being reflected.  2. Something, such as light, radiant heat, sound, or an image, that is reflected.

This poem by Emily Dickenson really resonated in my being and I wanted to share it with you all.

Heart, not so heavy as mine

Wending late home –

As it passed my window

Whistled itself a tune –

A careless snatch — a ballad — A ditty of the street –

Yet to my irritated Ear An Anodyne so sweet –

It was as if a Bobolink Sauntering this way Carolled, and paused, and carolled –

Then bubbled slow away!

It was as if a chirping brook Upon a dusty way –

Set bleeding feet to minuets

Without the knowing why!

Tomorrow, night will come again –

Perhaps, weary and sore –

Ah Bugle! By my window I pray you pass once more.

Fire  /fī(ə)r/  n. Combustion or burning, in which substances combine chemically with oxygen from the air and typically give out bright light, heat, and smoke.

I had this idea that I would be in the bathtub with the bathtub on fire, but the more I thought about it, the harder it seemed to do so I kind of copped out on that idea and tried something a little more simple and entry-level and a little less morbid.  So here is Kamron with his harookin power.  I am having a whole lot of fun with Photoshop, but it’s more challenging than I imagined it would be.  This is good practice for me though.  In the back of my mind, I am wondering if eventually I can come out with a body of surreal photographs.  One step at a time though.

Portrait  /ˈpôrtrət/  A painting, drawing, photograph, or engraving of a person.

We are starting another round of 30 days of photographs.  Today’s challenge is portrait.  I was forced to make it a self-portrait because I did not find anyone to pose for me.  But that’s okay.  It came out better than I expected.  I didn’t plan to posterize the photo through Photoshop, but because it looked too super-imposed, Kamron had the idea to manipulate the image more than just cutting and pasting.  So here’s my first surreal image of the challenge.  It’s called Round and Round.