Landing on Flickr Explore

On March 23, 2015March 23, 2015 By AngeliaIn Posessed by Nikon17 Comments

Have you ever heard of Flickr Explore?

No?

Well, let me tell you, it’s a page of badassery as far as photographic images go.

The best of the best. The boldest and brightest. The most UNBELIEVABLE photos uploaded to Flickr.

They call it Explore. And if you do Explore, you will be astounded by the talent they choose on a daily basis. That’s right. Every day. From millions of photo uploads, the Flickr Gods choose 500 to display for twenty-four hours on their feature page (called Explore).

That’s one photo out of 17,000 images or something like that. It’s really crazy and the images are crazy good. Did I say that already? They are CRAZY good.

If you’d like to see for yourself, click here. This will take you to the Flickr Explore page for today. At the bottom, you can scroll through previous days.

And this post is not about the secrets of how to hit the Explore page – although I hear there are some, and many have theories on this process. But I do not.

I consider it dumb luck (for me anyway). I’m pretty sure that is how it happened the first time I hit the Explore page. With my image of the vintage light bulb for my Project 52 that week.

And yes, I am happy with this one. The light is stunning. I found exactly what I wanted and executed it exactly as I saw in my head. And NOOOOO. That never happens with me. I, normally, have a bright idea heh! and it NEVER turns out how I envisioned it.

But this image.

It totally did.

And to my surprise (or dumb luck) hit the Flickr Explore page. It was quite a thrill! Thousands of views and hundreds of people favoring your image. It’s enough to make a photo girl proud.

So, twenty-fours later, my image drops to the next day and a new set of 500 images are displayed.

And of course, those images are just as Ahhhhamazing as the day before! Hey, no big deal, it’s just another day of The Extraordinary Images of Flickr.

Life goes on.

Another week, another photo for my Project 52.

But then…several weeks later…it happens again…

Yes, dear readers, my image hit the Flickr Explore page for the second time. And WHAT!?!

This time it is an image of my mean ol’ Maya kitty looking deceptively sweet. Oh, so deceptive!

She is probably my go to photo subject. I can’t even tell you how many photos I have of her from kitten to (almost) adult. She is just very photogenic. I mean look at her. She is just gorgeous. And don’t let her fool you, she bites. And she bites hard.

Several of her kitten photos got a lot of views too.

This one as her eyes were changing from blue to green.

This one the day we brought her home.

And just for fun, here is another set of photos on my Flickr that were viewed quite often. One is from the girls’ beginning of school photos. And the other is for the birthday of my oldest step-girl.

Maybe, they weren’t Explore-worthy, but they sure were view-worthy. I wish I could tell you how it’s done, but alas, it is still a mystery to me.

One thing, I will do…keep posting photos on Flickr and sharing them with you.

Maybe, you will find them as interesting as the Flickr Gods do.

For the Love of All Things Cake

On September 4, 2014September 4, 2014 By AngeliaIn Uncategorized22 Comments

It happened. My Grand baby turned ONE. My heart both soars and breaks at the same time.
© 2014 Angelia's Photography
The first year is truly a miracle. The accomplishments, the growth, and the sheer magnitude of it all. She got her first tooth a month earlier. She can stand and cruise pretty good, but not quite walking yet. She is eating regular food. She can say a few words very clearly (and usually loudly). Laughs at her own jokes, and is obsessed with modem/stereo lights.
© 2014 Angelia's Photography

She LOVES Minnie Mouse.

That still amazes me even though the same thing happened with her mother (who loved Pooh Bear). How can someone so small can know exactly what they are crazy about? Do you know what else she is crazy about?

CAKE.

Pure sugar and icing cake.

This girl loves it.

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And of course she would.
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She even dropped her chip for it.

The party turned out fantastic. Lots of friends and family came to celebrate this precious mile stone.

My husband and I started renovating our house mid-July. All the carpet removed from the main rooms and tile installed. We worked regular jobs in the day and spent nights on our house. Every summer show we normally watch is still sitting in the DVR. I’m not sure if that means we watch too much summer TV or if house reno is a lot tougher than it looks on TV. Probably…a little of both. Thank God for Jason’s step-dad and his friend Bob that did the floors for us.

We were able to get the kitchen wall paper removed. Then those walls textured and painted (as well as the living room). All the kitchen cabinets and doors painted. Most of the trim painted and put back on (even added trim to a window). And almost all the tools, compressors, paint cans and left-over trim on the back patio moved into the garage in time for the party.

It was a whirl-wind.

It was crazy.

It was so worth it.

There were lots of adorably cute girl babies.

Lots of burgers, and hot-diggity dogs.

Way too much food and cake.

And just a fabulous birthday all the way around.

I wouldn’t have it any other way for my big and so so little grand girl. She is a treasure and a gift.

We did take a break the day before for a family dinner on my birthday. Yes, I had a birthday too.

But as it goes, she is still the best present I could ask for, and celebrating her first birthday made my 43rd just as memorable.

Like icing on our favorite cake.

Mmmmmm, cake.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Happy

On October 5, 2012October 5, 2012 By AngeliaIn Life is what you make it.42 Comments

What makes me happy?

My iPhone.

Friday nights.

Travel.

Sunsets on the beach.

The little people in my life.

These smiles.

Saturdays.

That I didn’t have to wait until Easter.

That we can choose to be different.

To have this man care for me.

Flowers.

Butterflies outside my door.

Working from home with this guy, and a few other furry loves.

Finding a wine I adore.

Divine cuisine.

That life gets more beautiful every day.

The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware. – Henry Miller

Want more happy? Join the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge.

*Photos from my beloved iPhone originally shared on Instagram: User name: angeliasims

Today, I have a graduate….

On June 15, 2012 By AngeliaIn Beautiful Life15 Comments

This is a Flashback Friday post….

My daughter graduated May 19th in Fort Worth, Texas. I wasn’t blogging here then, but I was writing in a personal journal. I decided to revisit that amazing day and include some photographs (of course!).

Written – May 19th, 2012

I can’t believe this day is here. The year 2012 seemed a lifetime ago when she started kindergarten with her brand new back pack on that tiny little body. I remember she was SO excited. She really just wanted me to leave her so she could start BIG school and learn to read.

Sydney’s first day of kindergarten.

Her childhood was so much fun. She constantly smiled and entertained. There truly wasn’t a dull moment with her (the good kind).

I guess her grade school years have passed – a lifetime from kindergarten to twelfth grade.

Sydney’s last day of high school.

I truly don’t regret having her at the young age of 22.

I had more energy, more patience, and now? I think I reap more rewards, or maybe I’m just SO HAPPY I succeeded as a young mother barely more than a child myself.

I did it. I raised her. She is done (pretty much) this is one of the proudest days of my life.

More so, because she turned out to be such a great girl. Kind, carefree, fun…..beautiful inside and out.

Yep, I am one impressed mama.

These are the moments that can’t be missed.

Today, I celebrate this accomplishment. I celebrate one end of her life and the beginning of another.

I thought I would be so sad. I had no idea how completely amazing it would feel. A mix of pure joy and relief.

Congratulations Sydney!