2015 Summertime Photo Scavenger Hunt (Part 2)

Warning: this is a photo heavy post!
As I mentioned in Part 1 back in August, I have played with Rinda's Summer Scavenger Hunt for the past three years. It's fun to spot items from the list as you go about your Summer. I scrambled to finish last year and it will be the same this year! The deadline is September 21st, the official end of Summer, so we'll see...

SCAVENGER HUNT LIST

1. A bouquet of flowers ✔︎
2. An ornate door knocker ✔︎
3. A person walking a dog (or other animal) ✔︎
4. People playing a board game or card game ✔︎
5. Architectural columns ✔︎
6. A metal bridge ✔︎
7. A turtle ✔︎
8. Someone "plugged in" to social media ✔︎
9. A tent ✔︎
10. A college or university ✔︎
11. A cellular tower or television satellite dish ✔︎
12. A public restroom, bathroom, or toilet ✔︎
13. A merry-go-round or carousel Alternative B ✔︎
14. A traffic signal ✔︎
15. A flag pole with at least three flags on it
16. A panoramic view, taken while standing someplace high in the air
17. At least two people wearing matching outfits or uniforms
18. An overloaded truck, car, bicycle or other vehicle
19. A ticket booth
20. A natural body of water
21. A photograph of you with a sign reading "2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt". Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.
If you find something on the list too difficult, you may substitute one of the following items for any one item on the list, except for Item #21:
Alternative A: People eating outside
Alternative B: Someone holding an umbrella ✔︎
Alternative C: A rocking chair

Here's my second installment of photos (1 to 6 can be seen here):

I had a tough time finding 7. A turtle until we recently went to visit the campus of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. They have a "Turtle Pond" around which students sometime take their tests:

 8. Someone "plugged in" to social media : see #12 for a two-in-one!

Now 9. A tent was really easy to find as we had the kids sleeping outside while visiting my family in France:

I also had many opportunities to photograph 10. A college or university throughout the Summer as we visited five campuses! My favorite? Probably Stanford University:

Back to France, and more precisely to the top of the Puy de Dôme. That's where I found 11. A cellular tower or television satellite dish (and it's a massive one!):

Of course, I much preferred the view looking down:

I found 12. A public restroom, bathroom, or toilet in San Francisco early in the hunt and it also shows 8. Someone "plugged in" to social media, who just happened to be my oldest teen ;)

I am using an alternate for 13. A merry-go-round or carousel which I might have encountered but forgot to photograph. Instead, I am using Alternative B: Someone holding an umbrella:

How can you not love these two Monet paintings sitting side by side in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris? 

And finally, have you ever seen 14. A traffic signal like this one? It was a first for me so of course I took a picture of it:

A miniature traffic light!

As you could see I chose to share them in the order of the list rather than in the order they were taken, giving no real thread to my travels... It's part of the fun... the thread and the stories are for my scrapbooks ;)

PS: All photos are mine and were taken with an iPhone

Happy weekend!

2015 Summertime Photo Scavenger Hunt (part 1)

Warning: this is a photo heavy post!
I believe this is my third year playing along with Rinda at Gallo Organico and her Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. I simply put her list in my purse and (hopefully) remember to pull it out during our Summer adventures. I joined a bit late this year but maybe I will be able to catch up before the end of Summer...

This is the list:

SCAVENGER HUNT LIST

1. A bouquet of flowers ✔︎
2. An ornate door knocker ✔︎
3. A person walking a dog (or other animal) ✔︎
4. People playing a board game or card game ✔︎
5. Architectural columns ✔︎
6. A metal bridge ✔︎
7. A turtle
8. Someone "plugged in" to social media 
9. A tent
10. A college or university
11. A cellular tower or television satellite dish
12. A public restroom, bathroom, or toilet
13. A merry-go-round or carousel
14. A traffic signal
15. A flag pole with at least three flags on it
16. A panoramic view, taken while standing someplace high in the air
17. At least two people wearing matching outfits or uniforms
18. An overloaded truck, car, bicycle or other vehicle
19. A ticket booth
20. A natural body of water
21. A photograph of you with a sign reading "2015 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt". Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.
If you find something on the list too difficult, you may substitute one of the following items for any one item on the list, except for Item #21:
Alternative A: People eating outside
Alternative B: Someone holding an umbrella
Alternative C: A rocking chair

And here are the first 6 items (of course the photos were not taken in the order of the list!):

This beautiful "Coquelicots" painting by Claude Monet (at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris) made me wonder: is the #1. Bouquet of flowers he's making for his mother next to him? 

It's on this lovely street of Boston that I found #2. An ornate door knocker:

There was one on house #1 but also at #8 of the same street. 

Can you guess the name of the street?

Yes, it is simply Acorn Street, in the chic Beacon Hill part of Boston :)

I remembered #3. A person walking a dog while waiting for our plane at the airport. I thought that was a cute interpretation of the prompt being that I was in....

... Paris of course! :)

Whenever one has the opportunity to play cards with my grandpa (or their great-grandfather!), one seizes it :) I had several opportunities to catch #4. People playing a board game or card game:

And having a senior in September (!) meant checking out college campuses. We took advantage of our trip to the East Coast to visit M.I.T. where I found many #5. Architectural columns:

...one can always dream

And finally, during our weekend in San Francisco at the end of June I found several options for #6. A metal bridge. Do you prefer this one?

or this one?

I realize this is a bit of a "Where in the world is Nathalie?". We are fortunate to have Summers often packed with travels due to family being far from us added to our love of exploring new places. 

All photos were taken with my iPhone and without any type of filter. 

You can check out the many other entries for this challenge on Rinda's blog or on Instagram #rinda2015photohunt. I'll be back as soon as I can find #7. A turtle!

One Photo & Twenty words: Hello Spring!

Today, I am joining bloggers from around the world in "One Photo & Twenty Words", the blog même invented by the creative Abi of Creating Paper Dreams.

We don't get real seasons here

so I welcome the small signs, 

like when the tulips appear at Trader Joe's

♥︎

2/10/2015

Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt 2014 (Part Three/The End)

As Autumn has officially started, Rinda's Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt has official ended. I scrambled with the last few items that I still needed on my list and in some cases have to use photos that I did not want to use hoping to find better ones... So here is my last installment of photos:

SCAVENGER HUNT LIST

1. A sign welcoming people to your home town (or a nearby town)

2. A garden gnome

3. Birds on a wire

4. A group of tourists

5. A rack of post cards

6. An urban street scene

7. A rural landscape

8. A tattoo on a person

9. A bakery ALTERNATE A

10. A photo bomb (someone found lurking in the background of photo; the lurker may have intended to disrupt the picture or may be doing it unintentionally, but the background lurker is a surprise to the photographer)

11. A horn

12. A mascot

13. A sunrise

14. A parade

15. A juggler ALTERNATE B

16. A sign in a language other than English

17. A lamp post

18. A water fall

19. A public garden

20. A bus (not a car, truck, lorry, camper or RV) with a picture painted on its sides.

21. A photograph of you with something representing the season (recognizing that the season will be Winter for our friends in the southern hemisphere). Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.

If you find something on the list too difficult, you may substitute one of the following items for anything on the list, except for Item #21:

Alternative A: A kite, hot air balloon or blimp

Alternative B: A bird house

1. A sign welcoming people to your home town (or a nearby town)

Not exactly a "welcoming" sign and not exactly my home town but definitely my adopted town

where I've now lived for 10 + years

8 and 10? A tattoo on a person and a photobomb

This one was taken this summer by my youngest son who had spotted the big guy in front of a tattoo parlor and tried to be sneaky... but didn't realize that there was a gentleman in the foreground looking at him!

Alternative A: a kite, hot air balloon or blimp for 9. A bakery

Anyone driving from Los Angeles to San Diego (or vice versa) will be familiar with this sight: the "blimp port" for the Goodyear blimp.

I am ashamed to have to replace bakery on the list because I have indeed visited multiple bakeries during our European vacation but never remembered that it was on the list!

12. A mascot

It's not life size, something I tried to find all summer, but it still works doesn't it?

Alternative B: a bird house for 15. A juggler

Not one juggler around throughout the summer so bird house it will be. This one's been sitting in a drawer for a while. Decorated by yours truly :)

18. A waterfall

The whole family went on a bike ride this past Sunday just to take care of this item on the list! One more reason to love the Hunt! Since Southern California faces a serious drought there's not much water coming down!

21. A photograph of you with something representing the season

This one was greatly inspired by this post from Tara Whitney, go ahead, read it. 

Look Tara, I did it :)

***

And this hodgepodge of photographs (all taken with an iPhone) finishes my 2014 Summertime Scavenger Hunt. Thank you Rinda for this great annual challenge! You can find the last round up of participants HERE on her blog.

(Part one and two of my hunt can be found HERE and THERE)

Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt 2014 (Part Two)

Along with many other bloggers from all over the world, I have been playing along with Rinda's Summertime Scavenger Hunt and here is my second installment with photos taken during our recent trip to Europe.

SCAVENGER HUNT LIST

1. A sign welcoming people to your home town (or a nearby town)

2. A garden gnome

3. Birds on a wire

4. A group of tourists

5. A rack of post cards

6. An urban street scene

7. A rural landscape

8. A tattoo on a person

9. A bakery

10. A photo bomb (someone found lurking in the background of photo; the lurker may have intended to disrupt the picture or may be doing it unintentionally, but the background lurker is a surprise to the photographer)

11. A horn

12. A mascot

13. A sunrise

14. A parade

15. A juggler

16. A sign in a language other than English

17. A lamp post

18. A water fall

19. A public garden

20. A bus (not a car, truck, lorry, camper or RV) with a picture painted on its sides.

21. A photograph of you with something representing the season (recognizing that the season will be Winter for our friends in the southern hemisphere). Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.

If you find something on the list too difficult, you may substitute one of the following items for anything on the list, except for Item #21:

Alternative A: A kite, hot air balloon or blimp

Alternative B: A bird house

2. A garden gnome

I was having trouble encountering garden gnomes until I spotted this guy, not exactly in a garden but in front of a store, while we were visiting the lovely city of Nantes for the first time. 

Couldn't have been any fancier, could he?

5. A rack of postcards

Any guesses to where we spent the first three days of our summer vacation? ;)

6. An urban street scene

If you guessed London, you were right :) We spent three short days in London before heading to France. I had not visited since I was a student (a long, long time ago!) and it was a first time for my husband and kids. It is an very expensive city but it was worth it! And so photogenic!

14. A parade

Of course, it was then easy to go find a parade in front of Buckingham Palace...

11. A horn

And look, I got a few horns too! :) 

19. A public garden

London is well known for its public gardens and I took this shot while we walked through Saint James Park after the changing of the Guard

7. A rural landscape

And now back to France for a view of the lovely French countryside framed by our train window

16. A sign in a language other than English: 

Love this old sign indicating the town hall in the French village where my dad has his bookstore

17. A lamp post

Rather old fashion and actually part of the 1900s market town in the Puy du Fou park.

13. A sunrise

I have kept this one for last, even though chronologically it should be first, because I didn't actually take this shot. Is that cheating? My son took the sun rising over dark clouds from the window of our plane as we were crossing many time zones before arriving to Europe. Just blame it on the fact that he had the window seat and I the aisle ;)

That's 10 more photos I can cross off the list! I need 8 more to finish (since I failed last year, I am really motivated to finish this year!) and I have exactly one more month to do so! I'll keep you posted for sure ;)

Thank you for stopping by!

Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt 2014 (Part One)

Rinda over at Gallo Organico has been offering a "Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt" for several years now. I played along for the first time last summer and had so much fun, I decided to join again this summer. Anyone is welcome to join and you can find her details in this post.
Here's the list that I carry in my purse throughout the summer. I will cross it out as I go:

SCAVENGER HUNT LIST

1. A sign welcoming people to your home town (or a nearby town)
2. A garden gnome
3. Birds on a wire
4. A group of tourists
5. A rack of post cards
6. An urban street scene
7. A rural landscape
8. A tattoo on a person
9. A bakery
10. A photo bomb (someone found lurking in the background of photo; the lurker may have intended to disrupt the picture or may be doing it unintentionally, but the background lurker is a surprise to the photographer)
11. A horn
12. A mascot
13. A sunrise
14. A parade
15. A juggler
16. A sign in a language other than English
17. A lamp post
18. A water fall
19. A public garden
20. A bus (not a car, truck, lorry, camper or RV) with a picture painted on its sides.
21. A photograph of you with something representing the season (recognizing that the season will be Winter for our friends in the southern hemisphere). Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.
If you find something on the list too difficult, you may substitute one of the following items for anything on the list, except for Item #21:
Alternative A: A kite, hot air balloon or blimp
Alternative B: A bird house

3. Birds on a wire

I love this one in black and white!

4. A group of tourists

Easy peasy as that's all there is on Hollywood Blvd where we took our visiting nephew last week

20. A bus with a picture painted on its side

Tying in nicely with my previous blog post ;) this was actually the first item I spotted from the list. And even though this is a pretty cool bus (and catch phrase! Really, imagine!), I probably won't go see the movie.

I'm looking forward to working on the rest of my list during our holiday travels. The best part is when the family tries to spot the items on the list with me :)

PS: All photos were taken with my iPhone

Rinda's Summer 2013 Scavenger Hunt

Every summer Rinda at Gallo Organico organizes a photography scavenger hunt open to all until the last day of summer. She shares a list of (fun and sometimes unusual) things to photograph that you can read below. My recent travels were the perfect opportunity even though I was mad at myself for not having the list with me at all times. I did pretty good nonetheless. All photos were taken with an iPhone.

1.   Open air market
2.   Theater for performing arts (not a movie theater)
3.   City Hall, Capitol or other similar civic building
4.   Airplane
5.   A sunset
6.   Someone or something taking a nap
7.   A sign that is intentionally or unintentionally funny
8.   A tower
9.   A photo with someone or something that is clearly out of place or doesn't belong
10.  A bench that is outside
11.  An animal in a zoo, aquarium, nature preserve, etc.
12.  A cloud in the shape of something (please specify what you see)
13.  A fence
14.  A stained glass object or a mosaic
15.  A fire truck or police car
16.  A windmill 
17.  Candle(s)
18.  Your local pub/bar, coffee house or tea shop
19.  A fisherman
20. A dinosaur
21.  A photograph of you with an artistic tool or craft supply (you cannot substitute for this item)
Bonus/substitute items.  If you find any of the above items too difficult, feel free to substitute either (or both) of these items.  You can substitute up to two items, but you cannot substitute Item #21:
A person wearing an outfit (or item of clothing) that symbolizes your country
A sundial

#1 This was an evening market in a small village in France near where my parents live

#2 The Coliseu do Porto, in Portugal where we went to visit my brother

#3 The City Hall of Porto, Portugal

(no I didn't see the wire going across when I jumped out of the car to take the photo!)

#4 I had lots of choices for "an airplane" as we took no less than 8 flights (!) during our vacation but I chose this one rather than a "real" plane:

#6 Of course all this traveling (by car here) will make you jet lagged and sleepy

#8 The Clerigos Tower in Porto 

(reminded me of the one in Balboa Park in San Diego, except this is the real thing)

#9 Clearly the young one was not supposed to jump into this medieval sarcophagus but it made for a quick "doesn't belong" photo!

#10 You can't see the bench but it is under there, and I like it better with my family on it :)

#11 This owl was kept along with a falcon in the courtyard of the Guimaraes Castle. Owl's eyes are mesmerizing and this one looked right at the camera when I took the shot!

#13 Yes, there is a fence around the magnificent Church of Ildefonso, again in Porto, Portugal

#14 As you can tell from the photo above, I had many, many options for "a mosaic" as the blue tiles (azulejos) that you see on the church and the photo below (in an old convent) are a specialty of this city

#15 Another jump out of the car at the red light photo in order to take the "bombeiros" fire truck. I would never think of taking this type of photo when visiting a place but I am glad I did since they are so unique to each country and always labeled with the name of the place!

#16 A last day find taken while on a French freeway! I was beside myself for having spotted one of the "hard" items on the list

#17 Back to Portugal where the candles burn non stop on the bottom of this monument commemorating   one of the Battles of Porto

#19 He wanted to do a little fishing while in France.

I was happy to go along as it took care of #19 on the list ;)

I have one more in reserve as a "substitute" but I don't know what I will use it for... so it'll have to wait. Plus this is already a pretty photo heavy post and if you've made it this far, thank you! I hope you have enjoyed the visit :) I have exactly one more month to finish the list and I believe it is possible.

A bientôt!