Recently I challenged myself to try to catch some action shots with my phone’s camera.
Not much action here. Just some seagulls, hanging out.
Although, some gulls took a little time for reflecting.
Others stretched their wings–or showed off.
Can’t say for sure as I’m not really a gull expert.
BUT…
I do know that birds like bread.
They will crane necks to get bread.
They will swoop and fly.
They will get rowdy.
Not all though. Some will be cautious–maybe even a bit suspicious.
This gull probably has an agent.
So I moved on to other subjects.
Replaced the bread with a Frisbee.
And … action.
What challenges have you set up for yourself lately?
Happy Monday!!
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Coleen Patrick 
I guess the action depends on the “who” and the “what” you’re focusing on, right?
(I know … the brilliance of that statement is astounding, right? Sorry. I’m one dimensional today, after 16+ hours at my daughter’s volleyball tourney yesterday.)
Thanks for putting a smile on my face … and a longing for the beach in my heart.
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Sixteen hours. Wow. That’s a long day–for both of you. I have a photo I took of my 5 year old nephew laying on the sidelines after a full day of watching his brother play in a lacrosse tournament. Sheer exhaustion. But dedication too. 🙂 Thanks, Beth!
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You took those pictures with your phone? They’re stunning, especially the action shots.
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Yes! I have a Samsung Galaxy 3. I’ve used a fancy camera before, but what I’m loving about photography right now is learning composition and telling a story through pictures and the phone works better for that (for now). Thanks, Pat. 🙂
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Awesome photos! :0)
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Thanks, Catherine!
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Those are some sweet pics! I like the idea of challenging yourself. I’m going to try to do the same this year. It’s one of my goals.
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There are some things that I think i need to challenge myself just to challenge myself. Does that make sense? 🙂 Good luck with yours, Emily!
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Hmmm. It seems to me like we could learn a little something from watching those gulls. I loved all of your photos…the joy for life was shining through clearly…especially with the Frisbee pictures. Thanks!
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Some of those gulls seemed to be pretty clever for sure! Thank you, Kitt!!
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I love these! I just found your blog and I’m already loving it. I worked as a photographer for a few years and I kind of lost the warm-fuzzy feeling of a day out taking pictures for fun. One of my goals in 2014 is to get that back so maybe I’ll copy your idea and find some “action” next weekend!
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Hi Jenny! Just peeked at your blog. Your photos are spectacular! I can only imagine the awesomeness when you regain your warm-fuzziness. 🙂
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My phone usually takes horrible pictures. I’m not much of a photographer, either, so that wasn’t a big deal to me when choosing. Yours is quite impressive, though I suspect much has to do with the skill of the operator. Love that last one!
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Thanks,Jennette! The favorite thing about my phone is the camera. No joke. 🙂
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Great photos, Coleen! I don’t have a single photographer bone in my body, so I’m definitely not taking any photography challenges. I do have a writing challenge, though – at least one chapter of my current WIP a week. Thanks for sharing the pics!
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Thanks, Coleen! Still kinda cool to me that we spell our names the same. 🙂
Happy writing!
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Wow! Great pics, Coleen. You caught all the action so well. Stunning.
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Thank you, Charissa. 🙂
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Awesome (or hideous as Susie would say) shots, Coleen! And you got your guys to show off a little. How cool is that? Of course now I’m going to go around the rest of the day humming “Feed the Birds,” but oh well.
Thanks for the fun. Now I’ve got to learn how to do that with my camera (I rarely use the camera on my phone because I don’t have the technology to get the pix off of it.)
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
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I saw Saving Mr. Banks this past week, but somehow I didn’t make the connection between feeding the birds and Mary Poppins. Ha ha. Next up: kite photography! LOL
I use Google Drive to transfer photos from my phone. No wires necessary!
Thanks, Patricia!
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Oh – Google drive can interface with phones? Hmmmm.
I’m so non-techy, but I’ll have to check that out.
Thanks for the tip. Can’t wait to see the kites.
Patricia
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Lovely pictures. It must have been colder than a well-diggers a** out there. My goals: more time with the camera, more time in the gym, stat on the diet and keep with acupuncture.
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It was cold, but not freezing. Lucky for us there was no wind. I wouldn’t have lasted! Great goals, Tom. They sound similar to mine–camera and health. 🙂
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Wow, your phone has a great camera! I have an old fashion phone that takes really crappy pictures, haha. It looks like this was a fun outing =)
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Yeah, definitely fun. I love doing day trips! Thanks, Amanda. 🙂
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Wow, you captured some great shots! Love the vibrant blue of the sky!
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Thanks, Ruth! I love the blue too. I noticed the blues changing ever so slightly throughout the day.
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WOW… these are some hideous action shots, Coleen!
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Hideous, lol. Love it. Thanks, for bringing the party over from Susie’s, Ted!! 🙂
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Those are great action shots with a cell phone. Loved the one you caught in mid air. Seeing the beach with all of the sub zero weather we’ve had makes me long for a trip south.
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Thanks, Patricia. I took A LOT of photos–and deleted a good chunk before I found the ones I liked. Reminds me of the writing process!
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Love seagulls. Most people can’t stand them, but they are meaningful to me. I think your photos are great. They make me want to go to the beach, which I would if it wasn’t 10 below zero degrees right now. 🙂
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I didn’t know that most people don’t like seagulls. Is it like a pigeon thing? Because I kind of like pigeons too. Probably because I watched a lot of Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street. 🙂
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This reminds me of childhood trips to Galveston, Texas. I love seagulls, always enjoyed throwing bread their way.
What challenges? Hmmm….. I’m feeling like it is enough of a challenge just returning to work after a 2 week hiatus so I’ll have to get back to you on that one!
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Any break is a challenge for me too. I’m always wanting to continue the break indefinitely. 🙂 Thanks, Aussa!
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REALLY Great photos, Col!!!!
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🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks, Em.
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These are all great shots! My gal has the Galaxy phone too and her camera is awesome. I sometimes swipe it to take pics for my blog posts!
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It’s my favorite thing about my phone! Thanks, Phil. 🙂
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I like the gull shots – it looks like you had a good time at the beach with your family… I have been toying with the idea about taking a picture of something every day for a year, I got the idea from ‘That Tree’ – a photographer who took a picture of the same tree every day using an iPhone camera. He took each photo from a different point of view – sometimes it was the entire tree and others it was a part of the tree. He posted one photo each day for a year to Facebook.. pretty cool idea. as for me, right now, I am just trying to stay warm and catch on a few things. It is gonna be a great year.
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I love that idea. I guess it’s that fascination with time and change. We took photos of our kids in the same spot on the porch every September, for the first day of school. 🙂
Thanks, Clay!
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Coleen only you could take pictures this exquisite with a phone. I can barely work my cell & your turning out art with yours! LOL. Funny enough we’d never taken the time to actually look at seagulls up close. So this was a treat for us indeed. I had no idea they we’re that beautiful. We really loved the shadow you caught of the one flexing his wings. Extraordinary!! Sharing this now!
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Thanks, ladies! I’m not sure I’d really taken the time to sea these birds up close before either. New discoveries for me too. 🙂
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Your pictures are so good! I love the gull reflections captured. I feel like that’s something I’ve never seen before. Maybe I always thought seagulls were like vampires and didn’t have reflections. The frisbee action shots are awesome – your boys did well!
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Hmmm…seagulls as vampires. You might have yourself an idea there! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
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Still can’t believe those photos are with your phone! Amazing. I love the one of the group of seagulls flying, and the last action shot is crazy-cool!
and thanks, btw, I have major beach envy right now!!! LOVE the beach.
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The beach is awesome, right? I also like rivers, lakes, pretty much all places with water. I don’t always get IN the water, but I just like being near it. 🙂
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Wow. You’ve done well with that camera! You know what the weirdest thing for me was? When I went to Bali, there were no seagulls. And that’s when I realised I know nothing about them or their living patterns. One of the most taken for granted birds, I’d say. But what’s a beach without the sound of seagulls squalling? Your boys look like a lot of fun 🙂
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That’s interesting, Alarna. I don’t know all that much about them either. I am intrigued to see them in parking lots in central Virginia–2 hours from the ocean. I’m not sure what brings them there either!
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Coleen, I can’t believe you took those pictures from the camera on your phone! You are so not a wannabe photographer! Nice shots girlfriend! Listen, you are very brave. I, on the other hand, do not trust seagulls. One time, hubby and I decided to take our lunch to the beach. It was a beautiful day, right? Well, don’t ya know that I had a gull swoop down from behind my left shoulder and attack my sandwich! It grabbed and took a third of it away. Needless to say, I didn’t not finish in fear of disease. But it was truly scary stuff. We ended up fleeing to the car to finish the lunch. But it looks like you had a wonderful vacation. Thanks for sharing your pics with us! 🙂
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Umm, that is my comment above. I forgot to fill in the info. LOL! Sorry about that. TGIF! Have a lovely weekend Coleen!
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These seagulls were a bit more cautious. I guess the ones by you were far more used to people–either that or it was VERY hungry. I would’ve been a bit spooked had one been that daring! 🙂
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Cool action shots of the gulls and the guys! Moving more is a big challenge I set for this year. Building movement into each day and every day. 🙂
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Moving more is one of mine too–especially because I spend so many hours in front of a computer. I have to build in moving time. Good luck with yours, Kourtney!
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You took some great shots there, girl. What beach is that? Even though I’m 1600 miles from my ocean (Pacific), it’s still great to see it in pics. You did a great job capturing the in-mid-air sequences. Hope you have a great 2014, Coleen!
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This beach is Virginia Beach–it’s about 2 hours from me. I love that I can make the beach a day trip. Thanks, MJ!Happy new year to you too.
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Wow, those boys are capable of acrobatic feats rivaling those of the gulls. Do they have an agent? I also really enjoyed the gull photos — I typically take them for granted at the beach, but these shots capture their majesty.
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My guys might need an agent after a day with me–it’s possible I pushed for a little more action. 🙂 Thanks, Chris!
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I enjoyed the gulls and the frisbee shots.
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Thanks, Joanna!
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