31 Days of July – Reaching Over Your Shoulder

July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 / Donna Robinson Photography / 11 Comments

This photo pretty much sums up my attempt at a 31 Days of July Photography Challenge. I was reaching over my shoulder to scratch my back to make the shots happen every day.

If the hot temps and humidity weren’t bad enough for finding photo ops, I finally broke down and bought a long overdue new laptop. A great idea and a decision I’m very happy with. The problem is our wonderful friends at Adobe Photoshop no longer support my version of Photoshop Elements. So much so, they wouldn’t let me download it on my new laptop even though I had the serial number. Yes, I could always pay their exorbitant subscription prices, but for my photography needs, I think I’ll look for another option. Perhaps I’ll give Affinity a shot (pun intended) they seem to have some really good reviews and could certainly meet my needs.

So, for now, this is my last attempt at 31 Days of July. This photo was actually taken on Day 11. The squirrels are relentless with the bird feeders even though Michael keeps ample food for them on the ground. Hence my reference to “reaching over your shoulder to scratch your back.” The squirrels don’t need to climb the feeders; the food is already there for them in easy reach.

Editing notes: I applied the usual haze removal, some level balancing with the exposure, cropping and a final vignette.

Field notes: Focal length – 200mm; Exposure – 1/60 sec, f/9, ISO 1250.

I’ll return soon. Thanks for hanging with me on this challenge, although brief. 😉📷.

Until next time!

~donna

31 Days of July – Photography Challenge Day 4

July 4, 2025 / Donna Robinson Photography / 1 Comment

Day 4 – Well, if you live in the U.S. you probably were expecting something other than a squirrel shot for today. What can I tell you? Like life, photography is about the journey and capturing all things unexpected, not necessarily about shooting the predictable.

This squirrel is a regular to our bird feeders. He’s not as feisty as some of the others, but he’s determined to get his daily fill of food.

Field Notes: Focal Length – 105 mm; Exposure 1/100 sec, f6/3, ISO 500; Processing: Cropping, haze removal, Orton effect, conversion to black and white with vignette.

Until next time,

~donna

Cellpic Sunday – Secret Hiding Places

January 12, 2025January 11, 2025 / Donna Robinson Photography / 8 Comments

We’re beginning to realize that we never know what we’re going to see on our daily walks. Last week, as we were making a turn on the path, I noticed something (I wasn’t quite sure what at first) moving around, slightly peeking in an out of a hollow tree.

As we drew closer to the tree, Michael and I slowed down so as not to startle the critter and to get a better look at just what it was. If you guessed a squirrel, you would be correct. This little fella wasn’t the least bit scared of us, so I was able to snap off a few shots of him (or her), slowly coming out of its hiding place.

I was able to get one last shot of this cutie coming out of the tree, stopping for a brief second, before he decided to scamper off.

About the images. I used my Samsung Galaxy 20 Note and only did a little editing in Photoshop. A quick haze removal, slight saturation adjustment and some cropping is all these photos needed. I was surprised that I didn’t need to add any sharpness (except for the feature photo) after cropping.

Our walks are fun and as I mentioned earlier, we never know what we’ll see/discover.

-Until next time,

donna

Lens-Artist Challenge #196: Humor

April 28, 2022August 20, 2022 / Donna Robinson Photography / 5 Comments

This week’s host, John of John’s Space challenges us to explore HUMOR in our photography. I had to scratch my head a little bit for this one. Did I have any photos that fell into this category? And then, suddenly a flood of memories of photos I’ve taken over the years started coming back to me.

First up: Backyard critters!

Our backyard critters, like these squirrels, are always quite humorous and entertaining! Seriously, the way they twist and turn their bodies to get to the food is quite fascinating to say the least!

Dogs:

Dogs have such wonderful personalities. They’re like kids and come up with the most unexpected!

And then, life just happens!

Well, the U.S. Post Office may not think this photo is as funny as I did. So much for getting through sleet and snow!

Everyday Humans:

I don’t know if this guy was supposed to be Shakespeare or Christopher Columbus, but he definitely turned a few heads as he came strolling through the bar in Beaufort, SC.

“Feed the birds… Tuppence a bag….” This man was a regular at the Pier on St. Simons Island, Georgia. He definitely had them eating out of his hands and off his head!

Things that make you go “hmmmmm.”

And then there are things you stumble on and wonder about the person who came up with an idea like this?

Signs. Signs. Everywhere a sign.

And of course, you can’t forget about the “signs that are everywhere!

Thank you, John for this fun and humorous trip down memory lane and the reminder that humor is all around us, even when it seems like the world is in utter chaos!

Keep your camera handy, folks! You never know when that once in a lifetime photo-op will happen!

Until next time!

~donna

P.S. –Interested in joining Lens-Artists? Click here for more information

“Your Talent Determines What You Can Do……”

December 3, 2021December 3, 2021 / Donna Robinson Photography / Leave a comment

“Your TALENT determines what you can do. Your MOTIVATION determines how much you’re willing to do. Your ATTITUDE determines how well you do it.” ~Lou Holtz

How are you optimizing your motivation and attitude to be successful?

Happy Friday!

~Donna

~Looking for unique note cards, prints or digital prints? Then hop on over to my Etsy Shop by clicking or copying and pasting this link in your browser: https://www.etsy.com/shop/donnarobinsonphoto

Crafty Little Fella

February 13, 2021August 20, 2022 / Donna Robinson Photography / 2 Comments

Just when you think you’ve outsmarted them, they eventually find a way to reach the food. I guess he was tired of picking up the scraps from the ground!

Oh well, there’s a lot to be said for being resourceful!

Enjoy your weekend!

Donna

Shop Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/donnarobinsonphoto

Thoughts – Staying Focused

June 30, 2019August 20, 2022 / Donna Robinson Photography / 8 Comments

My 52 Week Photography Challenge took a detour…….well it pretty much stalled. I have no clue why except that I just grew busy with life and other activities. It’s really ok because it served it’s purpose for jump starting my photography in 2019. And, it definitely gave my father something to do this winter when it was just a little too cold for him to venture outside and tinker in the yard (read my post here 52 Week Challenge: Week 2 – “My Everyday”). The remainder of the challenge list has some fun/interesting topics coming up so perhaps I’ll get inspired and hit the reset button…..we’ll see ;-)!

Photography Challenge or not, I am still (err) focused on my photography and continue to find other outlets and opportunities to broaden my skills. I finally pulled together my website (Donna Robinson Photography) and I have shot a corporate event and a newborn photo session, too! Plus, I have a part-time job helping a friend of ours (a personal trainer) with his social media, shooting his instructional videos and shooting other content for marketing purposes. So, yes, I’m still actively following my passion!

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And then there is always our backyard. Between the garden, the birds and the critters there is always something to photograph. The camera and “the big lens” as my husband refers to it, comes out every evening as we sit on our patio and catch-up about the day.

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This beautiful blue tipped hawk was out shopping in our yard one evening.

The squirrels are always entertaining at how nimble they are. But, we had to scale back on the bird feeders because they were devouring our supply too quickly!

My husband moved the bird bath to the front of the flower bed and the activity has definitely picked up! This little guy spent 2 – 3 minutes cleaning up!

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Let’s Ride!

But our favorite critters are the chipmunks! They are fast and efficient in how they gather their food. We’ve actually given three (3) of them names because of their consistent patterns for gathering food: “Lefty” because he comes out from the rocks on the left side of the house; “Malcom” because he comes in from the top middle of the wall; and the “Righty” because…….well you get the point.

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This little guy found water in the base of this lantern.

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Seriously?!?! When have you ever seen a chipmunk in a tree? Needless to say, he didn’t reach the bird feeder………but, he found the stash we left on the ground for him.

Michael’s convinced that he can get them trained to eat out of his hands by the end of summer. He may be right……one little guy is getting brave and comes closer to us every night!

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Now I know why some of my petunias didn’t make it!?!?

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The “Little Begger!”

How do you “stay focused” on your passion?

Until next time, Happy Summer!

Donna

Finally Spring

April 22, 2018 / Donna Robinson Photography / 5 Comments

Despite a few colder days in Atlanta this past week and a very rainy Sunday, I think it’s safe to say it’s finally Spring. If you couldn’t tell by all of the trees and flowers blooming, the birds and critters certainly made it known by their presence.

Rummaging through the Purslane

More morsels, please

Can’t we just get along like these 2?

Strategy

Waiting for his turn

Glutten

Hey, save some for me

Curiosity

Bath time

Enjoying the trees

Happy Spring……..Enjoy your week!

Donna

For the Love of Photography: “It’s a Feeding Frenzy!!!”

October 15, 2017October 14, 2017 / Donna Robinson Photography / 8 Comments

So, it’s been five (5) months since we moved into our new home. For the most part, all of the moving containers have been emptied, neatly tucked away behind closet doors or buried in the back of the storage room. Funny how all kinds of emotions and thoughts pop up when you move……especially when you look around at all of the “stuff” you’ve collected over the years. “Stuff” that you spent two thirds of your life collecting, only to find yourself spending the last one third of your life trying to give away! I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a pack rat, but I would say I’m a “memory keeper.” They are different, right?!?!?

Now that we have our own backyard, again, I’m finding one of my favorite things to do is to sit on the patio and watch the wildlife entertainment. With five (5) hanging bird feeders, two (2) hummingbird feeders, a birdbath and several ground feeders we seem to be attracting critters from all around the area.

At any given time we’ve had a multitude of squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, cardinals, doves and a variety of finches circling around. But, the squirrels clearly own the feeders and tend to drain them fairly quickly as you can see from these morning and afternoon shots below……..

Completely full at 8a.m.

By 7p.m. empty

I mean, seriously! These squirrels will do anything to get to the food. Talented beyond any trapeze artist, they will find a way to conquer the feeder!