Heartfelt - Day 35 #CY365

Heartfelt - Yesterday a friend posted this poem written by her 15 year son in memory of a young friend who committed suicide recently. It touched my heart and I wanted to share it with you as part of today's photo.

Red
A cold hour
for a warm color soul.
hot liquid sorrow in the veins
craters of a steel heart
a frigid white breeze
freezing this warm day.
Leaving us dwellers,
siphoning a color from this world;
delivering it to the next.
never mind to it all; apathy is medication
but it can't cure the melancholy sobs for a lost friend
bitter-sweet are the days of the 'morrow
no shine from this sun today.
I wish you could have seen a world without such pain
but a world of red roses
red passion
every color of our next days
without the greys.
stay here
in our once red hearts, now a bluish fade
in this cage with no key
but loving words on our lips.

by Walter

Suicide is a national health problem that takes an enormous toll on family, friends, co-workers, and the entire community. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) provides opportunities for survivors of suicide loss to get involved through a wide variety of educational, outreach, awareness, advocacy and fundraising programs. Sponsor or attend the Hampton Roads annual "Out of the Darkness Community Walk" to help in the fight to prevent suicides.

Soft - Day 34 #CY365

Soft - Canon 7D, 1/400 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400, 100mm macro lens.

A Silhouette - Day 33 #CY365

A Silhouette - Sasha posing for today's challenge. Canon G1X, 1/160 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 800.

In The Dark - Day 32 #CY365

Today was a self portrait challenge. Like most photographers I'm much more comfortable behind the camera rather than in front of it. With the daily inspiration as "In The Dark", I opted for a selfie of my hand holding a glass as it fills with water. The camera's self timer was set on 10 seconds. Canon 7D,1/40 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 1600 in manual exposure and focus mode.

A Horse - Day 31 #CY365

Today's challenge was "A Horse". Not having ready access to a real horse I went to the next best thing - Gumby's best pal - Pokey. This is one still-frame picture but it takes 1,440 still frame pictures to make one minute of Gumby and Pokey animation. That's almost four years at the picture a day pace of the 365 project. Canon 7D, 1/500 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 1600.

Focusing - Day 30 #CY365

Our late blooming Christmas Cactus is the subject of my "Focusing" photo for today. Using a macro lens for an extreme close-up results in a very shallow depth of field allowing the photographer to to draw the viewer into a certain part the photo which is in sharpest focus. In this case the purple stigma and the pollen covered stamen are the focal point. Canon 5D Mark II, 1/125 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 1600, one LED Litepanel held below the flower and just barely out of the frame.

Lively - Day 29

Day 29 - Looking down an old fashion metal slinky at my tiny keychain camera. Canon G15, 1/800 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 800.