Note: This week, instead of taking a specific photo according to the prompt every day, I was not inspired by what I could photograph in my house and it was a bit rainy and cold to want to get outside. So, I ended up running around at the last minute on Sunday after Mass to take photos to fit the prompts. To keep up our last minute theme of this week, I also didn’t get to upload these photos until 10 minutes before the 10 pm cutoff time where my blog was set to auto-publish (I did this to give myself a deadline on purpose). This means that all of my photos are currently unedited.
This might not be a bad thing, though. While they will not look as good as they usually do, when I do get around to editing them, I can talk a bit about what my normal editing routine is like and what I choose to change.
Week 2 Prompt: Patterns in nature
I had intended to use a different photo for this prompt, but as I was uploading them, there was something about the shape of this tree that I really liked and swapped it out at the last minute.
Week 2, Day 2: A quiet corner
Knowing that I was going to be taking these photos after Mass, I had thought that either the Divine Mercy chapel or the area in the church with the votive candles by the statue of Mary between the confessionals. Both of these are quiet, reflective places that are great for prayer and reflection. The Divine Mercy chapel is a favorite place of mine. I love how cozy it is.
This is the edited version of my photo, added to the post as a Flickr embed. To my eye, it looks like this is a bit soft or blurry, compared to the actual photo. So, as an experiment, I uploaded the photo directly to my WordPress Media library below.
To my eye, looking at this from my laptop display, this direct upload appears to be slightly sharper. Let me know if you can see a difference.
Comparing the edited version to the unedited photo, I had adjusted the tilt (because I’ve never been able to hold a camera level), added contrast and pulled highlights. This helped to provide a bit more detail to the Divine Mercy painting and the stained glass window.
Week 2, Day 3: Something you’re looking forward to
On our latest grocery run, I picked up some chicken and carrots with the intention of making some homemade chicken soup. In an ideal week, I would make some kind of soup or stew on Sunday that we could keep in the fridge and have throughout the week.
Week 2, Day 4: Hands holding something warm
It was pretty cold today, but the wind was strong and made it feel quite a bit colder. After Mass, we were hungry and Donald was wanting a nice bowl of chili. We tried City Barbecue for the first time. Donald’s chili was made with brisket, and he liked it. I had the chicken tenders and mac & cheese – also pretty good. We liked their Original barbecue sauce best (after trying all of them), and the honey mustard and spicy ranch that they gave me for the tenders.
I did have a vision for this photo ahead of time and it did take another photo at a slightly lower point of view. Sometimes playing with perspective can give different moods to your image.
Week 2, Day 5: A peaceful walk view
After lunch, we went to Raintree Park, looking for a walking path that was close to the parking lot (since the cold wind was pretty vicious). The sun had peeked out between the clouds, so we got some sunshine and blue skies. The dusting of snow on the ground gives a bit of texture to the grass.
This photo (like all of them this week, except for the chicken soup) hasn’t been edited. It looks a little dark and flat because of the bright light of the sun, so I would play with the contrast and exposure a bit when I go to edit this.
In my edited photo, I tried to bring out the darkened pathway and ground, while preserving the blue of the sky. This happened due to the difference in light between the sun and the ground; the camera meters for an average exposure value for the photo, not wanting to blow out the sun, but the result is everything else being a bit too dark. Some fixes for this in camera are to use a graduated neutral density filter, so that it evenly darkens the sky portion of the photo, to make the overall exposure values similar, or to take several photos in a row where you use exposure compensation (or just adjust your settings manually) to take the same shot a couple stops overexposed and a couple stops underexposed (from your metered value) and edit them together with your editing software later. In your editing software, you may have an HDR feature that will try to approximate this for you automagically.
Week 2, Day 6: Something blue
We were so excited to see the blue skies arrive a bit later in the day. Seeing the sun comes out really lifts our spirits, especially since Michigan winter days are so often gray.
Week 2, Day 7: A reflection
I had expected to have to take a photo back at home for “A reflection,” but when I took a look at the photos I had taken and looked closely at this one, I saw a lot of reflection of the woods in the windows and paint and kind of liked that.
I’ll try to draw more attention to these reflections in the edit.
Final Thoughts for This Week
This is going to have to be a week where I give myself some grace. Not every week is going to have the same success or level of effort as other weeks. I may not have the same time or energy to pour into it. But I want to be okay with that. That is real life and this should be a fun thing to allow me to rediscover my love for taking photos instead of a string of deadlines.
I would love to hear of your photography stories and see any images you’ve created. Are you doing a Project 52 this year?
Granted, not the best photo, and I took it after we had already dug into our dinner, but making a warm dinner with my fiancé on a cold winter evening, and having the house fill with delicious smells – that’s a very calm and cozy feeling!
This is a Ground Turkey and Sweet Potato Bake (with rice and topped with cheese). It was tasty and filling, and we will have a ton of leftovers!
Week 1, Day 2: Morning light through a window
I like these patterned, sheer curtains in the living room. My pine tree, Sport, loves all the light.
The lesson of the day is … I don’t know where exposure compensation is on this new camera. A Google search and YouTube video later, and I now have one of my dials set to adjust this on the fly! There is a learning curve to entering a new camera ecosystem, but I’m excited to get to know my Alpha better!
Week 1, Day 3: A favorite mug or cup
This is a bit difficult, since I have a lot of mugs that I really like! However, this one is special because my fiancé, Donald, took me to St. Thomas for my birthday one year. It was our first US Territory together! We will have to return and make the trip to the National Park there, but we had a lot of fun driving on all the steep and winding roads in our rental Jeep and looking at the beautiful water!
Week 1, Day 4: Cozy layers
Nothing is cozier than freshly laundered bed linens! It was my idea to look into the Scandinavian (?) method of having separate duvets/duvet covers per person. I figured that it would help with any cover-hogging situations. And, so far, it’s been nice and works for us. I especially love to snuggle into bed right after a wash day, when the bedding still smells like detergent. Sure, it’s work to remake the bed and wrestle with the fitted sheets and duvets, but it’s a nice little gift to yourself at bed time!
My friend, Stacy, used to run a Project 52 group on Facebook a number of years ago, and since then, I’ve always toyed with the idea of doing this again. I loved the community aspect of it. I loved how the different prompts would push me to think just a bit more creatively. And I loved how it encouraged me to keep picking up my camera.
This past December, I got a new camera for my birthday/Christmas: a Sony Alpha 7 IV, and I’m going to start up a P52! And, since it’s really hard for me to contain myself to “just” a P52 when the possibility exists for me to do a 365… I will have one “official” prompt for the week, but then add in 6 additional prompts in case I (or anyone who wants to join me) feels a little extra that week and wants to make it a daily thing.
My current plan is to post the images on IG, on FB (which is probably going to be the easiest place for friends to reply with images of their own, if they choose), on my Flickr in a P52.26 album that I will share publicly, and here on Cadyly.com, where I can write more about the image, how I took it, and my thoughts around it.
I have a link.tree in my Instagram bio, which will take you to all the places.
I will be starting today, Thursday, January 1, 2026, because “New Year,” but I will have my weeks start on Monday and go through Sunday – so this week will be a short week.
My plan is to have all of the prompts out by mid-month for the upcoming month, so you have some time to plan out your images, if you are the planning type.
🌱 January’s Theme 🌱
January’s Theme is Fresh Starts & Winter Light. I’ve listed out each week’s main prompt, as well as 6 additional prompts per week. Feel free to do any of the prompts that you want, switch them out, do something entirely different… Whatever makes you feel happy and engaged. This isn’t graded and it’s supposed to be fun! (I need that reminder more than anyone!)
Week 1 (1/1 – 1/4): Something that feels calm
Morning light through a window
A favorite mug or cup
Cozy layers
Week 2 (1/5 – 1/11): Patterns in nature
A quiet corner
Something you’re looking forward to
Hands holding something warm
A peaceful walk view
Something blue
A reflection
Week 3 (1/12 – 1/18): Light and shadow
Winter sky
Your favorite snack
Something old you still love
A moment of rest
A simple breakfast
A texture you enjoy
Week 4 (1/19 – 1/25): Your current view
Something that smells good
A sign or word that stands out
Something silver or gray
A self-care moment
Something handmade
A book or page
Week 5 (1/26 – 2/1): Something that makes you smile
Footprints or paths
A soft fabric
A daily ritual
Window reflections
Something white
A favorite color
I hope you enjoy watching my photography journey this year, and I look forward to seeing what you capture!
Several years ago, my friend, Stacy, started a Project 52 group on Facebook, where we would have a prompt a week and take a photo to fulfill the prompt. It helped us work on our photography skills and encouraged us to get out there and take more photos.
This year, I’m thinking about revitalizing this area of my interests and think that another Project 52 would be fun to do. (And just maybe I can convince Donald to join me, so I’m not doing this alone! Also, please join us!)
I will be using the prompts from 365 Project. I will try to make a graphic for the year’s prompts, but for this week it is: New.
It has been a little while since we have indulged in one of our favorite lunchtime pastimes: finding a new city park to explore. We tend to do this a little more in Tallahassee, but we have found that there are quite a few local parks in Troy which are beautiful and fun to explore – particularly in summertime. Today, we returned to the Stage Nature Center – where we had seen the mink earlier in the year – to see how it looks when everything has had a chance to green up.
This is the Rouge River, as it is here in Troy, a little more than a creek.
We only had about 30 minutes to spend at the park during my lunch hour, so we made a quick trip around the Sugar Maple loop. It was really neat to see the different colors of green in the leaves and how the sun lit up the trees. The part of the loop that we walked also had a display of the various stages of tree/forest lifecycle, with logs in various stages of decay and decomposition.
The nature center has programs in the winter/early spring where you can rent a tap for a sugar maple tree, then collect the maple syrup produced from the sap.
We spent a few minutes at this crossroads in the paths to watch some chipmunks. They are FAST little ones! One of them ran up a tree and started chittering very loudly for quite some time. At first, I didn’t know what was making that sound and ended up recording it on my Bird ID app. I’m not sure if he was mad or excited, but he certainly wanted everyone in the forest to hear what he had to say!
Just as we were about to move on from the chipmunk area, we spied four deer running parallel to our path. Donald’s phone has much better zoom on the camera and he was able to get this incredible photo.
A view of the Rouge River from the other side of the Sugar Maple loop.
We just did the short 0.4 mile Sugar Maple Loop today, as I only had an hour for lunch. It was really pretty and we want to come back after work one day to see what animals are active in the early evening, as well as spend more time in the back half to see if we can spot our mink friend again.
I love seeing all the different colors of green!
This was a very BIG bee on this flower. It’s in an area of the nature center which has been planted as a monarch butterfly migration station.
I love when parks make boards like this to help people know what kinds of flowers and plants are indigenous to the area, and to promote planting native plants in gardens. Sometimes, you will see a companion board, where they will inform you of invasive species in the area and ask people visiting the park to help remove the invasive species if they are seen during your walk.
This was just a quick out and back visit, but we had a lot of fun. It was great to take a break and get away from the house for a bit, as well as to enjoy the warm, sunny, non-humid weather while we have it!
You can now listen to our blog via our podcast! It is available from Anchor via Spotify, but we are also working to get it published to other podcast platforms. Don’t worry, we will be working on our audio quality as we go! Enjoy!
It has been rather chilly in Michigan these past few days, and while the temperature was still on the low side, the lack of cold winds and bright sun made it feel good to be outside.
So, when lunchtime came, Donald and I decided to make a quick trip down the road to Quarton Lake for a walk around the water.
These bright blue flowers were blooming in yards surrounding the lake. Siri thinks they are called Scilla. 😀
The birds (mostly robins) were chirping away and foraging, and the squirrels (both black and red/gray) were having fun running in and around the trees.
Quarton Lake is in the middle of a residential area in Birmingham, surrounded by large houses of varying architectural styles.
There are so many different species of pine tree here in Michigan. This one reminded me of the Torreya pines in Florida which are very rare. However, the needles on this one were a lot softer than on the Torreyas.
On the Maple Rd side of the lake, there is a small park that includes this white fish sculpture. And, of course, the waterfall. 😀
The watershed from Quarton Lake feeds into the Rouge River (or so I would assume from the signage on the bridge 😜). Some of the houses in the neighborhood were lucky enough to have the river on their backyard.
I’m no nature expert, but I think these yellow flowers may belong to a Forsythia bush.
This pine tree had thin, delicate branches with soft, short needles. Very pretty!
At the south end of the lake, there is a grist wheel and a plaque to let people know that Quarton Lake used to be called Mill Pond and was the site of a grist mill which ground grain into flour for the Birmingham community.
Just a couple of the beautiful houses surrounding the lake.
Looking back at the park entrance and Maple Rd
Yet another species of pine tree. This one had cool pinecones forming.
This view is from the north side of the lake. Our lunchtime walk took us completely around the lake. It was great to get out of the house for a bit and enjoy the sun on our faces!
After work today, we decided to get out of the house and spend some time at Lake Ella. We stopped by Black Dog Cafe and got a couple of their Lattes of the Day and some small snacks. We sat on their deck (which has a new roof/awning) and enjoyed our bagel and pastry and read awhile. Once our pastries were finished, we wanted to walk around a little.
Muscovy Ducks that live by Lake EllaAll of the trees are greening up with the new growth of springSpanish moss in the afternoon sunlightPlants at the edge of the water near the gazeboView from the east side of the lake, looking westCypress tree with all the knees – so pretty!Bench swing
We stopped for a moment and sat on this bench swing, taking in the peacefulness of the afternoon. We saw a couple Spin scooters nearby and I joked about renting one for another ride. They are a lot of fun, but after Donald’s near-miss and my accident (which I’m still recovering from), we think that we should invest in some helmets (and perhaps other protective gear) before we ride the Spins again.
View from the bench swingLow-hanging branches, near Black Dog Cafe
I hope you enjoyed seeing a few of our photos from our walk! We will certainly have more adventures to share soon!
Last week, I had a meeting on the main medical campus and took the bus there from my office. On the way back at the end of the day, I got extremely nauseated – I just wanted to curl up in the fetal position and die. Instead of commuting home right away, I thought to take some photos of the fall leaves in the Arboretum. But there was no great place to park, and I wasn’t up to a lot of hiking, so I eventually decided to go to the Matthaei Botanical Gardens instead, with the idea of walking through the woods there.
I didn’t make it that far. I went into the Conservatory, and started snapping away with my iPhone. I’ve photographed Matthaei a bunch of times, but I always enjoy it. Here are (some of) the fruits of my afternoon:
I even edited my photos, uploaded them to an actual album on Flickr, and made them into a photo book via Blurb. It’s nice to do something you love to do, every now and then. 🙂
Every year, Clawson puts on the best fireworks display! 🙂 I love living close enough to be able to walk to the park (and miss the gridlocked traffic after the show)! This year, I got to share the evening with Ross and Chelsea.
Here are a few of my favorite images from the evening:
Paroxysm of Giggles / Critical Mass 