Foto Friday – #cyw Color Your World, week 3

Here are the colors for this week’s Color Your World Challenge by Tourmaline

I have resumed working on my novel Here Lies a Soldier – a story that is set in both modern day and in the time of the First World War. As I opened up the Pages file and dusted off my notebook, I was reminded of my 2013 trip to the Flanders region of Belgium – where many of the dreadful battles of The Great War were fought. Many of the fallen soldiers from both sides of the conflict are buried here. We visited two of the Commonwealth cemeteries just outside of Ypres and toured the ‘Flanders Fields War Museum’ -a very somber and moving experience. This week’s photos are from this trip.

1. Asparagus: the shade of the grass at Bedford House Cemetery outside of Ypres.

2. Aquamarine: the backdrop to a display of gas masks used during the Great War, In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres (the color is a bit of a stretch, I admit…)

3. Gold: a chandelier in the lobby of our Brussels hotel

4. Chestnut: the door in the wall of Tyne Cot Cemetery outside Ypres

5. Plum: the coat of arms in the tap room of De Halve Man Brewery in Bruges

6. Manatee: the stone fountain Mannekin Pis in Brussels

7. Silver: the dome on the gateway of Tyne Cot Cemetery, outside Ypres.

Foto Friday – Orchid

Beginning in the new year, I’m going to try to up my game in the photography department. I’ve begun following a couple of photography blogs that host a variety of challenges in the hopes of improving my skills. How cool would it be to use my own images for book covers? I’m certainly not there yet! This week, however, I decided to start Foto Friday ahead of the new year. Not that this photo is anything special but, I am so pleased that my orchid bloomed, I just had to take a shot of it and show you. My gardening and plant-cultivating philosophy is mostly ‘survival of the fittest’ but with just a little more effort, I managed to bring my non-blooming orchid back to life after over a year of dormancy. And what could be more cheerful than flowers in the dead of winter? Voila!

Seven Days, Seven Photos (Day Six)

My good friend, and super talented photographer, Beach (sonofabeach96) has tagged me for this intriguing challenge: “Seven days. Seven black and white photos of your life. No people. No explanation. Challenge someone new each day.” If you don’t already follow his amazing photography blog, please check it out. He should get paid to travel the world and take pictures. Calling National Geographic! As for the rules, well… I’m not going to nominate anyone, but if you’d like to jump into this challenge, consider yourself nominated!

Here is the sixth: