Monnie: Featured Galleries and Collections

My Favorite Photo of the Week

mryan62692@aol.com (Monnie) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 12:44:52 GMT

My hope is that my family, friends and the occasional visitor will stop and take a look at my photo galleries. Each week -- with the possible exception of times my husband Jack and I are on the road -- I'll post a new photo that's a favorite of mine (I'll shoot for each Sunday, but don't hold me to it). Please let me know if you like it, too! I took this photo of several of us at the school -- of course, I'm not in it!

Awards and Honors

mryan62692@aol.com (Monnie) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:57:02 GMT

Along the way, I've been honored to have some of my photos win various awards. This gallery includes a few favorites.

BetterPhoto Awards

mryan62692@aol.com (Monnie) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:38:19 GMT

In January 2009, my husband Jack and I signed up at BetterPhoto.com. In addition to "meeting" other photographers and getting ideas and inspiration from their wonderful photos, we hoped that at least some of our entries would be good enough to earn recognition here.

I'm happy to say that even though I'm still working at getting all of them moved to this new gallery, we've done well at BP so far. In fact, one month one of my macro flower photos even made it to the next level, a Finalist! So here's a great big thank you to the BetterPhoto judges!

The photos in this gallery are from BetterPhoto.com only; other awards and honors are in a separate gallery here which you're welcome to visit as well!

Signs, Signs, Everywhere

mryan62692@aol.com (Monnie) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:45:25 GMT

As the old song goes, signs are everywhere. Most of us who enjoy photography have captured plenty of them -- some informative, some fun and some downright stupid. This gallery is a collection of some of mine. Enjoy!

Fun Stuff

mryan62692@aol.com (Monnie) — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 00:10:38 GMT

I enjoy "playing" with my digital cameras -- I've got a Canon EOS Digital Rebel (with a Canon EF100 f/2.8 macro lens), a Fujifilm FinePix 5700, a Sony Cybershot DSC-P200 and (the newest) a Canon Powershot A590.

This gallery is just for "stuff" I like that doesn't really fit in any other place. Enjoy!

Lights of My Life

mryan62692@aol.com (Monnie) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:16:38 GMT

It's my husband, Jack, who's the lighthouse photography "expert" -- in fact, his unending quest to find these historic structures piqued my interest in photography (if, at first, only as a way to pass the time while he did his thing). If you light lighthouses, be sure to check his gallery here as well (http://photosbyjryan.zenfolio.com).

But I, too, love lighthouses -- and of course I keep my finger on the shutter during all our travels. Here are a few of my favorites. Stop back often, because there's no doubt I'll be making more!

Mill Creek Metroparks

mryan62692@aol.com (Monnie) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:29:39 GMT

Based in Youngstown, Ohio, Mill Creek Park is one of the largest municipally owned parks in the United States. It's our family's good fortune to live about 20 minutes away.

Our Favorite Pets

mryan62692@aol.com (Monnie) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:04:06 GMT

When I was growing up on a farm in southwestern Ohio, we always had a dog and at least one cat. Needless to say, cats tend to multiply rather quickly, and at one time I counted 27 different ones running around in the back yard. I admit to being partial to cats, and until our daughter Chris left the nest and took "her" pet with her, a cat always lived with us.

Since then, we've been pet-free -- mostly because now that the kids are grown and we're semi-retired, we travel as much as we can and don't want to worry about pets while we're gone. But we love the ones that belong to our family and friends, and they'll appear in this gallery.

Mastropietro Winery

mryan62692@aol.com (Monnie) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:30:40 GMT

The Mastropietro Winery, located just outside Berlin Center, Ohio, is the first winery in Mahoning County. The winery opened on May 20, 2005, on 52 acres -- reportedly 12 years after owner Dan Mastropietro first started making wine in his basement. Today, we enjoy visiting the winery (about half an hour from our home) especially when the weather is nice enough to sit outdoors at a table on the patio or perhaps on one of the benches that overlooks the one-acre lake (as was the case when most of these photos were taken). When the weather isn't cooperating, though, we can head indoors to the tasting room to enjoy the heat from the huge stone fireplace.

Wines are sold by the glass or bottle, and sample trays of reds, white and mixed can be purchased as well. Our favorites include the dry cabernet ($16 per bottle), the semi-dry Riesling ($14) and, especially in the summer, the sweet Dolce Bianco ($12).

You might be interested to know that the first 20 photos came as part of an experiment I learned about at another membership Web site. The idea is to "draw" a roughly 10-foot by 10-foot square in which you'll stand. The challenge is to take 20 photos from anywhere within that square (in any direction including up and down). I parked myself on the lawn near the large picnic pavilion with a digital camera that has a 20X zoom lens, and the results are what you see here.

All the subsequent photos were taken after I left my photo "walls" through No. 39; the remainder were taken during a previous visit.

Columbus, Ohio

mryan62692@aol.com (Monnie) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:56:06 GMT

Back when I was growing up on a farm in southwestern Ohio almost on the Indiana border, going to Ohio's capital city, Columbus, was a huge undertaking. Other than being the capital, though, the city arguably was best known for The Ohio State University Buckeyes football team, under longtime coach Woody Hayes, the beautiful Capitol Building and the Ohio State Fair. The Lincoln Leveque Tower, looming high at the entrance to the city from Route 40 (Broad Street), was a sign that you'd "arrived" downtown.

Today, though, it's hard to recognize the place. Yes, all those landmarks remain -- but the farmland that surrounded the city in all directions has been transformed into thriving suburbs. Columbus has surpassed Cleveland as the largest city in the Buckeye State. It's still a "cow town" in some respects -- but it also has become quite cosmopolitan city, with dining, shopping and arts events that rival the nation's largest and most visited cities.

Since our friends Pete and Carole moved to Powell, just north of the city, some 20 years ago, we've had the opportunity to enjoy what the city has to offer -- and that's been far more than just football or a state fair (although those still are great reasons for visiting). This gallery is designed to showcase some of the people and places we enjoy so much.