Saturday 29 June 2013

One month in

Well the great summertime Scavenger Hunt 2013 organised by Rinda is well underway! Today she has posted the first 'linky' for people to show their pictures.  Be sure to check it out on Rinda's blog.  And I have to say that at this moment in time I've been quite fortunate in finding a fair few of them.  However, we all know what that means in reality.  I've ticked off all the easily accessible ones and now am left with those that will either need a little bit of thinking outside the box or lucky finds.
I've put the ones I have found together as a set in Flickr.  You can find them here  and I've also made sure that when I have shown any of them in a blog post I have added a tag of  Scavenger Hunt 2013.
I think the one that made me smile the most at finding was my take on the Police car. 


 
One thing that I am enjoying this year and which is a sign of how times change in a short space of a year, is that people are adding photos via Instagram, the phone app that lets up upload pictures and link them with a hashtag.  It's a fun, instant way of seeing something and one of my favourite apps at the moment.  I also love the 'Beautiful Mess' app which lets you easily add text and graphics to pictures. 
This is such a fun project and I'm so pleased that it is becoming a popular annual event.  It must be hard for Rinda to know what to include.  Something that is 'easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy' in England may be as rare as hen's teeth in the US.  For example, one year the hunt included an outside washing line.  Something which almost every English household will have within 10 feet of their back door.  Yet apparently quite the rarity in the sunshine states of America.  Who knew?
 
But I think that the thing that has had us all in a quandary has been the picture in the clouds.  A brilliant, inspirational idea.  How we are all commenting on this one.  Either people have wall to wall blue sky (a la Arizona heat for Deb Turtle) {trying hard not to be too jealous of this dilemma} or we have wall to wall cloud cover with no blue bits in between to make a picture.  But when that cloud does break up, I reckon the streets of England are full of people walking around looking up at the sky and tripping over in the street trying to make out a shape in the clouds.  And how many of us have watched a shape forming, had an absolutely brilliant thought as to what it looks like and then by the time you scrabble around in your handbag, find your phone, put the phone into camera mode, point it at the sky and ... it's gone.  A sudden gust of wind has dispersed that beautifully formed picture of a horse/unicorn/teddy bear and it now just looks like - well, a cloud. 
 
One thing we must remember though is to always have your camera or phone to hand with batteries charged, you never know when a photo opportunity will present itself.  Take this morning, driving into town on the way to the supermarket.  Stuck in a queue of traffic, I saw three American wartime Jeeps parked outside the church.  With American servicemen in the driving seats and women dressed in authentic 1940s clothing and hairstyles.  Totally out of place - right?  A perfect scavenger photo - right? Let me tell you that shouting out, no don't move on, wait a minute I need to get a photo, where is my phone, why isn't it in the pocket I normally put it in, oh there it is, quick turn on the camera, does not work.  When the traffic lights turn green, the cars behind will not understand the whole 'need to get a scavenger hunt photo' concept.  And so another missed opportunity to chalk up to experience - but a lesson learnt.  Do not put phone in handbag while a passenger in a car.  You never know when you will need it! 
 
 



24 comments:

Unknown said...

I have enjoyed seeing the Instagram photos as they pop up. I am having huge trouble with the cloud photo as it is winter here. We are lucky that our winter weather is good, but that means that the sky is either all blue or all clouds!

I love seeing the unusual finds like your police bike! Off to see your flicker album now.

Beverly said...

That would have been a glorious photo hunt or not, sorry you didn't get it :( I have a perfect out of place one but am afraid to use it because it may cause a stink with someone.

Susanne said...

We've managed to snap a shot or two for Rinda's hunt also. We need to find a few more before I do a post. I like your Police vehicle - very eco-friendly!

Fiona@staring at the sea said...

Wow! You've ticked off two thirds of the list already :o) Love your windmill shot and I had to smile at the coffee shop sign!

Maria Ontiveros said...

Your flickr page looks great, and I am really happy for whoever suggested the instagram feed. It's very fun!
Did you post a story about the windmill? I'm very curious about it because it's so beautiful.
Rinda

Sian said...

I think what I love is seeing the variations across the world too..it brings me little bits of different lives and worlds that I probably wouldn't have seen otherwise

Becky said...

Great police vehicle! I know exactly what you mean about walking around looking for cloud pictures. I've been driving to work looking at the sky - rather dangerous really! The one time I saw a brilliant moustache it had gone before I could pull over! Managed to get one this evening though sitting in the garden - the A12 can breath safely again now, I am not lookign at the sky!

Miriam said...

Oh what a great out of place photo that would have made. I can't get to your flickr tonight. I will try tomorrow and let you know.

BJ said...

WOW some super photos there. I could see the face and cow in the clouds btw. BJ

Abi said...

you have captured the essence of the hunt so well Debs! I love the idea that people the world over are capturing the same things but with their own spin on them! I am so behind but am waiting for my new phone and am hoping to instagram all my finds! I have loved seeing yours pop up on IG

boysmum2 said...

what an awesome post, would have loved to have seen the 40's get up at the side of the road

Anonymous said...

wonderful photos! my favorite is the first bench. Is that painted or is it a cover?

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

I had the same problem with traffic when I took a pick of the ducks crossing the road during my morning commute. I couldn't convince the cars in front of me they needed to pull up some so I could get a better shot & I had to detangle my phone from it's radio jack cable as well.

Alison said...

Well said, Deb!...Craig was mortified the other night when I insisted on leaving the table at a restaurant to go and snap a Police Car...they were actually in the middle of searching someone and he reckoned they wouldn't be pleased if they caught me snapping the event!
Alison xx

Cheri said...

Your missed photo opp sounds like it would have been priceless!

Karen said...

You've made a terrific start! I think the one you missed is the hardest one on the list. And yes, the police here also ride bikes--definitely counts.

Missus Wookie said...

Oh what a shame about the phone in the handbag dilemma. My iphone is my main camera these days and is in my pocket most of the time but I still miss things. My beloved has been known to offer to go around the block when I've missed a photo op like that - with a long suffering look but he does offer :)

Nicky Stevenson said...

Lol, yes, you are so right about trying to take a picture from a car in traffic. It is dangerous though so I took my cloud picture from the safety of my back garden. Here in the UK we have been getting some quite good cloud patterns lately, especially around the time of the 'Supermoon'. We've even seen sunshine, yay!

Jen said...

Oh this is such a great post - I love the police vehicle! Off to check out the album now. J x

alexa said...

You have really made me smile in recognition, with the cloud and phone dilemmas. I could devote a whole mini book to 'the photos I nearly took but didn't'!

Textile Recycler said...

I give you 2 thumbs up on that police vehicle! Lol..

Rachel Brett said...

I love the beautiful mess app too Deb! I have been thinking about joining in with the scavenger hunt... looks like fun! :)

Anonymous said...

I liked your take on having the camera/phone ready. I'm still trying to figure out how to see these instagram ones (not having an iPhone I guess doesn't help). Off to check out your flicker album.

julie J said...

LOL - I have seen so many police cars while I've been driving round, but the time there was one parked outside the supermarket when I went for lunch, I'd left my phone on my desk! Totally KWYM.