About this blogeroo.


updated April 2nd, 2013

WELL HELLO THERE:
My name is Sarah and I’m an amateur picture-taking person. I started “Sarah Takes Pictures” — title chosen to maximize snappiness — in 2012 as a daily photo project. That was a blast, and now roughly 30,000 pictures later, here I am. I’d planned on carrying the project on through the new year, but I’ve fallen down on that and don’t see myself resurrecting last year’s effort any time soon. I’ve decided to just post pictures when I can; better ones, I hope, than when I make myself do it almost as a chore. Scroll through my pictures a little and you’ll pretty quickly see what I’m about. Here, I’ll spoil it for you — it’s basically just plants and cats.

MY CAMERA:
I’m using a Canon Ixus (Elph) right now, which I think is pretty rad for a compact, and boy is it compact. For over a year now, I’ve been saying “I’m going to get a DSLR later this year.” We’ll see. For now, I love seeing what I can do with my point-and-shoot.

ABOUT AWARDS AND STUFF:
Man, thanks for thinking of me, if that’s why you’re here. I’ve had some people in the past be kind of enough to nominate my blog for various awards floating around out there, and it’s been very gratifying. Please know though that I don’t actively participate in awards-nominating myself; sadly I don’t really have the time or diligence to keep up with others’ work as I should. If you still want to nominate me in spite of that, you are welcome to, and thanks so much for your interest!

TO KEEP UP WITH MY ELSEWHERE FOR SOME REASON:
Instagram – If Sarah Takes Pictures isn’t as active as I’d like it to be, my Instagram is probably picking up the slack.
500PX – Someday I might get back to updating this thing. This is where a lot of my favorite photos live.
Sarah Watches Stuff – Second blog where I mostly talk about some of the movies I’ve seen, and sometimes TV or a book if I ever crack one. Because I love flickering words and pictures, and sometimes I need to vomit out some words about them to know how I feel about them.
Sarah’s Garden Stuff – Third, yeah, THIRD blog where I keep track of my garden and what’s going on down at the farm where I work.

149 thoughts on “About this blogeroo.”

    • Thank you, I’m glad you like it! I really like what little I’ve seen of your blog too. 🙂 Nice shout-out to Garrison Keillor as well.

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  2. Thanks for following my blog! I like your up-close and creatively cropped point of view for your photos. I’ll be sure to check back!

    Laura

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    • You’re welcome! I found your blog through a search for collages and really liked what I saw — the strange images and cats were right up my alley. 🙂

      Reply

  5. Don’t worry too much about persons making it in your photos. We see people all the time, whereas we miss on a lot of nature because we live most of our lives behind walls.

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. Can’t promise frequent visits (maybe after I retire), but I’ll stop by occasionally. I’m always interested in the inspiration and creativity as others as a way to help fuel mine.

    Reply

    • Hi there, thanks for visiting! I really like what I’ve seen of your pictures so far, and particularly admire your series of hawk photos.

      I love my subjects and think all things nature-related could be a (admittedly large) niche that I’d be be comfortable spending the rest of my picture-taking life in. That said, it’s always interesting to broaden one’s horizons!

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  9. I stumbled across your site almost by accident – well, as the result of a comment you’d made on someone else’s work. I liked what you said and I like what I’ve found. In particular I like the way you see the world around you.

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  11. Thanks for subscribing to my blog. I see you are just at the start of your project whilst I’m just about at the end… Another 40-odd to go. We seem to have some similar themes, but I have very few of my cat or dogs. Have a look at my previous images if you’re looking for inspiration. Enjoy!

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    • Yep, interested in many of the same things, I see. I will definitely have a look through your previous pictures, as I can just imagine how the inspiration might start to wear a little thin after a while. You’ve got some great pictures there.

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    • Thank you so much and thanks for stopping by! I like that thought about exchanging some ideas. 🙂 I’ll be interested to see what you come up with!

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  18. Thanks for ‘liking’ my blog. One never knows who comments out there in the blogesphere but sometimes you can find those with a great eye – like yours. Take care.

    Ed

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  19. Hi, Sarah. Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier. I have been looking around and it seems that we like to shoot the same sorts of things and perhaps even from similar angles and such, though I think you may do it all rather better 🙂 Keep up the great work.

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    • Thanks, Neil! I think you’re right there about our subject matter and our approaches, but I don’t know about that other thing — you have some great photos! I’m excited to see more of your work!

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  28. Thanks for looking at my blog; I like the idea behind yours. A picture a day is a great challenge (I recently did this to photograph the 1st year of my son – you learn a lot!). Not found too many cats yet so you seem to be doing alright…! I particularly liked the sunrise images in the woods.

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    • You’re welcome! And thank you for stopping by. Your own project sounds really cool — I know most parents tend to take a lot of pictures of their kids, but deliberately doing it every day, especially when the child is growing and changing so much, must have made for a really special record.

      (Oh, and to be sure, I am taking a lot of pictures of the cats, but most of them just haven’t made it here yet. 🙂 )

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  32. I love plants! And cats. Personally, I believe infinite variety and fun can be found in an arbitrarily small topic or place. Thank you for posting.

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  33. Hi, Sarah! Congrats on being freshly pressed ;D
    I really love your photos in the woods. I really love the detail. When I see your photos (with the inspiring details) I think I get inspiration–suddenly ;D
    And hey, I love that picture above. What is that? A kind of fruit or what? That looks classic!

    Tyas.

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    • Thank you so much, Tyas! The picture above is the husk covering the seed of the Chinese lantern plant, which is in the same family as tomatoes and tomatillos. I’m so glad you get some inspiration from my pictures! Thanks again.

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  34. hey sarah,
    really like the atmosphere in your pictures and your look for the details in the beautiful nature (especially in the woods !)
    stay creative !

    greetz
    apu

    Reply

  35. Great pictures! You should be proud, and I was shocked you’re using a compact! Can’t wait to see what happens when you get your SLR! Makes me wish I had more time to use mine!

    Keep up the good work 🙂

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  41. I also love photographing nature, although a novice. I know what you mean about people in pictures! I like snapping shots of my family, but I LOVE getting a good nature shot. Keep up the great work! Inspiring…

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    • Hi there! Thanks so much! The picture in the “About me” is the dried (and skeletized) seed covering of the Chinese lantern plant, with the fleshy seed inside.

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  45. Once again, stunned by the beauty you capture with the simplest of things! That’s what makes you an amazing photographer, well at least to me! I said one time, any one can just photograph some amazing landscape and scenery and it will always be beautiful but when you take images like yours and turn theme into art, that is photography! To capture the essence of dead nature, curled roots, dried up seeds, and etc and then bring it to life, that is a gift! I always love visiting your site. It inspires me and reminds me of my work in so many ways. Keep it up, that’s your gift to make people see beauty in where many don’t see it… Now, were do you live? My God I would be out their everyday with my camera capturing these amazing images. There;s a place up in California that is sort of like the areas you photograph. People call it Fern-gully! They say it’s just breathtaking with the fern’s, tress branches, exposed roots and so many types of beautiful ferns! That will be a trip this year and buy lots of memory for my camera!!!!!

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    • Thank you so much! It’s a pleasure to share these pictures and I’m glad you find many of the same things intriguing as I do and are actively going out and capturing them yourself — it’s so fun to see another’s perspective on those subjects. I live in Minnesota in a fairly rural area. I’m lucky enough to have a lovely wooded area and a river running right through my backyard (what is essentially the backyard, anyway) so most of my pictures are taken just within five minutes of home. Thanks again for the kind words!

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      • Wow, Minnesota, how lucky you are to have that right their with you!!!! I think that I would never leave that area if I lived in some surroundings like that! lol.. I live up in the mountains but nothing like what you find in your trips, awesome work!!!!!

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  46. Stumbled upon this wonderful blog from a friend’s, and luckily so:) Just one suggestion, if possible; kindly reduce the visible posts on the front page as it takes a lot of time for slow connections to load up; that apart, fantastic clicks:D I use an Ixus myself and love macro photography as well:) Keep up the good work:)

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    • Thank you, Raj! That’s a good suggestion, especially given how many photos I tend to put up — I think I will either only display a few posts per page or just display a few photos on the front page and then have a link to the rest of them in the post view instead of the home view. Glad to see another macro fan and Ixus user! 🙂

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  49. Thank you for following my blog! I think the title of your blog should be changed to “Sarah takes BEAUTIFUL pictures.” Keep it up! I’ll be back for more. Happy St. Patrick’s day!

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  50. Hi Sarah. Wow, you’re very popular I see. And it’s no surprise. Who could resist, After seeing that perfect eye in your gravatar, dropping in hoping to see who it belongs to.

    And what a charming surprise we get when we arrive. You are really masterful at this photography stuff. 🙂

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  53. Hi Sarah, looking at your pics, at lot of the angles they’re taken at look like you were lying down in the woods/mud/wherever to take them, so I was wondering if that’s what you actually did. I’m a little hesitant to crawl around on the forest grounds but I guess it’s necessary sometimes?

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    • Hi Kiki, I usually refrain from full on lying on the ground (a little too messy for me and there always seem to be spiders lurking, which I’d really, really like to avoid) so I usually end up kneeling or crouching.

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    • It’s a site for artists and photographers to sell prints, postcards, and other merchandise with their art printed on it (like iPhone covers and suchlike, I believe). As far as I’ve seen, the uploading system is like a lot of photo-sharing sites, in that you can give your photos up to 50 tags and arrange your works into different albums to facilitate searching for other users and customers. When someone buys your stuff, RedBubbles produces the item for you and then you get a bit of a commission (which they send to you after you’ve earned $50 or something). I haven’t used it a much and haven’t managed to actually sell something to any earnest strangers who have happened upon my stuff, but that will always be the dream….

      Reply

      • Thanks Sarah for the reply! I am still loving your blog! You have quite a following!!!! I would be overjoyed to get so many responses! I read each post of yours every day. I just love your photos so much! I went to the Rose Garden here tonight in Minneapolis and went crazy on the spring flowers. So beautiful! I took over 80 pictures! Stay tuned and keep up the amazing work! You are very talented! 🙂

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        • It is really wonderful to have people enjoy my pictures but I feel kind of guilty that I’ve fallen down on the responding front (I tried to respond to everything for a while but I’m pretty lousy at it lately). I’m trying to at least answer the questions, though!

          Is that the Lyndale Park Rose Garden? I’ve been there once or twice but not in its full glory, I think. That and there’s a peace garden, or something, nearby. Minneapolis has so many great parks — I’m starting to miss them, especially this time of year. Are you going to post some of your pictures?

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  57. You’ve got some lovely photos. I wish mine were half as good. I’m a ranked-bottom-total-loser-amateur. 🙂

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    • Thank you! And I wouldn’t say that at all about your photos…and in any case, we’re all ranked-bottom-total-losers in the beginning. 🙂

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  58. Your photos on the blog that i have seen so far are great. I really like the photos of all the different plants and if that is your interest than keep with it. I have enjoyed visiting your blog and i hope to be back soon.

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    • Everything’s fine — nice of you to ask! I went out of town for the weekend and meant to update as I went along, but time got away from me.

      Cool new avatar, by the way.

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      • Good to hear . . . I feared a Alice-like slip into the Macro World.

        Thanks; one of my pictures done up as a sketch. Huge improvement over my zombie/outlaw/demented-freak . . . although I still have a soft spot for that one.

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        • Nah, that’ll happen after I get a legitimate macro lens, which will be a world so captivating I won’t even know how to share it digitally.

          That old avatar was from Firefly, right? I’m finally almost finished with my run through the entirety of another TV series, and Firefly is next, so I will be letting you know shortly the ways in which it has changed my life.

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          • Well, it’s not from Firefly. It was actually me, but that picture was shot for a faux-release order from a Browncoat battalion following the war (they pasted my picture on the release order). The original picture did not look like the avatar . . . I blacked out the eyes, added strategic “dark rotten flesh”, and in general made it as unappealing as I could.

            . . . glad to hear about you soon being exposed to Firefly.

            . . . and I should do a post soon about Firefly. *Sigh* . . . too much stuff to do; so little time.

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            • This will all make sense in time, I’m sure. I do admire the effort that went into the blacked out eyes and dark rotten flesh, though, rest assured.

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    • Thank you so much, Kiki! I really appreciate the nomination; so happy that you enjoy the blog. However, I’m not sure if I should “accept” it (not sure if the process really works that way) since I haven’t really participated in this award business before. Again, though, thank you very much for the thought and I will be sure to check out the other blogs you nominated too.

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    • Thank you so much for the nomination! I’m really happy you enjoy my pictures. Fun to check out your blog as well — I’ll be back. 🙂

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    • Unfortunately it seems photography has taken a slight backseat in my life (to weeding), but you never know… Thank you very much for the nomination! That is very kind of you; I really appreciate it.

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  67. Your pictures are greats.. They are amazing and I hope your future will be a perfect! Complimenti Sarah, oppuntinità è la tua perfetta vita 😉

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  68. Hi Sarah. I don’t know if you accept awards, but I am nominating you for the One Lovely Blog Award. I think your blog is very well done and I get a lot of inspiration out of it! I love your pics!!!! Please see my post of 8/3/12 to see your nomination and pick up the logo for your award!

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  70. Very cool. I am greatly fond of cats. 🙂
    I’ve always wanted to be a photographer, but I used my last camera so much that it broke. Haha.

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  72. Like your blog, daily photos very interesting. Love cats, but don’t have my own now. You take some very good, often very beautiful pictures, I still have lots to look through! Have taken photos since I was about 5, had my own camera when a teenager, and had several Olympus SLR’s before going digital in 2004, with a compact Canon A630, now using a Fuji S5700, compact with some DSLR features. My own blog still very new, but will be sharing photos soon.

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  73. Pingback: Ye Olde Nature Center | Sarah takes pictures.

  75. I’ve just found your blog today and love it.. I love your daily photo, and the photos are great even you’re just using a compact camera, the results are like professional.. I also used an Ixus, but now I am using a PowerShot for my daily photos.. 🙂

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  77. awesome photos, I like your style…found you through Cee’s blog…she has you listed as a favorite blog so thought I’d check it out! I’ve been taking photos for about a year now and find I learn so much from simply visiting and observing!

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