County Fair

I'll start off by stating that I am very active in my county fair. I am in 4-H, (Horsemanship, photography, etc.) but I also enter a few open class drawings, paintings, and photographs. I just thought that I would show you a few of the pictures that I am entering this year, maybe I'll post some drawings later, but that would require me to scan them, which is quite the ordeal these days. Anyway, tell me what you think!

Only a good friend will put up with hours of photo taking. Way to go girl!

A Razzmatazz sunflower, my favorite kind. This one took second prize at the fair last year. You can't see it so much in this picture, but the flower is a really nice dark red.

Isaiah and Rebekah ~ to be wed on September 4th 2010

Sunlit grass backed by the Clark Fork river.


This is my little cousin Bailey. I'm not sure how well this one will go over with the judges at the fair, but I thought it was just too precious not to use somehow.



This is one of my all-time favorites. It is kind of abstract but I love it.
Mary-Hannah C. McGuffey

Sweet Sixteen

Tomorrow I am celebrating an occasion that only happens once in a lifetime. (Well, once in everyone's lifetime.) My best friend is turning sixteen. It isn't so much an occasion for the usual reasons, she already has her driver's license, she already has a car, and she won't necessarily be gaining privileges or freedoms by this "long-awaited" birthday. It's just amazing to me because I can't believe we made it here. Last I checked we were eight and nine, and we were both too shy to talk to each other, we were little and bony, and giggly, and we thought that teenagers were evil. Cary and I became best friends in an instant. We were on a field trip to an Amish bakery for a 4-H cooking project, and started talking. I had forgotten to bring a water bottle, so Cary kindly shared hers, only I didn't know her very well, so I didn't think I should put my mouth on the bottle. So, I carefully tipped up the bottle and poured about two ounces of good ol' H2O down the wrong pipe. I choked, and choked... and choked some more. After a few minutes her parents started getting worried. But that's how it all started. When I finally got my lungs back in working order, we laughed about it, and it has pretty much been the same way since. In the five-plus years that we have known each other we have never had a single fight or argument. That's rare. Well, I've said all this to say, here's to you on your birthday Cary, and thanks for being my best friend! You rock, and I couldn't ask for a better BFFAA.
Mary-Hannah Christina McGuffey

Sunflowers... I Think, and One Incredibly Adorable Little Boy

My brother, Jesse found these pretty flowers in one of our fields. They look like sunflowers, but are a little bit smaller than most. Anyway, I thought that they looked like a pretty nice photography project, so I went after them with my camera. What do you think?

Shot #1. Sheep Mountain in the background.
Shot #2. Over-exposed but I still like it.

Shot #3. I think this one probably turned out the best. If you can't tell I like getting more than one perspective on an object.

And last of all, shot #4. This is a closeup of my little brother Jesse, the one who picked the flowers. Jesse is almost nine, and is an intelligent fun-loving little boy. Sometime I'll post a clearer picture. I took about 15 more shots of the flowers, but didn't want to post all of them. Hope you like them!
Mary-Hannah Christina McGuffey
AND Canon Powershot 111

Yes, I Edit Them

Much to my photography teacher's shame, I edit my pictures. Sometimes I will get a really great shot that is just slightly too dark or slightly too off centered, etc. That is when picnik.com comes in handy. Here are a few of my editing experiments.

A friend of mine in our barn. I took this one in June.

This is the same friend, on a picturesque old rail road bridge near my house.


I always seem to use the barn in backgrounds. A close up of a friend, I thought it looked really nice in sepia.

My twenty year old brother and his fiancee. This was one of their engagement pictures.

So far, this one is my all time favorite. It is also shown in my header. The sunset was just right for silhouettes. I brightened it slightly, but this is very close to the original. This is also my brother and his fiancee. I will post more of their engagement pictures later, these are just some of my best edits.
Hope you like them!
Mary-Hannah C. McGuffey

Pictures From Hosanna Ranch

I live on Hosanna Ranch; here are a few pictures taken around the house.

This is one of our many barbed-wire fences and Bald Hill.
The horse is one of my Quarter Horse mares, Brie.
The rustic leathers with our old Allis Chalmers. (Not currently in running condition.)
Cutie and Brie out grazing.



Some friends of mine on our tractor. I actually took this one for a depth of field project in 4-H photography.

The horses and some pretty weeds... weeds, little nutritional value, often toxic, and yet they can be so pretty. What's up with that?

I'll have to ask you to ignore the crooked horizon lines in both of these pictures. I like them in spite of their flaws. The one on the left is Cutie and our barn. The second photo is Cutie and I.
Mary-Hannah C. McGuffey

New To This

Hey all,

this is my very first post, and I am far too excited about having a blog. Anyway, I hope you will all bear with me as I figure out the twenty-first century art of blogging, and post (hopefully) innumerable snapshots of the things we do around here in daily life. I'm an am-mature teenage photographer, which I am sure will be very evident in my work. I'll gladly welcome any tips that anyone has to offer. Thanks, and please take a look around the blog!
Mary-Hannah C. McGuffey