color your summer.

today i got an email from snapfish notifying me of a fun summer contest: "color your summer." here's how it works: submit a photo according to the color of the week (last week was blue, this week is green) and at the end of the summer, get a free photo book of all the photos you submit! this contest makes me want to walk around all day and capture colorful summer shots - i love it. enter in this 7 week competition and vote for each other... & for me (leahbell48)!

here are some photos i voted for:

my green entry:

...happy summer everyone!

bossa n' famous.

my boyfriend got me hooked on the "bossa n' " albums. these tracks are a bossa nova twist on songs from classic bands like the rolling stones, bob marley, guns & roses, the ramones, the beatles & madonna. they're so good - check them out pronto.

do any of you know about the tumblr awesome people hanging out together? its my new obsession... here are a few of my favorite photos:

penelope cruz & woody allen

charlie chaplin & helen keller

wes anderson & kanye west

henry ford, thomas edison, warren g. harding & harvey firestone

mother teresa & princess diana

madonna, sting & 2pac

...happy hump day my loves!

may flowers.

may is here! i'm so ready to say goodbye to rainy april and say hello to beautiful may flowers. i love may flowers; they have a way of brightening my day & and making me smile. what do you think of catherine's wedding bouquet? i thought it was lovely. although it looked simple, each flower in her bouquet were quite symbolic. did you know it is a royal tradition to place the bouquet on the grave of the unknown soldier at westminster abbey? how cool is that.

washoi.

last weekend i met up with friends in osaka for a hanshin tigers baseball game. although i have been to dozens of professional baseball games in many different stadiums, i have never witnessed a 7th inning stretch quite like this one. all the fans blew up balloons & released them simultaneously into the air while chanting the tigers' fight song. it was unbelievable! apparently, this is traditionally done at both home & away games. how cool is that? anyways, i got some great shots as well as a video (please ignore my screaming...i was too excited). & most importantly : the tigers beat the tokyo swallows 7 to 3. washoi!!!

shades of pink.

the sakura (cherry blossoms) have come & gone. there are now more pink & white pedals on the ground & in the rivers than there are on the trees, which makes me a bit sad. but, no worries - i took amazing photos of sakura this year. i ventured all over japan, down to the izu peninsula & out west to osaka in order to take as many photos as possible. unfortunately, it seemed every time i planned to take pictures of sakura, it rained. however, i happened to get great shots of these beautiful trees in the rain & fog. isn't it incredible how many different shades of pink sakura have?

dog breeds & typefaces.

i just happened to stumble upon this adorable post on *swissmiss.

dogs as typefaces? yes, please! my favorite is eurostile ...what's yours?

feeling blue.

what do you do when you feel blue?

fuji photo shoot.

after 10 wonderful days, my sisters' visit has come to an end. we had the greatest time together and made so many memories while trekking all over japan. one morning we decided to do a photo shoot in my small, rusty city. the photos turned out great (even with the use of a tripod & a camera timer), i hope you enjoy them!

...more posts of the davis sisters in japan will come soon! have a great day...

the big picture.

the boston globe/boston.com has an awesome photo blog called the big picture. this website has done an incredible job capturing the images of this years' winter olympics in vancouver. the photographers are unbelievable--see for yourself!

alexander tretyakov (russia) finishes the men's skeleton event by wiping out (i think this is hilarious).

photographer: jim young

haavard van petersson (norway) gets ready to curl (am i the only one who thinks their pants are super cool?).

photographer: robert f. bukaty

taihei kato (japan) competes in the ski jump.

photographer: al bello/getty images

megan sweeny (usa) shoots down the luge track.

photographer: shaun botterill/getty images

happy friday & go usa!

garage sale, anyone?

this online art garage sale is marvelous. you can find various pieces of art from all different mediums: jewelry, pottery, home decor, paintings, printmaking, fashion & more. i've found some very unique pieces at great prices. check out the site & support these talented, independent artists.

midori.

my favorite color is always changing.

today, its any shade of green.