We are driving to Wyoming to visit the grandbabies! We got all the way to Twin Falls, ID today- and are slightly pooped. We took a slight detour off Interstate 80, so that I could take my photo of the day. Here’s a scene of unexpectedly photoworthy mountains near Starr Valley on the way to Wells, Nevada. The black streak is a train going by.
I used a textured image yesterday, so today I am doing my Macro Monday shot. I know I have photographed our birches for this blog before- but never with a macro lens. Here’s a birch bark curl- macro style!
f/6.3, 1/100, ISO 400, 85mm
Today I had my camera with me when my husband and I parked to go out to lunch, so I was happily able to capture the flowers spilling over the fence of someone’s beautiful garden. I was in the mood for textures today- so added three of Kim Klassen’s- bent edges, dustyrose, and greyday vintage.
We’re on our way to Napa for dinner with old friends- and I’ve been asked to bring guacamole, salsa, and chips. So, when I tried to think of what my photo of the day should be, I went for the obvious- GUACAMOLE! Or, more correctly, the beginning of the preparation of guacamole. Yum!
I walked outside and saw the itsy bitsy spider today! It was actually not so itsy bitsy (although smaller than this image), but I knew I had found my photo of the day.
f/5, 1/160, ISO 1600, 85mm
My good friend and former teaching buddy, Kathryn, kindly offered to let me come by anytime to take photos in her gorgeous garden- so today I took her up on her offer!
Her yard has been beautifully landscaped- complete with waterfall and firepit. And then there’s the vineyard! Today I just concentrated on the flowers by the gate, knowing I will be back again for another photo session.
Here’s a rose with lavender in the background- love the colors!
f/13, 1/200, ISO 200, 135mm
And here is a bonus macro shot of a little visitor to her garden.
f/22, 1/80, ISO 200, 85mm
Thanks, Kathryn- I’ll be back!
I waited til the last minute today to take a photo- and all I had the energy for was to collapse in a chair on my deck and wait for something to happen. I saw a hummingbird in the geraniums when I first came out, but I guess my camera and long lens scared her away. Then I sat and waited . . .
and waited
and waited!
No birds at all (not even the ubiquitous jays)! And no squirrels.
I finally noticed a butterfly that came sailing through our garden and over the fence into the neighbor’s yard. It didn’t light on anything, but just zoomed around. I’ve been wanting to get a macro shot of a butterfly, but today I would have just been happy with an in focus shot!
I followed that butterfly for over a half hour as it sailed through the yard in the same pattern over and over again. We have lots of flowers, so you would think it would make a stop now and then. I did notice it slowing down over a particular shrub, so I focused on that bush . . .
and waited.
Finally Mr. Butterfly came into view, and I snapped a few mediocre shots from far away with my 300mm lens. None of the images were spectacular, so I have combined a very cropped image of the butterfly with some photos of the geraniums where it SHOULD have landed!
Every time I walk by this tree, I always see a dog in the bark (there’s a joke there somewhere. . .)- but my husband doesn’t see it. How about you?
f/5.6, 1/100, ISO 800, 85mm
Texture Tuesday is calling my name again! It’s easy to come up with a textured photo when you have beautiful flowers in the house- these were from Trent’s mama, Sarah, and they have lasted almost a week so far!
The textures I used were Kim Klassen’s bent edges (one of my favorites) and love. The requirement for this week’s challenge, beyond using at least one of her textures, was to use text in the image. I thought to challenge myself to create words on a path (which I used to be able to do in another program) in CS5, but couldn’t figure it out.
Maybe another time . . .
It’s Macro Monday- time for a closeup photo of something small! I went outside for inspiration, but almost everything in my garden has already been immortalized in the blogosphere. I ended up choosing this all green shot of a geranium bud.
f/5.6, 1/100, ISO 500, 85 mm
More rain today. . .
We often go out for brunch after church on Sundays. Because of the wet weather, the outdoor seating area wasn’t being used, so there was a long wait to get in. Fortunately, the rain had stopped, so we stood outside while waiting, and I was able to use the time to snap a few photos.
f/5.6, 1/1250, ISO 500 (aperture priority. . .), 200mm
Yes, it is June! And this is what it looks like in my yard. The rain has stopped, but now the wind is howling. The unfocused, swirly stuff in the puddle is a reflection of the trees blowing- I couldn’t stand out there long enough for pauses in wind gusts. So, seriously, this is June in California.
f/5.6, 1/125, ISO 1000, 170mm
How about this? A day NOT devoted to photography- what a concept! I had a very busy day- and one of the highlights was a two hour personal projects session at one of my favorite places in the world- the Apple Store!
I was working on learning Pages, Apple’s word processing and page layout program, and I, of course, brought my camera along. When I started taking photos, I was told STOP- not allowed!- but my nice trainer told me I could sneak a few!
In case you don’t hang out at the Apple Store, you should know that the employees all wear blue T-shirts and almost outnumber the customers. They are very knowledgeable, helpful, smart and mostly very young (from my geezer point of view…). They make geekiness look very cool!
So here is a geek’s eye view of the Apple Store.
The sweetest birthday present I received this year was from my three year old grandson, Miles- a beautiful macaroni necklace made with his own little hands. I wore it all day yesterday and am wearing it again right now!
f/6.3, 1/160, ISO 3200, 85mm
My good friend, Georgia, became a grandma a little less than 3 weeks ago- and today she brought her new grand-baby (and his mama) to my house for a Rapunzel get-together. Georgia was the last in our group to become a grandma, and her biological grandma clock has been ticking loudly for quite awhile! She is beyond happy, and Baby Trent is obviously quite content in her arms!
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