Category: Lensbaby

Day 94 – Hydrangea

Hydrangea

Both of my Hydrangea bushes are in full bloom right now. So, I decided to take the 28mm Lensbaby Velvet out to see what I could come up with. The challenge with the lensbabies is finding the right focus point. I nailed it on this one. I added one texture and masked it out over the main two flowers.

Today’s quote is from Nancy Rotenberg:

We live in a culture that views idleness as something slovenly, lazy and non-productive. It is only when you stop and reflect that you can be filled and recharged. What you photograph today could be the result of yesterday’s “idling.”

Day 91 – Dahlia

Dahlia

This Dahlia is still awaiting planting in a bigger pot but it rained the day I meant to go buy a pot so we’ll hope it gets one soon. Meanwhile it is very photogenic.

Today’s quote is from Seth Gordon from his blog post Why jazz is more interesting than bowling:

Jazz is practiced over a thousand or perhaps a million dimensions. It’s non-linear and non-predictable, and most all, it’s never perfect.

Day 88 – Sunflower

sunflower2

Another one of those days when twelve more days can’t come soon enough. My monthly bouquet from Farm Girl Flowers arrived yesterday and I snapped a few shots as I went out the door for my volunteer day at the Genealogy Library. I wasn’t very happy with any of them. Took this one through Topaz and got something I could live with.

Today’s quote is from William Blake:

Some see nature all ridicule and deformity – and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.

Day 87 – Growers Market

Bouquets2

Finally made it to the Grower’s Market this morning. It was a cool day but the cars were streaming into the parking lot like they thought they would find someplace to park there. I always walk the block from the street by Science Works and no problem with parking. Masked, apparently, were optional so I left mine in the bag. I worked this image a lot to tone down the jacket of the seller in the upper right and simplified it a little to emphasize the colors. I think it works.

Today’s quote is from filmmaker Shekhar Kapur:

Everything’s a contradiction. The universe is a contradiction. And all of us are constantly looking for harmony.

Day 86 – Blocks

Words2

Here’s something a little different. It was way too windy for flower photography today so I decided to play with some wooden blocks I have been collecting from Antique shows. Then ran it through several software programs until I got a look I liked.

Today’s quote is from Henry David Thoreau:

The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or temple on the earth, and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them.

Day 85 – Red Poppy

RedPoppy

I stopped by North Mountain Park this morning looking for red poppies. There were a few but they were almost done. Guess I should have gone last week. But, I did find a few and I managed to get this one in focus.

It’s Sunday as I write so time to turn to a new source for quotes. This week I will be looking to the books of Roderick McIver. Today’s quote is from John Ruskin:

The object in life is to find that undertaking, that occupation with which you have infinite patience.

Day 81 – Lavender

lavender

So, the lavender is just starting to bloom around the ‘hood. Sometimes I have to ask myself what is creative about another flower picture. Here’s what myself answered. I had to chose the lens to put on the camera: I chose the Velvet 28 because I wanted to isolate a single flower against a blurred purple background. I had to chose the aperture. I chose f4 so the background would be blurred but the flower would be mostly in focus. I had to chose where to focus. I noticed the little flower open and chose to focus right on it. When I got it back in the computer I chose to crop it a little for a slightly improved composition. I also chose to go out looking for lavender this day. So, yes, I guess there are a lot of creative choices to be made even it what looks like just another simple flower photo.

Again from Julia Cameron today:

By insisting to ourselves that beauty is present even on those days when we cannot see it, we make the beauty in the world more real.

Day 80 – Hydrangea

Hydrangea2

Happy June! I went out to water the potted plants this morning and noticed that my Hydrangea had come into full bloom while I wasn’t paying attention. Still experimenting with the Velvet 28 and finding it quite wonderful. It is also new texture day in the texture club so I had to try out one of the new offerings which gave me just the look I wanted.

Today from Julia Cameron:

As artists we “see things differently.” In part, this is because we are looking.

Day 79 – Peony

Peony

The light was very harsh when I was out photographing yesterday. I did my best to tone this down in photoshop. It is not often I have to take out vibrance and saturation but I may not have gone far enough with this one.

I like this quote from Julia Cameron because I have been feeling it a lot lately and have been enjoying a weekend dedicated to watercolor, photography and enjoying the peace of staying home on a holiday weekend.

When our lives become too frantic, our art retreats. It does not thrive on a life lived pell-mell.

Day 78 – Rose

Rose

While walking Cody around the neighborhood I have been noticing some Roses with delicate pink edges in the landscaping. I put the 28mm Velvet on the M3 and headed out this morning. Unfortunately the sun was so bright I could not get a properly exposed image until I finally let my body cast a shadow over the flowers. This was the only one that came anywhere near what I had in mind. I walked around looking at all the white roses in the shade but none of them had the pink edges so I’ll have to try again on a cloudy day.

This week we will turn again to Julia Cameron:

Creative energy is energy. When we are worrying about creating instead of actually creating, we are wasting our creative energy.