Category: Nature

Day 36 – Canada Goose

CanadaGoose

I was able to get close enough to this goose down on the greenway for a headshot with the big lens. I like the way the wildflower sort of mimics the neck of the goose. I cropped it from horizontal to vertical but otherwise didn’t change it much.  That about exhaust my material from the last bird adventure. But there has been a Great Horned Owl hanging out down there so I will definitely have to try one more time a little earlier and see if I can catch him/her in residence.

This week I am turning to The Tao of Photography for my creative inspiration quotes. Today’s is from Photographer Elliott Erwitt:

To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with how you see them.

Day 35 – Dandelion seeds – Take 2

DandelionSeeds

Well, I threatened to go back and take another crack at the Dandelion seeds with a macro lens. I’m not sure if this is better or just different. I think the depth of field is still a little off from perfection. When I went out earlier with Cody it was dead calm. I should have grabbed the camera right then and there. In stead I piddled around for an hour and the wind had come up significantly. So, this may just have to be the beginning of a series.

And for our last day with Matthew Fox, from the man himself:

Creativity takes courage — courage to explore one’s deepest self and to let in the depths of the world’s struggles and joys, torments and agony.

Day 33 – Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed-Hawk

Well, look at that, I’m nearly a third of the way done already. This morning I decided to take another crack at birds on the Greenway. When Cody and I take our early morning walk there are birds everywhere jumping and flitting around. But, once again I was too late and everyone but the Starlings were elsewhere by the time I got back with the camera. So, I was very lucky to find this Red-tailed Hawk hanging out on a tree limb. The sad part of the story is that I was just repositioning the camera but hadn’t gotten it focused when she flew away. Those two flight pictures would have been great if they had only been in focus. Sigh.

Today, from Matthew Fox again:

There is a river of creativity running through all things, all relationships, all beings, all corners and centers of the universe.

Day 30 – Essence of Dandelion

Dandelion

Something many photography teachers talk about is capturing the essence of your subject. I have been noticing that the dandelions are taking over the little green space we have in our neighborhood and went out this morning with the artistic vision of capturing a gone to seed dandelion with the yellow of a fresh flower behind it. I had to crop in quite a bit to get to this image but it comes close to my vision though it is not quite there yet. I think I will have to go back with a different lens when it is less windy and try again.

From Matthew Fox:

The intimacy of creativity corresponds to the mystical experience itself.

Day 28 – Goldfinch

Goldfinch

It’s one of those days when I just want to get this checked off so I can move on to other things. So, here’s a little goldfinch from my session with the birds the other day. I cropped in a little to showcase the bird better and sharpened him up some.

Today we have a quote from Janis Joplin:

Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.

Day 26 – Poppy

Poppy

There is a patch of poppies in the ‘hood that appear to have come up voluntarily. The trouble with poppies is that they don’t open up until after the wind starts blowing so it is very hard to get a good picture of them. I had to adjust the crop on this one as it moved after I had framed it in camera. I also opened the shadows to put emphasis on the center of the flower. I liked how the texture I chose not only darkened the corners but also added so genuine texture to the flower as well as giving it more depth.

Today’s quote is attributed to Pete Turner. No idea who he is:

Ultimately, simplicity is the goal in every art, and achieving simplicity is one of the hardest things to do.

Day 25 – Mr. & Mrs. House Finch

HouseFinches

I’ve been noticing that when Cody and I go for our second walk of the day there are always finches in the neighbors trees. So, I decided to hang out on my porch for awhile with the big lens this morning. Bird photography is such a good exercise in patience. Usually, by the time I get them in my sights and get the lens focused on them they have flown away. So, I was really lucky to get not one but two House Finches in this shot. I just had to open the shadows so you could see them better due to brightness of the sky and voila.

Today we hear from Antoine de Saint Exupery from The Little Prince:

“And now here is the secret”, said The Little Prince, “it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Day 7 – Succulent

Succulentw

I have been walking the dog by this succulent that has leaped from a neighbor’s yard into the public landscaping and thinking I should photograph it for weeks. I needed something quick for today so I put a macro lens on the M100 and headed down the block (with protests from Cody who wanted to come along). Now that I see some of the amazing detail in the flowers (?) I think I need to go back and get even closer. In processing I added a preset that mainly just sharpened thing up and then a vignette layer to darken the corners and edges.

Today’s quote is from Nancy Rotenberg:

…there are dragons that roam the wilderness of creative quests. If left to run amok, they can inhibit the most determined artist. The creative process transforms you, the artist, into a creative warrior – arming you to slay the dragons or at least keep them at bay. Empowered with truth, the creative warrior discovers the place where beauty, magic, and fire live.

Sunflower

Sunflower

It’s not really summer until the sunflowers come out to play. I had a friend in San Francisco who always used to tell me “If there’s one thing the world doesn’t need, it’s another picture of the Golden Gate Bridge.” I suppose he would say the same thing about sunflowers. But part of the challenge is coming up with a new way to look at these same old things. This one was captured with the Lensbaby Sweet 50 and had texture or two added in post processing.