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 29 – Pear Blossom Time

1_Blossoms

The wind machines were hard at work this morning keeping the frost at bay. I could complain about the noise but it’s a far sight better than the sooty black smoke we experienced this time of year when I was growing up. My brother had a job lighting smudge pots when he was in high school and he would come home covered in black from head to foot. I often wonder why they continue to keep the smudge pots in the fields but I suppose it is easier than storing or disposing of them.

It’s Sunday so that means I get to turn to a new source for my quotes. This week I will be relying on Matthew Fox’s book Creativity. Today’s quote make me feel better about the state of my housekeeping:

We have been told by those who have studied the processes of nature that creativity happens at the border between chaos and order.

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 27 – Farm Equipment Abstract

FarmEquipment

So, yes, I was getting pretty bored with the neighborhood. I took a drive out through the orchards and into the Applegate Valley where I found a few interesting things to photograph, including this farm equipment. I started out with the standard shot of the whole thing but then started zooming in further and further looking for interesting shapes and lines. I rendered this as a black and white but then lowered the opacity on that layer to bring back just enough color to keep it interesting.

Robert Louis Stevenson is the author of today’s quote:

To know what you prefer instead of humbly saying Amen to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive.