Day 76 – Echinacea

Echinecea

For today I decided to go back into the files to see if there were any worthy images that got passed over. I found this one from early August in North Mountain Park. The cone flowers are so photogenic when they are at peak. Right now they are all looking pretty bedraggled. This was shot with one of the Lensbaby lenses on the 7D. I just added a high pass filter and touched up some pollen with the spot healing brush. I tried a couple of filters but finally decided this one stands well on it’s own.

Day 75 – Zinnia with Bee

Zinniawbee

North Mountain Park was on my path again today so I stopped by for just a few minutes. It was getting pretty windy which is not the best for flower photography but it was also cloudy which is good for flower photography because then you don’t get a lot of shadows. I was framing a shot on this pretty zinnia and the bee just came along and posed at the right minute. Shot with the Sol45 and the M3. I’m still blown away about how sharp that sweet spot can be when you hit it right. This was one of those where I thought, “Oh, it doesn’t need a filter” but when I tried one I thought I wasn’t even going to like I went Oh, yeah, that works. Otherwise just a high pass filter and a little touch up with the spot healing brush.

Day 74 – Marigold

Marigold

It’s a good thing I got lots of good pictures at  North Mountain Park yesterday because my life just got crazy busy, at least if feels that way after little or no activity since I got back from vacation. But I shall persevere and carry the camera around in case I see any interesting flowers.  This one was also shot with the Sol45 on the M3. High pass filter and one texture added.

Day 73 – Cosmo with Bee

CosmowBee

The thing about these Lensbaby lenses I’ve been using is it is really, really hard to find that sweet spot of focus and you have to try several shots and hope you got one right. But when you nail it, as I did (completely by accident) on this image it is almost jaw droppingly sharp. And the bee showed up at just the right time too. This was taken at North Mountain Park with the Sol 45 on the Canon M3. I added a high pass filter and a texture in post processing.

Day 72 – Rudbeckia

Rudbeckia

Along with the Chrysanthemum, I picked up a Rudbeckia at the nursery. I had purchased on earlier in the summer which looked fine until I planted it. Then it died. I’m beginning to wonder if my soil is tainted so many things just crash after I plant them. I may just put this one in a pot for it’s own good. This was taken with the Sol 45 and I just added a high pass filter, a texture and a vignette.

Day 71 – Chrysanthemum

Mum

So I knew I was going to be over at Mountain Meadows this afternoon so thought I would just stop by North Mountain Park for a while to photograph flowers. As I was snapping away I happened to look down at the back of the camera and saw “Cannot Record”  Well, I knew immediately what had happened. Checked the card slot, sure enough no card, went home and straight to the computer and there was the card. I have to say that on a project like this the only surprise is that it doesn’t happen more often. I just wonder what I did with my spare card when I cleaned out my camera bag before my last trip? Now I know why I should always carry one.

Anyway, Plan B was to stop by the nursery on the way home and see what they had in bloom. Yea! The chrysanthemums have arrived. And for an extra bonus they were just watering them and the drops were still there when I got them home. This one was shot with the Sol 45 on the M3, high pass filter, slight color adjustment, and one texture.

Day 70 – Sunflower

IMG_1208

Yeah, I know, another sunflower, but I don’t think I’ve posted one in a few days. I found a whole row of them blooming yesterday just by the turnabout in Talent. It was getting kind of windy so I had to make a promise to come back again later, so no, we are not done with sunflowers. This was another one of those days when I almost forgot to post something so it was quick and dirty. I just added a high pass filter to tighten up the sharpness and that was it.

Day 69 – Morning Glory

MorningGlory2

Nothing says September like a Morning Glory. They have been appearing all over my neighborhood. And I keep photographing them and coming up empty. They are darned hard to photograph because that white center throws off the exposure. Then there is that big flat face. I like to shoot them side on and get the trumpet shape but then you end up with background issues. Well, you get the idea. I liked this one for the new bud peaking out between the blossoms. I tried about 10 different textures on it but didn’t like any of them. Otherwise processed about as usual with a high pass filter and some slight adjustments to exposure. Oh yes, shot with the Lensbaby Sweet 50 on the M3. I’m getting stuck in a right there I think. I just heard of a new pro level mirrorless camera coming out from Canon but I’m like, hmm… new camera ….trip to Europe …new camera …trip to Europe. Leaning toward taking the old camera to Europe at this point.

Day 68 – Water Lily

WaterLily

Tuesday again and I talked myself out of going to growers market again. This one was easy though I just opened up the next file in the archive and said Oh, I like that one. What i like about it is the shape and texture of the lily pads and then that little pop of color in the corner. This one was taken at the horticultural center of the Pacific on Vancouver Island. In processing I just tweaked the exposure and added a lightroom preset and a high pass filter.

Day 67 – Day Lily

DayLily2

I’ve been photographing Day Lilies all summer but I don’t know that any of them has ever made the cut. So in perusing the files for something to post I found this one and set to work. First I had to edit out some extraneous leaves, then I spot healed a lot of pollen from the flower. Then I added a high pass filter and a texture. At that point I still wasn’t too happy with it so I took it into Topaz Impression where the Degas Dancers filter gave it the look I wanted or at least something better than where I started.