How many?
37 shots. I got 37 before the dragonfly broke free of its bonds – the spider web. You need one good shot for illustrative purposes. Free the bug? Nope, it was on the other side of my window pane. How’d it get free? It struggled mightily and beat its wings until the web finally broke. Meanwhile, I leisurely shot away with my macro lens. I never did quite get the perfect focus upon its eyes. I was close. But no cigar.
Dog days
90/90 – temp/humidity. Enough said. We got corn! I guess some of the bird seed germinated. Yup! A single corn stalk grows in the midst of one of the containers. Ha ha! Veggies? This is the garden harvest. It’s going to sauce. We are unable to keep up with the cherry tomato crop. The peppers? Four months of diligent watering and all I got were a handful. I have to rethink what I am planting. The flowers are fading. Bugs are all around. I like detail. It’s time to prepare for fall.
Learning curve
Hey! Look how close I got to the dragonflies. They were all over my yard. They land on a point and rest. They move away when you approach but tend to circle around and alight on the same spot. They get used to you, hence, I was able to get in close. I presume the western wildfires may be responsible for the spectacular clouds blowing in from my west. And, what else is there to add to the fact that my spiffy macro lens catches great flower details. Yes, enlarging the images in Lightroom lets me appreciate things I might never otherwise notice. (Double click the image, it will enlarge somewhat.) I’ve been at photography a long time. … and still learning.
Focus
The camera does what it will. The difference between great and ho-hum is making the camera do your bidding. Unfortunately for me, it doesn’t work out as I’d like, most of the time. Good? Bad? It’s mixed. The detail in the dragonfly eye is stunning, especially enlarged and up-close. You can see “hairs” in the flowers. But, though there be motion and blur and reflections, other images still work. For my cats, I find that sharp focus on the eyes is key. Maybe it’s not for you, but, I’m ok with the surprises I find when editing. It’s fun. I’m not shooting for money. Fun would be work. Nope. Strictly amateur, I get a free reign to shoot for the pleasure of good images amongst the lot.
Nut?
Wing nut is an insulting slang term for a person who’s considered eccentric or who has extreme political views. … It’s also called a butterfly nut (because of the “wings”) or a thumbnut (because it can be easily turned with the thumb and forefinger).
When all those around me are crazy… it must be me – who’s crazy?! Hlep! hmmm, that would be help? Place the emphasis on eccentric. Me? I should stick to photography and the beauty around in the world. (Remember, I hate bugs.) Mike didn’t want to be in this picture. For real. He has always said being on the edge of the shot makes it easy to crop him when he is dropped from the family. In this case, I am newest – last in. There are those who would certainly drop me. Interestingly, half the family got the time for dinner wrong and they are not in the shot. No, I did not try to wrangle more chaos into a coherent family picture, later. Instead, everyone ran around taking individual memories with iPhone. It works. I do what I can. No one was hungry at the end of the evening. I, too, am on the edge – documenting someone’s family, or, intruding on their fun. From the motley collection of poor black and white old photos, and, faded out of focus color shots – it is the good time that matters. Regrets about poor photography were never the point. Perhaps it is a blessing that some memories are not so clearly remembered.
Dragonfly
Another year, another dragonfly. They do pose for me. And I shoot lots. And then I pick one to post. I suppose I should try to get a better vantage. But then again, I am happy that they will pose for me. Welcome back.
If you wait, then another opportunity will present itself. It’s a different day. And, the light was favorable. And the dragonfly was cooperative. I got a better shot. Hey! I have seen a bald eagle and a red dragonfly while we sat on the deck. I can’t show you the picture. The video of them is in my head. And you can’t download that.
How many?
Someone the other day asked how many pictures do you have? How many are on display? What do you do with your images? Share. I share a small fraction. I hardly print any. And there are a few on the desktop of my computer. Screensavers?
The other how many question is: how many images do you shoot? How many of the same subject?
I can’t really answer. It turns out the last image was the best? Or it was random? Or I lost interest? There’s no answer. More images means more choices. It means more editing. I’ve been shooting a lot more with digital being so easy to shoot. There’s not too much downside. Memory cards are not expensive. Why not delete immediate failures? One image is enough. It is akin to deleting all of your rejects. But, a hard drive takes so little space.
I shot another series of bugs. I hate bugs. And I especially hate big bugs. Less is more. I should just post one single image and then editorialize. This is a photo blog. And if I don’t show you more examples the images will be on my hard drive never to be seen. Good strong images one and all. One image, whittle it down to one image?
Dragonfly
Hey! Look at this! It wasn’t easy to do this. Well, it was. I got it without too much trouble. Really? The technical challenge was getting the camera to focus. The dragonfly flitted and finally landed. It stayed in place long enough for me to get my camera. Then it was hard to focus. The camera looks for sharp contrast and focuses upon the whole scene. It wanted to focus on the leaves in the background way more. The dragonfly was a thin sliver. I had to fool the camera into focusing upon the leaf and then moving the camera to shoot my dragonfly. It’s good that digital allows me multiple tries. I got a good one. I feel good that things came together for me to get this shot. Another day another dragon fly.
Dragonfly
This guy decided to rest upon the empty screw that awaited a wind spinner. He didn’t move. I got a bunch of shots. I’d like to shoot one flying. It’s technically too difficult for me at this point. I suppose I could do it. But that would be work. I’m retired. Sit! Stay!
photobackstory 