Background
Focus would be helpful. I learn from imperfection. The background is often ignored in favor of the subject. Distracting elements will sink you every time. The last thing I check before pressing the shutter is my background. Simply moving a few degrees will change the mood. And, it would help if the camera focused on my main subject. Autofocus is too easy. And, I remain ever hopeful it will compensate for my laziness. Eh?! Otherwise it wouldn’t be lessons to learn.
I shot that?
I came across some images in a catalog in a place I have not looked in a very long time. Are you following me? We were in Washington DC during the cherry blossoms and wandered into an orchid exhibit. Nice! I am frankly pleased at the detail I captured in the orchid. Technology continues to improve. I can now easily mask and enhance subject or sky. Too technical? It doesn’t matter. Amazing things can be done now in editing. It’s simple enough for someone as lazy as me. The edits are hardly noticeable. I’m better than I was and didn’t even know it. Hint: you do need a good image to start with. Oh, bother.
Black & White
I like Black & White but I’m not going over to it anytime soon. I’m going along too fast to pause and make the adjustments on my camera. Mine is not a slow walk. I have photo shooting opportunities… maybe I should stop and smell the roses. I’m retired. What’s the rush? It’s hard. I’m too much go and not enough slow. Ok, bad rhyme.
And with all the time in the world to get it right, I still am able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I should be checking and rechecking. There would be fewer mistakes.
I make mistakes and learn from them. And when it really counts, I am ready set. Even then I can and do make multiple shots to ensure I have gotten what I envisioned. Meanwhile, I’m always learning. It’s always nice to have options.
Orchid
I’m not sure I posted about this. I’m too lazy to research it. So, you get it now or maybe again? No matter, I bought an orchid about two years ago. I read/was told they bloom about once a year. It doesn’t require much care. I almost ignored the plant and remembered to water it occasionally, as in less than once every few weeks. The plant lived. It did not bloom… until about 2++ years later. Really! Suddenly one day… one bloom… and another about a week later. Now, for the past few weeks… really! I suppose I will await the next blooming in a few years. They really tolerated near complete neglect. Ok!
Orchid pick
Too numerous to pick. I was taking shot after shot. Mostly good. Pick one, or two… shots. I was not doing catalog work. I was looking for an image to stand out. Ah! Well, here’s my pick. As I say, too many images, not enough space. I don’t discard. But there is only so much time (too little) to acknowledge one’s work. Don’t spend too much time. I don’t obsess. I let gestalt prevail. View the lot and let one image catch your eye. It’s no beauty contest. No one will hate you if you do it.
Orchids
In the National Portrait Gallery there is an atrium. And this was the venue for a large orchid display. Beautiful! Enjoy! And there were people to see it too. I missed the shot of a short white polka dotted dress on a tall young man with sideburns. Drat! But I got this one of a guy mimicking one of the flowers. Thank you for being there for me.
Orchid Redux
Change the lighting. High contrast. Focus. Whoa! It’s brilliant. What is the process of making an image? Lately, I have largely stopped doing much Photoshop. And, after much editing, I realize that “crop” is important. I do it in the camera before I get to Lightroom. I’m lazy. Sorry. A few tweaks. Not much more. Not bad. So many flowers, so little space to post. I hate to post more than one image. Sometimes, I just give up and post multiples.
Orchid
This is the orchid that came with the Valentine’s cacti. In my home it’s a desert. I forget to water. So, cacti and orchids should be very happy. We’ll see if it survives. Years ago I had an orchid that lived long. The bloom lasted long. Then the petals fell off and the plant died.
Currently my poinsettia and pines (mini/small trees) are surviving the Christmas season. Soon it will be spring. We got one horrible snowstorm this year. Otherwise there has been no inconvenience. Okay!
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