Fill time
It is a rare day that goes by without me taking pictures. Subject? Ah! Cats and flowers… they are available and do not object too much. Seven cats – only a few are cooperative. The rest avoid me.
Take a picture just to take a picture? Umm, I consider it a challenge. Get a technically sound image with some wrinkle in detail – water – that is a bit out of the ordinary.
Busy time activity? Boredom? Warding away the doldrums of retirement? Ha! Colleen fills her time with reading. For me, there are only so many times I can hit the refresh button on the NY Times.
Rain
It rained. This means there are lots of photo ops with raindrops. I am not one for subtlety. The effect has to be fairly obvious. Is it? Maybe it’s not so obvious until the image is enlarged a bit more.
How do you photo flowers? Individually, in a bunch, arrangement, garden, etc. I have tried most things. What works? Different. Different? It all depends on what strikes me. Different is hard. I tend to get into a habit of shooting the same no matter what. The blossom changes but the technique and composition are similar. Breaking free of the rut is hard. Rain is different. That helps.
A year ago
It seems so long ago… but it was but a year ago. I was on a quest for a good pizza. It was not easy and did not come for a good long while. We discovered Milton. So? It’s been there for a long time already… Flowers on my deck, they are the same and they are different. The black-eyed Susan were abundant. Perennial plants, they did not come back robustly again this year. Peas was a brand new kitten that came home with us. Donna had a different wig. Mozzarella and tomatoes, a summer classic is usually served in one dish together. The lighting is stark. I guess that is why the image caught my eye. The selfie: I just got a throwback Canon G3, my first digital camera. The original went lost and missing. Not too bad, except I got old. It’s a year later and I am still seeking a good pizza.
Summer
It’s summer flowers. Details. Close-ups. Color. I like water – shooting the droplets on the petals. You can do it after the rain, after watering, or just use the mist setting on the water nozzle. Parts: a detail of the flowers – stamens, etc., is always worth a moment’s effort. Same ole’? I try for something different. No matter. The color palette will always keep you interested. Alas, the days are getting shorter once again. My thoughts turn to fall.
How’s the weather?
Moonset, sunrise, sunset, clouds, jet trails, water – I get all kinds of weather into my memory card. The colors standout. It’s not every day I get a shot at spectacular weather. But, everyone talks about the weather. I shoot it.
I have lots of cats – ha, ha – and lots of cat pictures. But the number of yawn pics is small indeed. And, I have a smaller number of pics with Colleen in a hat. She doesn’t wear hats. She looks good in a hat. She’s a good sport. I was told to stick with weather….
Too much
Today. It’s lessons!… I have learned. We move forward by making mistakes and then correcting our errors. Right? I’m gonna hit a bunch of things I learned this summer. If it’s boring, look at the pictures and … see you tomorrow.
Water: I used the “mist” setting on the nozzle and got water droplets. A little is good. It even looks natural. And, too much? … looks contrived. No! No Photoshop, too much work.
Focus: A good macro lens is unforgiving. There is no depth of field to speak of. Focus is critical. Within a single flower, focus can change the whole feeling. Example: yellow flower. Failure. All summer I have tried to find the focal interest. No luck. it’s just a blurred mess. Red – petunia – flower, focus shallow (petals) or (deeper) stamen? Purple flower, it’s near impossible to get all of its parts in focus. Yes, I manually focus. No, I did not quite get it right.
Timing: See, the praying mantis. Two black dots for eyes? Blink. One shot open and one shot not? Really? Macro – I could not get the whole of the bug in focus. I settled for the head and “eyes.”
TMI? It’s why I love photography. Not like, love. Well, I love my wife – first and foremost. (Ha! I live another day.) There are challenges. I am not perfect. I try different things. And, very much unlike in a medical practice, no one dies! Practice, practice, practice. Practice makes perfect.
Water
It is part of my life. We live near it. I have always lived near to water. Even in the Middle East, the Red Sea was moments away from me. I have a water view and the beach is less than a mile from home. Water can be subtle or bold in my images. It always adds interest. Underwater (diving), yes, but I tend to avoid the pouring rain. I’m so lucky, yes, so lucky.
Detail detail
What do you notice? Detail! Detail! DETAIL! Japanese beetles humping? Spider web. It’s tough to focus on the darn web. Hard! What do you see (lily stamens)? It’s subtle but different. And, subtle makes all the difference. There’s a fine line between oooh and aaah. Simple? Sometimes less is more. I just ended up with stuff I thought I would share. It’s just a drop of water.
Death wish
It’s the middle of winter, sort of. And, this was taken in summer. That’s water on the praying mantis. I had just watered the plants when I noticed him. Notice – there’s an ant crawling up his left arm. Nuts! That would be a tasty snack. Shudder….
Exit left… fast
I just missed (the shot). Or, did I? The little kid got a full dose of hose from her mom. Chuckle! Give a girl a hose and … It’s not the first time. She got her brother – innocent, unsuspecting. There’s a bit of the devil in the girl. Watch yourself. Water, you’re never safe around her.
Look
Sometimes you gotta look. We go by so fast never taking the time to “smell the roses.” Colleen rode on by and let me catch up. I worked the scene… this angle and that… till I got something to remember. It’s not perfect by far. But it’s something I saw that made me hit “pause.” We ride the neighborhood on our bikes and miss this kind of simple beauty because we are doing something else.
Drops
I knew this pic was special. The drops of water were perfect and ethereal. I had just watered the plants. I did not place the individual drops to enhance the image. OCD, I’m not. But I did return and take this flower four more times. I wanted a keeper. And it took four tries. There were a lot of duds. Persistence! I’m generally lazy. If it’s good, great. If not, oh well, tomorrow’s another day. I realize that I could be so much better. But, I will be back tomorrow. I work on the theory that even a blind squirrel gets a nut sometimes. In brain surgery it was casual until you got down to the real deal. Then, you were serious! Up until that point we sang and told stories. I bet you didn’t want to know that. And then you’re gonna wanna know what kind of flower. … as I said, casual. Who knows?
Reflection
We were out biking. Yes, it’s an activity you can do while in captivity. Corona. I passed this picture. There are advantages to riding with a camera around your neck. I had to stop. Other times I shoot on the fly. This time I actually stopped and turned around. Colleen rode onward. It was worth the stop.
Forlorn
After the initial run – on water and toilet paper – it seems that the gods laughed. It couldn’t be the Republicans. It was all a hoax to them… Indeed, it was science fiction of my youth. You know, the disbelieving folks, laughing, till the monster ate their car. Folks were out and about in at least six states completely in denial as I write this about a couple month before posting. By now, I hope there is free access to TP. Come to think of it, maybe the Republicans made this sh*t up? Nah? It was short people. The last rolls were on the top shelf. Water? My cats throw up when they drink tap water. Dunno? So, we had to find bottled water. Crazy. Yup.
(Note: Meat, or, TP. YOU, choose. It ain’t over by a long shot. People are out and about. Armed protesters have been encouraged by our fearless leadership to stand in state capitals. What the f’k are you worried about. Remember when Bush Sr said, “It’s the economy, stupid.” No, it was Clinton’s campaign who coined the phrase against one term President Bush. It ain’t over and it’s not better. At all! Be afraid. Be….)
Waves
I have been struggling to get wave pictures. My timing… is poor. I just figured out how to get a higher % of good shots. Pan! If you don’t know what that is, sorry. Stupid! Me! I should’ve been doing this all along. Pan the wave as it breaks. Voila! (Panning is moving the camera and following the action as you press the shutter. Move the camera in the direction – right or left – as the wave breaks.) Oh boy! This was a silly lightbulb moment for me.
Water sports
Put kids together with a water hose and there is sure to be fun. My mission was to get a photo. And the secondary concern was to avoid any situation in which the hose was pointed at my camera. Joy! Pure joy! Yup, it was chilly early spring. The kids got wet. Poor Rory was an ice cube when we dried her. She didn’t mind. And I got the shot I sought. Lucky me!
Public service
“I’m from the government and I’m here to help you….” Oh yeah! I was walking around the store and paused to read the label. I was appalled.
Britta makes water filters. They are not cheap. You buy the device and then pay for filters forever. Read the label. Really. Read the label. Okay, you don’t know chemistry. Can you follow along? Britta is careful to not promise that everything will be removed. It reduces. There is no safe level of lead. It’s either there or not. Ditto: mercury or cadmium. Sounds official. It’s not. If you have asbestos in your water, your water company is not doing it’s job. And it can keep fluoride while taking out chlorine. The atoms are related and one cannot be selective in filtering either/or. So, you can’t do that! On so many levels all of this is disingenuous. Britta assumes you don’t know nuthin’. Maybe? Your ignorance is earning them pots of money. What they promise is that your water will go through their filter and your money will go in their coffers. It’s not a winning combination. If you read nothing else: Don’t do it.
Under water
There ain’t no climate change. Nope nada none. We live in low lying terrain. What happens when it rains is no mystery. Flooding! We get an advisory for flash flood warning frequently. Sometime it does and sometimes it doesn’t. Hey! The weatherman is wrong sometimes. When he is right we have streets under water. It’s fun? to see unless you live there and have to hump your supplies to and fro. The last is a joke. Under water is no fun. The umbrellas are not under water or buried. Right?
Revenge of the …
Did you ever want to get even? I laugh now as I came across this in my edit. Washing the car in late spring is still fraught with cool temperature and cold water. Gotcha! I daresay Dave was none too pleased. His sister soaked him. Premeditated? Was there a chapter 2 in which Jules gets/got soaked? Who knows? All I can see is a poor defenseless brother “getting it” from big sister. Hey! I took the picture. I wasn’t getting in the middle. My camera would get wet. If you are not smiling by now, I don’t know what can tickle you.
Waitn’
Cats hate water? That’s what I thought. Willow sits by to let the water drip on his head and he drinks it. He usually throws up later. Chlorinated water doesn’t agree. He gets bottled water. I drink tap. Ha!
Water!
I got a water view! I’ve been here two years. Yup. Really. We went out to clean up the grass in the back. It’s invasive and obstructs the water view of the pond. After cutting back the grass, look! There’s a park bench. A real honest to goodness park bench is there right on the water. It’s in good shape. It’s mine. I thought it belonged to the neighbors. Nope. Mine. It’s on my property. I never saw it nor knew it was there. Imagine? It was 65 degrees on January 12. Right, there’s no global warming. Say it again and click your heels three times. “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
Swim Meet
Wow, look at the water, freeze framed! I was asked to shoot a child’s swim meet. It was the culmination of a year’s worth of lessons and an incentive to continue. Everyone had a great time and all the kids got a medal. Kelley, four years old, was a winner. I just let the camera go on auto and shot for composition and cropping. At 1/320 sec, I got this great water freezing shot. Periodically, I question my own skill and wonder if I’m just lucky or I’m really good. Maybe there’s a little of both in play. Anyway I’m flattered that the family group in my compound think highly enough that they called me especially for this photo op. One father commented on my D200 and asked, “Is that a canon?” He had noticed the 18-200mm lens zoomed all the way out and asked if it was a weapon not the brand (Canon). I only got the joke later.
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