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dream hat photography > Why fight it? That’s what I ask myself. This whole daily photo thing is primarily for my own enjoyment and to help me improve my photography skills. Why stress about another water lily photo. So, here we go, another water lily. I am going to the beach for a week at the end of this month and the beginning of next month. I will make beach type pictures then, so worst case scenario; you will get a break then. Butch Cassidy: Then you jump first. Sundance Kid: No, I said. Butch Cassidy: What's the matter with you? Sundance Kid: I can't swim. Butch Cassidy: Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.
dream hat photography > As we get to the end of another month, I find myself shooting flowers again. Before this daily project started, I knew I enjoyed shooting flowers but landscapes made up a large portion of my overall shots. I had also taken a lot of sunset and sunrise photographs. I still love those shots and have plans to take more of those types of shots as time goes by but on a daily basis, at least in this part of the world, at this time of year, flowers are plentiful and offer so many options and opportunities. Black and white photography has interested me for a very long time but I am particular about which of my images translate well into that mode. I need to do more with duotone and will eventually play with that in the future. Anyway, today’s photo was taken in Hoover, AL at the Aldridge Botanical Gardens. From what I can tell, this flower is some type of Calla lily, but some of you may know a lot more about the specifics than me. I have been observing the star system a little lately. I fully understand that it is a subjective rating system that reflects the opinion of the individual viewing the image. I don’t hang my hat on the ratings and in terms of feedback, rely more on what people say or in some cases what they don’t say. Many of you are very supportive and understanding. I know I have mentioned this now in a number of captions so if it bothers you, don’t read the captions. As much as we might try, because we are putting something of ourselves in these images and posting for the world to see, the negative or less than positive comments tend to stick out above the rest. Personally I think everyone in this group is sensitive and creative. The level of expertise varies a good bit throughout the group but we all seem to share the same passion and love for photography. Remember there are people behind the images you see in the galleries so choose your comments carefully and with kindness. The vast majority of the members of the group do that anyway.
dream hat photography > I was up early this morning for the Farmer’s Market. A person with a tomato addiction has to get there early to make sure they have a shot at the best tomatoes. It’s all about setting priorities. So despite the fact that it was a Saturday morning and technically I could have slept late, fresh tomatoes were calling me. Late this afternoon I took some sunset pictures. They didn’t turn out well at all. I am not sure what was wrong. It might have just been a dull sunset. But luckily, the morning photos at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens were decent. This photograph was taken In the Japanese Gardens. The IPod song for today is by The Weepies, titled “Not Your Year” from the “Say I Am You” album.
dream hat photography > I am making a conscious effort to not photograph the water lilies for a while. It was becoming sort of a rut and a bit of a crutch. Thanks for being polite while I worked through it.
dream hat photography > There were other choices, but to be honest with you, some of the other choices were water lilies too. This one is a different color than the other ones that have already slipped into the June gallery. I don’t know, maybe I need to create a water lily gallery to house the growing evidence of my weakness for photographing them. They are both primitive and alien looking. I am thinking they spray the air with some kind of mind control spores that draws me over to their little pond. Sure, I’ve tried to resist them. It’s no use. Several of the other shots from today are over in the “2008 – 1st Six Months – Bonus Tracks and B-sides” gallery. Today’s iTunes song is by Iron & Wine. It is titled “Free Until They Cut Me Down” and is from the “Our Endless Numbered Days” album.
dream hat photography > We had a rainstorm this afternoon. I waited it out until it was only a drizzle then went out to shoot armed with my new waterproof cover for my camera and a rain poncho for me. I like shooting after a rain and it was nearing sunset. The light had a nice quality. I ended up with several shots I like and had a tough time choosing. I am not saying that I had great shots, I am just saying I had shots I liked, and your mileage may vary. It’s all subjective. So this was my choice. Hopefully it works for you too. If not, maybe another shot on another day will do it for you. This is kind of a ride along thing anyway, so just ride along and don’t mess with the music on the iPod or complain about the volume. Sometimes it needs to be a little loud for emphasis. Tonight’s iPod selection is from John Mayer on “The Village Sessions” album. This is a song I like a lot, “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room”. If you like John Mayer and don’t have “The Village Sessions” album, I highly recommend it, the arrangements are outstanding.
dream hat photography > First, let me clear some old business from yesterday, I struggled with what was something that was funny in my head but it wasn’t at all possible for me to translate it into the daily photo album. In a nutshell, I had a photo of a frog and another photo with canoes on a trailer. For some reason it made me think of “The Muppet Movie” and the scene early in the movie with Kermit in the boat in the pond. I think it was when he was singing “Rainbow Connection” and maybe Fozzie was in the boat too. Anyway, however funny it was to me, my photos had no element of that scene beyond boats and a frog. I tried, believe me, several different angles, it just wasn’t going to get there, not even close. So hopefully that clears that up, the two photos responsible are in the Bonus Tracks gallery now so you can see how much it would have failed. Now for today’s picture which was shot this morning. I might as well confess to you, we are sharing photos and things about our lives. It’s time I told you about my addiction. You have to understand I was raised in an agricultural area with farms all over the surrounding area. Like a lot of kids from my generation that lived in the Southeastern United States, we spent most of the summer months outside playing, coming inside mainly for meals. Our water breaks would be from the hose in the yard, which as anyone that had drank water from a hose in hot weather will tell you, let it run a little before you drink because the water sitting in the hose can be pretty dang hot. Anyway most of our meals included generous portions of fresh vegetables. At the time, I assumed that everybody ate that way because everybody that I knew ate that way. I know, I am wasting time, avoiding the addiction confession. Be patient, I am trying to give you some context. I couldn’t begin to estimate how many peas I have shelled, how many butterbeans I have shelled, or how many ears of corn I have shucked but it would be a healthy number. I have two older sisters and a younger brother. My sisters and I would have to finish whatever chores we were assigned before we could go out and play. So if there were peas to shell and other kids from the neighborhood came over, if they were in a hurry to play, they were likely to end up with a bowl of peas to shell to help things move along. Why so much shelling and shucking you may ask. Obviously the growing season was limited, part of what were had was cooked and eaten then and part of it was “put up” for the winter months. I don’t know what they call it elsewhere, but “putting up” vegetables was a way of saying that they would be prepared for the freezer and eaten in the off season. Quit pushing, I am getting to the addiction part. You needed more background. Tomatoes, there I said it. I have an addiction for farm/garden fresh tomatoes. Every Saturday morning, this time of year, I will go to downtown Birmingham to Pepper Place Saturday Market. Farmers and their families will come into town, setup their fruits and vegetables and sell them between 7 am and noon. There are crafts, coffee stands, and food places to buy muffins and other breakfast fare. There is also live music on several porches that surround the area. I would miss something if I tried to list all of the fruits and vegetables available during the warm months. Today was going to be a hot one so I took my camera with me when I left to go to Pepper Place this morning. My photo for today is from Birmingham Botanical Gardens and was taken on my way home. I was a little later than I had planned because when I got to Pepper Place, an older lady had fallen in the parking lot, her bag of vegetables had thrown off her balance. She had fallen on her left side, her husband was with her but he is blind. Eventually I called 911, which I had never done before, the paramedics came and took her to the hospital, I am pretty sure she had some broken bones. One of the people there took custody of her vegetables and followed them to the hospital to keep the vegetables from spoiling. iTunes song for today is by The Be Good Tanyas and is titled "Scattered Leaves" from the album "Hello Love".
dream hat photography > It was a struggle, but since today is Saint Patrick’s Day, I caved and my daily photo is clover. Nope, not a four-leaf clover, I didn’t find one of those. From what I have been told, my ancestry is half Irish and half Scottish but that is probably fairly common in the United States. Pinching people if they aren’t wearing green on Saint Patrick’s Day was never on my list of good traditions. My guess is maybe people that had been enjoying too many adult beverages might have started it. Since he has “Saint” attached to his name there must be some Catholic influence back there somewhere. Yeah, I could have Googled it but I really didn’t want to know. When I was a kid, fields of clover seemed more common but open fields were more common. The clover I saw today seemed different than what I remember as a kid, but maybe it is the area or maybe it’s just a kid’s memory. Making clover look interesting is a challenge in itself. It wasn’t noticeable when I was shooting, but the clover is covered with little hairs and also had some kind of dust on it. I can’t explain the little hairs, but I decided the dust was from fairies. The post processing here is probably not as much as one might think. Besides the background layer, I have some minor adjustment layers for brightness, contrast, and hue. I made a copy of the background layer, reduced the opacity to 30% and changed it from Normal to Color Burn to make the tones a bit deeper and richer. There is a lighting effect rendered on the background layer to highlight the center of the clover in the middle and to give it some texture. After that, I added a Black and White layer, used the tint but changed it to green then reduced the opacity to 50%. Now that I have typed all that, maybe there was considerable post processing. It didn’t seem like much at the time.
dream hat photography > Going through some galleries today, trying to get caught up with viewing some of the galleries in the community, I was reminded of how fortunate I am to be a part of this community. The sheer volume of great shots on any given day is in itself quite a feat. But the sense of sharing and support throughout this community is what I find so special about the daily group. We are from so many different places, with so many different backgrounds but we have this common interest. In a world that seems to try and find so many ways to find our differences, to find ways of separating us, this group helps remind us what we have to share, reminds us of the ways we are alike. We are a photography group and the talent on display here is outstanding. You are all so creative, so talented, and so ready to help. It is a gift to be able to share your worlds through your photographs, captions, and comments. Today’s iPod tune is by Weather Report, the song is titled “Black Market” from the “Black Market” album. The album was released in 1976 but is just as amazing today as it was back then. The artists on the album included the late Jaco Pastorius who was a jazz pioneer with the fretless bass.
Why fight it? That’s what I ask myself. This whole daily photo thing is primarily for my own enjoyment and to help me improve my photography skills. Why stress about another water lily photo. So, here we go, another water lily. I am going to the beach for a week at the end of this month and the beginning of next month. I will make beach type pictures then, so worst case scenario; you will get a break then.

Butch Cassidy: Then you jump first.
Sundance Kid: No, I said.
Butch Cassidy: What's the matter with you?
Sundance Kid: I can't swim.
Butch Cassidy: Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.
dream hat photography > Why fight it? That’s what I ask myself. This whole daily photo thing is primarily for my own enjoyment and to help me improve my photography skills. Why stress about another water lily photo. So, here we go, another water lily. I am going to the beach for a week at the end of this month and the beginning of next month. I will make beach type pictures then, so worst case scenario; you will get a break then. Butch Cassidy: Then you jump first. Sundance Kid: No, I said. Butch Cassidy: What's the matter with you? Sundance Kid: I can't swim. Butch Cassidy: Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.
Why fight it? That’s what I ask myself. This whole daily photo thing is primarily for my own enjoyment and to help me improve my photography skills. Why stress about another water lily photo. So, here we go, another water lily. I am going to the beach for a week at the end of this month and the beginning of next month. I will make beach type pictures then, so worst case scenario; you will get a break then.

Butch Cassidy: Then you jump first.
Sundance Kid: No, I said.
Butch Cassidy: What's the matter with you?
Sundance Kid: I can't swim.
Butch Cassidy: Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.
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