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dream hat photography > You knew it would happen. It was lurking in the background, just waiting for a chance to break through. The water lilies have been quietly stalking my monthly gallery for days now. Photographs were made and readied for display. The water lilies are relentless, silently mocking the other flowers. They are ancient and have immense patience, making their first appearance in the June gallery only two days into the month. The water lilies look both primitive and alien, like they came from another planet. Today’s iTunes selection is from a band called State Radio, the song is “People to People” from the “Us Against the Crown” album. If you like a nice reggae beat from time to time, this is a great song and I like the lyrics too.
dream hat photography > We had thundershowers this afternoon but there was a break between them when the sun peeked out then clouds took over again. Shooting after a rain is one of my favorite times to take photographs. Today’s photo is just the underside of a lily pad. The patterns on the underside of the leaf and the water droplets from the rain were visually interesting to me. Today’s iTunes song is “Nobody’s Cryin’” by Patty Griffin from “A Kiss In Time”.
dream hat photography > For those of you secretly thinking that I am just a one-trick pony, I bring you something different today. Yes, I can photograph more than flowers and water. Sorry if it seems to any of you that I am in a rut. To be honest, I have gone through several phases already over the course of 2008 with my subjects and my approach to shooting. This month is the first month I have begun to feel a certain comfort level. I am not saying that I have started to feel complacent. In fact I am very far from feeling that way. I still question my shots every day and I still question my skill as a photographer every day. In fact, it still seems strange to refer to myself as a photographer. I love photography and feel like it has been a great addition to my life experience but I am not sure what line you have to cross to call yourself a photographer. Anyway, back to my original point, today’s photo is obviously not a flower or water. it is in fact a bird. The shot was taken at the Birmingham Zoo and I really didn’t think it would turn out well enough to share because I had to take it through the glass (which was very smudgy) and the lighting was poor. Birds can be interesting; I have noticed a number of you have birds in your daily photos. One thing that stays in the back of my mind when I look at birds, especially exotic birds, is that they are probably one of the closest living relatives to dinosaurs. It is easy to think lizard, but I think birds are considered closely related in some areas. Feel free to contradict me; I am by no means an expert on birds or dinosaurs. Before I post my iTunes choice of the day, John reached back to a Harry Nillson song yesterday. Nice choice, he was a unique artist with an amazing vocal range. So John, I see your Nillson and raise you a Roy Orbison. This song is taken from a special concert he performed late in his career with many of the current greats. It took place in September 1987 and his band that night included Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, and Jackson Browne. Backup vocalists included k.d. lang, Jennifer Warnes, and Bonnie Raitt. There isn’t a bad track on the album but I chose one of his classics, “Pretty Woman”. If you ever get a chance to see the video, Bruce Springsteen had a ball on this song if I remember correctly. The album is titled “Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night”.
dream hat photography > When I took photographs this afternoon, I enjoyed it as always, but my overall mood was less than inspired. There were a couple of shots that were decent and I think I like this one the best from the choices that were available. Today’s iPod song is by Joni Mitchell, the song is “River” from her “Blue” album.
dream hat photography > Today offered another late afternoon thundershower and another opportunity to shoot after the rain. So it was a trip to the Aldridge Botanical Gardens in Hoover, AL. By now, it’s no secret that I like shooting plants that are wet from a good rain. There is nothing special about the image processing in this shot. About 80 percent of the color was drained away to give the colors a muted effect. The actual flower was bright red. Today’s iTunes selection is another Peter Gabriel classic, “Solsbury Hill” from the “Shaking the Tree – Sixteen Golden Greats” album.
dream hat photography > I know, it’s another water lily shot. What can I tell you? They were just floating there and they were pretty. I needed a twist, a hook, something to help me slip it under the radar. On cue, the dragonflies appeared and I had the hook I needed. So here it is, a photo of a dragonfly that happens to be sitting on a very pretty water lily. Thanks again for being so supportive in this group. I appreciate all of you every day. Tonight’s iTunes selection is by Hem, the song is “Stupid Mouth Shut” from the “Rabbit Songs” album.
dream hat photography > At some point in the future, I plan to buy a nice macro lens. Until then, I will have to settle for close-up filters. This is just a picture of a knot in a rope. I had fun playing with the close-up filters but didn’t exactly come up with anything stunning. I appreciate all of the encouragement from the group the last few days. My issues with my photographs are influenced a lot by my mood away from the camera. I apologize for bringing some of that baggage over here, for better or worse the daily photographs end up being a photo blog of sorts. It is a nice way to record the year and life creeping into the mix is inevitable. Lately I haven’t been able to contribute as much as I’d like to the community in terms of commenting on your images. Hopefully this week will be better for me in terms of time to look at the other galleries.
dream hat photography > There is a shot of a Japanese Hydrangea in the Bonus Tracks gallery, along with a few other shots from today. I had never seen a Japanese Hydrangea before and photographed it because it was both unusual and pretty. For some reason, I have found water lilies to be a great subject this spring. The flowers and the plants look so prehistoric to me, very primitive. The one today had a pretty purple flower and the others I had seen were either pink or white. The bloom on this water lily seemed to glow, almost like it had an internal light source and was radiating. If you are keeping score, this is not the first water lily to make my pick as the daily photo, it isn’t even the first one this month. One of the hard things about selecting the daily photo on some days is that what has already been shot and posted to the daily gallery, especially in a given month, will often influence my choice. If I had been choosing on variety, one of the other shots would have been the choice today. But you know me, I live on the edge. Yep, I am out there pushing the limits. So against all odds, today’s daily photo is a water lily. I would have tried to build some suspense but you would have already seen the image by now so the element of surprise was gone. Or was it? Look back, maybe the image has changed. Nah, it’s still the water lily. Once again, thanks so much for all of the comments and support from the group on my photographs. It means a lot, especially because there is so much talent in this community. Being around your galleries for the past several months has been a huge help to my photography.
dream hat photography > There was something about these little flowers that caught my attention this afternoon. Most of my shots for the afternoon were of larger flowers like irises and roses. Part of my time tonight was exploring better techniques for converting an image to a high contrast black & white photograph. It was time well spent and no doubt will come in handy down the road. Today’s shot however is in full color.
At some point in the future, I plan to buy a nice macro lens. Until then, I will have to settle for close-up filters. This is just a picture of a knot in a rope. I had fun playing with the close-up filters but didn’t exactly come up with anything stunning.

I appreciate all of the encouragement from the group the last few days. My issues with my photographs are influenced a lot by my mood away from the camera. I apologize for bringing some of that baggage over here, for better or worse the daily photographs end up being a photo blog of sorts. It is a nice way to record the year and life creeping into the mix is inevitable. Lately I haven’t been able to contribute as much as I’d like to the community in terms of commenting on your images. Hopefully this week will be better for me in terms of time to look at the other galleries.
dream hat photography > At some point in the future, I plan to buy a nice macro lens. Until then, I will have to settle for close-up filters. This is just a picture of a knot in a rope. I had fun playing with the close-up filters but didn’t exactly come up with anything stunning. I appreciate all of the encouragement from the group the last few days. My issues with my photographs are influenced a lot by my mood away from the camera. I apologize for bringing some of that baggage over here, for better or worse the daily photographs end up being a photo blog of sorts. It is a nice way to record the year and life creeping into the mix is inevitable. Lately I haven’t been able to contribute as much as I’d like to the community in terms of commenting on your images. Hopefully this week will be better for me in terms of time to look at the other galleries.
At some point in the future, I plan to buy a nice macro lens. Until then, I will have to settle for close-up filters. This is just a picture of a knot in a rope. I had fun playing with the close-up filters but didn’t exactly come up with anything stunning.

I appreciate all of the encouragement from the group the last few days. My issues with my photographs are influenced a lot by my mood away from the camera. I apologize for bringing some of that baggage over here, for better or worse the daily photographs end up being a photo blog of sorts. It is a nice way to record the year and life creeping into the mix is inevitable. Lately I haven’t been able to contribute as much as I’d like to the community in terms of commenting on your images. Hopefully this week will be better for me in terms of time to look at the other galleries.
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