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dream hat photography > Despite having the opportunity, I resisted photographing any water lilies today. The limitations of the daily photo gallery will not indicate the variety of subjects I shot today. The weekends give me more time to relax and take my time photographing to the degree that I have to make myself stop. It may sound weird, but I always see something else I want to shoot. The colors of the flower in today’s photo are so deep and rich, what you are seeing is only 20% of the color. The softness of the petals reminded me of velvet. Since we are into summertime, today’s iTunes selection is “Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys.
dream hat photography > The woods in Moss Rock Preserve are getting greener every day. I love the shades of green on the new leaves; it is so fresh and bright. My intent was to shoot down some of the trails framed by the new growth and have one of those shots as my image of the day. I made a number of those shots, but along the way, off the trail, were tiny splashes of color. At first I didn’t notice them because I was more focused on the trees and the trails. In various places, would be these various colors and types of wildflowers. Sadly, I am not a wildflower expert so I am unable to identify what I shot. The wildflower in today’s shot reminds me of an iris in shape and color, but I think irises are flowers from bulbs. Anyway, this is a pretty flower, no matter what name we call it. A few other shots from today can be found in a new gallery for Spring colors in Moss Rock Preserve.
dream hat photography > Today was one of those days when I didn’t make many photographs. Days like this force me to work with what I have and that isn’t always a bad thing. This little stream runs through one of the areas at the botanical gardens in Hoover, it was sunny, and the light was not coming from the direction I really wanted but such are the realities of shooting outside. For my camera equipment, I try to use our local Wolf Camera stores if possible. They had offered a good deal to customers to let them create a book with some of their photographs. My photographs haven’t been printed to any degree and I decided to take the time to put some of my images on a USB drive and head over to the store. One of the employees helped me a lot with layout and in the process it gave me a chance to discuss photography with someone that has some helpful insight for me. I have so much to learn and love to expand my knowledge. Now I am thinking about some options for lenses and also maybe a better tripod.
dream hat photography > The colors of springtime are getting more vivid by the day. This afternoon, I went out to take some shots of wisteria and some shots of the dogwood trees that are starting to bloom. My intention was to feature one of those shots. As I was getting back to my car and about to put the camera away, this yellow flower caught my eye. There is something about the singularity of the bright flower contrasted against the lifeless remains of autumn and winter that is both delicate and determined.
dream hat photography > In my early days in this group, besides lack of experience with a DSLR, lack of knowledge of how to process my images, and a limited knowledge of how to shoot in various situations, one of my basic weaknesses involved understanding how to properly crop my images. I am not saying I didn’t know how to use the cropping tools, I knew how it worked but I didn’t really understand how to use it effectively. I later learned, a very important aspect of cropping was an understanding of the rule of thirds. My idea of cropping involved simply putting my main area of interest for the photograph in the center of the cropped image. It seemed logical because I would center my subject in the viewfinder for each shot. There was a sense of order and balance to that process. I am not saying that it is wrong to have a shot with the primary area of interest in the center. It’s just that I have learned that by using the rule of thirds to help me crop, my images are more balanced. If you are sitting there reading this and thinking that everybody knows about the rule of thirds, I would say to you that everybody doesn’t know about it. Presentation is such an important aspect of photography, I think it was worth mentioning and my photo today reminded me how easy it is to forget such a simple concept. My first run at this image had everything all centered and perfectly square. I know better but that didn’t prevent me from almost falling back into a bad habit. The iTunes selection for today is by The Weepies. The song is “Citywide Rodeo” from the “Say I Am You” album.
dream hat photography > In the day of the big box stores, the small independent stores are a vanishing breed. There is an area on my way from Hoover to my office in downtown Birmingham that runs along the crest of what may be a high foothill or low mountain depending on your definition. The area is called Bluff Park because of the location and the view off the edge of the bluff. There is a small shopping center that has been there for many years and one of the mainstays has been Bluff park Hardware. Either you have an appreciation for these traditional stores or you don’t. It is a personal preference. The detail in this picture speaks for itself, from the classic red Radio Flyer wagon with inflatable tires to the well worn business hours sign taped to the front door. From a photography perspective, I can’t brag about any special perspective or angle, this subject seemed best represented simply as it is, straight ahead. Due to the wide angle required for me to get the storefront without having to stand in the street, there is a slight barrel distortion and the image is not exactly square. I am not calling anyone out but I am aware of the issue and the building isn’t exactly square anyway.
dream hat photography > Late this afternoon, I was back at the botanical gardens again. There are so many different things to shoot there. It is so peaceful, and so beautiful. It started out like most any late spring afternoon in this area with some clouds and a chance of a late afternoon shower. I was out in a wooded area of the gardens when the afternoon shower hit. There was a covered area near the trail so I went there to wait out the shower. Since I was in a covered area I could still shoot some things nearby. The rain kept falling so I decided to pack up and make my way back to the entrance. Walking in the rain wasn’t bad and my camera was protected in my backpack. Along the way back I passed another covered area and noticed the cactus in bloom. I am a big fan of water droplets on plants and flowers. Today’s photo is of the flowers on the cactus. There was still a light rain falling but it didn’t interfere with my photograph. I took a few shots from the covered area, then packed up again. I have some other shots I will probably post later. I played with trying to get some photographs of water splashes and used my flash to help. I took quite a few and only one of the shots was anywhere close to what I wanted. It was a good experiment though and will be helpful the next time I have a similar opportunity. Today’s iTunes selection is from the past. Some songs and albums stand the test of time pretty well. Good music is good music no matter when it is released. For me personally, a lot of artists will have a lot of albums but there will often be one of theirs that will be my personal favorite and stand way above the rest of their work. For David Bowie “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars” holds that spot for me in his body of work. Today’s song from that album is “Suffragette City” and is taken from the 30th Anniversary Edition of the album. I don’t own any other David Bowie albums but in my personal opinion, none of his other work holds a candle to this album.
dream hat photography > It was a nice afternoon for a walk in the woods in Moss Rock Preserve. The trails are so bright with the new green on the branches of the trees. Splashes of color are here and there on the ground with wildflowers in bloom. Today I walked down to one of the little streams running through the area. The reflection of trees in water is always one of my favorite scenes. This shot just seemed very warm and calming.
dream hat photography > Today’s shot comes from Tannehill State Park. This is the third or fourth time I have shot at the park and each time has been different. When I arrived this afternoon, the park was fairly crowded and as I was parking I saw a sign that indicated they were hosting a dulcimer festival. Back in my college years I went through a bluegrass phase and attended several bluegrass festivals. So I am somewhat familiar with the dulcimer as an instrument but had never seen a gathering of people just for that purpose. It was an interesting crowd and if I could have chosen to shoot the performers and the crowd but I was more interested in the woods, the trails, the streams, and the buildings. I have shot a variation of this scene in the past so if it looks familiar, here it is again, just a different day and a different composition. The full color version of this shot is very good and could easily been the choice for the day but I wanted to experiment with creating a quadtone image. Think of it along the lines of a black & white image but it uses four different colors for the image. I will probably post of some of the other shots from today in my Tannehill State Park gallery. The full color version is here: http://gldaniel02.smugmug.com/gallery/3899670_u8z3R/1/288674176_k4TpP
It was a nice afternoon for a walk in the woods in Moss Rock Preserve. The trails are so bright with the new green on the branches of the trees. Splashes of color are here and there on the ground with wildflowers in bloom. Today I walked down to one of the little streams running through the area. The reflection of trees in water is always one of my favorite scenes. This shot just seemed very warm and calming.
dream hat photography > It was a nice afternoon for a walk in the woods in Moss Rock Preserve. The trails are so bright with the new green on the branches of the trees. Splashes of color are here and there on the ground with wildflowers in bloom. Today I walked down to one of the little streams running through the area. The reflection of trees in water is always one of my favorite scenes. This shot just seemed very warm and calming.
It was a nice afternoon for a walk in the woods in Moss Rock Preserve. The trails are so bright with the new green on the branches of the trees. Splashes of color are here and there on the ground with wildflowers in bloom. Today I walked down to one of the little streams running through the area. The reflection of trees in water is always one of my favorite scenes. This shot just seemed very warm and calming.
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