Friday, November 29, 2013

MY OTHER PASSION: PHOTOGRAPHY

Today was a perfect day for photography. The air was clean and crisp. There were no winds.
And the early morning light seemed magical. 
 Best of all....I didn't have to go to work!
Imagine that.
Here's a tribute to one extraordinary day in the garden.
Hope you enjoy the photos. And I hope you get a day in your garden that's magical as well.
Soft focus (this was a pleasant surprise)
Crisp focus with full sun background
Soft shadows on bright backlit leaf
Crisp focus on plant with holes in leaves
Shadow play
Veins in an old, tropical leaf
A maze of veins
Leaf landscape (maybe my favorite)
(Bauhinia leaf)
Crisscross
Rain tree pods
Rain tree pod
Rain tree seeds in pod
Rain tree seed wings
Abstraction in black & white
(decaying aspidistra leaf)
Abstraction #2
Banana leaves old & new
Abstraction #3
Garden shadows through the curtains
Abstraction
Old aspidistra leaf
Banana leaf abstraction (color) 
Old fig leaf
Hint of a fern leaf (maybe my favorite)
Flowers near and far
Our cat gets a new toy (yes, this one is my favorite...of course!)

If you would like to know what camera I use, it's a small pocket camera by Canon.
It's called a PowerShot ELPH 110 HS (16.1 megapixels).
They have it listed for $229, but I got mine for about half that price on a great sale.
It's a powerful little camera and I highly recommend it.
***
I hope someday to buy a more expensive camera called a DSLR with different lenses. In the meantime, this one is holding its own. It's the best little camera I've ever owned.
***
There's a saying among photographers that it's 10% the camera and 90% the person who's taking the picture.
That's the challenge....to hunt patiently and wait quietly for that perfect moment.
***
All for now and thanks for stopping by!
David/:0)
P.S. Here's a 'listen in' on one of the discussions about camera vs photographer:


9 comments:

  1. David, your photographs are magical! I can see why it would be hard to choose a favorite. I think I have to go with Leaf Landscape, but I love them all. Glad you didn't lose your plants in the cold weather!

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  2. These photos are great! Really beautiful.

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  3. Your photos are great. They highlight that even when plants are in decline, they can be interesting. If only the neighbor associations felt that way!

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  4. Love the pictures - especially the dying veins in the living leaf. Looking forward to future posts.

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  5. Lovely photos! I particularly like the ones of leaf skeletons but I'm afraid the cat pic is my absolute favorite - although just the eyes are showing the cat looks very pleased too.

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  6. Your photos are taken with much artistry. Love them all except that the macros are a bit soft. I always have a canon compact in my handbag and it is possible to take impressive macros if you press the macro mode (flower).

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    1. Yes, I've noticed that as well. I can get them a bit more focused if I use photo shop, but most of the time I feel that is cheating. The other factor is file size. I use only 2 megs since my next size up is 8megs. I also find that large computer screens give a softer look because of the smaller file size I'm using. Small screens don't have that problem. Thanks for the insight. :0) David

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  7. Lovely photos, and I so agree with you when it comes to camera – my previous camera was a Canon Powershot and a year ago I upgraded to a Canon600D, my first DSLR, but I still use my Powershot now and then. A day in the garden without taking photos is rare for me and I take around 4000 photos per year – just of my garden (I am housebound). The DSLR is great when I plan to use my photos for print as the quality is much better, but for web use either cameras take great picture quality. I have also heard the debate about 90/10% photographer – camera, I certainly think my photos are down to me, how I plan my photos and how I use the equipment, not so much the equipment itself :-)

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  8. Beautiful photographs. Especially that leaf landscape. I find that the right light, enough free time and patience are most important in making a good photo.

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I always appreciate your comments & questions! Happy Gardening from David/ Tropical Texana