Moon and stars over water

Read more »

It's time to think about gardening

It's time to think about what the garden should look like. The garden centers are full of gorgeous annuals and perenniels, and the other day I filled my imagination with the possibilities. Although it's still cold here, you can see that spring gardening is on peoples' minds.

 Some times, but not every year, I get my mother a bowl of pansies to enjoy while the weather is still cool. Her mother used to remark that pansies are very 'happy' flowers, because they look like smiling faces.

Tulips in containers are wonderful to enjoy right now, whether they're planted outdoors or kept indoors. The problem with tulips, however, is that critters like to eat them. I've planted them many times, only to find that some muskrat or other creature had made a meal out of them. I've been reading up on how to foil the critters so that I can plant and enjoy the flowers for more than a few days.

Read more »

The secretive Green Heron

This bird is small for a heron, but on close examination, its colors are extraordinary. Double click on the image to enlarge.  Once you've seen it, click on the 'back' button to bring you back here. This appears to be a juvenile green heron because of its brown and white streaked neck, slight crest, and light-tipped wing coverts.  The yellow markings around the bill and eye are also indicative of a juvenile, because the markings are less pronounced in the adult.  They average between 16 and 18 inches long, their wingspan is about 25 inches and they weigh about 8 or 9 ounces.  It's also called the green-backed heron.

This is a difficult bird to get pictures of because of its secretive nature.

This is a photo of the same bird with the colors punched up a little bit.

I stood outside this morning as it was about to rain with my rebel T1i camera and 300mm telephoto lens and managed to get some shots of this one before it started to rain.  I tried different aperture settings because the light wasn't very bright, due to the cloud cover.  ISO 1600, shutter speed 1/100.

I didn't punch up the color on this one, although I did in a few of the other shots I took.

Read more »

A beautiful face

This is a wonderful face for a portrait; full of character and lines.  It was taken inside a bar in the afternoon, while the patrons were playing pool.  He and his wife raise potbellied pigs in Espanola, Canada.  The dramatic natural light is coming in through the window, but the inside was dark.  I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it ended up being one of my favorite photos taken from that trip.

What makes a great portrait?  It's a combination of things; and sometimes it's about breaking the rules.  Some suggest a noncompeting background, and if there are more than one person in the photo, it's suggested that they should have clothing that matches, or is in the same color family.  I've seen some stunning photos of large families where they wear blue jeans and black turtlenecks.  I saw one photograph of a group of related women, where they all wore black and white.

Good lighting is a bonus, because nobody wants to do a lot of work editing the photos when they're done.  Composition and the rule of thirds should be held in mind.  Try to capture an emotioin, crop it in close, and maybe use a telephoto lens so that the background is blurred.

But it depends on what you're looking to achieve.

I am surprised at my results sometimes because I tend to snap in a haphazard sort of a way.  My feeling is that many times a photographer is rushed because of a lot of activity such as a wedding or a reception, and you must be able to put something together that is stunning with little time beforehand to plan it out.  The ideal situation, though, is to know about the challenges in advance and to plan for them.

Read more »

The right moment

The right moment, the right light, the right angle, you have a snapshot of a captured moment.  Priceless.  Previously I talked about the Potowatomie Park Pavilion and how when standing at Boy Scout Island in the morning, the lighting wasn't the best to take a shot of the Pavilion.  This shot was taken that same morning at Ferson's Creek Park. 

Read more »

The right light

Lighting is important when snapping shots; the right light makes all the difference in the world as you can see with these two photographs of the same exact structure. I went out in the early morning and took a shot of this structure and then later that same afternoon. The morning shot shows the structure backlit, the afternoon shot shows the sun almost directly opposite.

This is the aternoon snap. Notice how more clearly you can see the detail of the structure.

These shots of the pavilion were taken from Boy Scout Island. This snap was taken from a slight angle.

This is the morning shot.  Because it is backlit, you cannot see much detail of the structure.

The right light cast on your subject will make your images pop, but it takes some thoughtful consideration and planning to be there at the right time of day.

When taking images in a dark church, knowledge of how to compensate for poor lighting is a must.

Read more »