Sunny Palomino

During our family trip to Colorado this Summer, we rented out a ranch cabin, and it was right next to the barn where they kept the horses.  In the afternoon, one of the owners left a pretty palomino in the barn, and (as usual) I got super excited and got my camera. 

He stood in the dark for a little while before walking out into the sun.  That amount of light added a new dimension to the shot, in addition to the darkness in the background.  Also, the horse's face is in direct line with the wooden beam, which isn't dead center in the photo.  It's a good rule of thirds, and the colors blend well.

Any ideas or opinions on this photo you would like to share?  Tell me in the comments below!  And don't forget to subscribe to the blog to receive post updates!

Red Clover

Sunset is coming earlier these days, and the weather is getting very chilly.  This flower, a red clover, is one of the last survivors in our yard.  Its vibrant color against the green and brown background is still there despite frost.

Dandelion and Orange Insect

I like the dark background in contrast with the bright yellow of the dandelion.  When I was really little, I called the pretty weeds "dandy-flowers."  A few times, my family went into our yard and picked a gazillion of them, fried them, and ate them for supper (Sounds weird, but trust me, it's really good!).

The bug has a orange color that blends nicely with the yellow.  He walked around the small flower near the smaller insect with a silly air of "I'm huge, fear me." 

Silky Webs

The majority of the photos in this series were taken on the same day in the same field.  I was doing a photoshoot with my brother, and the one thing that always happens (just ask my brother) is that I get distracted by interesting things.  Not that my brother isn't interesting, but I'm just digging myself deeper into a hole, aren't I? ;)

The photo above took my fancy, with the spikiness of both the plant and the web itself.  Since it was later in the morning (around 10 or 11 AM), the sun was getting higher, and I had to adjust my shutter speed so as not to overexpose the web.

A flower in the corner is more the subject than the string of web, but the web adds to the composition as a leading line.

I thought the spider above was actually just a piece of dirt...until I looked at the photo on my laptop screen!  There is also a fly caught in the web in the corner, which you might not have noticed.  I like the fact that the web lines are visible.

Dried-out and dead, these flowers (or whatever they once were) sat in my garden, since overgrown now that our plants are gone.  The lines of webbing encircle the plant, and the background is well-blurred.

Stuck against a twig, this web was very peculiar.  The funny-looking lines that are positioned away from the twig seemed like big block letters you might see on an advertisement.

Two Rabbit Friends

 I was at my Grandma`s house this July, and her yard seems to always have at least one furry rabbit frolicking around in it.  In the neighbor`s yard, there were two of them, and I got out my telephoto lens so I wouldn`t scare them.  This little one above was nibbling on some grass, and he reminded me of Beatrix Potter`s Peter Rabbit.

I faded out most of the background, and kept only the rabbit and grass in color.

The other one looked like a jackrabbit, and just stood on the concrete, staring off into the street.  He had this sort of profile look, and only hopped a little ways every minute.  Very laid back!

My Grandma sometimes complains about how one baby rabbit likes to snuggle into one particular patch of grass in her yard, thus creating a bare piece of ground.  But she writes cute poems about her backyard rabbits for the grandchildren, and I know she likes them.  And so do I.

Happy October!

Country Road

My Dad and brother went deer hunting on a beautiful piece of property one day earlier this year.  As we waited for them in our van, I decided to get out and take some photos (it was completely safe, too).  It was 7PM, and the trees shaded the road from the evening sun.

I tried some angles, varying from way down low to holding the camera high above my head.  The tire tracks from our van and past vehicles made deep, swirly imprints on the sand, and this turned out to be my best low-angled shot of the evening.

I edited this photo using Lomo on Picmonkey.  I didn't want it to turn out too 'photoshopped', so I faded it out a bit.  The lighting was simply gorgeous, and I kind of hated to leave after the hunters arrived. :)

Positioned Sunflower

It was a windy-ish day when my friend came over, and she was so excited when she found out we had sunflowers down the road.  "I haven't taken a photo of a sunflower all Summer!"  She told me.

Funny.  Neither had I.

So, we walked down the road.  She had her Canon and a Samsung phone, and I had my Nikon.  That's the good thing about great friends...they don't care about who might have the best thing.  Frankly, I don't even care about the Canon/Nikon debate.

She started taking photos with her camera, then switched to her phone.  "It takes really good photos."

But it was windy, so the flower we had chosen as our subject kept swaying back and forth.  My friend held it by the stem, asking me, "Is my hand in the way?"  Shooting a photo of her inadvertently posed hand, I replied, "Oh, no.  It looks fine."

So, I suppose she doesn't even know I took a photo of her hand steadying a sunflower.  And it actually looks pretty good.

Flowers, Great and Small

Photos with something in common.



 It's like taking a subject, and adding more to it.  More photos equal more opportunity for variety and creativity.

A series brings things together.  Usually, I post one photo, and I'm done for the blogging day.  But I've decided to make Tuesday my "Series" day.  I'll post a bunch of photos that, if not for the color or (in this case) the subject or some other little thing, would probably have next to nothing in common.

 It's not hard to find subjects for a series of photos, so there's nothing to lose...and fresh ideas to gain.  I'm very much into flower photography (even though I'm definitely not a pro on it), and love going on short bike rides looking for pretty blooms.  I thought that flowers would be a great way to start this new series idea.

 What series should I photograph next?  Comment below and tell me what you think!

Vibrant Lily

Nature photography is one of my absolute favorites.  The colors, shapes, lighting.  I especially like flowers, and lilies are fantastic subjects.  They are so beautiful.

I've been experimenting with Photoshop again (my usual editor is picmonkey), and this is one of the photos I edited using that software.  The colors came out brighter and beautiful.

Morning Glories

On a trip through Colorado, we stopped by an interesting museum (the name of it escapes me).  By the entrance were hanging baskets of morning glories.  They were in full bloom, letting in all the sunshine they could.

Flowers have a way of expressing themselves without words.  I love all the colors they can carry.  Purple and blue are my favorites, and morning glories have both!

Happy July, folks!

B&W Blue Jay

My Grandma has a bird feeder in her front yard near the living room window.  There's a bar that holds it up.  A blue jay sat there, as if guarding the feeder from the pesky crows that bothered the sparrows drawing near.

I used a telephoto lens to get closer, then turned the color to black and white and added "spotlight" via PicMonkey.  The bird became softer without so much bright coloring, and I like it that way sometimes.  With less color,  more imagination comes from the picture one tries to paint.  More mystery.  More emotion.  It's just cool to use black and white anyway! :)

Sunset Reflection

I'd just finished a late supper at a cafe with my family, and was just about to get back into the van headed for home.  My little brothers were throwing gravel into some huge puddles in the parking lot, causing rings to form where the rocks landed.  I got into the car, changed my standard lens to telephoto, then got back out and started shooting.

I found that if I got down on my knees, I could frame the sun in the water.  If I'd stood up, I wouldn't have been able to do that, thus creating an average photo that could have become very interesting with some experimenting.

With my telephoto, I had two advantages:  1) I could keep my distances from the boys splashing water, and 2)  sometimes my telephoto takes better photos than my standard lens, surprisingly.

Do you use reflections very often?  What do you use them for?

Grasshopper On Wood

Grasshoppers abound in our yard.  When I was a little kid, I would catch them in my hand (that required skill!) and dangle them by one leg.  Yes, I might have had PETA knocking on my door if they'd known, but they didn't... and I didn't know who they were back then (the good times, right?).  And besides, I was examining the grasshoppers.  Now, I photograph them.  And sometimes that requires skill.  Those little guys can jump off-screen in a split-second!  The one above did not.  It was about the slowest grasshopper I've ever seen.  Eventually, it did bound away.  But not before I snapped some photos really close-up.

It was about 2 or 3 in the afternoon when I took this photo.  Being able to see little hairs on the grasshopper is a little weird, yes, but kind of cool for a beginner-level DSLR like mine.

Tell me about the best macro insect photo you ever took!

Passing Clouds

I took this photo during the early afternoon on a slightly windy day.  The clouds were moving ever so slowly across the sky.  I'm really into skyline photography these days, so I go outside whenever I can.  Throughout the month, I've captured sun rays, storm clouds, and ordinary cumulus and stratus clouds.  I'll be posting some of those later on.  Enjoy!

Tree Bud

I was at my Mimi's house a few weeks back.  Her backyard is covered with flowers...all of which she planted herself.  There are trees and bushes with white, pink and fuchsia buds too.  Whenever I go there, I'm sure to bring my camera along.  While I have my fair share of family conversations with my grandparents, I also take a lot of photos at their house!  It was a windy day, cool and sunny.  This was a flower on one of her beautiful trees.  I like the green background and how everything besides the flower is blurred.

Inside a Flower

While at the nature center, I found this flower growing alone.  It was so beautiful in that small patch of mulch by the sidewalk.  Ever since going through those younger kid science books Apologia has, I've been fascinated by the inside part of flowers.  It's the weirdest thing, you know?  Why not be only fascinated by the beautiful colors and the big petals?  But no, I'm intrigued also by the inner parts of them!  It's one of my "nature photography quirks," I guess. :)

Have a beautiful day!

Sun-Filled Petals

While going through my 2013 photo files, I came across an unnamed folder.  After scrolling through it for a bit, I saw this photo and decided to use it for the blog.  The photo was a bit too bright, so I darkened the shadows slightly.  Then I cropped it using the rule of thirds.  I like the blurred background, and lighting cast on the rose.
Please give me feedback.  What do you like/not like about this photo?  What could I have done better?

Spring Is Here

The snow is all gone.  Rain and sunshine are coming around.  Flowers are blooming, and I can actually see green grass again.

I really like Spring.

My family is starting a garden, too.  We kids spend quite a while hoeing and digging up dirt clod after dirt clod.  We tell jokes,  talk about the weather, and hope the wind dies down (our landlord is a self-called "anti-tree man," so it gets pretty windy at our house.).

I'm enjoying running around our yard barefoot, glad to not be hearing dead, crunching grass underneath.  Dandelions abound in our front yard, and our backyard is no different.  My little brothers like picking them for Mama, and putting them in bowls of water on our table.

Isn't Spring nice?

Happy Resurrection Sunday!