I think this may be the last autumn leaves shot, as I’m in Florida and will probably see bare trees when we get back home. I hope you’ve enjoyed viewing them as much as I enjoyed photographing them!
Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate
“Already these brilliant trees throughout the street, without any more variety, are at least equal to an annual festival and holiday, or a week of such.”
–Henry David Thoreau
Christmas cactus
I’ve come to realize that I avoid shooting indoors just about any way I can. Looking through photo albums of mine, you’d see that there’s a dearth of winter photos. The obligatory holiday snaps, a snow scene or two and then…nothing. Until spring. I don’t have fancy speedlights or special lamps and I don’t like the contrived nature of studio photography. Don’t get me wrong–I admire portrait photographers a great deal. But give me open shade and I’m so much happier.
Alas, this is my first winter of more serious photography, and I’m no longer in California, so I need to face that somewhat steep learning curve of shooting indoors without the camera-mounted flash. (I do at least know to avoid that!)
So, shooting this Christmas cactus just about put me over the edge. 😉 I tried changing the camera’s white balance, shutter speed, aperture and ISO; I turned the lights on and off; I moved the plant; I waited until the rain stopped outside. Finally came up with this, but it’s not great. The highlights are a little blown out and the focus isn’t quite right. But I’m learning. Stay tuned!
Dance
Another shot of those unusual oak leaves. They almost appear to be dancing, don’t they? I am going to miss this autumn. A lot.
Overlooked
I can’t believe I overlooked this photo–it’s one of my favorites. I did put it on another photo site, so that probably explains the confusion. I’m currently doing a 365-day project for regular photos and another for the iPhone, so I keep lists for those and the blog. I guess my system isn’t completely fail-proof!
Anway, I had walked by this little birdhouse many times, but this particular morning the sun was hitting it just right and the leaves were so perfectly “arranged.” I love when that happens.
Orange and a surprise
“Orange is red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.”
–Kandinsky
I got a cool surprise yesterday: this photo was selected for Explore on Flickr! It also appeared on the website Beauty in Everything. Explore is kind of like “Freshly Pressed” on WordPress–it gives your work a lot of exposure (no pun intended). Usually I get anywhere from 2 to 30 views on a photo, but this one had 457 when I last checked. A very nice little boost.
Posted in photography
Tagged autumn, Beauty in Everything, Flickr Explore, Kandinsky, maple leaves, orange
14 Comments
Bliss
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.”
–Emily Brontë
Japanese maple, November 2010
“Hearts-a-burstin”
I’ve passed this shrub hundreds of times while walking the dog, then decided to photograph the small berries a couple of weeks ago. It’s a wild strawberry bush, also known as Euonymus americanus L., American strawberry-bush, Brook euonymus, Hearts-a-burstin, Bursting-heart and Wahoo (my personal favorite).
Birds and squirrels eat the berries, but they must not be real tasty, because a lot of them remain on the shrub.
All for now. I’ve been battling a virus for the past 4 or 5 days and have gotten behind in everything else. I’m rarely sick, so this has been frustrating. I can’t help but think of the bloggers and photographers I’ve met through the blog who are battling pain and/or disease every single day. I don’t know how they do it. My hat is off.
We’re going to Florida for Thanksgiving, so I’ll be getting ready for that in the next few days. I’m going to post one photo each day for a while, maybe until the holidays are over. I may throw in a quote or two. I love great quotes.
I ♥ my iPhone
Seriously, I love this little creation from Apple. Or the camera on it. I also love the free game app, “Word Warp.” You have just seconds to make as many words as possible from jumbled letters. A great way to pass the time in airports.
I can hardly believe this camera was able to pick up a little raindrop when I shot this bougainvillea out in San Diego:
Another one of my favorite subjects, the Coke glass:
And finally, an old shoe repair sign jazzed up with the “Lo-Mob” app:
Entirely too much fun. 🙂
Posted in photography
Tagged Apple, bougainvillea, Coke glass, ice, iPhone4, Lo-Mob, raindrop, red straw, shoe repair sign
10 Comments
Leaves, petals and thanks
I do hope you’re not sick and tired of autumn leaves! I admit I’m a little obsessed this year…can’t remember a fall so beautiful or long-lasting. These little “pennies” were shot a couple weeks ago and I nearly forgot them.
I like these oak leaves because they look a little bit like paper dolls or Christmas ornaments….
Just some simple dogwoods.
OK, here’s a camellia that was shot the same day. Thought for sure I’d posted this before, but a search says no.
Thanks so much for taking the time to view my blog. I really appreciate it.
Pearls & Prose 