Snowball in April?

Yes!  As in the Snowball Viburnums are blooming!  I call them "pom-pom" flowers, but Hubby keeps correcting me...it's Snowball.   Right now most of the blooms are green.  I did find a bunch that were in full bloom and looking quite beautiful:

Snowball Viburnums

In the Pink

Before getting ready for church this morning, I grabbed my camera and monopod and headed out to see what was in bloom.  The grass was wet and cold as I wandered around the gardens.  Not a sit in the grass type of morning for me.

There was a lot of pink in the garden:

Bleeding Heart

Pink Dogwood

Heuchera

Rhododedron

I prefer to take pictures in the early morning hours versus the early evening.  Sometimes I think the colors are more vibrant.  Maybe it's because I'm wide wake and take my time to compose the pictures and take in the beauty.  What a way to start the day!

In the Bag...Manfrotto

This evening, I found my new Manfrotto tripod and ball head waiting for me.  I pulled out the tripod and noticed right away the quality and how sturdy it was.  It weighs slightly under 4 lbs.

Manfrotto 190XPROB Tripod legs

I opened the ball head box and immediately noticed the ball head weight.  I spent a few minutes and played around with the locks and the rapid/quick release plate.  This ball head is well made.

Manfrotto 498RC2 Ball Head

This new Manfrotto system replaces my old SLIK all in one tripod that I've had for 30 years.  Yes, I can't believe I waited this long to get a quick release tripod.

After much research, I knew I would end up with the Manfrotto brand.  I had to decide between aluminum or carbon fiber and then to select what type of tripod head to get.  Price (budget) was a factor in deciding which model to get.

Based on past experience and habits, I don't plan on "carrying" a tripod with me everywhere I go.  It's the same with my flash.  So, I ended up getting the aluminum version.  I went with a bigger ball head just to make sure it could handle a bigger camera or a larger lens.    

This weekend, I will put the Manfrotto to the test.  Practice, practice, and more practice.  I'm looking forward to playing with my new toy.

More Early Bloomers (Monopod)

This  month, my hubby has been extremely busy at the nursery getting plants on the table for the early gardeners.  He estimates the blooms we are seeing in our gardens are 2-3 weeks early.

Last night the temperature hovered around the mid- to upper-30s.  Great sleeping weather for us.  Hubby was anxiously watching the weather reports.  Luckily he didn't have to go into work and deal with any frost damage to his plants.

Here are some additional blooms I found in our gardens:

Pink Dogwood

Fothergilla

Phlox

Tulips

Sweet scented Viburnums

I had a little help with these pictures.  I used my Manfrotto monopod.  I could get used to this stick.  I do notice an improvement in my pictures.

Something Art-sy?

I had to lay on the ground to capture this picture.  Luckily it was a damp walkway and not in the wet grass/garden.  The things we do to capture that Kodak moment:

What do you see in this drop of water?

Pieris Japonica

Here are fothergilla buds.  Not really in focus, but the background is interesting:

Fothergilla buds

More to come....

Taking My Micro Lens to Church

I took my camera to church to take some pictures of my friend's daughter, Gabby.  Gabby, a high schooler, was presenting her sermon today.  As I mentioned before, our church doesn't have the best interior lighting.  I thought it would be a great opportunity to try out my new lens.  Here's the results:

This is one sharp lens!  Again, no flash and no tripod.  All pictures were taken hand held.

At the end of the service, one of the church members approached me and asked if I would be interested in taking their wedding pictures next month.  I felt honored and said I would.  I plan on using my D40 and D7000 to capture this special moment.

Looks like I'll need to get a real tripod and ball head.  Does anyone have any recommendations?  What do you use?

A Blooming Month

Every evening I've been out in our gardens with my camera in hand.

Since we're experiencing warmer weather, many of the blooms are fading fast.

I took the following picture while holding the camera with one hand.  Wow...that felt weird.  

I've been playing around with my 40mm micro lens and learning to take pictures without a tripod.

It hasn't been that easy.  I'm mostly on the ground either sitting or lying on my side to capture that Kodak moment. It's all about when to breathe and keeping the body and arms still.

I'm looking forward to seeing our Rhododendrons and sweet-scented Viburnums bloom over the next few days.