Up Close and Personal

I am surprised the spider didn't jump onto my lens!  I was that close!

Miniatures! Examples in the Garden

I always enjoy visiting the local garden center.  I enjoy it more now that I have a awesome point and shoot camera with me all the time.  I'll never miss a photo opportunity like these wonderful miniature gardens.  Check out the clever planters they use.  How many tiny garden props can you spot?

How cute!

The BBQ grill is the planter

What a great way to reuse an old wagon!

Now that's creativity in the works!

An Unusual Turkey

I came across a most unusual variety of turkey.  Look at the white feathers!

Here's a thirsty chicken:

What a Difference a Flash Makes

I was going through my photos from the last few days and I came across a pair that shows what a difference a flash can make.  This blue hydrangea shrub is located on the edge of our shade garden.  I took these two pictures with my D7000 and 40mm micro lens.  For the flash picture, I used my compact SB-400 speed light.

Which picture appeals to you?

While I'm taking my pictures, I can actually visualize "painting" the images I take.  The left picture without flash looks quite dark, it's actually quite "art-sy".  If I painted this picture in oil or watercolor, my painting would show the different values of color.  Light and dark colors.  My flower would appear to pop-out of my canvas or paper.

If I painted the right photo with flash, my flowers would look a bit flat because there are less values in the color.

When I see a striking subject as in a flower, I tend to take lots of pictures.  A straight on shot and then a different angle.  In natural light and then with a flash.  Zoomed in and then zoomed out.

I have plans to take my favorite floral shots from this Spring and re-create them on my canvas.  To paint the above hydrangeas, I would actually use both pictures as references for my creation.

In my mind, there really isn't a bad picture.

One Shrub...Many Colors

As the Spring flowers are winding down in our gardens, the final and magnificent blooms of the season is our colorful hydrangea flowers.  Yes, all the flowers seen in the photos below are from one single shrub.

Makes me think of God's palette of colors.

Latin name:  Hydrangea Macrophylla

Buzzing Around the Garden

No, not me.  Just the bumble bees in our garden.  My 40mm micro lens has been a joy to use.  I can get up close and personal.  Sometimes a bit too close for my liking when I'm looking through the viewfinder.  Bumble bees are pretty friendly.

I've learned to be patient and just wait for the bees to come within picture taking range.  Especially with my 40mm lens.  Sometimes, I wished I had a longer lens.  Maybe an 85mm?

A Weekend With My D7000

After a week with my point and shoot camera, I was back to using my D7k.  I felt a bit out of place as I was so used to using my P7100.  I had to laugh at myself when I tried to zoom in to see the pictures I took and I was looking for the zoom in/out toggle at the front of my DSLR.  Yeah, I had a duh(!) moment.

Saturday morning, Hubby told me to bring my camera and I took some pictures at our church Sabbath service.  I had my 18-200mm lens with me along with my SB-700 flash.  The only time I used my new flash was during a baby dedication that my Hubby was asked to perform.  During the service, I was adjusting the exposure on my camera.  When I had the flash off, I set my exposure to +0.7.  When I put on the SB-700 flash, I had to adjust the exposure back to 0.0.

Children's Story (no flash)

Children's Story (no flash)

Baby Dedication (with flash)

Prayer (no flash)

I enjoyed using my new SB-700 flash.  It is so much easier to make adjustments than on my SB-600.