My husband, Andy, is getting more and more involved in my photography. When he’s not my muse, he’s my assistant. 😉 He helps me by pointing out to me things that I should photograph. It was he who made me aware of our first hibiscus blossom of the year. I started taking macro shots and just got closer and closer. I never knew the tiny structures at the end (stamen?) were so fuzzy. What I love about this image — if I may say so myself — is the soft, velvetiness of the red hibiscus petals that are out of focus, while the focus is on the pistil and stamen. It reminds me of billowy red velvet.
Category: Photography
Posts with photos, about photos, and about photography itself
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Yellow Flower with Fly Upon It
When Andy and I went to the dog park this morning with Buxley and J.J. to meet Robert & Robbie and Napoleon, I decided not to bring my camera. I knew there would be things I’d want to shoot, but I was tired of taking photos– and especially tired of postprocessing them on the computer.
When I saw Robert, whom I’d photographed with his dog, Napoleon, a few weeks ago, he told me I had inspired him to go buy a new camera, and he showed me his new Canon SD630. I couldn’t resist; I asked him if I could borrow it just to take a picture of one of the many pretty little yellow flowers that had blossomed on the sage bushes since the last time we were there.
These flowers are only about 1.5″ in diameter, and they grow on what look to me like sage bushes. I just happened to shoot one with a fly on it. I’m pretty happy with how it came out.
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Man to Man
This is one in a series of four shots I took experimenting with the “digital multiple exposure” technique. This was my longest and, I think, most effective exposure of the series; that is, my ghostly images are the most apparent in this exposure.
How did I do it? I set the camera to its lowest ISO speed and its smallest aperture. I put the camera on a tripod. I set the shooting mode to remote/timer and the shutter speed to bulb. I walked into frame, aimed my remote shutter control at the camera, pressed the button to start a bulb exposure, and held a position for 30-45 seconds, then quickly moved to another position and held that for another 30-45 seconds, then pressed the button on my remote to close the shutter.
It was fun being creative. It reminded me of an improvisational acting class.
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First Ocotillo Leaves (a closer view)
Here is the very first sprig of leaves on our front yard ocotillo this year. Andy pointed it out to me at dusk last night when he was watering the yard. I took one look and ran inside to get my camera, macro lens, and tripod. This is the first time we’ve had a sprig of leaves grow off the tip of one of the stalks, so I think this means we will have a flowering ocotillo this spring! I can’t wait to post photos of our first red-orange blooms.
This is a follow-up to the last of the ocotillo leaves, which I posted in November. Now in March, I have the joy of posting “the first of the ocotillo leaves”! It’s more than that, though: it’s the first time we’ve had leaves come out of the very top of a stalk. I believe this means we will have our first orange blooms this year.
Tech notes: I took this at dusk, while rapidly losing daylight. I could never have done this without a tripod, for two reasons: 1) the plane of focus on a macro lens with a wide-open aperture is very small, so the slightest movement would have thrown the subject completely out of focus; 2) I could never have held still long enough to get the amount of light I needed (shutter) for a decent exposure. I cropped this only slightly for a balanced composition; I was already photographing at about a 1:1 magnification ratio. About the aperture: I know I could have gotten greater depth of field with a smaller aperture, but I was afraid I might lose the shot if I used too long an exposure and the wind blew the stalk, causing the subject to blur.
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A Cheery Cherry Blossom for You
I hope this sign of Spring brightens your day. Taken in the Phoenix Japanese Friendship Garden, Ro Ho En, on Saturday.
Daniel Greene 