Enjoying the little things around us

This week I spent time in my garden and also out by the Pipers Heath Golf course trying to capture the summer colours.  As I was photographing some of the flowers I noticed bee's gathering pollen.  I thought it would make an awesome picture if I could capture the bee in action.   To do this, I handheld my camera and used set it to Shutter Priority. I had my macro lens on hoping to capture as much detail as possible of the bee.  It took many attempts to capture these.  Next time I'll push the shutter speed even higher to try to capture and stop the wings in action.

Since I had my macro lens on - I decided to photograph this flower.  It is about the size of half my baby finger nail.  The flower is actually a part of the stamen.

On Thursday, Ralph and I went golfing at Pipers Heath.  I took my camera with me with the hope of capturing some of the beautiful colours around the course and also planned to go see the sunflowers on Burnhamthorpe Road.  I wasn't disappointed.  This first photo is a picture of the 14th hole.  The beautiful grasses and flowers/weeds growing all around were just what I was looking for. It was a bit of a challenge as the sun was shining quite brightly.  I brought down the exposure level significantly to ensure that it didn't get "over exposed".  This is the result of a few attempts.  I decided I liked this one the best.  I like how the pathway leads the eye ithrough the photograph.

I have a real fascination with barns.  This shot was also taken along the 14th hole.  The sky was starting to darken as the weather was changing.  I boosted some of the colouring in the sky and also highlighted some areas within the picture to add to the drama.  It would have been really nice to set up a tripod and take a few photographs to merge together, but time while golfing doesn't allow for that.

After we finished our round Ralph and I drove down Burnhamthorpe Road and stopped at the Joshua Tree Heritage Centre.  They have a beautiful garden with sunflowers.  It's was really difficult to take these pictures with the sun high in the sky but I thought it would make a good challenge.  My goal was to ensure that the exposure was kept very low and to not shoot into the sun where possible.

Overall I am happy with the results.

The above picture is my attempt at something a little abstract.  I shot into the sun with the idea that it would shine through the leaves.  I developed the picture into a square 8x8 size.  I really love the colours that came out in this one.

There is such an abundance of different colours in the garden.  It certainly was fun walking around and admiring their beauty.  I plan to go back early in the morning as I'm sure that the colours will be significantly warmer and would be really beautiful to see.

I took my macro lens out into the garden and spent some time shooting this Russian sage flower.  The slightest breeze will make them sway making it a real challenge.  I'm always so amazed at how much detail this lens can capture.  The little hairs on the flowers are really picked up yet when looking with the naked eye you don't really see them.

Today some bee's were enjoying gathering pollen.  Just before golfing I was able to capture a few pictures.  These were taken using our macro lens and a remote.  I'm pretty happy with the result although I'll keep trying to get them even more clear.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

It's been a while since I updated my blog and I thought that maybe I would start keeping a record of some of the pictures that I have been developing.  With work being so quiet, I need something to keep my mind active, so I've decided to spend more time focusing on my photography.  It doesn't always come easy for me, so I've been spending a lot of time reading and practicing.  My weakness is composition.  As well, I have a lot to learn with respect to developing the actual photo's.  I shoot all of my picture in RAW which creates a somewhat flat looking photograph.  From there I go into Lightroom and clean up the exposure, noise, sharpness and colours.  I've added another "add-on" program called ON1 Effects which gives added enhancements that can be used.  I now need to learn moderation.  I tend to lean towards bold colours and strong images.  I guess that's my style.  I'll be working on trying to tone that down over the next little while.  There sure is much to learn and I look forward to it.

The following pictures are a few that I have taken over the last month.

This is a flower that is in one of my pots in my backyard.  I was inspired by the fluff (which I think was from a dandy lion).  I really like the way it just floated in the air by the small purple flower. I used my macro lens to help draw out the lines in the fluff.  

Another flower in the garden just as it was starting to open.  I believe this is a Dahlia.  This was taken later in the day and I took liberties by boosting the colour and background a little to make it more vibrant.

Some  mornings I'll drop Ralph off at golf and this barn is located on the property.  It was early morning with the sun coming up.  It cast a beautiful golden colour on the barn.  It actually was a clear day without a cloud in the sky.  I added a few clouds to create some drama.  Below is the original picture.

I really do love sunflowers.  I saw these at the Joshua Creek Heritage Centre and I couldn't resist stopping and taking a few pictures.  I think I may have been a little strong handed with the developing and will revisit this one again to see what I can do to soften it up a bit.  

This photo was taken near Killarney when we stopped near the Lighthouse.  It was taken on my older camera.  I love the sky in this one but struggle to figure out how to fix the noise that I see in it.  It could be partly due to a dirty lens.  I'll keep playing with it.

These two photo's were taken at Asher and Carolyn's house.  They have a backyard full of birds and it is so fun to watch them.  The suet on top of the squirrel guard makes it look like snow.  I really love how the bird is looking towards to the camera.

Every week I am hoping to work for at least a half day to improve my developing skills and also ensure that I keep practicing everything that I am learning with respect to taking the actual photo.  I'm looking forward to the challenge of improving and I hope that Ralph will join me in this endeavour as well.