The Waiting Game

Typically, I don't have the patience to wait for

a photo opportunity to present

itself to me.

So, last week, I decided to test out my patience

and see if I could obtain a photo with the birds that

have been using my Mustang as target practice

I saw outside.

I swapped out the 50mm lens for the 70-300mm Canon lens

and pulled up a patio chair and waited.

And waited.

And swatted a mosquito or two

and...waited.

After about 3 minutes, I took a few test shots

of the trees and their new spring leaves.

But those shots were boring.

So I waited some more.

Finally this bird lands on the fence.

Now, I'm still close enough to where he

can see me, so I move

s l o w l y

and take two photos before he

decides that he'd rather be hidden in a tree elsewhere.

I posted this photo, 'cause I like

how the 'bird march' was captured.

I really have to give the wildlife / bird photographers

credit for the patience they have....'cause after those

two photos, I headed inside.

I was done waiting.

Is That Sunlight?

Earlier this afternoon, I was out in the backyard,

looking at all the signs of spring.

As you've seen in previous posts, there

are roses blooming along the fence-line,

as well as the beginning sprouts of pears in a near-by tree.

Walking by this flower, I noticed that the sunlight 

seemed to be shining through it, since it was evening

and the sun was settling behind the fence.

Too quickly, I snapped a couple of photos...

then realized that the shutter speed was incorrect,

resulting in over-exposed photos.
There was also some lens flare, which
I didn't want to include, so I made sure
to shield the lens with
my hand (since I don't own a lens hood, yet).

After a few adjustments, I took some more photos,

which seemed OK in the camera's display.

Once downloaded into Picasa, I adjusted the Shadow

 just a bit to remove any evidence of the grassy, cluttered background.

The resulting photo makes it seem like there

was a dark background with special lighting in place.

50mm Point of View

It's raining today, so I'm using a photo

that was taken a few days ago.

Since I wasn't sure what to shoot, er...photograph,

I decided to take another look at what I had available....

another lens, a different angle and you get a different looking photo!

I swapped lenses and used the

Canon EF 50mm F1.8 II for this photo.

I've had this lens for about 4 months, but

really haven't used it.

The lens is shorter than the kit lens and made

the camera feel different...lighter, I guess.

Of course, once I found my subject to photograph,

and had the camera focused

the wind picked up and the petals were fluttering,

with the whole flower swaying to and fro.

I held the rose to steady it once the

wind died down and snapped a few photos.

After attempting a few photos of the front of the flower,

I found that the back of the rose was more interesting.

with the details of the texture of the petals

and how they curled backwards .

I also liked the bokeh effect of the light through the leaves

in the background. The petals seem soft and touchable,

even on the computer screen!

I'm glad that I was able to take some time to compose

the photo, otherwise, I may have never thought

to try a different point of view.

This photo is SOOC (straight out of the camera),

except to scale it down.

Photo Potential

Ever see one of those motivational posters?

I think this photo would have one of these captions:

Don't envy your neighbor - You, too, will flourish at your own pace.

You can't rush beauty, it moves at its own speed.

I'd love to see your photos with your own caption(s)!

Send 'em to me or leave link to your photo/caption in the comments below....

Seguin, Texas

A few weeks back, Jury Duty called me to Seguin, Texas.

Out of all the people in the county...I was selected.
Well, if I must go, I must go with my camera :)

Six hours later....
After being released from the courthouse, I grabbed my camera from the car and wandered around the block. I hadn't been to Seguin in a few years and thought there might be a few things to photograph.

Around the back of the courthouse, I noticed this building.
It houses a furniture store, Starcke's Furniture, which has been around since 1910,
100 years!

In Picasa, I took the original photo, which was in color and selected the B&W effect.
The black and white effect seems to go naturally with the content of the photo.

Easter Eggshells

It's that time of year...well, I'm a bit late, to make cascarones or confetti eggs!

Take some carefully cracked eggshells, after they've dried and let them marinate in dye for about 5 minutes.
The other, non-colorful eggs will be jealous.

Once the dye is dried, you fill 'em with confetti and cover the hole with glue & tissue paper.

After the glue has dried, you get to chase people around on Easter Sunday or at any party/fiesta to crack'em on the head. Yay!