Once again my trusty black shirt and compact fluorescent come to the rescue!
bookmark_borderPrecious
Tag: close-up
bookmark_borderDaylilies
Somewhat of a departure from my regular focal length, I brought it all the way out to 18 instead of 55 so I could get the other lilies in the background. I really like the result. Especially after tweaking it in Lightroom to bring up the clarity of the foremost lily.
bookmark_borderLittle Rabbit
Now that I understand ISO better I found that I can take photos inside my not-so-bright office without flash and still get clear images. My horizons have broadened!
bookmark_borderYeh seb hai.
We got apples tonight and they were gorgeous, all dark and stripey with water condensing on them in a delicious way as they were still cold from the store! Naturally this had to be the subject for the day’s image (especially since I didn’t take any photos earlier!). As a side note, ever since I started using Rosetta Stone to learn Hindi, whenever I see a picture of an apple (not an actual apple necessarily, but a photo of one) I hear “Yeh seb hai” in my head. Hence the title of this image.
I guess it’s working.
bookmark_borderUnderwater World
Not one of my best, I admit. It was late and I needed something. I did, however, do some experimenting with camera settings though, so it wasn’t a complete blow-off. I played with my ISO to get the image.
bookmark_borderCactus Flower
This was a tough choice. I got some photos I really like of the cactus in bloom and then that evening got more fireworks photos! Well, the flower wins for the cover image but I will include galleries of both:
bookmark_borderMarabou Bokeh
This is a marabou feather on one of our outdoor dreamcatchers. I took it in late afternoon and love it rendered in black and white. I’m really pleased with this simple image.
bookmark_borderTiny Snail
A quick close up of a little snail in the low-tech planted bowl I set up. Even though it was a quick simple photo I rather like the colors and textures.
bookmark_borderStar Ornament
I wasn’t happy with how my night shots turned out from our (rainy, dark) film shoot so I went with my old standby and a star ornament. Definitely could have been better…
bookmark_borderPreserved Dandelion Puff
This is a giant dandelion puff that Ahura preserved for me by spraying it with polyurethane so it made a perfect subject for a late-night photo in front of the ubiquitous black shirt and compact fluorescent bulb.
bookmark_borderRobin Moth Body
I found the body of a Robin Moth while outside for my walk today and thought it would make a good subject, especially against the weathered wood of our back porch. I would have liked to see one of these guys alive this year (like that awesome Luna Moth last week!) but an expired one makes an easier subject to photograph I suppose. I love the fur textures of it’s body and wings. If I had a more morbid imagination I could probably have come up with some more creative ways to photograph this guy but I wasn’t too keen on playing around too much with a dead creature, insect or not.
bookmark_borderOrchid
It was late and I came up with something quick (using my trusty giant compact fluorescent bulb and black shirt). The image is a bit soft because I was holding the flower pot with one hand and Daisuke (my camera–he has a name now!) with the other. Pretty as the colors are, I prefer the image in black and white.
bookmark_borderLily Detail
Close-up of one of the red lilies growing in front of our place. I love the raised black dots, they bring strawberries to mind.
bookmark_borderTiny Crab
Found this little guy in the rocks at the beach. It was all I could do to keep him still enough in one hand to photograph him with the other!
bookmark_borderSoup!
Though I did use my camera today pretty much all I took were snapshots (and I didn’t realize until it was too late!). However, it is still within the bounds of my discipline so here is the image; soup. Some friends are spending the weekend with us so we have been busy making some Asian foodstuffs for dinner. This was one of the items.
bookmark_borderSunset Flower
I had the pleasure of spending the day at a beautiful farm today. There were some lovely reclaimed gardens around the property and I got to wander around with my camera during golden hour. This was my favorite.
bookmark_borderMoonfeather
Hyacinth macaw feathers with opals glued to them.
bookmark_borderMoth Face!
This is the same Luna Moth that has been sitting by our side door since Wednesday night. Turns out it is a female who came to lay eggs! We now have a cluster of Luna Moth eggs by our door (which is guarded by a small sign that says “Protected: Do Not Disturb!”).
bookmark_borderButterfly Detail
Now that I am getting the hang of Photoshop I am realizing that I can do some things in Photoshop as well. I did some layers on this so that I could blur the background better and get rid of some of the distractions. And, uncharacteristically did not desaturate at all!
bookmark_borderThor’s Armor detail
My husband asked me to take photos of the movie props and costumes today so I got this close-up as well because I like the shapes and texture of the fur.
bookmark_borderTiger Swallowtail
Another of my favorite lepidopterans! This is the first time I have ever been able to catch one with my camera. Very pleased to see so many of them around this summer.
bookmark_borderLuna Moth Tails
This Luna Moth appeared at our side door this evening. I love the color, size and shape of these guys. One of my very favorite lepidopterans!
bookmark_borderGodlight
I put into practice something I learned from watching some photography videos yesterday with Douglas Kirkland. He said “Get a different look, think differently” and “move your camera around. What is the strongest composition?” I picked some irises and put them in a bottle and did some pretty basic photos on the back porch. Then I started noticing the light and made some different angels. I realized I was being typical and only focusing on the flowers. Then I looked at the bottle and discovered some possibilities in that (one image is below). After awhile the sun started coming through the trees and making RAYS and I was able to make this beautiful image. This is the first time in awhile I have had images I didn’t have to do much processing of. I processed this image and the one of the bottle, but the other two are exactly what came out of my camera.
bookmark_borderIris Detail
Detail of an iris in the back yard. I actually preferred this one in black and white as I was able to increase the contrast and clarity on the stripes in the center of the petal.
bookmark_borderDoglegs
I was reading some photography tips yesterday to get some inspiration and something stuck with me which caused me to capture this image. One of the tips was to think about what attracted you to photograph a particular scene. Is it the light? The colors? The shapes or flow? I was doing pushups on the porch stairs and it amused me that I could just see Steelie’s legs under the gate. When I went to take the photo I realized that it wasn’t Steelie’s legs that attracted me as much as it was the framing of his legs under the gate bottom (otherwise I would have cut it out of the photo). Using that information I was able to create this fun image.
bookmark_borderBlack and White Rabbit
My rabbit sitting on his shelf by my desk. When I took the photo I had plans to call it “Whiskers” but most of his whiskers disappeared when I blew out the whites (despite my best efforts to bring them back with Clarity and Contrast). And well, “Eye of the Rabbit” sounded a little too cheesy.
bookmark_borderBright Beetle
Found this bright little guy in the chive blossoms. I like the color contrast (and, of course, the flowers).
bookmark_borderDramatic Moth
Another interesting little moth on our back door screen. I liked his color (rich browns) but preferred this image as a black and white.
bookmark_borderEastern Gray Tree Frog
This is one instance where subject takes precedence over artistry for me. This (huge!) tree frog was sitting in the leaves right next to my infinity path out back under Moss. I thought she was a toad at first but remembered the coloring of the gray tree frogs. Very glad to have been able to photograph her! I was pretty sure it was a male tree frog we heard calling occasionally from Moss’s branches last summer, and this confirms it. I’m happy to know they’re around.
bookmark_borderChive Buds
I love the color and lines in this image. Like many of my daily images, this one was an afterthought while I was photographing something else (columbine flowers) and I wound up liking it better than the images I was trying to make in the first place! This is also a rare (for me) time when I get to accentuate color before anything else. I brought down the contrast and warmed it up quite a bit and then actually increased the saturation and vibrance (I’m usually prone to desaturating and sometimes increasing vibrance). I really like the result. It’s a learning process!
bookmark_borderIron Gate
Detail of an old iron gate behind the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.
bookmark_borderUnicorn Shadow
Again with the slanting afternoon light (my favorite kind!).