21 Dec 18 It being just days before Christmas I thought I'd go with a flower I've shared before, a Christmas Cactus, but this time a soft focus version which I think renders it more romantic. As I've written before my Grandmother loved these plants and grew them in a southern window three blocks from here. Jan has followed suit and has many of them in various colors blooming for a better part of the year, but especially so in the fall. This shot was taken in October of a variety that leans toward a purplish magenta and I really like how it looks. Jan's plants are a bit challenging to shoot where she grows them as they are either cluttered together or up against a wall or window and I don't like carrying them upstairs to shoot as they are somewhat fragile. So I wind up contorting myself to get the blossoms as unencumbered as possible which sometimes works well, as in this shot, and often doesn't. Other than my manipulation this is what the camera recorded. An O'Keeffe Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 640 1/60 sec @ f / 9 with fill flash.
11 Dec 18 As I mentioned on Friday I've begun work on the Christmas shows and over the weekend I completed the first one, called The Dahlia. It features just 12 different dahlia blossoms but is comprised of 70 slides and a 7 minute musical background. Stepped a bit out of my comfort zone this time and went with a more contemporary composer, Leos Janacek (1854 - 1928) who is considered among the most important Czech composers. I've shown the show to a few folks and the image I'm sharing today is from the show and the most liked B&W slide in it. And since it is B&W Tuesday I thought, why . . . . not. So, one show down - the easy one - and two more to go, one specifically covering the trip last year to Europe of maybe 10 minutes duration, and the other a general show comprised of all the images I've shared throughout 2018 which will be the longest of the shows with perhaps an intermission for a soda, popcorn, and a candy bar. Plus some images I didn't share in the mailings. If any of this jabber has given some of you pause to rethink my offer of the Christmas shows gift feel welcome to respond to that 20 August mailing with the offer. Other than conversion to B&W, this is what the camera recorded. Burst of White Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 640; 1/80 sec @ f / 9.
14 Dec 18 A close up for today and one with a little adjustment having been added. This is the leaf of a plant that Jan refers to as the peanut butter plant that grows in our garden. She gives it that moniker from the smell on your hands after rubbing the plant's leaves. It is a rather large plant growing several feet in height. I can't remember ever seeing it blossom but Jan does which she describes as a cluster of brown and yellow small flowers; flower or no, the leaves are rather attractive in themselves. I shot this following a late morning drizzle so the beads of water were still on the leaves as opposed to having run off as they do when the rain is heavy. I was shooting for a combination of leaf shape, in particular the serrated edges, and the droplets of water. It came our rather nicely but I thought a bit of creativity would go well giving it an enhanced 3-D feeling. Other than the creative aspect this is what the camera recorded. Glowing Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 400; 1/60 sec @ f / 8.
