05 Jul 19 The planned shoot for the 4th didn't come off as I got too tired, had a terrified dog, and a bride not feeling all that well. So while I started out to do the shoot, I gave it up when I found myself rapidly fading waiting for dark. The 4th was more like a war zone around our abode and even the critters were noticing it in different ways. One of the resident song birds - can't definitively identify it - apparently decided it had had enough of the particulate matter falling from the sky onto it and decided it was time for a bath. The point at which the water begins flowing out of the rocks in the waterfall and falling into the pond has a small section of rock where the water is less than an inch deep and many of the birds like to bathe on that spot. As I was filming this one doing the bath routine I caught it in the act of shaking the water off including some of the water droplets being expelled. Zoom in to 75 - 100% and have a close look at the bird in action. Its tail was whipping about as it was gyrating back and forth. It's more of a fun shot than anything else but does give a good idea of how they get the water off their bodies. Back to trip photos on Monday. This is a cropped version of what the camera recorded as the material removed was both unneeded and highly distracting. In the Shower Nikon D500; 18 - 200; Aperture Priority; ISO 320; 1/125 sec @ f / 9.
26 Jul 19 Two Fridays back we took a trip to one of the more interesting nurseries we've ever found which we do a couple three times a year, Far Reaches Botanical Conservancy, otherwise known as Far Reaches Farm, in Port Townsend. The two links tell you all about the place but you don't have to live here to appreciate the work done there to provide access to plants you would otherwise not know about or ever see. We get something rare from them every time we visit and it makes our landscaping somewhat unusual and hopefully interesting. I did some freelance work for the owner a couple years back so I now have access to the farm any time I want to take photos although it is only open on Fridays and Saturdays from April until usually October to the general public. This last trip we got three new specimens and spent a couple hours just wandering around. To and from Port Townsend I was noticing that one of my favorite flowers, the CA Poppy, was in full bloom so I tried my hand at getting a few captures of the flower showing off as best possible. After a few futile efforts I found a location with the poppies really popping with the right lighting to present them at their best. I took one of the captures and made 7 versions of it. For today's macro/close-up I'm sharing a totally straight version as well as one of the creative versions as I think you might find them both appealing. The straight shot is what the camera recorded; the other is obviously manipulated (Topaz Impression 2). Back Lit & A Turner; Nikon D500; 105mm macro; Aperture Priority; ISO 200; 1/640 sec @ f / 9.
Same as above.
