They say when cardinals appear a loved one who has passed has come to visit. Cardinals are frequent visitors to our yard so it’s hard to say whether or not they’re family members coming for a visit, or just simply coincidental visitors.
Last Sunday as I was in the kitchen meal prepping for the week out of the corner of my eye, I could see this little fellow hanging out on a bare tree limb. He was a perfectly bright red color with a beautiful black mask surrounding his beak. I desperately wanted to snap a few pictures of him, but I knew he would fly away before I could get the camera ready. To my surprise he just kept sitting there, looking around from side to side, puffing up his chest with no sign of budging.
Finally, I pulled out my camera, attached the 200m to 400m lens (the big lens as Michael calls it), raised the blinds and……..ugh! The windows have screens on them! Obviously, auto focus wouldn’t work, so I switched to manual focus. That was a little better, but not perfect. Trying to hold the camera (the big lens is heavy) and adjust the manual focus made it difficult to get a sharp image. Oh well, he was such a pretty bird I decided to make the best of it and kept on shooting.
This guy stayed on the limb for at least 10 – 15 minutes. Was it a family member? Who really knows for sure, but for me personally, just having him hang out for a while brought some comfort and a smile to my face.
We’re beginning to realize that we never know what we’re going to see on our daily walks. Last week, as we were making a turn on the path, I noticed something (I wasn’t quite sure what at first) moving around, slightly peeking in an out of a hollow tree.
As we drew closer to the tree, Michael and I slowed down so as not to startle the critter and to get a better look at just what it was. If you guessed a squirrel, you would be correct. This little fella wasn’t the least bit scared of us, so I was able to snap off a few shots of him (or her), slowly coming out of its hiding place.
I was able to get one last shot of this cutie coming out of the tree, stopping for a brief second, before he decided to scamper off.
About the images. I used my Samsung Galaxy 20 Note and only did a little editing in Photoshop. A quick haze removal, slight saturation adjustment and some cropping is all these photos needed. I was surprised that I didn’t need to add any sharpness (except for the feature photo) after cropping.
Our walks are fun and as I mentioned earlier, we never know what we’ll see/discover.
Michael and I have found a great walking path near our new home. It’s on a golf cart path that meanders through the natural habitat of Flat Creek, several neighborhoods and a golf course. About halfway through our 8 – 10-mile walk is the cutest gnome village that someone strategically (and very creatively) placed around the base of a tree. It sits just off a golf cart path between the 10th and 11th holes, so you can’t help but to stop and look, whether you’re walking or playing golf!
I’m not one to carry my camera with me on our daily walks, so I pulled out my Samsung Galaxy 20 to capture the focal point of the make-believe village. It was an overcast day, so I brought it into Canon Digital Professional to pump up the lighting and saturation a little. I then brought it into Photoshop for cropping and blurring the background.
What really drew me to this village was the detail the creator went to, in making this door and having it perfectly fit within the trunk of the tree! Notice how they also placed the gnome (one can only assume the lead gnome😉), tiny mushrooms, a snail and a mailbox. Again, the creator went to great lengths with their imagination!
I’ve recently taken more photos of the rest of this little village, so stay tuned for Part II of “Mystical Gnome Village” 😉
Ritva leads this week and boy does she have us stepping out of our comfort zone, but in a fun way. In her challenge she has us exploring abstract photography and in her words “breaking the rules of realism.”
“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun!”
_Katherine Hepburn
There’re quite a few ways to create abstract photography whether “in camera” or through the editing process. I thought I would share with you some images I took “in camera.”
In this first image I had read about a technique placing a baggie (or plastic wrap) over the lens to give a soft, moody kind of feel. To experiment with this technique, I shot a matted 5 x 6 photo. When I added the baggie over the lens and reshot the photo it produced an even more “antique-ish” kind of feel. It’s almost like the photo was so old that it was beginning to fade away.
With the images below I used the “multiple exposure” setting in my Canon EOS 6D. It’s a VERY cool setting that allows you to take up to 9 different images and the camera will merge them together. I’ve only tried it with two (2) images so far.
Fire in Glass VaseYellow Daisy Floating in Bird BathChardonnay in Glass Vase
Another fun “in the camera” technique is “zooming.” A tripod or really steady hand is very helpful with this technique because as you’re using a slow shutter speed (i.e 1/5 th – 1/8th ) and as you’re taking the picture, you’re rapidly turning the lens to achieve the effect you want. Of course, you can also achieve this in Photoshop, but it’s pretty fun to challenge yourself with the camera.
Loquat BloomHavanna Cuba Acrylic PaintingBird Seed
The possibilities are limitless in creating abstract photography. It just depends on the story you’re trying to tell through your image as to what abstract technique you want to use.
Thank you Ritva for this fun and creative challenge. If you’re joining in on this challenge, be sure to link to Riva’s post in the “comments” section and also use the Lens-Artist tag.
Next week Egídio is hosting. He has some amazing photography so be sure to subscribe to his blog Through Brazilian Eyes.
Donna, from Windkiss has brought us back down to earth (so to speak) with a challenge that gives a nod to Earth Day and all things “rocks.” You can read her full challenge here.
So, let’s get started. No matter where you turn rocks play an important role on this planet.
They lead us through tunnels to find the light at the end.
Located in Galax, VA is the New River Trail which is a 57-mile linear park that follows an abandoned railroad tracks (part of the “rails to trails” system). The park parallels the scenic and historic New River for 39 miles and passes through four counties and the city of Galax. The photo below is one of two tunnels located on the trail.
New River Tunnel – Galax, VA
They can be a fortress offering protection from society.
This is as close as I have ever come to Alcatraz. Having seen movies and documentaries about “The Rock” it looks like a great place for photo ops. Perhaps one day I’ll make it back out there.
Alcatraz Prison – San Fransico, CA
They can be great tourist attractions.
If you look just beyond the tallest skyscraper, you’ll see a HUGE mountain (also called “The Rock”). It’s actually granite and is documented to have been formed 300 million (yes million) years ago. Stone Mountain, as it (and the surrounding town) is named, is located just east of Atlanta. You can climb to the top of the, take a train ride around the base of it and so much more. Interestingly, I took this photo when we lived in a condo where we had panoramic views of Atlanta.
Stone Mountain, Georgia at Sunset
They provide firm foundations for those wonderful lighthouses providing a watch-light for boaters on dark and stormy nights.
Pigeon Point Lighthouse is located in Pescadero, CA. I’ve shared before that many years ago Michael and I drove the Pacific Coast Highway from San Diego to San Francisco (Christmas Day – New Year’s Day). We had no map, no plans and no place to be. Literally, we made no hotel reservations. I share a little bit about that trip in an earlier post Lens-Artist Challenge #215 . A fun adventure indeed, with some good and not so good hotel choices.
Pigeon Point Lighthouse – Pescadero, CA
They offer a resting place for mother nature.
Downtown Greenville, SC has gone through a revitalization over the years and one of the many great qualities is how they have incorporated Reedy Creek into the landscape, meandering along the sidewalks and spectacular walking trails.
Reedy Creek – Greenville, SC
They can cause the rise and fall of tides here on earth.
Ok, so while not of planet earth, per se, we can’t forget about that big rock up in the sky that affects our lives in so many ways down here! I guess you could say it’s the “ying” to earth’s “yang.”😉
Thank you, Donna, for making us stop and appreciate our planet earth! It was a fun to stop and think about all this big round ball has to offer to us.
For those of you who are interested in knowing more about the Lens-Artists challenge click here. Next week it’s Ritva’s turn to lead us through another fun filled challenge. Be sure to see what she has in store for us at noon EST this Saturday.
Donna Robinson Photography 