Lens-Artist #210 – Picking Favorites

Sarah from “Travel with Me” guest hosts the challenge this week.

I have to admit when I quickly read the title, I thought I was picking my favorite photos I had ever taken. But, “no” Sarah writes “I want to ask you all to join me in sharing three of what you consider to be among your very best shots.”

Timing for this challenge is ironic because just the other day one of my sisters-in-law asked me what my favorite photo was. As I thought about it, I explained, “Trying to pick my favorite photo is like trying to pick my favorite child. I can’t choose one over the other. They’re all so special.”

Goodness! This was a little difficult. But here it goes!

“Photography, is a way of feeling, of touching of loving. What you have captured on film is captured forever. It remembers little things long after you have forgotten everything.”

~Aaron Siskind

7 Mile Bridge – Key West, FL

Why this is my favorite? I love the black and white and how it captures the age of the bridge, it’s textures and the depth of field.

Why is this one of my best? It was shot in 35mm (color) film; limiting me to the number of shots I could take with the roll of film. If I’m really honest with myself on this one, I think I may have set the camera on “Depth of Field” setting. It was really early in my photography journey, and I had no clue about manual settings. Ironically, this is one of my best-selling digital pieces.

“The whole point about taking pictures is so that you don’t have to explain things with words.”

~Elliott Erwitt

Red Tail Hawk

Why is this my favorite? If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I love the wildlife in my backyard. I love the challenge of trying to photograph each and every detail. I must have snapped about a dozen photos of him before he took off.

Why is this one of my best? Quite honestly, a little bit of everything; the details of the hawk (his feet, his eyes, his coloring); the Bokeh and lighting; the overall composition of the photo. The end result was a little bit of “in the camera” and a little bit of “photoshop.”

“A great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed.”

~Ansel Adams

A Fall Walk in the Park

Why is this my favorite? It’s just a peaceful image and it could have been taken anywhere. I feel like I nailed the essence of early Fall in Atlanta.

Why is this one of my best? There’s a lot going on in this photo, but the elements draw you to water and its path from the front of the image backwards through the middle. The added bonus (to me) is that it almost looks like an oil painting.

It’s probably a good thing that Sarah gave us a limit with the number of photos and requiring us to also choose a different genre for each. I can think of about (at a minimum) 20 – 30 other images to include.

Many thanks to Sarah for this fun challenge! Up next week is my long-time photographer/blogger friend, Anne. Her theme is “What’s Your Groove?” Knowing Anne, this will be quite the challenge!

Until next time,

~donna

P.S. If you would like to participate in our weekly Lens-Artists Challenge, just click this link and join us on Saturdays at noon EST: Lens-Artist Challenge

P.S.S. If you are interested in purchasing unique notecards, photography or digital artwork please visit my Etsy shop by clicking on the link below.

Shop Donna Robinson Photography

30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 30

📸30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 30📸          

Well folks, this concludes my “30 Days of Hummingbirds” photography challenge.  I hope you have enjoyed this journey as much as I have enjoyed the challenge of capturing these beautiful little creatures.

So what did I learn?  Take a look:

  1. It’s ok to push the ISO during the “blue hour” in order to gain light while maintaining a fast shutter speed;
  2. The faster the shutter speed (and higher ISO) the more detail you’ll get;
  3. Patience and quickness go hand in hand when photographing hummingbirds;
  4. A trip to South America to visit the Hummingbird preserves is now on my Photography Bucket List!

There are a lot of great professional hummingbird photographers out there.  If you’re on Instagram below are a couple that I follow:

@thehummingbirdphotographer

@about_the_hummingbirds

Thanks again for following along with me.

~donna

P.S. – If you missed a few be sure to take a wander around my site.

P.S.S.-   If Looking for unique greeting cards and photography gifts? Then pop on over to my Etsy shop by following or copying this link in your browser👉👉 https://www.etsy.com/shop/donnarobinsonphoto

30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 29

📸 “Wind Beneath My Wings”

❓Did you know Hummingbird wings beat about 70 times per second in direct flight and more than 200 times per second while diving.

Field Notes:

Camera: Canon EOS 6D

Lens: Canon EF 100mm – 400mm

Focal Length: 340mm

Shutter Speed 1/500

Aperture: f8

ISO: 1250

Time of Day:  9:08a.m.

~Looking for unique greeting cards and photography gifts? Then pop on over to my Etsy shop by following or copying this link in your browser👉👉 https://www.etsy.com/shop/donnarobinsonphoto

30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 28

📸 “Softly the evening came with the sunset.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

❓Did you know Hummingbirds have been clocked at close to 30 mph indirect flight and more than 45 mph during courtship dives?

Field Notes:

Camera: Canon EOS 6D

Lens: Canon EF 100mm – 400mm

Focal Length: 400mm

Shutter Speed 1/500

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 1250

Time of Day:  6:54p.m.

~Looking for unique greeting cards and photography gifts? Then pop on over to my Etsy shop by following or copying this link in your browser👉👉 https://www.etsy.com/shop/donnarobinsonphoto

30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 27

📸 “Take a Bow”

❓Did you know Hummingbirds are one of the most aggressive bird species and will regularly attack jays, crows, and hawks that infringe on their territory?

Field Notes:

Camera: Canon EOS 6D

Lens: Canon EF 100mm – 400mm

Focal Length: 400mm

Shutter Speed 1/250

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 4000

Time of Day:  7:13p.m.

~Looking for unique greeting cards and photography gifts? Then pop on over to my Etsy shop by following or copying this link in your browser👉👉 https://www.etsy.com/shop/donnarobinsonphoto

30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 26

📸 “Touchdown!”

❓Did you know hummingbirds comprise the biological family Trochilidae? The family Trochilidae was introduced in 1825 by Irish zoologist Nicholas Aylward Vigors with Trochilus as the type genus.

Field Notes:

Camera: Canon EOS 6D

Lens: Canon EF 100mm – 400mm

Focal Length: 400mm

Shutter Speed 1/400

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 4000

Time of Day:  7:10p.m.

~Looking for unique greeting cards and photography gifts? Then pop on over to my Etsy shop by following or copying this link in your browser👉👉 https://www.etsy.com/shop/donnarobinsonphoto

30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 25

📸 “Life is Just a Ferris Wheel – Around and Around We Go! – 30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 25

❓Did you know the average number of eggs laid by female hummingbirds is only two and are similar in size to a jellybean or coffee bean?

Field Notes:

Camera: Canon EOS 6D

Lens: Canon EF 100mm – 400mm

Focal Length: 400mm

Shutter Speed 1/125

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 1250

~Want to catch-up or follow along on my 30 Days of Hummingbirds journey? Be sure to subscribe to my blog by at https://atomic-temporary-82677545.wpcomstaging.com (link in bio)

30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 24

📸 “He huffed! And He Puffed! – 30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 24

Photographer’s Note: I really wish this one was just a little bit crisper because he was so cute sitting on this branch.  Oh well, it does have a little bit of a water color effect…..don’t you think?

❓Did you know a male hummingbird will puff out his chest and throat to show his beautiful feathers and then toss his head from side to side so the feathers will flash in the light to tell the females in his territory that he is ready to breed? 

Field Notes:

Camera: Canon EOS 6D

Lens: Canon EF 100mm – 400mm

Focal Length: 180mm

Shutter Speed 1/160

Aperture: f5.6

ISO: 3200

Time of Day:  96:52p.m.

~Looking for unique greeting cards and photography gifts? Then pop on over to my Etsy shop by following or copying this link in your browser👉👉 https://www.etsy.com/shop/donnarobinsonphoto

30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 23

📸 “Spread Your Wings and Fly O Mighty One” – 30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 23

❓While we’re on the topic of migration, did you know Hummingbird migration is triggered by circadian or daily internal clock and the circannual rhythm or yearly clock. Changes in the weather, temperature, time of season, decline in food supply and shorter days with less sunlight are factors that influence the beginning of fall migration.

Field Notes:
Camera: Canon EOS 6D
Lens: Canon EF 100mm – 400mm
Focal Length: 400mm
Shutter Speed 1/640
Aperture: f5.6
ISO: 4000
Time of Day: 9:41a.m.

~Looking for unique greeting cards and photography gifts? Then pop on over to my Etsy shop by following or copying this link in your browser👉👉 https://www.etsy.com/shop/donnarobinsonphoto

30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 22

📸 “This Looks Like a Soft Place to Land” – 30 Days of Hummingbirds – Day 22

❓Did you know Hummingbirds are the smallest migrating bird. They don’t migrate in flocks like other species, and they typically travel alone for up to 500 miles at a time.

Field Notes:
Camera: Canon EOS 6D
Lens: Canon EF 100mm – 400mm
Focal Length: 400mm
Shutter Speed 1/2000
Aperture: f7.1
ISO: 1250
Time of Day: 10:27a.m.

~Looking for unique greeting cards and photography gifts? Then pop on over to my Etsy shop by following or copying this link in your browser👉👉 https://www.etsy.com/shop/donnarobinsonphoto