Soak Up The Sunset ~Floral Friday

"Awash in Sunset Light"

A quick little post just to say thank you to my readers. It's easy to think I'm just putting random thoughts and ramblings out there into the atmosphere and there might be a slight chance some one's listening. But my stats tools tell me there's so many of you tuning in every week, and I didn't want to go another day without saying how much I appreciate all of you. Thank you for journeying along with me. From the bottom of my heart.

I'm currently working on a survey which will be posted here and on Facebook... I'd love to know what you'd like to see or read more of quite frankly. Where you all are in your pursuit of photography. What topics are important to you. All of that good stuff.

So be on the lookout for it in the next week!

In the meantime, I'm starting off an iffy weather weekend here in The Hammer with this image I took down at Bayfront Park where the tulips are growing strong, tossed with daffodils, and where they seem to be set on fire in the sunset light. This universal approach to great light simply can't be beat. Have you tried it yet? Let's get out there then!

Have a super weekend gang! And thanks for reading along with my rambles...

Tulips to the Power of 10 ~ Floral Friday!

"Tulip Celebration"

(1/30 sec.@ F/11, 200mm fl, ISO 200, tripod, shade, 55-200mm tele zoom)

Tulips. Today's image is from my visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens for the annual Tulip Festival. And boy, the colors are fantastic. This week coming will be the week to visit, as they're just starting to open now. In fact, this past week, many of the shade varieties weren't even ready to pop. So this next week will be ideal.

The colors. Ever just take a photo because the scene seems to drip with color, and therefore almost becomes it's own subject. I spotted these variegated tulips across a small pond under the shade of a large pine tree. The bright sun was making it difficult to get many of the patches of flowers that weren't tucked away in some shade, so when I spotted these I pounced. And their sunny color really is the subject of this shot, along with the repetitive shapes, and contrasting reds and greens throughout.

Kept my telephoto on so as to get in tight and eliminate the surrounding trees on either side, and to compress the distance giving the effect of a sea of tulips. Filled the frame almost completely for impact. In fact the first few shots I took of these were taken vertically... then I realized they also worked on a horizontal crop. It has less space, filling more of the image. I could have cropped or composed so that I excluded the entire top of green in the background... but I liked how it echoes the greens in the immediate foreground so I left it.

With tulips, color is key. Hope you're out there injecting some bold color into your images once in a while. Something that makes you say "wow!"

In the meantime, thanks for the ramble, and for waiting for Blogger to come back online. Have a great weekend folks! Cheers!

Seas of Tulips! ~ Telephoto Tuesday!

"Kissed By the Sun"

It's that time of year! That time of year when I pack my kit bag and spend an entire day photographing tulips! Ah. Just thinking about it makes me so happy I could do back flips. But I won't, I'll save us all the embarrassment and the ride in the special truck with big flashing lights on it. Ahem.

That's right, it's time for the Royal Botanical Garden's Tulip Festival! Within the next two weeks, the rock gardens at the RBG will be filled with an amazing display of color and exotic species of tulip from around the world. And about the same time, give or take a week, the flowering trees will put on an equally brilliant display from the gardens to the magical arboretum. And then it's full tilt from there, I'll return to the RBG with my camera for the entire rest of the year, for the peonies, the iris festival, the roses, and the fall color. But the Tulip Celebration starts it all off. I really will be in my glory. I step into that glorious garden of color and announce "The Nikonator returns!"

Rain or shine I go... in the rain you get your shallowest lenses out and photograph those classic rain drop shots, and the colors are saturated nicely. Sunshine is fine too, the rock gardens have wandering paths totally shaded over and hidden from the harsh light... if you have never been, and you live in Ontario, you really need to visit the RBG, you'll be hooked.

Check out the link, they even have a special Mother's Day event in the

Rock Gardens!

Thanks for the community billboard type ramble today folks, and have a good one! Let's get out there and greet Spring!

Soothing ~ Telephoto Tuesday

"Complimentary Color Display"

Today completely got away from me I confess. As I type it's 10pm and I know I need to go edit tomorrows post too. Where did the hours go today? Between doing some photo file work, tracking down a missing bank statement (ugh) and trying not to kill myself playing Wii baseball I'd lost track of my day. Wonder why?

I'm not posting the image above because it's anything very special or shows any digital camera brilliance on my part. Far from it to be honest. But I'm okay with that. I also need to just be me. I don't always need to be in top form here on the blog do I? The wonderful readers I've managed to entertain a little (and I know who you are *wink wink*) have made it clear that I'm doing okay just being myself most days. So here I am. I'm posting it because the colors soothe me right now. It looks delicate and fresh. The opposite of how I feel currently. And it was taken during a relaxing morning too now that I think about it.

Simple images sometimes ease the restless soul, and help the stress disappear, if only for a moment or two. Actually, the colors above may cause you to have a different reaction to the image. Was reading yesterday in Freeman Patterson's "The Art of Seeing" that "responses to color are often very personal." It can be the pure motivation for even taking a photograph, or why someone will stop to even look at it on display later.

Going through my files, this one called to me. And personally, I feel better having posted it. Hope you too are out there letting emotion and experiences motivate your photo taking... and viewing.

Thanks folks, see ya again in a few hours for Wednesday's post.. wink, wink.

Fill the Frame ~ Telephoto Tuesday!

"SEA OF COLOR"

(1/80 sec.@ F/9, ISO 100, 62mm fl, 55-200mm telezoom, overcast diffused light)

Telephoto's are my favorite way to fill a frame with a subject. Naturally most people think telephoto and they automatically think distance photography. And obviously that's the main use. But my favorite subjects also look good through a telephoto, for a different reason.

As a tele lens brings everything closer, it compresses the percieved distance. This means I can not only get a closer view of the tulips at the Spring Bulb Show in Hamilton, but the lens allows me to get a very tight composition. Filling the frame with loads of color and giving wonderful depth of field even at an aperture of F/9. It ensures the main subject(s) still retains a ton of detail too. Makes for a very dramatic image. Puts the viewer right in the middle of the patch of tulips, as opposed to a more wide angle view, which would look more like the viewer standing before a patch of tulips, but certainly not in the midst. I actually wasn't too far away, and so the flowers look like they surround the lens, again thanks to the compression of the telephoto zoom I used.

It's one of my favorite tools to photograph flowers with. Have you tried it?

Thanks for letting me ramble on folks! And have a good one eh!

Today's Tulips ~ Floral Friday!

" A Time For Tulips"

(2.5 sec @ F/9, ISO 100, 50mm fl, 50mm f/1.4 prime lens, Nikon Speedlight Sb-600, Gary Fong Light Sphere)

Happy Friday everyone! My post today is short and sweet. I'm just itching for the weekend!

I've been playing with my flash more this week, and I have to say that when I pair it with my 50mm prime and Fong's flash diffuser, you get some wonderful results. Light is dispersed nicely through the light sphere, and the 50mm lens makes me more conscious of my framing and my DOF. Here's two very different results.

There has been some slight editing to both images. In the above, I applied some of PSPx3's clarify filter, and desaturated the color a tad which emphasized the textures from the clarify application. In the image below, I only had a bit of return strobe happening as the shutter released and relied more on the available light coming in from the right side. Later in editing, I selected the warm light tones and heightened them a bit in a new layer before saving. I like them both, but I believe my favorite is the later...which one is yours?

Have a fabulous weekend folks, and thanks for letting me ramble on!

"Tulip's Last Light"
(1/2sec @ F/9, ISO 100, 50mm fl, 50mm f/1.4 prime lens, Nikon Speedlight SB-600, Gary Fong Light Sphere, diffused side light, tripod, remote shutter)

Dancing Tulips ~ Experimental Thursdays!

"Beauty When They Sway"

(5.sec @ F/8, ISO 100, zoom back to 110mm fl, 55-200mm zoom lens, spot metering)

Our image today is a result of a floral shoot I did over the weekend. I was feeling poetic, creative, artistic. And bored. Yup, you heard me. Things felt stale, photographically speaking. If novelists get writer's block, I guess photographers get ... camera block?

Meeting deadlines, having routines, and setting personal goals can be great, till they begin to stifle your passion and your delight with what you love doing. Creative types especially fall prey to this. If we're not careful, the practical takes over and we lose inspiration to keep exploring. Especially if what we love pursuing is also our full time vocation.

Was making great progress on learning some new lighting, which angles and POV's worked best, and looked beautiful with the tulips I'd set up on the seamless. But flicking back through the camera to see the contents I'd created, everything looked elegant but stiff. Dare I say it... boring. Ugh. Not one spontaneous image amongst them. I was so used to being in work mode that my playful side had disappeared.

So, I placed the tripod close, dimmed the lighting a little and using a long exposure and anchored camera, I began zooming in and out of the frame with my telephoto zoom. When you do this as the camera is still taking the shot, you get a blur effect. Results are fairly spontaneous, you'll always find a rather abstract yet delightful surprise lurking in your collection of shots. And it was fun. I personally love abstract art, especially work based on nature itself. I chose this one to show, because the initial subjects are still fairly sharp considering what I was doing with the lens, and a very subtle wash of color fills the background. Later I applied a bit of a displacement layer in PSPx3 to create an artistic 3D shaping to the front subjects. It adds a soft definition. What do you think? All I know is that I spent just as much time playing with my camera as I had being serious, and the change felt good.

Don't forget your initial passion for what you love. When it shines, you feel motivated and rejuvenated. Throw your reserve out the window and play. Your photography will thank you for it.

Thanks for letting me ramble, have a good day exploring what you love!

Remember Spring? ~ Floral Friday

"Dainty Lady Tulip"

Well, I have had quite a week. Tooth aches, migraines, and the Internet disappearing all made it possible for me be thrilled that the weekend is here once again. I'm sure everyone has weeks like this. Your car got a flat, the dog left gooey gifts in your best pair of shoes, and you swear the color in the box was supposed to be warm brunette, not neon plum. If you had the same type of week, here's a single posie for you. You're welcome :-)

The pinks and greens in this solitary tulip make me think of spring. And it is around the bend, trust me and hang in there. Despite shovelling for the twentieth time this month, despite how you tear up when you see commercials for cruises to tropical islands, and despite the fact your kids have misplaced another glove, making a grand total of eight mismatched pairs, there are still better days coming.

I know this to be true cause the tulips are being forced in greenhouses around the world, and being shipped to florists and grocery stores near you. Who needs to leave the comforts of home to photograph nature, especially after such a crazy week? Not me. So we jog up to the store up at the top of the street and buy flowers. Not only does it perk up the whole house, but they make great subjects that don't talk back or need to fix their hair ONE MORE TIME before you press the shutter! Dark fabric or black seamless makes a perfect backdrop, and get your f1.4 prime lens out if you have one. And regardless of lenses, get close and expose for the bloom only. A tiny white piece of card reflects just enough light up into the flower, and done!

So, here's a single bloom for all of you saying good riddance to the last week and welcoming a fresh week untouched by daily chaos so far. Also, this tulip is for all those struggling from the recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand to put their lives back together. There is still beauty to be found in the winters of our lives. Such a devastating event puts my week back into perspective, and makes me appreciate all the blessings I have. My prayers go out to them.

Thanks for letting me ramble on, have a good one folks!

The Freeman Effect

"Dreamy Tulip Lights"

My post this week pays homage to a phenominal Canadian Photograher who's work I've found very inspiring and uplifting. Not only does he take some of the most fantastical nature images I've ever seen, but is also very serious about gardening and conservation. So needless to say, I'm a fan. And I'm refering to the one and only Freeman Patterson.

Was reading his book "The Garden" today and he was speaking about how when we submerge ourselves in something we're passionate about (ie gardening, photography) a part of us utilizes the best part of our imaginations... whether we realize it or not. All the things we dream about and imagine on a constant basis. And as a result, the effects of it can be found in the very things we pursue so passionately. It's the underlying current, behind how you compose and take a photograph, or how Mr. Patterson gardens.

This has really resonated with me. As a photographer who loves God's creation and is constantly amazed by it, I tend to see scenes and subjects through my lens that are somehow emphasized by my imagination at times. But I've been reluctant to showcase them for some reason. Because they're rule breaking? Technically flawed? Either way, with this revelation in mind, I've included the above image. I took this just this past spring at the Royal Botanical Gardens here in Southern Ontario... it was their annual Tulip Celebration. The practical side of me tried desperately to expose all morning long for the difficult harsh light that day... and was failing desperately. At one point though, I realised I should pop my portrait lens on the ol Nikon and let it naturally blow everything out with it's super wide depth of field abilities giving everything a less chiseled, more dreamy effect.... and voila. I stopped documenting everything, and started "capturing" the effects of all the sweet glowing light waiting to be seen. It brings to my mind what the gardens in heaven might look like, or a lover's bouquet waiting to be picked. I call it the "Freeman Effect".

Two quotes from Freeman gave me pause, made me reflect on what kind of a "box" I've put my photography in... perhaps they'll make you look differently at your photography too. The first one was, " ...I'm reminded that it's not really the eye that does the seeing, it's the soul". And the other refered to when a compelling image grabs your attention..."it's when the mood is the real subject".

Hope that gives you something to chew on today, and please, be sure to check out the incredible Freeman Patterson at http://www.freemanpatterson.com/

Thanks for letting me ramble on for a bit, and have yourself a good one!