Rose Cluster.....

This afternoon, I took a chance that my lens would not fog up, as I stepped into our back yard where the humidity and the heat had pushed the thermometer up to almost 40C. The air conditioning has been running nonstop for days, but we are supposed to be having a much welcomed cool down starting tomorrow. It is impossible to get anything done outside when it is like that. There are those who like to flirt with medical issues by exerting themselves outside in this heat, and I wish them well. Anyway, with my 80 ~ 200 mm lens on my camera, I shot this little image wide open at f2.8, and had the Watercolour Mode selected so as to make a little image that somewhat resembled a watercolour painting. It does not do too bad of a job, for what it is, and it is fun to have another option available in camera. With a little bit of tweaking in Photoshop CS5 and Corel for the framing set up, this is the outcome. Hope some who might be viewing this will enjoy it a little.....Cheers! 

Gander Bay, Newfoundland

Tonight, I came across this image which I believe had been taken back in 1972. It was shot with my old Minolta SRT101, on Kodachrome64 Slide film...remember that stuff? The camera and photography was brand new to me. It had been in my possession only about a week, and I had acquired it to just take pictures of our kids, who were really small then. To say I had no clue what I was doing would be an understatement. All I was told was that you had to turn a ring on the lens to centre the "lollypop" needle over the other needle in the viewfinder, and there you go, you had a "proper" exposure. Wow! Those were the days! If I had any idea where this photography idea would take me, I might have thrown the whole lot in the nearest garbage can, and saved myself thousands and thousands of dollars over the years. Anyway, I digress. Even though I had no clue that there was such a thing as composition, and leading lines, and rule of thirds, etc.., while we were driving by in the old '66 Chevy, I saw this church with white boats beside it, and slammed on the brakes. When I grabbed the camera, and ran across the highway, my family thought I had gone crazy...they had no idea how accurate that thought was!! Still, to this day, even with the irretrievably blown out highlights in the clouds, and the tops of the overturned freshly painted boats, it is one of my all time favourite images. In recent years, I have seen other photos taken by other professional photographers, and sad to say, the old church was in very bad repair, with the little cross on the steeple falling over at an angle, and the clapboards falling off. It still makes me happy that I was able to capture this image before it had reached such a sad state....and the long profusion of daisies growing all along the old rail fence just sent tingles up my spine...I've always been a sucker for daisies, and buttercups, and lupines. They all scream HOME to me, no matter where I happen upon them. Now, all these years later, it still brings back many fond memories of the "good old days" before the world went bonkers, and folks knew who and what they were, and your "friends" actually shook your hand, and you knew that when the chips were down, they would be there to give you a hand up, not to take advantage of your situation.....remember those quaint old times? Cheers! 
 

Candid Coffee Table Still Life.....

 Last week, I finally received my camera back from repairs at SONY. It appears that through my own absent mindedness, I hooked my camera up to do some tethered shooting, and forgot that the laptop I had plugged into was an XP Operating System, and not my Windows 10 laptop.....Oooops, I totally fried the main circuit board, and it had to be replaced. It was a rather rude realization that I could do such a thing, and also very expensive. Anyway, such is life. So, having received it back, I did not have time to take it out and do some shooting around the river front, or anywhere else. This little image was one of the first shots after the repairs to test that it was indeed working as it should. The Illustration Mode was selected, and the light is provided by a flash bounced backward over my shoulder off of the ceiling. Hope it is enjoyable to someone else out there. Cheers!

Yucca Blossoms.....

 While I was rummaging about in some of my old files tonight, I came across this one, and decided to give it a try as a Black & White rendition. The conversion was done with Photoshop CS5, and the "framing" treatment was done in Corel....they make it so easy. Just a simple little image that I find interesting. Hope some folks enjoy it a little as well....Cheers! 

A Quiet Place

 Sitting and listening to the dribbling water from the fountain, and the birds in the near by Roses of Sharon trees helps me tune out the various noises of the world, political and otherwise. Early morning or late evening, with a favourite beverage in hand is so relaxing. When the pandemic is over, I don't think my present routine will vary too much...Cheers!

P.S. For what it is worth, this image was taken with my SONY a900 and Minolta 85mm f1.4 lens, wide open....focus was on the rose on the right in the vase.

 This lily was rather brilliant in colour, but I thought it might look a tad different as a B & W image. It has a bit of a graphic element to it, as I used the Illustration Mode in my camera when I took the original shot. This B&W rendition really enhances this I think. Hope all is well and safe....Cheers!