Moment in time

 

 

Moment in Time

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  1/320s at f/4, ISO200.

 

The Blueness Within

When the blossom first opens, the stamen are cyan/purple.  The flower is emotive, exhibiting an almost painful shyness as it exposes itself to the world.  Flowers are purely sexual creatures but they must remain stationary and they depend entirely upon other creatures to procreate.  I think deep down inside living creatures is a basic comprehension of sexuality upon which the flower depends.  A flower must be appealing in the most sensual way.

 

Blueness Within #1

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  5s at f/16, ISO125, Landscape Mode.  Photographed with a white reflector just after sunset.  Changed white balance to Tungsten and then adjusted to maintain the red channel.  This allowed the purple cyan to stand out and I was able to lighten them through both light level adjustment and vibrance adjustments.  The velvety sheen is just apparent on some of the petals.  Make no mistake, the amaryllis is my favorite flower.

 

Waiting for the blossom

I know what you will look like but you still keep your secret.  You intrigue me and ask me to look at you differently.

 

Shadow of Doubt

Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8.  2s at f/16, ISO160, Landscape Mode.  I used the 50 because I wanted to take some shots at f/2.  But I love the lens and it is strong throughout its range.  I attached a Leica Elpro closeup filter, a substantial piece of glass in itself.  In Lightroom, I did a little cropping, adjusted the white balance.  I increased contrast and clarity.  I increased vibrance.  I adjusted the light levels slightly but the Nikkor is excellent at capturing light.  I wanted the bud that was about to blossom to run off into the darkness.

I am a little sad these days and I think my next few photographs will express that.  I am unable to get to people’s journals and I regret that very much.

 

Black Pearl

The black pearl amaryllis is beginning to bloom.  Its petals have gradually deepened in color and I imagine the darkening will continue.  This shot is taken with the narrower side of the bud showing.   The bud itself seems larger than other amaryllis.  More of this over the next few days.  I think it will open tomorrow or Thursday.

 

Black Pearl Amaryllis Bud

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  4s at f/16, ISO160, Landscape Mode.  In Lightroom, adjusted white balance.  Increased contrast and clarity.  Increased light, especially the greens.  Adjusted colors to bring out the velvety bud.  Used mask sharpening.

 

 

Puppy Portrait

This wasn’t an easy shot to get.  Most of the photos are blurs.  Teddy (I think, my daughter has naming rights) and my other dog Walter are getting along wonderfully and they spend a lot of time playing.

A New Puppy

I had  forgotten the pleasant sounds of children and puppies…

 

Instant Affection

 

 

Dance of the Sufi

I was sitting on a bench looking at this little flower,  I’ve forgotten what it is called, and it seemed alive in a most joyous way.  I had the impression that it was dancing on a bright, sunny, beautiful day.  The weather right now is the payoff for the sweltering heat of July and August.

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  1/125s at f/4, ISO200, Landscape Mode.  In Lightroom, adjusted White balance and light levels.  Decreased clarity and increased light tones to create a soft feel.  I used split toning to introduced blue-red to the light areas and sepia to the dark tones.

Clive

This is Clive.  He has hung around a lot lately and like any guest to my house, eventually he had to pose for photos.  He likes to perch on an old green and white umbrella.  This shot gives a pretty good idea about how narrow depth of field is with macro photography.

 

Clive the Grasshopper

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  1/160s at f/8, ISO160.  In Lightroom, cropped, adjust light levels, brought up the light on his eyes, increased contrast and decreased clarity, sharpened.

 

 

Pumpkin Carving

No reason for this photo, just a snapshot.  After a few minutes of pumpkin stabbing carving, the job was left to me.

 

Stabbing Away

Nikon D90 with Sigma 24-70.  1/100s at f/5.6, ISO200.

 

 

 

Mixed emotions

When I look at some of the grain-added photos on the big monitor, I am disappointed.  I have always worked so hard to remove noise and it seems I am simply adding it back.  With this photo, I decided to add the grain in an effort to give it a dreamier feel in the petals.

 

Inside White Cyclamen

Nikon D90 with Tamron 90.  2s at f/16, ISO160.  In Lightroom, desaturated, boosted light levels, removed clarity and increased contrast.  Added grain but made it finer.  Used split toning to introduce some sepia into the darker regions.