Fuji X-T1, XF55-200mm @ 50.5mm, f/11, 1/340 sec, ISO 200
The pink of the Red Bud always attracts me. I used the emerging buds to frame our white garden shed. I used NIK software to add additional blur and defocus the foreground while leaving the shed “as shot”. Typically I focus on the details of individual flowers or plants. This and my post from yesterday, I focused on using spring color as a foreground or background to frame and bring focus to another object.
Fuji X-T1, XF55-200mm @ 55mm, f/5.0, 1/400 sec, ISO 200
This post will start a series on Spring as it comes into our garden. This image is a composite of two images. The first is a straight image of the garden bench against a red Weigela. I then overlaid a C-blur of the Weigela on top and adjusted the opacity to my taste. I can never pass by an opportunity to capture red!
Spring has come slow to SE Pennsylvania this year. The plants and trees are now rushing into bloom before we can catch up cleaning the yard. Each new day is a gift that we very much appreciate. So here’s to 27 April 2014 … it is a beautiful day!
Fuji X-T1, XF55-200mm @ 58mm, f/5.0, 1/55 sec, ISO 400 (hand-held)
As new growth emerges from the ground, the flora from the previous year stand above protecting it. It is a natural progression. But now is the time when all “good gardeners” remove the old in preparation for the new. My preference is to let the old and new coexist in a natural environment. But in our garden, I don’t vote. I just need to spend more time in the natural areas close to home.
This spent cone flower caught my eye. I minimized the DOF to keep the focus on the flower head and blur out the ground. I converted to B&W to further keep the interest on the spent flower.
Fuji X-T1, 60mm Macro
One day makes a huge difference as nature moves forward. Two days ago, the crocus blooms were all closed. Yesterday it was 60 degrees and they just burst open in full glory. I enjoy watching as Spring evolves in our garden. I just received my 60mm Macro lens for the Fuji X-T1, so I thought I would give it a try. I definitely could use a tripod …
This image is processed in Topaz Simplify using a impressionistic painting style. This type of processing hides my lack of sharp detail.
Fuji X-T1, 55-200mm
No, it is not April Fool’s, we really do have bulbs sprouting up.
These little white crocuses are our first bloom of the Spring. The blooms remained wrapped up. It seems to be too cold for them to open up to the sky. Maybe tomorrow. The shadow cast by the bare flowering pear tree gave the image a little balance to fill the void of the brown winter grass.
Fuji X-T1, 55-200mm
Spring has been long in coming. It has been a long, hard, cold winter with record setting snow fall. Since the “official” spring started one and one-half weeks ago, it has been cold and wet with even a little snow flurry. But finally I see emerging spring bulbs coming up. Maybe Spring is really here! This morning I thought I would give my new travel camera its first try. I purchased my new FUJI X-T1 on the recommendation of two of my mentors/instructors, John Barclay and Tony Sweet. They have both fallen in love with the new FUJI X-series cameras. It will take me a while to get familiar with its strengths and weaknesses. It is sure a lot smaller and lighter than my Canon SLR’s. Hopefully the weather will get a little warmer for more pleasant shooting.
Canon 5D Mark III, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 70mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec, ISO 400
In our back yard field of white, the red of the coral bark maple stands against the bleakness of a cloudy winter day. I walked around the tree multiple times trying to get the right balance for the image. I found this foreground “Y” (or “V”) framing two other “Ys” I added a touch of graduated fog in NIK Color EFEX Pro to focus on the foreground “Y”.
Canon 5D MarkIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 70mm, f/8.0, 1/640 sec, ISO 400
Exploring our back yard, I saw what looked like a pair of large dark spectacles sticking out of the bright snow. As I got closer they looked back directly up at me. Shapes have always intrigued me. When I was just a kid, I use to just lay on my back and look up at the clouds for hours imagining the different animals as they moved across the sky. Today, I can easily become fixated on an object’s shape and imagine what it could be if it had a choice.
Canon 5D MarkIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 58mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec, ISO 400
Karen use to sit on this old stump when she worked out back in our garden. Over the years the termites have taken over. It is now just a garden feature out back, a little piece of nature along a fence. It does make an interesting subject covered in snow.
Canon 5D MarkIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 70mm, f/11, 1/500 sec, ISO 400
The pods of these spent Tiger Lilies looked like mouths opening up to feed. They look like they are struggling for survival to keep their heads above the snow. They are quite different than their summer budding. The image below was taken from about the same spot last summer.
