Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 39mm, f/11, 1/210 sec, ISO 1600
When I see bright color (especially red) contrasted in fresh snow I feel like I have received a gift. These winterberries provide a treat all winter to both to my eyes and the local bird population. Several years ago, we transplanted these out to our perennial garden to be our winter highlight. The three flower supports wait all winter long for our mountain sage to emerge in the spring.
Lesson Remembered: “When You See Red … Shoot!”
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 110mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec, ISO 1600
Today’s post includes a few examples of Holiday wreaths that adorn the homes and buildings in Colonial Williamsburg. I just captured a few as my party was walking down the Duke of Glouster Street to our next stop.
A couple of lessons learned here. I shot these images at a high ISO 1600. I was going in and out of shade. Some of the images could have been shot at a much lower ISO for less noise, some couldn’t. Lesson learned: Take my time on each image to get the best shooting parameters … Get out of the mode of shooting a “snap shot”! I did take a little time in processing to POP out the wreath details and colors. It made a difference.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 25mm, f/5.0, 1/220 sec, ISO 1600
On the brighter side of things, Colonial Williamsburg is decorated with elaborate wreaths during the Christmas Holidays. There were many much more elaborate than this simple wreath. The repetition of the wreath on the railing and the door caught my eye in this image.
Fuji X-T1, EF18-135mm @ 135mm, f/5.6, 1/350 sec, ISO 800
I took a little walk in our backyard to capture a little remaining color and try out my new Fuji 18-135mm lens. The Heucheras in our flower beds are still holding on to their last color. So, I looked around to find something interesting to put in front of them. I found this wilted Japanese Maple branch as a candidate. There was quite a little breeze so I needed to use a high ISO to freeze the motion of the branch. I find there is always something interesting if I am patient and let the image appear.
I think I am going to like the 18-135 as my primary “walk around – go light” lens.
Longwood Gardens East Conservatory
Fuji X-T1, XF18-55mm @ 18mm, f/22, 1/5 sec, ISO 400
This is the first scene I saw as I entered the Longwood Conservatory from the East end. I caught this before a zillion people showed up. I saved my first image for the last Longwood Christmas post for this year. Next year will have many additional interesting opportunities. Goodbye Longwood, at least for the time being.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-55mm, @ 55mm, f/8, 1/55 sec, ISO 400
There is always something around every corner or sometimes right in front of you at the Longwood Gardens Conservatory. This decoration was right in front in the East Conservatory as I walked in. It caught my eye as soon as I glanced around the room.
I pulled out the details of the twigs and the feathers with a “recipe” that I have made in NIK Color Efex Pro. The recipe is a combination of Tonal Contrast, Detail Enhancement, and Pro Contrast. I then applied Darken/Lighten Center to provide additional focus on the white decorations. The total processing time was less that 2 minutes.
Fuji X-T1, EF18-55mm @ 55mm, f/11, 1/10 second, ISO 400
I am still in the Christmas mood. This image is just an effort to work with composition. The subject is the center stamens and pistils of the poinsettia flower. The plant leaves framed the subject while the background ornaments added interest without distracting from the stamens and pistils. I cropped the leaves to eliminated any distracting edges. Using the “mirror lock-up” function might have improved the sharpness of the subject. Always learning …
Fuji XT-1, XF18-55mm @ 55mm, f/11, 1/9 sec, ISO 400
With all the people walking around, I switched my focus to close-ups of various things that caught my eye. The only thing that I had to watch out for was other peoples flashes.
Longwood Gardens Conservatory
Fuji XT-1, XF18-55mm @ 34mm, f/22, 1/3 sec, ISO 400
The bright light from the ceiling skylight made capturing this photo taken with a small aperture possible. People were everywhere. Patience paid off again while I waited for the scene to clear. I waited over 10 minutes to catch this break. If I would have had a long exposure there would have been people entering the scene. Lessons learned: do not photograph Longwood on a Friday.
Longwood Gardens Conservatory
Fuji XT-1, XF18-55mm @ 26.5mm, f/11, 1/10 sec, ISO 400
Now that I have finished the Fonthill Tile Tour, I can finally start to get into the Christmas blogging spirit. All the outgoing presents are wrapped and sent out. Some of my Christmas cards are out, others are still in process. I will be very late this year.
A week ago I was able to get out to Longwood Gardens with a good friend for a little Christmas photography excursion. It was a great day, but my creative juices weren’t really flowing. However, I was able to just step back and enjoy. This image took me forever to capture. People were walking in front of the far end of the water fountain. I waited, waited and waited. It seemed like forever, but I finally got a very short window of just a few seconds to snap this image. It was worth the wait.