Canon 5D MkIII, EF70-200mm f2.8L IS @ 200mm, f/8, 1/320 sec, ISO 800
As I look out the window to a a cold snow covered landscape, I recall the warm South Carolina beach were we spent late February/ early March last year. My mind went out to the warm walks on the beautiful Hilton Head beach in front of the Surf Watch resort where we were staying. We hope to be able to return there this year.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 116mm, f/8.0, 1/220 sec, ISO 1600
Walking around a small pond, I saw this lone iris bloom searching for attention. My camera was ready so I tried to give it a try. A little Topaz Impression added to the image adds a little pizzaz.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 135mm, f/5.6, 1/20 sec, ISO 400
Today’s message is very simple: “If it is RED … Shoot!” So I did.
Lesson Learned: The image is not as sharp as I want it to be due to the low shutter speed. I had a lot of room to increase the ISO sensitivity. I just was not paying attention. When I am walking around doing “hand-held” shooting, I fall back to shooting “snap-shots” instead of taking my time to optimize the image. Take my time!!!!
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 41mm, f/6.4, 1/800 sec, ISO 1600
Henry P. Leu Gardens are covered with huge ancient southern wild oaks with Spanish moss hanging loosely from their branches. It was like I imagined an old Southern Garden to be like. High in the trees the moss looked like fluffy cotton balls. Up close the moss is very structured. I took the opportunity to add a little impressionistic water color feeling to the image using Topaz Impression.
Below is a close-up of the Spanish Moss. It looks like it would be rough to the feel, but it is actually very soft. I guess that it was used as bedding in the past.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 56mm, f/22, 6 secs, ISO 250
I rounded a corner and saw a massive wall of bamboo. It was just waiting there for someone to take a vertical pan. So I did…
Most of the time I use pans and moving multiple exposures to get my creative juices flowing. They break up moments where I become transfixed just searching for an image to capture rather than waiting for an image to come to me. This time the pan just appeared. I did not even take a normal image.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 110mm, f/8.0, 1/120 sec, ISO 400
Walking through parts of Henry P. Leu Gardens in Orlando was almost like walking through a tropical rain forest. Light filtering through the various palms provide multiple opportunities to capture interesting backlight images. Huge palm leaves were like huge fans waving in the gentle afternoon breeze. I love wandering along garden paths looking up, down, and everywhere. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.
Pin Oaks in Our Back 40
I am always wondering why one thing is different than another. Here are two twin oaks in our back yard planted twenty feet apart. One loses its leaves early, one hangs on to its leaves until new leaves start to emerge. Why … who knows, but I still wonder.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 52mm, f/11, 1/300 sec, ISO 1600
Walking around our back yard, I always look for different perspectives. The weight of the snow on the foreground pine opened up a frame for the background leyland cyprus. We planted these two trees when we first moved into the area to break up the open pasture of our back yard. Fifteen years later they have changed the feeling of our back yard.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 83mm, f/11, 1/170 sec, ISO 1600
The red twig dogwood adds a little color to the cold winter scene in our backyard perennial garden. Of course, when I see red, I shoot. During our walks in our backyard, Karen and I usually stop here and spend a quiet moment or two. The bench is tucked in between shrubs and trees. It is a nice private place in the middle of our wide open area. Each spring I prune the dogwoods down to about 12 inches above the ground. New shoots pop up to create a 5-6 foot bush each year. Along with our winterberries, the dogwood provides a bright red contrast to the winter landscape.
Fuji X-T1, XF18-135mm @ 31mm, f/11, 1/180 sec, ISO 1600
These chairs, which are our Spring, Summer, and Fall hangout in the early mornings and late afternoons, did not look too inviting on this day. Many hours during the year are spent here relaxing and enjoying our backyard pond and stream. I am afraid it will be a while before we will be enjoying them again.
This photo looks like a B&W image, but is not. The winter haze along with the snow and weathered wood of the chairs create the monotone. If you look hard you can see a little color in the trees in the background.