“Lichen”
Heatherwood Winter
From the spot I took the image for my last post, I looked up the hillside and saw some interesting lichen on a boulder. It was another opportunity to let my imagination flow with my camera!
“Japanese Maple Leaf on Phlox”
Heatherwood Winter
I enjoy the little things in the garden. A couple of days ago, I took a short stroll with my macro lens just looking for little things of contrast and interest. I looked down and noticed a single Japanese maple leaf from last year lying across the new growth of the a mound of phlox ground cover. The tips of the maple leaf accentuated the tips of the old and new growth of the phlox.
“Tri-color Sedum Abstract”
Heatherwood
Sometimes I see something that attracts my interest. What is it that attracts me? Is it the color, texture, shape or something else? Or is it something completely different that I imagine from a different perspective formed from my mind?
“Birches and Fence”
Heatherwood Winter
Our garden birches hide our neighbors white fence during most of the year. From December through March, the white ranch-style fence peeks through the branches of the trees. I stand just enjoying the form of the white winter birches, then squint my eyes. A different abstract perspective appears. The background horizontal lines of the fence appear. The natural, slightly curving vertical lines of the birch trees contrast with the hard straight lines of the fence. I contemplate …
“Spent Hosta Leaves”
Heatherwood Winter
As I write this post, Russia is invading Ukraine. The world is a crazy place right now. I have the hope that “cool heads” around the world will prevail and that a global crisis will be avoided.
“Ajuga et al”
Heatherwood Winter
Every stroll through our Heatherwood garden presents little “treats” of joy. The above image is from a shady part of our Japanese garden.
Nature’s Cycle
New and old mix together,
From decay, emerges new,
Another season ahead.
“Ornamental Grass Abstract”
Heatherwood Late Fall
How many ways can I look at something? They are infinite. This image is a 9-layer multiple-exposure, vertical pan of a clump of ornamental grasses in our garden. I enjoy looking at the world around us from multiple, sometimes abstract, perspectives. It helps me develop a balanced view of life that I would have never considered if I would have approached it from only one conventional angle. It also helps me come up with some creative images.
Ground Cover Abstract
Heatherwood, Winter
Sometimes it feels good to get away from reality and let the imagination flow. Looking through some macro images I took yesterday I wondered what would happen if I would put a couple of ground cover photos together. I picked a close-up of a clump of blue fescue and a red-colored ice plant. One had a fine texture, one a smooth course texture. One was blue, one was red. I made a multi-image composite in Photoshop and was pleased with the results. I still felt playful and decided to add an impressionistic overlay patterned after Georgia O’Keefe … voila, the above image appeared. Am I creative or crazy? Maybe a little of both?
“As the Hills and Sky Roll By”
The Palouse, South Eastern Washington
In my last posting, I used a long exposure to blur the clouds in the image. In this image I let the camera do the work as I panned the camera along the rolling hills to create the blur. I saw clear contrasts between the light and shadows on the rolling hills and the white clouds and the blue sky above. In addition, I was gifted the contrasting orange-brown color of the hills against the blue color of the sky. Together they all combined for a nice abstract.
I am yearning for the Palouse!
Beauty is everywhere. It surrounds us wherever we turn. It may take the form of an iconic landscape, unique piece of architecture, engaging street scene, or even an out of focus rose.
I enjoy a change of pace from time to time.