Tag Archives: Flora

Spring: Bench & Weigela

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140427_bench & wegelia by 2013 Karl Graf. 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!

 

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Remains From Prior Year

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140408_Spent Cone Flower by © 2013 Karl Graf. 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.

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One Day Makes A Difference

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140402_Single Crocus by . 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.

 

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First Blooms

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140401_White Crocus's by . 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.

 

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Spring is Coming ???

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140331_Emerging Daffies by . 140331_Emerging Daffies by . 140331_Emerging-Daffies by . 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.

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Tiger Lilies

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140220_Lily in Snow 1 by © 2013 Karl Graf. 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.

140220_Tiger Lilies by © 2013 Karl Graf.

 

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Back to Reality

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140219_Weed in Snow 1 by © 2013 Karl Graf. Canon 5D MkIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 38mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 sec, ISO 400

We had another snow! The temperatures warmed up a little (high 20’s).  With this little incentive, I went exploring in our back yard, walking in snow up to my knees at times.  Everything was beautiful with the fresh coat of white.  What caught my eye the most were the the little spent seed pods that were sticking above the snow.  These were meant for black and white conversion.

I will post a few more gems I found during the next few days.

 

 

 

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Lone Tree

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131227_Lone Tree (1 of 1) by Karl G. Graf. Canon 7D, EF24-70mm f2.8L @ 70mm, f/11, 1/250 sec, ISO 400

Looking back over some photographs taken this past summer on San Juan Island, WA, this image of a lone tree hanging on to a ledge above the water caught my eye.  I recall taking this image and trying to get the ripples and the bright reflection of the sun to frame the tree.  I spent about one half hour just moving around and trying different exposures and shutter speeds to get what I was looking for.  When I reviewed the photographs last summer, I was disappointed with the color image.  Today I worked with the subtle shadows and reflections to come up with this B&W version.

 

 

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Where Did the Sun Go???

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131210_Sunflower in Snow by Karl Graf. Canon 5D MKIII, EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 70mm, f/8.0, 1/80 sec, ISO 1600

This spent sunflower hung its head over when it couldn’t see the sun.  The ice crystals added to the “over the hill” state of the flower.  Even under the weight of the snow and ice, the stalk remained strong.

I normally do not use the presets in Silver Efex Pro, but this one (film noir #1) seemed to highlight the image I visualized.

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