Posted on April 27, 2011 in Flowers, Lensbaby, Macro, Nature, Painting Effect, Soft Focus, Spring
It seems that all of our flowering Spring trees are several weeks behind schedule this year due to the never-ending winter. I was expecting to find Cherry Blossoms in bloom at one of my favorite parks when I visited last weekend, but they weren’t even close. We’ve had some warm temperatures this week, so I’m sure that has helped to hurry them along a bit. Plan B was to pull out my Lensbaby Composer with the Soft Focus Optic and photograph the Weeping Cherry trees. I had to hold the soft willowy branches still in order to photograph due to breezy conditions. I love the soft pinks of these pretty flowers.
Posted on April 26, 2011 in Painting Effect, People
Volunteers often go unrecognized but the jobs they do are very much needed and appreciated. I stopped to chat with this woman at the dog show a couple weeks ago in Harrisburg, Pa. She was so happy to be a volunteer, even though her job was to clean up the little “accidents” that happened throughout the day. She was happy because even though she was doing a job that may not always be what we would consider “fun”, she was thrilled to have had the opportunity to be at the show and see some of the best dogs in the country. Imagine what a dog show would be like without these volunteers who were there to clean up after the dogs? Let’s just say it wouldn’t have been pretty! The volunteers were Johnny-on-the-spot when needed and they all deserve a big thank you for doing such a superb job!
Posted on April 9, 2011 in Flowers, Nature, Painting Effect, Spring
It’s officially Spring when there is a pot of Pansies hanging in a planter on my front porch! Their little “faces” are like a smile saying goodbye to Winter and hello to Spring! Seeing them definitely puts a smile on my face as well as giving me the first flowers of the season to photograph! I stopped by the Garden Center today and it was filled with Tulips, Daffodils and Hyacinths. You betcha I brought some home …. I couldn’t resist! Spring is my very favorite time of year!
Posted on March 26, 2011 in Landscape, Nature, Painting Effect, Winter
Park bench and trees covered with ice.
The groundhog lied. He told us that we would have an early Spring and here it is, the end of March and we’re still having snow and ice. Wednesday I awoke to find about 4″ of heavy wet snow on the ground and during the day we had rain and sleet. On Thursday everything was covered in ice. I have to admit, it was beautiful. The trees were blanketed first with snow and then covered with shimmering ice. I took a few images in my yard and on the way home from work, but they really don’t do justice to how pretty everything looked.
Ice formations on a chain link fence.
Clouds giving way to sun on an icy day.
Warm afternoon light, ice & watercolor effect.
The Mausoleum
Posted on March 23, 2011 in Flowers, Landscape, Lensbaby, Nature, Painting Effect, Soft Focus, Winter
Dang groundhog….early Spring my foot!! Here it is, March 23rd, and we have snow on the ground yet again! The snow definitely did “drop” today….and it dropped on my cute little “Snow Drop” flowers that finally came to life in the garden last week. The image above is a scene from my back yard that shows the various stages of tree growth. I have some beautiful evergreens that are full and lush, and then some that have totally lost all of their needles. Some of my giant Oak trees are still hanging onto their leaves from last year, adding some color to the landscape. All of them were blanketed with a wet heavy snow today so I had to take a few minutes and go out with my camera. The image above was taken with the Lensbaby Composer and soft focus optic then processed with an oil painting effect. The image below is one of my Snow Drop flowers, still wet from the snow and rain. It was taken with my 100mm macro lens and processed with a watercolor effect. Looks like more snow is on the way tonight…..good grief! 🙁
