Carrots
The carrots sold by at our farmer’s market are like candy. Especially after being roasted on the grill. It’s important to get the skinnier ones, since the really big ones take forever to cook.
Cherries
Inspired by Consuelo’s Asparagus I thought I’d give cherries from the farmers market a try. No tripod for me here since the sun was bright and lit everything nicely.
Thistle and Honeybee
One of my new recent favorites! Today, I took the kids hiking through the hills in San Antonio Park with some friends to visit Deer Hollow Farm. The flowering thistles were drawing my attention but not delivering in any shots, no matter how much I encouraged them. Along the hike, my friend mentioned the bee on a nearby thistle. Needless to say, that was followed by several clicking sounds coming from my camera.
I love the pollen on this bee, the colors, clarity, aphids and spider web.
When I Grow Up I’m Going to Be Different
What we have here is a small little creature that will grow up to be a lovely ladybug. Yup, it’s a ladybug larvae. I captured this guy (or lady) on a park bench yesterday. As usual when I see insects this size, I immediately flipped over my lens and setup for a reverse-lens macro shot. If I recall correctly, I took thisat about 135mm with the lens propped up against the arm of the bench (I was lucky that I had something to brace against). This means I was able to be really still in comparison to many of my other RLM shots. This image still has focus issues which I’ve decided to blame on the minuscule DOF. This was shot at 1/320, so camera shake should have been minimized. Oh how this taunts me into getting a real macro lens.
That Was Bitter!
I am finding that I enjoy taking photos of the bees in the front yard. They don’t mind me being there and they are great subjects. This little guy was hanging on to the lavender with just his hind legs while cleaning his tongue.
Cattle Egret
Our first visit to the new Happy Hollow Park and Zoo provided a few opportunities to get some fun photos. This one is of a Cattle Egret. Sure, it’s a zoo bird, but it is a good looking bird nonetheless. The sun was high and bright for most of the day, so shooting was a real challenge. This photo was taken in the shade and had the grass highlighted wonderfully behind the egret.
Additionally, I wanted a photo of some vivid colors that weren’t flowers or bees for a lagging daily shoot assignment. This one will do nicely I think.
#ds152 – Bright, vivid colors can draw attention and add “pop” to a photo. Make a photo that has vivid colors today.
Morning at Sanborn Park in Santa Cruz Mountains
Today I took the kids out into Sanborn Park in the Santa Cruz mountains. The redwood forest is always a spectacular place to visit. This was my first time in this particular area. Below is small collection of photos from the morning, starting with the log cabin type hostel.
I love the look of this building. The fact that moss grows absolutely everywhere out here adds tons of character to everything. It was a challenge to capture things with just the right amount of light since the most mossy structures were also in the shade. This collection is comprised of both single-shot and HDR images to bring out the looks I was going for. With most of my HDR images, I prefer the more natural look.
Towering Redwood Trees
Creek outlet under path
Mossy Stairs
Creek in Sanborn Park
Creek in Sanborn Park
The first image I used for the Daily Shoot assignment: #ds103 – Novelty can help goose creativity. Go somewhere today you’ve never been, even just a different street, and make a photo.
Pig-tailed Fence – Daily Shoot 83
Today’s curves come to you from the Campbell Community Center.
#ds83 – Curves carry the eye along with them. Make a photo that creates a sense of movement with curves today.
Seafood Breakfast with a Golf Course View – Daily Shoot 77
On an early morning shoot which failed to deliver any good sunrise shots, it did lend more favorably to the wildlife. The seagulls were dropping mussels to break the shells and then diving after them to guard their meal. One aggressive large one would then chase them off of their food. He was able to score a few free meals that way.
#ds77 – “Sunday Challenge: Wherever there’s an edge, there’s energy. Make a photo where two things meet: land-water, land-sky, etc.”
Coconut Macaroon – Daily Shoot 75
At oDesk, we’re lucky that one of our coworkers is married to naka_sf, an aspiring chef. We’re often treated to all kinds of macaroons as she experiments with variations of her recipes. It’s always a treat.
For today’s Daily Shoot assignment, the timing of a new batch arriving at the office was perfect. The white and green macaroons on the blue paper made for a nice composition. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a tripod and it wasn’t quite as sharp as I would have liked.
#DS75: “Sugar, spice, and everything nice. Make a photo of something sweet today.”
Rusted Bolt in Old Mossy Fence
This HDR image is composed of 3 exposures. My goal here was to keep it very natural looking. There are slight bumps in saturation to bring out the grass, which is actually very green on-site. I’m very pleased with the results. The amount of detail in the wood and the growth on the fence is very sharp. This was taken at the same location as my previous photo, Old Barn, off of Casa Loma Rd. near Morgan Hill. Click through to see the detail on SmugMug.
Daily Shoot #4: Close
#DS4: “Get close! Photograph an ordinary object from as close as you can manage. Fill the frame!”
Yellow flowers in my front-yard.
Daily Shoot #30: Green
#ds30: “Let’s try another color theme, this time make it green: green sleeves, green with envy, green eggs and ham, you name it!”
I struggled for awhile for something green to shoot that wasn’t a Christmas tree or other plant. The Perrier bottle caught my eye.
Recent Comments