Weekly Photo Challenge: Pattern

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color III – Blue

One more post. I’ve still got a couple of days to go to the next challenge, yes? Today: Blue.

Day 310 – Dried thistles against the sky

Terribly busy day, early sunset now that Daylight Saving Time is over, and then I came home to a sick husband. Rather than stumble around the house and disturb him, I’m posting this shot that I took the other day. Hope you like it.

Beautiful Sky

We had some storm cells move through this evening and I just had to try to capture this combination of rain, clouds and setting sun. Click on image for larger resolution.

Day 232 – Fun with fill-flash: Apples, grapes, ants and bees!

Getting this right will mean when I’m shooting people I’ll get it right then too. All of these were shot at ISO 100 with exposure stopped down one or two stops and then fill flash at about 1/4 intensity. I used the LumiQuest 80-20 with the white reflector and no diffuser.

The apples are getting big! I should be able to start harvesting them soon. I hope my co-workers are in the mood for Granny Smiths!

I hope they like grapes too. The vine always gives us far more than we can eat ourselves.

This ant was working the nectar . . .

Out front the bees were going at it.

Day 210 – This and That

On the good side, the Olympics are fun to watch. On the bad side, Dad is back in the hospital and what’s going on is pretty scary. I don’t know if I’ll be hopping a plane soon or not.

Anyway, I played with my new toy in the backyard this morning using the silver reflector and diffuser panel to provide fill light against some pretty bright backgrounds. I used my flash to fill in what otherwise would have been dark shadows cast by the morning sun.

Sweetie left his work gloves in the wheelbarrow and a windstorm blew them out into the yard. We think Nina did this.

Grape leaves against the sky. I love that I didn’t blow out the sky and that the grape leaves in the shade were perfectly exposed.

Buddy is a bit camera-shy sometimes. He’ll sit still, but he doesn’t like to look at me when I’m holding the camera to my face.

Day 179 – Facade

Today was one of those crazy-busy days. I spent most of the day in a training class, got caught up on email and then this evening I led our local freethinkers meeting. This is the roof above the Mexican restaurant where we met.