by Susan | May 12, 2020 | Flower Photography, Local Photography, Macro Photography
I had an idea. I was sitting in my home office the other day thinking about how I need to do something to get me a little more motivated about taking photos on my walks. I pretty much walk the same paths over and over again and I can safely say that I’m getting bored. But then I started thinking about how much more interesting macro is when it rains. Since it wasn’t raining out I dug out a little spray bottle that I could tuck away into my pocket and filled it with water.
Red Tulip
My first test subject was a red tulip. And I loved it! So off I went spraying and photographing everything I could find. Of course, not all the photos worked out but it was a lot of fun to try something different.
Wet Forget-Me-Nots
I had way too much fun spraying water on my subjects so when I got home I decided to take a break from dousing my subjects in water. Instead I got this shot of this Alpine rockcress in my backyard without any water on them.
Alpine Rockcress
Have you noticed that I’ve been finding different colours other than purple? I think Mother Nature is ready to expand her colour scheme.
by Susan | May 11, 2020 | Flower Photography, Local Photography, Macro Photography
I went back to that short section of the creek trail and I was surprised to find, hidden way towards the back, all sorts of flowers in bloom. Purple ones, of course.
Common Periwinkle
The periwinkles were everywhere. And they weren’t the only ones growing like crazy here. The Forget-Me-Nots were starting to bloom as well.
Forget-Me-Not
I struggled getting a good shot of the Forget-Me-Nots. They are so small and low to the ground that I had to contort myself to get a good angle and then to focus on them in an uncomfortable position made it that much harder. But I prevailed!
Grape Hyacinth
When I got home fro my walk I couldn’t help adding my own purple flowers, the grape hyacinths, to the mix. These guys are slowly getting bigger and a little more vibrant each day.
by Susan | May 7, 2020 | Local Photography, Macro Photography, Parks
It’s another beautiful day in the neighbourhood. The apple trees in the creek are now in full bloom. There are white blossoms everywhere along the creek. I’ve been waiting all spring for this.
Apple Blossoms
After spending some time with the apple trees I decided to check out a part of the creek I don’t normally go it. It’s usually overgrown and can be tough to navigate but at least it’s short.
Catkin on Leaves
Stepping over downed branches and trees I found this lone catkin that had fallen onto the underbrush. I took so many photos of this catkin as the light faded in and out, until the light was just right.
Maple Leaf
After untangling myself from all the dead branches I moved on to another section of the creek path. Here the Maples are showing off their new bright green leaves. And so ends another day out in the neighbourhood creek.
by Susan | May 4, 2020 | Local Photography, Macro Photography, Parks
I focused on finding some different things to photograph today from what I’ve shown in the last few blog entries. In the meadow behind my old high school, I noticed these old milkweed casings. They looked like someone tried to paper måche something and was unsuccessful.
Common Milkweed Casings
Along the creek path, I found some dried teasels and decided to photograph them from a different angle. Previously I’ve been photographing them from the side but today I thought it would be interesting to see what they look like from above looking straight down.
Thorny pattern
Its thorns are sharp at the top and then begin to look soft and fuzzy at the bottom. More of an abstract photo.
Walking down another branch of the creek (the creek splits in two at the school) I noticed this large tree that was covered in white flowers.
Tree Blossoms
Trying to be creative, I pointed my camera towards the sun with the flowers in the foreground. Shooting this way can get you great silhouettes of your subject. But by doing a little exposure compensation in the camera I was able to force the camera to expose properly for the flowers and get this soft glow of the sun behind them.
I wonder what new subjects I will find next time.
by Susan | May 3, 2020 | Local Photography, Macro Photography, Parks
As we get further into the spring season more flowers are making their appearance as each day goes by. And while I wait for more to appear I just can’t help taking photographs of those pretty little white apple blossoms.
Apple Blossom Detail
I plan on getting a lot of photos of these flowers while they’re around because before you know it summer will be here and these flowers will be long gone.
Lone Seed
And of course, I can’t forget another of my favourites – the spikey seed. I’m waiting ever so patiently for these to start growing so I can see what they are. Seems spring is not their time. At least, not yet.
I did find something new today – the weeping willow tree catkin.
Willow Catkin
In my research about the weeping willow tree, I found out that way back in 1763 a British minister, Edward Stone, did experiments on the tree’s bark and leaves. He found a substance called isolated salicylic acid. This was used to treat headaches and fever but was quite harsh on the stomach. In 1897 a chemist named Felix Hoffman created a synthetic version that was gentler on the stomach. He named this new version “aspirin” which he produced for his company, Bayer. Nature is pretty darn amazing.
by Susan | May 2, 2020 | Local Photography, Macro Photography, Parks
So it turns out that my favourite photos from today are the same as yesterday (except for a new photo). Go figure.
Mica Cap
The mushrooms have done some growing since yesterday afternoon and there seems to be more of them too. This mushroom family is starting to squish each other as they emerge from the ground. Mica caps grow in clusters so this grouping is not unusual.
Little Flower Buds
I have absolutely no idea to whom these flower buds belong to. You’d think I would take a reference photo that showed more of the leaves so I could identify it later but no, I did not. So now I have to wonder what is it and whether I can find it again.
Open Apple Blossom
So I will end today’s post with a fully opened apple blossom. It’s not the same one as the one from yesterday but it’s definitely from a similar tree. Maybe even the same tree. I can’t remember. 😉
