Joy in the Morning

I thought how strange it was that the world could be so beautiful and still hurt so bad at the same time.

- Ann Fay,
Comfort, by Joyce Moyer Hostetter (p. 221)

A look at the death toll from Southern storms - WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |

Enjoy Spring Pink

I don't think anyone should have to work indoors during spring and fall when the colors are so pretty. We should all have a few weeks off to enjoy the beautiful colors.

Enjoy Spring Flowers

I have become primarily a portrait/wedding photographer. But my first love was flowers. I love photographing them ... not planting or watering them. I just want them to magically appear and survive over the long, hot, dry Alabama summers.

Enjoy Spring

I've heard this tree referred to as a Japanese Magnolia and Tulip Magnolia and many other variations. Whatever it's called, it is beautiful and one of my favorite sights each spring. This one is located at Sturdivant Hall in Selma, AL.

Enjoy Spider Lilies

I had to grab the macro lens when I saw this lone, lovely spider lily blooming in the backyard.





It's even pretty in black and white:


These were taken with the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro lens at f/3.2 in Aperture Priority mode. Post processing in Lightroom with Nik's Color Efex Pro plugiin (Ink #5 at 50%) for the top three and b&w conversion for the last.

Pansy Experiments

My husband planted some beautiful pansies this year. I was out with him while he was covering them with straw before the cold snap we're currently experiencing. I had just watched a video by Bryan Petersen (www.ppsop.com) on intentional camera movement -- intended to achieve an impressionistic look to the photograph -- so thought I'd experiment with that concept. The day was very gray and overcast, so it allowed for a longer-than-usual shutter speed. This was my favorite of the images.



I had to grab a few macros while I was out there. Since I wasn't using my tripod I didn't really get but one "keeper."

Summer Snaps 60 and 61

Texture was added to these flower snaps in PSCS2.

Summer Snaps 57

I admit, we've had a beautiful summer in Alabama. Today was the first day I've been out and seen haze and oppressive heat. I was near despair wondering if I would be able to photograph anything for the summer snaps. I wandered back into the office to get my camera and head outdoors when I saw my husband's African Violets. Yea! I found something pretty without venturing out into the heat and haze!

Summer Snaps 26

This may be the last day with the extension tubes ... we'll just have to see what tomorrow brings. Today's snap is a macro of a butterfly bush bloom. The exposure on these is always so hard for me to get right. The tiny flowers catch a lot of light leaving some areas "blown-out."

Summer Snaps 25

I kept the macro lens and extension tubes on for another day. Focusing with the extension tubes is tricky! I end up deleting a lot of images, heaving a big sigh, and going back out to try again. There is a very limited depth of field with the extensions, but at least one area of the image should be in sharp focus. Finally got this one today. Now I remember why I don't pull out those extension tubes very often!

Summer Snaps 24

I continued to work with my macro lens and extension tubes today. Both images were processed in Lightroom using some of David Jay's Brilliant presets.

Summer Snaps 23

I love macro photography - just don't get to do it often. This is the inside of a hosta bloom. Although they are very similar, I couldn't decide which I liked better.

Canon 100mm 1:2.8 macro lens with Kinko 12mm and 36mm extension tubes stacked. ISO 400, 1/30 and 1/60 second at f/2.8.

The gallery frame is a PS action from MCP Actions.

Summer Snaps 21

I was anxious to do some more photographs of flowers behind the distorted glass I experimented with yesterday.

I started with some begonias.







But my favorites ended up being ones of the hosta:











Hubby unavailable to hold the glass, so I pulled out "The Stick" by McClamp. I purchased it a few years ago when I took a macro photography course through BetterPhoto.com. Here's the set-up: