The title of today’s blog entry says it all. I went outside a few minutes ago to see if the plants I rescued from sure death by lack of water yesterday had survived the night and the morning sunlight on the fountain caught my attention.
Focal Length 130mm
ISO 800
f/5.6
1/500
SOOC
Today is one of the first warm days we’ve had so far this spring. When I went outside to check to see if any plants needed water, I noticed that the bees were really working the lavender.
I attached the 300mm lens to my camera and sat next to the lavender; the bees are elusive so I switched from auto focus to continuous auto focus. Even with this change, I had trouble focusing on the bees because they flit so quickly and change flower stalks continuously, often moving to the stalks that were too close for me to focus on. This is what I captured:
Focal Length 300mm
ISO 320
f/6.3
1/1000
Continuous Auto Focus
SOOC
Seven Deadly Zins to be exact. At a loss about what to photograph today and considering popping the cork a little early after spending several frustrating hours sorting out train reservations for my trip to Italy in September followed by an adrenalin rushing hawk rescue with no photographs, I thought my current favorite wine might make a an appropriate photo. I’m enjoying using the tripod to allow slow shutter speeds with a low ISO. And no, I haven’t popped the cork. . . yet, anyway. But I guess it’s 5 o’clock somewhere. . . oh, it’s well past 5 in Italy.
Focal Length 95mm
ISO 100
f/5.3
1/2 sec.
Tripod
SOOC
Every morning on the way to and from the gym, I pass a large swath of yellow wild flowers on the side of the road. This morning as I drove by I decided I wanted to find out what those flowers were and to photograph them. Well, that’s just dandy! Wouldn’t you know, they’re dandelions. The curse of the suburban lawn makes for a delightful roadside display of wildflowers.
Focal Length 200mm
ISO 200
f/16
1/60
SOOC
It was past 7PM and I still hadn’t thought about my photo today. A few ideas crossed my mind but I focused on the number 157 which happens to be the number of days that I’ve been blogging on In Focus Daily. So I decided to photograph the number 157 but past 7PM there are few options so I went searching. Comcast doesn’t seem to have a channel number 157 so that was out. “A book,” I thought. I picked up the book I am currently reading, “Medium Raw” by Anthony Bourdain; I’m only on page 145 and even if I took some poetic (photographic?) license, Mr. Bourdain tends to be rather profane so I thought better of photographing his page 157. I belong to an on-line book club called the Un-Book Club and we were recently discussing Gone With the Wind and how old we were when we first read it and the circumstances surrounding our first reading of it. I looked at my copy, the one my mother gave me in 1959 and which was the very same copy that she bought in 1939 and upon which she had proudly inscribed her name on the Title page. When I turned to page 157, the passage at the top of the page caught my interest. And so, it is my photo of the day. I forgot to reset the White Balance which was set to cloudy from yesterday. It worked perfectly, though. The setting exactly reflects the yellowed pages of that 72 year old book.
Focal Length 82mm
ISO 100
f/16
1 second
Tripod
White Balance set to Cloudy
SOOC
As I left a store in the mall this afternoon, I encountered the latest in mall security. . . or not! The vendor of this cute little ‘copter was gracious enough to indulge my request for a “few” pictures. I took 90 in 3 minutes, trying to get the correct exposure and an interesting composition. I even spent a few more minutes explaining the exposure triangle to the guy and he wanted to go home immediately and try out changes to the ISO on his Fuji digital camera. He didn’t even try to sell me a remote controlled helicopter. The irony of this is that this is the first photo I took. It is one of only a couple that had an interesting composition.
Focal Length 90mm
ISO 640
f/5.3
1/250
SOOC
I’m reviewing our Italy itinerary trying to decide about train reservations. It’s been storming outside all day so I decided my photo today would be something related to our trip to Italy in September. Since one of our stops will be Firenze, what better icon to represent that Italian cultural center than Michelangelo’s David. My David isn’t by Michelangelo (however, it is signed; it was sculpted by one G. Ruggeri) but it is marble and it did come from Firenze, sent to me in 1970 by my friend and fellow photoblogger, Melinda.
I photographed different views of David and decided the head detail was the most interesting shot. I used my black backdrop and natural light from the dining room window. I set my camera on the tripod and I set the white balance to cloudy with a slight color adjustment. The marble has yellowed over time and this is a very accurate depiction of its current color.
Focal Length 200mm
ISO 100
f/13
1.3 seconds
White Balance Cloudy (B2,G1)
SOOC
I took my car in for servicing today. No one is safe from the scrutiny of my camera lens. Oz proved to be a good sport when I inquired about taking photos in the shop. He was happy to oblige. Oz is a tidy mechanic. He didn’t spill a drop of oil; I watched as he poured all five quarts into the crankshaft (is that where it goes?) without using a funnel. A wizard, he is. And he assured me that moniker has stuck with him his entire life so I shifted it slightly for the blog title. And he continued his tidiness as we talked, wiping all exposed engine surfaces clean. I don’t normally hang around auto shops but I have spent a fair amount of time looking under hoods, both holding flashlights and discussing auto repair issues and I don’t ever recall a mechanic, even my husband, wiping all the surfaces. It looks brand new.
As for the photo, the shop was dark so I had to bump up the ISO to 1250 resulting in lots of noise. Focus isn’t crisp as the shutter speed was slow. But, I like the composition of the photo; his arm serves as a leading line to the stream of oil. I think it is kind of interesting.
Focal Length48mm
ISO 1250
f/4.5
1/40
SOOC
Today, a new Farmers’ Market opened in Mahaney Park where my gym is. When I left the gym this morning, I couldn’t resist buying fresh beets and carrots, raspberries, Rainier cherries, and some spring garlic. The vendor who sold the spring garlic is also a photographer and has a Nikon D80 so we talked and I showed her the photos I took at her stand, one of which is my photo of the day. These are rutabaga (I think), with onions, garlic, radishes, herbs, and tomatoes in the background.
Focal Length 70
ISO 200
f/10
1/320
SOOC
It was almost 4 PM and I had no idea what I would take for my photo today. As I was leaving Whole Foods, I noticed the flower adorned lampposts in and around the Fountains Shopping Center where Whole Foods is located. They were among the few bright spots on this dreary day.
Focal Length 24mm
ISO 500
f/10
1/80
White Balance Set to Shade
SOOC