Day 565 - One person's weed...

ISO 200, 100mm macro, f/6.3, 1/125 sec

Is someone else's garden.

At least until Karen mowed the lawn.

Day 558 - Wet

ISO 100, 105mm, f/4.0, 1/60 sec.

The brochure.

Our assignment for the Project 52 this week was an image for a new water repellent. Her are the details:

• Bright colors are great!
• The product works on skin and most materials
• The product makes water less damaging to the material
• The product is used in business and consumer products
• Their target market is product producers

The image was going to be used in three formats:

• Cover for the brochure. (Square)
• Banner for the website. (Horizontal - 960 pixels x 245 pixels)
• Background for the product itself. (Just a section to use for the packaging background) 

Go figure, it rained this morning just for me (actually, it rained all day).

The web banner.

The background texture.

Day 557 - Harvest

ISO 100, 100mm macro, f/9.0, 1/320 sec.

On our way home from the butterflies, Jeff nearly twisted my arm off to stop by a wheat field.

I was forced to get out and shoot. Even though it was long before I was born, I am the daughter, grand daughter, and great grand daughter of wheat farmers. A field of wheat is always beautiful to me.

Day 531 - The roses are blooming

ISO 200, 100mm macro, f/2.8, 1/100 sec

And from the looks of the bud, so are the stupid aphids.

Day 524 - Wilted

ISO 1000, 100mm, f/3.2, 1/50 sec

When work becomes chaotic, the first thought that exits my brain is housework. I've learned that no matter what, it will always be there so it just makes sense to take care of everything else first.

Sitting in the middle of the kitchen table are my beautiful daisies, wilted. They really look kinda cool past their prime.

Guess that means I can put off housework for another week or two.

Day 516 - Emerging

ISO 400, 100mm macro, f/3.5, 1/50 sec

I wondered by one of the honeysuckle bushes the other day during a flower check. The blossoms are just beginning to emerge.

That is assuming the nasty rain storm of today didn't knock them all off.

Day 515 - Letting go

ISO 100, 100mm macro, f/5.0, 1/320 sec

This has been one of the best, most relaxing week-ends I can remember for a long time. So much so, that I actually laid in the grass and watched the wind tease seeds out of a dandelion head.

Day 513 - Reaching out

ISO 250, 100mm macro, f/3.5, 1/80 sec

To say that the last three weeks have been crazy busy for me would be an understatement.

I think I am seeing something brighter on my horizon.

Day 508 - Name that flower

ISO 100, 100mm macro, f/6.3, 1/125 sec

Over the week-end I noticed a flowering tree at the back of the property that I had never seen before. The flowers are tiny, about the size of my thumb and I think I noticed them because the tree is covered.

I had a few minutes a lunch when I was running the hound dogs so I grabbed my macro lens and headed on back there.

I have no clue what kind of tree it is, but the blossoms certainly are pretty.

If anyone knows what it is, tell me, tell me... please?

Day 505 - Tinkering

ISO 100, 100mm macro, f/25, 10 sec

Just one of the blue daisies in my Sunday bouquet.

BZTraining, the flowers and butterflies are shot with my 100mm macro. It is probably one of my favorite lens. Well worth the money.

Day 503- Just another rose

ISO 100, 100mm macro, f/20, 20.0 sec

I have a beautiful bouquet of flowers sitting on the table, roses and gerber daisies.

It is quite stunning, but tonight I plucked a single rose out to play with lighting. The big fundraiser for the college, Moonlight and Roses is rapidly approaching and it is time for me to come up with a design.

Day 453 - Dancing in the breeze

ISO 100, 100mm macro, f/32, 1/60 sec.

A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line

William Wadsworth

I plucked one of our daffodils from the untended garden this evening.

Rain and daffodils, a picture of my world.

Day 451 - Vintage memory

This week's assignment for Project 52 was a macro of electronics using light and specular and shadow and reflection.

Not so easy and totally frustrating.

This is a memory board from a Mac Portable, circa 1990. I used a two light set-up. One speedlight camera right and behind the board with a blue gel, second speedlight is camera left and in front with an orange gel.

Day 437 - Broken strings

ISO 100, 100mm macro, f/32, 30.0 sec

I spent my childhood hidden behind a violin. I played in my first year of college and decided it was time to do something different.

It only made sense that my daughters would pick one up as well, but they both quit once they entered high school. This violin went into storage and when I went to retrieve it for the Project 52 assignment, I opened the case only to discover that all of the glue had disintegrated in the Pacific NW humidity.

A sad day to say the least, this violin belonged to my great uncle in Colorado. It had been around for years and years.

Day 424 - Candy cane tulips

ISO 400, 100mm, f/20, 1/50 sec

I couldn't let the tulips I received last week go without a drop session.

I set up the drops on one of the white tulips with a red and white one as the reflection. I hand-held a speedlite pointing it at the red and white just barely kissing the white tulip.

Day 417 - Blue neon

ISO 100, 100mm macro, f/22, 1/80 sec

I switched up my set-up tonight while I was shooting smoke.

I place a speed light on both sides of the smoke. It gave it a great neon glow.

Day 411 - Minature roses, a re-run

ISO 100, 100mm macro, f/20, 20 sec

I had a few questions from my miniature roses last night and I thought I would re-shoot with the primroses so that you could see what I did.

It is the same set up, different settings for my final selection.

My trusty iPhone

I set up on the kitchen counter with the original 1950's flourescent lighting as my only light source (I'm having a few lazy moments here.)

Camera is on a tripod and I am using my beloved 100mm macro lens. I have the new IS version now, but before this I had the original non-IS and it was just as good as this one. I've seen it on Craigslist recently for anywhere from $375 to $450. Very much worth the investment if you ask me.

I am using the bud of an orchid that is taking it's sweet time to bloom to hold the water drops. I spray it with a fine mist of water until they start to collect along the bottom of the bud. This can take an amazing amount of patience since they frequently drop off before collecting.

Lining them up so that they are parallel to the lens is the biggest challenge and I set them about six inches in front of the lens, as close as I can get and still focus.

I placed the reflected flowers about two feet behind the drops and slightly lower.

My aperture is f/32 so that I have the most depth of focus and since I am using ambient lighting (the kitchen lights) my shutter speed is 30 sec. I manually focus on the water drops, another challenge by itself.

Any movement in the house can cause movement in the drops, so everyone (dogs included) are ordered to sit still and not breath.

It's a very easy set-up, just remember no caffeine and bring on the patience.

Day 409 - Happy Valentine's Day

ISO 100, 100mm macro, f/25, 1/160 sec

Although these roses were orange when they arrived, I'm feeling rather nostalgic about love and romance.

Day 372

ISO 100, 100mm macro, f/32, 15.0 sec

Day 372 - Nothing in moderation

One more time around the sale daisies. Anyone that knows me, knows that I can't do just one, of anything.

So, if one drop is good, surely eight is better. Yes?

Day 370

ISO 400, 100mm, f/29, 5.0 sec

Day 370 - Pushing up daisies

My sale daisies were still looking good tonight, so I worked them a little more.

I am going to drive myself crazy trying to perfect those darn drops. A white straight jacket may be in my future.