Another Night Blooming Cereus

For this shot, I had a large 6V flashlight on the ground about 4 feet below the flower shining upward. My settings were: f/29.0 @ 30". I was using a Canon XSi with the kit lens, 18-55mm. A tripod and mosquito repellent were also used.

A One Night Stand!

This night blooming cereus only blooms at night. The blossom itself can be 12 inches across. I took this at 9:30 pm and went out again at 5 am and it had already started closing. I was trying timed exposures, but those did not come out that well. This was a flash... not the best option for flowers as it leaves shadows and can be harsh. I will have some more chances in a few days. The full moon coming up would help... if only the clouds would stay away. So far, they are forever covering the sky.

Another view...

I realize the bud and sideways blossom are almost in the middle of the image, but for some reason I like the open space on the right. Again I am working on my focusing. This one had f/7.1 at 1/250 sec. I used a tripod and my Sigma 150mm macro lens. The lower f stop gives partial focus. I would say only the bud and the lip of the middle orchid are in focus.

That is about how I have been seeing life lately... some in focus and some not. Not sure how many of us are totally focused all day, every day anyway.

My orchid... Dendrobium

I think this is a dendrobium orchid. My son gave it to me many moons ago. It survived much neglect over the years demonstrating to me that the orchid is quite a resilient plant. It looks a tiny bit like the Celadon and Red Wine Dendrobium, only it is basically white and not a pale green.

Well, I do not have the usual equipment for studio photography so I improvised. I used an old cardboard portfolio with a black cover as my backdrop. My Ott lamp (as close as artificial natural light you can get) was my light source. Since I brought the plant in from outdoors, I set the pot in a dish with water.. just in case ants were in residence (past experience taught me this)

My camera was on the my tripod as low as it could go. My body was down there also, as low as it could go :-) I love the curve of the stem. I had the light coming up from below for this image as I wanted to bring out the detail of the labellum (red wine colored lip)
Settings were: f/22, 8"

No longer rolling wheels

Several years ago, I was back in Terra Alta, West Virginia... visiting cousins. This is the birthplace of my Dad. It is a town that is almost forgotten... in some of the most beautiful country on earth. Near my Dad's old home... Mr Teets had his collection of old farm equipment out along with old cars from the 30s and there about. I immediately was attracted to the wheels. These wheels made history, carrying early settlers, plowing the land, harvesting crops. I isolated four different wheels & large pulley wheels and then put them together in this collage.

Well... I entered this collage of images into a juried photography competition called the Eye of the Camera that is held yearly at the Backus Gallery in Fort Pierce. Florida. To my amazement and joy it took first place earning a blue ribbon in the Digitally Manipulated Division... and it sold!

Emerging Cracker Rose

The blossom is emerging from the bud stage. It was taken in the early morning. By noon it will probably be completely open. Settings: f/2.8 1/50 Sigma 150mm macro lens.

There are days that I feel my life is emerging... from a good night sleep, recuperating from a cold or sinus infection, aches from the damp weather. There are many situations from which to emerge. As I get older, there seem to be more :-) I don't mind, as over the years I have learned various means to help me emerge from the difficult situations. I do need more patience now, as it takes a bit longer for it all to come about. I have learned that you just can't give up!!!

Cuban Tree Frog

Down the road, thanks to this creature, a Cuban Tree frog, we will be hearing lots of 'ribbits' during the night. My rain barrel is full of tadpoles!! I used the Canon Zoom 100-400 with f/5.6 and 1/400.

Phalaenopsis

This was a Thanksgiving gift from my daughter that I thought I had lost! It started a new shoot and 'voila'! I was trying to photograph it while it was hanging. It never dawned on me to bring it in and do a studio shooting of it!

It was an overcast day and that helped not the bleach out the white petals. I used a Canon 100-400 Zoom lens, f/7.1 opening and 1/400 speed

Fangipani is here!!

I am actually studying and learning about my camera, the lenses, settings etc and it is a lot. It seemed so simple before, but I could not get things to happen as I wanted. Anyway, thanks to an online friend out in Utah, I have a good tripod and so I am able to really practice. Macro and photography in general requires patience!!!! Wow, it is actually more than just pushing down the button. The f/stop here was about 6.5 so just the flowers in the foreground are in focus. The light was early morning and so I eliminated the hot spots that come with strong sun.

The truth is going to have to come out. I have been an automatic camera user and now I am trying to learn how to really use my camera! I am a person who has trouble remembering which is her left and which is her right. Hence, the cheat sheet that will be with me always.