Art by Wade

For me, I have a few photo tips that really help me. Just getting out a few times a week with my camera and taking a walk in the park or city helps me improve my skills. I tend to look at everything (Lauri has seen me do this and has said I don't miss much). Remember to look behind you (and up). The tip I wanted to share was shooting flowers in full sun. I really like the look of backlit flowers as they just glow.  I tend to bracket my shots, use a macro or zoom lens and find some flowers with the sun behind them. I normally have a small extension tube attached to get in even closer.  There are a few public gardens near me that have a ton of flowers, so this where I go for a lunch time walk. I process the files in lightroom, and combine the images using the photo merge HDR right click menu. Or I just chose one of the bracketed images, if I like it better than the HDR image. The first image below is the combines HDR image from a walk in Duke Gardens. In the second image, I used...

I was in that quiet place today, you know the place where time doesn't matter. You just feel and see everything around you, but yet are so focused that distractions aren't a distraction. One of the reason I like photography is it allows me to get into that place. I also prefer to shoot photographs alone, because of this need to be in that quiet place (I just realized this). I will, however, join groups of photographers for an outing, but I mostly like to watch and ask questions. I was in this special place twice today, once at work while working on a programming challenge, and then in the garden while I photographed a few flowers (OK, maybe more than a few). The photography walk was interesting as the gardens were busier than normal, but I hardly noticed any of the people. I was so intent on looking for shapes and colors (and light) that I barely noticed. Have you done anything, like photography, that has allowed you to get into the zone where time just flows? Cheers, Wade

With rays of warmth, he embraces her soul. Arms, iron strong, surround their love. Sunshine reaching, fills the room. With feathered whispers, they embrace the day. Poetry and picture by me.Picture taken in 2017 and re-edited today for this post. Cheers, Wade