Flowers at the store

Okay, so in a previous post, I mentioned my fascination with out of focus shots. The following pictures feature more of that technique. My objective was to again paint a sort of picture using the camera. In these photos, I feel like I had more color to work with, which was cool. And I think they came out pretty well. The first pic (depending on how they display...you'll know which one I'm talking about) is the flower itself, just a plain shot. The others were made using different apertures and by moving the camera in toward and away from the flower. Enjoy.

photo contest

This is the photo I submitted for a local Calvert Co. photo contest. If it's chosen, I think it might make it into a calendar or something.

Out of focus

I have come to enjoy taking out of focus shots. In fact, it has sort of become my mission to find interesting things to shoot that actually look better or at least different in that hazy out-of-focusy manner. Here are a few of my faves. What I like about these shots is there's a certain painting-esque quality to them. Having never mastered the art of painting (realism, expressionism, heck, even pointilism didn't work too well for me), I've tried to find ways to shoot subjects so that the supple qualities of painting kind of come through...if that makes any sense.

If I had a complaint about these two shots it would be that the colors are really drab. But that is mostly due to the overcast day and the subject itself wasn't exactly colorful. I'll try to seek out some more vibrant subjects in the future.

Making up for lost time

Here are two pics I took of the moon last Thursday night (4/9?). The night was very clear and crisp. These were taken from the parking lot at my bookstore.

Ugh...well, so much for one a week. Last Wednesday my friend Rachel and I took a photo field trip to Calvert Cliffs Park. Here are a couple highlights. My favorite is the one in which the tree appears to be upside down. It's actually the tree reflecting in the water. So you can see the debris underwater giving the tree shape some color, and then the very overcast sky is being reflected as well.

More Fun than Work

Wow, I've had a flurry (ha!) of camera activity the past few days. I took the telephoto out today around my office (after work...). Here are some highlights from my walking trip.

Snow Day

So, it snowed in Southern Maryland today. I think the final number was something like 10 inches which is the most I've seen in a while. The wind was whipping around pretty good, thus it was not a very serene scene, but it was still fun to watch come down this morning and even last night. I took a walk around noon and took the macro camera with me. Here's a few highlights from my little nature walk. I might take the telephoto out tomorrow around Calvert county after work. That should be interesting.

P.S. The worst part about this snowstorm, of course, is that it will be a cue for morons to page Al Gore to get him to straighten out this whole Global Warming mess. I have given up trying to even talk to these people, but I won't lie and say it isn't frustrating to hear stupid comments such as those equating one snowstorm (and really any cold weather) with obvious proof that climate change is a total hoax. Anyway...on with the pics.