Friday Photo

I've really dropped the ball again with posting. I have taken a number of photos but not as many as I had planned on when I got the new camera. Life just keeps getting in the way. Anyway, just in case anyone happens by, here are a couple of new pictures I decided to use for Friday Photo.

This picture is actually from last week. I took some photos of my granddaughter, Sarah Grace, before she left for school the morning after we celebrated her 16th birthday. I loved her shoes, specifically the color and took this shot of them. I did do a slight color boost but that's the only edit made.

And just so you can see how lovely Sarah is, here is one of the photos I took of her.

This one is unedited.

Friday Photo

I am displaying another group of older photos this week, even though I did manage to take some pictures this week. I just haven't had the time to sort through them to see what I might use and honestly, most of them were taken in a dark restaurant at a luncheon I attended and the quality is probably not the greatest. Good memory photos but not great photography, poor lighting, people with eyes half open, blurred faces, you get the drift. I know a couple of them turned out okay but I'll leave them for another day.

Here are some closeups of flowers I took in Tennessee back in May. You can tell that it was already hot and humid and that the flowers were beginning to suffer from the harsh summer weather. All of these were in a bed at a nursing home where mom and I visited with my cousin's wife who had a bad stroke a couple of years ago and will probably never leave the home. At least she is in a nice environment and well cared for.

Friday Photo

My original intent when I started this series of posts called Friday Photo, was to post a picture or pictures from something I had taken the week of the post. Unfortunately, I haven't always been able to do as I intended. Unfortunate because that means I'm not taking pictures as often as I would like and therefore not getting the practice in with the new camera. I hope to do better in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, here is a picture I took back in May on my trip to Tennessee with my mother. I've posted pictures of the old Forbus General Store a few times on my blog but this one was taken with the new camera. I'm putting two versions of the photo on here today. The Forbus General Store has been photographed by some well-known, read much better photographers than me, and published in some fancy magazines. You can generally find a table full of local fellows playing a card game called Pig.

This version was edited to slightly lighten and sharpen.

 

I ran a quick retro action on this version of the same photo. When I visit the area where my mother grew up, it seems as though I'm traveling back a bit in time. Although they have all the modern conveniences of the rest of the world in this area, things are a bit slower paced and gives the feel of bygone days. 

It's a beautiful area with much to see and experience if you enjoy mountains, scenery, fishing, boating and photography. Dale Hollow Lake is nearby as well as several parks and recreation areas, both on the Tennessee side and across the state line in Kentucky. I know for a fact that some of the best people in the world have called this area home.

Friday Photo (on Tuesday)

This is the photo I wanted to post on Friday but life got in the way and I forgot about it until today. This 'tricycle' sits across the street from my house, holding a potted plant in a beautifully landscaped area of my neighbor's yard.

Friday Photo

This week I chose to post pictures of some of my wind chimes. I like wind chimes but I'm picky about what I will hang. I've had the three pictured here for several years. All of these were taken with the new 70-300 lens and again, they aren't necessarily great photos by any stretch of the imagination but I'm still learning the camera and playing with the lens.

I am mostly shooting on auto but do sometimes switch to manual and adjust the settings. I need to practice more but it is so hot and I committed to participating in an exercise / movement group this month and by the time I finish with that, I'm tired and it is scorching hot. The motto in that group is no excuses and I guess I need to make that same commitment to shooting pictures. I need to get up earlier and find some good locations to catch the early morning sun. There are several really neat places and older houses in this area that I could photograph. I just need to get out and do it.

I like the bokeh effect on each of the first two pictures. It comes from the lens. 

This chime gives off a soft, joyful metallic tone. 

 I love the colors of this chime. It has a delicate, tinkling sound when the butterfly isn't stuck inside the bell.

I guess I need to set it free!

 

Although this isn't a beautiful wind chime, I love the woody tones it gives off when the breeze catches it just right and causes it to sway back and forth. Each of the different sizes of hollowed out wood gives off a different tone and I find it soothing to listen to. I don't like loud, clanging chimes so this one is perfect for me!

Friday Photo

I can't believe I've already purchased another new lens. I got a 70-300 Telephoto lens that I've been playing with a bit. I got a really good deal on the price at Amazon and with a credit from a gift card I had there it just seemed like the thing to do. I'm posting a couple of shots I took the day I got the lens, nothing special as I didn't even leave my yard that day.

The first picture is of a house across the street from where I live that I've always loved. I like the style, the color, the landscaping... there's not much about it that I don't like. It's hard to believe how close the house looks in the photo, knowing where I stood to take it. I can't wait to get a chance to use this lens at one of the bayous or at the Wildlife Refuge. I would love to get a shot of a gator that looks close up without actually having to be close up!

This picture is of a little figure that sits near my front door. While this isn't really a great photo by any stretch of the imagination, I like the bokeh the lens produced here. It gives me hope that I might capture some really good shots with this lens if I just keep trying. 

Friday Photo

Ginger and I made a trip to our local Wildlife and Refuge Center at Black Bayou this week. It's one of my favorite places to go. It's hot out there right now and trying to get there when the light is right for taking pictures is hard for me. It's not that far away, but nothing is a straight route in Louisiana. Most roads wind and meander around rivers, bayous and creeks. Very little is laid out in neat squares like you see in the Midwest, where I originally hail from.

My friend Margaret and I used to eat lunch there when we were still working and before she passed away from cancer. It was the most peaceful place to be and we saw lots of wildlife and plenty of the natural, swampy snake and gator infested waters of our area. We also stopped at a couple of other locations along Bayou Desiard for some shots. Not surprisingly, I chose pictures from that outing to post for today's Friday Photo.

 

This first picture is of Ginger sitting on one of the benches on the pier where Margaret and I used to have lunch. We saw several boaters and some fishermen (and women) while we walked the pier. I encouraged her to jump up so I could get pictures of her and liked this one where she is reacting to the sun in her eyes.

 

This is a picture of the arboretum, which sits near the Learning and Welcome Centers. I just think it is a neat structure. There are so many talented photographers in our area who take pictures here that I feel what I'm posting doesn't do justice to what's there.

 

This picture was taken on Bayou Desiard behind the CenturyLink building where I used to work before I retired at the end of 2003. It was CenturyTel back then. I used to walk this road back to the Wildlife and Fisheries buildings on the other side of the bayou for exercise or as a getaway from office routine. 

This young man, along with some other people who I assume were family members or friends, told me he was fishing for whatever he could catch. He said the only thing he had caught up to that point was a turtle, which he released. There were always lots of turtles in the water and sunning on the stones that braced the embankment for this small bridge when I walked down this road a few years ago. 

It's not uncommon to see fishermen (and women) along the roadsides here, fishing in the bayous or even seining the ditches for crawfish when they are in season. I've had some wonderful conversations with a few of those people, most of whom were very pleasant and interesting. I certainly enjoyed talking with this gentleman and his group today.

Friday Photo

I chose this photo that I took with my iPhone for this week's Friday Photo. One of my neighbors actually grows this pretty little garden on the outside of his fence near the road. I assume he does that since his back yard is quite shady most of the day and this location would get a lot more sun, necessary for growth. I've tried my hand at gardening a few times, but never achieved anything close to this. I think I'll ask Mutt for advice next year.

Friday Photo

I chose the following pictures from my annual Memorial Day trip with my mother to visit the grave sites of our family. Over the years, the trip has taken on a much slower pace with mom often sitting in the car while I walk to the markers of family members to place flowers and take pictures. I leave Louisiana and head to Muncie, Indiana, where I grew up and we visit cemeteries there to decorate my dad's grave, my step-father's grave, my Dad's parents grave site, and the sites where her two sisters are buried. The Friday before Memorial Day, mom and I load the car and head south to Tennessee where she grew up and many of her ancestors and family members are buried. We visit several cemeteries there. The two pictures I chose are from that trip. The first one was taken at the cemetery where her parents, four of her adult siblings and two siblings that died early, one at a young age from illness, the other at childbirth along with my grandmother are all buried.

I swallowed hard as I took a series of pictures of mom walking the row where most of her family members are buried as she is the last remaining member of her generation. I wondered what she was thinking and how hard it must be to be the one left behind.

This picture has meaning to me as the woman pictured with my mother, the widow of one of my cousins, had a really bad stroke a couple of years ago and suffered serious damage as a result. She and mom were close years ago and always liked to visit when they got together later on. Rae always recognizes mom and finds a way to communicate, by nodding or pointing until we are able to determine what she is trying to tell us. Rae's son brought her to the cemetery on Sunday, but this picture was taken when we visited Rae at the nursing home on Monday. She had us take her outside where she and mom carried on a long "conversation".

This trip means a lot to me but I'm not sure whether we'll be able to make it again. It's hard for mom and very tiring but she manages well despite the infirmities of her age and likes visiting the family still in the area. 

Friday Photo

My second granddaughter, Emily, graduated from high school last week. I spent Friday night with my daughter's family so I wouldn't have to drive over so early Saturday morning for the ceremony. Since I was there, I was able to go with her and her mother to feed horses at the stable of a friend who was out of town. Emily plans to work with horses / animals after she graduates from college and since I took senior pictures of her at this same farm last fall, I felt it was appropriate to include these pictures. 

This photo leaves a bit to be desired as far as composition but I liked how the horse had kicked up the dust as he entered the stable to be fed. I like the action.

and last but certainly not least,  my granddaughter receiving her diploma. I didn't get as good a shot as I thought I would but I did get a far better shot of Emily than I got of her sister Erin last year with my old equipment. And after having the camera and lens for less than a week, I quickly realized that I really need a more powerful zoom for this shot. Maybe by the time youngest sister Sarah graduates from high school in two years, I will have added one to my gear. I'm proud of you Emily. Love you!

All of these photos are SOOC (unedited).

Friday Photo

I have a new camera... one with bells and whistles and really much more camera than I am comfortable handling at this point. I decided that as part of my effort to learn to operate the camera to the best of my ability, I would start posting at least one picture a week here on this poor old, sadly neglected blog.

I just got the camera on Wednesday. It is a Canon EOS 60D and I have two lens. The kit lens that came with the camera (15-135mm) and I purchased a 50mm lens. I opted for the 1.8 as opposed to the 1.4 because of the cost difference. If I were more serious about photography or thinking about a more professional quality I would have gone with the 1.4 as it would give me far better use and more control of available light. The 50mm will let me take portrait type pictures which is what I typically shoot. Since the camera is not a professional level camera, I think the compromise in lens quality is a realistic one. The zoom lens that came with the camera will be very helpful to me tomorrow when my granddaughter Emily walks across the stage to get her high school diploma. She won't look like she's ten miles away like her sister did last year in the photos I took with my old camera. I just hope I'm up to the task and that the lighting isn't so bad that it won't matter.

So obviously, I chose Ginger as my first subject since she was the only one available to me. I hope to have a decent picture of two of Emily and the other girls that I can choose from for next week.