There is pleasure in the pathless woods,
there is rapture in the lonely shore,
there is society where none intrudes,
by the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not Man the less,
but Nature more.
~Byron
Helios & Helianthus
Summer may be gone, but a few flowers in the vase always brightens a gray winter’s day.
Taken with an iPhone5 using app Bracket Mode, combined in PRO HDR, then manipulated in Snapseed, RePix, Artista Oil, and Image Blender.
WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: this week’s theme is Gone But Not Forgotten. Check out other entries here.
Although Kim Klassen’s current course, Be Still 52, has been challenging, informative and fun, I haven’t been participating much recently. Not because of the course, but it’s just not something (like this blog) that I’ve devoted any time to lately. Sometimes when you stop doing something — reading a book, taking photographs, doing something of habit — it isn’t easy to get back into the practice after a period of time. Claiming that you’re waiting for “inspiration” can be a crutch. I decided that I was going to jump back in this week and do the lesson regardless of whatever it was.
This week’s prompt is “Organic”. I wanted to run immediately, as I think that the term “organic” is overused. Food is “organic”, but the label is meaningless as there is no standard to define what “organic” should be. When I was working, the sales and executive teams often talked of “organic” growth. That was even more ambiguous and made me laugh whenever I heard it. I thought it sounded organic — as in like the stuff that one might put on one’s garden!
But, since I was committed to the prompt, I decided to think of things natural and in nature. I took a walk along the nearby creek and found these wildflowers. In other situations, they might be considered weeds. On the creek bank, they grow naturally, without any sort of intervention or cultivation. I placed them on the wood floor in my house when the late afternoon sun was streaming in through the windows. I like these images.
Part of the lesson included using LightRoom’s Print Module to create a diptych. I tried several times — I’ve done this before! But, I could not get the picture placement to work correctly when I exported the file. I’ll have to keep working on how to do that. Guess it isn’t something that came naturally — organically — to my brain this evening!
A few shots from around my pond. This is my little garden oasis, whether I’m working on the “weeding” of the algae or sitting nearby listening to the waterfall.
Unfortunately, the critter in photo #6 is the main suspect in the disappearance of several of the critters in photo #2. On one hand, he is an uninvited inhabitant and I wish he would go away. On the other, he may soon be the sole occupant so I’m wondering if I should name him. Appropriate name suggestions welcomed in the comments section!
I had a big issue with Ailsa’s selection for this week’s theme. The problem is that the theme is BLOSSOM and I take too many pictures of flowers that so it was difficult to choose!
Here is one I took on my recent trip to Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands.
For Ailsa’s weekly travel theme, a photo from my recent trip to Keukenhof Gardens in The Netherlands. The tulips were lovely; the gardens are amazing. I wish I could visit here every Spring.
Pink Tulip Closeup
Posted in Flowers
Tagged Keukenhof Gardens, macro photography, nature, Travel Theme: Closeup, Tulips
From my recent visit to Keukenhof Gardens in The Netherlands.
Orange Tulip with Rain Drops
For more entries in this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Spring, click here.
It started raining this afternoon a minute or two after I stepped outside with my camera to capture a few shots of the daffodils which are finally starting to bloom. And you know what? It smelled like a Spring rain. So wonderful!
Daffodil with raindrop
Minor adjustments to vibrancy set in Lightroom, and gradient filter applied to lighten left side of background. (I love using the gradient filter tool now that I’ve learned how!) Textured with one layer of Kim Klassen’s kk_rest_magic texture, blend mode screen, opacity 80%, brushed completely off flower and additional brushing at a very low opacity (12%) to reduce effect over the background.
Linking up with Kim’s Textured Tuesday today.
Four Deer Oak 