Friday, July 22, 2011

Photography & Nature...two passions combine

There is nothing I love more than a warm sunny day, giggling happy children, and some free time to disappear into my backyard. While I do love to wander in the garden wearing my pink and somewhat garish garden gloves and toting a well loved trowel, lately my SLR camera has been my favorite tool of choice.


I am loving the view through my lens, the tinniest of discoveries can be found if you just stop and look. From the detail of a not so simple bud to the depth of color in an ever-changing petal. It's these little things I love to capture in a photo, always looking for something of interest that I may of otherwise missed.



Seriously though, I have a lot to learn! There are so many wonderful features and techniques my camera has to offer and if you ask me what I can do with it? Well...ummm, Auto-setting! You know the green square where everything is done for you...hehe, basically a glorified point and shoot. If I get adventurous I do switch to Macro, take a dozen pics of the same thing and cross my fingers one turns out half decent. That there is about the extent of my camera know-how!


On the other hand, putting the technical stuff aside. My real passion is in the composition, the eye for balance of positive and negatives, the shapes and how they fill the space, the colors and patterns and the movement captured in a still. Its my love of the creative and appreciating all things beautiful that really gets me excited about photography. Now to learn the technical stuff to add to the creative...oh I am so excited!!


I am looking forward to taking it a little more seriously, I've ordered some books on macro's and exposures, plus I am hoping to take a workshop (when I find one) on Botanical photography....I'm so excited! Can't wait to share with you all that I learn, through my happy snaps in future posts.

Garden photography books I recommend... 

The Art of Flower & Garden Photography - Clive Nicols   
Aimed at capturing the beauty of plants and gardens, featuring the author's own award-winning work, provides expert advice on all aspects of the subject. Topics range from close-up details and individual plant portraits to composing vistas that reveal the grandest gardens in all their glory.

Creative Close-ups: Digital photography tricks and techniques - Harold Davis
Renowned photographer Harold Davis provides pages of field-tested techniques on focus, depth-of-field, exposure-even the appropriate equipment to use for this unique niche of digital photography. The book includes stunning and intriguing examples of his work to illustrate concepts.
 

16 comments:

  1. Love all these wonderful blooms! It doesn't matter how many shots you take just to get that one special one. It's the pure joy in it that counts!

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  2. Hi Julia! I recognize this enthusiasm to capture the beauty and intrigue of your garden. It's very similar to the process I've found myself in these last few months. You spoke my heart when you convey how you feel about the art of composition. It's a wonderful expression of creativity and brings great joy! I look forward to researching the books you've selected. Best of luck, Cat

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  3. Your gorgeous images so reflect your passion.
    Looking forward to reading about and seeing more of your beautiful compositions.

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  4. I agree...it's so much fun...I can spend hours looking for new views, angles and combos through my trusty viewfinder :-)

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  5. It is addicting. Composition is key, but sometimes if you are shooting something moving, it is hard to follow the one third rule. Go by eye, it is a more rewarding way to shoot. The rules can come by experience.

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  6. Hi Julia. Great shots. It is so fun when that perfect picture comes together. Delete is the button I use most on my camera. LOL! For every twenty I take I may get one great one. I love to play with light and backgrounds to capture a image. Finding that insect you did not see at the time you were busily taking that shot just so so. LOL!
    Have a wonderful weekend.

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  7. I'm an auto-focus type of girl, too. :) Your pictures are very pretty. I hope you learn a lot and share some secrets!

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  8. Julia, as I read through your post, I couldn't help but think about how you might enjoy Gardening Gone Wild's monthly "Picture This" photo contest. Anyone with a gardening blog can enter and they choose a new theme each month. Even if you don't want to enter, the judge each month offers helpful critiques that help everyone learn a little more about the art of taking botanical photos. I apologize if you're already familiar with this. http://www.gardeninggonewild.com/?page_id=9880

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  9. I love your enthusiasm for photography, and you take darned good shots. I also enjoy the subject, but no matter how much I messed about the auto settings did the best job in my case.

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  10. Your photos are beautiful and you have an artist's eye which is such a help when trying to create a masterpiece. Me , I just point and press and hope for the best !

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  11. Mama-Bug@ Its such a thrill when you get that one shot that is the "wow" one. Thank godness for digital technology, I can't even imagine the rolls of film I would be going through at this rate...lol!

    Cat@Thanks for your encouraging words, your work is so beautiful you are quite the inspiration! I am so happy to have finally found a creative outlet, now to tackle the technical..agh!

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  12. Aerie-el@ Thanks for your sweet words, I am crossing my fingers the "passion" will get me through the stuff I find tricky, honestly in the past when learning about my camera all I heard was bla, bla, bla...lol! Its so foreign to me.

    Scott@ Seriously, I can be out in my yard and loose all track of time, its wonderful. Even without my camera in hand I still feel like I see through a little rectangle at times...lol!

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  13. Donna@ It is so adicting, if my SLR wasnt so big and heavy, not to mention make me look somewhat of a tourist...lol! I would take it everywhere! I am really enjoying what it produces. I am looking forward to gaining loads more experience, Oh how I love the composing of a perfect pic. Also looking forward to more of your wonderful posts on techinique, I loved your painting with light post...more please =)

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  14. The composition is the hard part and you have such a beautiful eye for it! The technical stuff can totally be learned, but the eye...that is the rub and you've got it girl!

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  15. Isn't it so fun to be learning photography along with gardening? I'm glad blogging pushed me into photography. If you're wanting to make a little step up from full auto without going all the way to full manual, using the aperture mode (Av on my camera dial) and setting the aperture to the lowest number possible will be a fun adventure. That's the setting I use for many of my close up pictures.

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  16. What fabulous photos. They are more amazing every time I look.
    Question for garden bugs:
    how can you get poppy stems to grow straight?

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Thanks for stopping by and reading my latest post! I love sharing my gardening adventures and reading your wonderful comments. Happy digging...Cheers Julia!!

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