Week 28

f2.8, 1/500 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm macro

Week 28 - September 9 - 15, 2012

Today's photo is brought to you by the fox tails behind Grandview Arena!  

The area behind the arena is mainly weedy.  I have found this spot to be a great place to get some interesting photos of fox tails, grasses, thistles, leaves and some small flowers.  Each time I go to this spot, the plant growth is different.  It's funny how some days, the fox tails look amazing in the light and on other days, I don't give them a second look.  

I was pleased with the dark background of this photo as it makes the grasses stand out more.  

Week 27

f8, 1/350 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm macro

Week 27 - September 2 - 8, 2012

Here I am back at Hillcrest Park with my macro lens.  We were here last week with our visitor from London, Ontario.  However, I only had my "regular" 18-55 mm lens and 135 mm telephoto.  So I knew I had to come back with the macro to get more floral shots.

As I have stated previously, the sunken gardens at Hillcrest Park are so beautiful.  This summer I have fallen in love with the cosmos flower.  I am definitely going to grow them in my own yard next year.  I loved the soft light on this photo and slight shadow.  It can be tricky with lighting during the day.  I do my best to avoid the bright sunshine.  

Week 25

f2.8, 1/350 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm macro

Week 25 - August 19-25

This photo was along the walking path, of course!  I had been out shooting and was on my way home when I came across these flowers that had grown up in the middle of some fur trees.  I knew that if I used a shallow depth of field I would blur the background and it would be nice and soft.  I was so pleased with the background as it reminds me of a watercolour painting. 

Week 24

f8, 1/250 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm macro

Week 24 - August 12-18, 2012

Well I have gotten a bit behind in my postings...yikes!  Playing a bit of catch up right now!!

Today's photo is a close up of what I call "thistle fluff".  These to me are the summer version of "snowflakes".  I don't want to start thinking about them just yet.  Plenty of time for that much later in the year!

This was one of the first times that I got really close to the fluffs and was amazed at the gorgeous patterns.  I love the delicate fine lines and the way they form a perfect circle.  These are fun to photograph and can be a challenge with the wind.  If Santa brings me a tripod, then I will certainly be trying that out next year!

Week 26

f2.8, 1/180 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm 

Week 26

Back on the nature path this week.  We have had amazing weather which is nice for me, not having to battle the elements.

Lots of things are changing daily along the path.  There are so many thistles and most of them are now seeding.  It makes for some interesting photography, with close ups of all the fluffs.  You just have to be careful and not rub up against the prickly leaves of the plant, something I have managed to avoid, so far!  I was walking along and noticed how neat these small thistles looked.  To me it looks like a soft makeup brush.  

I am still managing despite my sore thumb/wrist after the fall.  Will certainly be glad when it is 100%!

  

Week 23

f4.5, 1/250 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 23 August 5-11, 2012

Yay, today is the day I got my cast removed after 5 weeks!  Call me happy!  My hand is still very sore and I don't have a lot of movement in it just yet.  So photography is still a challenge but I am doing my best out there!

In the afternoon, I visited the sunken gardens at Hillcrest Park.  The park is located high up so you have a beautiful view of Lake Superior and the Sleeping Giant out in the harbour.  The grounds are just beautiful with gorgeous flower plantings all over.  The sunken garden changes each year so you always have to come back to see what they have done.  They went and moved the cosmos on me and I had to do a search for them!  The garden is a photographer's delight.  

I came across the straw flower and thought that this would be perfect for my project.  I was especially so happy with the way it turned out.  As you know when you are photographing out in the sunshine, it is hard to see the screen and tell if something is in focus or not.  With it being bright and sunny today, I looked for flowers in shadier areas.  I'll be back before the summer is out!!

Week 22

f8, 1/125 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm, flash

Week 22 July 29-August 4, 2012

This week finds me back in Thunder Bay.  We are enjoying an absolutely beautiful summer this year.  We have had plenty of sunshine and hot weather, with rain here and there.  Actually, when it rains it pours, literally!  There have been some good thunder boomers in the night.

My neighbour across the street has the most beautiful lillies - she has orange, pink and dark red, almost black.  And they always bloom while she is away on vacation.  So when she's away, I am over in her yard, taking dozens and dozens of photos.  

This turned out to be the last week of doing photography with my cast on.  (In case you may have forgotten, I broke a bone in my thumb and ended up in a cast for 5 weeks this summer). 

I ended up using a flash in this photo.  I love the rich colour of this particular lily.  

  

Week 21

f5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm 

Week 21 - July 22-28, 2012

This week found us on another road adventure.  We travelled to Virginia and Duluth, Minnesota for 4 nights/5 days so Hannes could attend some car racing events.  Our usual trips are normally for 2 nights/3 days.  So with the extra time, we decided to do some touristy things.    

One of the most enjoyable things we did was to visit the Leif Erickson Rose Garden in Duluth.  The garden is located off London Road, on the shore of Lake Superior.  The sun was shining brightly and it was a super hot day.  There were only just a few clouds in the sky.  The gardens are simply beautiful.  There are so many varieties of roses that I lost count, not that I was!  You just keep walking and around every nook and bend, there is another garden.  In addition to roses, there are so many other beautiful flowers.  There are plenty of benches and places to rest.  Working people bring their lunches and enjoy and flowers and calmness of the whole area.  There was also a busload of "seniors" from Wisconsin.  Oh my gosh, some day that might be me!  lol

We saw one bride and groom with their photographer.  I caught one quick photo, although I was pretty far away and I did not have my telephoto lens on at the time, since my main focus was macro.  In another section of the park, people were setting up for another wedding at 2:00 p.m.  We saw the little flower girl getting prepped on the way back to our car.  I wished we could have hung around longer as I would loved so much to have seen the bride!  Such a happy day!!

From a photography perspective, I found the sun to be too bright.  I did my best in the "editing room".  Oh well, you can't always get the perfect light, etc.  And you don't always have a chance to photograph on another day.  So you have to make the best of what you have.  

Which brings me to my weekly choice...I just love this flower for its colours, shape and simplicity.

Week 20

f4, 1/180 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 20 - July 15-21

OK, so I am already getting used to shooting photos with a cast.  I have a system going and it seems to be working well.

On this day, my neighbour two doors down, saw me walking by with my camera.  She invited me into her yard to take photos of her flowers.  We chatted and I checked out her various hanging baskets and other garden flowers.  She had a beautiful hanging basket of these beautiful purple and yellow flowers (don't ask me what they are; I would have to check.)  I just love the softness of this photo.

My neighbour has given me the go-ahead to come into her yard whenever I want to get photos.  She has an amazing clematis plant on a trellis in her front yard.  It is just gorgeous, with a few shades of purple.  That could be next week's photo.  You just never know!  


P.S.  It's nice to be invited into my neighbour's yard.  Usually I stroll over when they are not at home and take a ton of photos...it's a shame that they are not there to enjoy them as much as I do!!  

Week 19

f4, 1/350 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 19 - July 8-14

This week finds me shooting photos while wearing a cast.  Unfortunately for me, when I fell last week, I broke a bone near my right thumb.  I am now in a cast for the next 4-6 weeks.  This does make photography more challenging as I am trying to balance my camera, hold it steady and take photos.  I also made the decision to put my camera on the "auto" mode to make it a bit easier for me to manage the camera.  

Some of you may be wondering why I don't use a tripod.  Well, that answer is pretty easy.  I used to have one and found that I never used it, so I gave it to my brother, who lives in another city, far away from me.  So I am trying to make the best of it.

I went down a different part of the path, took a right instead of a left.  There is so much to photograph.  It's funny how some days, you walk by something thinking there is not much to look at but on other days, there is so much to look at!  I found these grasses at the far end of a parking lot, behind a hockey arena.  They were just so colourful and pretty.  I have to say that I notice so much more detail in macro photography.  I am kind of a details person, so it is really right up my alley.  It always seems to be windy when I am out.  I will stand and wait until it dies down, then shoot.

Week 18

f4.5, 1.180 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 18 - July 1-7

When I originally left the house to go on my photo shoot, I decided to walk down my favourite little walking path/nature trail.  I didn't want to go too far from home as I had taken a tumble on July 1 and fell, hurting my right hand and wrist.  My friend Maria loaned me a heavy duty brace that she used for carpal tunnel.  So, off I went down the path, wrist support on and camera on  my shoulder.  Just as I was about to start shooting, I had a funny feeling that I forgot to put the memory card back into my camera, after downloading pics from the day before.  So then I had to go back home, put the card in the camera and start again.  I was pretty annoyed at myself...however, if I had not forgotten the card and come back, I would not have run into the deer feeding on the path.  At first I didn't see him, as he was a couple of feet into the bush, munching on tree branches.  And, as I was out on a macro shoot, I really was unsure if I could get any shots.  But I have to say I am amazed at the range of my 100 mm macro.  I was able to fire off from 10-15 shots of this deer at a very close range.  I was not too nervous that he would charge me (don't know why...)  I didn't move around too much and it was super quiet on the path, until a cyclist came down.  I actually stopped her and told her about the deer, because I didn't want it to be startled and jump out in front of her on her bike.  I figured that one accident on this path (me on Sunday night) was enough.  We chatted for a few minutes about where we have come across deer in town.  In all my years of living in the neighbourhood, this is the first time I have seen a deer on the path.  We know they are around as they eat my neighbour's flowers in spring and summer.  And sometimes we see their hoof prints in the snow in winter.  So once the deer was done eating, he went across the path, had a drink in the creek and carried on, up into someone's back yard.  I'm sure he'll be back, and if so, I hope I am ready to shoot him (with my camera only), lol.

Week 17

f2.8, 1/125 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 17 - June 24-30

This week my friend Jo-Ann invited me out to her "camp" as it is called in Northwestern Ontario.  I am originally from Manitoba and we call refer to our summer home as a "cottage" or just that we are going "to the lake/beach".  In Western Canada, they call them "cabins".  When I first heard the term camp, I immediately thought that everyone spent their time in a tent.  Because when we went "camping", that is exactly what we did.  Anyway, the term camp does not really describe how amazing these places are.  Jo-Ann and her husband have a place on Trout Lake, with an amazing view of the water from their kitchen window.  This is their first year of ownership, after having rented the same camp for several years.  

So to get to this week's photo...near the back door of the camp are two wooden Finnish gnomes, one is Tuiteri and the other is Konkeri for good luck and health.  I don't know which one I photographed.  I will have to get the explanation from Jo-Ann's son the next time I am out there.  I just loved them.  They reminded me of Santa Claus just a bit!!

Week 16

f2.8, 1/250 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 17 - June 24-30

This iris is right from our front yard.  It had rained quite a bit during the night and cleared up by morning.  It was early as I recall.  I had some time to kill before my Sunday morning spin class so I thought I would get some photos done before the sun came around and made things too bright.  So out I went with my mug of tea and camera.  And yes I took a ton of photos, some with the open flower petals, some still closed, and close ups.  I really love how the two water drops are just hanging on to the flower.

Week 15

f2.8, 1/2000 sec., ISO-400, 100 mm 

Week 15 - June 10-16

This week found me wandering around the neighbourhood once again.  I found these bleeding hearts on a pleasant walk down Hinton Street, just past Blanchard St.  The home owners have a lovely little garden right at the edge of the street so it was easy for me to get in and photograph.  I did not even have to leave the sidewalk.  I took several shots and liked this once the best due to its simplicity.  I also just love the vibrant pink colour.  Other than a bit of cropping and probably a bit of sharpening the image, I didn't do too much editing (from what I can remember.  It has been a while since I have posted on the blog!)

Week 14

f2.8, 1/1000 sec., ISO-400, 100 mm

Week 14 - June 3-9

Still sticking a bit with the water theme, albeit this shot has only a few droplets compared with the large amount of fast moving water from last week's photo of the creek.  It rained on Friday night and luckily for me not all the water had dried up yet.  

I shot this yesterday while out walking on the path.  I decided to go around a different way and search out something that I had not photographed before.  Found all kinds of interesting plants with the most tiniest of flowers and little spider webs with a couple of water drops in them.  In fact, I was going to use a spider web shot until I found this beautiful blade of grass with a great reflection of the grasses that were growing over top of it.  At the time of the shoot, I did not see the reflections in the water droplets.  So you could imagine how happy I was when I got home and was able to see the photos  on my computer screen.

 

Week 13

f2.8, 1/350 sec., ISO-400, 100 mm

Week 13 - May 27-June 2

We arrived back home the evening of May 28 after a three week road trip to Eastern Ontario.  The total mileage driven was 4149 kilometers (2578 miles).  Glad to be back home and back to "normal" life, whatever that is!

One of my most favourite things to photograph is water...I am a swimmer so I guess that makes sense. The day I shot this was shortly after we had severe flooding here in Thunder Bay on May 28.  We didn't know anything about the flooding until the next morning when I opened up my Facebook page to see photos that my friends had posted.  The headline in the newspaper was "State of Emergency".  Many people had severely flooded basements and had to leave their homes.  Just this week the provincial government has declared Thunder Bay to be a disaster area and will provide funding to help affected people and municipalities.  

So the flooding affected my little creek with very high and fast moving water.  I cannot remember in recent years when the creek has been this high.  One fellow told me the other day how high the water was and I was just shocked.  Anyway, it has been pretty good weather wise since the flooding and I was lucky to get this shot.  I love the blues and greens in the water from the sky and trees reflecting in it.  

Week 12

f2.8, 1/90 sec., ISO-400, 100 mm

Week 12 - May 20-26

Week 3 of our road adventure finds us in Milton, Ontario at the home of my husband's nephew and his wife.  Milton is one of those small cities that is experiencing rapid growth.  New homes are going up faster than you can blink an eye!  

While my husband and nephew were chatting, I decided to go into their yard and photograph some of their plants.  It had been raining on and off which was good for me as it made for more interesting photos.  The ground was really saturated and I had to watch my step.  I almost got stuck in a big pile of mud.  

I chose this photo as I really liked the individual droplets of water on the leaf.  

Week 11

f2.8, 1/3000 sec., ISO-400, 100 mm

Week 11 - May 13-19

This is week 2 of our road trip from Thunder Bay to Kingston with stops along the way.  The above photo was taken in Bath, Ontario (22 km outside of Kingston) near the home of my husband's sister and brother-in-law.  They sold their home in Toronto and moved to Bath to start enjoying their retirement.  The area where they live is a new development near the water (Lake Ontario).  

I went on an adventure walk to see what I could find to photograph.  Let's just say there was a ton of photo ops without having to go very far at all.  It was just a beautiful morning, with the sun shining and birds singing.  A few people were out and about walking dogs.  I think I was the only one with a camera.  I managed to use all three of my lenses, changing back and forth.  It was truly an enjoyable (and warm) morning.  

I spotted the dandelion on my walk back to the house.  At that time, I thought I was pretty much done with my photography shoot when I spotted the dandelion fluffs.  Out came the macro lens again and I took a few shots.  This was the one I liked best, due to its simplicity.   

Week 10

f2.8, 1/2000 sec., ISO-400, 100 mm

Week 10 - May 6-12

This photo was taken in Bayfield, Ontario where my sister and her family have a trailer.  Bayfield is a very quaint little place.  It is a pretty touristy area with lots of shops and restaurants.  The town is located on Lake Huron.  This was my first time seeing Lake Huron and I have to say that it was more beautiful than I thought it would be.  The water is a tropical blue/green that I just love.

Today was a day of mixed sun, cloud and some rain showers.  Unfortunately we had to cut our beach walk short due to rain.

My brother-in-law built a fire in the fire pit which we enjoyed for a short while before it started raining more heavily.  It then seemed like a good time to take a nap!  The rain did stop eventually and we were able to get out and  take more photographs of the area before supper.

Week 9

f2.8, 1/2000 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 9 April 29-May 5

It was another busy week...trying to fit in the photography adventure between all the other things that need to get done.  I took a series of macro photos once again on a nice Sunday afternoon.  And, as usual, there was some wind, so I had to be patient.

Lots of small buds are appearing and that was my major focus.  I was hoping that some things would be further along.  Again, patience!  It will get there, maybe later than sooner!  

Anyhow, I do enjoy myself when I'm out and about in the 'hood.  There are always lots of people out walking, many with their dogs and some just walking for the health of it!  I am always amazed that even if I am out for an hour taking photographs, my actual "walking" time is only about 20 minutes.  The rest of my time is standing by the "subject" and then waiting for the right moment to click.  Sometimes I will stand in a spot for several minutes, focusing and composing the photo.  I have walked away from some potential subjects to photograph because I can't get the shot that I want!  In many cases, I will come back another day. 

Week 8

f2.8, 1/350 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Dedicated to my Mom. 

Week 8 - April 22 - 28

This week got off to a sad start for our family.  We found out that my Mom passed away early Sunday morning.  It changed everything that was planned for the week as my hubby and I had to travel back to my home town.  There were still some final arrangements to be made.  We also had a family gathering to say final goodbyes to our Mom.

I was able to get out and work on some macro photography on Monday.  It was therapeutic in a way, walking on my favourite path, with camera in hand. I was able to find lots of subject matter.  With spring on the way, it's not hard to find some interesting buds.  I settled on the above photo mainly because I love the purple background and also for new beginnings of spring.  The background is real, not colourized or edited.  I can't remember what was there, but I'll take it!  Purple is one of my fav colours so I thought it was appropriate to dedicate to my Mom.

Week 7

f8, 1/125 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 7 - April 15 - 21

Well, here we are...over the halfway point of April...we were kind of hoping that the snow would be done by now, but that has not been the case.  Overnight on Sunday, April 15 and early Monday morning, April 16 we had quite the snow/ice storm.  The rain on Sunday turned to ice during the night.  It took me 10 minutes of hard scraping on Monday morning to clean off my car windows.  I did shoot some macro pics on the ice build up on the car and was going to use it for this week's photo...however, I found something else later in the week that I decided to use instead.

Many people in Thunder Bay like to drive to Duluth, Minnesota to go shopping for a couple of days.  The drive down Highway 61 is very beautiful.  For the most part, you have a gorgeous view of Lake Superior.  We left on Wednesday morning.  The wind was high and the waves were crashing into the shore.   It was really a site to see.  

So, after a good day and a half of mall shopping and other great shopping places (Kohl's ♥), we went for a scenic drive to two different places.  The first place we visited was Enger Park.  It was cool and it was good that we had on heavier jackets, gloves and headwear.  As we were walking around the trail, we came across a fallen tree with the coolest lichen on it.  I managed to take several shots...have to say that I am still working on focus with the macro lens.  It is tricky!

The second place we visited was a scenic lookout with a great view of the harbour and city.  Once again, the wind picked up and I was glad that my jacket had a hood.  (I did post a self-portrait on my page yesterday).  And thank you Rachel for the comments about my gloves!  They kept my hands nice and toasty warm for shooting pics.

Well, now it's time to sign off and think about this week's photo op.  Until next week!

Week 6

f2.8, 1/500 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 6 - April 8 - 14

This was a week of windy conditions.  I didn't get out to shoot any macros until Wednesday as it was just too windy!  Even on the days I was out (Wednesday-Friday), I had to time my shots in between gusts of wind.  I actually did some shooting one morning before breakfast when it was much calmer.  I took my cup of tea outside with me, grabbed my stool and mini tri-pod to try some yard shots.  I think knee pads may be in order.  Every time I get down, I can hardly get back up!!  

I looked for some different things this week along the walking path near my house.  Found some interesting things that I will post outside of this blog.   The weather has not been that warm lately so the buds are taking their time to form.  A few buds are forming here and there.  Many others have not even started to bud yet.  Some new ground growth is starting to show itself.  It may just take a little longer until we get a bit of heat!  

Also this week, I decided to focus on things right in my own yard.  Finally a few little flowers are starting to poke up through the soil!  We have some tiny white crocuses and the flower above that I am using for this week's photo.  I don't know what this is.  If you know, please drop me a message.  Each flower measures no more than 1/2 inch across.  They grow in a long string, if that makes sense.  I love flowers, especially ones that are purple/dark blue. 

The forecast for the upcoming week is calling for some snow on Monday (possibly 15 cm).  Who knows, I might be posting more snow photos...just when you think the snow is gone for good!  Time will tell!!

  

Week 5

f8, 1/125 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 5 - April 1 - 7


It was a busy week.  We were in Toronto from the previous Friday (March 30) until Monday, April 2.


For this week's photo, I went to my usual walking path near the house.  It is amazing to me how many interesting things there are to photograph along the path.  People always ask me "What are you taking pictures of?"  I tell them that there is a ton of stuff - new buds, leaves, water, grasses, weeds.  It's all much more interesting with digital photography.  


I found this tree with new forming buds and I just knew it would be amazing to photograph.  I took several shots of the tree and branches.  A solid background would have been more to my liking, however, sometimes you don't have too much choice.  There were other trees and a creek in the background so I tried to blur it as much as I could.


It was another day of wind and waiting in between gusts to shoot my photos.  I am learning to be very patient, which is a good thing!   

Week 4

f9.5, 1/350 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 4 March 25-31

This week was much cooler that last.  We went from 15 Celsius to about -2 in a week.  And there was a cold wind blowing from the north.  On the plus side, there is practically no snow left, just bits and pieces here and there.  

I usually shoot a lot of photos on Sunday afternoons but not this week.  The wind was so high that I knew it would affect my macro shots so I waited until Monday.  There was still a light breeze so I had to become more patient and wait for the wind to stop for a few seconds and then snap my shot.  Needless to say that when I got home and downloaded into the computer, there were lots of deletions...wind = blurry shots!  

Started the photo shoot in my front yard with the lilac buds coming to life. Took lots of shots from different angles and ended up choosing this one because I loved how the buds stood out against the soft the brick background. I then continued to my favourite path and found lots more neat stuff to shoot.  Still working on the tree moss!  All in all, it was a successful day.

Week 3

f13, 1/45 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 3 March 18-24

Sunday, March 18 was a most beautiful day of about 15 Celsius. I wore a light shirt, jeans and vest with pockets (somewhere to put my lens cap!), no hat, scarf or gloves today!  But I still wore my Sorels because it was really wet.  It's funny that now that the snow has melted, the little internal paths are harder to find!  Last week the trails were easy to find as they were packed down from all the dog walkers.  Today, I went down into the trail, thinking it was the same one I was on last week.  I found myself zig-zagging all over the place, trying to find the right trail.  I eventually found it, although it looks completely different without snow.  There was still some snow off the beaten path, so it's good that I had my boots on.  

Today's photo was actually taken before I went off the outside of the trail.  I was walking by and I liked how the new bud was forming, with an old leaf still attached to it.  Took a few shots from the front and back, thinking with excitement that these were the photos that were going to make the cut for this week's edition to the project.  You just never know until you get home and load them up into the computer!  

Week 2

f2.8, 1/500 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 2 - March 11-17

Today (March 11) was pretty nice outside, still lots of snow on the ground, but it has started to melt.  The breeze was cool so I did wear a winter jacket and had a hat and scarf around my neck to stay warm.  And I wore my shorter Sorels...which was a very good thing.  It appears that as the snow is melting, more and more dog do do is showing up.  Would you believe that there are people out there who walk their dogs and then do not bother to pick up the little treats left behind?  I mean, really!!!  OK, I am digressing, back to photography.

I walked down the well worn paths in my favourite spot, taking many photos.  One thing I am trying really hard to work on is this tree with moss growing on it...the moss is very small and I have tried and tried to get some decent macros.  Since I can't see the camera screen very well outside due to the extreme brightness, I really don't know what I have until I get home and download everything into the computer.  I have some OK shots but they won't be included in this little project until I get what I have an idea of in my head.

Today's photo happened to be taken on my walk back to the house.  I decided to walk back up Whalen St. and came across the great tree that was very close to the sidewalk.  As soon as I took this, I had a good feeling about it, I just liked the way the green and brown worked together.  And I really liked the softness of the background.  It worked out well.

Week 1

f11, 1/180 sec., ISO-200, 100 mm

Week 1 March 4-10, 2012

Sunday, March 4 is the day that I started my newest photography project.  I got this idea into my head that I would take a macro photo a week for 52 weeks.  I have recently completed a 365 project where I took a photo a day for an entire year.  It was a challenge to say the least!  I didn't want to have that kind of stress so that's why I changed it to posting only one pic per week...it's a lot more manageable.

First let me go back and say how thrilled I am to be the proud owner of a real macro lens.  It has been a dream for a long time and I was finally able to make it come true.  I had been looking on line and had a price from Primary Foto here in town.  After a lot of consideration, I got the best deal from Primary, plus I feel it's good to have the local connection.  John was pretty excited when I came into pick up the lens.  We chatted for a while and he gave me some interesting tips about using the lens.

After some practice shots, I was ready to start my project.  Let me say that it's tricky using a macro.  The focus is very fine and a bit of wind can ruin your shot.  I probably will be using a tripod in the not-too-distant future.

My first day out shooting for the project found me on my favourite little walking path near our house.  There was a ton of snow on the ground and luckily for me the path was clear.  The first item I spotted that looked interesting was some grasses off the path.  So I thought I will just step off and do some photos.  As soon as I stepped off the path, I fell into snow up to my knees (one foot).  Then I thought how do I get out of here?  I had to step in with my other foot and then get out.  Crazy stuff!  Once I got out of the deep snow, I thought to myself that I will stick to the path.  Further up, there were some well worn trails into the bush so I went on those.  And that worked out really well as I found a ton of great subjects.  I settled on this photo of some weeds (I don't know what they are really!).