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.