Delicate

I was hoping to get a clearer shot of some apple blossoms, but I'm battling pneumonia and I haven't been outside much lately. I went out yesterday after the storm blew through and found that the wind and rain took most of the petals down. So here's the best of the lot from the last time I tried shooting apple blossoms -- the buds were just beginning to open then.

Blooms

I'm trying to decide which lens to take for a walk at the daffodil trail -- these are in my yard.
All shot with ISO 100 and sunny day setting.

First is the kit lens - 18-55mm. I think it's a pretty decent lens!


Next is a 60mm S lens -- but I need a tripod to use it. I like the glow in this one. Partly sun on the flower and partly just the color of the flower itself.


Then there's the new 70-200mm L lens -- I'm struggling with this lens. I have trouble focusing on what I want to focus. The depth of field hasn't given me much room and my eyes aren't very good. Anyway, it's pretty heavy for a stroll in the park. But it's anice lens and I think I'll keep it!


And finally, my old favorite walk-around 28-135mm lens. I think it's still my favorite for pick-up and go on a nice day.

Stacked

The herons' nests are stacked in the trees at the rookery.
This shot is out-of-camera -- no extender.

And here's one nestmate bringing twigs to fortify the nest.
The pair on the lower level are watching...



I bought a new L lens (70-200 f2.8) and paired it for some of the shots with a Kenko 1.5x extender. I think I'm having a nervous breakdown spending that much money on a lens! It's definitely a big and heavy lens and I'd probably only use it for a walk in the park. Maybe I should return it and look for something else (less expensive and not so heavy).

Fill the frame

The cat is a little grouchy because I'm ignoring his "hints" that I should pet him.

Taken with my point and shoot Panasonic just inches away from his face.

Unexpected

The great blue herons return to the rookery in the Cuyahoga Valley late in February every year.
I think the snow is unexpected...

This shot was taken with my ? to 300mm lens and manual focus to bypass the weeds in the foreground. I had to lighten it in Lightroom to match the partly sunny day.

Big and small revisited

OK -- this is a printabe version of the healing process.
After 4 weeks the therapist said we didn't need to do a dressing any more,
and a week later there's just a small scab at the center.
You can see by the reddened new skin how big the open wound was.

By the way, these photos were all taken with my Panasonic point-and-shoot
and I found that a flash gave a better shot even though these
were taken in daylight and next to a window.

Self portrait

Well, I thought I'd give the mini-assignment a shot -- even though I HATE looking at photos of myself -- and I was trying to catch a typical reading-in-comfort pose lying down on the sofa, which often ends up with me dozing off for a while. It was hard to do! I had trouble with my cable release and switched to a 9 second timer instead. Not enough time to run to the sofa and lie down and pose with a book/magazine and my eyes closed!

I played with the cable release some more and I think it wasn't making contact. Anyway sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. {grumble, grumble}