Twin Poppies
It has been a while since the last post, longer than I had intended. But quite a bit going on here that is keeping me pulled away.
All of it good.
Luckily I have some photos still in the queue.
The poppies are still going strong, which is a good thing, considering the weather lately. We had over a week of 30C (upper 80′s F) dry weather. Now the mountains around us have a beautiful blanket of fresh snow and Goddess and I have had to scramble to get the garden covered and the potted plants into the garage to protect them from frost.
These poppies thrive in both conditions.
And they certainly are beautiful.
Twin Poppies
We’re waiting for them to go to seed so we can spread more around the yard.
Today is another wonderful day in the life of the Universe
As we had a chance to listen to HH the Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, speak in Eugene, Oregon.
We had distant, but not quite nosebleed, seats. But they had a very good overhead screen display so we could see closely.
It was an engaging, thought- and discussion-provoking 90 minute presentation.
The blog title was presented today during the Dalai Lama’s introduction (pictured above) as a Buddhist saying, although I can’t confirm it with any source.
Framed Goddess
Framed Goddess
Rock ‘n Rolla
Still tiptoeing through the archives.
I sure miss watching these guys.
Rock’n Rollers
If you aren’t familiar with the scene, have a look at this video.
The live music in Yoyogi Park (Tokyo) on the weekends was always a treat. You never knew if you’d hit upon gold or trash. Either way, the energy of the performers could never be denied. Just like the rockabilly dancers.
Back in 2009, the police tried to shut the scene down and they were successful for a little while. But it looks like the scene is back.
And vibrant.
Miniature
Perusing the archives last night after I found the pic for last night’s post, I saw this one. It made me smile. And then made me wonder why I never did anything with it.
So I processed it and filed it away.
Then kept thinking about it today, as I was out on my bicycle ride. Climbing a twisty, steep mountain road.
I could relate to the young lady.
Miniature
Faces
This image flashed across my monitor today as part of my screensaver. I had not seen it in a while, since it was taken on November 11, 2004. The image made me smile at a moment that I needed it, a harried 45 minutes where I could not find my favorite lens.
A lens that has taken just under 30% of my 50,000 digital photos that I have taken that are in my database.
A lens, that if I had to replace it, would cost me a bicycle.
And I don’t buy cheap bicycles.
Long story made longer, the lens was right where I left it, although it had slipped behind a flap in my camera bag that never gets moved.
Except once recently.
Apparently.
I’m still trying to work on detaching from objects, but for something that has brought me so much enjoyment…
So back to November 11, 2004.
The progression of expressions makes me smile.
Faces
And no, this was not an image taken with my favorite lens.
Some train station on the Tokaido line, Tokyo, Japan.
How I Learned to Stop Worrying…
I typed lots of words over the past hour or so, but have deleted them.
Instead, do some reading, if you wish.
There have been some legal shenanigans in the UK that may impact you, no matter what country you call home.
Because the shenanigans have global implications.
The UK’s copyright landgrab: The FAQ
And the government has a chance to explain themselves, as in “these are not the droids you are looking for“.
So after many years of purposefully no including watermarks because I find them ugly and distracting, I’m going to have to placing them on my pictures again. This is many years after I quit worrying about somebody heisting a picture of mine and claiming it as theirs.
Grumble, grumble.
Of course, watermarks won’t keep someone from stealing. But it may keep the honest people honest. And the thieves will continue to steal.
Here’s a before and after:
If you are new here, that’s a behind the scenes shot of one of my images.
And if it steers a bit more traffic my way, that’s a good thing.
I’ve got some beer, a new script and some time to edit/upload. But I will not make a dent in what’s out there. So I won’t worry.
I Love Bomb.
Pastel Curls
About fifteen minutes prior to last night’s image.
Same flower, different angle.
And a bit of help from the sun.
Before I started lighting from below.
Pastel Curls
BTS – Shorebreak
Just a quick behind the scenes shot from last evening’s iris session.
They are beautiful flowers. But the light inside is much more intriguing than the light outside.
Shorebreak
I was going to follow up last night’s California poppy post with another view of the same bunch. But that will have to wait.
The purple iris’ bloomed today.
I happened to notice with just a few minutes of sunlight left.
Good thing they make external flashes, since I was able to extend my shooting to past sunset and actually create the light that I wanted.
Shorebreak
Why the name? I learned to surf at an early age and have been able to, off and on, over the decades. It never leaves me, especially when I’m near water, mentally surfing waves and ripples of all sizes. So seeing shapes like this take me back to those moments, looking at a wave as it curls over, rushing to the shore. Also, the tones are reminiscent of sunsets and beaches and the tropics.
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And for those of you interested in the lighting (Strobist) info: A single Canon 580EX II set on the ground ~24″ directly below, triggered by a Pocketwizard MiniTT1/AC3 combo on the camera and TT5 on the flash, using the AC3 to manually dial the flash down to 1/64th power. There may have been a bit of natural light bleedover from the right, but it’s not apparent. Sunset had been about 10 minutes prior, so the only available light was cool and failing rapidly.
