Category Archives: photography

Friday at the Garden

Posted by Mike on

Columbus Botanical Garden

I was sitting at my desk after uploading yesterday’s post, my mind floating within the possibilities for the day, when it hit me… If I go to work now, I could leave early and visit the botanical garden. That started a flurry of activity. Brush the teeth, get dressed, pack a lunch, pack the camera bag and out the door I flew.

It wasn’t going to be a great weather day but with rain in the forecast for Saturday and temperatures dropping on Sunday I didn’t want to waste even a slim chance for a few pics. I’m not going to lie, focus all day was not top notch. More than once I thought of using a few hours of personal time but I pushed on and walked out the door at 2:30pm. I even managed to finish a couple of task before leaving. 🙂

I walked through the garden gate at 3pm. There was a lot of the Shine event still visible. From what I could tell they were working from one end of the property toward the other. No problem, it wasn’t going to be in my way. The lady at the gate let me know the Camellias were blooming and to be sure not to miss them.

Well, the first image isn’t a Camellia but hot damn! Yep! Good decision for today…

Love on the Edge
Nikon Z f, Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, 1/200s, f/3.3, ISO 100

Oh yeah, not everything was in bloom but there was color everywhere. I froze for a moment not sure which direction to go in first. Out of the corner of my eye I spied a wooden bench swing and a trail off the paved path. To the right we go.

Not every attempt was successful. I don’t think I came home with a Camellia image I’m happy with but that gives me a reason to return (like I need one… LOL). The bench swing attempts (several different swings) didn’t do it for me, but I did find a bench where someone left a Camellia blossom on the arm. You already know I can’t pass up a bench.

Contemplation
Nikon Z f, Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, 1/125s, f/3.2, ISO 100

Nestled among the trees and plants, off the normal path, this looked like a good place to sit and let the cares of the day melt away. I wanted to, but I was on the clock. The garden closes at 4pm and I had more to see.

I switched lenses to the Lensbaby Velvet 85mm. I used this lens trying to be creative with a few of the Camellias. I need more practice, both in getting the focus I want as well as interesting compositions. I did find this little one.

Feel My Light
Nikon Z f, Lensbaby Velvet 85mm f/1.8, 1/60s, f/4, ISO 100

Eventually, I worked my way back to the fountain. It is a central feature of the Camellia Bowl garden. The snowflake lights from the Christmas event still hang throughout the garden giving the fountain an ethereal vibe. The properties of the lens also contribute to the effect. This is almost the same view as my Community image on the Shine post.

Stars in My Eyes
Nikon Z f, Lensbaby Velvet 85mm f/1.8, 1/125s, f/2.8, ISO 100

Park closing time was approaching fast. I wanted to explore the gardens around the farm house before I called it a day. I switched back to the 105mm macro lens since I was frustrated with the Lensbaby. I basically had the garden to myself and the walk back along the trail helped to improve my mood.

As I expected, not a lot of subjects around the farm house. I could see in a few weeks, maybe a month, this area will be popping again. I need to get my act together and figure out how to use the 85mm lens. I did manage to find a couple of interesting views with my normal macro…

Party Time
Nikon Z f, Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, 1/125s, f/3.3, ISO 100

Alien World
Nikon Z f, Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, 1/160s, f/3.8, ISO 100

As I was heading out, I met one of the employees. I wish I had asked his name. Anyway, he is a photographer too. He asked if I got any good pics and wanted to know what I was using. We talked about macros and he mentioned his setup includes a multi-light rig. He said it allowed more control over a ring light. I would agree and it would depend on the subject but for now I’ll stick with my ring light.

I will say, every interaction with the people at the garden makes me feel good. They are all so nice and I’m very happy with being a member. I’m looking forward to what the garden will do this year…

Winter in Bloom

Posted by Mike on

Squared – SQ204
Floral Friday
Columbus Botanical Garden

You don’t know what you don’t know. Last year I missed the camellia season. Thankfully, due to my membership with the botanical garden I received a newsletter explaining all the upcoming events surrounding camellias. To be honest, I stole the title for this post from the garden’s newsletter. I’ll let the experts explain… Winter in Bloom.

I have been busy adding each opportunity to my calendar. This year I want to explore it all. Last year I happened upon the tail end of the camellia season. This image is from an April visit…

Camellia Lost
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, 1/125s, f/3.2, ISO 450

Thoughts of Yesteryear

Posted by Mike on

Bridge Wednesday
Chattahoochee RiverWalk

My exploration of the Chattahoochee RiverWalk trail was good for more than getting me off the couch. I found a few locations that I’ll be returning to as the seasons change. One of them is this covered bridge.

The Bridge
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/40s, 24mm, f/11, ISO 100

I’m really looking forward to when the trees begin to fill out and the area feels more alive. As much as I love a “naked” tree, typically in silhouette, I think this view will only improve as the leaves appear. I know I’ll be exploring the river trails more this year.

Thoughts of Yesteryear
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/50s, 31mm, f/11, ISO 100

Oh, in case you didn’t notice, this is for another of those themes I’ve been talking about lately. You can probably guess, this is Bridge Wednesday. I really need to post a list so everyone can play along… 🙂

That will have to be tomorrow…

Shade Me

Posted by Mike on

Tree Tuesday
Flat Rock Park, Columbus, GA

I’ve probably rambled on about this more than anyone cares to listen, but when I was starting this journey with photography Google’s social network, Google+ (G+) was beginning. This network played no small part in the growth of my photography. One of the aspects I enjoyed, and truly miss, was the theme days.

A page or two in my notebook (the one I’m writing in this year, to my surprise) are about using themes to help me see better. And a small part of me is hoping to get others to join me in posting using these themes. I haven’t worked it all out in my head, but… today was/is #TreeTuesday (I’ll forego the hash tag format here).

Shade Me
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, 1/125s, f/5, ISO 110

RiverWalk

Posted by Mike on

Chattahoochee RiverWalk – Dragonfly Trail

I can easily be complacent. Simple statement of fact. I point to the four year gap between selling the house and finally moving South. I want to do better.

The allure of my current video game was calling me after I fed the boys (my cats) their dinner. The “want to do better” thought was floating on the top of my mind. Thankfully, the lazy side of me didn’t win. I packed the camera and headed out. At the very least I would go to the park and do more exploring. The sunset would not be until 5:45pm, I had plenty of time.

The short conversation I had with one of my friends at work about the trails along the river popped into my head as I sat at the light. Straight to the park or make the turn to the right, and find the trailhead. I turned right.

I’ve known about the trail along the river since I moved to this area. I’ve walked a short section of it near Uptown Columbus. This time I was going to start at the very north end and walk downstream. You can see more info about the trail system here. I did grab a phone pic of the map.

I walked from mile marker 3.7 to marker 2.0. That small section there on the bottom left of the map. As you can see, I have more exploring to do. Added to my agenda for the year…

I had no idea what I would find along the trail. This was more of a scouting mission. A deposit on future possibilities. I met a few photographers on the trail and they provided me with some advice on the birds I could find. I only brought the 24-70mm lens but the next walk will be with the zoom lens.

I mentioned in the post on the Shine event at the botanical garden that I’m not a street photographer. But, there were a couple of opportunities to include people in my pics. I’m thinking I need more practice…

The Journey Begins
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/100s, 24mm, f/8, ISO 100

Golden Days
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, 1/80s, 70mm, f/11, ISO 160

Behind the Scene – Carefree Days

Posted by Mike on

Behind the Scene – BTS01

I’ve been doing more thinking than I normally do. WTH?

It is so bad that I have been writing things down. Who am I?

I’m not a reflective person, nor am I a person who looks very far down the road.

But, I have been enjoying my photography these past few months. During the summer of neglect I was unsure if I would continue this journey. I now understand a contributing factor to my recent enjoyment are the interactions I have with my online friends. I need to put in the work because I know I tend to go silent at times. I’m trying to be better…

A few ideas have been bouncing around in this empty head of mine. I’m hoping I can find a way to bring them to these pages in a way that everyone will enjoy. The first one is this Behind the Scene idea. A few comments on recent posts got me thinking an understanding of what I went through to create the image would be something interesting. Hence, a peek behind the curtain and sorry to say, into the jumbled mess of my mind.

So, let’s get this party started with a recent image, Carefree Days from Flat Rock Park. As soon as I spotted the swing hanging from the tree, I knew that it would be the image of the day. In my excitement I jumped right in photographing it and didn’t spend the time working the scene. My first image looked like this…

Carefree First

What do you see? A tree, right? But the swing is my subject. So what did I do? I only had my 105mm prime lens on the camera, so I needed to zoom with my feet. Yes, I could have cropped the image later as I processed it but I generally try to get the image as best I can with the camera.

Few steps closer. Same sight line. You get this…

Carefree Second

A slight improvement. I removed the clutter at the top of the image but the tree is more prominent than the swing. Still not what I want. Also, what do you see behind the swing? Yes, that’s right, more clutter.

I need to change my view in an attempt to remove as much of the distractions as I can. The other factor working against me is my focal length. The 105mm is working hard to compress the view. Even though my aperture is wide open at f/2.8, I’m not getting much blur in the background due to the optics. The distance between the background and the swing is less than the distance between me and swing.

I’m not going to be able to make the background disappear but by choosing a consistent grouping of brush I can help the swing stand out. Stepping a little closer and moving to my left, I find the best view available. This is the image…

Carefree Third

I’m happy. I’m also thinking I should come back for another attempt with the 24-70mm lens, but for now I can continue the walk. But I’m distracted because thoughts of how I want to process the image are already running through my mind. I was aware of my surroundings enough not fall as I zombie walked back to the car.

These three images are straight out of the camera. Now the camera images are in a 2 x 3 format which is not my favorite. I tend to use 5 x 7, 4 x 5 or the radical 1 x 1 formats. This is a tall image so my first adjustment is to crop to the 5 x 7 format. It helps me remove a little more of the clutter at the top and bottom of the original. I’m basically removing anything that doesn’t help me tell the story.

The last big adjustment I made was to convert the image to B&W. That allowed me to hide the small patches of green in the foreground and background. Plus, as you all know by now, I love me a monochrome image. And, so you do not have to go look at the other post, the finished image…

Carefree Days
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, 1/640s, f/2.8, ISO 100

My hope is that you will find this interesting, maybe helpful and at the very least entertaining. Please let me know in the comments. As for the other ideas swirling around in my head, they should find their way to the blog soon. I know, I’m excited too…

Everyone Needs a Dream

Posted by Mike on

Flat Rock Park, Columbus, GA

My walk at the park on the first of the year started off a little slow. I wasn’t “feeling it” and I had to get out of my head. I didn’t want to bring any expectations with me as I walked. All I was hoping to do was let myself see the little things around me. Then I found this little guy and smiled. Now I knew it was going to be a good walk…

Everyone Needs a Dream
Nikon Z6 II, Nikkor Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, 1/1000s, f/2.8, ISO 100