Grasses

This week I finally got out to pick some weeds and try to get some really artistic grass photos.

Yeah. What about grasses? They have interesting textures in November and December. 

These were parts of nature that I'd never looked at before. I mean come on...grass? What is interesting about grass?

Years ago, my supervisor at the Power Plant and I would walk along the perimeter fence and I'd point out wild flowers. He'd point out different grasses.

I'd nod and look at the delicate grasses that he'd name and then I'd point out a wildflower.

I wish I'd paid more attention to his knowledge of grasses.

The varieties are endless: bluestem grasses, switch grass, wild rye, indian grass, and dropseed grasses. 

I don't know bupkis about grasses. Nada. Nothing.

But I was enchanted by the grasses I found alongside the cropland in the neighbor's land.

I mean, it is just grass right? Weeds? 

Fall grasses fading
glowing gold in 
the morning sun
waiting for the 
snows...

Once the winter snows flatten the grasses, they will drop their seeds and burst forth again in the spring. I guess I never thought about grasses that way. It was just grass. But like everything else in the forest that I admire, it seeks to rejuvenate just as other plants do.

The older I get, the more I realize I don't know

much.

Abstract designs by 
~Grasses

Sunday Stuff

I thought I had my day planned.
Sunrise with Charlie. That went well, we drove to our sunrise 'spot' and watched the sun come up. Yes, I DO use my Subaru to go find beautiful places to photograph! Indeed I do!

To fans of 'Ru's...
How do you Subaru?

Charlie did not get sick or drool!
I consider this a huge improvement. But I made it so he could watch out the window and get fresh air. Perhaps he is maturing or maybe I was lucky. Either way, he enjoyed his morning sunrise jaunt with me.

After chores were done, I drove to Genoa to drop off some photos to some friends. I'd taken photos last weekend of their daughter in the softball playoffs and thought they'd like them.

I had a few errands to run in town so it worked out nicely.

The road on the ridge is curved, the telephone poles are in a straight line.

The sky was amazing, one of those days where the clouds made you want to stop what you were doing and just sky watch.

After lunch it was time to see if the mules would like browsing in the forest section.

It was rather ho hum. They stayed on the ridge road first and then wandered down the trail to browse.

I decided to take some time for myself. Weed eating was on my list as was picking green beans and other garden items, but I decided to walk to the creek and get some quiet time in.

Our neighbor came down and started to cut up and brush out the two trees that Jeff, the bulldozer man knocked down.
Rich was in bed.

I couldn't resist taking some Bears along.
These two cooled off in the creek.

Rabbit and Bear.
Doing their thing.

An isolated thunderstorm moved in and my day was done.

Today is Monday.
The green beans are calling my name and as soon as the dew is off the plants, I'll be picking.

There are phone calls to make and phone calls to take.
Appointments to get ready for and ... it looks like my day of rest is over.

Pictures of self.

I dislike taking a shot of myself and I dislike the camera aimed at me.

My father loved the camera lens from both sides. But dad always took a great photo.

I however see age creeping up on my face in harsh lines and freckles. I guess that is what surprised me the most. Those lines.

Friends of mine that are interested in having some fun in photography and I have formed a group where we share photos each week. Each week one person picks a theme and we eagerly try that theme out.

While working on some methods of light reflection today I thought I'd try out our new theme.
Self Portrait.
Not a selfie.

Ohhhhh nooo! Eeek gads! Cover my head up! Can I use Val-Barbie as my body double?

She is much better looking and she even has a Morris just her size! She never minds the camera pointed in her direction!

Me? Not so much. I did this one against the new bright white wall in the kitchen. But my ugly t-shirt was hanging out.

A bit more glamorous I think. Yes the hat suits me, and I wear it as often as I can.

Even if I get strange looks while shopping.

I'm not going to hide the fact that I have ... wrinkles and lines. I look in the mirror and can't deny it any more.

Probably all those years of abusing my face by not putting on creams, yet hiking in the extreme cold, gardening with a baseball cap and no sun screen. Being out doors and mistreating my face.
Well I didn't worry much about it to tell you the truth.

And now I am stuck with this face.

I am finding that it does make for an interesting 'self' study though.

Moody. No glasses and bounced lights off the ceiling in the spare room.
Cracked textures added to make it look a bit abandoned.

Harsh black and white.

Then I got very creative. How far could I go with my own 'self portrait'?
How far do I dare go?

So I went very far....

The photo is interesting and I took a lot of liberty with my edits.

Original:

All of these photos were taken in RAW Nikon files and processed in ON1RAW2017 pre-release.

I'm pretty impressed with this program and love it...hands down it is easy to just do a straight forward process, or you can get as complicated as you want.

After today I don't think I'll be as uncomfortable in front of the lens.
I think as long as I am taking the shot!

My Still Life for today:

I'll be selecting this one for some cards I'll send out.
Backround glitter was provided by cardboard covered in tin foil ... slightly crumpled.

How do you photograph?

Yesterday I was driving to work and I was looking around the Bad Axe river valley for something interesting to photograph.
I was looking to stop the Subaru and take a photo.

I wasn't looking for 'leading lines', selective focus, DOF, POV, long exposures, or anything special at all.

I was just looking to see what caught my eye.

That's what I do.

Since I was small, my dad would play games with me.  He'd have me use my hands to create a 'focus box' to frame a photo in.  He would let me look through his camera lens and pretend to take photos.

He never gave me rules.
He never told me I had to be balanced.
Or that I had to follow the rule of thirds.

He let me explore with a child's inquisitiveness.
I was curious.
He let me play.

He'd sometimes peer through my pretend lens and smile.

He never asked me to explain.
But as I grew older and I got my own cameras, I started to recall the times when he'd use a light meter, stare at the sky and the light...then fumble and talk out loud about his settings.
He talked a lot.  I listened a lot.  I think I must have studied composition through him.

Really.

Because today I rarely think about things like rules of thirds, composition, or other things.
The scene will strike me and I will take the shot.

How in the world does that happen?

Really?  How can I not think about taking a shot?  But bring it into focus and go from there.

NO, not every shot is a success.
And yes, I am studying methods to get much better.

But do some people just acquire a natural talent?

Not saying I am that talented person.

Maybe just lucky.

I took this shot last week on a whim.

The photo went positively viral on Flickr.
But it was an 'in the moment' shot.  No extra special thought went into it.

 Yesterday I pulled the car over to the side of the road to get this.

From what I am learning, there are a lot of technical 'good' things about this shot.

Leading lines.
Shadows, subject matter, ...taking the viewer's eye through the photo.

In my opnion.
It is just a shot.

Of the Bad Axe River Valley.
I wanted to have the trees lead the viewer to the bridge.
I thought the bridge was interesting in this rather sparse valley where cattle roam in the summer.

But, it is a bridge for snowmobiles in the winter and for stock in the summer.

Nothing special really.

And that is how I view photography.
It is just my way of seeing the world around me.

Lines Lines, Everywhere a Line

So our assignment this week was on leading lines in 256SOG.

I watched as many folks posted beautiful shots of perfect lines.  Many photos involved sidewalks, bricks, buildings, alleys, people, benches, and parks.

I was pretty sure that my lines were not straight nor correct.  But the nature of our area geographically makes for an interesting study of 'lines'.

For our terrain really doesn't have a straight line.  It is all about gentle and steep curves.

I can think of one stretch of road in the 30 miles I travel to work that has an actual straight line.

So there was my dilemma.  How to find a photo that represented leading lines.
I was walking with Dixie in a snowfall when I thought to take this.

The cornrows were curving lines.  The ridge road was curving lines.  The fence was futile attempt at making a straight line.


Then Sunday as I was walking up the driveway to meet my neighbor I glanced over into the woods and was startled to find the following lines in the trees and their shadows.

Now here are lines!

I had to take the shot. 
To me it was just curious and interesting that I had happened upon such perfect lines in our crazy hills.

Rarely do the shadows line up properly like this.
And generally only once during the winter do I get a 'find' like this.

Enjoy my 'lines'.