A bit of Infrared Fun ~ Sunny Days vs. Cloudy Days in the Creek

Shooting with an infrared filter opens up some wonderful possibilites on a bright sunny day. The shadows are more intense, the greens are 'white' and true IR photography is sometimes a lot more interesting that what I've taken here. 

[By truer, I mean cameras that have been converted to Infared.]

However, I am just dabbling in it.

The end result of this shot wasn't that fantastic. But it was a good experiment.

I wondered what the bright sunlight on the rocks would do with the cold water of the creek running through it.
The unedited version looks rather strange.

However I think I got lucky with this one. It turned out pretty cool.
In my opinion of course.
I can see the rocks just below the surface of the water and reflections of the rocks also.

I should have taken another shot without the filter and seen what difference it made, but I didn't. I was pressed for time that day.

I used a bit of extra editing in this next shot, I wanted to accentuate the rays of light.

This is more in line of how I 'see' parts of the creek bottom. It is beautiful and mysterious all at once.

The next day was heavily overcast which is perfect for normal water photography.

This shot is from further away and I used a polarizing filter to cut some of the water reflections so I could catch the rocks. I like this shot but feel that I actually enhanced it a bit too much. In retrospect, it should be toned down a bit.

This is more what I was going for. A nice long exposure which softens the water but allows the mind to imagine the motion. The rocks below are just visible enough so that we know there is a rocky bottom.

And then just for fun...

One must add something that doesn't belong.

The Flurry is Over

When a grand child spends a week here, it feels as though the house is lacking something when they leave. 

Morris takes it to heart.
He wanders the house and makes frequent trips up the stairs to see if his pal is really gone or perhaps he can find a sniff of them somewhere.
Eventually he ends up curled up on the couch and will spend most of the day there.

On Saturday afternoon I went for a walk and he started out with me and then turned around and went to the house. He sat in front of the door and looked at me. This had me worried. Morris refuse to go for a hike? Impossible!
Yet he did.

Sunday I took advantage of the free day and picked produce from the garden.

I had a bounty of food. A garden cart full of beets and turnips along with two buckets of green beans and a sinkful of red lettuce [thanks to the cooler temperatures ~ it didn't bolt!]

I spent all day Sunday blanching and freezing the green beans and the beets. I used my vacuum sealer. I also dried lemon basil herbs with my old dehydrator. I finished one jar for the neighbor and am working on another jar for my step daughter.

Monday I decided to do some wandering in the woods. I gathered some items in my back pack and grabbed the Nikon with the Nifty Fifty [50mm prime lens]. 
Morris perked up. He bounced in his usual manner and came with me. 
Apparently it takes him about two days to get over missing kids.
Though he still checks a few times a day by going upstairs to look in the bedrooms.

I let him hike with me without his bell on at first.

He keeps getting 'lost' in the thick undergrowth, so I eventually put his bell on so I could hear where he was.

For fun, I'd brought my Flea Market tea cup and saucer. I found shelf fungus on a dying tree and thought it would be fun for 'outdoor' Still Life. 

Faerie Tea Time

In the creek I thought it would be fun to try out the tea cup and saucer in a long exposure with water running past it.

The overcast day was perfect for some flowing water photos. I added a polarized lens to get rid of water reflections. I took quite a few shots to get the one I was happy with.

Personally though, I sort of like the tea cup on the shelf fungi best. I think it is odd enough and unique enough to satisfy my tastes.

I spent yesterday working on my flower garden and the vegetable garden. I purchased some black bark mulch and I really like how it looks. Seems I will need to go back and get some more to properly cover the area I want.

Last but not least, I took an afternoon break and sat on a stool in the garden between my malva flowers and zinnias to watch bees and butterflies. Of course, I had my camera.

The grand kid flurry is over, only to start up again in another week or so. 

The Kenosha gang will be coming at the end of the month with their dog Scout. 

My Flurry of Fun Summer has not ended!

I can say I am certainly enjoying this beautiful summer.