Macro Garden Shoots

Click on any photo to see it enlarged.Within the photography club, we have established sub groups that focus on a specialized interest of the members. One of these groups is "Macro Photography" which just happens to be my favorite type of photography. After the first meeting, we decided that the best way to learn is to go out and shoot macro together, sharing whatever expertise we have and learning from each other. Our first excursion was to a backyard filled with whimsical planters and garden accents.

I took over 100 photos and was sorely disappointed in most. Out of focus or blurry seemed to be the most common attribute. The ones presented here took a bit of computer processing to bring up to an acceptable level. The rest felt the power of the delete key. Almost everyone took a picture of this shoe planter. I think it was the purple laces that drew us to it. Since I was practicing macro, I zoomed in for closer shots.

On each shoot, I try to get at least one self-portrait.
It helps to establish an alibi.

The next week we arranged for a local garden center to let us in two hours before it opened. What fun to have the place to ourselves, and I learned a lot. The other members were so helpful and allowed me to look through their macro lens. I have been thinking of buying a macro lens (because the poor quality of my photographs must be due to the equipment, right?). There are so many from which to choose that I hardly knew where to start. Thanks to my friends, I looked through 5 different macro lenses, each one a different focal length. This is what I needed, some experience with them, so I could make a decision as to which one would work best for me.

I liked the soft focus of this blue flower
so I didn't even try to sharpen it.With this one I sharpened the petals some,
but left the soft, peachy background.

Nothing soft here. These two look like they're on fire.

A cherry tomato.

After editing the photos from this shoot (the delete key was well used again), I went online and ordered a new macro lens (a Nikon 105mm) and a set of 3 extension tubes. My backyard is an explosion of colorful gladioli right now, prime targets for more macro shots. What fun I will have. You can see more photos from these two shoots on my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/suebrazelton/

Kung Fu Championships

This is Chris Shelton, who is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the owner of Morning Crane Healing Arts Center in Willow Glen, and my Tai Chi instructor. Chris recently competed in the Tiger Claw's Kung Fu Magazine.com Championships, held at the SJ Convention Center. Most people don't know that Tai Chi is a style of Kung Fu. Although Tai Chi is used as a meditative form of exercise, the movements have fighting applications. Chris entered 4 events. The first was Push Hands, in which each competitor tries to force his opponent off balance. Success in Push Hands requires internal power, not brute force.

His second event was a form of Tai Chi called Xin Jia. This form includes soft, flowing movements and competitors are judged not only on how well they perform the movements, but on how connected they are to chi (energy). This is the first form of Tai Chi that I practiced and it took me over 2 years to learn all 48 postures. I use the word learn loosely. Mastery is a never-ending journey.

First Place !

Because the body is moving slowly, to the unenlightened it looks like little energy is spent. That's an illusion. It looks easy because practitioners tap into an internal energy source. One can still work up a sweat. Click on the photo to see what I mean.

Tai Chi also includes several unique weapon forms. Chris competed with the Broadsword (Dao), a form I have practiced and not mastered. It is such powerful fun to swing that sword around.

Another first place !

Chris's family

The photography was challenging: lighting, movement, getting in close, and distracting backgrounds to name a few. After reviewing the photos, I realized the many mistakes I made, so it was most definitely a learning experience. I have been taking Tai Chi classes from Chris for going on 5 years, and this is the first time I had seen him compete. By watching him and the other competitors, I am newly inspired. NOTE: Chris won first place in 3 events and after a final Tai Chi face-off, was named, "Tai Chi Grand Champion."

Hakone Gardens

Click on any photo to enlarge it.The photography club held a shoot-out at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga, the oldest Japanese style estate in the western Hemisphere. The placement of plants, stones, waterfalls and ponds creates a harmonious and tranquil atmosphere that invites visitors to wander, contemplate, and photograph.

One of the many volunteer gardeners

Dragonfly

The Bamboo Forest

Most of the spring blooms were long gone, but...I hope you enjoyed your scroll through the gardens.

Yosemite & a May Full Moon

Yosemite or Lake Tahoe? With 2 weeks left of a 3 month sub job, I knew I wanted to go somewhere beautiful as soon as the job ended, and before most kids were out of school and the hordes descended upon the parks. But where? I had been to Tahoe in September and wanted to go back while there was still some snow, but I hadn't been to Yosemite in 30+ years. I chose Yosemite because it seemed like more of an adventure, but when I searched online for a room, none were available. I had waited too long. What to do?

Wait a little longer. Two weeks later, on Saturday, I found a room at Cedar Lodge which is just a few miles outside the entrance to the park. Perfect. I booked the room for two nights, packed, and left the next morning.

I got to the park at 10:30am. I wanted to use this day for reconnaissance, so I drove all the way in, past the turn to Bridalveil Falls, around Curry Village, and into Yosemite Village. I could not believe the number of people. I figured it was crowded because it was a Sunday. Most of these people would be heading home and I'd have the park practically to myself on Monday and Tuesday.

I was so naive.

Early Monday morning I arrived at the park with the intent of spending most of the day on my feet, instead of in my car. I headed straight to Curry Village, which was the closest I could park to the trail head to Mirror Lake. I found a primo parking space, grabbed my camera gear, and caught the shuttle to the trail head. Ah, it felt so good to be really in the park and away from the crowds. The trail was a well marked, rocky path through the forest that eventually opened to a huge meadow surrounded by high granite cliffs that were reflected in the lake.

I was not alone.

As I approached the trail head to catch the shuttle back to my car, I passed at least 50 people just starting out on the same hike. I was very glad I had made an early start. Back at my car, I saw there were just as many people in the park as yesterday, maybe even more. I left my car where it was and took the shuttle to the visitor center, which was the start of a self-guided walk across Cook's Meadow in the center of the valley floor. I saw the same beautiful vistas, but from a different, less crowded perspective. This photo shows both upper and lower Yosemite Falls.

Wondering on foot allowed a glimpse of a more intimate landscape.

While walking through the meadow, I imagined what the park was like before it became over-developed, auto-clogged, and tourist-congested. With all the rain this winter, the meadow water provided beautiful reflections.

By the end of the afternoon, I was glad to ride the shuttle back to my car, but I wasn't finished with the park quite yet. The road in/out parallels the Merced River and I had previously passed up many scenic spots in my quest to get into the park. On this ride out, I stopped numerous times to photograph and enjoy the river scenery...

and take a self-portrait.
(Did I mention that it rained most of this day?)

The full moon was only two days away, but since the forecast was for rain the rest of the week, I didn't think I'd have an opportunity to photograph it this month. I drove back to Cedar Lodge thinking I would not be returning to the park. Then as I was eating dinner, the sky completely cleared, not a cloud to be seen. I was tired, and debated whether shooting the full (almost) moon at Yosemite was worth the drive back to the park. I decided it was, quickly wrapped the rest of my meal in a napkin, climbed in my car, and drove a bit too fast back into the park and up to Tunnel View. This point provides a classic view of Yosemite Valley, including El Capitan, Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Falls. The look-out was lined with photographers waiting for a beautiful sunset. When the light on the cliffs faded to gray, the pros expressed disappointment (at the lack of a spectacular sunset), packed their big lenses away, collapsed their tripods, and left the scene. I stayed put.

One of the last ones to leave turned to me and said, "Show's over for the night." I said, "Not if you know where to look," and I pointed up at the moon just cresting over the hill. I was ecstatic. My year-long full moon project was still on track.

Some thoughts on Yosemite:
The whole of the park is huge, but the valley that has all the iconic views of granite cliffs and falls is only 7 miles long and less than a mile wide. This small area has to accommodate millions of visitors.
Every visitor has a camera. What would Ansel Adams think if he saw someone whip out a cell phone to take a picture of Yosemite Falls? He had to pack hundreds of pounds of camera equipment.
When I got on the shuttle bus to return to my car, a young woman immediately popped up and offered me her seat. I was appalled. Did she think I was elderly?

Roses, Roses, Roses

Click on any photo to enlarge it.Another club shoot-out, this one at the San Jose Rose Garden. Sensory overload kicked in as soon as I walked through the gate: thousands of flowers. I want to see and smell and photograph them all. Where do I start? (Is this how a bee feels?) Flowers are my absolute, most favorite photographic subject. I surround myself with them, both inside and outside my house. They make me smile, lift my spirits, and fortify my soul. Their beauty astounds me. I have entered Nirvana. I take a few deep breaths, quell the shaking, and make a plan. Color! I will orchestrate my shots around color. Red summons my attention first.

This spindly bug was waiting for the temperature to warm.

After 3 hours I was just too tired to continue. This was only the start of the flower season. I had many more shooting sessions in front of me. Before walking out the gate, I switched to my wide angle lens, crawled under a bush,
lay down and looked up.You may view more photos from this shoot on my Flickr photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suebrazelton/

Pacific Grove - Part 2

I wanted to go back to Pacific Grove (See my blog in April) while the ice plant was in full bloom, so I planned a shoot-out for the photography club on the first afternoon I had free. There is not a big story here, just an afternoon of clear, beautiful skies and lovely scenery.

It wasn't just the ice plant that was in bloom.
Wildflowers and succulents were bountiful...

even though some were a bit past their full bloom.

The shoot-out was over and it was getting late, but I wasn't quite ready to go home. On my way out of PG, I stopped at the marina to visit with the seals. There were hundreds of them, noisy and smelly. They barked and lolled and swam, squirmed, stretched and slept.

You can view many more photos from this shoot-out
on my Flickr photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/suebrazelton/