Category Archives: arizona
fledgling with father
I was a little more patient this morning and was able to get a shot of father and son. As you can see, the little guy is still expecting to be fed. He does eat a little on his own, though. (Note the difference in lighting from yesterday. Yesterday it was raining but bright. This morning is overcast and darker. (ISO 800, 200mm, shot handheld through glass door))
Note: I later found that this was a second baby and possibly a female since the feathers weren’t as red.
fledgling
A pair of Cardinals nest here every year. This year they produced a son.
48 degree flower
It was 48 degrees this morning but this Echinopsis still managed to bloom! It was also raining so this is a quick handheld shot at ISO800. Yes…an external light source would have been a good idea.
echinopsis hybrid
Cloud cover this morning caused the color of the new blooms on my echinopsis to become deeply saturated. Speaking of weather, it’s been very strange here. We had record heat two days ago and this morning it’s in the low 60s! Being at elevation, we have an advantage of about 7-9 degrees which sure helps on the hot days.
blend modes
This image is the result of blending text and a photo. (The windmill sits very close to the truck from yesterday’s post. The text came from an old photography book (1941) in a chapter regarding shooting into the sun).
Blending text with an image is very easy with the help of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Open up the photo you want to use and then drag the text photos on top. Ideally the pages should be white with black lettering but you can use a Levels adjustment to increase the contrast of the lettering and make the background more white if needed. A click of the white eyedropper on the background works well. Then change the blend mode of each text layer to “darken” or “multiply”. The white areas will disappear leaving the text showing. (Some of the other blend modes in the area of multiply might work better for you so it’s good to experiment). Clean-up may be needed but sometimes it works perfectly.
ford v8
This old Ford pickup truck sits right around the corner from the mailboxes. Lighting was very harsh with the sun overhead so I used Photomatix to even out highlights and shadows.
mailboxes
We pass by these mailboxes alot and I’m always enticed to photograph them. Yesterday, they were surrounded by Palo Verde blooms so I took yet another shot.
that cloud looks like a…..
Fluffy clouds are a rarity here so I enjoy shooting them when they show up. Continuing to stare through my lens makes me see all kinds of things 🙂
kitchen sunset view
Palo Verde trees are still in full bloom and we’re lucky to have a large one outside our kitchen window. Below is a close-up of the blooms.
