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SHCreativePhoto

Peonies....

Earlier today I tried posting using the app from my phone, and it looks like that was not a successful venture.  So if a posting comes up reflecting many of the thoughts that I am discussing now... let me apologize in advance.  You have to love when technology works well for you and when it doesn't it is sheer disappointment.

What was the subject matter of my discussion... well here goes! 

Today has been quite the rainy day and I know how I have discussed rain in previous posts being that it is a great opportunity to take unique photographs and that an overcast sky can be a photographers greatest friend.  But what is the true purpose of rain? To wash our land anew and prepare for the wonderful summer blooms.  One particular bloom that I love so very much is the peony.  It is June's biggest blooming flower and when you drive you can see countless peony bushes bent over by the sheer weight of the flower.  The presence of the rain and the assistance of thousands of ants slowly opens this amazing flower each and every season.  What is also so amazing is the fragrance of the flower itself.... it is phenomenal.  Cut peonies are also a spectacular display in the home, giving off it's wonderful scent and adding such presentation.

A quick tip for displaying peonies in your home....

When you freshly cut a peony from it's stem, turn the bloom upside down and shake the flower vigorously the remove the ants.  Once that is done, bring the cut flowers into your home and immerse each flower in cold water and gently shake the rest of the ants out (despite your earlier efforts outside, there will be some ants that linger).  Then shake the peonies free of water and place in your vase (or other display) and enjoy!

Three or more peonies create an astounding display and you can get as creative as possible with these blooms.  There are a wonderful variety of peonies from white to deep currant, but the following is a blush color that is such a creamy pink wonder and I had to photograph it.

Pink Peony (c) 2011

The Rapture?

So today was supposed to mark the end of the world and the beginning of Armageddon.  The world was supposed to end for each time zone at 6pm. Hmmmm.  Well it is currently 7:53 pm and I had a productive day with family activities and enjoying all that the day gave.  I have and had a hard time believing in this propaganda that fueled (for those who did believe) fear.  It is just downright awful.  I also take issue with the idea that world that naturally creates such beauty as this.

Spring Blooms (c) 2011

and this...

By A Thread (c) 2010

and this........

I can only imagine that the true end will begin when we stop fighting for and caring for our planet.  Just like we only have one life, we only have one planet and we must take care of her so she can continue taking care of us.... Remember Nature and Nurture.





My new 35mm Lens....

My Mother's Day gift was a lovely compact 35mm Nikkor Lens, ideal for capturing portraits and works great in low light situations.  I have played and shot with the lens and it is a true gem.  I must say that it is taking some adjustment for I am use to my variable lens by Tamron 18-270 and keep putting my hand up to focus.  But finally, my mind has overcome my physical reaction and response and I have been able to get out take some magic shots.  Lots of them have been nature seeing that we are immersed in the beauty of Spring as nature awakes and prepares for summer.  So the point of this blog entry? To tell you to grab your camera, phone, camcorder and get out and shoot some pictures.  We can not turn back the clock on time and can only freeze it with the use of all of our devices. 

The Beauty of Rain

As a photographer, a true overcast day can be the perfect shooting opportunity, you don't have to fight with the sun to get a great shot.  And an overcast day with misting drizzle mixed in with soft rain?  It creates a glow in nature like no other and we can not mimic.  Mother Nature is the only one who knows how to best present herself and she does it on many occasions.  And there is that magic moment when we are fortunate to capture it on film, in movies, digitally, etc.  I love the lush beauty and carpet that the greenery around us provides such a perfect backdrop or stands alone all by itself.  It was one of those days today and I happened to capture a couple of shots.  Below are some of the shots of a tree that I captured.  I purposely positioned myself to increase the depth of field for some of them (that blurred out portion).  The misting rain soaked the tree enough to bring out the colors, enhance the grain, highlight to moss and simply bring out all of the gorgeousness that this tree had to offer.  Will have such a great time creating new works from these images and I am certain you will see at least one of them posted on my blog.  So enjoy, I know I did!

Black and White Photography

There's nothing more classic than simple black and white photography, whether it is portraits, landscapes, and architecture there is a certain level of classiness added to the photo when it is shot or changed over to black and white.  However, when you shoot nature, most people tend to stick with color because there is so much color in nature itself.  Gorgeous and rich hues of ambers, red, blues, greens, that most want to make sure is highlighted in their final photo.  I decided to begin series of black and white nature shots to bring some of that class and simplicity to the images.  Below are a couple of shots that I captured of a pine tree and I honestly feel that it is true to the black and white formula.  There's the drama, classiness and simplicity in the images.

Feathered Pine (c) 2011

Nature Burst (c) 2011

Remember you can view these images and the rest of my portfolio at the following sites:

http://simonehester.com

http://flickr.com/photos/shcreativephoto

http://shcreativephoto.deviantart.com