Home / Blogs / Pianolady's Gardens / August 2008 /

Enjoying the Beautiful Weather

Category: Pianolady's Gardens | Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:17 am

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This is my favorite time of the year, air conditioner gets shut off, windows thrown open, and there's no excuse not to spend as much time as possible outside. I can't say I'm getting much work done, as I seem to be attached to a camera 24/7 right now. But, the weeds will still be there for me to pull next week.

Hummingbirds made their daily visits....






Zinnias


Mexican Hat


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Experimenting with Effects

Category: Pianolady's Gardens | Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2008 9:38 pm

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These were just a few experiments with a macro shot.




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Back to the Gardens

Category: Pianolady's Gardens | Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2008 8:22 pm

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Tried my hand at using the macro lens & manual focus. I must say the auto programming of the other lens is so much easier! But, a few came out pretty good.

Dahlia


Sedum


Pink Fairy


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World War I Monument

Category: Off Topic | Posted: Sat Aug 23, 2008 9:32 pm

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Today, I took our daughter and her friend around town, each with a camera in-hand. We had a wonderful time taking photographs of our city's landmarks.

This monument is in Bayliss Park, in the center of our downtown area. I was trying to make this look like an old photograph you would find in a grandparent's photo album. Sepia toning & soft focus added to get this effect.



This photo is part of the fountain in the park, I just like the colors of the various stones.





Last edited: Mon Apr 30, 2012 5:25 pm

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We finally got some rain today!

Category: Pianolady's Gardens | Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 7:57 pm

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We didn't get much rain, it was more of a constant drizzle, but I'll take it. It won't be enough to really help the gardens, but made a few rain photos possible. These are all the seedheads from Jackmanii clematis vines.





This one was too big to post, but you can click here to see it.

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Aug. 20 Photos

Category: Pianolady's Gardens | Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 12:47 am

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Even with the lack of rain, there are a few flowers doing well. The front gardens are getting watered now to keep them alive.

Geraniums


Dahlia Closeup


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D40 Auto vs. Macro/Auto vs. Program settings

Category: Pianolady's Gardens | Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2008 5:34 pm

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Here's some samples for you Joann. I did not alter or crop these photos. They were taken in full sun, and seem a bit overexposed imo, so I'll need to adjust that a bit next time.

Automatic Setting (point & shoot)


Automatic Macro Setting


Program Setting with low aperture setting


I actually don't see much difference between either automatic setting, the program setting is probably the setting you would want to use to get up-close photos with a blurred background. I'm only on day 2 with a DSLR, and use none of the automatic settings already. I could never achieve the results of the third photo with my point & shoot camera. The D40 is a really easy-to-use camera as long as you read the manual first! LOL

Last edited: Sun Aug 17, 2008 6:08 pm

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New Camera Day 2 (lots of photos)

Category: Pianolady's Gardens | Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:21 pm

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Today I actually read the Nikon D40 owner's manual (helps to know what you're doing), then went outside to try again. There are so many bells and whistles on this thing! It's so nice to be able to take 100 pictures without having to worry about the cost of film. The main thing I love about this camera over my point & shoot digital, is the lack of a lag between shots, waiting for the camera to get ready.

Butterfly Weed








Almost caught this guy clearly in flight.


I love the leaves on the variegated Weigela.




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August 15th Photos

Category: Pianolady's Gardens | Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 1:38 am

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We just got our Nikon D40 digital SLR, and I've got a bit of a learning curve to accomplish. So, I took the easy way out the first day, and took advantage of the auto focus feature.

Sam is 13 years old.


Purple Coneflowers


Glads


We had all that rain in Iowa earlier this year, now everything is turning brown because we haven't seen hardly a drop of rain since then.


Susans




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