by Anita | Aug 31, 2015 | Blog
This glorious black-eyed susan, joyously pirouetting on a most perfect summer’s evening, was one of the highlights of our recent visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay, Maine. The gardens usually close at 6:00 in the summer, but this was a member evening so we had the pleasure of shooting in the magical evening light until 7:30.
We’d been looking forward to this evening all month, so we were a bit dismayed when raindrops started to fall as soon as we arrived. But the shower passed quickly and the rest of the evening was just, well, picture-perfect!
I processed this graceful dancer in PS with RadLab (customized setting) and a touch of Topaz Detail, then added layers of Ovid Banished (Flypaper Textures) and Jai Johnson’s Touch of Autumn canvas texture.
by Anita | Aug 26, 2015 | Blog, Flowers
Coneflowers are one of my favorite flowers, and I always enjoy spending time among them in our garden. As with all flowers, each one has its own personality, and this one really caught my eye. She seems to be looking up at the sky with a sense of joy I could feel as well as see. And I love the soft glow effect from the Lensbaby Velvet 56.
I wasn’t familiar with the Gerald De Nerval quote, but once I found it I knew i was the perfect complement to my lovely coneflower.
Processed with On1 Perfect Effects 9, customized preset from Nicole S. Young’s Portland Matte presets, and added Lemoncello from Flypaper Textures and Light it Up #19 From 2 Li’l Owls.
by Anita | Aug 23, 2015 | Blog, Insects
I don’t do a lot of insect photography, mainly because they move quickly and I move slowly, but this dragonfly kindly stayed around for me to shoot for almost 5 minutes, around 6:15 p.m. a little over a week ago. He was perched on the lovely begonia plant in our backyard, giving me a lovely backdrop for his portrait.
There wasn’t much light in that part of the yard, so even with ISO 2000 I had to shoot at f / 5.0. Not surprisingly, I didn’t get much in focus, but at least in this shot his eyes are pretty sharp. Not as sharp as I would like, of course, but I’m happy to have gotten at least one decent shot.
Since Casablanca is one of our favorite movies (we saw it on our first date back in 1972 at the Harvard Square Theater) I couldn’t resist using this quote for my title.
Processed in with basic adjustments and with Brushed Rose from Flypaper Textures, using Adobe Paper Textures.
by Anita | Aug 22, 2015 | Blog, Flowers
The daylilies in our garden have given us a magnificent show all summer. Although most of them have finished blooming, we are lucky that the most majestic of them all is still strutting her stuff.
She is called Pink Apricot Serenade, and she holds court in the far upper corner of our garden where she can be seen and enjoyed up close and from afar.
This majestic beauty may have been the most glorious all season. Wider than my hand span (about 7 inches) and bursting with life, she summoned me to shoot what would have been many rolls of film, and I’m so thankful that digital photography gives me that freedom! The early evening light was magical, and shooting toward the west gave me a lovely background.
Processed in Photoshop with a touch of Oil Paint from Snap Art 4 and 2 textures (Caspian and Brushed Rose) from Flypaper Textures, using Adobe Paper Textures.
