A New Way of Composing

by Deanna

I have been very fortunate in the last month to hear two very successful photographers speak on composition and what makes one image picture worthy and others not so much. I even attended a two-day workshop on macro photography with Mike Moats who is an award winning and much published photographer.  After being in the business since 2004, Mike has learned what is a "winning" piece, what non-photographers are attracted to.  It's not the teeny tiny macro that some of us swoon over, (see below) because most non-photographers can not identify with the tip of the flower being in focus while the rest is totally out of focus.

What most people are attracted to, in his years of analyzing what he sells and why, are those images that are a little unusual but still very identifiable.  For example, here is a tulip.....

It's a nice image, pretty colors, but it is so typical of an average everyday tulip, head in top half, stem below.  What Mike encourages us to do is find subjects that are unique for a much more interesting piece of work.  For example here is a beautiful red tulip with its petals curling and raindrops adding that extra layer of texture.

or this....a tulip just beginning to unfurl with the light in the perfect spot.

All three are images of tulips but I think you all would agree that the last two have more interest than the 1st one.

Springtime brings me out with camera in hand searching for the newness of Spring.  I especially am attracted to flowering trees, such beauty for such a brief moment in time. I like the image below, it's one of the many crab apples that bloomed at the arboretum this year, beautiful pink and sharp focus with a nice depth of field. 

But, I like this one better, because it is just a little more unique. Blooms still in tight buds with one just beginning to open. Now this is just my opinion. But that's what art is all about....what you like, what makes you happy. What speaks to you. 

Mike has had his greatest success with what he refers to as his "two subject" pieces. They are his winners.  A background with an object on top.  Sounds pretty simple, right?  And it is, the challenge is to find the right background with an appealing piece on top. I'll show you a couple of my examples of a two subject image.

In this first example, the beautiful dark green foliage is the background and the sweet blue flowers are the 2nd subject in this "two subject" piece.

Here is another example of a two subject image.  Ferns in the background with a ladybug as the 2nd subject.

Now, I am challenging you all to find those unique subjects and see what happens when you focus on a two subject piece.

 And speaking of Focus....our theme for this month is leading lines. We would love to see your "leading lines" images on our Instagram #focusingonlife and in our Flicker group, Focusing On Life. Please join in on the fun. You just might be highlighted in our Focus on You which happens every Friday right here.

Spring Fever or Spring Lethargy?

By Cathy

It’s getting warmer outside; the earth is turning green and flowers are blooming. As spring arrives have you felt your energy level rising, your mood lifting? Have you been a little restless? It’s Spring Fever! You’ve caught Spring Fever! After many long dark dreary days of winter, you feel like you can breathe again and enjoy the rebirth of nature.

But, not everyone feels energetic. For some, it is a season of leaden limbs, fits of yawning, irritability, headaches, and aching joints. It's not Spring Fever, it's Spring Lethargy. Spring Lethargy is similar to a mild case of jet lag. Our bodies are out of rhythm. It hit me this past week. I've been moody and generally overcome with fatigue. Of course, part of that may be the fact that I’m already dreading the heat and humidity of summer! It’s a little depressing to be out-of-sorts on these beautiful spring days. 

Yesterday, I couldn’t find anything I wanted to do. There was yard work that needed done and laundry and this blog post, but I didn’t want to do any of them, so I went for a drive. I didn’t go too far from home; just wandered the highways and back roads. Arkansas highways are beautiful this time of the year. Throughout the state, approximately 200,000 acres of roadsides along approximately 1,000 miles of highways have been planted with wildflowers. Along those stretches of highways you can see red clover, daisies, coneflowers, Queen Anne’s lace, black-eyed Susans, milkweed, and others. Now, that’s a sight that will cheer you up!

I’ve always wanted to stop along the highway and take pictures of the red clover, but there’s never been a safe place to pull over. Finally, on my drive I found the perfect spot. I was able to pull into a parking lot at the bottom of a hill covered in wildflowers, mostly red clover. Of course, it was the middle of the day and the light was harsh, but you know what? I DIDN'T CARE!! I was thrilled to be among such beauty. Needless to say, it certainly uplifted my mood.

Although finding the clover made me feel better, I discovered something else that made me laugh out loud. I'd gotten off the highway preferring the slower pace of back roads. That's where I discovered a camel. Yes, a real camel. Now, that's something you rarely see in Arkansas unless you visit the zoo or an animal wildlife reserve. I discovered that his name was Larry. A couple had also stopped to see him and they began calling his name. He came right up to the fence. They scratched his head. Not me, I stayed my distance, seems to me camels like to spit when provoked! I certainly didn't want to provoke him. He looked so happy and had such a beautiful place to roam with plenty of shade and a large pond nearby. At one point, he laid down, rolled over, and kicked his feet in the air. Sorry I have no pictures of that. He was too far away and in the deep shade. He certainly looked like he was enjoying spring!

I’m glad I got out of the house. It was a nice day full of surprises. There is hope for Spring Lethargy sufferers! This only lasts about two or three weeks as our bodies adapt to the processing of seasonal changes. So be kind and gentle to yourself, give yourself time to adjust.

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is.

And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know

what it is you do want,

but it just fairly makes your heart ache. you want it so!

~ Mark Twain

Focus On You

We're winding down our month of spring flowers and word art. The Focus On Life gallery has been overflowing with spring beauty. Jonquils, daffodils, or butttercups, whatever you want to call them, are one the most popular spring flowers. Did you know that they symbolize friendship? Today's image is from Patricia Margaret (teragam). These beauties do make me want to sing an ode to spring!! You can see more of Patricia Margaret's beautiful photos on her flickerstream.

Thank you to all who participated in this month's theme! Next month's theme will be revealed shortly. 

Happy Spring to you!

I Overslept But.....

by Deanna

Belonging to the Morton Arboretum Photography Society comes with lots of privileges, one being monthly photo trips to photo worthy places plus the added addition of being with like minded people who love photography as much as I do. The Chicago Botanic Garden was our destination of choice for the month of April and oh boy did we visit at the most opportune time. Everything was in bloom, our neighborhood is overflowing with the goodness that comes with Spring.

“She turned to the sunlight
    And shook her yellow head,
And whispered to her neighbor:
    "Winter is dead.” 
― A.A. Milne, When We Were Very Young

We were due to meet at 8:00 AM at the entrance into the gardens, but Deanna fell back to sleep after the alarm rang at 6:00 AM. The drive is anywhere from an hour plus, so when I left the house at 7:25 AM I knew I was in trouble. No traffic, thank you God, and I sped along (yes, I was going over the speed limit) and pulled into the parking lot at 8:05 AM.  Eventho I made it in record time, my photo group had already began their journey thru the gardens, leaving me behind. OK, do I search to find them, or just enjoy my lone walk, knowing that eventually we would meet? I chose the latter, and sure enough we finally met at the walled English garden. So come along with me as I wander thru the gardens before I meet up with the rest of the group. 

Holy moley, what in the heck were these giant cone shaped plants bursting with blooms rising to over 6 feet tall right outside the wall? Resembles something growing in outer space or perhaps Disney World. 

These beauties are aptly named "tower of jewels" or Echium 'Red Rocket'.  According to Google (my go to for info) they are biennials which mean the seeds are planted one year and the next they bloom. Hopefully they re-seed and continue their beauty year after year. 

They also have the "Blue Steeple" Echium by the entrance which is just as dazzling.

I love the Morton Arboretum, but I LOVE the Chicago Botanic Garden. Flowers, flowers and more flowers everywhere you look.  As I wandered with camera in hand, I was breathless at every corner, every turn there was more and more beauty.

The ever faithful, ever beautiful Bleeding Hearts....

The harder than heck to photograph Hellebores because they always have their heads bending downward as tho they are praying continually. 

“The deep roots never doubt spring will come.” 

― Marty Rubin

Another lovely that I am not real familiar with is this beauty called a 'Yellow Crown Imperial (Fritrillaria Imperaialis). This is another wowzer, standing at 2 to 3 feet tall. 

“I suppose the best kind of spring morning is the best weather God has to offer.” 
― Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

Ranunculus in yellows, reds, oranges, and pinks are planted in various gardens and planters...sigh!.

And then there are the Lupines...magnificent in purples and pinks.

“Spring drew on...and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps.” 
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

A trip to the land of beauty would not be complete without at least one image of a crab apple in bloom. Be it crab apple, cherry, or apple the blooms that later turn into fruit are in their eye-popping glory right now.

And for just a little something extra, I've added a black and white. I really don't know what this is, It was a bush of some sort with all these white berry blossoms. I wasn't swooning with its color so made the decision to change it to B&W.  I kinda like it.  You won't find me doing this too much with florals. I am such a color freak that removing it really goes against my grain. 

I hope you enjoyed our walk thru the gardens, I plan on returning very soon to continue to soak up the beauty of Spring.

“Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring?” 
― Neltje Blanchan

Springtime is...

by Linda

Springtime is my favorite season. Right after we clink our glasses and sing Auld Lang Syne, I am ready and waiting for spring.

Usually it's not too long of a wait. This year we were treated to an early spring, beginning in late February. It is rare to see new growth and warm temperatures that early but I'm not complaining. I remember one spring we got a late freeze on March 30. Oh the poor peach trees! And peaches grown around here are so good! Fingers crossed for a good crop this year!

The reason I love spring is because it always feels like a new beginning, a promise of good things and times ahead. Every plant that was bare and dormant is busting out with new tender green leaves and shoots, oh how I love that color! Once all the trees have their new leaves, the color is amazing!

And of course there are spring flowers. Our state flower, the bluebonnet, blooms only in the spring and only for about a month. It fills fields and roadsides with a wave of blue. People will stop for pictures in the best fields.

Of course, I am included in that lot! At the first sighting of a blooming bluebonnet, I begin to scout out my favorite fields to determine the best one to photograph my grands.

Each year, the fields will be different. Some will have lots of blue and some will have blue and red, and some will even have a bit of yellow.  All wildflowers in bloom signaling the start of spring!

You know how facebook will show you a picture from years past? A bit of nostalgia for you to share or not. Well, Shutterfly does it too. This year I was treated to pictures of my oldest grand when she was just a wee little.

Oh my! how time flies! This little button is now a tween, preparing for and getting excited for middle school. Considering, in my mind, I am still about 35, it hardly seems possible that she has gotten older.

I'm not ready for middle school!

But anyway, the lesson I learned from seeing these pictures pop up is that as much as I like to take pictures of things and plants and flowers and skies, I need to take pictures of people. Especially the people that are close to me.

Not only in springtime, but all the time!

You'll have to excuse me now, I have to cover my grey and bondo my wrinkles. (35 my a$$!)

...

When the Quince Bloom....

by Deanna

When the quince bushes bloom, then I know that Spring has arrived.  Even though the calendar may have cited March 20 as the official day of Spring, that is certainly not the case in the Midwest, and from the weather reports obviously not in many states both west, east and north of us.  But right here, in my little corner of the world, I determine Spring has officially commenced when the quince bloom.

I planted the three quince bushes in a garden right outside our front door the first Spring we moved into this house.  That was in 1979, 38 years ago and every year since, they have bloomed each Spring without fail, and to the best of my ability to remember (sometimes a challenge) it has never snowed here once the quince have bloomed.   I can’t say that about the snowdrops, the crocus or the daffodils, but I can state with confidence that no snow has ever fallen on my blooming quince.

So what is it that speaks to you?  Are you like me that when a special plant or flower blooms you finally feel like Spring has arrived?  Is it when the magnolias burst forth, or the dogwoods open to reveal their beautiful  flower?  In Arizona, the cactus begin their glorious blooming season in late March and early April (which I missed, dang it), Is it perhaps your favorite birds returning from their southern wintering grounds, or Spring rains with flashes of lightening and booms of thunder?  In Texas the bluebonnets cover the hillsides and in Washington DC the cherry blossoms are at their peak in late March.

I don’t know about you, but Spring to my eyes launches the 3 seasons of color that lasts throughout the spring, summer and fall.   Commencing in March with the first sightings of the snowdrops and crocus and 7 months later into October witnessing the glorious colors of Fall, our eyes are embraced by the colors of nature.   That continuous color nurtures my soul, lifts my spirits and is a constant reminder of God’s sweet gift to us. 

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.” 
― Victor Kraft

Fun With Word Art

by Dotti

Knowing my turn to pick a monthly theme was rolling around, drawing ever closer on the calendar, I searched and searched my pea brain for some inspiration. Finally I found it while trolling the FOL Instagram account and Flickr gallery. Several of our followers enjoy using word art with their photos and use it to beautiful effect. I always love those photos!

So – let’s have some fun this month, shall we?

Let’s continue our Spring celebration but this month, let’s blend it with some word art. You can use favorite quotes, one word, phrases, your own words, whatever floats your boat.

And, I might add, this would be the perfect time to search for and share some favorite fonts. I’m sure we’re all always on the hunt for new fonts. Well, in my case, I haven’t hunted for new fonts for a while, I’m in a bit of a rut. But I plan to up my game, revisit my long neglected Pinterest account where I know I have a board for fonts. And ask you, our loyal followers, to share your favorite and newfound fonts with us in the comments – all month long!

My pulse is beating just a little bit faster just thinking about a month filled with beautiful Spring images and word art. I hope yours is, too.

Oh! Your photos needn’t just be the beauty found in nature, there are many other signs of Spring that we can celebrate, too, and enhance with word art.

So how about it? Are you with me? (To all our Down Under friends: feel free to celebrate your Autumn with Word Art and post in our galleries. It will be a great juxtaposition of art!)

Embrace The Wind

By Cathy

The day is unusually warm as I sit in my swing. The afternoon sun peeking over the tops of the trees is a little too hot for me. I’ve taken off my shoes and my bare toes skim the still cool ground as I push the swing back and forth. My swing hangs from the branch of a large oak tree, but the bare limbs provide no shade. The only thing that keeps me outside is the breeze. It brings much needed coolness as it blows in my face. I love the wind. I love the sound as it rushes through the pine trees.  I laugh at the new green leaves on my Bradford Pear as they perform a wind dance.  I enjoy watching the birds high above as they catch a wind current and glide through the air. I listen to the music created as the wind swirls through my wind chimes; the smaller chimes tinkle, while the large ones play a deeper song. That same breeze that cools me and relaxes me has also been a challenge to my photography this spring. The wind just keeps blowing and blowing and blowing!  Because of the wind, I haven’t taken many pictures of the pretty spring colors.

I realized this week that if I waited for a day with no wind, I wouldn’t take any pictures at all. Much of the early spring blooms are already gone. They didn’t last long this year due to days of rain, high winds, and frosty nights. I decided if I wanted some spring color I’d just have to embrace the wind, so my pictures are different this year. I’m calling my collection of spring pictures Spring Abstracts and Impressions. I decided to just have fun with it, forget trying to get the perfect tack sharp image, and concentrate on shapes and colors. I went out with the idea of taking blurry pictures. Imagine that! I tried intentional camera motion where I used a slow shutter speed and gently moved the camera in a vertical motion. That picture is the one at the top of the post. Still using the slow shutter speed, I gently zoomed the lens out which created a burst effect.

Using my tripod, I set my camera on a slow shutter speed and just let the wind control the blur. This was harder than I thought. You have to find the best speed to create a pleasant blur, not a she-took-a-blurry-picture blur.

An unexpected surprise happened when I took a picture through the bottom of a clear, small drinking class that I’d placed over a flower. I'll be trying this more often, as I really like it!

Of course, spring is the perfect time for finding beautiful water reflections where blur definitely adds to the picture.

Sometimes a person has to just go with the flow and find beauty in a unique way!

I’m wishing all of you a beautiful, happy spring whether it’s tack-sharp or blurry!

“March brings breezes loud and shrill,

Stirs the dancing daffodil.”

~ Sara Coleridge (1802-1852)

“The Months,” Pretty Lessons In Verse,

For Good Children; With Some Lessons In Latin,

In Easy Rhyme, 1834