Fuzzy Leaf

The next flower I took pictures of wasn't a flower but a fuzzy leaf. I have taken pictures of this type of leaf and different types of leaves before, but never this close. With the picture this close, I think the white fuzzy part caught an ant. The viewer of the picture can also see the very tiny water droplets on the white parts.

Pink with a hint of Green

The next flower I took pictures of resembled a lettuce head. Except for being green, the flower was pink with small parts green. I enjoy taking pictures of this flower without the macro lens because of the waves in the petals and interesting color, but now the flower looks even better. The leaves look sharp and rough around the edges but smooth in the center.

Macro

While trying out my new macro lens, I photographed several of the same objects as before just much closer. I have taken many pictures of this purple and white flower. With the new lens, I am able to get extremely close. It allows the photographer and viewer to see things that the human eye can't see clearly. For instance, who knew this flower had small 'hairs' in the center. A human eye and regular lens can't see them, but a macro lens can.

Blurred Motion

Similar to the picture of the bridge and lights going around the pond, is how I took this picture. I had a long shutter speed which captured several seconds of the water moving, this made the water blurred. Since it was a long exposure, I had to use a tripod to keep the rest of the picture still. When taking a long exposure picture, the photographer has to not touch or move the camera during the exposure as it might cause the entire picture to become blurred. 

Night Reflection

While looking at Christmas lights, I found these at a pond. To reduce the grain/noise in the picture, I kept the ISO low. I changed the aperture and shutter speed to complement each other and make a great picture. I settled with a larger aperture and longer shutter speed. This picture was exposed (shutter speed) for 4 seconds. This made the clouds in the sky blurred but the white in focus. 

Full Moon

One day after the winter solstice, I took this picture of the moon. It took me multiple pictures before I was able to find the right shutter speed to take a picture of the moon. I wanted to have then moon be bright, but not too bright that it would be overexposed. There were some clouds that night which made it hard to take a full picture of the moon.

Blurred

The other picture I took with a slow shutter speed was this one. I set my camera on a tripod and angled it straight down. I like this picture better than the last one because of the leaves are more in focus and the camera is closer to the water. I also like how you can see the waves in the water that was caused by the rocks. 

Flowing Water

At a creek, I was taking pictures of the water with a fast shutter speed (nothing blurry) and I wanted to change things up. I increased the aperture and slowed the shutter speed, for a more blurry picture of the water with the objects sticking out of the water in focus. Overall, I think the picture is really interesting and something, not every person takes a picture of.

Blowing in the Wind

It was incredibly windy the day I took these pictures. This was one of the few pictures that weren't blurry and had random objects in the picture. I think this is one of my better pictures. I like how the picture is basically black and white with the exception of the rose. 

Golden Leaves

The next leaves I took pictures of were light yellow and orange. They almost look golden to me. The way the sun hits the leaves to bring out the color. Then in the background, the sun doesn't reach those leaves leaving them dark. The leaves in the background are also the same as the ones in the foreground. They look interesting as they are an out of focus representation of the leaves in focus. 

Bottom Up

Similar to the picture two days ago, I also enjoyed this picture for the same reasons. I also like how in this picture the red colored tree is much fuller and has much more leaves. Another feature of this picture is that the trees in the top of the picture have very few leaves on them. The amount of leaves decreases as you move up the picture. 

Fire Streaks

On another red tree, I zoomed in really close and filled the frame only with the individual leaves. When I later looked at the picture, it reminded me of fire. The leaves moving right to left almost look like a fire. I also enjoy how the background is a dark green. It doesn't distract the viewer from the leaves but it complements them because the green makes the leaves stand out. 

Fall Foliage 

Away from the waterfall, some of the trees had changed color their colors into fall mode while others remained in summer mode. I choose this picture because I liked how the trees filled the entire picture. I also like how only one of the trees is red while the others are green. While the red tree is small and doesn't reach the heights of the tall green-leaved trees, it still looks interesting next to the big green trees. 

One in a Bunch

Moving away from the waterfall, one of the bushes I found was all green except for this one leaf. I found it interesting how only one of the hundreds of leaves was red/yellow. While I didn't capture the entire bush with only this one red/yellow leaf, I purposely wanted to focus the picture around this leaf. But from the green background, it is clear that all the other leaves are green. 

Water Fall (part 2)

In this picture of the waterfall, I slowed down the shutter speed to make the water look blurry. When you slow down the shutter speed, more light is able to go into the camera making the picture brighter. To compensate for this, I had to zoom in and make the hole that allows light into the camera (aperture) as small as possible. While I didn't capture the whole scene of the trees and everything, I still think this is the better picture. 

Water Fall

This picture and tomorrow's picture are connected. I tried taking a picture of the same object two different ways: this picture with a fast shutter speed and the next picture with a much slower shutter speed. Unfortunately, the trees in this picture don't change colors. They are evergreens, meaning the leaves are always green. On the opposite side, the sun wasn't in the frame which could have ruined the picture, so that was good. But overall I think the picture is fairly boring and something anyone could take.

Sunset Bush

Zooming out from the sunset leaf, the entire bush looked like a sunset. Normally in Texas, fall is just a tree full of leaves turning into a tree with no leaves. This year I was lucky to find a tree that was able to turn colors before the leaves fell off. I like how the front portion of the tree is red while the back part of yellow. Then the background is dark which complements the leaves. 

Sunset Leaf

While the last leaf had all of the colors of fall, this leaf looks the best. I like how the red, orange, and yellow all flow together. It reminded me of a sunset when I took the picture. Everything coming together in one picture that captures the whole scene. Even the background is perfect. It is more of the sunset leaves which helps the one in focus stand out.

Berry Tree

Most of the trees at the arboretum had changed color when I took these pictures (as you will see in a picture coming later). I found this tree with very little leaves and a few berries on it. One of the leaves happened to be right next to one of the berry bunches. Not only that, but the leaf was all of the colors of fall. It was red, orange, yellow, and black. 

Full Bloom

The next flower I saw was this bright pink one. The flower itself is pretty cool. Since it is bright pink, it stands out against the dark green background. I like how the flower has different shades of pink in it. The top part is a lighter pink, and as you move down the petals the pink becomes darker. Then at the bottom of the flower is the dark green stem. I helps to bring out the color in the flower and to showcase it in the picture.

Broken

While walking around in the arboretum, there were several leaves that had changed color and ripped. I believe that the front leaf was consumed by an animal. There was another leaf behind the ripped one that hadn't turned red yet. I positioned my camera to capture the green in the spots where the leaf had a rip. While the picture didn't come out exactly how I pictured it, I do like the green line in the red leaf.

Mini Flowers

The next flower I saw were these mini flowers. I put my camera into the center of the bunch and started taking pictures. Unfortunately, the flowers are so small that you can't clearly see the centers of them. On the other hand, I like the deep green centers contrasting the white petals around the entire picture. 

Color

Like the black and yellow flower, this black and pink flower was dark in the center and became light towards the edges. Unlike the yellow flower, I was able to make the focus spread out in the frame. Also, in this picture, the background changed from a green to a much darker green. If I were to combine both of the past two pictures, it would be a really good picture. 

Black and Yellow

Along with the pink flowers, there were this (these, if you read this any day after it was published) multicolor flowers. I had the exact focus be in the middle of the black and yellow flower. While the center is clear and very detailed, the focus dissipates very quickly once you look at the outsides of the flower. To fix this, you can increase the aperture (make the number bigger since it is 1/that number) to soften the focus.

Pink

I returned to one of my favorite spots to take pictures of nature in Dallas, the Dallas Arboretum. When I went, there weren't too many flowers, but there were some. It was an overcast and windy day, perfect for photography. One of the few flowers I saw were these pink ones. I like them because of their bright color and how the flowers are complete and aren't missing many petals. 

Glowing Red

Towards the end of a sunny day, I found these leaves. While having the sun behind the leaves makes a very bright exposure in the background, it also helps to outline the leaves. Especially where the background is white, there is a clear focus and definition of the border. 

Reflection

In the last picture, I wanted to add a reflection and put the camera closer to the surface of the water. I did that for this picture, but I still don't completely enjoy this picture. I tried to take pictures of the water that was in the leaf but the focus wasn't correct. I guess I am going back to try again. 

Full Moon

After all the clouds disappeared, the full moon shined bright. In the past, I haven't been able to take pictures of the moon during the night. When I took these pictures, I figured out how. I kept the ISO and aperture the same as shooting in daylight, and only adjusted the shutter speed. I adjusted it to the exposure that fit the moon. I made sure the moon wasn't too bright or dark and was able to take this picture. 

Partly Cloudy

During the night of a full moon, the sky was only partly cloudy. I missed the sunset, but the clouds made for an interesting full moon. They covered the moon for about 15 minutes before clearing away. So, I was able to get pictures of both the clear moon and a moon covered by clouds. 

Red Berries

Continuing with the black and white with the selected color theme, I chose these berries to take pictures of. Above the roses were these berries. What I don't like about the picture, is the roses and these berries are red. I would have liked for there to be a different selected color between the two pictures. 

Roses

I saw this rose bush and this one rose stood out. There were very few roses and this was the only full rose. It was also a lone rose in a large area of green leaves. I chose to edit the color away from the rest of the green bush and have the focus on the bright red roses. I like this new style of black and white with selected color photography. I think my next theme will be over that and black and white photography. 

Color

Most objects in this picture are brightly colored. There are the bright blue sky and red leaves. Most times bright colors contrast each other or ruin the picture, but in this picture, I think they work. The leaves stand out against the sky and the sky complements them at the same time. The bright colors bounce off each other and create a neutral picture. 

Wall of Flowers

Near the flower that had dew on it, I saw a big bush of these orange flowers. The orange flowers also had dew on them. I thought it was a perfect picture, but if you look closely there are specs of white. That is from the water reflecting the sun and creating an overexposure in that tiny area. 

Harsh Sunrise

Happy Thanksgiving! In the early morning hours of a bright and sunny day, I took pictures of the sun with silhouettes of leaves in the frame. I took pictures with the lowest ISO and highest shutter speed, but the picture still came out white. I adjusted my aperture (the hole to let light into the camera) to the smallest setting. After changing all the settings, I was able to capture this picture. 

Morning Dew

I started taking pictures of this flower standing up and pointing the camera down at the flower. I thought this is too basic. So, I changed how I was taking pictures. I zoomed in close and placed the camera level with the flower. This helps the water stand out as it creates bumps against the flat flower. It also helps bring out the white edge on the flower. 

Overcast

The same morning as the last picture, I took this picture. This tree's leaves weren't covered in ice. Instead, I tried to have them stand out against the overcast sky. I like how the only color in the frame is from the leaves. Everything else is blurred while the leaves that are in focus are red. 

Frozen

Last week, temperatures dipped below freezing. While some spots with deep water didn't freeze, small sections of water froze. I went outside to capture the ice and I found this tree. The leaves of the tree were partially covered in ice. 

Moving Sunset

As the sun continued to set, I moved to another spot to take more pictures of it. One of the spots where I stopped was this house that had toilet paper in the trees. I thought it would be another aspect to the picture that wouldn't be missed. I wanted to capture the toilet paper, but not make it the focus of the picture. I adjusted the camera to make the picture darker but not too dark that the paper wouldn't show up. 

Leaf 

I have taken many different angles of leaves during the fall. I have taken pictures of leaves on the branches of trees, floating in water, and laying on the ground. This picture is different than the rest since there is a background. In the other pictures of the leaf laying on the ground, the background is just water or more red leaves. With this picture, there is another tree in the background that is a different color than the leaf, this makes the picture much more interesting than the others. 

Fall's Tree

I took pictures of this tree because of the two different colors. There are the red leaves and the green spiky balls. I like the contrast that the two give each other. It is like two seasons in one, the green is the summer and the red is the winter. 

Winter Sunset

During the summer, sunsets are brighter and more colorful because of the storms that create great sunsets. During the winter, there are fewer storms during the sunset which makes not as good sunsets.  While I didn't take pictures of this sunset during the peak time, it still is darker and not as interesting as sunsets during the summer. 

Christmust be Celebrated before any Other Holiday

While looking for interesting places to take pictures of the sunset, I found this Christmas decoration. When I saw it I immediately knew what the title was going to be. I put the camera as close to Rudolph's nose as I could. I that most of the reindeer are in focus, while Santa in the back is out of focus. 

Sunset Tree

The other plant I put in front of the sunset was this pine tree. I like how there are the needles on the pine tree. It gives the viewer something more to look at besides the sunset. I also like how the colors from the tree are very dark but you can still see the green. The sunset is bright enough to be a sunset but dark enough to not be overexposed. 

Sunset Flower

During one sunset, I captured it through silhouettes of many plants. I like this picture because of the blurred sunset and focused flower. I wish I decreased the shutter speed so the flower would be brighter. If I did that though, then the sunset would be overexposed.

Floating

Still, in the canal, I put my camera as close to the water as it could go. I like how the leaf curls up out of the water. I also like the reflection it gives the water. After looking at it, I wish I angled the camera down a little and put the reflection in the center of the frame. 

Flying High

Looking up from the flowers and lizards, I saw this hawk circling above. While it was circling, it kept on drifting west. I think it was just soaring and going where ever the wind took it. I took a few pictures and looked to make sure they were good, and when I looked up, the hawk had moved farther west. 

Fallen Leaves

These leaves actually fell to the ground naturally. Passing a driveway, I found it covered in leaves. Normally I would pass it, but I liked the red leaves, so I took a few pictures. I took close-ups and pictures from a high angle. I liked the close-ups better because you get more detail on the leaves and the leaves that aren't in focus or better looking than I large frame with everything in focus. 

Falls Color's

During the past few weeks, there have been heavy rains. While this made flooding and other problems for the city, the water helps make some interesting pictures. In a canal beneath a red tree, several leaves fell (and I picked one to make this picture). I picked the reddest leaf I could find to stand out against the tree. 

Halloween

I passed by several houses with Halloween decorations, but this house stood out. I like the bright green skeleton on the swing and the brown skeletons sitting on the chairs in the background. After this Halloween house, I will continue with a fall theme. As fall comes yellow and red colors take the place of green on the trees and leaves begin to fall. 

Leafy Green

After posting several pictures about lizards, one of my friends sent me this picture. I really like it. I like the contrast between the purple and green, and the different colors of green between the lizard and leaves. The lighter shade of green in the lizard help it stand out against the dark green and the purple leaves.