Bolt of a Thunderstorm

I was taking pictures of the sunset and I didn't even know that this was a thunderstorm. As I looked over the pictures I took I found this tiny bolt of lightning in one of my pictures. I was so happy. I have never been able to take a picture of a bolt of lightning, until now.

Thundersunset

This sunset was different then any other I have seen. I was in Dallas when a thunderstorm formed north of me. The sunset reflected itself onto the thunderstorm making this. On top of that, I was able to capture a bolt of lightning in the middle of the whole thing. That picture to come tomorrow.

Sprinkler

After the rains passed, someone's sprinklers turned on. The only problem is that this sprinkler was broken. It wasn't spraying the grass instead it shot upwards. While it wasn't good for the grass it is good to take pictures of. I increased the ISO to let the shutter speed be at its fastest and I took several pictures of it.

Fruit of the Rain

At a house that has several plants and some fruit plants, I found these fruits covered in rain. The fruits seem to be a peach or something similar to that. The rain helps to add a bright color to the fruit. It also helps to make the fruit a darker color and shinier.

Clear Spheres

Something about these clear spherical raindrops makes me love the picture. The leaf on its own isn't very interesting, but put some clear raindrops on them and the picture is much better. It might be the difference in shape or the difference in color I don't know. What I do know is that this looks much better with the raindrops.

Hanging

Nothing in this picture is straight. The grass was bent over and the raindrops were hanging on the grass. This is one of my favorites from this theme. The rain creates bright tones that contrast the dark green grass.

Macro

When taking pictures of nature, I like to put the main object in a very sharp focus. This allows the viewer to see exactly what I saw when I was taking this picture. It also allows the viewer to see things I couldn't see when I took the picture. I didn't see the small black and yellow bug when I took the picture but I did see the folded leaves.

A Group of Flowers

These flowers caught my eye for both their color and quantity. I don't normally find a group of flower together. I do like how each flower has a different color. Some have more white, and others have more purple.

Bunch of Flowers

This is a plant I have never seen before. It is a group of tiny sponge-like balls on a stem. The balls on the plant have a very interesting texture on them. They aren't smooth and look like tiny sponges. Maybe they help the plant absorb water to help it live.

Fallen Flower

This purple flower was hanging low on its branch when the water fell on it. I like the streaks on it that make it more interesting. I also like the dimension the water makes on it. The water adds another thing to look at. 

Picture Taking

Sometimes picture taking isn't venturing to someplace to take the perfect shot. Sometimes the pictures come to you. A simple walk around the neighborhood could give you five interesting pictures. Look at people's yards, gardens, trees, and the animals. 

Shape

A good picture also has depth. It isn't a two dimensional object that is one colored, it is an object with a shape and several colors scattered around the picture. Water helps with shape and depth. Without the water in this picture, it would be pretty simple. A green leaf with other leaves surrounding it.

Water in Nature

I like the way that water makes a picture so much better. It brightens the picture by reflecting the colors. It also forms interesting shapes that do not often seem in nature otherways. There aren't many other spherical and clear objects that are commonly found in nature.

Water

Water is great for reflecting objects and mimicking the color of an object. In this picture, the water is pink as it mimics the pink in the flower. It also has a grey color since that is the color of the sky. The clouds had not fully moved away but that's good so the sun wouldn't be overexposing the picture.

Rain Drop

A common weather occurrence in Dallas during the summer are pop-up thunderstorms. They are fueled by heat and the water (humidity) in the air. They pop up without warning and can bring huge amounts of rain and wind. This pop-up thunderstorm brought nothing more than rain. It lasted for ten minutes then the sun returned, and I went out looking for picture opportunities.

Flipped

As rain from the thunderstorm landed on the branches and leaves, it formed rain-drops. If you look closely at the raindrops, you can see the surrounding environment. Except it is flipped. The gray sky is on the bottom and the green tree is on top.

Color 

Another thing you want to focus on when you take a picture of an object is what do you want to be the center point of your picture? It can be a color or an object. Using this picture as an example, I chose my center point to be the color white in the flower. I knew that if I get the color white the correct exposure, the rest of the picture will fall into place.

Shadows

When taking this picture, I wanted to have the shadow of the flower be the main focus. The exposure couldn't be too low or else the shadow would disappear. The exposure couldn't be too high or else the white on the flower would distract your eyes from the shadow.

Bright Flowers

When taking pictures of bright flowers, especially during the daytime, you have to change the camera's settings to compensate for the brightness of the flower. I wanted to have the flower stand out in the picture but also have it be dark enough so that it isn't overexposed.

Bee Pictures

It is not very easy to take pictures of a small moving object, like a bee. They are small making them harder to be in focus and they move very fast. They stay at each flower for only a few seconds then fly to another. You have to just position your camera at one flower and wait for the bees to go to that flower.

Woodpecker

Like the other birds, this woodpecker also flew away when I tried to take pictures of it. When I arrived, it was on a tree. After I started taking pictures, it flew to the roof of this house. Using my zoom lens, I was able to take a closer picture.

Food Hunting

Away from the river, and back in the city, I found several birds looking for food. When I first stopped to take pictures, there were about 20 birds. After I stopped and started taking pictures, they all flew away. Except for this bird. It didn't mind me taking pictures of it, as long as I didn't get in between him and his food.

Crashing Waves

Closer to the banks of the river, the waves actually crashed. The shallow water forced the waves to fold over themselves. Like the other wave picture, I wanted to get as low to the water as I could, but the shrubbery and plants didn't allow me.

Waves

It was a breezy day on the river. There weren't many big waves, just a lot of small ones. I was trying to capture a wave folding over, but they weren't big enough to crest over themselves. I was also trying to get as low to the water as possible, but this was about the closest I could get.

Dead Tree

Still, on the banks of the river, I found this dead tree. It seemed odd that a tree would die next to water, but on second thought, I believe it died from a disease or it rotted. Another reason I took pictures of it was that the branches had no leaves on them. I enjoy the contrast between the branches and the bright sky.

Water Grass

Another plant on the banks of this river is this type of grass. It is very tall, probably since no one has cut it, and has a small flower on top. The grass stem seems green but the flower seems to be dry. How can that be if it grows in the water? I don't know.

River Plants

On the banks of the river are several types of plants. There is tall grass, small trees, and these plants. I wanted to take pictures of these plants because they are very simplistic with flowers only on the ends. I also admire how the trees and water in the background are blurred but still recognizable.

Tunnel Vision

Underneath a busy roadway is this river. I thought it was fascinating to see the tunnel get smaller and smaller, but it is also interesting since there is a fisherman. I also like how the bridge looks old. It has marks on the beams and pillars that make the picture more attractive.

Saturday Stroll

On a hot and windy Saturday, this family of ducks decided to go on a stroll. The temperature was about 97 degrees, but the wind made the air feel much cooler. The ducks probably didn't notice that the temperature was so high since they are constantly in the water.

Water Spiders

Some animals, like these spiders, are light enough to float on water. I found these black spiders in the shade of a tree. It is interesting how we can see the shape of the spiders. They have four legs that spread out from its body which help it stay afloat.

River

On the path that I posted earlier, this river snaked through the trees. The river offers some of a reflection from the trees in the background. You can see the outline and color of the trees but, the wind made a perfect reflection impossible.

Path into the Trees

I thought this path would be interesting to photograph because the bright colors pop out of the picture. The bright greens stand out even in the shade. There is a little too much green. I would have like to find a path with more water from the lake or brown from the trunks of the trees and ground.

Perched

Perched atop a tree, this crow was talking to all the other birds in the area. I like how we are able to see the colors of the tree in this picture. There is a clear difference between the black feathers on the bird and the brown branch from the tree.

Contrast

I like the contrast between the dark sky and the even darker branch. It is a very faint green, but I like how there is some green still showing from the branch. I wish the branch showed more of its color to give even more contrast to the sky.

Hand

This bolt reminds me of a hand reaching out for something. A thing that confuses me is, why did the lightning streak to another cloud? Why didn't it go to the ground? Maybe the bolt was attracted by another bolt so it went to where the other bolt was. Or, there was nothing on the ground that the lightning could strike, as in something metal or a tree.

 Bolt

One interesting thing to photograph about lightning but scary fact about lightning is it can strike anywhere, at any time, and at anything. I like how most bolts of lightning are not the same. It means that you might be the only person who has evidence of the lightning. 

Lightning

As a storm rolled through Texas, I was prepared to take pictures of it. I tried to capture the lightning by taking pictures of it. Once I realized it was nearly impossible to take pictures of lightning, I videotaped it. After the storm, I looked over the video and screenshotted the frames with lightning in it. It isn't the most effective way, but it works.

Background

As well as finding new vantage points, good photographers also try to find interesting backgrounds. In this picture, I like how there is another flower and a tree. I also like how the flowers contrast the darkness of the tree, but the tree doesn't fill the entire background.

Bunny Hops

After allowing me to take pictures of it, the white-tailed rabbit decided to move. I like how I was able to take a picture of the rabbit as it was about to hop along. Using the simple vantage point trick, I was able to dodge the fence and get a more interesting photo.

Vantage Points

When taking pictures, good photographers find unexpected vantage points to take new pictures that no one has captured before. One of the easiest vantage points is putting the camera closer to the ground. It is very simple but allows for more interesting pictures. I started taking pictures of this rabbit from a normal position, but getting closer to the ground made the picture more interesting.

Dragonfly

The water and heat attracted dragonflies to this creek. Right as I was about to leave, this dragonfly landed on the branch. It was harder to photograph because it was far away from me and the rocks in the background make the dragonfly hard to see.

Comparison

These are the same plants except one has holes in it and the other doesn't. I believe that the holes are a cause of either an animal eating the plant, or the sun burning hole in the plant. The more logical idea is animals eating the plant, but the burnt spots on the plant also make me think it might have been burned.

White Flower

While taking this picture, I wanted to show off the white flower among the green leaves. I focussed on the flower and adjusted the camera to have the flower brighter than the rest of the tree. In this picture, I was glad to have the sun overhead because it helped to brighten the flower which made it stand out even more.

Purple Flowers

I chose to take pictures of this flower because of its color. The color is like a dark blue-purple. I have seen many different types of flowers, but I have never seen a flower that has a color like this. Since the blue-purple is a darker color, it is easier to take pictures of. If it were a yellow or a bright color, I would have to darken the picture to make the bright flower look good.

Pollen

Starting in the spring and continuing into early summer, pollen helps to revive plants from their winter hibernation. The plants make pollen, then the bees take it, and spread it on all plants. Without pollen, plants wouldn't be able to grow. Without plants, there would be no oxygen and no oxygen means no humans.

Morning Dew

In Texas, it is very common to see dew on outside plants in the morning hours. Dew is caused by heat during the day that evaporates the moisture in the air turning it into a gas. Then the night cools the moisture turning it back to a liquid and putting it back on the plants. This small flower has tiny droplets of water on it which is the dew.

Slow Walk

After waiting for several minutes, the bird decided that no fish were where it was, so it slowly walked to find a new spot to wait. The bird had to walk slowly and carefully to try to not scare the fish away. I like this picture better than the other because of how the birds head is positioned and how the sunlight is on it.

Fish Hunter

After a short beginning of summer/Memorial Day break, I found this bird in a creek hunting for fish. As this fish-hunting bird waited in the creek, I seized the opportunity and took pictures of it. I like the algae in the background since it gives the eyes something else to look at.

Streaks of Light

During the late dusk hours, I biked to the corner of two major streets and photographed the cars as they drove through the intersection. I decreased the shutter speed, decreased the aperture (close the hole that allows light into the camera), and lowered the ISO to the lowest it could be. Before I edited this picture, it was too bright. I couldn't darken the picture anymore because I was already at the settings that made the picture the darkest it could be.

Colorful Bloom

As the heat continues to increase in Texas, more and more flowers are starting to bloom. As these flowers bloomed, their petals are bright pink and orange. I tried decreasing the apurature (close the hole that allows light in the camera) to not blur the background as much with a higher apurature. There is less blur in the background in this picture, but there still is some.