Glistening

After the first flower, I looked around and saw this flat, open flower. It was like it was asking to have its picture taken. The water rested on its many petals in spherical form. I kept the focus on the front part of the flower because I knew this is where the most water droplets would be. I wanted to mostly capture the water, and the flower was an object that the water congregated on.

Morning Shower

I was biking around when I saw some sprinklers spraying flowers in a home garden. At first, I didn't think much of it because I would have to walk through the water to get to the flowers. Then I thought about some macro pictures, which I haven't been taken many of lately. I walked through the sprinklers, then used a bush to block the water from hitting me.

Green and Red

This picture is just of a simple green and red flower. There is nothing too special about it, I just liked the colors and the light, but also the softness of the color. After this picture, I started to experiment with the macro lens and flowers. Sometimes I sprayed water droplets on flowers and other times I captured leaves falling as fall is approaching.

Sunshine

This picture uses the same concept I have used in the past, just different. I pointed the camera directly up at the sun but blocked it using these leaves. I don't take this type of picture much, but I really like it. There is a nice, natural silhouette of the leaf. I also adjusted the settings to allow for more light to enter giving some color to the leaves.

Roses

Welcome back to Texas! I took a few days off to find some ideas for pictures and to take more. This is just a classic picture of a flower, but the ones to come are pretty good! There is finally some fall colors, which is making all of the pictures better. I found this flower and thought I hadn't done a micro shot in a while, so I started again here.

Walking Home

After the second brother called the first home I took pictures of him walking. He didn't walk like an adult, he walked like a kid. Arms flopping side to side, walking like he was on a tight rope, and trying to avoid stepping on things in the water. This picture is another favorite because of the sunset and silhouette reflection of the boy.

At Play

All of these pictures are some of my best ever. I said the last one was my favorite, but they all are and they all are for different reasons. This one is because of the kids playing. The kids are two brothers. One was playing in the sand, and the other was sent by his mother to retrieve the first brother. No acting, no script, nothing was by design, the kids just happened to be playing and happened to be in front of a spectacular sunset.

Sunset Blockade

These clouds acted as a blockade for the sunset. The blocked most of the sunset on the left but left a small opening for this picture. My two favorite parts of this picture are the bright colors from the main sunset and the reflection of the orange across the beach. The reflection showcases the footprints and impurities on the beach and it helps to increase the vibrancy of the sunset.

Evening Flight

I was standing behind a puddle taking pictures of the reflection of the sun off it when this seagull flew right past me. It was incredibly close to me, which allowed for an easier picture. Most of the time I don't have birds close to the camera, but this day I was lucky. The bird acted like it wanted to be in the picture, flying mid-frame with my camera's settings already prepared for this shot.

Oyster Crates

These oyster crates are placed about 100 yards offshore and remain underwater until low tide. To catch the oysters, the crates have to be underwater, which is why they are so far out, but they can't be so far out that low tide doesn't expose them. I combined the crates with the sunset and created this stunning picture. Bright pinks and night blues reflecting and silhouetting the crates.

Reflection

Many times in the past I have taken pictures of sunsets that were reflected off of some water, but this is by far my favorite. There is this small puddle where the water wasn't able to escape reflecting the sun into my camera. There are silhouettes of people standing and watching the sunset. Then there is also the sunset itself, bright colors of orange and blue. I wish I could have shifted a little to the right, but still an incredible picture.

Ocean Sunset

After Boston, we headed to Brewster near Cape Cod. The tides changed 13 feet every day. High tide was around 2pm and the beach was only 20 feet long but by sunset and 8, the beach was as far as the eye could see. There were a few small puddles because not all the water made it out with the tide, but almost all the water was gone.

Water

The next and final place we visited in Boston was this perfectly clear lake. It originated as a glacier then over hundreds of years it melted into this lake. The lake was so clear I could see the bottom ten feet underwater in some spots. I was able to easily see fish and other underwater objects.

Paul Revere's House

A little way down the road we passed by Paul Revere's house. I am a little skeptical about the complete truth if this is his house or not. The left side looks freshly painted and the side panels look new. This could be because they had to remodel it or else it would fall, but the right side looks authentic. There's a green-brown taint on the panels, making it look like something that could have been from the 1700s.

Protecting the Nation

This statue and park in behind the statue mark where the American Revolution started. Both towns, Lexington and Concord, claim to that their town had the first shots, but I believe it is Lexington. On the way back to the car we passed by a cemetery with headstones dated to the early 1800s. It was something not relevant to the revolution, but interesting to see.

Walk in the Park

This is a picture of a big duck followed by many small ducks. I wanted to position the camera as close to the big ducks head as I could, but also have the small ducks in the back. I chose a smaller aperture to have the ducks in the back be in the picture but out of focus.

Paul Revere

This picture is of Paul Revere riding his horse in front of a church. This picture was one of the hardest to take. There were two main things I was focussed about, light and positioning Paul. The light that day was very harsh. There was bright sunlight on the church, but Paul was completely black. While I did lose much information in Paul, I was able to get both objects which is a success. The second thing was positioning. I wanted to get the perfect angle to capture both the church and Paul.

Irish Potato Famine

This is the Boston Irish Famine Memorial. There is another part (not pictured) that shows a prosperous American family walking along next to this struggling Irish family. It opened in 1998 and has an average of 3 million visitors each year. Even from just a simple picture, it is easy to see the struggles it appears they are going through.

Granary Burying Ground 

Our next adventure took us onto the freedom trail and to the Granary Burying Grounds. This cemetery is the resting place for Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Sam Adams. Some of the headstones were dated to the 1700s, but they were actually moved in the late 1900s to accommodate tourists and to create a walkway. While this isn't the original resting place of the headstones, this still was a site that was visited over 300 years ago.

Prudential Tower

Hey! This is my 1000th Post! I looked back at my first picture and I was dated almost 3 years ago. 1000 pictures later and there's a big quality and commentary difference.
Next, we traveled 30 stories high on the observation deck of the Prudential Tower. It was really calm and peaceful up top. You could look down and see the cars and buses without hearing all the city noises. You could also look out and see for miles and miles. One of the things that shocked me the most were the number of trees. I didn't think that there would be as many in such a dense city.

MIT

This picture and the last one sum up our visit to MIT. It wasn't a formal visit, just us walking around and seeing the campus and buildings. I personally like this picture better because of the colors and man taking another picture. First, there are more colors in this picture, which I like. Second, I like how the guy is taking the picture. It shows that this is a popular visiting spot.

Thinking

Continuing our college visits, we next went to MIT. After getting off the bus, I immediately saw this sculpture. It is called 'Alchemist' and is metal letters, numbers, and mathematical symbols to "pay homage to all the researchers and scientists." If I could change one thing about the picture, it would be moving the picture angle. I wish I took the picture head-on and the background was the rest of MIT. The downside of doing so would cause the trees to go away, which do also add an interesting background.

Harvard

Welcome to Boston! There are two parts to this trip. The first is the downtown Boston and surrounding cities and the second is Cape Cod. We started our trip off in Boston and visiting Harvard. I took this picture in the Harvard Yard facing North toward the Harvard Memorial Church. I took this picture because of the architecture that surrounds and makes up the building. Five paths meet at the center point of the yard, there are the four giant columns at the bottom of the church, then steeple on top.

In-Line

This is the final picture from the Northern California series. On the last day, we went on the trolley that goes up Lombard Street and through downtown San Fransisco. During one of our many crossings at streets, I noticed the straight streets and rows of buildings. I liked the architecture and symmetry, so I took many pictures of numerous streets. This one is perfectly centered and has everything I am looking for, now onto Boston and Cape Cod!

Alcatraz

Once we stepped off the boat and onto the island, the wind appeared to die down a little. After stepping into the prison yard, I realized how much wind there was. Also, there was bird poop everywhere, and ten-foot-tall walls surrounded the center. It seemed very hard to escape, and if someone did escape, they would have to swim a mile in freezing cold water with very gusty winds.

Looking Back at Downtown

After the bridge, we headed south and east to Alcatraz. The day was a typical San Fransisco summer day, highs around 80F and clouds in the morning but dissipating by noon or late afternoon. Once we were 2 minutes into the boat ride to Alcatraz, the winds picked up substantially causing the temperature to drop. Disregarding the weather, on the way to the island prison, I turned my camera back to downtown. I used my wide-angle lens, and even then downtown was too big to capture everything.

Looking Beyond

I took pictures of the bridge from many different angles with many different objects in the fore and background. This picture is my favorite of the bridge. I like how there are the flowers as the main focus with the bridge in the background. I also like the color of the flowers and how they are contrasted against the bridge and clouds. The bright colors of the flowers really showcase them next to the dark-colored clouds and bridge.

Golden Gate Bridge

After leaving Monterrey, we traveled north to San Fransisco. One of the first sites we visited was the Golden Gate Bridge. I wanted to take pictures of it but didn't want to copy others. Instead, I went down to the bay and near some large rocks. This way I was getting the bridge while also getting something different in the form of nature.

Shoreline Sunset

I turned my camera from the goats to the sunset, adjusted a few settings, then took this picture. For my of my sunset picture, I only change the shutter speed. For this one, I changed my aperture to a bigger number (less light let into the sensor). This meant that the shutter speed wouldn't be as high fast, but I didn't need a fast shutter speed because nothing was moving. 

Goats


This picture is the beginning of a spectacular sunset. We were eating at a restaurant when I noticed the goats. They were all in a group and even had the ocean in the background. Everything was lined up perfectly. Thin wispy clouds, sunlight casting on the goats, and the water. I wish I was a little closer to the goats, but I think it still is a great picture.

Greenish-Blue

This picture stands out to me because of the crisp colors and focus on the crashing wave. The front is broken up into tiny droplets of water created by the force the wave had when it crashed down onto the ocean. The back is smooth, greenish-blue with hints of white. The green is from the algae, blue from the water, and white from the crashing wave.

Pebble Beach

For this picture, I moved into the golf course and behind the first hole. There are many places with clocks like this, but each is different because of the location. This clock had tall bushes surrounding it covering the pedestal it was on. I like the separation between the green plant and the bright blue sky. Some clouds in the sky help to give it a better appearance.

Lone Cypress

Pebble Beach Golf Club is known for this lone cypress tree. It is the iconic symbol that many people think of when they hear Pebble Beach. The tree is around 250 years old and has been held up by cable for 65 years. Earlier this year in February 2019, the tree lost its leftmost branch.

Ocean Guard

At another spot on the 17-mile drive, I found this seagull. It was standing on the edge, looking over the ocean. I like this picture of the seagull because there is more than just the seagull. There are the green plants in front and ocean in the back. There is also the other seagull's head just barely sticking out above the green plants.

Standing Tall

In Monterey, we went on the 17-mile drive. It had 17 different sites that were all unique and fascinating. One of them was this beach that had many rock towers. I positioned myself close to the sand to showcase the magnitude of it and to capture the water. On the other beaches, I had never seen it before and found it unique and special to that beach.

Full Picture

Nearly all of my pictures are short exposure. It wasn't dark enough for a full 10-30 second exposure, but 1/13 was still able to capture the motion of the ocean. This picture was harder to take because you had to take it when there was a big wave. The wave also had to have crashed and was creating streaks in the air.

Crashing

During the sunset, I took hundreds if not thousands of pictures trying to capture the perfect shot of the crashing waves and the sun projecting onto them. I kept the shutter speed high and focussed on the different colors of the water. Depending on the depth of the water, the water changed color. Shallow water is more yellow from the sand, the middle is green from algae on the bottom, and the deep is for deep blue colors.

Teepee

Also on the beach were some teepees and other natural but man-made objects. One of these objects was this teepee. It was made of sticks and covered in a seaweed covering. To make the picture even better, I set it behind the setting sun. The sun reflected across the water, creating a stripe leading to the teepee.

Blocked by Nature

This tree has probably been at the beach for hundreds of years. It is hard to see because of the silhouette, but it is very smooth, and the top half was not on the tree. The smoothness came from the wind-driven sand that had hit the tree and smoothed it. I am guessing that is also where the top half was ripped off. There was a strong gust and the top of the tree flew away.

Hill After Hill

From Santa Barbara, we took Highway 1 up to Monterey. The highway was beautiful with the ocean on one side and hills covered in green plants on the other. This picture came from up high on one of the hills. The highway has a single lane with many sharp turns. Signs were warning long vehicles to not go up the highway, but two semi's decided to go up. They were too wide, so they blocked traffic, creating a standstill. During this, I walked outside our car and took this picture.

Fishing

This bird is a long-billed Curlew. I spotted it while we were driving up to San Fransisco. It's built for standing in shallow water and using its long bill to catch food. Its head looks a little small for its body. You see the long bill and legs then look at the head, and it looks tiny.

Bands of Waves

Many waves have accompanying waves behind them. I have found that many waves come in groups of three. Two small one followed by a bigger one, then another group of three in the same two small one big, but the second group is bigger. Basically, every sixth wave is the biggest. I took the picture in a way that I was able to capture all seven of the waves in a single picture followed by the open ocean.

Sand Dollars

On the third beach, I found around ten sand dollars. Using my macro lens, I moved as close to the dollar as I could. I wanted to capture the design on the dollar and the individual grains of sand. All of the dollars I found had this five-pointed star shape on it. I don't know why it is like that, but it is very interesting and cool.

Bright Colors

The flowers in California are unlike any I have seen before. Every place I visit has different types of flowers that I have never seen before, but these are different. All of the flowers are brightly colored and really stand out against the green, grass background. I have never seen a flower that looks like an egg or a flower, like this that has bright purple as one of its colors.

Night Time Lights

Underneath the same amazing sunset, I looked back at the water and took pictures of a pier. There are a few things in this picture that I really like. The first is the lights on the pier, specifically the string of lights I find very simple. The second is the little pool of water in front of the ocean. The third and final is the hint of sunset. There is enough for a sunset picture, but its very faint.

Orange to Blue

I turned my camera around and toward the palm trees. I used the same aperture and shutter speed technique. I made the sunset darker than it actually was and the night less blue. I added a California touch by including the palm trees in the picture. It gave the picture more objects for your eye to look at and I like it because it's hard for me to find palm trees in Texas.

Beach-Side Sunset

Using the same technique (a large aperture), I was able to capture the sunset in a very dark and rich way. I wanted to make the sunset seem as dark and colorful as possible. I made the colors as dark as possible, which also made the hills darker. On the hills are many palm trees which are casted into a silhouette by the large aperture and high shutter speed.

Sunset Silhouette 

Many times during this trip, the sun was so bright (probably because the water reflected the sun) that I had to increase the aperture to compensate. This was one of those times. When I did this, the picture becomes a different color. The yellow sun turns more lighter-yellow and the silhouetted object turns darker.

Sunset Fog

For most of the two days when we were in Monterey, there was fog covering the sky. Until the sunset on the second day, I didn't see the blue sky. The opening of the clouds allowed for a perfect sunset. There was still some fog in the mountains (which is what is pictured here). The sun reflected back onto the clouds creating a very nice sunset.

Water Stripes

On the beach were teepees made of three sticks standing up. This specific teepee had a rock on one of the sticks. I focussed on the rock and the stripes on it. I believe that these stripes came from the years the rock was laying in the sand and water. When the sand-water flowed around the rock, it created these stripes. In addition to the stripes on the rock, the waves created subtle stripes in the background.