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.