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Gerry Daniel > First, let me clear some old business from yesterday, I struggled with what was something that was funny in my head but it wasn’t at all possible for me to translate it into the daily photo album. In a nutshell, I had a photo of a frog and another photo with canoes on a trailer. For some reason it made me think of “The Muppet Movie” and the scene early in the movie with Kermit in the boat in the pond. I think it was when he was singing “Rainbow Connection” and maybe Fozzie was in the boat too. Anyway, however funny it was to me, my photos had no element of that scene beyond boats and a frog. I tried, believe me, several different angles, it just wasn’t going to get there, not even close. So hopefully that clears that up, the two photos responsible are in the Bonus Tracks gallery now so you can see how much it would have failed. Now for today’s picture which was shot this morning. I might as well confess to you, we are sharing photos and things about our lives. It’s time I told you about my addiction. You have to understand I was raised in an agricultural area with farms all over the surrounding area. Like a lot of kids from my generation that lived in the Southeastern United States, we spent most of the summer months outside playing, coming inside mainly for meals. Our water breaks would be from the hose in the yard, which as anyone that had drank water from a hose in hot weather will tell you, let it run a little before you drink because the water sitting in the hose can be pretty dang hot. Anyway most of our meals included generous portions of fresh vegetables. At the time, I assumed that everybody ate that way because everybody that I knew ate that way. I know, I am wasting time, avoiding the addiction confession. Be patient, I am trying to give you some context. I couldn’t begin to estimate how many peas I have shelled, how many butterbeans I have shelled, or how many ears of corn I have shucked but it would be a healthy number. I have two older sisters and a younger brother. My sisters and I would have to finish whatever chores we were assigned before we could go out and play. So if there were peas to shell and other kids from the neighborhood came over, if they were in a hurry to play, they were likely to end up with a bowl of peas to shell to help things move along. Why so much shelling and shucking you may ask. Obviously the growing season was limited, part of what were had was cooked and eaten then and part of it was “put up” for the winter months. I don’t know what they call it elsewhere, but “putting up” vegetables was a way of saying that they would be prepared for the freezer and eaten in the off season. Quit pushing, I am getting to the addiction part. You needed more background. Tomatoes, there I said it. I have an addiction for farm/garden fresh tomatoes. Every Saturday morning, this time of year, I will go to downtown Birmingham to Pepper Place Saturday Market. Farmers and their families will come into town, setup their fruits and vegetables and sell them between 7 am and noon. There are crafts, coffee stands, and food places to buy muffins and other breakfast fare. There is also live music on several porches that surround the area. I would miss something if I tried to list all of the fruits and vegetables available during the warm months. Today was going to be a hot one so I took my camera with me when I left to go to Pepper Place this morning. My photo for today is from Birmingham Botanical Gardens and was taken on my way home. I was a little later than I had planned because when I got to Pepper Place, an older lady had fallen in the parking lot, her bag of vegetables had thrown off her balance. She had fallen on her left side, her husband was with her but he is blind. Eventually I called 911, which I had never done before, the paramedics came and took her to the hospital, I am pretty sure she had some broken bones. One of the people there took custody of her vegetables and followed them to the hospital to keep the vegetables from spoiling. iTunes song for today is by The Be Good Tanyas and is titled "Scattered Leaves" from the album "Hello Love".
Gerry Daniel > the pumpkin
Gerry Daniel > The rain started a little after sunrise and at times was a heavy downpour. Shooting in the rain or right after a rain can be a great time to get some nice photographs. My intention when I began shooting this morning was to capture some nice shots of the water lilies in the rain. Because it was so early, only a few water lily blooms had opened and a couple more were only partially opened. That wasn’t a problem. Enough of them were open and gave me plenty to shoot. It is easy to get tunnel vision sometimes when I am concentrating on a certain subject that I am shooting. There are so many things to consider like the perspective, the depth of field, the focal length, the composition, and the direction of the primary light source. So while I was working with all of that, I almost missed it. It was so obvious and yet I wasn’t seeing it. Sure the water lilies were beautiful but on this morning, with the rain drops, the lily pads were outstanding. By the time I left, I had filled my memory card and had about 240 images. So the photo of the day is the humble lily pad. Water lilies are comprised of two families. The Nymphaeceae are commonly called water lilies and live in freshwater areas. They can be found in both temperate and tropical climates. The plants are rooted in soil in a body of water and their leaves and flowers float on the surface. From what I have read, there are hardy and tropical categories. The hardy water lilies only bloom during the day. Nelumbo is the other family of water lilies, more commonly known as lotus or sacred lotus and is the national flower of India. Some of my water lily flower photographs from today can be found in my water lily gallery: http://gldaniel02.smugmug.com/gallery/5388816_jr976/1/339416501_YonCB Some of the other lily pad photographs from today can be found in my Bonus Tracks and B-sides - 2008 - 2nd Six Months gallery: http://gldaniel02.smugmug.com/gallery/5468840_XzWBE/1/339413268_n8xdA Today’s song is by Al Green. The title is “Tired of Being Alone (2002 Digital Remaster)” from “The Definitive Greatest Hits” album.
Gerry Daniel > Today’s photo is from Noccalula Falls in Gadsden, AL. This photograph is the stream below the 100 foot waterfall as it flows into the woods. At this point in the summer, the water level is fairly low. I plan to go back in the fall when the leaves are turning and the rains raise the water level. Even with a relatively low water level, the view is fantastic. There are a few other photographs of this area in the Bonus Tracks gallery for the 2nd six months of 2008 (http://gldaniel02.smugmug.com/gallery/5468840_XzWBE/1/344002057_YvV33).
Gerry Daniel > Zebras make such nice subjects to photograph. I love the lines and the contrast. My photo of the day is basically a straight presentation of the image with minor adjustments. My more colorful interpretation of the same image can be found in the bonus tracks gallery. Today's song is by Greg Laswell, the title is "I'd Be Lying" from the "Three Flights from Alto Nido" album.
Gerry Daniel > ripples of fall colors
Gerry Daniel > It's been a while since I took any photographs. I am on the road and processing the images from the laptop, so it's a little weird. I have been in Chattanooga since Sunday. It has been raining most of the time but I haven't minded, I am just taking it easy. I went the the Tennessee Aquarium this afternoon. When I get home, I will have a lot of images to go through but I wanted to go ahead and post something. I will create a gallery for Chattanooga and put images there as I get a chance to process them. One dirty secret about my photography is that probably over 99% of them are taken from a tripod. Clarity is such a big part of an image and I don't trust my hands to be steady enough to get the best shots. Today is one of the exceptions. Lugging all of my camera equipment around, in a driving rain and through the Tennessee Aquarium so I put a lens in my jacket pocket and carried the camera with the other lens mounted. That is about as light as I can travel for photography. So all of the shots from today were hand held. I went through a butterfly exhibit and got some nice shots that I will share. Because of the people swirling around and the movement of the butterflies, I actually shot a lot on automatic in that area which is something I rarely do. Today's photo are two birds at the top of the floor in an area outside the butterfly exhibit. Some of the butterfly photos may turn out to be better shots, but I happen to like this shot. These two had not cooperated at all. They were constantly grooming each other. Hope everyone is doing well. I haven't been on my site or looked at any galleries for a what seems like forever. Needless to say, I am extremely behind but not stressing about it. Sooner or later I will get back into a more regular routine. Peace
Gerry Daniel > This afternoon I was in a hurry and didn’t spend the time getting the angles and focal lengths to get the shots I wanted. Several factors that have nothing to do with photography have made this week a little difficult to concentrate on my shots but some days are like that. I could go into detail but it would be boring and I would still have the same photographs. My personal energy is at a low and it is one of those periods where my shots disappoint me. Since the shots are just the result of what I captured with the camera, it is more or less a case of me not liking my photos for the day. I know, it’s a water lily. Someone in my house already made a sarcastic comment about what a surprise it was to see more water lily photos. Bleh. It’s my gallery, my photographs, my little corner of the Internet. Today’s song is by Queens of the Stone Age. The title is “No One Knows” from the “Songs for the Deaf” album.
Gerry Daniel > A week ago today, I experimented with trying to photograph a drop of water as it splashed in a bowl. The next day, I applied what I learned from the previous day and was able to get an image that was closer to my goal. Since that time I haven't tried that type of shot again. This week was a tough week at the office. So many pressures on so many people these days due to the economic problems throughout the United States. As the week went by, I became the not so proud owner of a stomach virus. Today has been better but this thing has taken a toll on me. I didn't shoot at all yesterday and I don't think I shot anything the day before. The days sort of ran together so I am completely sure. Since I have been somewhat housebound, I went back to the drops projects today. Taking what I had learned last week I shot this afternoon in a shallow container, then shot in a deep bowl. The results weren't bad but they were still lacking what I was trying to capture and the overall quality of the images was poor. Tonight, after thinking about some of the aspects of the setup, I made a few adjustments. Photography is simple in some ways, complex in others. The shots from tonight involved a much simpler setup but used sound basic photography principles. There are some adjustments I can still make but this is much closer to where I am trying to go with these shots. If I have used this song before, I am claiming memory loss due to being sick. Today's song is by Helio Sequence, the title is "Lately" from the "Keep Your Eyes Ahead" album.
the pumpkin
Gerry Daniel > the pumpkin
the pumpkin
See photo in original gallery.
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