Again, it starts with phlox, then goes to the dog. I'm bewitched by the light coming through blue phlox.
I've learned, just by looking at which of my photos seem to work best, that the lower the perspective I can get, the better the pictures look. So I'm on my belly here on a rich wooded slope, shooting right up into the flowers' faces.
It doesn't get much better than that shivery blue-lilac on spring greens.
Wild geranium leaves offer a lovely veined backdrop. Their flowers aren't out yet as I'm shooting (It's April 21). But when they come they'll be a warmer rose-pink. And the phlox will be all done.
Further along, we find a stand of mystery plant growing in a low boggy area. It looks like a member of the Araceae, or arum family. No blossoms as yet, but I'm thinking it'll be a narrow snaky spathe, maybe with a hood around it. Anyone? It's got such fabulous marbling on the leaves.
And M., my source on all things horticultural, advises that maybe the reason I've never seen it before is that it's an invasive exotic called Arum italicum pictum. Niche Gardens' site advises, "Can be invasive in Zone 9 gardens." Well, we're Zone 6, and it's lookin' pretty invasive here in the middle of a bog in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere. Yikes.This seems to be a theme this spring. I see a plant completely new to me that's not in any of my guide books, and most of the time it turns out to be something I wish I weren't seeing.
Speaking of fabulous, non-invasive, non-exotic Chet is striking pose after pose. He knows when he gets on a nice rock that he'll have to hold it for awhile so I can document his wonderfulness.
That's it, Beautiful. Show me all sides. What a doggeh.
Much as I love shooting wildflowers, I keep being seduced by the lithe but muscular form of my little dog as he strides amongst them. It's very tricky to shoot him in this strong light--his blackness fools the camera, and most of the shots are useless, with badly washed out backgrounds. But every once in awhile, fiddling with exposures, we get it right.
Oh, he's so beautiful in water. It brings out his brindling.
What would I do without this little muse?
Go back to flowers, I suppose, to nodding trillium (Trillium cernuum)
8 comments:
Thanks for starting my day off with a good Chet-fix:)
Beautiful pics, try using a fill flash to keep the cameras auto eye from ruining your Chet pics for my Chet fix!
Love all the flower photos--but especially love Chet Baker (as he knows I would).
It is tricky photographing black dogs. We learned (when we got our black dog) that in rescue groups and shelters, black dogs are frequently adopted last (sometimes not at all) because of their blackness making photos difficult.
Might try the spot metering setting on your D7 instead of average metering. The white balance could be upped 1/3rd stop. Black doggies are difficult
I let my front acre lawn go wild when I moved in some 16 years ago. Now it's an old, shrubby field and I love it. But invasives are on my mind. I cut back the Canadian thistle every year as it blooms and I pull as much garlic mustard as I can. Yesterday I found some poison hemlock plants. I had no idea this was here (although I suppose my farmer neighbors do). The only reason I was at all careful with it was because I thought it might be giant hogweed. Sigh. Now that I know what it looks like, I see it in ditches everywhere. I'm not a fan of Round-Up, but this has made me think twice.
For Kristen,
Poison hemlock resembles Queen Anne's lace, and they often grow in the same area, so maybe it isn't all P.H.
I've learned, just by looking at which of my photos seem to work best, that the lower the perspective I can get, the better the pictures look.
In a recent conversation I had with another photographer, he summed up proper perspective beautifully:
"Don't patronize your subject."
Too many potentially great shots of lovely things come up short simply because the photographer is looking down on the model...
Post a Comment