Today's photos are ones that I was surprised to have turn out as well as they did. I'm trying to learn how to better use my point-and-shoot digital camera, so I've been taking all kinds of different shots to see what happens. I used to love to take photographs with our 35mm film (non-digital) camera. We had several different lenses which made it easier to take good ones. Alas, I'm back to beginner status. It's definitely better than using the Kodak Instamatic I used as a teenager, because of the zoom function and different automatic settings like close-up and landscape, and because I don't have to pay for developing ten times as many photos as actually turn out. But it definitely has limitations.
Regardless, I was happy to get these shots.
Two crows in a wood:
In another month, this will be a leafy, shady spot for these souls to hide. There was no hiding on this day, however, and after only two photos, they flew off, protesting loudly.
A few streets further along, a different crow, and a completely different reaction:
This guy was drinking out of a puddle, which doesn't seem all that pleasant - and didn't seem to care that I was there.
Finally there was this:
To get all of the trunk of this tree in the picture, I would have had to lie down in someone's front yard, with traffic passing in the adjacent street. Because I don't like to make a spectacle of myself, I did not do that. Trust me when I say this is a very tall tree. I almost fell over from looking up. Remember, old-ish people plus falling over equals possibility of injury. I like my bones unbroken and my head unconcussed. I could not keep looking up and waiting for some birds to decide to pose up there. Ergo, no birds in this tree. Just lots and lots and lots of tree.
Special treat tomorrow! Although that may depend on your definition of treat, I suppose ...
It's like my desire to capture the entire oak tree in my front yard. Either the top or the bottom are left behind. Worse yet, my greater desire is to photograph it full of birds, which it always is, but I cannot have both at once. If the tree is large, the birds are too small. However, I live with a singing tree, and it is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteSome things cannot be photographed with justice, can they? A singing tree does sound wonderful.
DeleteI grew up around a lot of redwoods, and there's no real way to get all of one of those in a decent picture. You can back off a long way, but then you lose the effect of how enormous they really are...
ReplyDeleteThe other way I see used quite a bit is to lay on your back and shoot straight up the side of the trunk. Those never seem to come out as intended, but when I see them I at least kind of understand why they were taken that way.
-Doug in Oakland
Redwoods - now THOSE are TREES. I'd love to see them in person some day.
DeleteHow I love trees.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the dangers of looking up though. Trying to take photos of balloons overhead I was convinced that I would very quickly go base over apex. So I stopped.
I think it's something to do with being outside, at least for me. I can look up when I'm indoors with no issue. But looking at the sky gives me vertigo. "Base over apex" sounds so much better than "a$$ over kettle" which was a favourite saying of my dad :)
DeleteLove the crows!
ReplyDeleteThey are characters. And a lot easier to photograph than bees :)
DeleteI love a good tree photo and when there's birds, too, well, that's the best, isn't it? The two crows in the wood remind me of your poem post. Two Crows sat gossiping in a brown wood and sorry I couldn't speak crow and thus converse, I snapped a photo because they advised it would last longer. Well. Maybe I do speak crow.
ReplyDeleteTaking advice from crows? - you could do worse, I think :)
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