Jim Stahr has a Different Year

 Today's pictures come from Baltic Reservoir.  I was happy to see some wild iris. They are more beautiful to me than any of our garden cultivars.  This Red-winged Blackbird posed for me a while.  The Tree Swallows were cooperative  until they decided to dive bomb me.

Cypripedioideae  Soliciting photo quest ideas,  it was suggested I find a Lady Slipper.  I found one deep in the  Pachaug Forest , just off Cutoff Road. She was a beauty displaced in a brightly lit, recently cleared area.  It was nice to have sufficient light for photography as I crawled the forest floor attempting to capture its best side. I only bottomed out my sportscar  once. A posted picture garnered enough interest that I have set up a gallery for anyone wishing to purchase a print or full size (24MP) download. All proceeds will support future Photo Quests.

People have requested a broader view of our gardens rather than the close ups of the current blooms. This is a quick walk around my modest property.  The problem is that our gardens reveal their beauty seasonally, without grandiose. To be sure, we splurge for annuals here and there.  I wonder how many people even notice this planter, but the ones that talk to me about it make me realize I do care what people think. I've liked every person that has enjoyed it enough to let me know. Before. I believe it was 1993 when we had our first load of wood chips delivered to kill the southeast grass.We had already planted the hedges of forsythia and rosa rugosa. After. Here is the current view, with redbud, iris, and lilac fading. There used to be a hedge of hibiscus, but it won't live here anymore.  The interior view.  Herbs and rhubarb. And of course, a random Rose of Sharon.   The laundry, surrounded by trillium, may apple,  forsythia, daylily, and i

The row of irises Planted last year are doing nicely.  I suspect it will be showier next year. Poopy planters are filled with annuals. Native plants are popping up everywhere.

 A chance encouter  with   my  feathered friends.

More fun with Holga's fixed focus .25mm pinhole lens mounted on a Nikon D40. I do not present these pictures as good photos, but as learning opportunities  Looks like I took this in 1957. The first thing to get over is the muted colors created by the lack of focusing elements. Every photo needs increased contrast, saturation, and unsharp mask. Adjustments similar were made when film processing in my darkroom days. Hank's Dairy Bar The lack of metering means you might need to pull everything out of the extreme highlights or shadows. This in turn leads to interesting distortions, such as this overexposed image with little color except where the vignetting has reduced lighting.  Unnamed project. Darker scenes have the dis/advantage of requiring long exposure times. These can end up looking psychedelic or  accelerated, but they do seem to capture time as well as light. Morgan's Dreamworld Of course, one can manipulate the camera for desired results.

Has yeilded to summer  too quickly.

I like spring colors.  Autumn could learn from it's brilliance, Winter from its subtlety. 

Macro Panning Low light Perspective