Every Day is a Gift!
For this challenge our guest host Jude of Cornwall in Colours has asked us to show different textures we find in our world.
Many thanks to our guest host Jude of Cornwall in Colours for her Lens-Artists Challenge #226 – Textures
In this challenge Anne asks us: ”From squirrels to birds, wildlife is around us. What non-domestic animals live in your neighborhood or nearby?”
The salt marsh, salt water creeks, rivers and the Atlantic Ocean attract an abundance of wildlife close to my home in coastal Georgia. Whether on the beach, in the waterways, in my neighborhood, or in my own back yard I am grateful to be able to see such a variety of wildlife.
Wading Birds
Birds of Prey
Backyard Wildlife
Insects in the garden
Many thanks for Sofia’s Lens-Artists Challenge #225 – Wildlife Close to Home
In this challenge Sofia asks us to work on exposure. We can use our camera’s shutter speed or play with the aperture settings when we are shooting. Another way to work with exposure is to change the exposure when editing.
This is a great challenge for me because I tend to be on the lazy side and let my camera do the work using the automatic feature. This method is great when I’m shooting wildlife that moves and I don’t have time to change settings quickly. Often, when taking photos of other subjects I’m not happy with the results if I let the camera do the work.
The two images below were taken just minutes apart. I used the camera’s automatic settings for the first image. I used the manual settings to change the shutter speed to 1/20 to achieve the overexposed look for the second image.
In the images below I played with different settings to capture the first camellia of the season. For the first image I set the aperture to a low 4.6. I set the shutter speed to 1/4000 for the second image.
Many thanks for Sofia’s Lens-Artists Challenge #224 – Exposure
Amy has asked us to share our joy of visiting/climbing mountains. I live in coastal Georgia where the nearest mountains are many miles away. Some of our most memorable trips are ones we took to visit mountains.
A few hours north of where I live is Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia at 4784 feet in elevation. I don’t have a picture of the mountain itself but here is a view from the top.
If we travel a little farther north into North Carolina, Tennessee or Virginia we can visit the beautiful Great Smokey Mountains National Park or take a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
We can keep going farther north in Virginia to take a ride on the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.
We’ve made a few RV trips to the western United States to visit the majestic mountain ranges there.
We even traveled to the Canadian Rockies.
Of all the mountains I’ve seen, the ones in Alaska are my favorites. The rest of the images are from our RV trip to Alaska several years ago.
Denali (formerly known as Mt. McKinley), 20,320 feet tall, is the tallest mountain in North America. The last three images were taken from three different locations. No matter where you are when you see it, it is an amazing sight.
Many thanks for Amy’s Lens-Artists Challenge #222 – Mountains are Calling
For this challenge Ann-Christine asks us to show our favorite flowers and share why they are our favorite.
How can I pick just a few flowers? I love them all. Flowers make me smile all year round.
Winter brings Camellias and Hibiscus blooms to the garden.
In spring I love to see the Azalea, Dogwood, Day lily, Magnolia and Hydrangea blooms.
The colorful blooms of summer are not only beautiful but often attract butterflies and other critters.
Fall in the garden is filled with butterflies drinking their fill of nectar from the last remaining blooms.
From Texas to Alaska to Virginia and here in Georgia wildflowers always brighten the landscape.
Roses always make me happy.
Many thanks to Ann-Christine’s Lens-Artists Challenge #221 – Flower Favorites and Why
Wandering Dawgs 