Another study in Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Umber. These are really good colors for portraying cold and wintry conditions. Brr! Where I live, we have had weather in the 80s for much of January and February, so a break from the heat is much needed. Today, though, it’s a whopping 52 F.
Last year we had a lot of rain in California where I live. This winter, none that I can recall. The weeds – here, wild mustard – grew to enormous heights because of all the rain. We might get rain tonight. The fact is, these dried weeds are what made the Thomas Fire so fierce – a lot of dead growth left over from a wet winter a year ago.
Well, the fact is, I am way too busy and far too short of time to do this proposed 365 project. So, instead of doing a 365, I am just going to go back to looking at things and taking pictures of what I like. I’ve been quite unhappy with my inability to commit to the project . . . I seldom quit anything I start.
So, here is a tree, which is something I enjoyed photographing very much.
The past few weekends have made me feel so cramped and crazy, mostly because the puppies are growing, and needing a lot of attention. Sometimes it makes me wonder if I was nuts to get two, but when they are all cute and cuddly, the answer is always a loud “Yes!” Luckily, the other half is superlative at caring for them, but he abandoned me for the Super Bowl. As the puppies are crate trained, I made good my escape for a couple of hours to the local botanical garden.
Where I live, endless blue skies are endlessly blue and cloudless. We are in the middle of a drought. The state does not plan to release reservoirs, and I don’t blame them. Weather is weird, extremes showing up which seem abnormal. Global warming? I think so, but this is not a political / ecological foray, so we will leave it at that. Back to the skies: we had rain clouds! And some light rain! I went out to shoot landscapes with a long lens, 70-300mm, but could not produce any I liked – I expect my view-point was wrong.
Instead, tripod in hand, I also focused on flowers. Always, flowers. Leaves, rocks, trees, branches. I love the shapes of nature, and ultimately these seem to be the ones I love the most. Long lenses are great for blurring the background, and with flowers it is no exception. On this trip, I took my time, crawled around, and looked through the camera to frame my shot. At times, I used live view because I was down so low (luckily, no mud), and my battery was draining faster than normal.
Small patches of bright color are always welcome on a dreary day. The smell of sage and earth and decaying leaves are wonderful. I took my time to enjoy the garden, and even though it started to rain – and my camera gear was sadly unprotected – it was such a pleasure to be outdoors (sans puppies pulling on a leash) to enjoy the beauties of nature.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 