(Day 192) Lazy days of summer

Sun. July 11, 2010

Vacations can be wonderful times of rest and relaxation. And we were blessed to have some great weather to make our days near the water even more relaxing. This is typical of the view we had daily from the beach near our cottages.

(18-55mm  f8  1/50 sec  ISO100)

And although we were on vacation and I had no internet access, I didn’t forget about Sunset Sunday. We witnessed a glorious sunset today on a walk together, and this is one of a number of photos I was fortunate to make.

(18-55mm  f9  1/800 sec  ISO100)

(Day 191) Child’s Delight

Sat. July 10, 2010

How far back does your memory go ? Do you remember events from when you were 2, or 3 ? What events made an indelible impression on your childhood memory ? I think my memory goes back to age 3 or 4, and I can certainly remember events from age 5. As adults we sometimes forget that we’re also directly responsible for helping shape our children’s memories - and we certainly don’t know what events of today will create a lasting impression.

I do hope that our trips to the cottage with family and extended family is making a positive impression on our grandchildren, at least those beyond the infant stage. I doubt that Graydon (6 months) will remember these days, but I think Lilly (age 3) and Hailey (age 5 ½) will certainly have memories of these family vacations. Today’s shot is about making some of those memories.

(18-55mm  f8  1/200 sec  ISO200)

(Day 190) From the porch

The heat wave we've been having this week finally broke when we got rain tonight. As a result I was limited in what I could shoot outdoors. But I recalled an exercise in Freeman Patterson's book 'Photography and the Art of Seeing' in which you are to take 20 steps out of your front door, draw an imaginary 20' circle, and make 20 photos within that circle. So, since I couldn't go out in the rain, I looked around from my front porch to see what I could shoot. I managed 23 photos, but I'll just post the one below, and save the others for another day.

NOTE: we are leaving on a family vacation tomorrow. I'm pretty sure there will be running water and electricity, but I'm not sure whether there will be any sort of internet access. So if you don't see any posts after tonight, then you'll know there isn't and I'll be back in a week. I will have my camera, of course, and will make photos each day - I'll have to catch up on posting them when we return if there's no internet access. And I'll catch up with all of you then too. Have a great week!

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/25 sec  ISO200)

 

(Day 189) A fortuitous foto

I guess you could use the word blistering to describe our weather this week - it's been around 36C/97F all week and more of this is expected for tomorrow (but we're not really complaining because we get almost those numbers, with a minus sign prefix, in wintertime).

I went out this evening to give our flowers a much-needed drink, and of course took out the camera since the sky was also looking interesting. And again I forgot to acclimatize the camera and lens. As I went to focus on an interesting thunderhead I noticed the problem. Despite wiping the lens a couple of times the fogginess persisted. Recalling a past experience I then focused on a vine climbing up a balcony support beside me and made the photo posted below. The outcome wasn't planned, but I'll take it.

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/40 sec  ISO200)

(Day 188) Reaping what we did not sow

I've posted recently about some of the landscaping we've done here, and the flowers, shrubs, and trees we've planted. I've also posted several times about the wildflowers we're blessed with here.

We've had no hand in bringing forth the many colours that adorn the fields, and wildflowers have graced our table on more than one occasion. A number of weeks ago, we had a more distinctly yellow 'season' of wildflowers. We're now seeing a changeover to blue, primarily due to Viper's Bugloss, or Blueweed, although the black-eyed Susans are also quite abundant and keeping some yellow in the mix. We're certainly enjoying the show.

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/40 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f8  1/15 sec  ISO200)

(70-200mm  f5.6  1/50 sec  ISO200)