Sunshine and Webs / Project 52 ~ Week 12

  Well...today's post is very late.  I've been trying to edit lots of images when time permitted and am just now finishing.  This week has been up and down.  Lots of rain, lots of sunshine, some more rain, warm temperatures, even more rain, some hail...and I think it's raining again!  The plants are growing everyday - it's a beautiful sight to see.  The azaleas are in full bloom, dazzling local gardens with a variety of pinks, purples and white.  The wisteria is fully bloomed in lovely shades of lilac purples, draping the treetops of wooded areas.  In less words, it's gorgeous around here again.  Fall and Winter look to be seasons of the past and Spring is here to stay!

  On Friday morning, in early sunlight, I walked my yard to check on plant growth.  It had rained fairly heavily the evening before, and the lawn, plants and trees were still covered in heavy dew drops.  I noticed a lot of "sparkling" areas dotting my back gardens and low branches.  When I got closer I discovered these were spider webs.  Now, I'm not too fond of spiders {at all}, but I couldn't walk away without capturing this lovely image.  Each piece of the web was covered in very tiny dew drops, each reflecting the early sunlight in a spectacular display.  I chose this image for Week 12:

{Project 52 / Week 12 - "Glittered Web n.4"}
{Captured: 50mm - ISO 250 - F5.0 - 1/125}

  I chose to apply a black and white finish to this image as I found the bright green and light browns of the background to be a bit distracting.  I wanted lots of detail, so the aperture was set to 5.0.  I loved the final look of several images from this web.  If you get a chance this week, stop by on Facebook in the Coming Soon folder to see other images captured from this morning walk.

Hope everyone has a beautiful week!
--Jennifer

Garden Days / Project 52 - Week 11

  Good Afternoon!!
  There's been a change in recent weather this week.  Instead of rainy, windy and chilly days...there's been sunshine and warm weather!  We've been spending lots of time tidying up the yard.  It's been a chore, but has been so nice at the same time.  Our gardens are beginning to show lots of new growth and even some blooms!
  Yesterday, my youngest and I were continuing to clean-up our back garden.  {insert a LOUD shriek!}  She was so surprised to find a small friend...and we chased him for quite some time {so we could see him hop, of course}.  This week's image is a memory of this fun discovery:

"In The Garden n.3" / Project 52 - Week 11
{Captured:  50mm - ISO 100 - F3.5 - 1/1000}

  I wanted to make sure that the subject was very detailed, so I set my aperture at 3.5 and a faster shutter speed since there was frequent movement.  The light pastels of the pebbles, provided a nice contrast to the dark and rich browns.  My favorite part, was the "frown".
  It's a bit different for me to move from landscape and flower shots, but we sure had fun chasing this little guy around the garden!

Hope everyone has an amazing week!
--Jennifer

Pine Trees and Shadows / Project 52 ~ Week 10

  Good Morning!  Just a note...it'll be quick post this week.  The weather and sunshine have been amazing this weekend and I've got a few different flowers that I'd like to photograph today before sunset...so I must stay focused!

  Yesterday we were out and about, before sunset, thoroughly enjoying the amazing sunshine.  On our walk, I captured this week's image:

Project 52 / Week 10:  "Sunny Shadows n.1"
{Captured:  50mm - ISO 160 - F5.6 - 1/400}

  I was in love with the hazy golden sunshine casting long shadows in the row of pine trees.  The bright afternoon sunlight created a wonderful pattern of light and dark spaces.  The whole scene yesterday reminded me of a late summer day...and hopefully these days are just around the corner!

  Hope you have a lovely week ahead!
--Jennifer

Unique Beauty / Project 52 ~ Week 9

 Happy Weekend!!

  I was so excited to receive a wonderful surprise this week...two lovely bouquets of ranunculus flowers!!  I've {really, really} wanted to photograph these intriguing flowers for some time.  These blooms were the miniature type and each bouquet was full of incredible color {reds, pinks, oranges, yellows and purples}.  

  

  On Friday, I separated some of the pinks, purples and oranges and set to work on capturing some long overdue images.  I love how the stems wind and curve, each petal with light textures, each bloom unique and at a different stage.  I decided to group my images by flower color to obtain a more uniform view.  This week's image:

Project 52 - Week 9 / "Purple Ranunculus n.1"
{Captured:  ISO160 - F2.0 - 1/80}

  The richly deep purple petals, with a light texture and haze definitely made this image the right choice for Week 9.   It was a hard choice though, because the orange and pink ranunculus images were equally beautiful.  If you get a chance this week, stop by the Facebook page to see additional images in the Coming Soon folder.

  I'm looking at this rainbow of flowers this morning and they are continuing to change daily.  I'm hoping to get a few more images of the other blooms this week.   I really would love to add a space in our back gardens this year to grow some of these amazing plants, their bright blooming flowers would look great next to the roses and peonies.  

  On a sidenote:  Spring is nearing everyday, I've noticed our tulips are growing and I can't wait to capture some images of these, hopefully soon!

Hope your week is amazing!!

-Jennifer