Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Too Many Photographs

It seems that the combination of a few factors has resulted in my having far too many photos on my computer. I can't keep up with them!

Frank recently got himself a new camera - the same but upgraded version of the one he gifted me with a couple of years back. Along with that lovely machine, he purchased two wonderful lenses which are fully interchangeable with the two fantastic lenses I have. This means that on the days when we're together we each have four incredible lenses from which to choose, and we tend to approach this novelty much like a couple of kids entering a candy store. Neither of us has stopped snapping pics everywhere we go. Combine this with the lovely weather we've been experiencing and you can imagine how many photographs are just waiting to be shared. Far more than my usual planned blog posts of twice a week plus Wednesday's POTW.

Sooooooooo, I've decided to start posting a bit more often. I'm not going to commit to a schedule. I'm just going to try to set some posts more often and attend to the POTW as usual (when time permits) on Wednesdays. This way, I can share my photos with you before so many weeks have passed that we're into autumn and I'm still trying to catch up with spring.

And with these new blogging intentions in mind, here are a few images which still show some early spring growth. Though we're well into flowers which have blossomed profusely and fully-foliated trees, I still had these baby buds waiting to be shared.

And so I shall.



tulip
Tulips are long gone, but this one was particularly pretty and needed to live on in a photograph.




wet tulips
More tulips - after a small rainfall.





foggyfavspot2
One month ago, trees were still rather sparsely decorated with blossoms and young leaves. Here's one of my favourite views - looking out at the pond on a hazy day.



emerging3
New growth was still emerging from the tips of branches everywhere - like here.



emerging2
And here. If you look closely, you can see a couple of raindrops clinging to the tiny buds.




leafy shadows
I liked how light and shadow played with these slender leaves.




Willow
One of two wonderful willows which mark either end of the pond. They look beautiful in the late day sunlight - particularly in spring and autumn.


60 comments:

Shrinky said...

I didn't know Frank was also a keen photographer! Ahh, you've brought us some of the finest Mother Nature has to offer, these images truly lift the soul - what a lovely start to my Tuesday!

Anyes said...

More photographs from you Hilary, I have to say this is great news! My favourite is the light and shadow one, keep them coming ;-)

Unknown said...

Love these photos! It makes such a difference when you have a good camera. Like Anyes, I love the light and shadow one as well.

Bob Bushell said...

Oooooh, those are unique, good for you, tremendous blog.

ADRIAN said...

Superb set.......The tulip after rain is a beauty. A bit of cloning to remove the car and it couldn't be improved. Thank you for this post.

Sueann said...

Gorgeous photos!!! All of them took my breath away!! You did a fabulous job!!
Hugs
SueAnn

Brian Miller said...

love that first lake pic with the bit of fog...and the other fav is the willow...very nice hilary!

Anvilcloud said...

Keep on snappin.

Leah J. Utas said...

The hazy pond one is so dream-like. Just beautiful.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

OHhhhh!

TexWisGirl said...

oh, hurray for us if you post more often! the 3rd photograph gave me chills, it is so beautiful!!!

Ruth Hiebert said...

I am so glad you are sharing these images.I love every one of them,and can't possibly pick a favourite.Have a beautiful day.
Ruth

DJan said...

As usual, I am impressed with your pictures, and I especially love the fog/hazy one. Thank you for sharing them and I always look forward to your posts!

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

Stunning as always. Love the reflection of the willow in the water.

Tammie Lee said...

so many beautiful captures of spring. so wonderful that the two of you have a grand time exploring and photographing together.

Anonymous said...

My computer is popping wide open at the seams with photos. I keep deleting some, off-loading to another hard drive and STILL way too many photos. Glad to hear I'm not the only one, but what the heck am I ever going to do with all of these photos.

Great shots by the way. Both of you do a bang up job with your photo skills!

Di

ellen abbott said...

all great photos as always. the flowers are always pretty but I rather like the one of the leaves.

Kerri Farley said...

Oh my ...... breathtaking images!
Keep 'em comin'!

Cricket said...

I'm always struck by how much your pind resembles a certain nearby bend in the river.

And I am very fond of willows. I don't know if I have a favorite tree or not... probably not, but the willow is right up there. I think they are quite beautiful.

I don't know exactly why, but I'm going to throw out one of my personal favorites: Adrian Belew, The Final Rhino. I particualrly like four year-old Audie Belew's piano playing on that cut.

Gail Dixon said...

These are all wonderful. I especially enjoyed that one of the light hitting the leaves. Perfection!

Slamdunk said...

Great photos Hilary--thanks for sharing.

I really enjoy mist/haze/fog/ over the stillness of a pond--excellent capture with yours.

Suldog said...

The willow brought on some immediate melancholia. I grew a willow tree in my back yard when I was a kid. Took a branch from a neighbor's tree - just a twig, really - and put it in water until it grew some roots, then dug a hole and planted it. It grew tall over the course of fifteen years or so, and I was proud of it and loved it. Then our house was sold and the new landlord cut down my willow tree one day while I was out. My goodness, I was both ripshit and incredibly sad! Anyway, lovely tree and great photos.

Anonymous said...

Gosh...if I thought of posting even 25% of the shots I take, I'd have to post 2-3 times a day! ;-)

Have fun with the new lenses and as always...great captures!

Steve Gravano said...

That first Tulip photo is outstanding, the depth of field and the contrasting colors, beautiful.
I have the same problem with storage. I have four external drives and I'm running out of room again. The part that is truly disturbing is one day these drives may not be compatible with a new OS and everything will have to be transferred or lost.

Daryl said...

Awesome shots, I have a few tulips left over ... not growing, preserved digitally.

Moannie said...

Dear Hilary, your photos are amazing, I never tire of looking at them.
Rather like Suldog's story...I planted a very small sapling in the garden of one of our houses over forty years ago. That house has had four owners since then and I pass the tree every day on my walks with Milou.
It is huge.

Is that_your lake?

Bossy Betty said...

Yeah! I love the mental picture of you and Frank looking over your lenses and picking and choosing which ones to use!

These pictures are truly incredible.

Betty Manousos said...

aw, you're far to talented!


stunning!!

more photos? great news!
the more you post the more we enjoy!

hugs!
betty xx

Betty Manousos said...

the views are magnificent as well!

what type of camera did you use for taking these? i guess nicon or canon?

Reb said...

Those are wonderful Hilary. I look forward to seeing more of your wonderful shots.

messymimi said...

Your eye for beauty keeps me smiling every time i visit.

Maggie May said...

Exquisite ..... especially the flowers.
Maggie X

Nuts in May

Sandra said...

God makes the beauty, but not everyone has the ability to not only see it, but portray it in a photo. Your artistic eye is a gift to all of us who enjoy your photos. :)

Mage said...

Oh, what are you doing with the too many pictures on your computer? My husband got me a 1000 gig HD just for my pictures.

I admire your technique of cropping those photos of single flowers. The drama of the dark background contrasting with the high definition flower. I need to go take Photoshop classes. Ah, reality.

Thanks for dropping by and leaving an encouraging note. I seem to learn to push words around so very slowly. Hugs at you.

Elizabeth Grimes said...

Yay! I'm glad you'll be posting more photographs. I LOVE looking at them. That willow is just...wow.

yaya said...

Why do I think that even if I had 100 wonderful lenses my photos would never be as lovely as yours! So pretty and I'm glad you'll be posting more. They take my breath away!

Reena said...

Your photos amaze me! And all the more the better! :-)

Rosaria Williams said...

I just can't get enough of these, no matter how often you post. Keep it up, please.

Unknown said...

More photos from Hilary?
It's a day with good news!

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

I'm glad you're going to be posting more, but I don't know where I'm going to find more adjectives for your photos! That first tulip image is perfect. My second favorite is the one of the leaves in light and shadow. All are beautiful.

Gary said...

Breathtaking.

It is so easy nowadays with digital photography to amass a large quantity of photos. Back when there was film I think people were more selective, it wasn't so easy to delete, etc. But look at all the gold you have here. Keep snapping.

lime said...

just love those tulips. now do tell what are your lenses?

SandyCarlson said...

Hilary,
Your posting more frequently is a blessing to us all. You do fantastic work. These photos made my night. Thanks.

Frank Baron said...

Both tulips are stunning and you caught the younger willow looking very lovely indeed. Good stuff, dear. :)

Anonymous said...

Yes, yes, yes you need to post more! These are wonderful - love the colors and focus in that first one, but they're all lovely. I have the same problem - too many photos but pressed for time to post them!

Lisa said...

Wow.. Just stunning. Gorgeous Gorgeous Gorgeous

Hilary said...

The pond view is my fave.

Hilary said...

• Shrinky, yes. Frank and cameras go way back and he's been very helpful in teaching me much of what I needed to know in order to tiptoe into the SLR world. Thanks always for your very warm words, C. They're very much appreciated. :)

• Anyes, thanks very much. I'll sure try. :)

• Technogran, it sure helps some. Thanks very much. :)

• Bob, thank you kindly. :)

• Adrian, thank you. I kind of liked the perspective with the car in it. It's a driveway on my street and I thought it made an interesting backdrop. But on another day, another mood, I might have done just that. ;)

• SueAnn, thank you. I'll be sure to give it back to you. Can't have you huffing and puffing your way around the blogs! ;)

• Thanks, Brian. I'm glad you like them. That pond with its trees and wildlife is my little oasis in the city. :)

• I'm snapping right along, AC. :)

• Thank you kindly, Leah. It's a wonderful spot. Sadly, they've made it a tad less inviting recently by putting up a fence there. Still, it's a lovely area to just sit, think and snap photos. :)

• Thanks for the visit, Gary. :)

• TexWisGirl, thank you so kindly. :)

• Thank you, Ruth. Your kind words mean a lot to me. :)

• Thanks so much, DJan. You're always so kind. :)

• Bonnie, thanks. Trees and water can't help but make a nice scene, don't you think? :)

• Tammie Lee, yes. It's so nice when we have a common interest like this. It makes me so happy. :)

• Di, thank you so kindly. I still have lots of space for my photos. I just don't have enough time in the week/space on the blog to post them all. Thanks for the visit. :)

• Thanks very much, Ellen. I'm pleased that you like them. :)

• Kerri, thanks kindly. I'll do my best. :)

• Cricket, yes. I remember you mentioning that before and am I going nuts, or did you once send me a photo of it? I'm in total agreement with you about willows. I also love birch, cedars, oaks and maples. If the song is a personal favourite of yours, it works just fine for me. Thanks always for providing musical backup and wonderful comments. :)

• Gail, thanks very much. You're very kind. :)

• Slamdunk, thank you kindly. I quite love fog, as well. :)

• Suldog, I love that you planted and nurtured a willow cutting and I can only imagine how heartbroken you were to see your beautiful tree go. It would have been harder still if you had watched them fell it. I know because last summer, I watched my boys have to take down a diseased plum tree which was planted when my older son (now 24) was born. That tugged at the heart. Thankfully, we also planted a cherry tree at that same time and it's still doing well enough. There's also a 21 year old blue spruce which was planted when my younger son was born. I hope no one ever takes them down, but... Thanks for stopping by and sharing your tree story. :)

• Jillsy that would be true for me too. Therefore I'm only hoping to post the ones I'm particularly fond of. I might even delete the so-so ones... nah. ;) Thanks for the kind words. :)

Hilary said...

• Steve, thank you so much. That means a lot to me coming from you. I'm not running out of room on my computer.. I have lots of space and storage. I just have so many photos that I'd like to share, I couldn't possibly do that at my current posting rate. So I've decided to step that up a bit.. for now anyway. :)

• Thank you, Daryl. I'm looking forward to seeing your tulip shots. :)

• Moannie, I'm happy for you that your tree is still standing and that you get to see it every day. What a lovely reminder of times passed. The pond is in my neighbourhood park just a few steps from my door. I arrive there in less than a minute and it's like I'm in another world. In that respect, it's MY pond. ;) Thanks so much for your always-kind words. :)

• Bossy Betty, we're pretty good about not both wanting to use the same lens. Partly because they're all decent lenses. Partly because there's something cool that can be captured with each one. My personal favourite is the 100-400. At least for now. ;) Thanks for the very kind words. :)

• Thank you kindly, Betty M. I do indeed use a Canon EOS 50D. And I love it dearly. Thanks for the kind words. They're so appreciated. :)

• Thank you, Reb. Thats such a nice thing to say. :)

• MessyMimi, thanks kindly. Very much appreciated. :)

• Maggie May, thank you so much. :)

• Sandra, you're much too kind. Thank you so much for those lovely words. :)

• Mage, my computer space is holding up fine for now. I don't have too many photos to store (I also have a 1T backup drive), I just have too many to share at the rate I've been going (twice a week plus the POTW) so I'm just stepping up the pace a bit until I begin to fall behind again, that is. Thank you so much for the kind words about my photos. I certainly do some cropping but I also try to get the photos as I want them right from the time I click though I often don't succeed. There was no real Photoshopping done to that first tulip.. just some downsizing and possibly a slight sharpen. The rest was there like that when I opened it. Thanks so much for the kind words and for always stopping by. :)

• Elizabeth, that's such a nice thing to say. Thank you kindly for that. :)

• Yaya, thanks very much. It's decent lenses/camera, a bit of luck and thousands of snaps in order to capture that luck. Thanks for the kind words. ;)

• Thanks so much Missing Moments. I so appreciate that. :)

• Rosaria, thank you kindly. I'll do my best. :)

Hilary said...

• Susan, such a nice thing to say. Thank you so much. :)

• Linda, thank you so much, my friend. I so appreciate your always supportive comments. That means so much to me. :)

• Gary, thank you. You're so right. I didn't show any interest in SLR photography back in pre-digitial days. I'm far too impatient to have to wait to see how a photo turned out and then figure out if I can remember what went right and duplicate it.. or what went wrong and avoid it. I'm glad I can just delete or keep. But I keep too darn much! Thanks for such kind words. They're very much appreciated. :)

• Thank you Lime. I have two lenses and so does Frank. Mine: Canon 17-55. It's a new one for me and replaces my 17-80 lens which I broke when I fell ass over teakettle on the ice this past winter. My other lens is a Sigma 70-300 and it affords me most of my pseudo macro (faux macraux) shots from a distance. Frank's lenses (which are only here part time along with Frank and Benny) are both Canons. The one I've fallen deeply for is a 100-400 and the other one which Frank is beginning his love affair with is a fixed 100. I never knew I'd come to love photography so much and. I'm very grateful that I have. Thanks always for stopping by and showing such an interest in my photos. :)

• Sandy, you always know how to put a smile on my face. Thank you for that, my friend. :)

• Thank you, Frank. I couldn't have done it without you (and your lens). ;) I'm looking forward to seeing it.. I mean YOU tomorrow! Thanks. :)

• Barbara, thank you very much. When you think of it, this shared problem of ours is a pretty decent one to have. ;)

• Lisa, thank you so kindly. :)

• Hilary, it's a great spot. My favourite local sit-a-spell place. :)

Dawning Inspiration said...

STOP the presses!
THAT one - THAT one in the middle - breath taking softness - peaceful exuding from the frame... ahhhh - nice.

So glad you guys can share your lenses like that! How fun!

Cloudia said...

you spin your daily life into photo-GOLD!

Nice for us :) More is good-


Aloha from Waikiki :)

Comfort Spiral

><}}(°>


><}}(°>

<°)}}><

Hilary said...

• Stacey,it IS fun! Thank you for stopping by. :)

• Cloudia, thanks so much for such sweet words. You're a gem. :)

Jim said...

Hi Hilary ~~ These are wonderful 'bud' pictures. Nature has blessed us with the beauty of Spring for sure this year. Thank you for sharing your finds with us.

Thank you also for peeking in on my poem. I truly will miss that bird and think of him every time (three or four times a week) I cross the bridge as before I always looked for him.
..
BTW, I have a 'portable' hard drive where I keep my older pictures. Also, though I have not organized them properly, I have saved each and every camera memory card.

The price of the hard drives has come down quite a bit since I got mine. They will fail some day. My pictures there will be lost except for the memory cards. I suppose a professional has two portable hard drives for the time when one fails.
..

Pierre BOYER said...

I particulary love the tulip one...
Have a lovely day,

Pierre

Dawn said...

So SO beautiful Hilary! Your captures always make me feel like I'm right there! I love the shadows and light playing together....

Linda said...

I guess you two have gone a bit snap happy. ;) That is to our benefit to be able to see your lovely part of the world.

Glo said...

How lovely to be able to share lenses and fun with photography with Frank. Your photos are always a delight and I look forward to more :)

Hilary said...

• Welcome to my blog, Jim and thank you for such kind words. They're very much appreciated. I have an external drive as well. It's not the amount of space which concerns me - I have plenty both on and off of my computer. I'm just not going to be able to keep up with the ones I'd like to share if I only post a couple of times a week. So I'm going to blog more often - at least for now. Thanks very much for stopping by and I hope you'll return again. :)

• Pierre, thanks very much. And to you, also. :)

• Thanks so much, Dawn. Your always-kind words mean so much to me. :)

• Linda, you made me laugh with snap-happy. And you made me smile with your kind comment. Thanks for that. :)

• Glo, thanks very much. Yes, Frank and I are quite enjoying our photography outings. Thanks always for stopping by. :)

J.J. said...

Very beautiful!