Project 365 - Day 120 - Big Chain for a Big Boat

Today I went to Spencer Smith park in Burlington.  The park is located in downtown Burlington and is on the waterfront.  There is a big monument in memory of the merchant naval vessels that were lost during World War II.  It is a pretty cool park.

The waterfront is not a beach.  It has large rocks that lead down to the water.  In front of the rocks is a pathway that is bordered by huge chains.  This is the subject for today's shot.

Nikon 24-70mm lens at 42mm.  ISO800.  1/60s shutter at f/6.3

Project 365 - Day 119 - Take a block from the bottom and you put it on top...

Tried something different today.  It is rainy and mucky out, and I don't want to bring my camera outside and get it wet.  Actually, I don't care about the camera getting wet - it is very tough - it's more me that I don't want to get wet ... ;-)

So I decided to shoot something inside.  We have a jenga knockoff here that the kids like to play with when they come over.  Of course, they don't play by the rules - they build stuff with the blocks and play all sorts of other games with them.  I thought it would be good to get back to the actual root of the game.

I set up a couple of layers and brought the camera in close.  I shot a bunch of frames, but nothing was really happening.  I changed one of the shots to monochrome in camera, and I liked what I saw.  So I got down and in on a different angle.  Here's what I came up with.

Project 365 - Day 118 - Sailboats at sunrise

This morning I went down to the Lakeshore Promenade in Mississauga to get some sunrise shots.  I was a little late to the party, and when I showed up there were already 3 other guys there with their tripods - set up for the same shot I was going after.  So I grabbed some shots as the sun was coming up with the lighthouse in the foreground - the same kind of thing I could have grabbed at Bronte Pier or Oakville Harbour. 

So then I went looking for other things to shoot.  I was walking by the marina and noticed how the water was reflecting the boats that were moored up.  The marina is not full yet, not everyone has brought their boat down to the water, but there are a lot of them there.  So it makes a pretty good subject for a shot.

Here's what I came up with:

Nikon 24-70mm lens at 42mm.  ISO400, f/4.0 at 1/800 sec shutter.  I cropped in post and boosted the colours a bit.

Project 365 - Day 117 - George C Gull

Today I had the opportunity to photograph a star of the Oakville Waterfront scene.  His name is George C Gull.  George has been active for a number of years, primarily in Coronation park.  From time to time George can be seen on Bronte Pier, and the odd time he is found in fast food parking lots.  George gets around a lot.  Here's my shot of George.

So this shot is taken on a bunch of rocks that are piled on the beach.  The rocks make a kind of isthmus that runs into the lake for a little bit.  It is pretty cool, and the birds love to perch on it.  This guy was one of about 30 birds that were there when I started shooting.  I tried to get close to them, and they would fly away one by one, until this guy was last.  I was able to get very close to him for this shot.  When he flew away, I was sure that he didn't poop on me for getting so close and not feeding him ... :-)

Shot with my Nikon 24-70 at 70mm.  ISO100 and 1/640 s at f/2.8.

Project 365 - Day 116 - Frost

This morning I came out to frost on the top of my car.  It was a really cool pattern, so of course I had to shoot it.  The tree from the neighbour's lot is seen in the reflection on the car roof.  I really liked the pattern.

Shot with my 24-70mm lens, f/10 at 1/13 sec.  I was handholding the camera, but had braced myself against the car for support.  ISO is 800 to keep the shutter speed reasonable.  No flash.

Project 365 - Day 115 - Lines and curves

In our advanced photography class, we learned about the elements and principles of design.  One of the elements of design is line.  One of the principles of design is repetition.  I have used both of these in today's shot.

I like repetition best of all, but my close second is lines, or in this case, curves.  If there are things that are lined up in a row along a curve, just try and stop me from shooting them ... :-)

This shot is from Coronation park in Oakville.  The town put in a new splashpad last year, and as part of that they rebuilt the change rooms and rest rooms as well.  The end result is very nice, and fits in well with the rest of the park and surrounding neighbourhood.  There are a lot of natural elements - wood and stone, with accents such as big chunky bolts and such.  It's really very nice.

So, here's today's shot.  In the interest of full disclosure I had to shoot this twice as the first time I had the shot I wanted, I realized on post #8 someone had left a Tim Horton's cup.  Now, I guess they figured it was not littering as this particular cup was still full of coffee and the tab had not been pulled back yet.  It would appear that the people of Oakville litter politely ... :-)

Oh yeah, the shot:

 

24-70mm lens at 52mm.  ISO400, f/3.2 and 1/250s shutter.  I cropped a bit on the left of the shot - an errant tree was misbehaving.  I also converted to B&W and bumped contrast a bit in post.

Project 365 - Day 114 - April Showers bring May Flowers

Wet and rainy today.  Not much to shoot, as I am stuck at work still.  Leaving shortly for the TFC game, but I decided to get a quick shot off of my office window in the rain.  The grass is in the background.  I focused in on the water droplets on the window.

Nikon 24-70mm lens at 70mm.  ISO400.  f/9 at 1/50 sec shutter.  I am hand holding the camera.  Touched up the white balance in post, and cropped for content.  Also, dropped the clarity down a bit and bumped the saturation a bit as well.

Project 365 - Day 113 - The Red Thread ...

Tomorrow night is the first of a home and away series that will see TFC defend their Amway Canadian Championship title.  TFC is playing the Montreal Impact.  It's always a blast when Toronto plays Montreal, and it's even more energetic mid week on a sunny wednesday evening.

So what better subject than the TFC badge itself?

Today's shot is of the new Season Ticketholder scarf for 2013.  It is a pretty cool scarf, one that you could possibly wear in the winter as a normal every day scarf.  And it lends well to photography, with the leading lines and the contrast between the slate grey and red.

Nikon 24-70mm lens at 62mm.  ISO400.  1.3s shutter at f/7.1

Project 365 - Day 112 - Spring Buds

This shot is a tree in my backyard.  It's a Japanese maple tree.  It's an awesome little tree.  The Japanese maple blooms later in the spring, and the buds are just starting to come through.

ISO400 24-70mm lens at 40mm.  1/250 sec at f/4.5.

Project 365 - Day 111 - Snail

Today I was doing some gardening, cleaning out the dead stuff in preparation for the new growth this spring.  It proved to be a challenge since there were already tulips and daffodils poking their heads through.  I did find a lot of old snail shells that had been partially broken by the odd beak or two.  In one spot I counted almost 20 of these shells - it was like the birds had a feast here in the fall.

When Sonia and I were leaving to pick up some supplies at Home Depot, I saw this really tiny snail climbing up the front steps.  So I thought to myself, "that guy would make an excellent shot".  I told myself that if he was still there when we got back, I would shoot him and make him my shot of the day.

So we got back, and he was still there - hadn't even moved an inch.  Here's the shot of mr snail...

 

60mm lens with all three extension tubes on.ISO400, f/25 at  0.4s shutter.  I used a flash mounted off camera bouncing against my front door.  The original shot was vertical, but I moved it Horizontal to make it more appealing.  The snail is on material that usually looks like flecked stone - this snail is super tiny...

Project 365 - Day 110 - Tulips ... again...

I can't tell you how many times Sonia has heard from me "Don't throw that out, I want to shoot it first!"  That's what happened today when we were putting new tulips in for the older dead ones.  They had a pretty cool look to them, with the sun coming in the window from behind.

I took this shot quick with my 24-70mm lens, as I had limited time to actually shoot it.  Shallow depth of field blurs out the backyard in the background and also allows the colours from the better looking tulips to mottle.

Here's the shot:

This is pretty much out of camera.  I cropped for content, and boosted the colours a bit. 

24-70mm lens at 45mm.  ISO400, f/2.8 at 1/640s shutter.  Handheld, and no flash.

Project 365 - Day 109 - Daffodils

The last two days have been beautiful, but this weekend is going to leave a lot to be desired. Today I noticed that the daffodils are blooming, so I decided to grab a shot or two before they freeze tomorrow.

I had to lie on my front lawn to get this shot.  I ffind it amusing when people see me doing this, usually in a park or something, and they can't see the camera.  They must wonder what I am doing, and if I need medical attention or therapy or something.

Anyway, here's today's shot:

Project 365 - Day 108 - The Bronte Road Tree

There are links interspersed in this blog that will lead you to other pages to read more about this tree.  It's an awesome tree- and you know how I feel about trees ...

In 2006, the town of Oakville came up with a plan to expand Bronte Road just north of the QEW.  Part of this expansion included ripping down an old White Oak tree.  In one article I read, this tree dates back to 1750.  It is an impressive tree, and there really was no good reason that the town couldn't split Bronte and go around the tree.  If Oakville were to destroy a perfectly good, magestic OAK tree, it would be like tearing out a part of it's own heritage.

Thanks to people like Meagan McLellan, Sarah Harmer, Joyce Burnell  and many many others, the required money was raised to allow this tree to stay.  It now has heritage status, meaning that no one can tear this tree down while it is still healthy.  It is a testament to what residents can do when they band together.  Being in the presence of this tree in rush hour is a great display of nature vs machine.

I have always wanted to shoot this tree.  Today I took a stab at it.  It's not the last one I will do, I have plans, but for now this is what I got.  The plan was to shoot looking north or south to show the traffic going around the tree, but the sky was not cooperating. There was one spot that was pretty cool, so I lined the tree up in front of that spot and snapped away.  I am encouraged by this shot, and will use it as a basis for future shots.

Nikon 24-70mm at 42mm.  ISO400.  13 sec shutter at f/10. Cropped to get rid of some traffic lights and to go branch to branch on the tree.  I had to drop into B&W as there were streaks of taillights in the shot.  I couldn't get a shot without cars and with the cool sky.  The clouds were moving fast and it was getting really really dark.  I should have done this earlier. 

Project 365 - Day 107 - Toronto at night

Tonight I went back down to Sunnyside park in Toronto to get a shot of the night skyline.  Apparently others had the same idea, as there were three other photographers there - all with tripods.  So I went along the beach a bit to a spot where I could get a good angle and also avoid being a subject in their shots.

This started out as a Toronto Nighttime skyline, but it was too windy for my long exposure (the camera was shaking a little bit) so everything blurred.  I shortened the shutter, but I wasn't getting the effect I wanted.  So I turned around.

There was a little cloud over these two condos that looked kind of grey against the black sky.  I liked the way the shoreline played along the front of the shot, and I used an extra long shutter to smooth out the water.  The camera had it's back to the wind, so the shake was very minimal in this direction.

Here's the shot:

Nikon 24-70mm lens at 24mm.  ISO 400, f/9.0 at 10 sec shutter.

Project 365 - Day 106 - Ladybug

What a beautiful day today.  I drove home with the window open.  Spring may finally be here...

When I got off the highway, I picked up a hitchhiker.  No, not a real hitchhiker, it was this little ladybug.  It landed on my windshield and hung on for dear life.  It walked all around the windshield as I was turning left and right into my neighbourhood.  Not even the wind could blow it off.

When I pulled into the driveway, I sprinted into the house and grabbed a cup to put the little guy in until I could get my camera gear set up.

This shot is using all three extension tubes and my 60mm lens.  I took about 20 images of this little guy, as he was moving all over the place.  Man, are ladybugs fast!  I got some good images, but this is by far the best one.

ISO400, 60mm lens with extension tubes, f/32 at 1/200 sec shutter.  Had to handhold the camera as this guy was moving.  The background is an orange cup that I had the little guy in.  He's walking on the edge of the cap for the extension tube set.

Project 365 - Day 105 - Spinning Gold

Well, okay, not quite gold.  But you know, close enough.

For those who do not know, this is a toonie.  Now, it might seem like a strange name for a two dollar coin, but our one dollar coin in Canada is nicknamed Loonie.  This is because it has a loon on the front, well the original one does anyway (there are many other versions).  Our two dollar coin has a polar bear on the front.  So, obviously it's called a toonie.  And not twonie, as people would just end up tripping all over that word.

Anyway, I am off topic.  Today I decided I wanted to shoot a spinning coin.  Sounds easy, right?  Well after about 120 shots, I finally got some useful images ...  I was just not happy with a lot of them.   I was able to freeze the motion perfectly with the face towards the camera, but it looked like I just placed a coin on the table and took the shot.  Not that imaginative.

So then I started trying to shoot as the coin was falling, and basically wobbling back and forth while spinning.  And success, this is what I came up with.

 

ISO 800 60mm lens at f/20 and 1/10 sec shutter.

I decided I would also post my setup shot as well.  This was a tough one because even at f/20 the depth of field of the shot limited the area where I could have the coin spinning and get a nice clear image.  So here's the setup shot for this one...

The green tape is right outside of the field of vision of the lens.  The lens is being focused by clamping it on a particular plane, and shining a light on it.  The flashlight also provides fill light for the spinning coin, and the speedlight to the left is used to stop the motion.  I used my pocketwizards for this shot to ensure accuracy of the flash.

Project 365 - Day 104 - Omar and Tony

Today my wife's family had their 2nd annual "easter" get together.  Because it's so difficult to get everyone together over Christmas, they have now decided to make an effort to congregate around Easter to see everyone.  This get together is also extended to in-laws and friends as well.  This year was no different.

It's great to see everyone, and see all the kids playing together and having a great time.  It is also a good excuse to eat like a fiend ... :-) The food today was good and also on the healthy side as well.

Today's picture was from the family party.  This is my wife's cousin Omar and his son Tony.

 

ISO 400, 24-70 mm lens at 38mm, f/2.8 at 1/80 sec.  Cropped for size (8x10) and I also had to erase a water bottle that was distracting.

Project 365 - Day 103 - Driftwood

Today I went to sunnyside park in Toronto hoping to catch the sunrise with the Toronto skyline.  The sky was not co-operating though, it was a flat grey.  So I started looking down instead of up.  Came up with a couple of good shots.

Today's shot is of a piece of driftwood that was lying on the beach.  There was a lot of debris that will no doubt be cleaned up by park staff in the coming weeks, but this piece of wood was really cool.  It was a tree at one point - yeah I know, most wood is - but you can actually see the root base on this tree.

So I got low and opened up my aperture. 

 

ISO400 shutter at 1/50 and aperture at f/4.0.  I was handholding this, but basically lying on the sand so it doesn't count ...  Cropped for content and warmed it up a bit.

Project 365 - Day 102 - Poker Night!

Well, it seems like it's about time for me to lose some money.  It's poker night at a buddy's place.  There are a bunch of people going, and it should be a good time.  Sometimes I do well at these things, but sometimes I do not.

So it got me thinking, what is my dream hand?  Well, it would have to be the royal flush.  I usually end up with the royal sampler - a little bit of everything. 

Here's today's shot of that perfect hand ...

60mm lens, no extension tube.  f/5 at 1/30 sec.  ISO400.  Handheld, which is why it took me 5 shots.  :-)

Project 365 - Day 101 - Bubbles

This subject is something I have wanted to shoot for a while.  I set myself up in our bathroom in the basement to mitigate the mess (kinda worked) and started blowing bubbles.  The problem with this is that the bubbles do not want to go where you want them to go.  In some instances, the bubble would be falling quite nicely and when it got to the top of the camera, it would take a sharp turn and go around the lens hood, and then back around again under the camera ...

Strange.

I got a couple of shots off that were pretty cool, but they were blurry due to the wide aperture I was using and also the constant movement of the bubble.

Then Sonia suggested that I blow the bubbles so that they were fixed to something flat, like cardstock or the edge of the bath tub.  So that's what I tried next.

I started to blow the bubbles to get them on the edge of the bath tub and Sonia stood watch.  After I think the 15th bubble exploded in my face - along with Sonia laughing at me trying to blow the "perfect' bubble - I got something usable.  As I was setting my camera up, I popped the bubble with the release cable.  Drat!

So I was successful in blowing some good bubbles, but they were all to big for my lens.  Then I tried smaller bubbles in clusters, and I came up with today's shot.

ISO 1600, shutter is 1/40 and aperture is f/10.  This is my 60mm lens with the 36mm extension tube on.  There is a slight crop and also I cloned out a couple of soap spots that are now on my lens.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go clean my lens ... :-)

Project 365 - Day 100 (wow!) - My Garden Gnome is a TFC supporter....

So, yeah.  We have a little bit of a problem.  It would seem that if there is a TFC logo on something, it has to end up in this house.  It's not a serious problem, not like we're missing mortgage payments or anything like that, but it does seem to get to a point where we don't have a lot of room for the things we - ahem - procure.

I thought at first that it was only my problem.  But there was a recent incident at the Team Store in BMO Fiield and a couple of pairs of socks ... let's just say they weren't men's socks. 

We originally bought this guy at the end of the 2011 season.  That was the first time we saw him.  We thought " This would be a good gift for the family gift grab" as we knew that there were members of the family that would want this little guy.  The plan, of course, was to work together to end up bringing him back home with us again.  Well, that plan didn't work out and we ended up losing him.

So we bought another one, and he lived in our "green" room - aka the Den - for a couple of months.  But you know, spring is here and he really belongs outside.

The red of his uniform is a stark contrast to the "blah" colours around him.  I used a wide aperture to blur the background and used natural light.

Here's the shot:

 

24-70mm lens, at 40mm.  1/250s shutter and f/2.8.  I warmed it up a bit in post, and cropped for content.

Roses are red

So is my gnome 

He's got a soccer ball

Nothing rhymes with gnome

Project 365 - Day 99 - Show your support

Those of you that know me, you know that I am a TorontoFC fan.  I am a big fan.  This year Sonia and I joined the Red Patch Boys - one of the official support groups for TFC.

One of the things that the RPB do is they paint banners and flags that are displayed at our home games.  These banners range from small to very large, sometimes covering a whole section of the crowd.

When I joined RPB, I did so hoping that I could participate in such an activity - creating the banner.  So when the call came to assist, I jumped at the chance.

And that's where I was tonight.  This shot is from the banner painting.  I couldn't show the complete banner, as you know - secrecy and stuff - but I did snap this shot off while one of the others was painting the Red Patch Boys badge.

ISO1600 60mm Macro lens and 1/80 at f/5.0.  No flash, although I probably should have used one.  The ceilings were tall and black, so I could not bounce anyway. 

Project 365 - Day 98 - Rainy Monday

It rained all evening here in Oakville today.  This usually proves to be a great photographic experience, with reflections all over the road.  Today, however, I had my club meeting so I didn't get home until after 9pm.  It had stopped raining when I went back out with my camera.  So I went to a couple of spots I know to grab some reflection shots.  It seems that every park in Oakville had a police car tonight - as the parks close at dusk and they roust everyone out after dark.  So that wasn't going to work.

Then I went downtown to Lakeshore.  I set up my shot, and just as I was about to take it the skies opened up.  It was raining hard.  Back in the car I went with my camera gear in tow.

I waited there for a while, but it didn't stop.  So I decided to head home.

But what to shoot?  I came up with a plan.

One of the categories for the Oakville Camera Club challenge this quarter is ice and snow.  I know EXACTLY where to get some ice!  I took a piece of ice out of the freezer and took a look at the various patterns embedded in the ice. It looked really cool.  So I popped on my 60mm lens with a 20mm extension tube.  Voila.

ISO400, f/13 and a 1//10 sec shutter.  I used a tripod as well, as I was focusing close to the ice.  I was able to capture some of the meltwater as well as the ice was melting. 

Project 365 - Day 97 - Faster than a speeding ... bus?

Today I was in Toronto attending a photography show.  There were sessions where you could learn things and also a small area with equipment where you could check out and test things that you have had your eye on.  Over all it was pretty good.

So on my way back to Oakville, I decided to walk down to Union Station instead of taking the subway.  It's always good to be a tourist in your own town.  I drive through Toronto every day, I spent 8 months after college driving a cube van downtown amongst the cabs and buses and streetcars.  So I wanted to see what had changed.

It was a great afternoon for a walk.  I got a couple of good shots of things, but I wanted to try a technique taught to me by Michael Willems during a photo walk he was leading a couple of years ago.  It might not seem like much, but it is a pretty cool technique. You basically do a panning shot of a car that is going by real quick.  So you set up your camera for a slower shutter, and pan with the vehicle as you actuate the shutter release.

Here's my first (yep, first) attempt today.  I have more, but this is by far the best one.

24-70mm lens, at 27mm.  ISO400 Shutter is 1/2500 and the aperture is f/2.8.  It is a handheld shot.

The blur is motion blur at this point.  I could have easily shot a stationary object while hand holding this combination, and the subject would have been tack sharp.  But in this instance, the camera was moving just enough to allow the motion blur, and the wheels are also concentric circles so you can't see any detail such as lug nuts or anything like that.

I would change only two things about this photograph, but as you know I like to keep them as lifelike as possible.  First, I would wash the bus.  Second, I would eliminate the bus ad and continue the red stripe down the bus.  I could have done this in photoshop, but I don't agree with that level of manipulation unless it is warranted.  In this case, I do not think it is.

Project 365 - Day 96 - Lakeside Park - Mississauga

Got up today to catch the sunrise.  I wanted to grab the Toronto skyline at sunrise but it turns out I got up just a little too late.  As I was making my way east on the QEW, I could see that I was going to be late for the sunrise.  So I took the next exit and went down to Lakeshore and Winston Churchill and into one of my alternate sites for shooting.

I set up where the sun was coming up, and I noticed that there were a bunch of seagulls playing in the area. They were flying around in circles and some of the other birds were diving in for breakfast.  It was pretty cool.

So I waited all of 3 minutes for the show to start (I did mention I got up late didn't I?)

Grabbed this shot with a seagull flying around in the foreground.

24-70mm lens at 32mm.  ISO is 100.  Shutter 1/40 and f/22.

Oh, and I didn't mention.  I got up, got ready, left the house, went to the park and took some shots, got home, downloaded off my eye fi card, and went back to bed WITHOUT waking Sonia or Brodie.  :-)

Project 365 - Day 95 - Waiting on a train

Near our house there is a level crossing that we go over quite a bit.  During the morning and evening hours you see a lot of GO trains going back and forth along this line.  I always say that I am going to grab a shot at this location.

So today was that day.  I went out with my camera during a time when the trains were running every 10 minutes or so.  I shot two trains and was reasonably pleased with the results.  This particular shot was taken looking north along the road and the train was moving eastbound towards Union station.

As I was setting up to shoot, the arms were coming down and I was lining up my camera.  There was a car coming along the road really slowly, and I assumed that the person was going to let me get a good shot without the front of their car in the way.  But no, alas the person pulled up almost all the way to the arms, and I was forced to reframe and then ultimately crop out the front of the car.

I desaturated everything but the red, and bumped that up a bit too.  The pole is crooked, but that'sthe way it actually is.  The train is green and white, and the sky was really blue, but those things did not matter in this shot.

24-70mm lens at 32mm.  F/22 and 1/40 of a second shutter to allow the train to blur.  ISO is 100 to get the shutter slow enough without using a ND filter. I was handholding the camera.

Project 365 - Day 94 - Home in time

A couple of days ago I posted a picture of one of our crocuses that was closed.  Well today I made it home in time to grab a shot of it actually open.

Here's the closed flower: Closed Crocus

Here's today's shot.

 

60mm lens at f/8  1/400 of a sec shutter.  ISO 400.  I handheld this shot as the shutter speed was fast enough.

Project 365 - Day 93 - Farmhouse

Sometimes you go out and shoot and come back with something unexpected.  Today was one of those days.

I wanted to grab the sunset this evening.  There were some clouds in the sky, so I wanted to capture them lit by the setting sun.  The problem was when the sun actually set, the clouds were all but gone.  Yeah, that means a nice clear night, but it also means that the shot I wanted was not possible.

When I was scouting for a location I happened upon a farm with silos in a field, and it lined up perfectly with the location of the setting sun.  So I grabbed a couple of test shots to make sure the framing was good and so forth.  I had an idea that I would grab a nice shot of the sunset, and then grab a shot exposed for the barn, and then merge in photoshop later.  What, it's my blog I can do what I want!   :-)

But when I got back home, and downloaded my images, I happened across this one.  This is one of my "test" shots.  You never do know what you have until you look at it on the big screen, and this is also why you don't delete in camera....

Cropped for content and the contrast has been bumped up a bit. 

Project 365 - Day 92 - Grown up tea set

Sonia brought this tea set back from China.  We have never used it, I am told it's for decoration only.  Well, now it's for taking pictures of - or something more grammatically correct. 

I was looking for something to shoot inside today, you know, to break things up a bit.  And then I came across this little teapot (great, now I have that song in my head).  It has a great design on it, and the reflection from our table was playing along quite nicely.  So why not?

Shot at 30 sec at f/20 with my 60mm lens.  On a tripod, of course.  

Tip me over and pour me out ....

Project 365 - Day 91 - Where have all the Crocuses gone ...

On Friday, both Sonia and I were home because it was a stat holiday.  Sonia was letting Brodie out in the backyard, and she called out to me "We have a Crocus!".  For some people, seeing Mr Robin is the first sign of spring.  For us, it's our few crocuses that come up every year - few because the rabbits and squirrels choose to leave us these stragglers every year - it's part of the peace treaty that they signed with Sonia during the first spring that we were in this house (that is a story best left to another time).

So today, I thought I would shoot this crocus.  As I was on my way outside to take a shot of this flower, Sonia informs me that they close up at night.  "No, that can't be" I say - and head outside just to confirm what my lovely wife already knows.  The crocus was closed like a government office on Easter Monday.

But, a closed crocus is still an interesting shot.  So I got low, focussed on the flower and blurred the heck out of everything else.  It was actually snowing, but you can't see it in the shot.  It would have made a great contrast to have a couple of flakes survive the fall.

Here's the shot:

 

60mm Macro lens shot at 1/13 of a sec and ISO400.  It's on a tripod - but the tripod is splayed out almost flat.  I'll see if I can get a shot of this thing open over the next couple of days.