Getting underway

It's only my second day in and I found a gem. I happened upon this cluster of flowers driving on County Rd. 20 between C and B. You can just glimpse the purple in the lower left corner of the bottom photo. I added a close-up to give you a better look. I haven't identified them yet so if anyone wants to help me out I'm open. I think they are purple hyacinth. It's a cloudy, grey, chilly, blustery and a few more adjectives type day. I had seen these flowers several days ago. But with a day like this, although not ideal for taking pictures, I decided I needed to go get a closer look at these beauties. I'm guessing I'm going to be able to find some great wildflowers here in the next month. Although, one of the fields I was so looking forward to taking pictures of, is being tiled (you can see the black pipe) and will most certainly be cultivated and planted into corn this year for the first time in decades. :( Last year that field was bursting with color in the spring. I'll keep looking.

Yesterday was my birthday. I began the day seeing my first Eastern Phoebe of the season and I ended my day by seeing a Bald Eagle. In between I had a wonderful dinner at the Sweetwater Chophouse with my family, then returned home for homemade coconut cake and lemon sorbet. I was able to get some yard work done and figured out several new settings and features on my camera. I've ordered a remote trigger for taking these close-ups of flowers and landscapes without any additional camera shake. One thing I'm learning with photography, there is always something more to buy. A filter here, a trigger there, software, another lens would be incredible. But at some point I just need to be a better photographer. It's a humbling deal. I see these incredible photographs and think "Yeah, that's the kind of picture I want to take!" Getting from where I am, to producing that quality of image is not a hop skip and a jump. Gives me an even greater respect for people like Jim King who takes spectacular photos. The technical side of photography (focus, lighting, ISO, depth of field, aperture, shutter speed, light metering, etc...) is one thing. Then you layer in composition and perspective, the ability to see a picture in a jumble of images. Suddenly you realize the complexity of that single picture you see. I suppose I could just use one of the automatic settings provided on my camera and be done with it. And I admit, right now, I take a couple of shots with the automatic settings or appropriate pre-programmed scenes just to be safe. But my goal is to understand my camera and the technical side of taking good pictures, so that I don't need to rely on the auto features. This has led to some frustration. But slowly, I am learning the ins and outs of my very complex camera. And, I'm figuring out what works and what doesn't. Well, more of what doesn't than what does. But at least I'm learning. And continuing to learn is what matters. Sometimes it's hard to be patient with myself through this learning process.