Rain Tree

- A pine tree photographed through my rain splattered windshield. Converted to B&W in Silver Efex Pro using negative profile. Canon G11, 1/20 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

Other Times

- On the way out to work this morning the car was wet from an earlier rain, so the beads of water caught my eye. But when I looked at the preview screen of the camera the tree reflected on the roof jumped out. The camera often records light and images much differently than our eyes see them. Sometimes this is very frustrating to the photographer who's trying to accurately capture a scene, other times it's just cool. This was one of the other times. Canon G11, 1/10 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 200.

L'heure Bleue

- Twilight is the time between between sunset and dusk. Sunlight scattered in the upper atmosphere illuminates the lower atmosphere, and the surface of the Earth is neither completely lit nor completely dark. Owing to the unusual quality of the ambient light at this time, twilight has long been popular with photographers and painters, who refer to it as the "blue hour", after the French expression l'heure bleue. Canon 7D, 1/30 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 1600.

Tree Twig Font

- How do you like my new tree twig font? Got the one's down, now only 35 more characters to go. Happy New Year. Canon 40D, 1/1000 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 100, 100mm macro.

Mimosa

From 2010 Blog

- You say Formosa, I say Mimosa. When I was growing up people called this a Formosa tree. The name was incorrect, it is actually a Mimosa tree. Once very common in southern gardens, today it is pretty much disdained as an invasive species or weed tree. This is a wild one located along a ditch bank near my house. The tree is still quite beautiful and this bloom was backlit by a small dapple of afternoon sunlight. Canon, 7D, 1/160 sec @ f/13.0, ISO 400, 100 mm macro.

Achoo!

From 2010 Blog

- Pine Pollen is everywhere! After a couple of 80 degree days the pine pollen is so thick it even looks like a light fog in the early mornings. This pollen was layered on our recycle bin lid. The 5X macro shows the individual grains pretty well even though there is only a narrow band in sharp focus. The macro lens at this magnification with a relatively wide aperture has a depth of field of only a couple of millimeters. Canon 7D, 1/250 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 800, Canon 65mm MP-E macro lens.

Maple Leaf

From 2010 Blog

- The Japanese maples are starting to leaf out. This dwarf maple has a really nice red outline on the bright green leafs. So glad that spring is finally here. Canon 7D, 1/50 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 800, 50mm prime lens with extension tube and Litepanel micro LED lighting.

Twisted Elm

From 2010 Blog

This elm tree is located at the side of my house. Some how it survived for the 29 years we have lived here while several others in the yard died from Dutch elm disease. It also has these very unusual twisting branches resulting from years of crude power line tree trimming. A massive shade tree in summer it is even more interesting during a winter twilight. Canon G10, 1/500 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200.

355 - Barren

From 365 Project

The barren tree branches of my neighbor's pecan trees are illuminated by the golden light of the early morning sun. The cold clear air provides for a nice blue sky backdrop. Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 200, 30mm prime.

325 - Bloodgood

From 365 Project

My Bloodgood Japanese Maple is showing off some remarkable red colors this fall. The Bloodgood is one of the most popular of the Japanese Maples and is the parent of many other newer cultivars. Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 100 supplemental lighting provided by two off-camera flashes at 1/4 power.

321 - Lighted Palm

From 365 Project

This lighted palm tree survived last week's nor'easter and its 70 mile per hour hurricane force winds. While many of the native trees toppled with the super saturated ground and high winds, the crowd pleasing lighted palms at the El Grand Mexican restaurant on Princess Anne Road in Virginia Beach will witness another round of frozen margaritas on the dining patio. This modern hybrid palm is perfectly suited for Virginia Beach's non-tropical winters and party atmosphere. Canon G10, 6/10's of a second @ f/4.5, ISO 100.

313 - Golden Time

From 365 Project

The low afternoon sun is behind this maple tree and lighting up the yellow and gold leaves. The fall transition has accelerated with the cool nights we had last week. Canon G10, 1/1000 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 200.

272 - Sticker Ball

From 365 Project

This nasty little sticker ball is surrounding those chestnuts that they'll sing about roasting on an open fire in a few months. Do people actually roast chestnuts? Anyway, my next door neighbor has a large old American Chestnut tree in her back yard. The tennis ball sized stickers drop to the ground and open into four wedges releasing the nuts inside. The thorns are very sharp and quite effective at protecting the nuts. Canon 40D, 1/250 sec @ f/11.0, ISO 400, 50mm macro lens with off camera flash at 1/64th power.

230 - Fisheye Myrtle

From 365 Project

I know some photographers don't like those "silly circular" fisheye lenses. I don't use mine every much but it can produce some unusual results. This is the old crepe myrtle in my side yard at dusk. I used the camera's pop-up flash to light the tree and of course it falls off rapidly towards the edges of the extreme wide angle producing an even more pronounced circular framing. Canon Rebel XTi (400D), 1/60 sec @ f/5.0, ISO 400, 8mm focal length.

204 - Elm Leaf

From 365 Project

This is a closeup of a leaf from a large old American Elm that dominates the side of my yard. Between too frequent power line trimmings and the Dutch Elm disease that killed my other elms 15 to 20 years ago, it is amazing that it has survived to be so grand. The leaf was backlit while on the branch with an off camera strobe set at 1/32 power. Canon 40D, 1/250 sec @ f/18.0, ISO 400, 70mm macro and converted to back and white using Silver Efex Pro plug-in in Photoshop Elements.

199 - 100 Days of Color

From 365 Project

The Crape-myrtle is sometimes referred to as the tree with 100 days of color. They start blooming in late June and can bloom through the month of September. I had never closely examined the blooms until recently. This bloom comes from a tree that was an Arbor Day sprig I planted in my yard many years ago. The macro photo shows the bloom is a ring of independent petals. Because the blooms are massed so close together we rarely notice nature's grand design for this ever popular tree. Canon 40D, 1/250 sec @ f/18, ISO 400, 70mm macro with off-camera flash.

196 - Sunroof

From 365 Project

While driving home from work today I was sitting at a stoplight when I happened to glance up through the sunroof. The low afternoon sun was breaking through this tree and casting an interesting color aura. Lucky for me, the camera was right there on the passenger seat, got off three frames before the light turned green. The picture I planned for today will have to wait for another day. Canon 40D, 1/125 sec @ f/14.0, ISO 100, 55mm focal length.

158 - Japanese Maple

From 365 Project

This delicate Japanese Red Maple was backlit by the late day sun. Japanese maple trees are prized for their lacy, or “dissected” leaf type. Canon G10, 1/320 sec @ F2/8, ISO 400, 11mm equivalent focal length in macro mode.