Wednesday, October 4, 2006

The Great Safari of '06

I can’t begin to tell you how much fun I have been having with the tripod I recently acquired, and my camera, now that I have learned how to shoot in the macro mode.  The camera tripod was an early birthday present I purchased a couple of weeks ago.

 

Yes, I said the “B” word.  I turned 55 since my last post.  I am now officially in the prime of my life.  I’m way over the hill.  I hit the ‘ole double nickel.  Yes, that’s my age, not the speed limit.  And the clichés and the adages go one, LOL.  Honestly, I don’t feel any older but I guess I am.

It’s a beautiful day at the marina and I finished my daily check list very early in order to go on a little photo safari around the property.  This shot above was taken not ten minutes ago just to give you a peek at how nice it is.  The temperatures are hitting the low to mid eighties for a high today and it will get down into the fifties tonight.  Here in southern Georgia, that’s a beautiful fall day.

 

I armed my self with camera and tripod and hopped into my golf cart to seek out the beauty hidden amidst the mundane.  I only had to travel about twenty feet from my dock shack to find my first target of opportunity.  It seemed hardly worth the use of the golf cart.

What you are looking at in this wide shot is an electric transformer, actually two of them, that supplies electricity to half of the marina.  Management decided to hide them behind these bushes which flower nicely and grow quickly.  Macro Man zeros in on his target!

 

 

Demonstrating his adept placement of tripod and the fact that he actually CAN center a subject in the frame, he goes in for the extreme close ups he has been stalking.

 

 

I got really carried away, so there are going to be quite a few of these in this post.  Sorry, but I threw in the very first shot above for those who stopped by just to see some boats and the water, LOL.

 

 

Here is a close up of the two blossoms.  For the next shot, I moved the tripod over and captured a vertical grouping of some of these flowers.

 

 

This next close up of the single blossom is one of my very favorite shots I’ve taken to date.

 

 

I took a few more shots for good measure and loaded my tripod and camera back into the golf cart and traveled to another far reach of the property.  Here, by a corner of a fence, is a grouping of orchid type lilies that caught my eye.  First the wide shot so you can see what I first saw before I once again became Macro Man.

 

 

Here are some close ups taken from the blossoms in this patch of flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to do some experimenting.  In this next shot, the flower is too high and I have to shoot up at it.  There is a bright background and because of this the blossom appears to be a little dark.  I turned on the flash option and pressed the shutter once more.  Here is the before and after.

 

 

 

I wanted to find a bit of autumn colors on the property, if I could.  I went to the other end of the main building at the marina and looked up to see that some leaves had changed colors in one of the trees.  I took a shot so you could get an idea of what the tree looked like, then, I zoomed in a bit.  Next, I went around the corner of the building and shot back at the tree with a different lighting situation and that produced quite a different shot, I think.

 

 

 

 

The last shot I will leave you with is one that I am really proud of.  I have admired the Spanish moss hanging from this one oak tree on the property for ages.  I’ve tried to shoot it a few times before and never felt I did justice to the subject.  I turned around after the last show of the changing leaves and realized I had never tried shooting the moss from this angle and snapped a shot that I think really captured the feeling of the old south.

 

 

The birthday celebrations were good. We had gone out to dinner for our recent anniversary, then a few weeks later for Sandy’s birthday.  I decided I wanted to stay home and order pizza, which we do not do very often anymore.  So, I had pizza, cheesecake and great company.  Now, somebody roll me over to the exercise equipment.  I have got to start working all of this off again!

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Belated Birthday!  Who cares how old you are?  You look great, you're doing great, and you take great pictures!  You are only as old as you feel, right?
(remind me of this when I have my 44th birthday in a couple of months!!!  LOL!)  Again, beautiful pictures!  Jae

Anonymous said...

Happy Belated Birthday!  I have mine this month.  I will be 48.  Yikes!  Awesome entry...you are doing great as a Macro Man.  I love Spanish Moss and living in the South we have a lot of it..thanks for sharing the pics.

Sam2

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthdays! AND
Happy Anniversary!
Beautiful shots~
Marie

Anonymous said...

Hi Sam, You are getting good with that camera. Isn't it fun to play around with it? Happy late Birthday. I have recently got a filter for mine and have made two entries with pictures using it. I still don't what the heck I am doing but I am enjoying it LOL. Go take a look at the second and third entry back in my journal. We are going to try to go out and fish for a while early in the AM and I will try using it some more. I will probably do more camera-ing than fish-ing  and leave the fishing to Ken LOL. The filter is my birthday present which is tomorrow, the fifth. Love that moss. Helen  

Anonymous said...

"Happy Birthday to you, Haooy Birthday to you , Happy Birthday dear Sam, Happy Birthday to you!"
Hey hugs! :):):):) Bealtedly I hope your birthday was truly awesome!
I love the picture of the bay!Truly awesome!
:):) the flowers are a pretty plus Sam! grea t entry
hugs,natalie

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday... even if it is late! Aren't the little doohickeys on your camera fun to play with??? i want to get a Tripod, but haven't yet.
http://journals.aol.com/astaryth/AdventuresofanEclecticMind
http://adventuresofaneclecticmind.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Hi Sam :)

So glad you had a fun birthday. :) 55 isn't so bad, your still going strong! :) Impressive photos! I especially enjoyed the Spanish Moss. I would like to see more of that. Your flower photos are really well done. Nice lighting and detail to your backgrounds. The tripod seems to be working well for you. Keep snapping those photos! More, more more of the marina... and your awesome sunset shots. Will be looking forward to your next photo entry!

Always, Carly :)

Anonymous said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAM!!! I AM 53 SO AM REAL CLOSE TO THAT SPEED LIMIT SIGN MYSELF!!LOL
I LOVE THE MOSS PICTURE..DO YOU MIND IF I SNAG IT???SO BEAUTIFUL!
CARLENE

Anonymous said...

Looks like you brought some talent along to use with the camera and tripod. When I do the macro shots, I often wonder what the people who see me are thinking, seeing me all bent over like that, lol.

Best wishes for the ol' double nickels! You're as young as you want to be. Sorry for the cliché!!!

Jimmy

Anonymous said...

Happy Belated Birthday and aniversary wishes Sam ,What a talented photographer you are ,loved the pics ,the last one in particular ,.,.,Jan x

Anonymous said...

Fantastic pics, Sam - and happy birthday. You're as old as you feel

Anonymous said...

Your pictures exceed your enthusiasm which is infectious.  Now I keep thinking I might be able to do the same with my camera.  Awesome.  Life just gets better after the double nickle--personal experience.  I more about people and thank God for my blessings and worry less about the little stuff.  Life is Good.

Anonymous said...

Happy Bump Day ( as in 55) and thanks for shareing the blooms.
Tess

Anonymous said...

Sam, you have become a master picture takerer. Yes, that is a word. I just made it up. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!.....late!!! Tammy

Anonymous said...

Sure enjoyed this entry and I like the idea that you are enjoying the camera, tripod, and your day. As far as the 55 is concerned, I guess you are catching up to me. I found that 55 made me want to do more to show people I still could. I can really be dumb sometimes. Anyway, Happy Birthday. My Regards, Bill.

Anonymous said...

Really pretty pictures....I am getting myself a better camera for my next "B"...lol. Happy happy birthday....and getting older is much better than the alternative! Besides...men age better anyway  ; )

Tracie

Anonymous said...

Morning Sam ~ Happy belated birthday ~ Loved the first shot of the Marina really looks like the start of a beautiful day ~ Macro Man certainly is turning out some great pictures ~ the close ups are truly awesome ~ I love the colours of Autumn they always look so warm ~ you have done credit to the spanish moss hanging from the old oak tree it looks so pretty ~ (btw age is only a number you can be as young as you want to be) Ally

Anonymous said...

Happy Belated Birthday!  Glad you enjoyed your food ... now, get out there and get walking!  LOL -- I should talk.

Great pictures ... love the flowers, but the Spanish moss is really interesting!

Anonymous said...

That is so cool!! I've missed your entries.

Anonymous said...

These are really great pictures! You have a talent

Anonymous said...

Where to begin...

Happy Anniversary!  Happy Birthday to Sandy!  And to you, my friend :)  

I love learning.. so thank you for Photography 101.. LOL  Really, great job, Sam.  I like that you told us your thoughts on the shots and why you chose certain angles.  My second.. no third..  favorite things in Georgia~Spanish moss.  Don't get to see it too often anymore since my brother moved back here.. thanks.

Funny thing we shared:  I had a 'B' word recently, too.  Normally, we go out to eat at my favorite Middle Eastern food place... but this year, I had pizza and chocolate mousse.  It was great too :)

You have an eye for the close ups.  Glad you have your new toys!

Cat~

Anonymous said...

Happy belated birthday Sam !  I hope that you had the kind of day that you deserve ... one that is as special as you are.  I love the pictures.  And the stories that describe your subjects .... It's like I am taking a walk with you.  Such fun !   Please keep doing these, I am enjoying them.   Tina

Anonymous said...

Wonderful photos.

I love to see the flowers that are in other parts of the world.

I hope to see more of them.

By for now,

John.

Anonymous said...

wonderful pictures !! and happy birthday--you are now 5 years older than our oldest son!! I am still tied down---but tonight am cecking thru all the journals that i read--nice to catch up!!!   Barb

Anonymous said...

Sorry to have missed your birthday.  It is hard to remember since we were out of contact for a while.  I need to make up a family calendar.  May ask for help.  Now remember that you are the youngest in the family.  I will be 60 in January.  Bill will be 57 Nov. 1.  And you know how old Jan is.  Don't complain too much about 55.  Besides, it's just a number.  Feel young, act young, and take care of yourself.  I've started an exercise program and feel years younger already.  

Love the pictures.  To act like my Momma, the lilies are canna lilies, the first flowers were oleanders.  They are beautiful.  

Love to all,  Lynn

Anonymous said...

Hi, Just found your journal and I'm glad I did.  We are boaters too.  It is a big part of our life.  We have a 65' Marquis named Latte' Dah hence my journmal name.  We travel all summer and it is quite an experience.  Unfortunatley we live in WI and have to put it away for storage.  
Looking forward to reading more.  Love the photography.

Did you have any Trick or Treaters Yet?  Here Goes:
Trick or Treat.  Stop by and say Boo!
http://journals.aol.com/mrsm711/LatteDah/entries/2006/10/12/trick-or-treat-through-j-land/719
Tracy

Anonymous said...

I love those oleander shots, I've always loved that Spanish moss too since I first saw it on my first visit to the South! You've done well with the tripod and macro mode! Happy belated birthday, I couldn't have got an alert for this entry and only just found it! You're not old, I'm 55 too so it's not old at all! It's the youngest we'll ever be again! Jeannette xx  

Anonymous said...

We have moss on our trees here in Idaho, mainly in the mountain forests.  You've got some nice shots there Sam.  The macro is quite crisp and provides much detail.  :)
Dona