Actually I needed to include plants in today’s title, but the titles long enough already.

All photography, is about light. Without it, there is no photography. It can enhance or detract from an image, but either way, there needs to be light.

As is the norm, all of today’s photos were created by me.

Let’s begin with the land.

Here we have average light, which creates minimal shadows but gives us a nice, if rather dull view of great a place. Such light, has its place.

This shot in northern Colorado, shares the story of mountain valleys and broken trees. It is a nicely (a pat on my back) composed western landscape that shares what this place looks like. It lacks drama and most people will forget it not long after they see it.

This image was created not far from the last. The light is breaking out but the subject is still mostly in subdued light. Yet, there is some pop here. The warm colors of the Sandstone rock and the small amount of cool, blue sky revealing itself, add some contrast and pop.

This next photo was captured in a remote northern forest in Wisconsin. It is a 50/50 mirror image. The powerful autumn colors both in the top part of the photo, and in the reflection in a pond, add much power to a cloudy day photo.

Those trees would not be so saturated if the bright sun had washed them out.

High contrast and sunny/shadowy light, can add drama to a scene. This mountain cliff and canyon pop because of the light!

As the light begins to disappear, as it is doing in this image of the New Mexican desert, it bathes the land in warm, powerful colors. The colors in the sand, hold just enough detail and texture to make the photo interesting but still gentle.

Sunrise after a stormy night bring both the lake and the sky into harmony. I used the Lake Michigan shoreline as pathway to the back part of the photo.

Onward!

Let us deal with some plant life

This flower poked its head upward as to “drink from the sky”. The composition here would certainly be considered no big deal. That’s really what we want. The truth is the way the flower grew upward but off to our left, meant a composition required some thought and some patience to shoot between puffs of wind. I did not want the flower to be too far to the right in the image, where the top of the plant was not balanced to the direction it was leaning. It crosses the picture frame from right to left and is balanced over all.

I love dark green or black backgrounds for macro shots. No flash was used here. The exposure difference between the yellow flower and the dark background meant that a good exposure on the flower, would render the background really dark. Some raindrops added to the image.

Ah morning dew. In this image I did remove some barely discernable spots of background color when editing. I cloned out those color swatches, by moving some of the black shadows over them.

Some bright light shining on this dew covered plant leaf, brought all but a few centimeters of green leaf background into blackness.

Again, no flash was used. That is the sun.

What about plants with critters? This insect, maybe a Bee-fly, posed beautifully on top of this blossom. This time I lit the insect and flower with an electronic flash. I never used that technique a lot, but any port in a storm.

This Daddy-long Legs and leaf photo, is completely naturally lit. I was able to get those long legs entirely in the photo by backing off a bit. This image is also a crop. The original showed mire plant.

Caterpillar on an old wooden board. This one does not require much discussion.

How about some bigger wildlife?

I believe I was in Wyoming when I caught this group of female Pronghorn Antelope. I enjoyed the view through my lens as it took me into their world, and what I saw there, you see now.

Reddish Egret in southeast Texas. It was fishing but alas I did not get any moment of the catch photos, so I settled for a nice, quiet portrait.

Three American Avocets in New Mexico was a welcome addition to my files.

This White Ibis also was photographed in New Mexico. Pretty much point and shoot with a 500mm lens. Mmeter reading came from the background as not to underexpose because of that white.

Back to the Texas Gulf for this capture of a Brown Pelican. I was outdoors on a tripod and careful panning was needed. I cropped this image to a vertical when I was at home.

This one came during my three year experience with Osprey in southeastern Wisconsin. I was standing right in front of them with my camera and long lens on a tripod.

All woodpeckers are fun. At least to me. This one was obviously quite cooperative.

I wish I could tell you that I do not miss days like that. I would have to lie.

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A Crying Shame

I’ve never been much of a crier. I suppose that might be because when you are a boy, or better said when you were the male of the species back when I grew up, you were not suppose to cry. Males did cry, but only under certain circumstances.

For most of my life, I never cried at my own physical pain, never cried in any way do to fear. I never cried in frustration, I never cried and understood the least about crying in happiness or joy.

I cried only at sadness.

When our pet dog of 16 years died, my mother’s request for me to take his dead body in my car, and drive him to the place where people burned trash, and then dump his body in the fire was painful, but I did it. After I got home and was upstairs alone in my room, I cried in sadness for my loss. He was my friend. I know not whether I cried for him or for me, but I cried none the less.

I suppose I also cried as an infant, but my memory doesn’t allow me to know.

My coming to God, my acceptances of what Christ did for me (and you) at the Cross, has changed me. No I’m not a weeping Willy who balls at every sad thing in the world, which currently is a 24 hour a day event, but at genuine sadness of things that has happened to people. I get tears in my eyes.

For the first times of my life, I have shed tears of joy. No not when I buy something nice or things go right for me, but when I see the work of God affecting the lives of people, or when I see a new Christian. I admit, a tear or two will develop. Not because I have become weak, but because I celebrate what the Lord has done, and what can and will happen when people genuinely call out to Him.

A fair question might be, am I ever going to stop all this religious stuff here at Earth Images Blog?

I can answer that one easy. Yes it will end.

Eventually, be it 10 years from now or right after I finish this post, my body will become tired enough of trying, and it will die. It is possible that finances or general health may curtail my activities before then, but either way, I feel safe in saying that death will bring an end to all of that “religious stuff” that I write about.

Until then, have a great day,
Wayne