Thursday, April 17, 2008

Day 108: French Angel

I ALWAYS WELCOME ANY AND ALL CC! I'M NEW TO PHOTOGRAPHY, AND WANT TO LEARN AS MUCH AS I CAN IN THIS SHORT RIDE ON THIS CRAZY WONDERFUL PLANET!

Here's my "What is it?" portion of today's post. This is obviously a little flower; do you know what kind it is?

It's the very first flower to bloom in my yard each year.

It's really tiny. The bud is a little bigger than the size of puffed rice. I always hope that we've mowed the lawn one last time at the end of summer, fairly short, because this flower multiplies throughout our yard, and the first mowing will pretty much eliminate it. We probably won't have to mow for about 6 weeks though.

I used my all-time favorite lens, my macro lens. The thing about a macro lens is that positioning is really important. With cut flowers, I can put them in my sink, on a table, whatever, and use my tripod to get a nice parallel position to the part I want ot have the best focus. When the flower is growing in the ground. . . it means I have to get on the ground. I took a mat out to the yard with me, spread it out, and lay on my stomach.

Well, just prior to doing this, I'd taken my good old dog for a walk. I always worry about walking her too far, because I don't want to carry her 13 1/2 year old, 35 lb, puppy self home when she gets too tired. She was fine. But at one point she was a little too exuberant, and pulled my back out a bit.

You know where this is going, don't you?

Well, after lying on the ground on my stomach, it was time to get up.
But I couldn't.
Not too embarassing! Plus, my husband is out of town till Monday night. So I started rapidly calculating how long it would take before anyone noticed I was missing, and come look for me! What if I had to lay out on the ground all night, with rabbits hopping over my body? And then I realized that DEW would get on my beloved Nikon D40 and my MACRO LENS!!!!!! Ok, inch by inch, THAT got me up!

You're wishing I had a picture of this, aren't you? Well, THAT wasn't going to happen! (I thought about it, but I didn't have a tripod with me to set it up with a timer!) So next time, I'm taking my cell phone out with me!


Just for fun, thought I'd include this old photo taken with a point and shoot, in France, in 2004. I did some slight editing, added a bit of texture, and decided to post it, along with wishing I could go back to France with my DSLR now! (Even if the French Metro Swat team scooped me up in one of their "raids".)



I ALWAYS WELCOME ANY AND ALL CC! I'M NEW TO PHOTOGRAPHY, AND WANT TO LEARN AS MUCH AS I CAN IN THIS SHORT RIDE ON THIS CRAZY WONDERFUL PLANET!

18 comments:

Sharon said...

I love that color!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE these shots and the color is awesome!!!
Cari

Jess said...

These are just FANTASTIC! WOW. I can't believe how tiny that flower is, it looks nice sized in your photos. That's the beauty of macro huh?

And that photo from France is AWESOME. I hope you DO get to go back with your new camera so I can live through you! :)

Mom2Drew said...

Pretty. Since you're open to CC, on that first shot, I would have cropped so the bud is more in the left corner, rather than where it is. Your journaling is terrific by the way.

Michelle said...

beautiful little flowers. i am so sorry about your back. glad you made it up before they had to send out the troops for you!

Kristen Wagner Penn said...

I love the color and the water on the bloom. It is absolutely beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Pretty little flower. I love reading your journaling it is always so entertaining. We will be in Branson MO. I should leave here about the first week of June.

Amy said...

Beautiful!!! My favorite is the last of the flower with the droplet on the bud, so pretty! The photograph you took in France is just gorgeous, love the bright green!

pat said...

Angela, I THINK that your little blue flower is a glory-in-the-snow, or chinodoxia. Love these little bulbs! Your last of that series is SOOO wonderful. I clicked it up and the drops down the stem have some awesome reflections going on in them, and the drop balanced on the flower is pretty dang cool, too! I'd be on my stomach to get these, absolutely! Hope your back is behaving better!!

For Over 29 Years... said...

HIlarious!!! Now you are going to post a pic of the lawn aren't you???

Becky said...

Love this post; you've got me giggling. I'm not mocking your pain, honest (well maybe a little). Must have been the day to lie on the ground, I did the same thing today. Hearing about walking your dog made me remember how when my dog prior to Baxter got too old for walks, I used to borrow my friend's dog for walks. I'd call her up and ask if Jonah was busy, and she'd say, "Let me ask him. Yeah, I think he's done licking his butt."
Now that I've rambled on...pretty shots! I'd love to see your whole yard in bloom with them.

Christiana said...

Ok, no green thumb here, so in my book its a living flower... and that is good. Great color. Oh, and I'm glad you got up. Great journaling.

Suzy said...

I love the color! These are just beautiful!

Anonymous said...

I really love the 4th shot. There is something about the comp on it that I just love. The way the water is just on the top is lovely.

Reds said...

LOL - sorry you had trouble getting up! But the shots of your little flowers were well worth it!! Love the last shot! :)

Jeanne said...

No CC from me~ I just loved the photos. Haven't a clue what kind of flower it is, but I liked the comment you got that said a living one. Works for me!

I admit to chuckling at your description of not being able to get back up. Laughed out loud when I read it was ruining your camera and lens that gave you the motivation to work your way up.

You have a wonderful way of sharing!

Debbi said...

Your journaling is always so fun. great shot. I don't have any flowers in my yard, but my tulips have popped up. Great job with these pictures, Angela!

Bobbi said...

I have no idea what kind of flower but the water droplet on it is awesome! I am so jealous about the picture from France btw :)