This is a photograph of the rough bark on a eucalyptus tree. I’m always on the lookout for textures that I can use with my photographs. A texture can really add a special look to some photographs. Give it a try.
Here’s another photo I took last year at one of the fountains at the Huntington Library and Gardens in southern California. I really liked the tranquil quality of the lily pads, water lilies and water.
The ripples in the water gave a feeling of movement, yet the water was still smooth enough to reflect the water lilies, adding more of their vivid color to the scene.
This image was processed in ON1 Photo RAW.
If you want to save 20% when you purchase ON1 Photo RAW, or their plugins, just use my discount code, colburn20. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.
ON1 also comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, so there’s no risk to you.
Give ON1 a try, and save some money too.
Have Fun, Jeff
P.S. Due to a medical issue, this will probably be my last post until sometime in July. I’ll try to post sooner than that, it just depends on how everything works out.
Last year we took a trip to southern California. One of the places we visited was The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino. When I lived in California I visited here often. If you go, and really want to see and photograph everything, give yourself at least two days to see the gardens, and one day to see the museums. You won’t be disappointed.
Be aware that cameras and tripods are not allowed in some museums.
This photo was taken at a fountain near the main entrance. The blue flowers had fallen off of a bush, and the moving water in the fountain pushed all the blooms against these green plants. I also liked the shadows on the bottom of fountain. You will often see dragonflies and damselflies at this fountain too.
Click to enlarge
Also, check out their special events. I went there once for a Bonsai show, and stumbled onto a display of office furniture that belonged to William Herndon. He was Abraham Lincoln’s law partner, wrote the first biography of Lincoln and he’s my uncle. That was a very pleasant surprise.
This image was processed in ON1 Photo RAW.
If you want to save 20% when you purchase ON1 Photo RAW, or their plugins, just use my discount code, colburn20. The discount can’t be combined with other discounts.
Yes, those are real prehistoric bones, and yes, that is a real skull of a saber-toothed cat, Smilodon fatalis.
Click to enlarge
I took this photo at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. They have a block of resin with these bones embedded in it to show the average density of bones in the asphalt of the tar pits. FYI, there is no tar in the tar pits, it’s all asphalt.
The resin block is in a glass case. To prevent reflecting yourself in a photo, put the end of your lens directly on the glass. And play around with angles and background light sources to get different lighting effects in the resin. The light coming through windows and glass doors changes throughout the day, so keep checking for interesting lighting.
You are not allowed to use tripods anywhere in the building, so bring a string tripod or monopod. Because of the lighting, you will need to use a high ISO or slow shutter speed. And be sure to check out the atrium. It’s small, but packed with many things to photograph.
Sometimes, when you’re shooting nature, you get a happy surprise. That’s the case with this photo of a female Sago Palm cone. Male cones are more, well, cone shaped. Like a pine cone.
I came across this palm several years ago in the atrium of the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. And I was lucky because Sago Palms only produce flowers once every three to four years. When I went back five years later, there was no bloom.
I like shooting the natural world for several reasons, including the surprises you encounter. They can be exciting, beautiful, dangerous or something that will challenge your photography skills.
If your shooting nature, be flexible, creative and ready to solve problems so a disadvantage becomes an advantage.
I don’t encounter fog very often in Arizona, so when I do I take as many photos as I can.
This photo was taken on the road that leads up to Snowbowl, a ski area near Flagstaff. Half way up the road we drove into light fog. We quickly parked and I grabbed my gear and ran a short distance up the road when I saw this.
I thought the composition was great as it could mean different things to different people. Some may see the large trees protecting the small yellow aspen, while others may see them threatening it. I just like the way the green aspens nicely framed the yellow one.
When I processed the image, I thought of making the yellow leaves very bright, but that wouldn’t look right for an image in fog, so I left them a little muted.
I managed to take this photo, and one other, when suddenly the sun burned off the fog. I only had about fifteen minutes of fog before it was gone, but it was a great surprise.
Always be prepared to take advantage of any pleasant surprise that nature gives you.
These aspens are growing in a burn scar. While a forest fire is a tragedy, it clears out all the trees and brush from an area, so when the aspens quickly grow back, and change color, you can easily see their beautiful leaves.
The other day I was getting some firework photos ready for a stock site and had a real surprise. I noticed a bright area at the bottom left of the photo. At first, I thought it was light reflecting off of smoke, but when I zoomed in I saw that I had captured a lightning bolt during the show.
Click to enlarge
How often do you get a skyrocket exploding with lighting in the background?
I made some adjustments in ON1 Photo RAW to bring out the lightning. What do you think of the image?
What happy surprises have you found in your photos?
I’ve added more of my photos to Redbubble. They can be put onto T-shirts, mugs, phone cases and much more. Check them out at my RedBubble shop here www.redbubble.com/people/jeffcolburn/shop
Pillow
Sticker
Tote Bag
These new photos are designed to inspire you to achieve more in your life. Head on over and take a look.
If you don’t see the photograph you’re looking for, let me know. I can always add it to my shop.
