Rotorua, New Zealand - The Rose Garden
I shot this two years ago while we were in New Zealand.  It was an amazing adventure and one I would love to repeat.  Photography, for me, is a licence to explore the world.  It gives me cause and motivation to leave my safe place; to extend myself beyond my comfort zone.  Not only do I get to look at the world with a new "lens" (forgive the pun), I get a few nice shots to boot.

I also enjoy the technical aspects of photography.  I guess others would call me a science geek as I have a passion for anything science related.  This extends to wildlife particularly, as some of you may have noticed, and includes anything that walks, crawls, slithers, or swims.  The wonder of it all is what really captivates me.  Finding new and amazing places and creatures, using the camera to capture the beauty in what I see, and learning more about what I just photographed.

This is especially true for the life I find.  Insect, bird, reptile, mammal, anything at all really - I need to know what it is and learn something about it.  In the process I become more familiar with the creatures I share the planet with and appreciate how wondrous they really are.  Although I could glean such information from a book or a nature show, there is nothing like seeing it in its own environment. 

I used a small aperture (f/13) at a focal length of 65 mm on a full frame DSLR camera to capture the above image.  I chose a focal point about 12 feet away from me to take advantage of the depth of field offered by the lens at those settings.  The yellow roses were used as a foreground with the rest of the garden filling the center of the image.  The path going from left to right leads the eye to the building at the back which forms the background.  The tree both frames the building and prevents the sky from being empty.  The sun was behind me to my left but up fairly high which resulted in good colour and little shade or shadow.  The sun's angle resulted in a pleasant blue sky; a polarizer improved colour and helped the clouds stand out.

All in all I like the shot; best of all it got me outdoors and I had a great time exploring.  I just love taking pictures!

Thanks for reading.   www.ericspix.com   Eric Svendsen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I found a black widow spider in a plant pot today

Image
The spider I found is a western black widow spider, one of three species of black widow that occur in North America.  The fact that this one has another red patch on the back of its abdomen above the spinnerettes tells us that it is an immature individual. The one thing that people know about black widow spiders is that they are extremely poisonous.  Their venom is something like 15x more toxic than that of a rattlesnake.  The saving grace is that there is very little venom injected from a black widow bite than what a rattlesnake can deliver.   The good news is that black widow bites seldom lead to death.  You are more likely to suffer nausea, muscle pain, and swelling around the bite.  Symptoms usually last only 12 hours or so.  Death may be a result in people with compromised immune systems or in the very young or the elderly.   In 2018, it was reported that there were 1015 cases of people bitten by black widows.  Of those, there were no deaths, but 5 people had potentially life-thre
Read more

The passing of a generation

Image
Kathryn's mom and dad with our children, Josh and Leanne. A generation, for North America, tends to be between 20 and 30 years.  During that time a couple will give birth and raise children to see them repeat the pattern as they themselves have done.  Each generation has its own set of standards, values, and ideals based upon their experiences and culture, and some of that is passed down to their offspring.  What changes are the life experiences of the following generation and the new customs and ideals that are blended together as a couple becomes a family. Kathryn's mom passed away a few days ago, she was predeceased by her husband several years ago.  Both of them were the grandparents of my children, the mother and father of my wife, Kathryn.  It was my pleasure to know them and to love them as my own, for to me they were Mom and Dad.  And they were there to welcome my children into the world just as my children were with them in spirit when they left it.   We ourselves have
Read more

Henry Fair - A good man lost to us all.

Image
There is a great deal I have always appreciated about Henry Fair.  The first thing that comes to mind when I think of him is that he was kind.  He always had time, always expressed himself well, and always cared for kids.  I think that's the second thing that comes to mind; Henry had a great passion for kids.   His devotion to helping others was best illustrated by his time spent teaching alternate learning at Garibaldi Secondary School.  KOALA (Kids On Alternate Learning Aims) was a program for at-risk youth that Henry ran for many years.  He was compassionate and understanding towards those under his purview and treated everyone with the same degree of care and professionalism.   One of the more amazing things about Henry was that nothing seemed to phase him.  I can tell you from experience that a remedial program will test the patience and metal of anyone, yet he never let it get to him.  Every student was valuable to him and worth his time and effort.  He was a constant advocat
Read more