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

Hang in there, things will get better.

Image
The Svendsen Family - Eric, Samuel, Leanne, Joshua (top row), Nora, Kathryn, Chanelle, Emma If I could go back, in my mind, to a day in my life when I was really down, it would be nice to be able to see into the future.  If could see things as they are today, with the many blessings that have been given to me, it would give me hope knowing that things wouldn't always be so discouraging.   The message here is we do not know what the future holds.  When things are bad, it is hard to raise your head out of the mire to see beyond the darkness.  There are no guarantees, of course, that things will be better, but I think it is true that fortunes ebb and flow as tides do.  The trick is to see beyond the low points and not be too haughty during the high ones.  I know that, at this moment, things are very good.  What the future holds is unknown, but low and high points are likely in the forecast.   This is why taking satisfaction from the moment is so important.  Instead of looking forward
Read more

Working out life's problems.

Image
Kathryn and Eric - together for 35 years. Whoever said life is easy hasn't been alive for very long.  Yes, although there may be times when everything sails along very nicely, the truth is that hardship is just around the corner, in both directions. The essence of the problem is that we are imperfect beings and we live in an imperfect world.  Bad things happen, both to us and those we care about.  We make decisions and take actions that others may oppose or be hurt by.  Even when, after much thought and research, we do what we think is best or right, our opinions or behaviours are not approved by those we love.  People get hurt, and sometimes the hurt leads to serious repercussions.   I can say that Kathryn and I are happily married.  But I can also say that our relationship has gone through difficult moments.  A great deal of the challenges we have faced have come about because of differences in opinion, differences in problem management, and difficulties in effective communicatio
Read more

Dastardly Dachshund Destroys Fabrics.

Image
Murphy's blanket (left) and Sterling's pant leg hem (right) - It took only a moment. We have had 5 dachshunds now, Murphy being the latest itineration, and they have quite a few characteristics in common.  This blog is about one of them - they love to chew things, and can completely destuff and destroy a dog toy in moments.  Of course, that behaviour isn't just restricted to toys.  Blankets, quilts, articles of clothing, really any kind of fabric - these dogs love to have their way with them.  And that usually means making holes. We restrict the types of fabric that Murphy tears apart into his dog blanket and his toys.  However, he can turn his destructive influence to other chewy temptations on occasion.  We usually catch him before any damage is done, but if he is left unattended and has an opportunity, he can render a garment unusable quickly.  This fact was thoroughly established this New Year's Eve. We had friends over to celebrate the turning over of the calendar.
Read more