~PHOTOGRAPHY~

I love taking pictures.  I started seriously fiddling with a camera about 20 years ago...I spent alot of money on film, lenses, filters,etc.  I took lessons. I bought books....I always "read the book".  Never quite understood the fstop thing.   But I learned more and more about seeing.  I think photography has helped my painting and painting has improved my photography.

When digital cameras came on the scene, everything changed.  I still have a whole bag of photographic equipment, but now I use a point and shoot that I can tuck in a pocket.  There are times that I absolutely must use the tripod (taking photos of orchids).

I can find only one thing wrong with digital photos~they hardly ever make it into an actual photo album.

I'd like to share a few of my favorite shots............

Getting a good shot of our cat, Raji, is almost impossible unless, of course, he is asleep.  Most of the pictures I have are of him napping.

Mya loves(!) the cat.  And she loves picking him up and carrying him around.  This photo was taken when he was 9 months old.  I titled it "Help me Lord".  Raji is almost 2 now; he takes off and hides when Mya comes to visit.

   Poor kitty.  Raji was just 3 months old when he accidentally brushed against the lampshade while exploring the sofa.  In the middle of the night I was awakened by a crash.  When I went to investigate, the first thing I did was to take a picture of "the event".  Right at the last moment,

 Raji came over to "assess the damage".

 At one time we had over 100 orchids.  We didn't know alot about taking care of them but we sure loved all the beautiful flowers.  Through growing orchids, we were introduced to the many orchid shows that take place around Florida in the winter months.  The following are a few "show" orchids and the rest are some my favorites.

Vanda "Cindy Banks".

 This was one of our most prolific Vandas.  Cindy bloomed every 3 months....one of our favorites!

Blc. Keowee ‘Mendenhall’ AM/AOS

Another one of our favorite orchids.  I bought this one because it reminded me of one of the first orchids I fell in love with at the Miami International Show..."Apache Sunrise" (which we couldn't find to buy)

This is a dendrobium.  I loved the pink and yellow color combination.

Another one of my favorite orchids.  It is an Iwangara. 

I love how the petals have a hint of pink at the edges.

This phalenaopsis is called "Kaleidoscope".  You'll see this orchid at just about every orchid show.  It is stunning.  I really liked the backlighting of this shot; it shows the detailed petal design.

Our first Phalenaopsis.  "Golden Buddha" and " Sweet Revenge".  The orchids have much longer scientific names indicating the parentage (hybridization)..but we use part of the name so that we can remember them all.

 This is a photo NOT a painting!

I took a photography class which used a technique which manipulated polaroids.  You would take the photo and as it was developing you could use any number of "tools" (i.e. credit card, burnishing tool, toothpick, chopstick,) to move the pigments around.   This photograph was taken at the Denver Botanic Gardens.

Some nature photos:

A Florida sunset.

 This photo was taken at Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park in Utah.  I came upon this park by accident when traveling through Utah. What a great "side trip".

A watercolor artist would call it a "happy accident". 

Beautiful Mammoth Hot Springs at Yellowstone National Park.

When traveling in Utah, I woke up to this wonderful sight.  It had snowed about 2 inches overnight making Bryce Canyon even more magical!

I really enjoy traveling and enjoy even more taking photos of the wonderful sights that we see.  Here are a few more travel photos:

"Eve" on the staircase of the Ambassador's Residence in Paris.

I took this photo while waiting for the canal boat ride in Bruges, Belgium.
  I really like the architecture, windows and texture of the building against the colorful flowers.

A cafe on a side street in Paris' 2nd arrondissement.

The Eiffel Tower in Springtime.

And again in September.

An exhibit of merchant signs at the Musee Carnavalet in Paris.

I take alot of photographs of shop windows.  Window dressing in Paris is an art form!

One of the advantages of digital photography is the ability to edit the photos.

  This is the black and white version of this photograph.

It was taken at the Mosque de Paris.

And lastly....my favorite subject, the grandkids: 

baby Mya

toddler Mya

Mya and her brothers, Willis and Lucius.

Is it any wonder that I always have the camera close by?