Jan 192012
 

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Revealed in snowmelt, about a week after Chicago’s one major snowfall this winter—so far!

Nikon D300; f9.5 @ 1/90 sec, ISO 200 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 55mm (82mm EFL); focus distance 1m

Aug 232011
 

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This was discovered on one of my morning walks through the alleys in our neighborhood—which are a great place to look for textures. The spot of sunlight was a bonus!

Nikon D300; f9.5 @ 1/180 sec, ISO 280 (handheld);
18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 56mm (84mm EFL); focus distance 2.24m

Jun 192010
 

Dew-drenched grasses in morning sunlight.

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The other morning, while out looking for sidelight to fulfill an assignment for The Mindful Eye, I came across this beautiful backlight instead.

After several days of heavy rain, humidity was high but skies were mostly clear and there was no wind. Everything sparkled with dew.

Red-violet color swatchDark green color swatchGreen color swatchYellow color swatch

  • Red-violet R:119 G:102 B:106
  • Dark green R:119 G:132 B:70
  • Yellow-green R:119 G:132 B:70
  • Yellow R:185 G:171 B:8
Nov 202009
 

Presage of Snow (c)2009 by April Siegfried

Color swatch brown Color swatch green Color swatch gray [¹]

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Photographing outdoors in November is helping me appreciate the subtle hues and textures of the season, though that’s challenging to bring out in an image. (Suggestions welcomed!)

Recently, in a nature sanctuary, I chatted briefly with a man who mentioned several other locations we both like to visit. After parting, I kicked myself for not asking if there were any others he could recommend. A few days later, I was fortunate to cross paths with him again and discovered that he is both a painter and maintains a web site listing his favorite walking trails in Chicago. Thank you, Thomas, for sharing some of your discoveries! This image was photographed in Ronan Park.

Flo, the story will ring a bell with you. 🙂

¹Colors of the day:

  • Brown R:132 G:121 B:115
  • Green R:140 G:136 B:119
  • Gray R:161 G:158 B:157
Nov 122009
 

First Frost (c)2009 by April Siegfried

Color swatch blue Color swatch green Color swatch white [¹]

This morning I visited a nearby bird and butterfly sanctuary—my new favorite place to photograph—and it was a treat to discover frost on the ground. (Click on the image to view a larger size.)

Lesson of the day: remember to switch Image Stabilization back on when removing the camera from the tripod to shoot handheld. 😛

¹Colors of the day:

  • Blue R:118 G:138 B:143
  • Green R:127 G:136 B:114
  • White R:185 G:196 B:209