Flower/Plant Photographs



I zoomed in on three of these flowers to provide a balance
(one on each side and one in the middle).

Photographs of flowers are very common but at the same time can make for beautiful pictures. There is so much you can do with these photos to make them a breathtaking masterpiece and distract the viewers from the genericness of the subject. Anyone can take a picture of a tulip, and though they are lovely and beautiful on their own, the photograph will need something more to make it stand out. A great way to start off is playing around with the zoom and the macro (that little flower button). Other ways to enhance your flower pictures is by using editing software to crop, contrast, and so on.

One of the best things about flower photographs is that they are outside (unless they are in a vase or pot inside, of course). When you have a very sunny day, that natural light will benefit your pictures better than anything else. And remember: flowers aren't the only pretty plant! Weeds, leaves, and so on can make wonderful pictures as well.



When you take a picture, you don't have to take it of the entire subject. You can zoom in on something that you really want to emphasize on. For instance, I zoomed in on this one section of purple flowers when there actually was an entire tree of them.

 

A deflated cactus. This is an example of how it doesn't need to be beautiful to make a beautiful picture. Notice, also, the dead cactus is not in the center of the picture; though it is the subject I wanted the viewers to notice first, I alligned it more to the right. This is a helpful hint: the subject doesn't have to be dead center!

The vibrant greens and yellows really make this picture pop. Notice the darkness between the green blades. Playing around with the brightness and darkness of a picture can make a big difference.



Photography has some of the same concepts as art --one of them being line. In this photograph, the limb of this bush is an example of line; it directs your eyes from one area of the picture to another area. While your eyes are following the limb, they also take in the other aspects of the picture.



Zooming in on this flower allows you to see the little details in it such as the yellow pattern. The darkness of the shadows (which can be darkened through editing) really makes the lightness of the flower stick out. This flower wouldn't pop out as much if it were against something light blue or pink.







This photograph is like a collage of plants and there is a lot going on and there is hardly a single negative space. To be honest, I'm not quite sure if I like this one much. I think it works because all the components in the picture are harmonous. There are different types and colors of plants, but they clash together nicely.




Again, darkening the shadows around the flower make it stick out drastically.



Notice the water droplets? That's fresh morning dew. While sunny days are ideal for taking plant pictures, sunny MORNINGS are even better! And, if for some reason you can't do mornings, here's a little cheat code: sprinkle just a tiny bit of water to create that dew look.

 

These are rose pedals that I had in a bowl and sprinkled water on. I wasn't necessarily going for the fake dew look, but I wanted to water droplets to be there.



Would you have ever known that behind this flower there were other flowers and grass? I didn't remove the flower and put it on a black background, I just played with the darkness setting!


So what did you think?

I briefly mentioned the elements of art and that they are key in photographs as well. For further information about the elements of art, check out Art Elements
Also, I mentioned indirectly a few principles of art. These can also be applied to photographs. For more information, check out Art Principles
Most of my photo editing is done in Picasa which is made by Google. It is simple and FREE. Download it here: Picasa

Wildlife Photographs

I love taking photos of animals. For the most part, it's relatively easy if you get them to sit still or, if you're not that lucky, happen to catch them right when they are still and looking at you.



These following animals are ones that I've encountered in everyday areas, in zoos, or in pet shops. Often in a zoo or pet shop, the animal is surrounded by glass. Avoiding blur and glare can be difficult in trying to get the perfect picture, but not imposible.



These are such beautiful birds. I realized something the other day as well: you never see two of them in the same place. Or is that just my experience?



This goose was standing still in the snow and looking confused as to why it was so cold.







I snuck up on this cute little chipmunk.



  

Geese are not really an oddity where I am from.





I love the focus on the plant while the goose in the background is blurred, even though my eyes are drawn to the goose right away.

Sometimes catching an animal sitting still is preferred, but catching them in action is better.

Turtle tanning on a log.





Kangaroos



If you look closely, you can see that the mother koala has her baby comfortably against her chest.





Seal enjoying a swim.







I think that how the sun reflects off the rocks and fur really completes this picture.

 

American Bald Eagle



If you can avoid the glare and blur, pictures of fishes in aquariams are absolutely beautiful. It's almost like you were there underwater with them.







I'm not sure what type of fish this is, but he caught my eye instantly and I loved him.





Caught these little guys on the side of the road while driving. I think it's amusing how they are all looking right at me except the far left one, who seems to be confused as to what his friends are looking at.



I'm not sure what this little thing is, but I thought it was adorable as he popped up from his hole.





My favorite thing about this photo is the clearity and crispness that is just naturally present in underwater scenes.



This trio is just hanging out and having a good time. Lizards (those that are caged anyways) will always stay put for a photograph.

I played around with the contrast and brightness in this photo. I enjoy it when the grass is such a vibrant green.


Reflection is something I aim for in pictures with water.



And this is it for my wildlife photographs at the moment. Any comments, suggestions, questions, critiques?

Ideas for comments:

1. My favorite photo was ...
2. My least favorite photo was ....
3. My least favorite photo was .... while my favorite was ....
4. Pictures you thought were blurry or not good quality
5. Suggestions for how to take/edit future animal pictures

(Ideas are only guidelines to spark your own comments. You can copy the ideas word for word or use them to develop your own.)



Welcome Readers!

I wanted to start off by stating the purpose for this blog. It is intended for my art, writing, and photography mostly, but occasionally I may post a few random thoughts and discussions here and there depending on how well this all goes.

My first interest in art took place in fourth grade. I distinctly remember thinking during my prior art classes "I'm awful at this; I have no artistic talent." Then when I was complimented by my teacher on a piece of artwork I did (it was a construction paper hat, but on the top it had pebbles, little fake trees, etc. glued on to imitate a pond scene). Ever since then, I have worked hard to develop my skill.

Photography was introduced much later to me when I was a senior in high school. It was all digital, and it wasn't the first time I had ever picked up a camera, but it was still new to  me. I learned what to look for, how to angle it, and how to edit the pictures later. And I learned the most important rule: ALWAYS take more than one photo of something, even if you think your first shot was perfect.

Writing, however, was something I knew I loved from the beginning. My earliest memory is first grade; I had typed out a three page fiction comedy about my classmates and read it to them in class. As I remember, they all loved it. Problem was, unfortunately, I typed it out on my aunt's old typewriter (remember those?). We didn't have any white out in the machine, so when I made a mistake, I just went back and typed over the previous letters. So, in other words, at the time I was the only one able to actually read it. Now that I think of it, I'm not quite sure why I didn't just write it out. I suppose I just wanted to be fancy like the adult writers. Anyways, the only copy of that was lost and I can't even remember what it was really about. In eighth grade, I joined my school's first Power of the Pen team. I won Best of Round in the district. A few of us were selected to move on to the next level where I won Best of the Best and our team place third. I was the only one to move on to the last level, and I didn't win anything that time. However, it was a truely great experience and my winning story was published in their annual book. Since then, I've been pursueing my writing and I'm working on two different books which will hopefully be finished and published (fingers crossed).

Geez, all that talk makes it seem like I'm full of myself! My point of all this is that art, photography, and writing are my passions. I may be better than others while at the same time there are a lot of others better than I. There is always room for improvement --one of the guidelines I live by. Thus, this blog is not only meant to introduce my art and writing to more than just my friends, family, and classmates, but it is to also receive feedback. So when I post things I've drawn, painted, photographed, or written PLEASE feel free to comment. Some guidelines for comments would be: What do you think of it? Is it missing something? How can it get better? What do you like about it? And so on. Feel free to post whatever you want; there should be no obligation to protect me from the truth, so if you hate something, say it! No personal offense will be taken, and if you're scared I won't keep my word on that, then you can always comment anonymously.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this, and I will be posting ASAP!