Pumpkins Galore!

 Some fun photos of interesting pumpkins and gourds in the spirit of upcoming Halloween!  I loved the variety of colors.  (Photographed at Zimmerman's Greenhouse and Produce in Leonardtown. )

Striped pumpkins

Sunflowers in Vases

 I photographed a few flowers in vases using a technique called Focus Stacking, creating multiple shots at with different focus points combined to make a sharper image.  It is easier with certain cameras that have a special feature.  Nikon calls it focus shifting instead.  I still need to learn more about light placement to make the photos prettier.  I do prefer vases that aren't shiny or reflective.  I tried to play with my collection of vases to make nice color combinations.

I liked red, yellow, and green even though they aren't contrasting or analogous colors.  It looked like Autumn.

 

Yellow and purple are contrasting colors

All red shades and green is the opposite of red.

Annmarie Gardens January 2024

I visited Annmarie Gardens to pick up my "Romantic Couple" photo from the Warm and Cozy exhibit on Friday January 26th, the day it was about 80 degrees briefly.  I had a spare hour unexpectedly, so I took a walk and photographed some of the fun art on the path.  I was there last month for the Christmas display, but it looks a lot different in the daytime. 

A rocking chair rainbow

Part of Leviatano by Michael Shewmaker

Cabbage

Fun clay art

Zig zag

My photo, "Romantic Couple" from Warm and Cozy that was on display and for sale

Holiday Lights in St Marys County

I decided to wander around to some housing developments to photograph holiday lights.  It was fun to see how creative folks get and how they share their fun with the neighbors.  These are not areas I often photograph.  I am purposely leaving out locations for privacy purposes.  

Although I did find a fun Holly Jolly Light trail contest with houses you can drive by or watch on video.  The Southern Maryland’s Holly Jolly Light trail is listed on Facebook.  There is a map to locations in several counties.  We visited a few and some were regular lights and others were over the top.  Somdxmaslights.com takes you to the website with the maps.

Here are some colorful scenes I found.

Annmarie Garden in Lights Dec 22, 21019

Annmarie Garden in Lights is spectacular this year.  Well worth the visit if you are properly dressed for the weather.

 It was princess night with a flute choir.  These fair country folk were on hand to be photographed with young princesses to be.

 Winter scene

 Clever shadow area with several lights shining on white boards.

 These jellyfish were made of recycled plastic, even bubble wrap.

Don't forget to see the When Darkness Falls exhibit upstairs to see my ghost and fireworks photos!

  For more information on Annmarie Garden in Lights, see http://www.annmariegarden.org/annmarie2/content/garden-lights-magical-light-show through Jan 1st.

Pattern pictures

We didn't get enough snow for snow pictures, so I thought it would be fun to share some pattern photos.

I tend to like a slightly broken pattern, creating a subject or something to catch your eye.  

In this first shot, while the textures of the balls are interesting and shiny, there isn't one particular ball that catches your eye.   

In the second photo, my eye was attracted to the pink or yellow balls.  Reds and yellows are probably the most eye catching colors.  (A little better) There is a reason traffic lights are certain 

colors!  My eye tends to go to the pink ball first.

In this final shot, the white flower breaks the pattern of red flowers and becomes the subject in the photo.  I am also using the rule of thirds, placing the flower where the interersecting lines would be on a bingo card.  Sort of like on this number symbol where the lines cross each other. #⃣