I've been very busy lately.

I finally posted a little album of photos of the Cherry Blossoms in April 2013 in Washington DC on my Calm Reflections Photography Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/CalmReflectionsPhotography.  Please check it out!  I was practicing some unique techniques, panoramas and focus stacking in Photoshop.

I want to share two of my recent favorite photos.  Neither of them won the April competition at our local camera club, but I liked them.  Maybe you will too!

The pier photo was taken on an early special morning in February when the mist was lovely and the sky became pink.

The squirrel was outside my window.  He/She was running up and down a maple tree looking for nuts.  He almost looks like he is smiling.

Happy Easter!

I tried to make an Easter dog portrait with DJ for Easter cards. I have some bunny ears, but they were just too big for cute little DJ, my Chihuahua friend. I made due with an Easter basket, flowers and Easter eggs.

February winning photo

We saw this really cool blue orchid in the grocery store and bought it to photograph it.  It was kind of disappointing when we figured out that they had just added some sort of blue dye (a fancy patented process they say) into a white Phalaenopsis orchid.  (sort of like those colored carnations you can get for special holidays but a little fancier)   If it blooms again it will be white.

It still made a nice photo and it won second prize in the Advanced category for the February competition at the St. Mary's County Camera Club.  If you want to read more about the orchids, here is the website for Silver Vase about their blue mystique orchid. http://silvervase.com/w/blue-mystique.php

January winning photos

I had fun in Adobe Photoshop with my first prize Advanced digital  photo for January 2013 at the St. Mary's County Camera Club. 

I turned the photo of a reflection of the Capitol in Washington D.C. upside down.  The photo was taken at dusk, creating the nice golden glow.

I also got an honorable mention for a photo of a Gyr falcon with his lovely white feathers.  Just don't ask me how to pronounce his/her name!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope it was cool!

Sharing some heart with you.

You are invited to view the Photography exhibit at the Lexington Park Library Art Gallery from February 1-March 15, 2013.  The artwork is on display across from the check out desk during the standard library hours.

 

Lexington Park Library

 



The many excellent photographs were taken by members of the St. Mary's County Camera Club and include 7 good photos by Jim and I.  Please take a few minutes to stop by to view the display and check out a good book or DVD at the same time.

Great Falls Virginia on the Wild Side

We visited Great Falls National Park in the morning recently after lots of rain.  It is a wonderful place to photograph the sunrise.  The current was strong and exciting.  I'd never even heard of Great Falls before moving to Maryland.  There is a quite interesting history behind the falls if you are curious, including a time when they tried to use it for a canal and it more recently had a carousel amusement.

 

 

The park is on the border between Maryland and Virginia in Fairfax County, near Washington DC.  It is a great place to visit anytime in the year.  It is also very popular for walking your pet (on a leash of course) and hiking.

Fun things to photograph at Great Falls include the C and O Canal, birds (like great blue herons, geese, turkey and black vultures), deer, kayaks and the falls themselves.

I am also including a photo of a rainbow in the falls.  How many colors can you see in my photo?