Tuesday View - 24 March 2020 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Today I would like to share the point of view of another one of our flowers. This time it's our amaryllis. The view is a lot nicer than yesterday since the sun came out.

And I also have a few videos to share. I was playing around with the time lapse feature on my camera and thought the cafe would be a good place to test it.

That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Monday View - 16 March 2020 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

A couple weeks ago I shared a photo of our Amaryllis that has started to bloom again. Well now over the last few days it has really grown and the flower is opening. For today's view I am sharing three shots ranging from Saturday through today that show just how fast it's growing and how big it's getting. Pretty soon it will be at full bloom.

And here is another video from yesterday morning at the Cafe. You can see we get quite the variety of birds. Please give it about 15 seconds for the first bird to show up.

That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Sunday View - 3 February 2019 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Today was a good day at the Cafe my friends. It warmed up a lot and our birds and squirrels were very active for the first time in a few days.

Everyday I see squirrels going about their business. This mainly includes scrounging for and hiding food. But every once in a while I'll spot one that I feel like I've caught off guard. Take today's photo for instance. I shot it while spying on this guy way up in the oak tree in our front yard. He had just left one of the dens and was actually grooming himself when he turned and saw me. And then he continued cleaning himself up before scurrying down the tree to grab some of the peanuts I put out.

Click for full Size Image

Also, to keep you up to date on our Amaryllis here is one of my latest photos. It's starting to grow taller and you can see that the flower is forming nicely. I am definitely going to have to get a bigger pot for it soon.

Click For Full Size Image

That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Monday View - 28 January 2019 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Yesterday I shared our newly sprouting hyacinth and also mentioned that our amaryllis is coming out of dormancy. In fact it seems to be getting taller every day. And as promised here it is. Stay tuned for more as it grows over the next several weeks. If you haven't seen it before you will be surprised.

Click For Full Size Image

Yes I know that window needs cleaning.

That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Friday View - 23 March 2018 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

To wrap up the work week I am sharing our amaryllis at full bloom. It's about a foot and a half high or so and has four big flowers. I hope the flowers last for a while because once they go it will probably be about a year until we see them again. But it will be worth the wait. This plant never ceases to amaze me. I bought the bulb kit four or five years ago and didn't plant it until about a year later. I never expected it to grow. But I am thankful it did.

Click For full Size Image

Here is the EXIF data.

And here is Yesterday's View...

Thursday March 22, 2018

Thursday March 22, 2018

Thursday March 22, 2018

That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Friday View - 16 March 2018 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Today for a quick Friday post I would like to share a snapshot I made this afternoon. It's actually more of an update. This is the flower on our amaryllis and it's starting to really open up. By next week it should be at full bloom.

Click For Full Size Image

That's all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Monday View - 12 March 2018 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Today was my first work day since we shifted our clocks forward for Daylight Saving Time and losing an hour this past weekend. I usually don't have a problem adjusting but this morning I was kind of tired starting my day. It wasn't too bad though. What I do love about moving the clocks is that we get more daylight in the evening. I am actually able to enjoy the outdoors for a while after work. Today I took advantage of this extra light and took our amaryllis out back to shoot a few photos so I can share it's progress with you. And man did it grow. I haven't measured it but you should get the idea.

Click For Full Size Image

Pay no attention to our lawn. It's brown now but in a few weeks it will start to turn green for the Summer.

Here is a closeup of the flower. It should bloom any day now.

Click For Full Size Image

Here is Yesterday's View...

Sunday March 11, 2018

And I must go for now but I'll be back real soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Sunday View - 18 February 2018 Edition

Welcome to the Daily View.

Like the new header? I just thought it was time to do a  little blog tune-up. I have some more things in mind but we can't rush these things. You'll see them little by little though.

So we got some snow overnight. About 2 inches around here. This morning everything was snow covered. But then as the day went on it slowly melted away and now there is very little left. Not even on the grass. And I'd say in about a day or so it will be as if it never happened. Not bad if you ask me. I shot a lot of snow pics and you know I'll be sharing them this week. But not today. Today I am sharing something from our indoor plant collection. It's been a while since it's bloomed. Many months in fact. But here is our quick growing Amaryllis. I say quick growing because it was about a quarter of this size just two days ago and by the end of the week it will probably be at least twice this size.

Click For Full Size Image

That bud in the foreground just appeared a couple days ago and the leaves about five days ago. And before that it was simply dormant. But I knew it would eventually bloom.

Here is the EXIF data.

And here is Yesterday's View...

Saturday February 17, 2018

And that will do it for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Welcome To The Daily View

Earlier this week (or was it last week?) I shared the start of this season's Amaryllis Watch. And some of you know that is essentially the annual blooming of our Amaryllis. Most of the year we just have a couple of long leaves but for about a month we get to enjoy the incredible quadruple flower of this plant. And I usually post a picture every day or so to show you the rapid progress as it goes from bloom to full fledged flower. This year however I decided to photograph it every day and in the end compile all of the photos into one special blog post. And I will be doing that over the weekend. Today though I just had to share the full bloom. So here it is in all it's beauty.

Click For Full Size Image

Also, this year there is an additional surprise with our Amaryllis. But that will be the subject of a future post.

Technical Info

- Canon 80D
- Sigma DC 18-250mm Lens at 61mm
- Aperture Priority
- Aperture F22
- Shutter Speed 4 Seconds
- ISO (Film Speed) 400
- Spot Metering

Cropping and color adjustment were completed in Photoshop.

Here is the "Before" image.

Click For Full Size Image

And now...

Yesterday's View...

Thursday March 2, 2017

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Welcome To The Daily View

For the past couple of years I have been posting what I call the "Amaryllis Watch". It all started three or four years ago when I purchased an Amaryllis kit from a local stare at the end of the growing season. In fact it was on clearance. Of course it got "put away" somewhere and I completely forgot about it, until the end of the next growing season. So then comes Spring and I find the kit and decide to give it a try. I opened the sealed wrapper containing the bulb and the other package that contained the soil and placed both into the included pot. And after several weeks to my surprise the thing grew. So to make a long story short I now do a series of photographs every year when it booms. And now to keep the tradition going here is my first installment.

Click For Full Size Image

Technical Info

- Canon 80D
- Sigma DC 18-250mm Lens at 250mm
- Aperture Priority
- Aperture F9
- Shutter Speed 3 Seconds
- ISO (Film Speed)100
- Center Weighted Average Metering

White balance and color adjustments were done in Photoshop.

Here is the "Before" image.

Click For Full Size Image

And now...

Yesterday's View...

Wednesday February 22, 2017

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Exploration Photography Daily View - March 22, 2016

Hi and welcome to the Daily View!

The warm weather is slowly creeping in and after a cold morning the afternoon was quite pleasant. After dinner this evening I was able to spend some time in the garden sprucing things up a bit. I leveled the bird bath so the water wouldn't spill and the fountain would work properly. I also did some cleaning and mulching. By the time I was done it was dark so I haven't made any photos yet. Earlier however I took our Amaryllis outside to document it's progress and I would like to share that with you today.

It is now 35 inches (89 centimeters) tall but I think it's probably about done. The flowers are opening and should be at full bloom real soon. I'll be sure to share more photos when they are.

And now...

Yesterday's View...

 Monday March 21, 2016

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Exploration Photography Daily View - March 20, 2016

Hi and welcome to the Daily View!

Today is the official start of Spring and naturally we are having some of the coolest weather we have seen in a while. While Christmas day was in the 70's we are lucky if we saw 45° F (7° C) today. Right now we are at 36° F (2° C). But we assured that it will get warmer as the weeks goes along.

About a year ago I made several posts about our amaryllis. In fact here is a link where you can find them. I was amazed at how fast it grew. Especially because I had purchased it in a kit and didn't plant it for quite a while. Well as you can imagine the flower finally died off and so did the leaves. All there was left was a small stump. But I still kept if watered. And almost a year later I saw it's stem begin to grow. And grow and grow and grow. As of today it is 33 inches (84 centimeters) tall. And the flower has begun to open. Check it out.

And to show you just how tall it is I am including this photo.

Of course I'll be sure to share more photos as it opens.

And now...

Yesterday's View...

 Saturday March 19, 2016 

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

April 2, 2015 - Photo Of The Day

What a beautiful day we had today. The temperatures almost hit 70° and it was dry. Even the higher than usual winds didn't make it feel cold. So I thought it would be nice to take the Amaryllis out on the deck and grab some shots and to let it get some nice warm and fresh air. And that is what I did. 

The only problem I had was the wind that I mentioned but I was able to snap some frames in between gusts. I got a lot of blurry ones but I think this one came out pretty good.

And that is all I've got for you today folks. But I will be back real soon with some more. I hope to see you here at the blog. And don't forget about the Facebook page. Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time...

March 31, 2015 - Photo of The Day

Hi all. Today I was going to share some more photos of our weekend trip with you but I just haven't had time to process them. So instead I will show you today's sunrise.

Today is Kim's birthday so I thought it would be nice to get up and shoot this for her. I am just glad that the weather cooperated because by the early afternoon it was cloudy and by the evening we had rain. Happy Birthday Baby, I Love You :)

And as for the Amaryllis...

Two more flowers are open and we have one more to go. It may be a little while though because it is still a bud. I give it about two weeks but we'll see.

And that's all for now. I hope to have more Ocean City photos for you soon. I have some really nice stuff to share. Thanks for stopping by

Until next time...

March 30, 2015 - Photo of The Day

Well it's Monday and that means it was back to work. I had a lot of things to catch up on after being away on a three day weekend and it is getting late so this will be a quick one.

Today I would like to share a few more photos from our trip to Assateague on Saturday. This first one is a panorama I shot along the side of a road in the park. It is made up of four separate frames and was merged in Photoshop.

Here is a sign warning us about the dangers of the wild horses. Very professional and what a great representation of a horse.

And how about a couple shots of the horses. These were nowhere near the beach by the way.

And what trip to a shore town would be complete without a seagull?

And I also have another video for you. This is from the beach on Sunday morning and is about five minutes long. I think you will like it.


Sunday Morning On The Beach <<< Click Here


And here is a shot of our Amaryllis. Two more flowers are opening and there is still one more bud. That will make four flowers in all.

And that's all for now folks. Not bad for a quick post huh? Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time...

March 29, 2015 - Photo Of The Day

Well we're home from Ocean City and it's back to work tomorrow. I have a lot to show you but today I am going to share one photo from our trip. Okay well one photo and maybe a video or two. So let's get started. Here is this mornings morning sky. This was shot about five minutes after sunrise. I did get the sunrise but I am still working on the final version.

I may not have finished the sunrise photo yet but I did get a pretty good video. It's kind of long but you can always fast forward if you like. Check it out at the link below.


Morning Sun Over Ocean City, Maryland <<< Click Here


And here is a video I shot with my Midland XTC 280 Action Cam. I am glad it was in it's waterproof case...


Edge Of the Sea <<< Click Here


And finally the wait is over. We no longer have an "Amaryllis Watch" We have an Amaryllis!

And that's all for now. But I will be back real soon with a lot more. Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time...

March 26, 2015 - Photo of The Day

This is going to be a quick one folks. It's getting late and I have things that need to get done. So for today my "Amaryllis Watch" photo is going to also be the photo of the day. It is really blooming now and before we know it will be at full bloom.

And that will do it for now. But please be sure to come back soon. I have some cool stuff coming up real soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time...

March 24, 2015 - Photo of The Day

When we think about going "to the zoo" we usually think about lions and tigers and bears...Oh My! Sorry, I had to do that. But it is true. We think about big furry animals. Maybe birds too. But today I would like to share three photos I made of some of our smaller friends. Here we have some tiny (but poisonous) frogs.

Believe it or not even though these frogs were not really moving too much they were harder to photograph than the large active zoo animals. The problem is the lighting and shooting through glass. But I think these came out okay.

And of course here is today's "Amaryllis Watch" photo. It's really starting to open now. I would say that it will fully bloom this week.

Thanks for stopping by my friends. Please be sure to stop back soon. I have some cool stuff coming up soon.

Until next time...

March 22, 2015 - Photo Of The Day

Yesterday I told you that I shot a lot of photos at the zoo and I wasn't kidding. In fact I shot over 700 frames. Now of course I won't be processing all of them. In fact only about 20 - 25 will make the final cut. And that is if I'm lucky. This is why I love digital. Though that can be a two way street. Something that I have talked about before is that digital may give us the freedom to shoot many more photos than we will ever actually use but film makes us more careful. With film you literally pay for every shot. And that price is much higher today than it was 10 years ago. So anyway today I looked over about 100 photos and I have three I would like to share with you.

First we have the chatty owl from yesterday's video.

And here is one of the swans. This was the only water fowl that we saw.

And here is one of the zoo's Jaguars.

And finally we have today's "Amaryllis Watch" photo. I know I keep saying we are getting close but I think we really are. It has opened just a little bit more.

And so we once again call it a day my friends. I thank you for stopping by and as always invite you back to see what I post next. And don't forget that if you like my blog please feel free to share it with others. I would love to have them check it out.

Until next time...