While shooting at Valley Forge yesterday with my Canon DSLR I thought I would pull out my Galaxy S6 and grab a few shots with that too. And doing so once again reminded me why camera phones will never replace dedicated cameras no matter how good they get. And believe me they are very good. My gripe is with trying to compose a shot without a viewfinder. In some cases it just cannot be done. But this being said I did manage to grab a good shot with my phone. And that is what I would like to share with you today.
Another view of my favorite tree with a cabin in front of it.
Well my friends, what was supposed to be a very rainy Memorial Day holiday turned out to be pretty nice. The only clouds in the sky were nice and fluffy and the temps were tolerable. Kim and I took a drive over to Valley Forge to take in some scenery and for me to snap off a few shots. While there I thought about how Valley Forge is very symbolic of what Memorial Day is all about. Not only did many soldiers lose there lives but they did so during and for the very birth of our nation. It is a truly special place. For today's photo I would like to share with you yet another shot of my favorite tree in one of my favorite places.
Recently I have shared a lot of photos from Longwood and naturally a lot of them were flowers. And today I am sharing yet another flower with you but this time one that is a little more local. Direct from our own front yard I present to you this Daisy.
Actually it usually resides on our front window sill but I thought the Sun would bring out it's colors and provide a little nicer background. And now...
Have you ever had one of those days that just does not go the way you planned it? Well that's the way it turned out for us today. Between phone malfunctions (which was actually a blessing) to car tires going bad we had to change our days plans. We were set to head to my sister's house for her annual Memorial Day cookout but being as she is two hours away and car tires take time to get installed we did not make it. We were really looking forward to it too. We always do. Oh and the blessing I mentioned? Well when we started our day I noticed our car's low tire pressure light was on and stopped to get air. One tire was really low. We then headed to the phone store and when we left a short time later the same tire was low again. So if I had not made that extra stop we may have been far from home with a tire problem. So in a way the phone problem was a good thing. So anyway for today's photo I am sharing one more shot from Longwood last Sunday. I had planned on something else but obviously that didn't happen. But it's okay because this was another "second look" pic and I really like it.
For today's photo I would like to continue with some more Longwood scenery. This is just a small part of the many miles of paths at the gardens.
Here is my Friday Frame Count. I managed to get a little bit more shutter time in this week. Last week I was at 55,378 Frames and now I am at 55,781. That's a total of 403 Frames. Not bad. I do want to be clear though that I do not base the quality of my images on the number of frames I shoot. I only track them as a guide as to how much time I spend shooting. In other words quantity does not equal quality. And now...
Today as I share another shot from last weekend at Longwood I would like to take a shift back to scenery as opposed to flowers. One of our favorite exhibits at Longwood is also one that seems to be closed a large portion of the time. The Topiary Garden. And I can never figure out why it is closed but I suppose there has to be a good reason. But no matter, when it is open I make sure to take advantage of the opportunity to grab some photos. Photos like this one.
Yesterday I asked if anyone could tell me the name of the flower in the photo I posted from Longwood Gardens. Well it didn't take long for me to get an answer thanks to one of the many followers of my sister's blog Looking At Life Through My Bifocals . It is an Aechmea Blue Rain. Thanks Kathy for reaching out to your readers!
Today I would like to share something that I am a bit more familiar with. It is also one one of my favorites. A Daisy.
Today I would like to share another shot from Longwood but I an shifting gears a bit. While I did try to concentrate a little more on views and scenery this time around I did do some flower pics. I mean come on, it's Longwood! So please enjoy today's offering and also if you could please let me know what it is. Again I forgot to snap a shot of the tag. Thanks!
As you know I may have posted a photo or two of a squirrel here at my blog over the past couple of years. Most of them from right here at the cafe where they are accustomed to me and not so skittish. Sometimes however I get lucky and find one in the wild that will pose for me. In fact it happened yesterday during our trip to Longwood and I would like to share it with you. This is one of the young ones that was in the video I posted yesterday.
Not as close as I would like to be but I wasn't going to press my luck.
Even with the threat of rain Kim and I decided to take a chance and trek out to Longwood Gardens today. And as it turned out the weather was very kind to us. Just a bit of drizzle here and there and the temperature was perfect for strolling the grounds. Longwood is currently in the process of renovating it's main fountain and will be until next Spring. This means that a large portion of the grounds are inaccessible and a lot of the water features are not operating. And the source of those water features is the called "The Fountain Eye". The Fountain Eye is on a hilltop where water is pumped and flows down and fills a small lake around the Chimes Tower. In the past I have photographed the flow of water but today I got a chance to capture the water beds as they sit dry. Please let me share this one with you.
Though I would like the water to be flowing again this is kind of cool too. During our journeys today I also came across some young and very playful squirrels. They were kind of tame and I was able to grab a quick video. Check it out here.
And as an added bonus our friends Marion and Rich were also visiting the gardens with Marion's brother and sister-in-law. We were able to meet up for lunch and spend a little time walking through the Conservatory together. Very cool!
We had yet another rainy day here but in our journeys today I did mange to stop off at Betzwood Park near Valley Forge and snap off some frames. When we got there there was a lot of geese in the parking lot and the the surrounding area. I did my best to photograph some of them but they seemed rather annoyed by me and my camera. In fact they downright took off on foot right into the river. Here is a shot of a couple of them.
And here is a video of me following them as they went for a swim.
I bet if I had food for them it would have been a different story. Next time I guess. What do geese at anyway?
The Garden Cafe may mostly be about the food but we have good views too. While shooting yesterday I looked up and was greeted by this lovely evening sun.
This week's count is 55,378 Frames and last week's was 54,986. That adds up to 392 for the week. And out of them maybe three good final shots. That's the way it goes and to tell the truth I am happy with those numbers.
I hope you have been enjoying my cafe photos. I know that I have been posting a lot of them lately but we have been very busy around here and I haven't had a lot of time to get any place new to shoot. I hope to remedy that this weekend but for now I am sharing this squirrel with you.
This is one of the young ones. Still a bit skittish but he seems to be more comfortable around me. I guess the peanuts help :)
I was going through some RAW images from the past few days or so and doing so kind of took a closer second look at some that I passed by during my first review. There wasn't a lot of my best work but I did find this one that I thought you may like.
Not my very best but still a nice pose. I hope to get more going forward but there are a lot of young squirrels that have not grown accustomed to me yet. But in time I am sure they will be a little less skittish.
Every once in a while I shoot a photo that I really like in the sense of composition but am not 100% convinced with it in the terms of overall quality. Therefor I usually don't share it. Today I decided I would share such a photo though. I just really like it. Let me know what you think.
Today for your viewing enjoyment I would like to another shot from yesterday afternoon at the Cafe. I like to call this one "Birds of a Different Feather".
When I gaze out at the cafe from our kitchen window I often marvel at all of the different species of diners we get at the same time. And for the most part they all get along. Well I guess they mostly ignore each other but none the less it amazes me. At any given moment I may have squirrels and any kind of bird you may imagine eating side by side. Sometimes there is even a groundhog joining in. I guess a stable and abundant food supply could have a lot to do with it. And now...
I had lots planned today and one of those plans was to get out and shoot at one of my favorite locations that I haven't been to recently. But it didn't work out that way and I got much less done than I wanted to. But that's okay. We have been running around a lot and were out late yesterday and I just needed to take a day off and rest up a bit. Now this isn't to say that I put the camera down for the day all together. I did manage to get out and shoot a bit at the Cafe. One of our squirrels was hanging out for quite a while so I thought I'd set up and snap off a bunch of frames. But as soon as I did she left. There was birds though. Lots and lots of birds. And for today's photo I would like to share this Rock Dove (Pigeon) with you.
And as promised here is my Friday Frame Count... Just a couple days late...
Last weeks count was 54,797 Frames. This weeks count is 54,986 Frames which gives us a total of 189 Frames for the week. A bit low but I can tell you that I beat that number today alone. Not that it's a contest but it means that I got to spend more time doing what I love to do.
And now how about a little extra bonus? I haven't shared a video for a while so I thought I'd show you this one from the Cafe yesterday morning. This was shot using the wonderful Samsung Galaxy S6 and as always is best viewed at full screen and in 1080P HD. Oh and I know this is a little long so feel free to scan through it a bit but make sure you don't miss the part about 21:55 in.
And that will do it for today folks. Thanks for stopping by!
Of all of the objects in the sky I think the most mystifying is also the most obvious. I am talking of course of the Earth's Moon. I think what makes it so interesting is the fact that we can see it most days and it is so familiar but most of us will never visit or explore it. The Moon seems so close and I suppose that relatively it is at only a short 238,900 miles (384,472.282 Kilometers) away. And though I cannot travel to nor take you to the Moon I can do my best to bring it to you in the way of photos. Today I would like to share this one with you.
I was so glad to even see the Moon with all of the clouds and rain we have been getting.
Over the last few years our rhododendron had done okay and has flowered but this year is probably the best I have ever seen. It's funny how that worked out because with all of the warm weather we had this past Winter I thought it was going to bloom prematurely and have little or nothing in the way of flowers come Spring. But fortunately all is well and we have lots of flowers.
I'll have to post a wider angle shot in a later post but for now I really like this close up. This was made with my Samsung Galaxy S6.
The weather is getting warmer and warmer and I think the ongoing rain we have been getting is coming to an end. At least for now. And as you can probably imagine the Cafe is going at full swing. The feeders are routinely empty by the time I get home in the afternoon and we are seeing more squirrels than ever. Naturally I keep my camera handy, just in case and I think it paid off well today. Here is a little guy that was about to enjoy some peanuts I put out.
I think the squirrels know that the more they pose for me the more peanuts they will get. Last year I averaged five pounds a week and now I go through about ten pounds. I am so thankful for Costco! They really keep my costs down. And now...
While working in the yard yesterday I took notice to all of the wonderful blooms there was on the two azalea bushes I planted last year. They have not grown a lot but I guess they are pretty well set. This morning I made a point to go out and shoot a few pictures to share today and here is one of them.
I headed out to the Cafe this morning just like every other to make sure everything was full so our guests would be well fed and I came across his guy.
It's not too unusual to see groundhogs around here but it sure is tough to grab a picture of one. At least one that's not blurry due to the groundhog running away. So I felt pretty lucky to get this shot. And as it turns out he wasn't interested in the peanuts I had out at all. But he sure loved the birdseed. go figure! And now...
Like most Saturdays Kim and I were on the run today. Lots of errands to get done you know. On our last task of the day we drove past a little man made lake that is a few miles from our house. I glanced at it and thought it would be cool if I pulled over and shot off a few photos. Of course by the time I thought of it we were already too far away to turn back. And I was certain that on the way home it would be too dark. As it turns out though it wasn't. And I pulled over and grabbed a few frames with my phone since my camera was at home. That's okay though because I think this came out pretty good. Have a look.
