Exploration Photography Daily View - March 3, 2016

Hi and welcome to the Daily View!

Continuing with the Longwood theme that I have been on all week I would like to shift from flowers to a little bit of scenery. This is a photo that I have done before but I wanted to give it another try.

I think this needs to be in black and white. Color wouldn't do it justice.

And now...

Yesterday's View...

 Wednesday March 2, 2016

Thanks for stopping by folks and be sure to come back soon!

Until next time...

Exploration Photography Daily View - July 23, 2015

Hi folks and welcome to the Daily View. Today I would like to continue with my Longwood theme and share another shot from the Water Lily Garden. This time we have a wider view with some nice reflections.

This like my photo yesterday was made with my phone's camera. A Motorola Droid Turbo. 

I also have another short video to share. I shot this walking so it's a little bouncy. I'll have to work on my walking and recording skills. Check it out below.

And I am calling it a day now. But I'll be back real soon with plenty to share. I hope to see you again here at the blog!

Until next time...

Exploration Photography Daily View - July 19, 2015

Hi my friends and welcome to the Exploration Photography Daily View! What a busy weekend it has been. And very warm too. But I am not complaining. I may have said it before but after the cold Winter we had here this is a welcome change.

Last night Kim and I took a drive down to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and visited one of our favorite places. Longwood Gardens. From now through part of October they are presenting Nightscape. Nightscape is a light and sound show that starts after dark and is just amazing. In standard Longwood style they go all out to create a show that should really be seen live to properly appreciate it. But fear not. I recorded a few videos that give at least a little glimpse. And I will be sharing them over the next few days in the Daily View. And speaking of the Daily View here is today's.

Longwood by night is a completely different place than it is during daylight hours. Nature tends to be more active. As we were walking from one presentation to another we could here frogs calling back and forth to each other in the marsh. It was pitch black and kind of cool and eerie at the same time. And when we reached the end of the marsh I saw someone photographing something on the ground. Of course I had to check it out and when I did I found this frog. Now remember that it was pitch dark. This was shot with my phone's camera and I had use the flash. I am just glad I didn't spook the poor guy.

And now how about one of those videos? This was shot in the Palm Room located in the Conservatory at the beginning of the presentation. It's about a minute long but should give you a good idea of what Nightscape is like.

And that does it for today folks. I am glad you stopped by and hope to see you again real soon!

Until next time...

April 18, 2015 - Photo Of The Day

Wow! What perfect weather we had today. For the first time this year the temperature reached above the 80° F mark. The last I looked at our cars gauge it was 82° F. But the humidity seemed to be relatively low. Kim and I took a drive to Longwood Gardens. We had her Dad along and made reservations at Longwood's restaurant 1906 for lunch. It was the first time any of us had ever been there. It was a little pricey but I have to say that the food was excellent. Especially the mushroom soup. I would recommend 1906 but would also recommend making reservations. It is not that big and fills up pretty fast. In fact the cafe section was full and people had to wait outside of the building due to overcrowding. I guess this wonderful weather brought everyone out to enjoy the gardens. So anyhow you know that I shot the odd photo or two. And today I would like to share three of them with you. So let's get to it shall we?

Any trip to Longwood requires the obligatory photo of a flower. And I did shoot many today but am only sharing one with you for now. And here it is.

This pink rose and two buds caught my eye. This was shot in the Conservatory.

These next two show some of the wildlife that reside at Longwood. This first one is a lone duck swimming in the lake at the beginning of the Meadow Garden.

And this next photo shows one of my favorites. A squirrel of course. And this guy was not shy or skittish. He stayed right there while I snapped away with my camera.

Of course while strolling the gardens I had to grab a quick video. And what better place than the Italian Water Garden? Check it out at the link below.


Italian Water Garden at Longwood Gardens <<< Click Here


And before I go I have one more video for you. This is yet another morning at the "Aviary Cafe". I finally captured some footage of one of the Cardinals. He shows up about halfway through the video and you can check it out at the link below.


Aviary Cafe - April 18, 2015 <<< Click Here


And That's all for today folks. But I have a lot more to share and I hope to see you here at the blog again real soon. Thanks so much for stopping by.

Until next time...

December 20, 2014 - Photo of The Day

Just five days until Christmas. Can you believe it? I have said it before but where does the time go? I am not ready. Close but not quite there yet. And in all of the hustle and bustle I really didn't get to go out and shoot today as I had wanted to. So for today's photo I will share one more from Longwood last weekend. But it is not really Christmas related. You know I can't visit there and not take some shots of the flowers. So here is one of their beautiful Orchids.

I hope to get caught up and have time to shoot some new stuff for you. I'll try my best!

Until next time...

November 19, 2014 - Photo Of The Day

Today I am sharing one last photo from Longwood on Saturday. This time it is another outdoor view of the Conservatory. Like I had said previously it is very rare to get a shot with few or no people in  it. Especially near the tree in this one.

It was a beautiful day but I guess the cold air kept people away.

And this is going to be a short one. Thanks for stopping by and please be sure to check back soon.

Until next time...

November 18, 2014 - Photo Of The Day

Wow! What a cold day we had today. And the wind just made it worse. I guess Old Man Winter is really here. So to remind you of warmer weather I am sharing one more photo from our trip to Longwood Gardens on Saturday. I love that I can go there any time of the year and enjoy fresh vibrant flowers.

I shared this on Sunday along with several other pictures but that was in color.

Flowers just like landscapes are not always good in black and white but I love the way this one came out. The variation of colors converted nicely. And to compare here is the color version from Sunday.

Thanks for visiting.

Until next time...

November 16, 2014 - Photo Of The Day

Today's photo of the day is a continuation of sorts of my earlier post. It's also a continuation of a trend I have kind of started here of recent.

Today I share an Orchid that I shot at Longwood yesterday and shared earlier except this time in black and white. 

 
I like the way this came out. I chose this image particularly for it's background. This was shot in the Orchid room (naturally) in the Conservatory. I love the frosted window with the shadows of the next room coming through and the general rustic look of the vintage equipment in the Conservatory that is still in use today.

If you haven't seen my earlier post yet check it out here.

Thanks as always for stopping by and please come back soon.

Until next time...

Chrysanthemums and More - Saturday At Longwood

As I  mentioned my previous post Kim and I spent most of the day yesterday at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. They are having their annual Chrysanthemum exhibit and since we have never seen it I thought it would be a nice day out. As usual the folks at Longwood did not disappoint. In this post I am going to share quite a few photos I made yesterday. A lot of them are from the exhibit but there are others as well.

I am quite pleased with these photos and I hope you like them too. I have been wanting to get out and do a good shoot for a while and I think this did the trick. Sure, I do go out and photograph often but yesterday I felt like I was really on my game. It felt more organized and consistent. Please take a look and enjoy.

I told you there would be a lot! There are more too and I will be sharing some of them over the next few days. Some are different versions of the images here and some will be new. I still have a few to go over in my "work" files. The RAW images that I still need to evaluate and process through Photoshop. It takes time but the results can be very rewarding.

If you live in or are going to be in the area I recommend a trip to Longwood Gardens. You will not be sorry. Here is a link to their website.

Also if you get a chance please take a look at some more of my images at 500px.com. And please be sure to check out the blog's Facebook page here. I will be posting some "before and after" pictures from today's post there. I also share a lot of photography based links as I find them.

Thanks so much for reading (and looking!). I hope you enjoy your visit. Please be sure to stop back soon.

Until next time...