Tuesday View - 12 March 2019 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

It's almost Spring and many of our plants are finally starting to show signs of life. Yesterday I shared our daisy. Today I am sharing our hyacinth. This hyacinth is a bit different from the rest of our flowers in that it was literally down to nothing. Well almost nothing. There was barely even a leaf. But I kept it moist and hoped for the best and now look at it.

Okay, it may not be big but it's growing. And before we know it it will be tall and have it's very string scented purple flowers.

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

Until next time...

 

Monday View - 11 March 2019 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Recently I went over all of our houseplants and kind of spruced them up a little. I removed dead leaves and replaced soil as needed and even re-potted what was too large for it's current pot. Two of our plants, our hyacinth and our daisy, had not grown much or bloomed for a very long time. But they had healthy leaves so I kept them. Well now it seems that they are finally going to flower. And for today's photo I would like to share this very young daisy with you.

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

Until next time...

Thursday View - 28 February 2019 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Once again I am skipping a Throwback Thursday photo and am instead sharing some more vacation pictures from Mexico. I still have lots to show you!

In addition to the abundant wildlife we saw Mexico offers lots of plant life too. Cancun and Riviera Maya are very much a tropical jungle area and as such have some vegetation we don't see here at home. And of course there are similarities too. Like morning glories for instance. We saw lots and lots of morning glories. But something we don't see around here is palm trees and coconuts. We saw a lot of them down there too. And now you can have a look.

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.

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Yes I know that window needs cleaning.

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

Until next time...

Sunday View - 27 January 2019 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

We have a good number of houseplants. In fact I've shared them here many times. Now something I've learned over the years is that when it comes to bulb plants is to never give up on them. Sometimes they don't grow for quite a while but then one day start to grow again. This just happened with our hyacinth. It's been well over a year of nothing but a dormant bulb (actually two bulbs) and a dirt filled pot then one day last week I saw green. That green got bigger a few days later and I have since refreshed the soil and it's really taking off now. Today I would like to share our hyacinth with you and in the coming days and weeks update you on it's progress. I did something like this a few years ago with our amaryllis, which by the way also just sprouted up again after many months of dormancy.

Click For Full Size Image

Stay tuned for our amaryllis.

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

Until next time...

Monday View - 13 August 2018 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Today's view is a quick snapshot that I made this afternoon in our garden. I added a honeysuckle bush about a month ago and didn't think there was a chance of it blooming this season. But now it looks like we just may get lucky.

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Here is Yesterday's View.

Sunday August 12, 2018

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

Until next time...

Monday View - 9 July 2018 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Kim and I have been home since yesterday afternoon but with so much to catch up on I am sharing yet another mobile Update.

I was watering some of our plants and thought it would be cool to shoot the rainbow made by the hose.

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

Until next time...

Friday View - June 29, 2018 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Today is my first "Summertime Weekend Edition" so let's see how this goes.

I shot this in our garden this afternoon before we left for the campground after giving our plants a good watering. Not sure what this is called but it sure seems to be doing well. And best of all the occasional deer we see don't eat it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Wednesday View - 20 June 2018 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Today I would like to shift from the shore points of New Jersey and focus on something a little more local. And by local I mean our own backyard which is better known as the Cafe. Believe it or not we have done a good amount of work in the yard even though we travel a lot more nowadays. We have put in several new plants and even installed a new bird bath. But the crown jewel of them all is our hosta. And it really is something special. This particular hosta can be traced back to the yard of my Great Grandparents in Northeast Philadelphia. I don't know exactly how old it is and don't know all of the details of how the original plant was separated and part of it ended up at the house I grew up in. But I do know that when we sold that house my Sister Elaine took part of it and planted it at her house. Fast forward a few more years and that portion ended up at our present house and in the Cafe. I planted it last Summer and it did pretty good but this Spring it took off very well. And for that I am very pleased. And I will certainly do my best to protect and even spread it out even more.

For today's view I would like to share our hosta with you.

Click For Full Size Image

Here is the EXIF data.

And here is Yesterday's View.

Tuesday June 19, 2018

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

Until next time...

Welcome To The Wednesday View

Today For a daily photo I would like to share a new addition to our family of house plants. Well it's a house plant until the weather turns warm and I can plant it outside. This is a fresh rose bud from the new rose plant/bush that I gave Kim for our anniversary. Which happens to be today :)

Click For Full Size Image

Here is the EXIF data.

And here is Yesterday's View...

Tuesday February 6, 2018

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

Until next time...

Welcome To The Sunday View

Today's photo is one of several random plants I shot while at Jenkin's Arboretum yesterday. This one is interesting because it appears to be a mix between Fall colors and Spring blooms. It may be normal for this particular species of plant, a rhododendron, but I really don't know. It did however catch my eye and that is why I am sharing it with you today.

Click For Full Size Image

Here is the EXIF data.

And now...

Yesterday's View...

Saturday November 4, 2017

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

Until next time...

Welcome To The Sunday View

During yesterday's walk I came across a lot of nice scenery and nature. At one point while we were on a bike trail that runs alongside US Route 422 I happened upon this.

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I think it's cotton or at least something related to cotton. But I'm not 100% sure so if anyone can confirm this or correct it I would appreciate it.

Here's the EXIF data.

And now...

Yesterday's View...

Saturday October 28, 2017

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

Until next time...

Welcome to The Wednesday View

A few weeks ago while I was out shooting I came across some leafy bushes. And though under normal circumstances I probably wouldn't have taken a second look, this time I did. The way sun shined over them created some very nice shadows. Today's photo is my attempt to capture the moment to share with you.

Click For Full Size Image

Technical Info

- Canon EOS 80D
- Sigma DC 18-250mm Lens at 106mm
- Aperture Priority
- Aperture F7.10
- Shutter Speed 1/50 Second
- ISO (Film Speed) 400
- Center Weighted Average Metering

And now...

Yesterday's View...

Tuesday October 10, 2017

And that's all for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Welcome To The Tuesday View

Hi there friends. Today's post is going to be quick. It was another long day. But it was a good day. That being said here is what I am going to do. I am sharing a photo that I made this afternoon. It's not a snapshot but I am treating it as such. Basically that means no "Technical Info" or "Yesterday's View". Just the pic for now. Then tomorrow we'll catch up. Okay? Good!

This is a shot of our Ornamental Onion plant that is in our front garden. I never knew that it would bloom.

Click For Full Size Image

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

Until next time...

Welcome To The Friday View

While watering our house plants this week it dawned on me that there is one that I have never shared with you. So for today's photo I am going to correct that. Here is a shot of our small pot of succulents. And speaking of arid weather plants I think I will add a cactus to our collection. But for now check this out.

Click For Full Size Image

Technical Info

- Canon EOS 80D
- Sigma DC 18-250mm Lens at 37mm
- Manual Control
- Aperture F9
- Shutter Speed 1/160 Second
- ISO (Film Speed) 200
- Center Weighted Average Metering

Here is the "Before" image.

Click For Full Size Image

And now...

Yesterday's View...

Thursday July 20, 2017

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

Until next time...

Welcome To The Daily View

Like most of the month today was another rainy day. And I think tomorrow is going to offer more of the same. But rather than let all of this dampness bring me down I am taking advantage of the situation and recording the natural beauty that rain can provide. Today I would like to share a piece of what I came up with.

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I usually try to keep a natural look in this type of shot but I kind of like it with the contrast kicked up.

Technical Info

- Canon EOS 80D
- Sigma DC 18-250mm Lens at 250mm
- Manual Control
- Aperture F8
- Shutter Speed 1/40 Second
- ISO (Film Speed) 400
- Center Weighted Average Metering

Here is the "Before" image.

Click For Full Size Image

And now...

Yesterday's View...

Sunday May 21, 2017

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 - August 15, 2016

Hi and welcome to the Daily View!

A while back Kim and I picked up an African Violet during one of our trips to Longwood Gardens. After a few weeks however the flowers died off and all that was left was the plant. Well a couple weeks ago I saw a few buds sprouting and before I knew it I had some blooms. So for today's photo I would like to share this with you.

And now...

Yesterday's View...

Sunday August 14, 2016

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Until next time...