Foster Botanical Garden, 2/8/14

This is my second attempt to use a flash to capture the botanical world. My other one was at Lyon's Arboretum

Derek again helped me while Milton S., Roger, Curtis and Dewey enjoyed going on their own. Kudos - Derek. Actually everyone has their own style so it was easier learning from one person.

This shows I need help. The flash won't even reach the hibiscus. I think I will have to get a flash bracket/grip or either become an octopus. It is not necessary to use a flash but if you want detail you need a small aperture which means you need help to make the shutter speed faster. Greek talk, huh?

I did not know there are white ohia flowers; I thought they were only red. I then made this picture into a black and white.

It is not your eyes, this is a blurry picture but lol, I like the effect. It also shows that it takes practice to do it right.

I am impressed that my son, Jon got many pictures of butterflies. Here is a link to his trip to Costa Rica: Monteverede.

Lunch was followed by at Nice Day. We enjoyed Angie's mochi, thanks Dewey. Sorry no picture.

Long exposure, 1/25/14 and 1/30/14

Yay, Linda and I signed up for more photography classes. Scott Kubo with the Honolulu Museum of Art has another 14 sessions.

The first 2 weeks we are focusing on night lights and starry skies. This means that a tripod or a steady surface helps with keeping the camera steady as some of our shots are 45 seconds to 13 minutes long.

My condo has a roof top that is available to the residents. I invited Linda over and we had fun taking pictures of the city lights.

Boy talk about a perfect night. This week was filled with lots of rain and wind but this night when our class made arrangements to get together the weather was perfect.  When we got to our destination, I noticed a beautiful sun setting.

(This is a repost, 2/9/14 - as much as I like Lightroom because all the pictures and edits are on the same page, I find that Photoshop's - "levels" is a better way to correct exposure) This time the water fountain is more visible as I wanted it in my foreground and the brightness of the sun is reflected on the leaves.

Did you notice the 2 just above show a green flash. The second is actually a cropped picture to make it easier to see the flash. I was hoping to see this because I could see that the horizon was not hazy. The tree in the foreground made it difficult for me to focus on the flash but yay, I got it.

Here is an explanation

The sunset was so beautiful!

As the stars appeared...

I decided not to have the tree in my next picture because I was going to leave the shutter open for 13 minutes which I think would have made the tree too bright. What you now see are star trails because of the earth's rotation.

Quote, Olomana, Kaneohe Bay, 1/12/14

So true...

Linda and I went to Frankie's Farm in Waimanalo to get fruits. I noticed this mountain across the way. I was informed that this is the one that daring hikers want to go on. Here is a link to Olomana Trail. This is also the one where many hikers have lost their lives.

I was able to super zoom with my Lumix DMC-FZ200 to get this shot. This camera lens' can go from 25-600mm.

Kaneohe Bay was Linda's first time. My first was when it was super low tide, here is a link to my blog/post Low tide: Kaneohe Bay (April 30, 2011 - need to perhaps go again in April).

 Did some photoshop on the following 2...

Lyon's Arboretum, 12/28/13; 5 pictures = a story, 12/5/13

We were so lucky that Lyon's Arboretum did not have any rain.  Derek assisted me in trying out different techniques to capture nature's beauties.  Thanks Derek.  Linda and Milton did not need assistance.  We had fun and look forward to meeting up again.

 I was a bit timid to get this little frog from the front.  Not a problem for Linda.  Nature but beauty?

Here is Linda's picture. Cute, huh?

5 pictures = a story...

Our last assignment for Scott Kubo's photography class was to have 5 pictures - no less, no more to tell a story. Here is mine.

May everyone have a healthy and fun 2014. Happy New Year!