Long Time Between PHOGs

I thought that I had posted since January - but apparently not. I have been in a bit of a photo slump. Life sometimes throws you a curve or two and I have been away from artistic pursuits (of any kind) for far too long. I've taken a few pictures here and there. Here are a few.

The Washington Post had a first day of summer photo contest. Here is the shot that I submitted. It seemed like such a typical Washington, D.C. scene - afternoon thunderstorm during rush hour. There were 450 entries and I didn't win. Oh, well. I like my shot anyway.



This past Saturday the Northern Virginia Photographic Society had its annual field trip to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. I probably should have stayed in bed instead of getting up early and heading over to the gardens at 6:30 am. I got a few shots before my camera decided it wanted to jump into the pond. It is now on its way to Penn Camera's repair facility for an estimate on how much it will cost to repair it (if it can be repaired at all). In the meantime, I will have to use my D70 for my upcoming vacation to Arizona and all things photographic. Expensive lesson learned - watch out where you plant your tripod legs.



In May, we were able to get to Kansas City for a long weekend trip to visit Charles' family. Of course I took my camera equipment with me and was able to get a few shots that I liked.

This is the Bloch Wing of the Nelson Atkins Museum at night. I've seen this image in several magazines and decided to try and imitate it. Here is my shot.



On Mother's Day morning, I shot some pictures of the peonies in Jef and Shannon's yard. They were very pink. I've been playing with a technique called the Orten Effect. It creates a dream-like image. Both this picture and the lotus above were manipulated in Photoshop using this technique.



More pictures soon. I promise.