Photographing Sunflowers

 Review of Photography Tips for Photographing Sunflowers

In Midwestern USA, July is the time that we have beautiful  sunflowers blooming.  Their beauty lasts just a short time, so if you have sunflowers near you be sure to take the opportunity to photograph them while they are in full bloom.

I saw some photos that friends had taken and posted online so I got directions to the sunflower field and was so glad that I did!  The flowers were beautiful.  I went just before sunset and was able to capture the beauty of the flowers as the sun went down.  This seemed like a perfect time and the setting sun seemed to light up the backs of the blooms.  Here are a couple of tips I have for you.

• Look for fresh blooms.  Raggedy blooms don't show good on photos.
• Turn your flash off.
• Watch  you background.  A bright blue sky works well but I have also seen flowers against brick or wood that look great.
• Choose your focus point.  Do you want everything in focus or just one flower?
• Take some photos of the entire field and then zoom in to take that close up bloom.  You will be glad you got both.

Here are a few of my photos.

Sunflowers Come in a Variety of Colors

I always thought sunflowers were yellow, but did you know they come in a variety of colors.  My neighbor is growing some pretty maroon ones this year.  I took this photo in the early evening.

www.zazzle.com/mbgphoto

Maroon Beauty

Using People in your Photos

A sunflower field is a great place for family photos.  I took my granddaughter with me and here are a couple of the photos I took of her.  I love the look of the first photo.  The sun over the hill behind the field lit up the backs of the flowers and her hair.

Zazzle Products are Great Showcases for Sunflowers

Here are a few of the Zazzle products I have made from my sunflower photos.

Sunflower Greeting Card
by mbgphoto

Sunflower at Dusk Magnet
by mbgphoto

Girl and Sunflowers Poster
by mbgphoto

Festive Sunflower Two-Tone Coffee Mug
by mbgphoto

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Challenge Yourself to Take Better Photographs

Fuchsia Plant

Review of Tips to Becoming a Better Photographer

In this article I will review tips I have passed on in the past and offer a new tip to challenge yourself to increase your skills. Whether you like taking photos for yourself and your friends or you want to take them professionally there are several things you can do to enhance your skills. Of course the first is practice, practice, practice. But besides using your camera regularly there are many things you can do to become a better photographer.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Take a class on photography or attend a photography seminar.   

 No matter how many times I take classes or seminars, I always come away with something useful.  I try to take at least one class or seminar each year.   There are many different places to find classes or seminars.  Just type "Local Photography classes" into your search engine and you will find lots of choices.  If you are short for time you might try some of the online classes that are listed, but I always try to take one in person at least every other year.  I think sharing with other people you meet at the seminars and classes is a great part of the learning experience.   

Study the work of Photographers you Admire.

A great way to become a better photographer is to study the photos that you enjoy.  There are photographs all around us.  Look in books, check out photos of your friends or look at the many sources online.  I'm sure you've looked before, but have you looked at the photographs critically.  Take the time to examine  a photograph.

• What makes it appealing to you?
• Is the lighting good for the subject?
• What can you learn from the photo?
• What would you do differently?

Here is a photo I took of a bird in my backyard.  Take your time and examine this photo and answer the four questions above.

Baltimore  Oriole on Hummingbird Feeder

Now try the same four questions on this pot of flowers.

Backyard Flowers

Take a 52 week Photography Challenge.

This year I am taking a photography challenge.  The particular challenge I am taking is on Facebook in a group called 2 Lil Owls Photography Project.  You can find lots of similar challenges online or you and some friends could start your own.  Here is how the challenge works.  We have a list of words, one for each week in the year.  The challenge is to create a photograph using the word.  How you interpret the word is entirely up to you.  This challenge  has you getting out your camera each week and finding creative ways to use the weeks word.  Here are a few of the words we've had this year and some of my photos.

 Window

Path

In a Distance

    Shadows





A few of the other words for the challenge include: large, small, scattered, up close, looking out, red, flowers, fill the frame and daily habit.  Of course there are many  more but this gives you an idea of how it works.

Zazzle

Stop by my Zazzle stores to see my photos on products.Zazzle/mbgphoto

Great Egret in Flight Ceramic Ornament
by mbgphoto

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Review of Daniel Boone Home Site in Defiance Missouri

Daniel Boone Home

On a recent April morning a group from our photography club visited Boonesfield Village on the grounds of the Daniel Boone Home in Defiance Missouri.  This area includes the area where Daniel Boone lived his final days and a village of shops, a church, schoolhouse and homes all built in the 1800's in mid- Missouri and moved to the Daniel Boone site.  The buildings are set up to give us a peek into what frontier life was like in 19th century Missouri.

A Bit of History

Daniel Boone was born in Pennsylvania in 1734, into a family who made their living from hunting.  When things became too crowded in the northeast, they moved to North Carolina and then to Kentucky.  In Kentucky Daniel Boone made his reputation as a great hunter and explorer.  He also held several government jobs and he flourished living in Kentucky.  By 1799 Kentucky was becoming too crowded so Daniel Boone and his family moved to Missouri.  Daniel Boone was 65 when he moved to Missouri.  He lived their until his death in 1820.

Peace Chapel

Peace Chapel

The Old Peace Chapel was built in the 1800's as a dance hall and general store in New Melle, Missouri.  At the turn of the century a German Evangelical church purchased the building and remodeled it into a church in 1983 it was moved to the Daniel Boone site.  Today it is a focal point in the village of 1800's buildings.  It is often used for weddings and renewing of vows.

Here are a few photos I took inside the chapel.

One Room Schoolhouse

I found the one room schoolhouse to be very interesting.  My father attended school in a one room school house in rural mid Missouri and I imagine it was much like this one.  

Inside there is a chalkboard that goes across the front of the classroom.  Across the back of the room is a wood burning fireplace, which is the only heat for the building.

Can you imagine going to school in this tiny schoolhouse where all grades were educated in one room?

Sites around the Village

Here are photos of several of the other buildings in the village.  An old covered bridge is on the property.

Here is one of the barns.

How would you like to use this washing machine on laundry day?

This is the Newton Howell Home

Beautiful Spring Flowers

I loved all the spring flowers that brightened up the village.  The vase of wildflowers in the last photo was sitting in the window in the general store.

For more information on the Daniel Boone Historic site and directions to the property go to The-Historic-Daniel-Boone-Home

Zazzle Card

Here is a notecard made from my photos.

Spring Wildflowers Card

by mbgphoto

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Photographing Birds in Flight

Review of Tips on Photographing Birds in Flight

1. Patience-  This is #1
2. Long lens- I used 70-300mm for most of my photos
3. Find the right location--birds seem to congregate near water to find food so that is a good place to start
4. Understand bird behavior-Observation is key here.  The more you observe the better your chances of catching birds in flight.
5. Using right settings on your camera.  A shutter speed of 1/500 or higher is ideal
6. GET CREATIVE and Have Fun!

Florida Wilderness Reserve

The area where we stayed this past March was a wonderful place to observe and photograph birds.  I spent some time each day walking along the reserve area of wetlands and observed the birds in the area.  After a few days, I got quite familiar with their behaviors and was able to find the right times to photograph them.  I found late afternoon and early evening to be a great time to catch the birds in flight.  I particularly enjoyed photographing the Herons, Egrets, and Ibis in flight.

First Tries

I found that my first attempts did not quite give me the results that I wanted.  I would have loved for the photo below of the Sandhill Crane and the Spoonbill Roseate to be in better focus.

In my attempts to quickly photograph birds in flight, I ended up with a lot of backsides of birds.

With Lots of Patience

I eventually got a few shots of birds in flight that I feel were good.  Here is a blue heron.

 And I also like this  pair of egrets.

Slower Birds are Easier

I found photographing the Whistling Ducks in flight to be easier, but then they are a bit slower.

My Photos on Zazzle Products

Great Egret in Flight Coffee Mug
by mbgphoto

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Review of Photographing and Identifying Birds in Florida Wilderness Reserve

Egrets and Ibis in Florida Wilderness Reserve

I enjoy watching and photographing birds and most of the year I do that in my own backyard in Missouri.  During  March we travel to Florida and this year we stayed in Palm Beach Gardens where there was a nature reserve just steps away from our condo.  Every day I would walk back to the reserve and was rewarded with some wonderful sights.  There were a wide variety of birds and ducks and I saw several turtles and an alligator. 

Identifying Birds

I like to know the kinds of birds I am photographing so I spend a bit of time online finding the names and species of the different birds.  I find the website for Florida Audubon at http://fl.audubon.org/  to be very helpful in identifying the birds I photograph.  Here are the varieties I have photographed in the nature reserve.

• Great Egret
• Snowy Egret
• Red-winged blackbirds
• Doves
• White Ibis
• Glossy Ibis
• Anhinga
• Blue Heron
• Little Blue Heron
• Tri-colored Heron
• Sandhill Crane
• Roseta Spoonbill
• Whistling Duck
• Wood Duck
• Cormorant
• Wood Stork

 

Ducks in the Wilderness Reserve

The first day I walked into the reserve I noticed some interesting looking ducks.  They stood tall and had rather long necks for a duck.  I found out that these were called Whistling Ducks.

Whistling Ducks Flameless Candle

by mbgphoto

During the next weeks, I observed these ducks each time I visited the reserve.  Sometimes they would sit very still, but one day I heard them making a loud racket and then a pair of them would fly up off the ground.  This scenario would be repeated by several different pairs of ducks.  I'm not sure what they were doing but it was sure interesting to watch.

I also saw some Wood Ducks at the reserve.  They are such colorful ducks.

 

Roseate Spoonbill

One bird that I had never seen before was the Roseate Spoonbill.  This bird is easily identified by it's rosy color and flat spoon-like bill.  It stood still often so it was easy for me to photograph.

 

Wood Stork

One day I noticed these rather large white birds in the distance.  When they flew the underside of their wings were lined in black.  They were quite impressive in flight, but when they settled down they looked quite unusual.  I took a photo and went back to my computer to identify them.  I easily found a photo and determined them to be a Wood Stork, they are the only stork that breeds in the USA.

Anhinga

The Anhinga is a large water bird found in the warmer waters of the southern Americas.  It is sometimes called by several other names: snakebird, darter and water turkey.  

I found these birds to be very interesting.  They are able to stay underwater for quite some time and I observed them diving for their prey and then resurfacing quite a ways down the stream.  At that time only their head and neck would appear above the water before they took another dive into the water.  After a while I would see them on the bank drying out their feathers as in the photo above.

I believe the bird in the photo above to be a male anhinga and the one in the photo below to be a female.  Males have a black neck and white at the tip of the tail and the female has a beige colored neck and breast.

Sandhill Crane

I saw several sandhill cranes during my visits to the reserve and I even saw one walking down the center of the roadway near our condo.  They are tall birds and quite tame.  They were easy to take photos of since they did not frighten easily.

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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