Saturday

I was busy most of the day today and didn’t get the camera out until after supper, except for this one photo after the mail was delivered this morning. When I took in the mail I saw that there was a frog in the mailbox again, so I went to get the camera. By the time I was back at the door the frog had climbed out of the mailbox and was on the wall of the house. Settings were f/5, 1/100, ISO 320.

When I went outside with the camera this evening the sun had just set, so while there was still light, it wasn’t the greatest for pictures. This was my favorite tomato photo. Settings were f/4, 1/60, ISO 800, +.3 steps.

And here’s Sophie, my faithful assistant. Settings were f/5, 1/100, ISO 800.

A Few for Friday

Today was sunny and pleasant, not as hot as it has been lately. All three dogs came outside with me after work today, and out of the photos I took of each of the three of them, Lulu’s were the ones I liked the best. Settings for this one were f/11, 1/50, ISO 800.

She has perfected that irresistible tilt of the head, especially useful when she wants something. This could have been sharper, but I love her expression. Settings were f/11, 1/50, ISO 800.

And here she is resting in the grass. Settings were f/5, 1/100, ISO 640.

This is dried rosemary. Settings were f/16, 1/100, ISO 500.

I saw this little insect, some sort of fly or tiny bee, sitting on a bud on one of the tomato plants. Settings were f/14, 1/20, ISO 800.

Little tomatoes are continuing to grow. Settings were f/8, 1/50, ISO 800.

And here is a tomato blossom. Settings were f/5, 1/100, ISO 500.

Rainy Thursday

It was starting to rain when I got home from work today and continued to rain on into the evening. I went out to check on the tomatoes as soon as I got home, before the rain really set in. The second tomato is ripening up and a third one has some color on it also. Settings were f/7.1, 1/20, ISO 800.

I picked the first tomato to ripen, the bright red one, and we had it with supper. It was a perfect little tomato, round and red and wonderfully flavorful and sweet. Here is our first little tomato to be harvested. Settings were f/7.1, 1/100, ISO 640.

And here’s a photo of the rain, a raindrop hitting a small puddle in the grass. Settings were f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 800.

Lulu, Tomatoes, and Faith

First today is Lulu, who came outside and posed for me in the late afternoon sun. Here she’s looking almost regal. Settings were f/9, 1/200, ISO 200.

Lulu looking a bit concerned. Settings were f/9, 1/160, ISO 200.

And Lulu serenely relaxing in the sun. Settings were f/9, 1/160, ISO 200.

In the tomato department, a second tomato is ripening and the first one is a bright red. I’ll probably pick it tomorrow. Settings were f/10, 1/80, ISO 800.

And more little tomatoes continue to form and grow. Settings were f/9, 1/100, ISO 500.

A tomato blossom. Settings were f/9, 1/160, ISO 200.

A doll-collector friend of mine sent me some summer clothes for Faith, my 46-inch Masterpiece doll who is the size of a real 6-year-old. Faith now has a sun dress, a shorts set, and a bathing suit! I put her in her new sundress and took her outside for photos. She does have chubby little legs. Settings were f/9, 1/100, ISO 800.

And one more of Faith. Settings were f/9, 1/25, ISO 800.

Just a Few for Tuesday

This was a busy day with appointments after work and then rain in the late afternoon, so I didn’t get much photography in. These are a pair of juvenile mourning doves in the yard before the rain. Settings were f/6.3, 1/200, ISO 400.

Here is the tomato that is ripening, even brighter with color than yesterday. This was taken in between showers and you can see the raindrops on the tomato. Settings were f/7.1, 1/15, ISO 800.

While it was raining I set the camera on shutter speed priority and attempted some photos of the rain. I had the most success focusing on rain running off the edge of an overhang on the house. Settings were f/5, 1/2000, ISO 800.

A bacopa flower after the rain. Settings were f/9, 1/25, ISO 800.

Ripening Tomatoes!

Well, one tomato, anyway, but there will be more every day now. I went out after work to take a couple of tomato pictures and I was surprised to see a spot of orangey-red down in the leaves. Settings were f/9, 1/13, ISO 800.

At the same time, tiny new tomatoes are growing. Settings were f/11, 1/40, ISO 800.

Just a few more pictures for today. Here are some tiny yellow flowers on a plant my neighbor gave me for my garden. Settings were f/9, 1/15, ISO 800.

I was looking at the verbena and noticed a fly on one of the flowers. Settings were f/9, 1/20, ISO 800.

And here’s Sophie at sunset. Settings were f/5.6, 1/400, ISO 800.

Sunday

Today was not a great day for photography. A lot of things just didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to, mostly to do with lighting and exposure. For most of the day today we had European starlings in our back yard, picking through the grass for bugs. A nice handy subject for photography, except that starlings are dark birds with iridescent black heads and chests, and they were out in the bright sun on light-colored grass. The starlings turned into black blobs, or the grass looked pale and overexposed, or both–not great photos. The starlings also tended to fly off quickly when approached so most of my photos were from a distance, which didn’t help either. However, I post-processed a few photos to try to straighten things out somewhat, and here is a starling with a fat grub it had just pulled up from the ground. The starling is still very dark and you can hardly see its eye, but it’s better than it started out. Settings were f/9, 1/400, ISO 400.

This one is a starling on the fence, not suffering from the exposure problems so much. It’s not as sharp as I’d like but still better than the first one. Settings were f/9, 1/320, ISO 400.

There was a female Brown-headed Cowbird out in the grass in the sun today too, but because it’s brown rather than black it was easier to photograph. Settings were f/9, 1/400, ISO 400.

This mockingbird singing in a tree was a much better subject for photography. Settings were f/9, 1/100, ISO 400.

Here’s a little tomato after I’d watered and fertilized the tomato plants today. I’d had the camera in manual exposure mode but at this point, toward the end of the day, I switched back to aperture priority. Settings were f/7.1, 1/100, ISO 800.

And Sophie sitting by the fence. Even Sophie wasn’t easy to photograph today! Settings were f/3.5, 1/125, ISO 200.

Back to Manual Exposure

I set the camera for manual exposure today and I enjoyed the flexibility of being able to adjust settings the way I wanted. First, a couple of tomato pictures taken with the 90mm f/2.8 lens. The plants are looking green and healthy, and I’m looking forward to picking tomatoes. Settings for this photo were f/9, 1/100, ISO 400.

And here’s a tomato blossom. The plants are loaded with blossoms and little tomatoes of various sizes. Settings were f/16, 1/100, ISO 400.

I was pleased to see a green anole on one of the palm trees today. (Its color is brown in the photo, but it is a green anole.) The anoles have always liked the palm trees and I’ve been hoping the drastic trimming wouldn’t cause them all to go away. This was taken with the 70-300mm since that was the lens on the camera when I happened to see the anole, and settings were f/7.1, 1/60, ISO 400.

A bacopa flower from the hanging pot. These little flowers are a pale blue/violet, but it’s hard to get the color to show. I think I did manage it in this photo. settings were f/9, 1/500, ISO 400.

This is a branch on the redbud tree next door that seems to have died, with the leaves dry and brown. Settings were f/11, 1/320, ISO 400.

The other day I took some photos of Ethan, my 40-inch Masterpiece doll. Today I took Faith, my 46-inch Masterpiece girl, out for photos. Faith is the size of a 6-year-old and can wear real little girls’ clothes. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, and was designed by Monika Peter-Leicht. I really enjoy my life-size kids! Settings were f/16, 1/25, ISO 400.

And finally Sophie, giving me a look over her shoulder as I took her picture. Settings were f/7.1, 1/250, ISO 400.

Friday Evening

I’ve been shooting mostly in aperture priority for awhile now. Today I got frustrated trying to make aperture priority work for some photos and I switched back to manual. Manual worked nicely for what I wanted, and I think I’m going to go back to manual for awhile.

I’m still using the 90mm f/2.8 lens. Here’s one of my first photos today, a new rose on the rosebush. Settings were f/9, 1/30, ISO 800.

I was taking pictures of the flowers on my little lantana plant when I noticed a tiny ant crawling in and out of the flowers. I would guess this ant is around 1/16 inch in length–very tiny! Settings were f/5, 1/40, ISO 800.

These are verbena flowers. The photo doesn’t have enough depth of field to keep everything in focus, but I still liked the colors. This is one of the photos that I got frustrated with in aperture priority–this one is taken in manual. Settings were f/5, 1/40, ISO 800.

A little tomato on the tomato plant. Settings were f/5, 1/25, ISO 800.

Sophie was lying in the grass when she was startled by a loud noise in a nearby yard. She’s scared of thunder and fireworks, and if she hears a loud noise she gets worried that thunder or fireworks might be on the way. You can see her wide-eyed look of concern. Settings were f/8, 1/80, ISO 800.

Lulu, on the other hand, isn’t bothered by much of anything except a shortage of dog cookies. Settings were f/7.1, 1/30, ISO 800.

Ethan in the Yard

This post seems to get a lot of visits so there must be people who enjoy seeing Masterpiece Dolls.

The easiest way to find more photos of my Masterpiece Dolls in my photo blog is to use the Search tool I’ve added on the sidebar on the right. Just type in Ethan (or Faith, or Christopher, or Masterpiece) and a list of posts about the dolls will show up.

Here are most (but not all) of my posts about my Masterpiece Dolls. Use the Search tool to find all of them. There are more photos of Ethan in the May 12 post. Ethan’s “big sister” Faith, a 46-inch Masterpiece Doll, is in the April 27 and May 21 posts. There are photos of Faith and Ethan together in the June 24 and June 27 posts.

Ethan and Faith go swimming in the July 29 post.

Ethan and Faith outdoors in summer play clothes in the August 10 post.

Faith gets a new school uniform for first grade in the September 4 post, and Faith shows Ethan her school uniform and backpack in the September 5 post.

In the September 17 post Faith gets a new pair of saddle shoes to wear with her school uniform, and she feeds Lulu the basset hound a dog treat. A new Masterpiece doll will be coming to join the family soon–but I’m waiting for the arrival to introduce the newcomer.

Christopher, a 34 inch little boy from Masterpiece Dolls, arrives in the September 22 post!

In the September 24 post there are photos of Christopher, Ethan, and Faith together outside.

Ethan and Christopher try to climb the fence in the October 16 post.

I had the 90mm f/2.8 lens on the camera this afternoon and I did remember to check my settings. I took Ethan outside with me today. Ethan is one of my largest dolls, a 40-inch little boy by Monika Levenig for Masterpiece Dolls. He is a life-size 4-year-old with blond hair and blue eyes. Here’s Ethan, redressed in real little boys’ clothes. You can see that he can stand up by himself. Settings were f/8, 1/60, ISO 800.

Here’s Ethan with the tomato plants. He’s fun to pose because he’s life-size.  Settings were f/4.5, 1/100, ISO 250.

And here’s a little tomato. Settings were f/10, 1/100, ISO 200.

Ethan is looking up at the hanging plant on the fence. Settings were f/6.3, 1/100, ISO 640.

These are flowers from the hanging plant. Settings were f/3.5, 1/125, ISO 200.

Some blue delphiniums are blooming now. Settings were f/8, 1/100, ISO 800.

This is a close-up of Ethan. He didn’t come with freckles–I painted them myself. Settings were f/2.8, 1/160, ISO 200.

I wanted a photo of Ethan with Sophie, but Sophie refused to sit close to him. This isn’t a great photo but it’s the only one I could get of Sophie with Ethan. Sophie is posing nicely for the camera, but that’s as close as she would get to Ethan. Her tail and part of his shoe are cut off because I couldn’t back up any farther to take the picture–if I did, Sophie would get up and try to walk away. Settings were f/2.8, 1/160, ISO 100.