Sometimes I impose constraints upon myself. For example, this evening I wanted to shoot, but didn’t really feel like going anywhere, so I decided that I would come up with something interesting inside of the house.

Naturally, this limits my nature shots, save Hobbs. So, as the sun was waning, I observed the many different patterns that it left on various pieces of furniture, mini-blinds, the floor, etc. This gave me more than enough material to work with.

It can be fun and creative when you impose constraints upon yourself and to shoot something different, from time to time.

I went to Reedy Creek the other day and noticed that most of the flowers had gone dormant. There were a few that are still flowering and, to my surprise, a few bees that are still on the job.

I did notice, however, that these bees are moving awfully slowly these days. This one, in particular, I observed for quite a few minutes. I didn’t know if he was dead or alive because he didn’t move!

I took this shot in the evening, about 5:30 PM. The air was getting cooler and this bee, and another like him, were sitting upon some flowers. Neither moved for a few minutes. Slowly, they began there little dance around the flower collecting the pollen and then, after a very long while, flew off lazily to their hive. I would have thought that in late October, they would have been finished for the season.

I ALMOST wanted to reach out and touch one of them, but I don’t mess with bees any more since I got stung on the lip when I was a child. Ouch!

Yep, I threw a rock at some bees that had a hive in a cinderblock wall and one of them came out to greet me. I never forgot his greeting! So, now, I just take pictures of them.

On a side note: Those considering collagen injections … Although temporary, getting stung on the lip by a bee guarantees a fuller lip instantly! I know! Save time, money, and effort! No appointment necessary. No perscription required! Results guaranteed!

Alas, it is the last day of Daylight Savings Time. Not that one has to do with the other, but this morning, Hobbs and I did our usual walk through the neighborhood. We didn’t get a chance to go yesterday because we had rain for the entire day, well into the evening hours.

However, it has been nice, since the sun is rising much later, to be able to go for the walk before the sun begins to rise and to be greated by the sunrise during our walks. This morning, sunrise was at 7:40. We started our walk during twilight, at about 7:10.

After yesterday’s rains were were greated this morning by cool temperatures and quite a bit of wind. The cool temperatures have remained and the wind is still blowing impressively. I was going to go out and do a bit of macro photography today, but there isn’t a shutter speed fast enough to stop a plant that’s blowing with a 30 mph gust!

Today, sunset will be at 6:34 PM, tomorrow, 5:33 PM. That’s just too early.

Anyway, it was a nice walk. We’ll have to get up an hour earlier tomorrow to see the sunrise!

Hey! This is a G-rated blog! Get your mind out of the gutter! I’m talking about lenses!

Since April of this year I seem to have been on the upgrade path. I got my new camera in a kit that had an 18-70mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom (my favorite lens) and a 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom.

Not much later, I bought a used 500 mm mirror lens, which I used for a few months and was quite happy with. Well, the bug bit me and I sold the mirror lens and used the proceeds to buy my Tamron 200-500mm f/5.6 lens, which I absolutely love!

I’ve been bitten, hopefully for the last time, again and have sold my 70-300mm zoom, which is the cheapest one that Nikon makes. It goes retail for about $144. I wanted something with a much wider aperture. So, I bought Nikon’s 80-200mm f/2.8. A difference, unfortunately, of about $800!

This latest lens is much heavier than the mostly plastic 70-300mm. It’s kind of like the D2x, a tank! It’s heavy!

What I’ve discovered, in comparison to the 300mm range, is that I find it lacking for frame-filling photography. Don’t get me wrong, I love the lens. It is, by far, the sharpest lens that I own! It is sweet and I don’t regret buying it, but even at close range, say 20 feet, it is hard to fill the frame.

Here is an example. These little darlings were at the feeder this morning. I had on my cloaking device, a camouflage covering and I was sitting not more than 20 feet from these guys. As you can see, even zoomed to 200mm, there quite a bit of room around the edges.

Regarding, sharpness, take a look at the close up. I’ve not done anything to either of these images. The close up is just a view of the image full size. I have not applied any sharpening whatsoever. The sharpness of this lens is just amazing.

I guess that it’s just a matter of the right tool for the job. When I want to get close, 500mm+ is what I need. I would imagine that this 80-200mm would be a great portrait or sports lens, as long as the sport is not too far away.

For some reason, 200mm always seemed like it was a bigger lens … it’s really not.

That’s the word that kept running through my mind as I was out photographing in Charlotte’s Ribbonwalk Urban Forest.

I went in the early evening, about 4:30 PM. Already, the strength of the light was beginning to wane. As I photographed various subjects, I noticed how the light seemed to flit from one plant to another as if it were on a mission to kiss each plant and then move on.

Ephemeral.

Never staying more than a minute in any location. Always somewhere else to go. Fleeting. Always in motion.

Ephemeral

I really like this time of year, even though the sun sets quickly. The shadows are longer and the light less intense. The light has a different beauty than that of summer.

It is a kinder, gentler light, yet always in motion.

Sunday, my wife had gone for her morning walk. Tony and I were at home just doing some general cleaning up. We paused for a bit to talk, as we often do, and somehow the conversation turned to video games.

I never was much of a fan of video games because, quite frankly, when I was growing up, they didn’t exist. I don’t think that the first real video games, Space Invaders and Packman, came onto the market when I was in high school, certainly they weren’t available in the home additions. Come to think of it, there were no such things as computers or the internet and I had to fight dinosaurs on the way to school, every day!

Anyway, I told him about how I used to work part-time and would take part of my money every 2 weeks and spend it at the arcade. I’d spend about $20.00 and there were only about 2 or 3 games that I’d play with any regularity. Space Invaders, Asteriods, and Galaxian.

He and his brother had always wanted me to play video games with them, but they play mostly sports game that are terribly long to set up because you form teams, make trades, pay salaries, etc. Boring! I want a game that I can just get in, press 2 players, and start playing! I want it now! Hmmm, wonder why I shoot digital? …

So, after our conversation, I went to the web, found a Colecovision emulator, downloaded some of the ROMs (Read-Only Memory), and Tony and I spent a couple of hours playing Galaxian, trying to beat each other’s high scores.

I came out on top, but I”m sure that he’ll surpass it eventually. He’s determined that way. It was a great time! Next. Donkey Kong!

A very short film (less than 1 minute) that’s interesting and somewhat disturbing. There’s nothing bad or gross in the film because it’s all about beauty. Of particular interest to women:

http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/home_films_evolution_v2.swf

Is it any wonder that there are so many disorders associated with trying to become the perfect looking person?