Rose

Trek Shot

Saturday, it was gray outside, not much incentive to go out for a hike. Took to bed instead for a short nap. It did rain although not much. Just enough precipitation to shower the spring flowers now blooming in the garden. By the steps were some roses, they are not really something, just the ordinary variety that one can see in not so grand a garden. There were peonies too, they bloom beautifully come mother’s day and today they were at their best.

I decided to do something creative to pass the time. 

I can’t help noticing the red roses by the steps. their petals wore beads of sparkling dew from the rain, very natural. I went up to my room, grabbed the camera and tripod. I chose a lens that I thought would be best to capture the beauty of this flower. I set up the tripod and camera with a 50 mm manual prime lens.

The sun was blocked by the thick overcast so the lighting was perfect, diffused and not harsh. I took several shots, tried varying composition and camera settings. I wanted to show the rose’s freshness by highlighting the rain drops on its petals. I made the rose stand out by blurring the background, the 50 mm, f1.7 prime lens is as good as anything in my arsenal for this kind of shoot.

I was shooting for a good half an hour, clicking away at the flowers, deleting those that I did not like. The beauty of a DSLR is that the images just taken can be viewed right  away and re shoot if needed and it doesn’t cost anything to shoot and delete and shoot again until the right composition is attained. The way an image is composed in-camera determines the like ability of the picture. There are rules to keep in mind in composing a picture but breaking them sometimes give an even more exciting pictures. 

I shoot in RAW format so a post processing is necessary and after adjusting the levels and contrast, here’s one of the pictures taken of the Rose By The Steps After The Rain.. 

Casual Crossing

Trek Shot

 

Down below flows the powerful current of the mighty Chico River. Known to many kayakers for it’s challenging white water. And here I was, at the place where a massive concrete barrier was built to control and harness the potential of this river. A man, with a rucksack walked past through me, casually climbed down the steel rung along the concrete wall. He promptly rolled up his pants, slung the rucksack back on his back and casually treaded upon the submerged top of the dam, raging current notwithstanding.

Then he’s gone, crossed over to the other side of the river.

 

Biodegradable

Trek Shot

A boy fast asleep atop the refuse bins outside a convenience store. This is one of the many images I see on the street as I take my morning walk.

Biodegradable, Recyclable,Non Biodegradable – take your pick, we can fit in any one of them thrash cans.

Billy Goat Trail

Trek Shot

The thing I like to do almost every weekend was to go on a hike. I would drive to the forest and spend most of the morning ’till late afternoon enjoying the wilderness. Occasionally I would come across a herd of deer, ospreys flying above and herons patiently waiting for an unwary fish for dinner. Bears I have not met one yet, but I don’t miss it.  I carry my provisions – a bottle of  water or two, sandwiches, energy bars and my camera , lenses and sometimes my tripod. A backpack I carry these on would easily weigh as much as 25 pounds,

Here’s one photo I took of a hiker while trekking the gorges of the Billy Goat Trail  along the Potomac river.

I really miss the outdoors.

Bollards

Trek Shots

The black bollards in the pier were the the last images I remember seeing as I left the island.

I was on a ship with my family, we were moving to Manila to join my father and continue our schooling.

That was ages ago, and now when I had a chance to visit the island, the pier was one of the very first place I went to. The pier was extended, refurbished to take in bigger vessels and equipped to take in the        RO-ROs. The bollards were replaced with a new, different looking styles and still finished in shiny black enamel.

The old bollards I soon found out were kept in the open in one part of the pier. They were bunched together and to my amusement they looked like Aliens, they are now rusted, red like a martian .

Even these things, the only purpose of which  is to be rigid, massive and robust to hold the ships by the pier has to give way to a different looking  copy for the very same purpose.

Progress?

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