POTD - Yellow Dew Drop

Yellow Dew Drop, a photo by DisHippy on Flickr.

These little yellow beauties were begging for my 35mm prime the other day at MOBOT. It was just after morning, and combined with the cloudy skies, the morning dew was still out on a lot of flowers, these included. Please let me know what you all think about this one as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!

POTD - Colorful Flowers At The Entrance

Colorful Flowers At The Entrance, a photo by DisHippy on Flickr.

The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis will host an international exhibition of larger-than-life, lighted works of art from China from May 26 through August 19, 2012.

"Lantern Festival: Art by Day, Magic by Night" will attract visitors from throughout the country to experience one of China’s most treasured events and ancient traditions – the annual lantern festival.

Elaborate outdoor sets crafted of silk and steel will celebrate Chinese culture through bold color, dazzling light and striking design. The exhibition offers visitors a unique opportunity to witness a spectacle rarely staged outside of Asia.

View the "art by day" or experience the illuminated "magic by night" on Thursday through Sunday evenings.

Eight rich and vibrant colored balls line the entry pathway to the Grigg Nanjing Friendship Garden, serving as a welcome sight and inviting visitors into the festive atmosphere of the Lantern Festival and Chinese Garden.

I was really drawn to this composition for two reasons. I really liked all the green throughout the scene and I always liked the pattern of circles through the frame as well. The more I look at my shots from this day, the more ideas I have of more shots and compositions to make. I will more than likely be heading up to Missouri Botanical Gardens (MOBOT) tomorrow again since I have the day off. Should be fairly good weather and good for shooting. Also, photos from tomorrows photowalk will come with some exciting news. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!

POTD - Lotus Flower

Lotus Flower, a photo by DisHippy on Flickr.

The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis will host an international exhibition of larger-than-life, lighted works of art from China from May 26 through August 19, 2012.

"Lantern Festival: Art by Day, Magic by Night" will attract visitors from throughout the country to experience one of China’s most treasured events and ancient traditions – the annual lantern festival.

Elaborate outdoor sets crafted of silk and steel will celebrate Chinese culture through bold color, dazzling light and striking design. The exhibition offers visitors a unique opportunity to witness a spectacle rarely staged outside of Asia.

View the "art by day" or experience the illuminated "magic by night" on Thursday through Sunday evenings.

The lotus flower represents strength, good luck, long life, honor and respect. It has often been described as the most exquisite wishes of Mother Nature for mankind. Some believe the lotus flower is a universal representation of the spiritual presence in human lives, holding the secret of happiness and cheerfulness. Set in the still waters of the Swift Family Garden ponds, the Lotus Flower lantern set creates a tranquil scene in the dark.

The more we made our way into the gardens for this amazing show, the more I thought how excited I was to get here at night at shoot all of these illuminated. I found out after the show that there were pieces that I even missed so I have more to discover here as well. If any of you were even thinking about a trip to St. Louis this summer, this is worth coming to town for. I of course would be on hand to shoot photos with. :) Please let me know what you all think about this one, I've been working on my fisheye composition and trying to perfect my wide angle shooting. Enjoy!

POTD - Dragon Embracing the Pillars

Dragon Embracing the Pillars, a photo by DisHippy on Flickr.

The Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis will host an international exhibition of larger-than-life, lighted works of art from China from May 26 through August 19, 2012.

"Lantern Festival: Art by Day, Magic by Night" will attract visitors from throughout the country to experience one of China’s most treasured events and ancient traditions – the annual lantern festival.

Elaborate outdoor sets crafted of silk and steel will celebrate Chinese culture through bold color, dazzling light and striking design. The exhibition offers visitors a unique opportunity to witness a spectacle rarely staged outside of Asia.

View the "art by day" or experience the illuminated "magic by night" on Thursday through Sunday evenings.

This intricate set rises from waters of the Garden’s Latzer Fountain. The dragon is a traditional symbol for the Chinese people, incorporated into Chinese history, beliefs, religion, nationality and culture. The mythical animal was created by the Chinese people and is one of the 12 zodiac signs. The dragon symbolizes luck, nobility, bravery, strength and knowledge. For thousands of years, it has stood for people’s hopes and wishes for a better future, tying together the hearts of Chinese people around the world. The year 2012 is the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac.

This is one of the most impressive exhibits I've been too at the Botanical Gardens since the Dale Chihuly Exhibit. There is so much color all over the gardens that totally accents the color in the gardens themselves. Despite being insanely crowded when Jenea and I went to shoot photos, it was still a ton of fun and now I cannot wait to get up there for one of the night shows. I shot the majority of the day in Manual Mode and my results were pretty amazing. I'm still getting used to focusing that fisheye lens, but overall I was very happy with my results. I will be here a lot for this show so be prepared for my photostream to be flooded with color, like it isn't already. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!

POTD - Curves in Depth

Curves in Depth, a photo by DisHippy on Flickr.

Another shot from the St. Louis Zoo inside the Reptile House. I cannot stress enough how much I loved using that 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. I will have one, it might take a little while, but I will have one. :) Please let me know what you all think about this one, as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!

POTD - Looking At You Looking Back

Looking At You Looking Back, a photo by DisHippy on Flickr.

A couple of weekends ago, after 32 years at his job, my dad retired. Of course in my family that means, party! I was able to rent a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 from my work to shoot the party, and how beautiful the photos were. I knew that I had to take this lens out the next day before I returned it to work.

The obvious choice and ultimately the one that won out was the St. Louis Zoo. After shooting with this lens I can definitely say that there is a huge difference in f/2.8 glass. This is probably my favorite shot from the day, I was shooting over another group of people and snapped about 6 shots of him. This was the clear winner as I think he heard my camera snapping and looked right at my lens. This photo is definitely gone onto my favorite shots from the zoo list for sure. Please let me know what you all think, as any suggestions would be welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!

POTD - Monorail Monday - In Vinyl

Monorail Monday - In Vinyl, a photo by DisHippy on Flickr.

I don't know if this counts, but they're still monorails vinylmations. I was playing around the house with my 50mm f/1.8 and my flash, and my vinylmation collection is perfect for this. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!

Temperate In Fisheye

Temperate In Fisheye, a photo by DisHippy on Flickr.

Another shot from my first shoot with my new 8mm fisheye lens. I've taken this shot before of the Temperate House at the Missouri Botanical Garden, but being able to see almost the entire green house in one shot is pretty cool. I really like what the fisheye distortion did to the lines in the roof. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!

POTD - Soft Violet

Soft Violet, a photo by DisHippy on Flickr.

Hello all of my friends from the interwebs! I'm finally back and going to try my hardest to get back to more regular postings. When I do work at my new job, which I love by the way, I work open to close. So that's 10 to 8 every day and by time I get home, I'm wiped out. Regardless, I still really miss Flickr and my blog and want to try my hardest to get back to both. I've been learning a ton about cameras and photography the past couple weeks, so my brains been a bit overloaded. The photos on my camera just sat there, and sat there, and sat there.

Last night though, I finally took them off to process! This is one of the blooms from our African Violet that is getting ready to push probably about 15 to 20 flowers. This was the first one so I thought it deserved the spotlight. I used a combination of my D90, of course, my 50mm f/1.8 with a macro extension tube, my SB-700 flash, and a small softbox. I think the result is nice, I enjoy the bright exposure as well as the softness that the extension tube added. Please let me know what you all think as any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated. Enjoy!