Shots of the Day # 52 – To Turn 15 in Spring

       

Quinceaňera with Azaleas (21 April 2024)

I don’t head out with the camera often enough. Unless that is the main objective...”We’re going here. You’ll want to take pictures.”

We had attended a Sunday opera recital in a classy uptown Baltimore church and took a stroll afterwards in a nearby park. Among the people enjoying the setting were a few Latino families celebrating their girl’s fifteenth birthday.

I complain about phone cameras in ways that barely hide my jealousy...”REAL photographers use REAL cameras and we’re proud to have to lug pounds of equipment into the world...so we can later see that you made better images with a damn phone you carry in your pocket.”
Something like that.

Complaining aside, I’m glad we happened upon this young lady while she was posing for her photographer...and especially pleased that I had my phone with me.

Shot of the Day # 51 – Signs of Spring

A few years ago, a friend gave us a few extra ferns she had in her yard…and they have spread nicely all over one side of the driveway. They are especially attractive in the Spring when they are robust and fresh and fully cover the ground.
   

Front Yard Detail, Spring 2024 (25 April 2004)

I recall encouraging picture-takers to understand they needn’t go far to find good shots. One of my Covid-period posts was about that very thing – step out your back door…images are closer than you think.

One might respond – “I don’t have much of a yard...” My response would be that the objective is about composing and framing a scene. A shot is not about how much you can include but what needs to be there to make a pleasing presentation and what should be excluded. As suggested before, get closer.

If I zoom out from what you see here, the picture will include parts of the neighbor’s house, some fencing, our trash and recycling bins and part of my house. Had I included all that while being drawn to the lush green feather carpet, it would be much less appealing. The key is to crop out all that unrelated stuff.