The Harder Watercourse Garden is a relatively new addition to the beautiful arboretum at Cornell Plantations. I found it recently and find it a photographer’s dream of textures and changing colors as the season progresses. First, let me show you where to find this place. It lies just south of the Neuman Overlook at the first parking area just past the overlook.
The view when you park is inviting……
Continue reading The Harder Watercourse Garden- A Gardener’s Canvas of the Seasons
Our daughter got us admitted to the annual open house at the production greenhouses for the US Botanic Garden. They raise the orchids and other showy plants seen in the conservatory adjacent to the capital building on the mall. The staff was very excited to have a day to show what is normally invisible to the public. It was also a nice way to celebrate our 46th wedding anniversary too. We ended up spending a lot of time with the master gardener for the orchids. Wonderful experience.
I used the open house to continue my exploration of the iPhone camera, this time comparing it to my Canon G9 point and shoot camera. This is a typical photo with no editing. The blooms are nice, color is good but the mesh under the pots just doesn’t compliment anything. My first observation is that busy backgrounds were difficult to hide the iPhone wide angle lens.
There were situations where I could move around and get so close that the greenhouse did not show, and then the result could be good. I think the color is nice and rich in this example.
But, when the subject is larger, the wide angle often could not miss showing the overly bright sky or a maze of plumbing and framework. Then the zoom on the G9 had a clear advantage. It could find just the right amount of focal length.
This photo has good color and excludes most of the busy background to deliver a more pleasing result.
I’ve posted a more detailed text in my personal blog at:
http://birds-n-blooms.blogspot.com/
I simply have found it easier to create the layout I need at this alternate site, and I know you will find the result more informative. Hope you check it out.
Paul Schmitt
Despite the mild winter, I am, as always come February, longing for the greens of early Spring. The tips of Day Lilies are already showing on the sunny side of the house. Buds are swelling on the trees earlier than usual.
Most look for the tell-tale Robin to signal Spring’s arrival. I’ve found that the arrival of the Turkey Vultures in the gorge behind our house as an equally dependable sign.
The woods of early Spring are often as beautiful and colorful as Fall. The new green is more intense than any other. And the trees glow against the contrast of nearly bare branches that still await new foliage.
Spring blossoms arrive with colors that have been absent for what seems far too long after months of monochrome winter.
The forest floor soon comes alive with new life and the warmth of the Spring sun fills the gorges and fields. The frost is gone, the morning dew is heavy, and I am inspired by the awakening of the earth.
Post written by George Cannon.
Image Copyright © George Cannon
For so many years, Kodak encouraged us to pick a sunny day for our picture taking. “Put the sun over your left shoulder”. Film was slow, cameras were simple, and our memory filled in the blanks. With the sophistication of today’s equipment and the development over the years of digital processing, sensitive sensors with high ISO’s and low noise, you can almost shoot in the dark and get good images. Canon’s new 1Dx body is capable of ISO’s as high as 204,800. Of course it costs $7,000. But such is digital technology today. That being said, what about fall color?
The reality is that sunny days are not the best days for shooting fall color. Actually a day like yesterday with clouds and light occasional sprinkles of rain are ideal days for capturing fall color. The woods are dark and deep, the light is diffuse and even with no harsh contrast, and the rain helps to intensify the color on the leaves. So grabbing the gear and driving around my own neighborhood, I took a little afternoon time to go out and capture a bit of the beauty still evident in this colorful season.
Posted by George Cannon.
All images are Copyright © George Cannon.
Driving home this afternoon, I was keenly aware of how rapidly, almost overnight, it seems the fall color has arrived. I’ve certainly seen it creeping up. A few trees here and there, the asters at the road side, the sumac reds. But this afternoon it seemed that almost the entire ride home along Rte.89 to Trumansburg was simply alive with new color. Maybe I’ve just been too busy to notice, maybe my mind has been on too many other things, or maybe the change was really that rapid. Regardless, fall is here in all its glory and it’s time to take the cameras and hit the road to revel in autumn beauty. The assignment for the next CNP meeting is “Fall Color”. So let’s go get. Enjoy!
Posted by George Cannon. All images are © George Cannon.
Cayuga Nature Photographers 