Spring Photography 2022

 I didn't really take too many photos at the start of the year, so it was around April when I finally started to get into it. Not that there's really that much to photograph - I try to wait on things to start blooming before I really get into taking photos. Then you have to find a good balance of lighting, which can be tricky in early spring. Cause it's usually cloudy, rainy or windy. 

I don't really think there are any stories to be told, just random pictures to be shared. That's mainly what this post is - a photo dump. I took all of these photos with my Nikon 105mm 2.8 VR lens that I got for Christmas... it's spectacular! And let me just say that macro shots are nearly impossible when it's windy. Nothing exciting and rather boring, but I think these are decent photos to be shared. Hope you enjoy! 

Bleeding hearts are some of my faves, but a nightmare to get a good picture of.

Pretty white flower.

Dandelion seed head.

Naked dandelion.

Macro mutant fly hybrid thing.

Tee tiny little ant.

I don't know what kind of horned bug this it, but it was a great model for macro shots.

I wish I could explain how tiny this flower was - it was legit like 

If anyone knows me personally they know how terrified I am of spiders. Since this lens is so long I don't have to get super close, which allows me to take pictures of these creepy crawlies.

This guy was perched under our porch light.

Tiny blue flower.

It's a bugs (ants) life.

These guys passed by each other like a morning commute to work.

More macro flowers.

It's an obsession.

Leaves are still my fave.

Tell me this crisp green leaf isn't the prettiest thing.

I wanted a printed green leaf like this on glass.

Last green leaf for good measure

Pretty reddish green leaf.

I would also like this printed on glass.

And maybe this one.

Or this one.

It's s good thing Fracture is super expensive, otherwise I would have glass walls.

Need this on glass too.

Beautiful yellow butterfly.

The butterflies around here love the lilac bushes.

Dandelion.

Up-close macro dandelion

Pretty iris.

More bugs on leaves.

This little guy was a good bug model.

I think this photo of our side yard would've looked better edited, but I was playing around with the Tokina wide angle lens here. I also don't know why we even have that dog house still - Max literally never sleeps outside.

Late Night Blooms

 We didn't get home until late yesterday evening, which is why I'm writing about it today, but the weather was very mild and we brought Max home a new ball toss toy that was a gift from family. A video of him playing with said ball toss was promised, so there was a mild bit of obligation to go outside and try it out, which we did. Needless to say, Max loved the toy. He's a bit of a chonk, so he only lasted for about 4 or 5 tosses before he was tuckered out. 

My sis soon ventured off and started taking photos of surrounding flowers, mainly daffodils - those things are everywhere right now, so seeing and photographing them was a given. I tried to get a couple pics on my phone, but decided to go get my camera since I still had my macro lens attached. 

Spring is one of the best times of year to take photos outside. There are loads of blooms everywhere, the bugs come out of hibernating and the days are longer. That's actually my least favorite part about spring, the long days. I'm one of the few people that loves when it's dark out by 5 o'clock, but that is most definitely not to my advantage when I'm busy all day and want to go outside and take photos around 5 or 6 when it's pitch black. 

So yeah, right now is prime photo-taking time.

I managed to get a few decent flower photos. Nothing spectacular, but decent. A bunch of little Matted Pratia are popping up all over the yard, which presented the perfect opportunity for me to flex my macro muscles. Since I'm So dangerously close to the subject I have to shoot live, which makes it difficult to stad still enough to get a photo without causing it to go out of focus. I think I managed a couple decent shots of the macroscopic flowers.

Well I suppose that's all for today, I have to be in Ironton around 4:30 today to get the car inspected. I'm the worst, I've put it off all freaking month and now I'm down to the wire. I legit only have until tomorrow to get tags. *eye roll*

Mr. Max is tuckered out after playing ball for 3 1/2 minutes.

That puppy dog smile, though.

Bleeding Hearts - still one of my favorites.

The fact that these Bleeding Hearts actually look like little hearts.

Trying real hard with the flower macro.

Mt Purpleleaf Sand Cherry is starting to bloom! 

Tiny little yellow weed.

Definitely had lots of fun photographing the Dandelions.

Dandelions are perfect for macro shots.

Just check out how close you can get to this Dandelion with the 40mm macro lens.

White Tulips.

These guys are the devil to photograph! I'm fairly certain these are Matted Pratia, but there are other possibilities as well.

Tiny little white Matted Pratia.

A Sweet Touch of Spring - Macro Edition

 The weather has definitely been looking up the past few days. Temperatures in the 40s seemed like a late Summer day compared to our two week streak of well below freezing weather. The wind is getting warmer with each gust, the spring frogs are coming out of hibernation and flowers are starting to bloom. It's only a matter of time before I'm complaining about the sweltering heat, so I'm trying to really take in the last bits of winter.

I ventured out late yesterday evening to take some pictures, narrowly missing the sun setting. These pictures have a depressing, cold feeling about them, but I'm not one to edit every picture I take just to post, so it's whatever. It's not a crazy amount either, just a handful of young daffodil sprouts and some purple flowers. Hope you enjoy!

Pretty little purple flowers.

Still trying to figure out this lens. O.o

These daffodil sprouts are the prettiest.

These macro daffodil sprouts are the cutest.

This was an intentional subject.