Bought the Bullet

"You don't take a photograph, you make it"
                                                                           Ansel Adams

Illahe From the Rock Garden.

                                                                   

I finally did, I saved up enough pieces of paper, and I took the plunge, I bought a camera, a halfway decent camera. I think this is going to help me put into cyberspace what I think I'm seeing in front of me everyday. Or at least a more realistic interpretation of what it is that I think I'm seeing. The sony A6300 was what I went with because after all Blue Collar dictates that even if you wish you didn't have to,  you still have to live within your means, But I must say for a "Starter" Decent camera, I think it does a stand up job. Makes me wonder what I'm capable of with a superstar rig in my hands! Like old Ansel said, you gotta make something .

I think I'm going to spend some serious time to photo document the collection in portrait style now that I have the decent camera to do it. I know everyone wants to see a huge pot of Frits doing the showy thing. But to really appreciate them  single flower with all the detail captured seems to really stand out to me. 

Fritillaria are so structurally significant in form, and what color even is that?????
 These shots are with the kit lens a 16 to 50mm. I don't love the focus range on this lens, I feel like I want to get closer.  But i'm probably going to try to save more pieces of paper for a really good macro lens. I know you can do a lot of great plant photography without one, but personally I really love the intricate, up close details of flowers. There is an entirely new world visible when you take a closer look. 

Joseph Halda's Iris bucharica collection at dusk on a April evening. The best thing about the A6300 is it's compact size, I think if I ever win the lottery I'm gonna travel and do some serious botanical exploration. This camera offers the travel requisite size requirement. 

So in true disclaimer fashion, All of these pictures were taken on a brand new, straight out of the box Sony A6300 with the kit 16 to 50mm lens, in a one hour window on the same nigth , nothing fancy about it really, and no post processing whatsoever, I just loaded them onto the blog. I have read that no good photographer doesn't post process the images, but It's a little like the music I make, I spent a lot of time just playing a guitar straight through an amp with no effects so you only hear the product of your fingers and your brain. Not that adding to the mix is a bad thing, i'm just pointing out that these are organic and raw photo's straight out of my new decent camera. Probably soon I'll learn how to use effects and make digital corrections but for now, what you see is what you get. 

Beautiful Oregon Spring mix of wet, rainy, misty, drizzle, coupled with downpours, soakers, and squalls. Once or twice the sun came out. I have the sulphur duster on the ready as the humidity has been over 100% for like 3 weeks in a row now. Hopefully a little dry weather will let me get the cover crop on the veg garden, and some tillage on the new berry rows I'm planning for this season. 

Here is to many better photo's! Finally I feel a little better equipped. 

Cheers, 

Mark