Play Circles in Rainy Days

Wanting to shoot something with representation of Circles, I could barely find any circular subjects at my house except the glasses, cups and mugs.  Wine and beer bottles can be interesting with all that cool graphics on the bottle, but the round top and bottom look empty. So, I thought about my teacups which are hand-made and have some colors.

I wish sun would shine through at some point so that I can use filtered light to generate some depth, but sunlight did not stay long these days, I could not even fetch a little. And misty rain came down again, sparsely but steadily. Where are my circles? Nothing, only rain drops.

Fellow photographers are taking 25-50 shots for a focused stacking close-up shots. It seems to be quite an endeavor, so I decided to trim it down, I took 8-10 shots.  It is definitely better than a single shot with smaller depth of field, but far from the tack-sharp image that I was aiming for. I wish I had downloaded this image earlier... By the time when I wanted to take the 25 shots, the plant had long finished its life cycle for this year. Through photography, my patience is in training and yet, I failed over and over.

Spring will bring me new hope and I am determined to make it happen this time around. For preparation, I did my experiment on cut tulips. This image was stacked with 26 shots.  I got some perfect circles, but they are not as sharp as what I had in mind. I will try 30, 40 or 50 next timer. The more I shoot, the higher my bar has raised and I seem to always falling short.

I thought I could at least find something circular at 5th Street market in town, but not much luck. However, there was a small music band performing in the courtyard. The singer and guitarist are young, but their vocal quality and stage persona are up to the standard. A small crowd was there, but nobody seemed to be willing to make any move. I could not take any pictures without involving many heads and shoulders. So I shoot upwards and these few circles come to my sight. Somehow I found them enchanting. I guess it is the retro ambiance created by the aged wood ceiling, posts and cast irons.

Ordinary days. Circles, the ordinary subjects. But I learned something from doing.

Speaking of Ducks and Birds

While all the Ducks fans were giddy up to watch the championship game, I was taking my photo walk to watch the real ducks playing in the pond. I heard that Oregon Ducks have changed their uniform colors again, and this time is White and Gray.  I am proud of the Ducks, but I am no football fan to speak anything about them. But this color matter does bother me. A logo and its color represent a team and its identity. I don't understand why the colors have been altered so liberally.

the runner in UO green and yellow shirt

I am speculating that whoever chose Green and Yellow colors for Oregon Ducks originated his idea from the mylar ducks which are the dominating duck inhabitants in Eugene.  Personally I think Green is a must for Oregon, the timber state. For dramatic contrast, Yellow is a good match.  

where the green and yellow come from

As the Ducks were claiming their continuous victory and receiving national fame, I started to see Black and White uniforms which, I think, they need some variety and black and white are the best contrast for an uniform. Besides, black and white are still authentic duck colors.

Then, at the game with Arizona, I was shocked by their Pink outfit though it was meant for the calling of cancer awareness. Uniform is not a costume. You just don't change it whenever you feel like it. Oregon lost this game to Arizona. Of course, it has nothing to do with the pink color, but superstitiously, I think so.  Again, Ducks lost to Ohio State when they changed their uniform colors to White and Gray. What a coincidence.

Our Ducks are outstanding. However, I still would rather stroll along the pond than sitting in front of the TV or pounding the floor and yelling your lungs out at the stadium. It is just a game, but the emotion can be so high that you are feeling life and death at times.

puffy and fuzzy

From distance (beyond the lense I have in hand), I saw two puffy heads swimming and could not tell what they are. I have seen many kinds of ducks, but not these ones. They look like the babies of some water fowls. Not far from them, I discovered the black and white head guy. His distinguished color and outlook caught my eyes. The moment when his mouth was open, I snapped the shot. Not until the picture was downloaded, I did not realize that he was catching his prey, a baby fish.

fatal attraction

As it turned out, the puffys are the mommies, i.e. the female. Why God made males more stunning looking than females in animal kingdom, I have no clue. Males are stronger and if they are the target of fatal attraction, they can lead the enemies away and in turn, protect their females?  Hmm...It is not written in the Bible, I am just guessing.

I have taken many heron pictures but I am still trying to get that best shot. This guy was about 10 feet from me. I dare not breathe, just pull the trigger continuously.  This may be the closest shot that I ever had.  A few herons have chosen here for home. They are here all year around. I suspect that the last Ducks uniform colors was from them, White and Gray.

my 'closest' pal

Just the other day, I was chatting with a friend about how common the sparrows are. They can be pests when they are flocking on the ground picking your bread crumbs. But you would love them when they open their lungs and sing for you earnestly. I also took lots of sparrow pictures because I am always looking for that perfect shot regardless. Every once a while, I captured one that I really like. Male and female sparrows look alike, hard to tell. I say it is a she. She just flew in and graciously posed for a shot. Sparrows taught me not to overlook the Everyday and Common stuff. This world is full of surprises.

common and not

Chasing Fog

Ever since I found the charm in fog, winter does not seem to be a drag for me any more.  It is a bit challenge to get out and shoot a few in a subzero temperature, but desire usually overcomes all.

The shot that I have always in mind is the layers of mountain ranges vaguely hidden in the cloud or the fog floating among the foothills. And the best, if I can be above the cloud and observe the majestic mountain peaks. I did have a few above-cloud experience, but I was not equipped with a DSLR then and I was shooting without any basic knowledge about photography.  Below is one of the above-cloud image taken at Haleakala in Kula, Hawaii. I simply 'framed' a picture without thinking about 'composition'. But, that above the world experience was impressed on me, forever.

Not much an adventurer, I desire and yet expect any dramatic images either. Just being able to capture that dreamy look behind the reality, I am happy enough and myself entertained. As simple as a row of trees would hook me there for a good half hour in spite of misty rain and chilly temperature. And, I come back here more than once. When love is formed at first sight, it seems to persist, longer.

On a solo photo walk, I ran into a lady who was heavily shielded from weather like me and had a DSLR in her hand. When we came across, she mentioned something like "The fog has made this place out-of-the-world". Exactly that, I was there. We ended up chatting. She has a whole load of family responsibilities but she was utilizing a few hours of freedom to pursue her hobby. She was there before me and still there when I left. She was my inspiration for the day.

The surroundings are the winter destitute. The reflection looks lifeless. But the distant trees in the fog soften the bareness and the monotone. My eyes kept pointing me to the subjects veiled in the fog. How I love fog.

Unexpected in this cold chill, I spotted this heron standing by the edge of the pond. As I moved forward, he flew away. I did not have enough time to set my shutter speed right and he disappeared. My few attempts ended up some blurry shots. I have enough heron images, but I have not given up wanting that BEST shot. While I was ready to walk out of the area, I saw something on the top of the broken steam that does not seem to belong there... It was too far to get a good eye shot, but I was chasing fog, not the heron. Heron is good, but I was looking at the foggy background.

I live in the tree country. Would I get tired of shooting trees? No. Never. I think I have taken lots of landscape pictures. Trees are all inclusive, but they are not what I called tree images. Perhaps I should begin to shoot trees, a very common subject but in great varieties of species and they look different in various seasons and environment. Nothing dramatic, but I just love the ambiance.

From Rose Bowl to Stanford

First of all, GO DUCKS! 2015 Rose Bowl Champion, the Oregon pride.

Every once a while, I peeked at the football games playing on our TV and got to know a few Oregon Ducks rivals. Stanford was one of them if I am not mistaken. I ever lived in Palo Alto where Stanford University is for a few years but I have never visited the campus till now.

Avenue of the Palms came to sight when our car first drove in. The entry is almost identical to the that of my university in Taiwan. However, when my discoveries started to unfold, I began to feel like a country folk going into town.

After  blogging  for  two  years, I am  growing  my  desire  to go  out and  explore  more.  Oregon is absolutely beautiful, but there is a whole wild world out there. Just a couple hundred miles across the border,  there are places I have never been and how I want to put my foot prints on many of them. Visiting a university campus has not been in my list, but while I was in town and for the sake of photography, why not? I am surely glad that I did.

University of Oregon has established 155 years and the atmosphere is more what I used to, quintessential and scholastic. I smell chalks and books. My university has just celebrated her 86 years anniversary. Other than the Avenue of the Palms, almost all the buildings are aged while Stanford with 129 years of history, but the architecture is updated and the entire campus looks NEW. 

Either they are built new or under the maintenance with extreme efforts. I think this is what money and wealth can do. It does not appear to me an educational institution. It is more like an open museum with sophisticated architecture and manicured landscape. I breathed in cozy sunshine and fresh grass. 

Wherever my eyes land, there are stoneworks, columns and pillars, and yet they are not what I saw in Italy or Spain where buildings are fully weathered with history and they stand on cobblestones. Here 'new' classic style of buildings with fine details are stationed on the cement ground surrounded by manmade landscape. It is a very organized and structured environment. The atmosphere is orderly, modern, posh and silicon-valley savvy.

These are absolutely beautiful and lively, state of art. Copper sculptures, not resins :-) To me, true heart is crucial, true material? I don't care as long as it serves the purpose of being a nice piece of art, but I know it is imperative for those who appraise art by the name and the value attributed.  Name does guarantee the quality, in most of the case.

Without a head, the body still gestures strength and athletic merits. I just like to see the patterns after patterns regardless how I went around the buildings. This is when I don't complain about the harsh light...

It was a total invasion by the bright lights in the vicinity, but check out this long corridor. A few splash of brights has come down and gradually minimized in the end which opened another chapter of architectural phenomenon. This is when I was happy to have my wide angel with me. While Patterns exist, Lines took over the control.

The walking path has created lines among the patches of green grass. I bet the aerial view of the campus is just gorgeous not mentioning the rows of beautiful arches and columns, and the intricate painting and etchings on the walls. I wish I can be young again and have the luxury to be the student here. It is a great photography spot that I am certain I will be back!

I cleaned up the lens flare and tested a sepia version. This look is more like the college campus that I have in mind.