Photography Journal

Floating Florals

February 18, 2024
I started a personal photo project in late January inspired by the images created by artist Robert Peek. He makes stunning floral photos shot in a fish tank surrounded by water and ink. They are mesmerizing to me and so abstract and ethereal. I wanted to attempt to replicate but…

Expressive Florals

January 30, 2024
Flowers are one of the most popular subjects to photograph. The shapes, colors, and textures are stunning to capture macro or close-up. Shooting a garden filled with flowers can be a stunning landscape scene. I have shot flowers for many years. I enjoy discovering new and fresh ways to capture…

Chasing bees and butterflies!

April 27, 2023
Photographing bees or butterflies in the garden can be a rewarding experience! During summer there are great opportunities to capture these stunning insects while they enjoy summer flowers. Here are some tips to help you get stunning photographs: Use the right equipment: A camera with a macro lens is ideal…

Artist Inspired Photography - Essence of Spring

March 24, 2023
Spring is a time of renewal, new beginnings, and beauty. The arrival of spring has inspired artists for centuries, and one such artist who captured the essence of this season in his work is David Hockney. His vibrant and colorful spring tree and flower images have inspired many. I saw…

Submerged Flower Project

February 12, 2023
I like to capture flowers in a variety of manners - dried, frozen, and now submerged. I recently discovered Photographer Barbara Cole’s submerged flower project. She photographed flowers in a swimming pool; the final photographs were dreamy and impressionistic. I was mesmerized by the final images and thought this sounded…

Capturing Frozen Flowers

January 17, 2023
“The camera adds a certain sheen to things. Something about being frozen in time makes things sparkle.” Brandon Stanton This time of year, I dive into capturing the essence of winter, especially frozen things. I often get up early to go out and shoot the morning frost, take a winter…

10 Personal Photo Projects Ideas

November 4, 2022
“Self-assigning photography work is the healthiest thing any photographer can do for themselves. ” Have you ever assigned yourself a photo project? Whether you are a hobbyist or a professional photographer taking time to execute a photo project for yourself is enriching and essential. I learned about this concept from…

Try these creative techniques on your next fall or winter photo walk!

November 4, 2022
What is your favorite season of the year? It is hard for me to choose between spring and fall. Capturing the beauty of each season is one reason I love photography. Each new season brings fresh colors, tones, and subjects to explore. While I always love playing with creative shooting…

Fall Creative Editing

September 26, 2022
Fall is a great time of year to play around with creative editing! Whether you add texture, light, birds, or the moon creating a fall piece of art is rewarding. Most of these images were created either in Photoshop or with iPad applications. I will provide a video below on…

Focus on the Details

August 29, 2022
Photograph and Post Process your images to focus on all the details First - Study your subject We can all shoot a beautiful forest vista or a rose growing in a garden. But stand still for a moment and assess your subject. What are the key features; could they be…

Creative tips to capture a summer flower field.

June 22, 2022
Summertime is filled with fields of flowers. Whether you are visiting a local flower farm, a botanical garden, along a highway, or in the mountains, there are opportunities to capture a large group of flowers. Often the wind is blowing, or insects are moving the flowers around. Try these two…

Plant Portraits

January 19, 2022
As a nature photographer, I yearn to be outdoors, capturing the beauty around me, but winter can restrict my ability to get out and shoot. I miss the bright colors of spring, summer, and fall. But, here is an idea to wash away the winter cold - plant portraits! I…

Lightpad Photography - 5 easy steps

September 14, 2021
Use a Light Tracing Pad to create magical, translucent flower images! 5 easy steps to get you started I love to capture flowers in natural light. The light brings out the almost translucent quality of the petals. I wanted to find a way to get this same effect when shooting…

Lesson from a year of growing Dahlias!

September 14, 2021
“Maybe the desire to make something beautiful is the piece of God that is inside each of us.” — Mary Oliver I have always loved and admired beautiful things - fabric, paintings, music, and flowers. I grew up surrounded by beautiful gardens. On both sides of my family, there is…

4 Tips for Fall Photography

August 30, 2021
In many US areas, this is the time of year to capture the beauty of autumn and all its colors, textures, and details. I hope you can get out to shoot this season, even if it’s just in your neighborhood or nearby park—these four tips can be used anywhere to…

Explore how to create a time lapse video!

July 30, 2021
Do you enjoy viewing time-lapse videos but have no ideas how to create them? I was reluctant to try capturing or putting together a time-lapse video. myself. I thought it would be too tricky and take too much time, but I recently decided to jump in and give it a…

Summer in the DC Metro Area

June 21, 2021
Living in the Virginia, Maryland, DC area offers so many great summertime places to photograph summer flowers. June thru August, there are so many places that shine. I encourage you to grab your camera, your sunscreen, water bottle and try out one or more of these great photo locations this…

Multiple Exposure

May 12, 2021
Multiple exposure photography is a fun technique to add creativity to your images. Layering one or more images to create one final image allows you to really showcase the subject, create impressionistic images, and express your subject creatively. All genres of photographers use multiple exposures, from portrait to street and…

Blue flowers make a rare splash of color in your garden!

April 11, 2021
The color blue is a favorite for most people. It is calming and associated with depth, stability, and peace. While the color is in our sky and waters, it is only ten percent of the world’s flowering plants. There is very little if any blue pigment in the entire plant…

Bluebells of Virginia

April 5, 2021
It is that time of year on the East Coast and in Virginia, where spring arrives, bringing the beauty of Cherry blossoms, spring Daffodils, and Bluebells. While the Cherry Blossoms take center stage in late March, the VA Bluebells in early April are not to be missed. A native…

Creative Technique: Free Lensing

April 1, 2021
Free Lensing is a great tool to capture a very shallow depth of field image. This process helps you create Images that are dreamy and ethereal. This technique may seem risky to some, but you can do it without harming your camera or lens if you practice. This technique requires…

Lessons from the Sea

April 1, 2021
“The sea can do craziness; it can do smooth, it can lie down like silk breathing or toss havoc shoreward; it can give gifts or withhold all; it can rise, ebb, froth like an incoming frenzy of fountains, or it can sweet-talk entirely. As I can too, and so, no…

Creative techniques for spring images.

March 17, 2021
Spring is here! I love this time of year. The colors in the gardens on the east coast are beginning to pop with color and new blooms in April. It is one of my favorite times of year to get out in the garden with my camera. Spring flowers are…

The beauty of color!

March 17, 2021
“Color was not given to us in order that we should imitate nature. It was given to us so that we can express our emotions.” Henri Matisse Color is a critical factor in telling a visual story. Color evokes emotions and brings an image to life. Decorators, film-makers, commercial designers,…

Creative Spring Container Gardens

March 8, 2021
April is a time to look forward to every year. I enjoy preparing for outside planting, bringing out my flower boxes and pots, and thinking about what look I want to achieve this season. The local garden centers will begin to set out their early shipments of spring plants. This…

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