Photographic Memory

Going outside with my camera is a more frequent occurrence than going out to weed or water either one.  Bottom line, taking and even editing photographs is simply a lot more enjoyable than hauling watering cans or yanking weeds. Both watering and weeding are important precursors to having anything worth taking photographs of, naturally.  With a sketchy memory like mine, having photographs on hand as reminders of the potential rewards sure comes in handy as motivation.

If one day I am scratching my head and wondering, hmmmm....how long did it take to get from hauling water to baby along the plants shown here...

Bluebonnets! March 10, 2014

past here...

I cut these mature seed pods prior to predicted heavy rain (3 inches!).  May 3, 2014

to here?

Harvested bluebonnet seed futures May 18, 2014

I simply pull up the photos I've taken for the blog and check the dates.  Then when doing that triggers a desire to go back,

March 18, 2014

back,

February 24, 2014

all the way back

February 18, 2014

to see how long it took to get from here...

February 14, 2014

to here?  Rinse, lather, repeat.

April 2, 2014

Occasionally, a before and after set helps remind me of lessons re-learned. Guess what happens when I stubbornly put a cheater pot out front filled with proven delicious-to-deer bloomers?

So pleased with myself for planning ahead, tra la! April 14, 2014

Sigh...Yup.  It might not occur the first night, it might not occur until after two or three nights, but the key takeaway is that The Munching always happens eventually and things ends badly.  For the plants, at least.  I'm supposing the deer was delighted.

I moved the pot out front May 1, 2014.  The morning of May 3rd it looked like this.  Bambi wins again!

Finally, when it comes to jobs that won't, simply can't, last as long as I'd like, such as weeding?  Oh such a thankless job, weeding.  Because I never get ahead, I can never stay ahead.  The seed bank accounts in my garden beds unfortunately represent multiple seasonal deposits.  One withdrawal barely makes a dent.

Rather than reaching for a flamethrower, I find looking at before and after shots encouraging.  A "You've done it once, you can do it again!" approach.  A reminder that these spaces look pretty good, given the chance to shine they way they were originally intended.  Because while this is everything I could hope for in a garden tableau...

April 19, 2014

unfortunately then it morphs into this....

Weedy weedy gone to seedy. May 18, 2014

and takes hours of stoop labor to get it back to this, again.

The reappearance of the ceramic shard mosaic mulch is fussy work but worth it.  The colors underneath the bench function as a reverse shadow all summer long.  May 19, 2014

Are all the weeds in this bed one hundred percent gone?  Ha! Not even close. I'll allow myself a generous accounting of ninety-nine percent gone, and know that if I can get back to this space every week or so for just a few minutes of work, I'll have the summer's worth of joy as my reward. That's a pretty fair trade.  And not if, but when I forget?  The photos will be right here to remind me.

White Lined Sphinx Moth Photo Tutorial

Plenty of sites will offer advice as to how to capture the best shot of a Hyles lineata, or White Lined Sphinx Moth, in mid-flight. I am not here to tread familiar ground.

No no, I am here to show you how with a little effort, one can achieve intriguingly fuzzy, not-quite-in-frame shots of one of the fastest feeders in town.

Before we get started however, I'd like to point out I've been at this a very long time.  You must not get discouraged if you find your photos consistently turn out in predictably sharp focus.  We can't all be artistic all the time.

It could be your talents are simply guiding you elsewhere. Frankly, modern technology can do a lot for the amateur photographer, but it cannot replace a false sense of confidence combined with decades of poor habits.

Whew.  It feels great to have that out of the way.  Shall we proceed?

Sphinx moths are fast.  When trying to "lead" the subject, be sure to click the shutter juuuuust before the moth arrives.  

Fortune smiled - extra points granted for a bonus not-in-focus specimen.  Beside the blurry moth please note the anole to the far right, just below the midline of the image. 

It takes a precisely chosen depth of field to get very nearly focused without actually achieving clarity.  

Even experienced photographers occasionally get careless. This came dangerously close to being in sharp focus.    

*Sigh*

So there you have it.  A series of lyrically unfocused glimpses of Hyles lineata, the white lined Sphinx moth.  A paean to the near miss, an ode to the almost was.  You're welcome!

No photographs, please?

Taking this article at face value (and I am), please consider:

Ten percent of all the photos ever taken were taken in the past 12 months.

Every 2 minutes today we snap as many photos as the whole of humanity took in the 1800s. (and I'm pretty sure they aren't counting surveillance photos or video in that number.)

There are 2.5 billion camera phones.  Almost all people who own dedicated digital cameras also own a phone with a camera.  (I own both though I nearly never use the camera on my old not-very-bright-you-could-even-say-stupid phone.)

I'm a little ambivalent.  When I see photographs featuring crowds holding up their cellphones snapping pictures?  I sometimes think that behavior misses the point of actually being an eyewitness.  On the other hand, the world is a rich and varied place and I've seen a lot more of it through photographic representation than I could hope to in person.

Past that?  Taking and sharing photos are two of the chief pleasures of blogging here.

While I have you here for a moment?  Have a happy 4th of July!
(I won't say "safe" because I'm guessing happy and safe stay on the same page, and if they don't?  That's your bidness, not mine.)