Butterfly Bush

I didn't take as many pictures this time, but even if I did when my subject is not my child, I find the weeding process a lot easier.  I don't know exactly how many pictures I took, but after my first pass I had 75.  In the end I only have 4 to share, and the rest will be deleted.  I don't need/want to remember every angle or bit of our butterfly bush, just the pretty parts.

I did shoot from every angle and with the complete group, several groups, head on, etc. but this angle with the soft background appears to be my favorite.  Most of the others were easy, easy to cut.  This exercise did prove to me that once again that I really do like close-up photos.  The pictures of the full bush were deleted on the first pass even though a part of me thought about keeping them to illustrate my point.  The most aggravating part was that  I couldn't get close enough.

This butterfly was the only one flying around, and while this was the best angle and focus I could get, it is cropped too close to be printable.  So fun to have a blog to share it on, then.  I would love a macro lens or extension tubes, but right now I need to focus on learning the equipment I do have.  I am not really satisfied with the sharpness of my focus (or lack of sharpness) but I was zoomed out to 200 and the wind was blowing.   I probably should have waited for a less windy day, but the lighting that day was glorious. 

And I do love the rich colors with light.  When a photo combines the two I can just drown in it.  Look at that pretty purple circle.  The flowers are almost irrelevant to me in this photo.

I did have three other photos I worked on for posting--one including a sunflare--but as I moved from these that I loved to those that I liked, I liked those even less, so I plan to delete them, too.  Need to make room for more pictures of my kids, I guess.  But this one, it is my favorite and worth the hour I spent taking pictures.

I think this is my best picture of a bee yet, and I love it with the purple and browns.  Love the sparkle on his wings, too.  The most frustrating part of taking pictures of flowers (besides getting the right focus and close enough in) is that unlike kids, you can't tell the bees to turn around and smile.   Oh wait, that doesn't work with kids either.   Next time, I might wait until it is not 85 degrees out.  The kids were playing in the sprinkler the whole time which is another 189 pictures!

Thank goodness for long lenses!

I don't mean to sound so complainy about how many pictures I need to sort through and edit.  One thing I learned from this exercise and in taking pictures the last few months is that while I love looking at my favorite images and editing and sharing, if all I did was take photos for an hour and then reformat the card, the pleasure I get while choosing settings, framing the photo, reviewing the histogram after they are shot would still exist.  Granted I wouldn't be able to ever improve if I never looked at my images again, and I wouldn't feel the satisfaction I get from looking at images or sharing them, but that enjoyment as I shoot is real, intrinsic in the process, and strong.  If I lose my images*, I can always take more pictures of a butterfly bush, but that contented hour of peace as I enjoyed nature, my children, God, and my hobby cannot be lost.

*Do not misunderstand; we have lost a hard drive before and paid for photos to be recovered, so I know that can be a painful loss.  Always back-up your pictures.