We had some beautiful sunny days in Plymouth this past week and my courtyard came alive. Last Thursday my fence was lined with robins. They hung out on the fence, my outdoor fireplace and the roof of my neighbor's home just long enough for me to take some photos. I heard a ruckus at the end of the courtyard so I went around through the garage to investigate. The birds were disturbed by my presence but I saw the aftermath of their feast. The end of my courtyard is bordered by two hetzi columnar juniper trees which had been laden with dark blue juniper berries.They must have knocked...

The last week in September, I stayed at my mother’s timeshare in Provincetown. It is a small unit but beautifully situated right on the beach with a  spectacular view. I love having the time to observe and savor each moment when there are no distractions.The week usually falls around the jewish high holidays so it is also a time of self reflection. This year I was recovering from shingles and lyme disease which had invaded my body at the same time.I was still low energy and it was painful to hold my camera for long periods of time so I dedicated the week to writing. It was a good...

I remember a professional photographer asking our camera club members to send him photos prior to a workshop. The instructions included  “and, please, no photos of sunsets or your kids”. Well, I don’t care if they are mine or yours but I love children’s photos and I love sunsets. The beauty that shines through, when the photographer captures a child’s personality, is exceptional. I wish I was talented enough to photograph children! And sunsets. Obviously the photographer thought they were very trite but I could never get enough of nature’s glory. Each sunset is unique and tells...

 We bought a new macro lens fro our trip to Europe so we could both experiment with taking close-ups of the exquisite flowers. Charles taught us a lot about macro photography but what I learned the most was that it takes great patience! Ordinarily I pride myself on having patience but when it comes to taking pictures, I am challenged. I found it frustrating to be surrounded by such beauty and unable to record it as well and as fast as I would like. It took time to set the tripod up just so, angle the camera, decide what part of the flower to focus on, focus manually, add a light source, compose...

We spent this weekend in Franconia, New Hampshire with the Plymouth Digital Photography Meetup group in anticipation of taking photographs of the Lupine Festival. Unfortunately, we didn't get too many pictures because of rainy weather, but we did have a lovely time.The stately blue, purple, pink, and white lupines stood tall and beautiful against the backdrop of the mountains. I was reminded of the children's book "Miss Rumphius" which we used to read to our children. In the book, Miss Rumphius sets out to reach two goals in her life and her grandfather challenges her to reach a third: to make...

In the brochure advertising the Keukenhof Gardens, it states the theme for 2012 is "Seduction". The gardens certainly seduced me on our recent photographic expedition there. Can you imagine acres of tulips in an array of colors from vibrant reds to pastel pinks accompanied by the tantalizing fragrance of rows of grape hyacinths? There were exquisite designs set in woodland landscapes, each more breathtaking than the next.Prior to the trip I thought four days of photographing tulips would be excessive. Was I wrong! Right til the last day, we were greeted by new buds opening daily, lavish indoor...