More Abstracts

I made this picture several years ago. I called it "The Last Leaf of Summer." It was taken with a lens that never focused properly - meaning not very sharply. Under certain circumstances, though, I found I liked the effect. The little round highlights are actually sparkles of sunlight from a mud puddle in the background, if you can believe it. I liked this one so much, I have tried to find the last leaf of summer every year. Some years, I'm too late.

Here again, I think I was using that same lens. It was a telephoto that was very slow to respond to focus, so a flying bird was a challenge. The more I looked at this picture afterward, the more I liked it. Not so much the bird, but the monochromatic background. The bird is okay to hang in the foreground, I guess. I never really have liked the way the photo blew out over the birds shoulder, but what are you going to do. It is what it is. Isn't like you get a do over.

Sometimes in the Fall, I get overwhelmed with the colors and just wander through the trees around the house taking image after image. It is like I can't help myself. My name is Michael and I'm a leafaholic. Over the years, this has been one of my favorites with it's rivers of color between the leaves. I like it's graphic nature.

A friend had invited me over to film some hawks that had taken up residence in her yard. I don't think I was able to get anything worth keeping with the hawks, but at one point while I was waiting on them, I looked over and saw this scene. It turned out to be the keeper.

Every year, my wife and I put hanging baskets out on the porch. This particular year it was red geraniums. I used a macro lens to get into the interior of some of the blossoms and create abstract images. The back lighting at certain times of the day did wonderful things to the blooms.