Testing a "New" (to me!) Camera - Sony A350

Clover Closeups

xoxo

Sony A-350

Food and Water at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens

Before we get started, here are the links to check out the rest of the series from my January 30, 2018, road trip to the Mendocino Coast to experience the Super Blood Blue Moon.  

Blue Moon!  You caught me dancing alone...  

We've got beaches in mind...

Mama liked the roses...

Gathering flowers for the Master's bouquet...

Yes, those are all actually lines from songs that match the subject of the post.  Haha

Anywho, I was very excited to see that the Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden has a section dedicated to growing food!  There is a garden at Oakland's Lake Merritt that also has this and it's really fun to go and see how beautiful food is when it's growing.  

So I've devoted this last post to the food garden where I got some amazing macro shots that might make you view the food in the produce aisle in a slightly different way.  So much beauty and plenty in this world that we sometimes take for granted.  

In addition to the food, I decided to include shots with water in them.  I left a couple in the other posts because the focus was more on the flowers, but I definitely wanted the majority to be with the food as these both sustain God's creatures.  So let's get started. 

The first photo is water on blue and purple leaves. 

Next is a dewy spider web above some bushes. 

I've got to say, I'm really happy with these extension tubes!  I was really concerned because they are only manual focus and my eyesight is TERRIBLE.  So I worried that I might not be able to tell when things were in focus.  But I did pretty well, if I do say so myself.  

One of the most beautiful veggies in the grocery store or in the field/garden is Rainbow Chard.  

I love this next shot.  The water is so pretty and shimmery and there's good depth of field so some of the water creates natural bokeh.  Lovely. 

Love these too because the Lacinto Kale has perfect little cubbies for the dew drops to settle in. 

So cute!

Ruby Chard

Red Leaf Lettuce

I'm not sure what this next one is, but it sure is pretty!

As is this stunning purple cabbage with it's green and purple outer leaves that you don't normally see in the market. 

Okay!  Last photo from this trip and I confess it really doesn't fit this post!  haha  

I'm pretty sure it's a succulent and not food and there is no water visible.  

But!  

It reminded me of the old "two peas in a pod" saying so I thought I'd just go ahead and drop it here.  

💚💧

xoxo

Nikon D3300

Macro Magic at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens - January 2018

Ready for more color and fun at the beautiful botanical gardens in Mendocino California?  Then you're in the right place!  To check out the previous posts from this road trip, click on the links below:

1) Super Blood Blue Moon: Gorgeous shots of the moon!

2) Beaches of Fort Bragg:  Sun, Sea, and Birds

3)  Botanical Gardens: Flowers, Art, and Birds

As I mentioned in the previous post, although my objective at the gardens was to try out my extension tubes and practice my Macro Photography, once I switched lenses to see the woodpeckers, I kept it off for a bit and was extra glad when I came across a fantastic metal dragon sculpture!

For sake of transparency, I had fun coloring my dragons a little bit in Photoshop.  I love dragons and wanted to enhance the feel I got of this magical creature in a beautiful garden.

My magical dragons!  I love them.

Now, just so you know, Here is what the scales actually looked like and you can see that they are mostly bronze with green (possibly from oxidation?) being the next color and a little bit of a blue/purple tinge too.  But the purple on the dragon above is almost all my doing.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled macros. The next two photos are similar to a couple in the last post.  The first one is a different bud and the second one is a different edit.  :-)

Let me ask you a question.  How often do you look at the back of plants or flowers? 

They often have a unique beauty all their own.

Just something to think about the next time you're out wandering in a garden.  😉

Speaking of dragons, I get a distinct dragon feel from this next little bud!

Another great target for Macro Photography:  bugs! 

I love this next one.  I love fuzzy things and black and white. 

The water bokeh in the shot above will lead us into our next post which will be titled Food and Water. Something all of us need, right?  So be sure to check it out.  :-)

xoxo

Nikon D3300

Birdwatching & Beaches of Mendocino Coast - January 2018

And we're back. 

This is part II of my road trip for last January's Super Blood Blue Moon where I traveled up the coast to Bowling Ball Beach and Point Arena to see the lunar event.  For those shots of the Super Blood Blue Moon, etc., just click anywhere on this sentence!

After the eclipse, I headed a bit further north to Fort Bragg to visit the beautiful Mendocino Coast of California wander about to see what I could see.  Happily I saw birds, including two species that I've never personally seen before.  And just beauty everywhere.  It was a gorgeous day.

These are two of the birds I hadn't seen before - Black Oystercatchers. 

Seaweed is beautiful!

And so is Sea Lettuce.

Here's another Black Oystercatcher and a possibly, slightly better shot.  There were actually tons of them on this particular rocky beach.

Next I moved a bit further up the coast and found these Cormorants and Seagulls.

And a lot of rocks.  And seaweed of various kinds that I have no idea about.

This kind was frequently attached to empty mussel shells.

This next photo is of another bird I'd never seen.  A Black Turnstone.  I'd never even heard of it truthfully.  But it was really pretty and cool to see.

Under the sea...

I got caught by a sneaker wave!!  This is what happens when you're looking through a telephoto lens and don't see the other, closer waves.  Haha!  Luckily I saw it and turned just in time to prevent my camera being completely soaked.  The back of my head was though. 

This is kinda creepy and yet cool!

Here's that same Black Turnstone.  It had flown away earlier, so I was happy to find it again.

It was enjoying the sunny day too and had a mid-morning nap in the rays.

This is looking back to where I was.  There was a cool, little flat pool beside where I got splashed with my sneaker wave.  I had been standing almost at the end of the flat part a bit further ahead than the people you can see in the photo.

I had a great time trying to get some cool macro shots of the dew in the grass and plants.  I'm sure people thought I was a bit strange though. 

After this I headed to the amazing Mendocino Botanical Gardens.  Even though it was January, they had so many gorgeous plants and flowers.  And it was a great walk before I spent 6 hours driving home.  :)

xoxo

Nikon D3300