Ah, yes, it’s the beginning of a work week and I’ve got nothing fancy planned for the day. It’s back to work I go.
But first…I need to feed my creative soul for just a few minutes.
Never fear, dear, before I go off to work, I do pause to play. In fact, I have the perfect recipe for creating tiny bits of magic on a Monday.
What does it take? It’s simple, really, it is.
First, you need a sun rising that makes the dew sparkle on the grass. It’s pretty to look down at, but what if you get down closer? Really close and inspect what is glistening across the yard.
Get down close like a dog. Wow, it does it look different, doesn’t it?
How about looking straight across the grass, what does that look like?
Ooh, now that’s more interesting, eh?
What happens if you move the camera up and down and focus on different depths of field?
You get, millions of magical bubbles. That’s what happens.
Just click and playback, you don’t even have to zoom. The camera will focus back and forth with the depth of field.
I find when I play like that, even just a dog on a walk through the wet grass can appear fascinating to me. Sure I get a lot of crappy shots, but I don’t care. The ones that stand out keep me interested in trying time after time.
See how the blades of grass appear to disappear? I stayed in one spot the whole time, just moved my camera ever so slightly as I clicked.
I have just a basic Canon Rebel XSi DSLR camera, set in manual mode, 400 ISO (sometimes I set it to 200 depending upon how bright the sunrise is – this day it was slightly overcast), I adjust the white balance to neutral, and I hold the camera down next to the ground. All I do is press the button to focus on various depths of field and see what happens.
Even if the dog subject ends up pooping for the scene – it’s still fun to see what I’ve captured. LOL – Copper even looked back at me as if to say, “Did you get that…it was my precious contribution to the moment?”
“Um…yes, thank you, you posed perfectly for the dewdrop bubble.”
And that’s how I make my Monday magical – and full of dewdrop surprises.
Post Inspiration – Dewdrops
PS – Do you ever play with your camera like I do? Do share, I’d love to see your photos. Which photos do you like better? The close-ups or the distance shots through the blades of grass?
Love these dewdrops pics! Clever. Happy Monday! (Raining here YET AGAIN. Grr.)
Thank you! Happy Monday to you too. Aw…sorry to hear it is raining again! It’s sunny and clear blue skies here today. A lovely day to wish I had it off ;-(!
These are all pretty. I love the close-ups of Copper. It’s hard not to wonder what dogs are thinking when they sniff and point and sniff some more. I know, it’s probably something like “I peed here last October…” but still.
Thank you, Dan!! LOL – you’re probably right on what he sniffed – that line made me laugh out loud! 🙂
Ah, love all your dewdrops pics!
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
How did you peel yourself away from this photographic heaven? Fascinating photos and I really appreciate learning the tech aspects of how you got those shots. Plus I wonder how you stayed dry kneeling in the wet grass, but minor details I’m sure. Really amazing photos!!
It’s hard to pull away when I’m having that much fun! I’m glad you like my ‘tips’. Remember back to February when I was doing all those squats in preparation for the beach in March? Well…that’s what I do when I take photos, I squat down and hold the camera down close to the ground. If I had one of those cameras with the screen that I could rotate so I could see what I was doing, it’d probably be easier. But I don’t think I’d get as many surprise shots that way. I’m glad you enjoyed them. I look forward to see what photos you get when you get your new camera!
Squats! Staying in shape and taking great photos at the same time. I am again inspired 🙂
LOL – I try :-)!
Great Bokeh photos Shelley! i love your creativeness with your camera. ❤️😎
Thank you, John – your critiques mean a lot to me!!
Beautiful photos that bring to mind… “raindrops on roses.” Or in this case, dewdrops on doggies…
Thank you, Ally! LOL – and he was one wet pup – the return to the house is his least favorite part of our morning adventures. His feet require wiping and he hates that almost as much as cutting his nails. A dog’s life has its ups and downs!
I love these photos, Shelley. They portray the “magic” of morning perfectly!
Thank you, Donna, glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
That was quite magical looking!
Thank you, Joni!
My comment went into cyberspace, so I’ll try right here instead. I love the dewdrops on the grass and most of us just see the water on the blades of grass, but you see and capture more – the droplets look like spun glass or crystal drops on a chandelier. No, I’ve not hunkered down with the camera manual yet, but soon. Maybe Memorial weekend (she says hopefully).
I found your comment, just slow to responding today! I love how you described the water droplets. If I focus the camera and move it ever so slightly, I get that blurred effect on some of the drops. It’s fun to play with the camera to see what I get. YES! You’ll have nice weather on Memorial Day weekend, and I’ll have rain. We always have rain and cold. Almost always!
I left it late last night – I always say I’ll copy the comment in case it flies off the screen and forgot, so did it over in the other comment page (Reader) and it worked. I am slow this morning too – went to bed too late. I have to experiment on some things with the camera – hopefully over Memorial Day and I will try this.
I got better shots of water at the river and some birds after my friend who has a DSLR but not taken the time to study the manual either, told me to shoot on “sports mode” and that worked better for me until I can study the manual and learn more or re-watch Jared’s videos, which I saved. I signed up for another 5K on Memorial Day and just did that yesterday. and it is in an area I’ve never walked, close by – 10 miles, and it is with a running group that has been together since 1981. I saw the story online in the local paper. They have been doing this run/walk (8k and 5k runs and a 5k walk) for years and it looked fun. So will explore that area a little as well. I generally take the compact digital for events like that, but the rest of the time, I need to use the DSLR. By signing up for that run/walk, I guarantee it will rain!
You’re so faithful to make sure your comments arrive safely to the intended parties. I love that about you. Yes, the sports mode is good for capturing action shots. I’ve used that mode to capture Copper in action. It is fun. I haven’t done that for a while. Yay – way to keep signing up for events even if they may get rain. Last year we signed up for a 5 mile run, and it poured up until the race started, stopped while we ran it, then started up again. Hope if it rains for yours, the same thing happens.
Thank you – I do try to ensure I reply and they get there and sometimes they disappear. That happened with a comment on Laurie’s site yesterday … it was not in moderation, it hopped off the page. She found it, likely in spam. Sports mode is a good tip but I still need to learn some more. Now, this event I signed up for yesterday, the woman in charge of it saw where I lived and my age and said she lived here for 19 years and wondered if we graduated together. She was a year ahead of me. So her husband owns a running store (Total Runner) and they are in charge of the annual event and she wants to meet me now. So, I have no choice but to go rain or shine. You were lucky and I hope if it rains, that is what happens to me – I have 3 more 5Ks this year.
Yes, sometimes your comments end up in my spam or trash too – I forget to look there, so sorry if I miss one occasionally! Yay – that’s fun to meet up with an old classmate – enjoy the reunion moments! And have fun at the race!
No worries – I wonder why my comments are deemed spammy? Yes, it will be nice to meet her and I just sent a story to her that featured her husband. She told me about the runners store he owned and described him. The name was common (David Howell) but he is involved with the Friends of the Detroit River … yesterday they were granted $$ to have more hiking and biking trails in Michigan and the chairman was her husband – she had said “you can’t miss David, he’s the one with the white beard” … small world sometimes.
I have no idea. I’ve heard my comments go to spam too, not sure why?! That’s awesome that you’ll connect with fellow outdoors enthusiasts! It is such a small world. I look forward to hearing how your meeting goes!
I love these pictures and the alliteration! 😃
Aw, thank you – I appreciate the feedback!