Adventures

My Recipe For Photography Inspired By The View Through Our Kitchen Window

Shelley

It’s June outside adventure time here in my neck of the woods. It’s my favorite time of the year to capture photos of things I’ve been waiting to see since the snow melted. I’ve been taking pictures of the great outdoors with my current camera, circa 2009 Canon Rebel XSI, since 2010. It was a hand-me-back-up-to-mom gift from our youngest daughter who we purchased a different camera – a better one, but I think I still scored a great camera.

Even if I occasionally often miss shots.

Being resourceful back then, I taught myself to shoot in Manual mode and rarely went to auto settings. For two reasons. 1. I like to play & trust the camera to do its special focusing and 2. I like the bokeh effect when I focus on specific features of an object I’m trying to capture. It’s fun to play with (ISO) settings too.

Like this morning, in the fog and when the fog started to lift. I love Mother Nature’s blurry background!

I carry my camera or have it somewhere handy, just in case there’s a photo to capture. It fits in my hand like a glove. I follow the same recipe each time I grab the camera – I adjust the manual settings on the fly as I click away.

Most of the year, I take photos from looking out our kitchen window. Here is my blurry attempt – where the camera focused on my reflection in the window.

And here is a photo of the camera focusing on the yard instead. But, you can still see my reflection.

Once the weather blesses us with spring/summer temps, especially in May and June, I’m out in the great outdoors squatting down low to the ground to capture unique in-the-moment photos.

The first-ever winter wheat field has been fascinating. The farmer who rents the land had never planted it in the 30+ years we’ve lived here.

Can you imagine being a tiny fawn, running through the wheat field, chasing after your momma, and this is all you see?

I didn’t see the fawn until I looked at the photos on my computer screen.

See the little tike’s head? We have two mommas with fawns that cross the yard often this spring. One has one baby and the other has two fawns. I didn’t have the camera when I saw the two fawns. They were so stinking cute as they chased her across the field.

I have better luck capturing flowers as they grow. My irises have burst open!

Once they start opening, the blossoms take off. Here’s day one in the morning light.

I love the natural bokeh effect I can capture by squatting close to the flowers and zooming in so the camera does the blurring.

The same view of them two days later on a cloudy morning.

Aren’t bearded irises so cool? I think the blurred background by shooting in manual mode makes the photo better. Here’s an iris in full bloom.

Thankfully, the deer and the rabbits leave the irises alone. This spring, we’ve had many critters and birds around the yard (turkeys, deer, rabbits, squirrels, Mourning Doves, Cardinals, Finches, Crows, etc.).

From the window on the 31st of May, I spied on this rabbit who was wondering what happened to the fire pit. Here’s my Last on the SD Card photo (below) for Brian at Bushboy’s May challenge. Those of you who have followed me over the years, do you recognize what is missing from this photo? Do you think I removed it with AI or is it a real-life removal by Mr.?

Since the beginning of May, I’ve planted marigold and zinnia seeds in my planters around the yard. I’m anxiously awaiting their sprouts to reveal themselves. I repurposed an old bird bath to prop up the flower pot above Copper’s gravesite. Last year the rabbits climbed into the pot and ate all the flowers. I was so bummed. This year, the Mourning Doves found the space and claimed it when the sprouts popped up through the soil. WTH?!

John’s Lens-Artists challenge this week is about AI in photography. At first glance at the prompt, I panicked. I was like, what? I don’t know anything about AI. Is there a recipe to success using it? Grr…now what? (Below is my normal technique of taking the photo & enhancing it; the feature photo in the header is the AI tool blurring the background) Can you tell the difference and what do you think?

I used the new technique when I noticed an update in my free Microsoft photo editing tool. There were two new buttons. AI buttons!

Hmm…shall I play? Why not? Okay, let’s go. I love the line, “…may not be perfect or what you expect.”

Could I erase the chair in the forefront?

Umm…nope. That’s…well…you can see for yourself, less than perfect or what I expected. What do you think?

How about removing the background, would that work?

What do you think?

I think that photo was too complex for AI. So I tried again.

How about the single iris photo from above? AI would make it better if the flower and not the background were what I wanted to capture. Maybe. What do you think?

I’m not sold on AI yet, folks. While I might play with AI buttons occasionally, I’ll remain lurking in the shadows of using AI. I think some potentially controversial things can be done with AI which may be risky. How about you? Check out John’s post for more details and links to others who use paid-for or other software and their thoughts on how they like/dislike AI.

Post Inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “recipe.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy! Brian from Bushboy’s Last on the SD Card for May 2024. John for Lens-Artists #302 Artificial Intelligence and Photography; and Terri Webster-Schrandt’s Sunday Stills June 2 – June is Great Outdoors Month make sure to check her post and take note of her new garden shoes inspired by my last post where I showed you mine 🥰

PS – Happy June to you, I hope you’re doing well! What’s new with you? What outdoor activities do you have planned?

Published by Shelley

Letting my quirk out one post at a time.

64 thoughts on “My Recipe For Photography Inspired By The View Through Our Kitchen Window”

  1. Wow, you have so many beautiful photos today, Shelley! I reject AI in terms of photography. What you describe in removing a chair from the image is something that I do regularly when processing my images.

    I don’t think of that as being AI. The wheat looks so pretty, the baby deer’s head in the tall wheat is so cute! The Mourning Doves are so cute having a rest on your porch, I love them and they are common down here too, I saw one on my bird bath just yesterday!

    Wishing you guys a great Sunday and new week, Shelley. 😊

    1. Hi John, thank you for sharing your thoughts and compliments! You’re talented with photo editing. I remember you use a Mac, what software do you use when editing your photos?

      The wheat has been interesting and it’s giving us the green color in the field for a long time. It’ll be interesting when it turns tan/brown this fall. The little fawns are so cute – we love seeing them leap up above the wheat to keep up with their moms. Yes – the Mourning Doves of cute too. I haven’t shared the photos yet of when I captured many shots of one of them doing their cooing sounds.

      We hope you had a great Sunday and that your week is off to a great start – stay cool!

  2. These are all lovely photos, Shelley. My favorite is that foggy flag. Keep on experimenting with the camera. I’m sure AI has lots of benefits for us, but there’s nothing more important than the photographer who says, “Let me try this…” Keep on experimenting.

    1. Thank you, Dan, I knew you’d enjoy the flag photo! 😉 Thank you too for the encouragement to keep on experimenting with the camera. I agree – the person behind the camera benefits from saying, “Let me try this…”.

      I hope your week is great! I’ll be by to read your streaming thoughts…is that an excerpt from your new book?

      1. No, but it may be an excerpt from a future book. I am somewhat captivated by Bessie O’Hara. I think her complete story might be in my future.

        1. I think you’re on to something with her. I enjoyed her confidence and skills you wrote about. She’s a winner!

  3. What a great collection of outdoor images, Shelley! Thanks for sharing your favorite phots and editing techniques. I like AI using image creator https://www.bing.com/images/create/ .

    Here you can type in the text you want in order to create the image. I haven’t tried AI in WordPress yet, but AI editing and image generating is everywhere. What you did with the iris looks great! So far I’m interesting in adjusting backgrounds and some edits like that using a program or AI. Always fun to experiment.

    Spring us looking beautiful in your area and so fun to see the birds doing their things. Love the deer images with the fawn barely able to follow mom. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

    1. Thank you, Terri, I appreciate your feedback. Thank you for sharing the link too. I haven’t used Bing yet, so I’ll have to investigate it. It seems like an already blurry background in the original photo makes it easier for the free AI tool I used. I have to admit, it was fun to experiment, when I started out playing with it, I wasn’t so sure I’d get a kick out of it.

      Yes, spring is finally looking green and joyful here. The birds are so happy – they’ve created quite the ecosystem here. They all alternate their spots around the bird feeder. I imagine the deer come at night as the tiger lilies look like something bigger than a bunny trimmed them. The little fawns have been a special site to see.

      I hope you have a wonderful week too – enjoy those new garden shoes! Excellent choice!!

  4. Love that little head poking above the grass. Lovely iris macros and hope the garden survives your invaders. Good on you for having a go at AI Shelley, it’s not for me.

    1. Hi Brian – thank you, I’m glad you could see the little head poking up too. We were glad to see them running that direction as the other way is to cross the road. Sadly, too many little tikes end up not being able to make it, they’re not car aware enough.
      I’m hoping the garden flowers make it this year too. I’ve been getting my exercise chasing the rabbits – I don’t bark like Copper did, but I can clap and cuss at them. It seems to be working so far. 🤣
      It was fun to play with the AI, but, I’m with you – it’s not for me. I tend to like seeing what the camera and my playing around with angles does more than what I can do with the photos after I take them. 🤔😉

      1. I can usually spot a bit of nature. Roads and animals don’t mix and drivers have no idea.
        As your ideas man 🤔 💡 maybe get a recording of a dog barking. Icky idea is dog urine or faeces sprinkled around the garden. Invite a neighbours dog over for “rabbit time” Rabbits don’t like Lemon Grass either plus you can use it in cooking

        1. I wouldn’t believe you if you said you couldn’t spot a bit of nature! 😉😂 You’re right, roads & animals and oblivious drivers don’t mix.

          Thank you for the ideas! 😍 I have purchased the powder of urine and it does work, but requires reapplication more often than my pocket book wants to spend. I need to see if I can borrow the neighbor’s Great Pyrenees…she might mark more than Copper in his tiny stature ever could’ve.
          Or…Lemon Grass…that would be better in the long run!

          1. I read where somewhere in Africa they use Lion urine to deter animal pest but I would want to be the urine collector 😂

  5. How fun to look out your window and see a deer and its young ones loping through a wheat field and I laughed at the little fawn embedded in the wheat – it would be scary like when you get lost at one of those Halloween fun mazes.

    I like what you do by setting your camera on manual, with the bokeh or even the blurred Christmas lights that you do … one day I will try manual on my camera. You threw yourself right into Shelley and I like that. I also have a Canon Rebel camera. Canon is a good camera, always reliable and will never let you down.

    I don’t think I’ve even seen the rust-colored Irises – we only had the Plain Jane solid purple ones.

    1. Yes, Linda, it’s been so fun seeing the deer and the fawns this year. I was hoping you’d enjoy the picture too! I’m amazed they find their way after their moms. It’s a dense field of grass.

      Thank you – it’s been fun to play with manual mode. I had to get over the ‘I missed that shot too’ mode to get comfortable playing around with the manual setting. Yay – a fellow Canon fan. I’m impressed that this camera is still doing so well for me.

      I brought the irises from my mom’s house – she had purple and yellow ones and I think they combined. I no longer have any purple only ones (the neighbors do) and I have one tiny yellow one that comes up every year too. The bees seem to help keep these rust color ones as the stars of the garden.

      1. I did spend a long holiday weekend reading the manual and the Canon Rebel T6 for Dummies and then went out to try my newfound knowledge – came home and every photo was lousy – too light, too dark or nothing there. So I told myself until you have unlimited time to learn how to use this camera, you’ll use automatic if you want to stay true to a posting schedule of two posts per week. When I bought the Canon AE-1 camera in 1981 to use on my trip to Greece, I bought a photography how-to book for it, but also took a class. Never shot on anything but automatic while I was using it.

        I remembered today that you mentioned AI in this post and asked if we’d tried it yet. I forgot to say that no I had not tried it and I don’t think it is available on Windows 7. I didn’t look. Although Ally did a post awhile ago about how she put a few words into an AI website and it spit out a story and she gave us the link to try it and I did the same thing and was surprised to see how quickly and what a thorough job it did “writing” a post.

        My father planted purple irises all on one side of the backyard garden.,

        1. I read my manual too and it didn’t make sense so I just started playing with the settings until I got what I think is “I get my camera mode”. I know now when the photo isn’t going to turn out and I’m better at being okay with missing the moment. If I suspect there’s not a chance that I can adjust on the fly, I do switch back to automatic. Some day you’ll find time to play with settings. Your photos are great as is though.

          It be hard to imagine W7 being able to do the AI, but what do I know? 🤣 That’s cool that you tried that from Ally’s post. With your ability to write such detailed stories, it’d be hard for AI to do better in my opinion.

          Aw…maybe you could plant some irises again?

          1. Thank you – I guess I’m afraid I”ll come home with a lot of nothing shots which is what happened that one time and I was mad as I spent all weekend learning/taking notes. I only went to take pictures of flowering trees at the Park, so no big deal there, but it was disheartening to see what I did.

            It was fun with the AI and I was amazed how fast AI spit out a story. There was no download to do it which was nice as well. I can’t even find photo editing tools in W7 and I have never even tried “Paint”.

            I am still trying to decide what to do in the yard. Every time I go back there I shudder how it looks. I came home the other day from walking and my next-door neighbor Jeff was out in the yard talking to a friend and practicing with his BB gun and I overheard the friend say “so you’re ready now to take on all those rats you keep telling me about?” I kind of gulped as I thought all along he might just be saying that to me to get my reaction. Neither of them saw me, so that statement was not for my benefit.

          2. The days when we don’t get great shots are practice days, they’re still beneficial.

            I tried the AI story creation and while it was written well, it was a predictable story that resulted. Maybe I didn’t ask it enough creative questions for a better story. 🤔

            Giving yourself this year to plan is a good idea so you get what you want in your yard. Oh, dear, Jeff and a BB gun… 🙄😏

          3. Yes, that is true – there are so many things to learn in everything we do on a daily basis. I am still trying to learn the phone and that is going very slowly. I follow the retired meteorologist on Twitter and the last storm we had, I was no longer connected on the app. I’m guessing it was because the name “X” become official, so no more “Twitter” (most people still call it “Twitter”). It took me forever to put in my logon credentials.

            I feel badly putting it off, but I’m the only PERSON going back there except the A/C and generator techs … the rest are the wildlife and yes, seeing and hearing what Jeff was doing did not make my day.

          4. I can relate to the things we need to keep up on keeping us on our toes in running shoes and we’re running behind more often than not! 🤣 I haven’t ventured to the Twitter/X world. I haven’t been lucky enough to find any meteorologist that is accurate to follow.

            I like your idea of taking the winter to plan for next year’s yard. I’m going to that too. I’m now waiting to see if any of the seeds I planted will survive and thrive through the summer. The less you have to deal with Jeff the better!

          5. In researching a little about computers last night, I did learn that Windows 12 will come out later this year and that date for its debut will be announced this month. Also, I learnd that Windows 12 will be all about AI. Hmm – Windows 11 will be the next for me then as I think the AI might be buggy – I could be wrong. I didn’t know Win 12 was this year and Win 10 end of life for updates is 2025.

          6. Oh, my, I’m not so sure I’ll like Windows 12! 😏😣 You’re right that sounds like the potential for a lot of bugs and going with 11 until the bugs in 12 are worked out would be a good idea. Unless the AI is so intuitive it fixes it’s own bugs 😂 Thank you for sharing what you learned, I appreciate it so much.

          7. I have an article I’ll send you if you’d like which is about Windows 12 being on the horizon. I think I’d opt for Windows 11 since they’re already talking end-of-support life for Windows 10. I’m not really interested in AI in a computer … occasionally for fun, yes, but …. With the Windows 10, I never got to Cortana to work from day #1!

          8. Yes, please send me the article. I’m with you on going with 11 for now. I told Mr. about 12 and he wasn’t aware of the AI component, so I’ll share the article with him too. I’m not interested in AI on my computer either – it’s fun when I want to play, but not for everything! LOL – Cortana…I like to by-pass her as much as possible when I’m setting up laptops for work. Ugh…

          9. I will send you the article and it was over my head with some stuff and it said that MS plans to roll out a new version of Windows every three or four years. That’s money grubbing there … my Windows 7 laptops all work perfectly. The oldest one I bought when Windows 7 came out (2009) and it’s missing a couple of keys and I could have used a wireless keyboard for it, but I just use a pair of light gloves – I only use it for storing pictures anyway. Its battery went too which I don’t understand as I never unplug my laptops. I did look into a Macbook – they are way more expensive but they don’t do upgrades like you deal with in Windows, but I wonder if it would be necessary to pair it with an iPhone (for two-step authentication and other programs) … if you didn’t have to keep upgrading every three-four years, it would be worth it in the long run. I could not have a Mac before because we only used Windows.

          10. Thank you, Linda – I’ll check it out and have Mr. do so too. I hope it all works out for you once you decide which route to take.

          11. You’re welcome Shelley … computers are such a big part of our lives anymore, we want what is best for us and for me I’ve always liked HP because there seem to be less bells and whistles – hope that is the case for the Windows 11 laptop. I would really like to use my Windows 7 laptop the next 10 years, but sadly MS wouldn’t like that.

          12. I appreciate you sharing what you’re learning. We are definitely forced to move to the next versions when they come out aren’t we? 🤔🤨

          13. Yes and there is an Apple convention this week and I’ve been hearing snippets about it on the business reports and their next version (and iPhone) are all about AI. Sigh.

  6. AI has some growing pains. I have two “paid-for” editors and use them for some AI tasks. Sometimes they get the job done, sometimes they don’t. >grin<
    I am having trouble commenting on posts today. Let's see if this one goes OK.

    1. Yes, I agree, it’s not perfected yet, and maybe that’s for good cause. 🤔

      I’ve been having trouble with comments too – this one did come through so I hope my reply makes it to you too.

    1. Thank you, John! I agree wholeheartedly with your take on the AI prompt and your photos you shared are wonderful examples of it.

  8. Shelley, what a fun view you have of your background! The photos you shared and the tip about using manual mode are excellent. The blurred background with the iris in macro focus is simply wonderful. Beautiful post!

    1. Thank you, Egidio. I’m glad you liked my post and my tips of shooting in manual mode. I love macros and bokeh that comes naturally out of the camera. I enjoyed seeing your take on the prompt. You’re gifted at playing with photos and seeing what you can do to create a new photo. Well done!

  9. I don’t do much with photo editing other than cropping and hitting the little button that makes the photo brighter. Well, I sometimes send a pic through the Waterlogue app that’s been around forever. Don’t know if that is considered AI or not? 🤔

    1. Hi Ally, thank you for chiming in on the thoughts about photo editing. I’m a fan of the two buttons you use, they’re my favorites and they’re simple to use which I love! I’ve not used Waterlogue app – but I’ve seen your photos and they turn out interesting and fit the posts when you share them. According to those who know on the internet, Generative AI photo editing is a process where you can create and refine images using tools that leverage artificial intelligence to complete the task. IMHO our favorite tools aren’t considered AI. The post you wrote about having AI write it for you is more like it – ask AI to create a photo for you and see what happens.

  10. I take a LOT of pictures through our windows too. Not always easy! As for the new AI buttons…I haven’t noticed them on my laptop…but I’m getting a new laptop shortly and will have to learn new stuff. HORRORS! I am always scared to touch new buttons because sometimes I can’t get the old stuff back. Or I don’t know how I got to where I am and husband always rolls his eyes at me when I ask for help. I am not looking forward to the new laptop. At all. It’s like running shoes (when I used to run) that you love and then the manufacturer totally changes them for no apparent reason and now you have to start all over looking for a new brand. Sigh.

    1. Yes, you do take a lot of photos. You’re good at picking out the bests to share with us. And I also think that you’re gifted in framing the photo in the camera so not many edits exist to make your photos better. Oh, dear, I know how scary that is to get a new laptop. I dread those moments and you described them well, including the hubby-eyeroll. It’s a THING! I hope the change is a happy change and not frustrating for you.

  12. Ooooo! The irises! They have arrived. They’re fantastic Shelley! I’d have never guessed they looked like that from the buds. They are worth the wait. 🙂 Plus you get to see baby deer in your backyard! How exciting!

    1. Hi – YES, they’re here and will be gone again soon. This year they are so fragrant and the little hummingbirds have been enjoying them as much as I have been. They are a pretty color. I have one pale yellow one that I have to go find to see if it bloomed again.

      Yes, the baby deer have been so fun to see. The turkeys are here more than the deer. Mr. calls our backyard a zoo. It seems as so it is this year. 🤣

      1. Irises are my favorites. The blooms don’t last long enough! I’ve read that there are some that re-bloom though. We used to call our old place “Wild Kingdom”. Showing my age now. 🙂

        1. I found my one tiny pale yellow one yesterday. I think it’ll appear in my next post before all the irises have faded away for this year. I saw someone on Facebook say you can dead-end them and they’ll keep blooming. I’ve never heard that… I loved the Wild Kingdom, it was a hit and we rarely missed an episode. 🥰

          1. Aw! One tiny pale yellow one. Poor little thing all alone. You’re supposed to cut the flower stalks down low after the flowers are gone. I’ve never had any re-bloom however I cut them. Maybe the Facebook person had the re-blooming variety though. I thought you might know Wild Kingdom! It was a fun show for its day.

          2. Yes, one tiny pale yellow one. It’s more fragile than the other ones (IMHO). I’ve been trying to get a photo of it to do it justice, but it’s been so dang windy. Maybe this morning I’ll get one. I never knew that you were supposed to cut the flowers down before winter until last year. So for 29 years, I just let them grow. I cut them down last year, and I really don’t see much of a difference in the ones I trimmed and the ones I didn’t. I’ve even tossed out into a wooded area what I thought were bad roots and they’ve taken off. I guess this color iris is a determined one. 😂

            It was a favorite of my dad’s too, he loves animal adventures of all kinds. So it was a bonding show every weekend. Happy memories indeed.

  13. A polarizing filter on the lens will reduce or eliminate reflections in glass or water. If you like that sort of thing.
    Regards,
    Paz

  14. That wheat field is beautiful and while the farmer might not like the deer in it, it will be nice for you to watch the fawns. I did see the one behind the mama photo prior to your arrow. lol. Good efforts at AI, I think those of us who enjoy photography have similar sentiments. Not for us. This was nice read, Shelley, and the irises are gorgeous.

    1. Thank you, Donna! It’s been windy here the last few days and I’ve been fascinated with watching the field as the wind passes through/over it. It’s almost as cool as watching the ocean waves. It’s mesmerizing and I wish I could capture a photo of it. I saw the mama running again with her little tike right behind her. The little one is getting bigger and stronger, it’s so fun to see.

      Yes, AI is a stretch for us. I did enjoy seeing how you experimented. I’m trying to gear up and try the AI feature in WP. Time will tell if I take that leap or not.

      I’m going to add another iris photo to the mix for your Saturday prompt. I hope you like the delicate yellow one that I have that somehow survives every year.

      1. I would love the chance to sit out on my back patio and watch the deer. We are heading to the Grand Canyon for our annual trip next week. I am hoping we might see some babies since we will have two grandkids in tow. It is always fun to see things like that through their eyes. Ya…AI, it is what it is. I will look forward to your iris.

        1. It’s been fun seeing the deer. Yesterday, we had a yearling deer walk up toward us when I started talking to her as she was nibbling on a tree. A rare moment to treasure.
          I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you and your grandkids get to see some babies too!
          The wind was crazy here when I had time to take photos of the iris…hopefully I did it justice!

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