CHALLENGE: MEN I ADMIRE

This is the last day for being on topic. I could have been posting photos of my dh and other family members, but I chose to keep them private. This photo of a bust of Washington was taken a couple of years ago in Mt. Vernon. The bust was in a shadowy room, so I was happy to be able to see it at all.
What I liked about the bust was written on a plaque nearby: that his family chose this one as the "best likeness" of the real man.

SINGLE BLOOMS

After a morning of errands, Pat and I saw our very first sunshine in forever! Of course, cameras are always on hand, so we stopped on the way home at a fun nursery called the Grey Barn. We had only moments, but we went crazy!
Clematis centers:
I was experimenting (at last) with my camera's different focus techniques, and I was pleased with the results. Of course, some went into the trash bin, but for the most part, things turned out. I am happy with myself for finally taking the time to try to learn about my Nikon D300 instead of just using the"P" mode.
These 1st 4 are clematis centers. They are also sooc; I was so thrilled with the natural color and the focus - why didn't I try this 2 months ago?! 1st and 4th were cropped only slightly; the others were not. All hand-held.
Maybe this one is a little hard to look at, being all-white?
And, a miniature gerbera. These colors are sooc; I love the way they look like brush-work.
There will be more from the Grey Barn, but tomorrow is a planned outing (based on a positive weather report!) to the Univ. of Wash. campus. Wheeeeeeeee!

ANOTHER FLORAL ARRANGEMENT

"Nice pedestal" remarked my DD! This is actually right after I finished the arrangement and it is on a very old garage stool. Someone who came to our DgrS's Eagle Court pointed to the huge arrangement I had done and asked if I could make a similar one "in that vase" for a certain senior graduation program. So, the event was last night, and this is the arrangement, about 3 1/2 feet tall.

Do you see the difference in the two? Unfortunately, after a week of pounding rain, it was still coming down when I had to cut the flowers on Saturday. I feared for the life of each flower - they were so soggy and lifeless! (And so was I, after being in fields and forest to prune!) So, by the time the flowers got to the event, about 1/3rd of them had shrivveled up.
Here, the large one is actually quite a bit in the background, not on the pulpit as it appears:

POTD CHALLENGE: WITH FLASH

I found 2 more where I used flash deep in the woods on the Twin Falls hike a week ago. These little fern tips are about the size of a dime. I didn't have my macro lens; this was with my 18-200mm, hand-held, sooc.

In fact, this is the same fern tip, taken from the other side.

POTD CHALLENGE: FLASH

I am still using photos from my Twin Falls hike. The weather has been November-like, making it impossible to even get out for photography. I don't "do" people-pics where flash would be used a lot. This little fungus was taken with my 18-200mm lens. It was on the dark side of the tree; I didn't want to point and flash head-on, so I tried this from the side and, amazingly, the results were as I had hoped! Sooc, hand-held.

Yikes! MORE from Twin Falls hike

It really was a jungle in there! SO typical of NW woods: green and lush and shadowy. These pics are right out of the camera; no color-enhancement; no cropping.

This is much too blown-out, but metering was just beyond me. Just showing here the ferns growing on 80-foot + trees, clear to the top.
Then there are the moss-covered limbs too:
My favorite fern and I don't even know the name!
The river below Twin Falls; again, blown out.

POTD CHALLENGE: FLOWERS

From my hike to Twin Falls on Saturday. This shot was an after-thought, almost not taken just because this is an every-day scene in a NW forest. This is sooc. Tall trees above and ferns below, and old-growth everywhere.
Ferns growing on the side of an old-growth tree: Also sooc.
Another "just forest" shot, sooc, with the kind of "remains" that woodpeckers love: