Waterlilies are one of my favorite flowers. Beside the fact that you do not have to water them and that the animals do not or cannot eat the blossoms, they seem to stand out on their own.
I did not take many pictures today because I thought that I had the one...; the first picture. However, when I looked at it on my computer, I thought that the lily pads distracted from the blossoms. I decide that a 'make-over' was in order.
To remove the distraction, I de-saturated the green about 80% and the yellows and oranges all the way; 100%, in the second picture.
The third and forth pictures were changed by cropping the photos by different amounts. The last photo I liked as is. Go figure...
I read a blog recently about 'home-made' accessories for taking pictures and decide to try out a couple of them.
The first two pictures are of the pasture that is on the other side of the fence in our backyard. The first picture is straight out of the camera. I happen to like pictures that have fog and the second picture show the same pasture with the appearance of fog, although there was no fog.
I pulled a small "Baggie" over the lens, pulled it tight to get rid of the wrinkles, and took the picture.
The next two pictures were set up by taking a normal picture and then setting the camera on a tripod, As an aside, it would have been better if I had another pair of hands. I then took a DVD disk, affixed it to the back of a chair aiming it at the floral arrangement. The flashlight was pointed at the DVD disk to reflect the prismatic light on to the flowers.
Friends of ours gave us an adorably cute birdhouse. I affixed a piece of wood on the bottom of it to create a balcony, for which bird feed could be located, and then some Leland Cypress branches as home decorations.
The first visitor was a female Brown Headed Cowbird. Other birds that visited were the male Brown Headed Cowbird, a Redheaded Woodpecker, a Mockingbird, a Tufted Titmouse, and an Eastern Bluebird, which did so after much trepidation. The Red Cardinal was the same, but did not give in to it.
As I reviewed the pictures, one of life's lessons pop into my mind. "Things are not always what they appear to be." For example, there was a picture on the internet yesterday of Kate Middleton, while at 'The Wedding,' appearing to be give the Queen a glaring look. Needless to say, the press was making a big deal out of this.
One could speculate what is going on in the third picture; Is the Brown Headed Cowbird saying to the Redheaded Woodpecker, "I want nothing do to do with you," or the woodpecker chasing him away?"
Take a look at the forth picture, without looking at the one that follows. Is the male Brown Headed Cowbird yelling at the female? Is she cowering?
Now look at the next picture. I think that he overplayed his importance. She go the last word... Mind you, some have said... not me... that this is one of those 'Life's Lessons.'
We headed out Saturday with no place in mind but ended up in Cornelia, GA,, which is our second time there. It is the home of the Big Red Apple, which I learned from a Google search was that the monument was donated by Southern Railway, and for many years
a festival was held in celebration of the apples grown in the area. The apple is constructed of steel and concrete and was molded in Winchester, Virginia, in 1925. It was shipped to the town by train. It stands at the railroad station along with a Southern Railway Red Caboose.
We had lunch at Fenders Diner, which is a must for those who like diners. It is 'retro' all over... The telephone booth has a telephone in it, although I do not think that it is operable. The inside of the diner so classic! The food... well, today was not as we expected compared with our first visit. I will still return to Fenders Diner. I did not get pictures from the inside this time. I erred in not having a lens for this with me.
Dahlonega, GA is a great place for a day trip. There is usually live mountain music at the old courthouse and sometimes individuals will be play and singing in front of some of the shops.
We stopped by Cane Creek Falls at Glisson Campground, which is a Methodist camp. There is no access when camp is in session. The picture of the flower is the stat flower of Georgia. It is a Cherokee Rose.
At a quick glance, the felled tree looked like a prehistoric creature.
The automobile is a 1936 Mercedes Benz Roadster, which was park outside the visitor center.
Here are a few photos taken in the Krog Street Tunnel in Atlanta. More graffiti than 'wall art.' The phrase that comes to mind is, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder." I do not think that my cataracts effected my beholding.
The other place that we went to on Monday was the Krog Street tunnel, which is an old underpass beneath railroad tracks. There is graffiti, which is the stereotypical use of a spray can and there is "Wall Art."
I enjoy the latter and am amazed in some of the talent. I think that the Wall Art that we saw when we had the opportunity to be in Stavanger, Norway was some of the finest.
These photos are of the artwork on the retaining walls on the other side of the tunnel. Space is limited and many works are painted over previous ones, as depicted in the first photo (click on the first photo for more detail of this). Not all are worthy to preserve, therefore, no photos of them.
The sections of concrete are much better than the retaining wall that is metal, the paint does not hold on the metal.
The paintings inside the tunnel present a different look, which I will post soon.
We took a short trip into Atlanta on Monday afternoon. I wanted to stop at the Jackson Street Bridge to get a shot of the Atlanta skyline, which I will go back to for pictures at sunset and the night lights.
Then we drove over to Centennial Park and walked through it to go to Johnny Rockets, which is a 50s diner. Burgers, fries, and even a Juke Box that cost 5 cents.
We did make a stop on the way over and will post those pictures soon.
