Summer – Page 6 – tim mcmurdo

homeward bound

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Today I am making the drive home after more than a week visiting with my family and friends in Georgia. I had a wonderful visit and while I was here, I made the grand tour of Atlanta and my families homes. I thought that for today's post, I would share with you some of the random images that represent what I will be remembering on my way home.

I'll be thinking about the good times and great people I spent my week with. I hope you are meeting with good friends and family while you are making memories of your own.

Happy Saturday

bunnies in love

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Beatrice loved Peter with all her heart. He was handsome with his long ears and soft, glistening coat of fur. His bright blue eyes seemed to see into her soul, warming her and lifting her up. Yes, she loved Peter and better yet, she knew that the feeling was mutual. Beatrice remembered when they had woven their hearts together in the Spring daisy celebration, announcing to their families and friends that they had bonded and had committed themselves to only each other for the remainders of their lives.

Now the couple was ready to start their new life as a family in the thicket near the brook. This would be a good home and a happy home. The thicket was secure and surrounded with wild flowers and sweet meadows of grass.

I hope that Beatrice and Peter live long fruitful lives and have lots of children. Just leave Mr. Tom's garden alone!

fishies, fishies everywhere

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

You know those days where everything clicks perfectly? All of your plans work out just like you envisioned. The people you are with are all having fun and enjoying being together. Sunday was a day just like that. After a fantastic breakfast and a bit of a sleep in, friends and family met together at the Georgia Aquarium. I had only been there once before, just after the place opened. At that time, the crowds were so large that I could not see anything. Sunday, the crowds were much smaller and we had time to stand or sit and watch the wonderful sea life.

Gerd and Cindy, Scott and Stephanie, Josh, and I… we made a pretty cool team. Everybody was just as enthralled with the watery critters.

We saw sharks, whales, porpoises, fish, crabs, snakes, rays, eels, star fish, jelly fish, otters, seals, and sea horses. I know that I must be forgetting many others. I was surprised at how well we were able to shoot through the thick glass. The tanks were well lit and we were standing in dim light, which led to vivid and bold blues and interesting silhouettes.

This image shows how I felt at the aquarium. Even as an adult, I was in wonder at what we were watching. If you are in Atlanta and have a few hours to spend, give some thought to visiting the Georgia Aquarium. You are guaranteed to come out feeling like a kid again. I would recommend Sundays through Thursday.

mushrooms

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

I've discovered these tiny little mushrooms growing under the tomato plants in my parents garden. They are only about two inches tall and come out in the early morning moisture. The afternoon heat dries them out but, they are back the next morning.

These images are inspired by Anna, who takes the most wonderful images of tiny mushrooms and fungi. Her images are almost etherial in nature and I have wanted to try my own hand at her style of image for some time now.

Auto focus is surprisingly difficult with these images. If I return to take another shot this week, I will switch to manual focus (not my strong point) and give it a go.

my boy

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

One of the many reasons that I love to visit Georgia as much as I can. This handsome face belongs to my Son, Josh. And for all of you single ladies out there, he is taken. Sorry for you loss.

lust

Posted on June 25, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Yeah, I said it… lust.

I am drooling while I wait for these tomatoes to become ripe. Then look out, there will be a feeding frenzy of juicy red eating. How about a few slices with some salt and a drop of basalmic vinegar? Maybe a tomato sandwich with mayo. There are so many good choices and I am going to try them all out on these big red beauties. It is my duty after all.

What is your favorite way to eat a tomato?

curly willow

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Have you ever seen a curly willow? They look like most willows but, have these really wonderful long narrow curly leaves. I caught this one yesterday morning after the rain. We've had a day and a half of rain and drizzle, much needed moisture in this area of parched earth. The cool temperatures have been welcome though, as the heat and sun return today, I am expecting some muggy heat.

Have a great Friday everybody.

Exposure	0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture	f/5.6
Focal Length	50 mm
ISO Speed	1600

morning meadow

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

This morning, I crawled out of bed at six, hoping to see fog out of the window. I was disappointed, no fog in sight. So, I stood there looking out the front door and wondered what I should do with the pretty morning. When you are anticipating fog, a clear morning takes a bit to get used to. It's like when you are expecting cake and you get pie. You like pie, but the idea of eating pie when your mouth was set for cake takes a moment. I even thought about going back to sleep but, I started thinking about pie.

In this case, pie was a nearby meadow that I like to walk in the morning. I enjoy watching Mom Nature waking up. I grabbed my camera, phone and spare battery and jumped in the car. When I arrived at the meadow, I was the only one around…. I had the place to myself!

The meadow grass was lit up by the golden sun and the flowers and grasses were covered with droplets of fresh dew.

I love to look at the huge number of different wild flowers that grow in the meadow. All kinds of colors and shapes. I wish I knew more about them but, I can only name a few.

Half way through my walk, I noticed a group of three young deer frolicking. I don't normally use the word "frolicking" very often. However, I can't think of a better word to describe what they were doing. Just jumping and running in circles. This is one of those times where I wish that I had packed longer glass. I only had my 18-55mm walk around glass with me.

In this image, you can just make out the three deer on the right side. I stood and watched them quietly for about ten minutes. Eventually one of them saw me and they all took to the trees beyond.

I walk a looping trail through the meadow and soon after making the turn back towards the car, I came across this man's shirt hanging on a pole. I can only imagine what he was thinking. I mean, what would be on your mind so strongly that you would forget your shirt? Pie?

Perhaps the poor guy thought about breakfast pie and lost his mind as he suddenly rushed to get home.

flower’s point of view

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

This is not my best image by any means. However, I liked the warmth of the image and the point of view enough to share it with you. Normally, I rely on depth of field and focus to draw the viewer's eye. In this image, I relied on negative space. The blue area in the upper right of the image brings your eye up and out of the flowers and into the sky. At least, that is the idea. What do you think? A nice surprise in this image was the insect flying in the upper left corner.

Exposure	0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture	f/11.0
Focal Length	20 mm
ISO Speed	100

My post processing included color balance, contrast, black point and saturation in Aperture.

barn dance

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Tim McMurdo

Last night, I stopped by a barn dance at the farm for a couple hours and watched the crowd have a great time. The band was called the Corn Drinkers and they had the place hopping all evening.

The crowd was a mixture of young and old, city and country folk. The great thing about square dancing is that anybody can do it. You mix partners constantly, so you get to meet a lot of people.

I witnessed a lot of fancy footwork. And some that was not so fancy… didn't matter, they were all having fun.

Sarah, the barn cat, had a great time. She normally doesn't get any company in the evening. She likes to mingle with the crowd and is a master of small talk. I am not the social butterfly that she is and kept my camera between me and the revelers.

When they weren't dancing, the crowd was socializing. I had a great time. I'll be back in the fall when the farm hosts another dance. Maybe then, you will see a picture of me cutting the rug. Maybe…