Visit to Bonsai West, Littleton, MA

More Textures

Today's Amazing Bug

I wonder if this is what's called a darner, or darning needle? It landed on the spirea while I was trying to photograph bumble bees. The bees moved so fast I didn't get a single focused shot. This guy was nice enough to sit still for a few seconds.

The Great Meadows, Concord, MA

Light on the Water

Sailing my family's little boat in Marion is one of the best pleasures of summer.

1. A handsome boat we saw while sailing on Sunday.

2. Bird Island, which had a house and lighthouse keeper until the house was blown away in the Hurricane of '38. It's now a bird sanctuary. We think those are researchers.

3. Ted at the helm of the family Bull's Eye.

4. Ted and yours truly.

5. View of buildings on shore, over the stern of our little boat.

Trip to New York City, April 2008

No photographic ground broken here. These are just some fun moments from a trip to NYC with my son and a friend, a year ago.

Details of the Natural World

Another endless fascination for me is photographing up close the exquisite textures and colors of the natural world.

There's nothing original in this obsession; most photographers who get beyond family snapshots share it.

What astonishes me is what you can do with a well-engineered point-and-shoot camera. It's possible to capture images with a level of detail and clarity I used to think you could achieve only with an SLR.

Painting With Light

You don't have to use an SLR with a big lens to get creative with many of the revolutionary techniques that digital cameras make possible.

I took all of these images outdoors on a rainy, foggy night without flash, using a Kodak EasyShare V1253.

Sometimes the romance is in the strong contrast, the burst of light bouncing off of dark surfaces, the color richness that a landscape banal in daylight can take on at night.

I love being able to blur the image to create mystery.

Even more exciting is moving the camera while the shutter is open, painting with the light. The motion creates a cluster of figures, all dancing to the same rhythm.

The Advantages of Candlelight

It's well known that candlelight is more flattering than flash. While visiting a friend and her daughter in Maine over the weekend, I took these images after dinner. Their whole demeanor expresses so eloquently which lighting they prefer.