Early Dogwood Blooms

The first Dogwood blooms of the spring are out in my yard.  I always feel like that is the unofficial start of spring!  The trees will really start to bloom in the next few days.  I'll be ready with my camera.

Keep Makin' Art!

Carl

Spring is here... almost.

Well even though we did not have much of a winter to speak of I have been looking forward to spring!  The blooming flowers and greenery everywhere always inspire me to paint and take photos.  Today I found the Sargent's Cherry were in bloom up at the Skylands Botanical Garden.  This will be the start of the time of year when I stop in to the gardens weekly to watch the progress and anxiously await the return of the wildflowers and butterflies in mid-summer.

I hope the start of spring is finding you renewed and inspired!

Keep Makin' Art!

Carl

Sargent Cherry Blossoms - Skylands

OK.  Spring has finally come to the Hudson Valley!  Sargent Cherry Blossoms are out at Skylands.  We had some nice light this morning and I headed out with my macro lens (canon 100mm f2.8 for anyone interested).  I have been practicing shooting these hand held at 200 or 400 asa.  I think I see more photographs when i shoot and compose this way as opposed to the tripod.  Some times you do need a tripod, but I am enjoying the freedom of finding a composition and shooting quickly.  This was the perfect way to start a spring sunday morning.


Have a great week everyone!


Keep Makin' Art!


Carl

Sunday

Slow start today... but am heading into the studio and will paint on and off.

Going back over blog to see what images I thought I'd be painting. I will probably start with a watercolor of the Dogwood from the previous post. I was asked yesterday how I got the pink background. It is an azalea bush that is behind the dogwood tree. by zooming in with a zoom lens and shooting with an f-stop that is pretty wide open... In this case f4 or f5.6 on this lens you get virtually no depth of field and the bush became a solid background to show the flower off. Notice the dogwood leaves just a few inches behind the flower are starting to go soft and out of focus so the bush a few feet away is totally blurred.

Keep Makin Art

Carl

Dogwood in Bloom

This will surely be the subject of a future painting. I absolutely love this time of year when I can get great photographs without leaving my front yard!

Keep Makin' Art

Carl

Dogwood Flowers

Spring has officially arrived in the Hudson Valley. The dogwoods in my yard are blooming!!

Waiting....

I will go photographing this weekend in Harriman State Park. I hope to see spring snow crab apples like these I shot a couple of years ago starting to bloom. I'd like to get some new shots of them and also if they are blooming I know the mountain laurel can not be far behind.

Today is cool and rainy in NY a bit of a shock after the warm spell we just had. I can't wait to get out with my camera and shoot something new.

Keep Makin' Art

Carl

Skylands the Highlights

The shot from Skylands this morning inspired me to look and pick out five favorites. It was tough, but these are what I came up with on the first pass. Now I really feel like spring is coming.

All the trees in town today started blooming. Hopefully Skylands will have some stuff this weekend.

Keep Makin' Art

Carl

Spring is here... Well almost.

I went to Skylands botanical garden on Saturday. I knew it would not be ready to shoot there, but I hoped I would find some cherry blossoms I could frame against some nice cheerful background or something equally spring like. but alas it is not time yet. Another week or two and there will be plenty to photograph there. So I went instead to my other favorite topic and photographed the water shots I posted this weekend.

However the signs of spring are evident if they are not blooming fast enough for me after the winter of snow where we had several storms measured in feet. I am more than ready for spring. So in the meantime I have posted this lovely reminder of what springtime (when it blooms) at Skylands will bring.

Enjoy!

Keep Makin' Art

Carl

Ode to Spring

Enough of the cold wet and snowy. Here are is a photo I took of some Mountain Laurel early one morning while hiking last spring. Enjoy!

Keep Makin' Art

Carl

Spring?

In the midst of the fall and the unstoppable approach of winter... I decided to look ahead (or is it back) to the dogwood flowers of spring. There is a lot of beauty to enjoy in the coming winter and I will photograph a lot of it.... but today I was thinking of the dogwoods in my yard in spring...

Keep Makin' Art

Carl

Spring

Here is another reminder that spring flowers will be here in the Hudson Valley soon!

We will be having family visit this week. I probably won't post again until the weekend.

Keep Makin' Art

Carl

Waiting for Spring

Spring is on its way! Can you feel it? Here is an image from last year to get you in the mood for spring.

Keep Makin' Art
Carl

Spring comes to Suffern Redux

Hello Fellow Artists:

Here is more proof that Spring has indeed come to Suffern NY (Yeah). I saw these tulips this morning in my yard and have always loved how this purple-ish color popped against the green lawn. It was cloudy and had just finished raining so was able to catch the waterdroplets on the flowers. I used a gold reflector card to bounce some of the light back up at the flowers and give them some pop! As I look at the window the sun is starting to come out and I am grabbing my gear to go shoot for a little while.

Have a great Sunday!

Carl

Springtime in Suffern

I got up early today and planned to trek out to the Harriman State park to take photos. As I was getting ready I noticed the explosion of new flowers on the trees in my yard and captured a few images. Here are a couple for you to enjoy. I really liked setting up and shooting in my own yard.... It was a luxury to have a cup of coffee and bare feet while I was shooting. It is a great reminder that Art is everywhere you just need to look for it, even when you live in suburbia!

Waiting for Spring

Hello Fellow Artists:

I can't wait for spring to arrive. After ten inches of snow in the Hudson Valley this past Friday I am ready for some green and flowers. Don't get me wrong I like snow and the winter just fine... I just feel the need for spring.... So in anticipation of that wondrous time of year here is a photo of some beautiful calla lilies I took. A gift to you my artistic friends as a reminder that spring is on its way.