American Avocet

This photo of two American Avocets I found interesting. Their reflections in the water along with the grasses and their reflections made for an interesting --- artistic photo:

American Avocet: Whitewater Draw, Arizona

Acorn Woodpecker

Continuing with my "5" Rated photos: As common in the Southern Arizona Mountains as the Gila Woodpecker is in the Sonoran Desert and our place, the comical Acorn Woodpecker:

Acorn Woodpecker: South Fork Cave Creek, Chiricahua Mountains

My "5" Rated Photos:

I thought for the next while, I'll share a "5" rated photo each day. Starting alphabetically, Abert's Squirrel taken in the Coconino Mountains of Northern Arizona:

Abert's Squirrel

What do I do with all my photos?

We have a very nice guest that has been coming every year. He mentioned that he had collected over 25,000 photos and didn't know what to do with them. I asked him what he like to photograph and he said, "Well, I just see something and photograph it."  25,000 photos would be overwhelming. No wonder he can't get started doing anything with them. There are just too many. Yet, buried among them might be some incredibly good --- award winning photos. My suggestion may not be for everyone --- but, maybe it will help those who don't know what to do with their photography.

Suggestion: Identify a specialty. Spend the next month photographing only flowers (macro lens if available); then the next monthly animals; the next month only birds, then landscapes, then buildings (architecture), then people,  (maybe also industrial if you are so inclined). At the end of each month, look at the photos you took that month. 1) Did you like photographing that specialty? Which photos did you like best? Why those particular photos? What was it about them you liked? Show them to others. Which did they like and why? After six months you might find that you were particularly good at one (or two) of those.  That's your specialty. Now, go through your 25,000 photos creating a library of just those photos (plus the new ones). I use iPhoto Library Manager to create multiple libraries. You've probably narrowed down your photos to between 5,000 to 10,000. 

Next, begin to work those photos. I usually delete 80% of the photos I take --- immediately. Some are out of focus, some the object is too far away, some are nearly duplicates, some -- like animals or birds -- the subject matter has turned its back to you at the moment the shutter released. These can all be trashed. You may be down to a couple of thousand now. 

Of these remaining photos, rate them. Most photo software not only allows you to rate your photos but sort them by rating. So on a scale of 1 to 5: "5" is the very best, i.e. perfect focus and detail, great coloring, great composition; in fact, a photo that is "sellable." It should represent no more than 10% of the photos you have left in your library. A "4" is a photo you would be happy to show other people. It's either not quite as good as a "5" or you already have a very similar photo rated a "5." "3's" are photos you want to keep for some reason (maybe because it was taken in a particular place, maybe because you don't have a better photo of that "thing, animal, bird, landscape etc.").

Now, return to your "5's." Go through each making sure you have all the information you need for each one: where it was taken; when it was taken; a title and a description for each. Do any editing that adds value to the photo. I limit my editing to cropping, bringing objects out of shadows, and removing blemishes. 

Now you are ready to share those 5-rated photos. You can do that by creating a 1) "slideshow," 2) DVD; 3) book; 4) greeting cards; 5) start a photo blog; 6) create a photo gallery that can be seen on the internet by others, i.e. website, flicker, facebook, twitter, etc. 

Want more? Create separate libraries for the other specialties. Then one at a time go through each library, but this time be much more selective. I only keep "4's" and "5's".  So, 75% of the photos in those libraries get trashed. You might end up with 100 or less photos in each of those libraries.

So that's it. Hope it helps. If you have ideas please share by "commenting".

Then there is always a Cooper's Hawk

During the wedding week, our eldest daughter gave a Yoga Class outside on our front patio. About eight guests, including our youngest daughter  -- the one getting married participated.  During the class a Cooper's Hawk flew into a nearby tree. He stayed in the tree long enough for the class to finish and everyone get their cameras. It was at this point that one of the guests said something to me. At first it looked completely white  --  as if it was a white adult Gyrfalcon, which got me a bit more excited. As I tried to get a better angle for the photo it became apparent that it was, in fact, a very common resident of The Azure Gate  --- a juvenile Cooper's Hawk. Nonetheless, since I hadn't been out birding for a couple of weeks I took a photo:

Cooper's Hawk

And, Mushrooms

Not as many mushrooms in Southern Arizona as there are in the Northwestern US and Canada. So, my mushroom collection hasn't grown much. But they can still provide an opportunity when animals and birds aren't around. Here are a couple photos I like:

As you can see, it takes getting laying on the ground -- using elbows as tripods -- and you end up with a nice photo. The first looks like something from Alice in Wonderland. 

Another non-bird, non-animal nature photo

Experimenting can be fun. Sometimes I'll come home look at a photo and say, "Why in the world did I take that photo? What did I see?" Sometimes I'll come home and say, "Holy cow, that's a nice photo, but how did I know to take it?" Case in point. Today's photo was essentially ...... weeds. But for some reason I saw something which I can only explain after seeing the photo. The centerpiece is actually the "flowering grasses." The background is dark green which makes the foreground standout. On the right there is color from the wildflowers, but the "whitish rock" just behind them provides wonderful contrast. 

Grasses and wildflowers
(click on photo to enlarge, there's wonderful detail)

I have probably walked right past this sort of thing thousands of times, never stopping to appreciate or photograph what is there.

The lesson, if there is one, is that if you aren't finding what you came looking for, don't go home empty handed. Experiment, have fun. Who knows, maybe you'll find a gem.