Stay tuned... I'm updating the blog with new photos for 2016!! Shouldn't be too long.
And I'm on Instagram now as DawnSwitzerPhotography! Same photos, just a different name.
February 26, 2016
September 13, 2015
One of those moments...
As I'm trying to focus on staying in the here & now, not worrying about the future or reliving the past, I try to appreciate things in the moment. I had one of those moments recently courtesy of a hose, a Bird of Paradise flower and a hummingbird.
I was out watering the newly planted Plumerias early in the morning. One Plumeria is down the hill, beyond the Bird of Paradise bed. Water drops from the arc of the hose spray fell into this Bird of Paradise, creating a tiny bird bath. A hummingbird found it to be a great place! He drank some, then started taking a bath. Flipping minute drops from his beak onto his back, he then ruffled his feathers & shook out the water. It was so much fun watching him preen. He kept it up for probably four minutes. I couldn't stop smiling.
And of course, I couldn't stop watering in that area. That tiny bird, one of the smallest of God's creatures, was taking advantage of the water I was sending down the hill. It has been very hot & dry here, and I think he found a bit of paradise in an early morning bath with fresh water.
I didn't want to stop to try to get the camera to catch him at his bath. I know he would have flown away once the water spray stopped. I would have ruined the moment to just stop and enjoy it if I tried to capture it. So I shot this photo of the Bird of Paradise to always remind me to stop and enjoy the moment!
Needless to say, the Plumeria below was well watered and I had a great start to my day.
I was out watering the newly planted Plumerias early in the morning. One Plumeria is down the hill, beyond the Bird of Paradise bed. Water drops from the arc of the hose spray fell into this Bird of Paradise, creating a tiny bird bath. A hummingbird found it to be a great place! He drank some, then started taking a bath. Flipping minute drops from his beak onto his back, he then ruffled his feathers & shook out the water. It was so much fun watching him preen. He kept it up for probably four minutes. I couldn't stop smiling.
And of course, I couldn't stop watering in that area. That tiny bird, one of the smallest of God's creatures, was taking advantage of the water I was sending down the hill. It has been very hot & dry here, and I think he found a bit of paradise in an early morning bath with fresh water.
I didn't want to stop to try to get the camera to catch him at his bath. I know he would have flown away once the water spray stopped. I would have ruined the moment to just stop and enjoy it if I tried to capture it. So I shot this photo of the Bird of Paradise to always remind me to stop and enjoy the moment!
Needless to say, the Plumeria below was well watered and I had a great start to my day.
May 15, 2015
God bless the rain
It rained here yesterday and this morning. And the rain brought much needed moisture, and a rainbow!! It was spectacular! So much so that I had to stop cooking dinner, and run outside (with my camera, of course) to soak up the beauty. Because when God blesses you with such a beautiful display of color and amazing light you just have to stop. Well, some of us need to photograph it also, but mostly just stop and enjoy. Take the time to really see what is in front of you. Then you can run up to the next street to see who was so lucky to have the rainbow end in their yard - and look for the pot of gold!!
Even with my widest angle lens & moving as far back as I could on the veranda, I still couldn't get the entire rainbow into the frame. The new cover picture on the blog is my wide angle view of the rainbow. This one is a closer view of it ending over the hill.
P.S. The Project 365 page has been brought up to date through today's photo. I've also added some onto the Favorites page! Enjoy!!
Even with my widest angle lens & moving as far back as I could on the veranda, I still couldn't get the entire rainbow into the frame. The new cover picture on the blog is my wide angle view of the rainbow. This one is a closer view of it ending over the hill.
P.S. The Project 365 page has been brought up to date through today's photo. I've also added some onto the Favorites page! Enjoy!!
April 16, 2015
Better Late than Never!
Oh My Goodness!!!!
I can't believe how long it's been since I posted to the blog. Or updated my Project 365. I'm now on day 106, so there will be a lot to catch up on!
My life has taken on a new phase... retirement!! I'm so blessed to be able to retire at a young age. I hope we will have many, many years to travel, do house projects, play Grandma & Grandpa, travel (oh I said that already, huh?), and just spend time sipping coffee or vino out on the veranda every day.
I will be working part-time for a while, but - due to circumstances beyond my control - that didn't happen right away. So I have had a couple of weeks without work. And guess what... I love it! Sleeping in a bit later is heavenly! But I will need to find a routine for my days. Having just another cup of coffee while reading in the morning is just too easy. But we will find the balance between hanging out & getting out and about!
So, here's to a new phase!! Oh, yea... and more time for photography!
I can't believe how long it's been since I posted to the blog. Or updated my Project 365. I'm now on day 106, so there will be a lot to catch up on!
My life has taken on a new phase... retirement!! I'm so blessed to be able to retire at a young age. I hope we will have many, many years to travel, do house projects, play Grandma & Grandpa, travel (oh I said that already, huh?), and just spend time sipping coffee or vino out on the veranda every day.
I will be working part-time for a while, but - due to circumstances beyond my control - that didn't happen right away. So I have had a couple of weeks without work. And guess what... I love it! Sleeping in a bit later is heavenly! But I will need to find a routine for my days. Having just another cup of coffee while reading in the morning is just too easy. But we will find the balance between hanging out & getting out and about!
So, here's to a new phase!! Oh, yea... and more time for photography!
March 8, 2015
Growth
I knew that the Project 365 would be a challenge when I decided to start this. It's been 67 days and I've taken a photograph a day - usually lots & lots more until I get the results I see in my mind! I think there has already been a lot of growth in my photography. I know that I am thinking about so many things before I press the shutter button; things I never thought of before.
Before the Project 365 I was scared to move the dial to Manual mode. I thought I was doing good to get off automatic and move to Aperture priority! Then I only had to make one decision - what "f" stop do I use? I learned I liked low aperture - wide open shots to get the blurry backgrounds and sometimes foregrounds. Sometimes I liked everything in focus. I pretty much pointed the camera at my subject and clicked. Often there were unintended consequences... like the tree coming out of someone's head. Sigh...
Now I primarily shoot in Manual Mode and have to adjust the aperture, shutter, ISO; focal point & type of focus, white balance; I think about composition; and to take responsibility for everything in my shot (still have trouble with this and see things I either missed when looking through the lens or was too lazy to move when I took the photo). Let me be honest - this is a lot more work. But the results are worth it. Even if the photograph would have looked exactly the same if I shot on automatic, I know that I DID THIS! I created the shot not just in my head but through every step of the process. I have a very long way to go until I feel like I know what I'm doing, but I am certain that I am headed in the right direction and that I very much want to keep going!
Before the Project 365 I was scared to move the dial to Manual mode. I thought I was doing good to get off automatic and move to Aperture priority! Then I only had to make one decision - what "f" stop do I use? I learned I liked low aperture - wide open shots to get the blurry backgrounds and sometimes foregrounds. Sometimes I liked everything in focus. I pretty much pointed the camera at my subject and clicked. Often there were unintended consequences... like the tree coming out of someone's head. Sigh...
Now I primarily shoot in Manual Mode and have to adjust the aperture, shutter, ISO; focal point & type of focus, white balance; I think about composition; and to take responsibility for everything in my shot (still have trouble with this and see things I either missed when looking through the lens or was too lazy to move when I took the photo). Let me be honest - this is a lot more work. But the results are worth it. Even if the photograph would have looked exactly the same if I shot on automatic, I know that I DID THIS! I created the shot not just in my head but through every step of the process. I have a very long way to go until I feel like I know what I'm doing, but I am certain that I am headed in the right direction and that I very much want to keep going!
March 1, 2015
Passion
No, not that kind!! My photo prompt for today from the bethadilly challenge is "my passion." I had to think about this one more than I thought I would. I have a lot of things that are really important to me... my family being at the top of the list. My faith, the ocean, a good handbag. But "my passion?" I finally decided that I'd look for something that has been with me a long time, something that I love, something that I would be hard pressed to live without. Here's what I chose...
Books. Reading. I'm not sure I can remember the time before I could read, at least not very well.
I DO remember spending hours on the floor, or the couch, or my bed with a book in my hands. I remember reading with a flashlight under the covers. I remember reading while walking to elementary school (I was walking distracted at an early age!). I remember crying over the story of Black Beauty. And sluething along with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. The longer the book, or the more books in a series the better. I love Harry Potter - oh wonders of wonders: a series with a great story, books over 300 pages and a lot of them. Sigh...
Then came the Kindle. I didn't think I would like it, but I do. Carrying one little device with a multitude of books - can it get any better? I still love to hold & read a paper book; yet the Kindle makes traveling so much easier. Not to mention reading those really big books just before I go to sleep in bed. No books landing on my face when I fall asleep holding it!
Luckily I met & married a man who loves to read. This photo is two of the bookcases in our house. There are so many books that some are shoved in sideways on top of the others. The third bookcase is even worse! I seriously think we are addicted - I CANNOT walk out of a bookstore with only one book. We share some interests in our reading which is wonderful, until we fight over the new Harry Bosch novel or the latest Lee Child. Even if there were a Readers Anonymous I wouldn't go.
So I have to say that books and reading are probably my greatest, life-long, forever passion. What's yours?
Books. Reading. I'm not sure I can remember the time before I could read, at least not very well.
I DO remember spending hours on the floor, or the couch, or my bed with a book in my hands. I remember reading with a flashlight under the covers. I remember reading while walking to elementary school (I was walking distracted at an early age!). I remember crying over the story of Black Beauty. And sluething along with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. The longer the book, or the more books in a series the better. I love Harry Potter - oh wonders of wonders: a series with a great story, books over 300 pages and a lot of them. Sigh...
Then came the Kindle. I didn't think I would like it, but I do. Carrying one little device with a multitude of books - can it get any better? I still love to hold & read a paper book; yet the Kindle makes traveling so much easier. Not to mention reading those really big books just before I go to sleep in bed. No books landing on my face when I fall asleep holding it!
Luckily I met & married a man who loves to read. This photo is two of the bookcases in our house. There are so many books that some are shoved in sideways on top of the others. The third bookcase is even worse! I seriously think we are addicted - I CANNOT walk out of a bookstore with only one book. We share some interests in our reading which is wonderful, until we fight over the new Harry Bosch novel or the latest Lee Child. Even if there were a Readers Anonymous I wouldn't go.
So I have to say that books and reading are probably my greatest, life-long, forever passion. What's yours?
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