Photography

Back to Spring

Posted by Ellie
Three tulips rise from a blurred background with a soft mauve-tinted bokeh. The tulips are pink, not very open, with white highlights and slightly crinkled petals.
Pink Tulips

Following on from my last post, where I referenced the fact that I had no longer been seeing the beauty around me, here is solid evidence that I was seeing it. And I was photographing it as I found when I went back through my catalogue. I must have just lost focus in the humdrum of the everyday that takes over our lives. So for a Throwback Thursday (not very far back, admittedly) here is a splash of bright spring colour from our garden. Aren’t these delightful? Have a great day, friends.

These are in my Flower a Day gallery (which is not a daily thing, you now realize) which you can see here: https://www.elliekennard.ca/ekgallery/flower-a-day-2024/

Motivation

Posted by Ellie
An orange, yellow and white daylilly that has curled petals with crinkled edges is lit by the late afternoon warm glow. The crisp staments and anther have their shadows cast on one of the petals. The centre is a deep warm yellow and there are other buds behind and on the bottom right. The tone behind is a green mauve, with stems and buds out of focus.
Motivation

It’s been a while. It’s been a while since I felt motivated to photograph flowers as I did during my Flower a Day project. The problem is that somehow I stopped seeing the beauty that was there in front of me. I guess I just stopped looking for it. I seemed to have no motivation for so many things, photography being just one of them. Lack of motivation is a powerful force that can bring you down in so many ways, robbing you of joy and purpose. Steven knew what was missing and suggested that I pick up the project again. I argued at first, thinking that I had already done it; that everyone would be bored if I posted flower photos again. Then I inwardly shrugged and picked up the camera and my little vintage Russian Helios 44-2 lens and walked into the garden in that late afternoon a couple of days ago. And right in front of me there shone the beauty of this ‘common’ day lily, looking so glorious in the warm golden light that I actually felt that stirring of motivation. So here we are, with one more Flower a Day to hopefully bring some joy to some who view this and can see in this flower what I saw.

In case you wonder if this will be the end of it or if I can continue being motivated… I will give you the hint that I have more flower photographs in mind to post, so, just watch this space!

You can see this enlarged and the other flowers as I post them here: https://www.elliekennard.ca/ekgallery/flower-a-day-2024/

Snapping Turtle Crossing

Posted by Ellie
A very large rough looking turtle with large folds hanging around its legs under its shell. It has a dusty looking black shell with some rusty marks around the edges. The gody is very scaly like some prehistoric monster and its claws are long and very nasty looking. It has a fairly long pointed tail. It is on the verge of a road, about to cross the rough tarmac and behind it is a patch of fresh young grass and water.
Snapping turtle, Nova Scotia

Happy World Turtle Day to all who celebrate! As today is World Turtle Day (who knew?) I thought I would share this photo of a snapping turtle by way of celebration. This was a huge monster, crossing the road in front of the car, so Steven and another driver guided it (carefully) across the road to safety and the water on the other side. It looks like some prehistoric creature and it really felt like a priviledge to see it in the wild. You can see it on my animals photo gallery by clicking on the photo or this link: https://www.elliekennard.ca/ekgallery/animals/

Tax Season

Posted by Ellie

When I was about 3, I had photos of myself published in the Montreal Gazette. I was paid for this photo session, and was obliged to file my taxes. This tax preparation session was photographed as a series in the paper. I have no idea who took the photographs, but every year at tax season I am reminded of these photographs and how I feel no different now to how I felt then. Enjoy the session!

A black and white photo of a little girl with curly blond hair with a bow in it, and smiling blue eyes looking at the camera, She has a dress with puffy sleeves and a neat round collar and is smiling confidently. She is holding a pencil in her hand over some papers on a slatted table.
1. All ready to start working on my year end tax returns
A black and white photo of a little girl with curly blond hair with a bow in it, and big earnest blue eyes looking at the camera, resting her face between her hands. She is sitting on a wicker chair and on the slatted table in front of her are some papers with printed figures.
2. It seemed pretty straight forward, but now I’m not sure.
A black and white photo of a little girl with curly blond hair with a bow in it, and big earnest blue eyes looking at the camera as she speaks into the receiver of a toy telephone. She is sitting on a wicker chair and on the slatted table in front of her is an apple, some papers with printed figures on it, and what looks like a toy dog. She is holding a pencil in her hand.
3. I think I had better call the accountant
A black and white photo of a little girl with blond hair, scratching her head as she looks down, mystified, towards a receipt she is holding in the other hand, and she has a pencil held in her mouth. She is sitting in a wicker chair at a slatted table with a paper printed with figures on it.
4. I’m pretty sure I never bought this much software
A black and white photo of a little girl with blond hair that is becoming really messy from running her hands through it. On the slatted table in front of her are some messy papers with printed figures on them and a toy telephone. Her mouth is set in a tight line with a pencil held firmly in it and she is holding the receiver of the telephone in her left hand against the side of her neck, below her ears. Her eyebrows are down in a straight line across her intense eyes, matching the line of the pencil held firmly in her mouth. She might be holding a piece o crumpled paper in the other hand.
5. Yes, of course I’m sure.
A black and white photo of a little girl with messy flat blond hair held back, perhaps with a clip. She is sitting on a wicker chair and on the slatted table in front of her are some messy papers with printed figures on them, an apple, and the receiver of a toy telephone. Her mouth is set in a tight line and her arms are up behind her head in despair. She has a stare of defiance.
6. You can do it yourself, then! I’m not doing any more!