Thursday, May 1, 2014

The Emerald Month

by Linda



May is one of my favorite months and I am always happy to greet it. Especially this year! The new growth on the trees is a lovely shade of green. The flowers look and smell wonderful and the birds are busy singing and getting their nests ready.

May's birthstone is the emerald. Very fitting, don't you think?

How's your calendar looking this month? End of school parties, graduations, May day celebrations, Cinco de Mayo, Kentucky Derby, Memorial Day, Mother's Day, pools open, weekend BBQ, fun, fun, fun!

A new month means a new theme! The May Focus is bokeh! (and I'm more than a little excited about that!)

bokeh!

I love everything about bokeh, from the simple dreamy blurryness to the sweet little spots of light in the background!

I love that I can choose how the background looks. I like the sweet little spots of light bokeh and that is what I will usually try to achieve. My shot above was backlit, (I also love sunflare, can you see that little bit of it?) I was using a 50mm lens at f5.6, I was lying on the ground looking up at the flower which was about 10 inches or so from the end of the lens (the neighbors must think I'm weird since I'm always lying down somewhere in my yard) there where a lot of trees between me and the sky here so the little light spots really show up, I spot metered on the flower so it was well lit and the perimeter was darker. I processed the picture in Lightroom where I added one of my own presets that gives the picture a matte look.

Simple. And fun.

I hope you have some fun with this month's theme. I can't wait to see what you add to the gallery.

...

"Spring is nature's way of saying "Let's party!" "
~Robin Williams



6 comments:

Dotti said...

1. Your photo is beautiful! 2. The bokeh 'makes' it. 3. All of us have neighbors who 'wonder' about us. 4. None of us care! 5. I am super pumped for May Bokeh Month. A month-long bokeh party ... bliss.

Bring. It. On.

terriporter said...

I am another "bokeh-holic" and am so excited about as month-long celebration of bokeh! Your photo is the perfect example of why I love bokeh -- beautiful light, shallow dof and amazing spots of bokeh light! Can't wait to see all the beautiful bokeh shots posted to the gallery this month!

kelly said...

this month is going to be so fun! and you are starting it out with a bang. just gorgegous. i too love green (it's my birthstone too!) and in combination with that magenta bloom it just stunning. happy may my friend!!

Diana said...

Such a stunning image. Always love coming to visit.

Deanna said...

I think we all have those same neighbors...sweet flower with all that gorgeous bokeh. Happy May Day!!

susan said...

Yay! May is bokeh month! Love! Beautiful image Linda!

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