Cēsis, Part 1.

From rq: Cēsis is a very historical city up to the north of us – very beautiful, parts of it are very well-preserved, never mind the major wars that it has survived. Not sure when it was founded exactly, but it does have a 13th century stone castle  (well, the ruins). Here’s a few of the old town itself, some views of the castle up next. The adorable building in the last is now a children’s kindergarten/daycare facility. Pretty awesome, if you ask me. (We went because Eldest Child is in the school folk dancing group and there was a major event that weekend in Cēsis – something like 5000 school age folk dancers congregating into one city!) Click for full size!

© rq, all rights reserved.

Water Dance.

Yeah, I know, water on the brain. That happens when the skies are dry. Water is a great subject, and a long time fave. When I first moved from a point ‘n’ shoot to a D80, I was very intimidated, and didn’t want to use it. One day, I decided to set up where I could just play with settings. I set a sprinkler on low, and stuck it under a bunch of flowers, then I just started playing with various shutter speeds and apertures, and ended up with results which were overall delightful. You can’t really fuck up water shots, either, so that’s a bonus. If you don’t want to mess about outside with sprinkler, or go find a river or something, the tap in your house provides opportunities. Photograph the running water, photograph it spilling into a pretty dish, or slowly dripping, and capture those splashes. If you want to go for the dramatic splash, set up a tall clip with a sandwich bag full of water, your receptacle and background set, then poke a pinhole in the bag. Water is fun, and it’s a grand displacement activity too, which can also be restful and relaxing. So, water, from a sprinkler, at wildly varying speeds and ap settings. I do prefer underexposing when shooting water from a sprinkler, but that’s a matter of personal preference. No shopping whatsoever, just resizing to 1500 x. Click for full size!

And just a taste of tomorrow – Waterscopes! :D

© C. Ford.

The Importance of Water.

The temperatures here have been near or over 100 F for months, and there’s been considerably under an inch of rain. It’s like living in a tinderbox. I’ve put a sprinkler on low, and have just been moving it about, day by day. Yesterday, tiny baby Sparrows which can’t yet fly were launching themselves from the trees, landing with thumps, to be able to get a drink of water. There’s no life without water.

© C. Ford.

A Momentary Companion.

The lack of water situation here is dire; I am trying to feed a bit of life where I can. The scent of water on the wind is intoxicating, it’s quite easy to forget what a wondrous thing it is. That scent calls to all, and this little beauty decided to keep me company for quite a while, in between bouts of chasing a grumpy dragonfly. Click for full size.

C. Ford, all rights reserved.