Little Tahoma peak in the background with wildflowers in the Upper Paradise Valley of Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington (© Stephen Matera)

The Gate

A gate on a farm in Douglas County Oregon. Editing included a Photoshop plug-in filter called Monday Morning.

Wild Flowers

My Internet was down last night so I'm late. This is yet another scene from my last weekend trip to Myrtle Point.

A Fun Surprise

I don't know how I manage it but I really do seem to be in the right place at the right time often when I'm taking pictures. But then again, maybe its that I'm out taking pictures so often I HAVE to be in the right place at the right time occasionally.

Anyway, the story here... I went to have lunch with my sisters and a cousin last Saturday and the photos I've been posting since then were taking during that trip to Myrtle Point, Oregon.

I got to town a little early so I drove around and decided to take a street named Ash that turned into a country road. I stopped along the road to take a picture of an old fence post with daisies and wild roses around it...



... and suddenly a head popped up from the tall grass in the area.



I was pleased and surprised to discover a curious horse staring at me.



He/she stared at me a long time allowing me to take lots of shots of the horses head in the daisy patch.

Look back at the first photo and you can see the horse hidden in the grass but I didn't discover that until I got home and downloaded the photos. Did you see him the first time?

Tree and Stump

I love the yellow flowers in this field.

Playing With Daisies

I Just had a few minutes to grab a shot this afternoon so I went out to the yard and picked a small daisy. I haven't used my macro lens for awhile so stuck the daisy stem in a hole in my fence to get a few close up shots. The flower head is about a half inch across.

I decided to try something I have heard others talk about but have never tried myself. I reversed the lens on my camera, holding it in place while shooting. You can get an attachment that will hold the lens in place but I don't have one.

I didn't use a tripod and trying to hold the lens in place and focus was quite a challenge so the images aren't sharp but I was amazed at how much closer you can get using this method.



And then, of course, I had to play with them in Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop.



I used another daisy with a little pink on it for this extra close shot.



I'll be trying this experiment again.

Bandon Revisited

My life has taken a turn for the busier recently and I'm lucky to have half an hour a day at my computer. In a couple weeks it should slow down again but in the meantime I hope you will forgive me if I repeat a post from last years PAD occasionally. This is a repeat but one of my favorites.

Flowering Thistle