Back to Basics

Electronic music pioneer Wendy Carlos always likes to cite her "First Law" in interviews: "Every parameter you can control, you must control." I once made a sign with that and taped it over my old synth rack. It's very valuable advice.

Today I thought I'd apply that advice to photography. So rather than rely on a lot of the automatic settings on my camera, I switched to Manual and tweaked aperture, shutter speed, and sometimes even manual focus for every shot I took. Many are macro shots, but not all. I shot some of these subjects in black and white as well; talk about getting back to basics! All in all I'm pleased with the results, and I think I'll be shooting in manual mode from now on.

In Ballard Park the trees and flowers are greening and blooming. Here are two shots of some Maple blooms just off the south trail:




Not far down the trail from the Maple was this male Eastern Towhee, way up in a tree and singing away:




There's a pond on the floor of the old quarry in Ballard Park, and these Garlic Mustard plants grow in abundance in the wet, shady places near the pond:




Out on Hazard Rd. and down along Gooseneck Cove a little way you can definitely see the effects of Spring on the area:


Here's a Weeping Willow just turning green and a Purple Martin house in the back yard of Salt Marsh House on Hazard Rd.:


Turn 180º from the above scene and you'll see these Serviceberry blooms (also known as Shadbush). I heard a Bumblebee making a lot of noise cruising the blooms, but I never did see her.

At the intersection of Hazard Rd. and Ocean Drive is a patch of Daffodils. I stopped to get these macro shots:




By the Green Bridge, where Ocean Drive crosses Gooseneck Cove, I got to listen to this Song Sparrow serenade me:


And down on the shore of the Cove there was this still life of stones, seaweed, and crab shell:


Around the corner and up Hammersmith Rd. on the "country lane" loop of my walk I came to a shady spot just full of Wood Anemone and Blue Violets:





And there you have it!