The Waterfalls

70/365

A couple of weeks ago, I signed up to attend a photo field trip today to a location that is a short hike to a really beautiful waterfall.  After my hike yesterday I was pretty weary and half determined not to get up at 5:15 am this morning to get to the carpool location on time.

But then I thought that if I didn't go, I'd just sit around the house, bored and unproductive, so why not get up and go?

Although it was very cloudy and drizzly this morning, it never actually rained, thank goodness. 

The cloudy conditions contributed to the intense colors of the foliage and rocks, and it was easy to 

avoid the sky at this particular location.  So all in all, it was a good day

and I'm glad I convinced myself to get out of bed and get there on time.   

I don't know the people in this first image, but I love the image anyway.  I love how they are relatively sharp, while the waterfall in the background and the tree branch in the foreground are soft.  

I recently purchased Photoshop Elements 10.  It has some fun special effects that are very easy to do.  Since the images in most of my recent posts have been straight, traditional images, I decided to try a couple of the special effects in Elements 10.  All but one of the images in this post have had an effect applied.  Such fun.

Deception

Many years ago, when I cared, I planted a small flower garden in my front yard. Over the years it has gone to wrack-and-ruin and each year I vow to remove the wooden border and mow it down. I haven't managed to do that yet.

When I pulled into my driveway this afternoon, I noticed that some daffodils had bloomed--tenacious little things! So I decided to get some shots of them. Most of the images are really bad, and the one I posted is pretty pathetic too, but bear with me, there's a point to this.

It's long been known that photography can tell whatever story you want it to depending on the way the photo is taken, ie. the perspective, the lighting, the lens used, what's included in the frame, or omitted, etc. (I'm not even talking about the deception one can create with Photoshop)

So if this first image were the only one I posted, it would appear that I had either planted a great garden, or come upon a nice flower bed.

But just to show the truth of the situation, I took a wider view of what used to be my nice flower bed. Unraked, weedy, grungy, unkempt...

All of this to say that things are not always as they seem. A good lesson for me, as well as for all of us. Don't judge without all the facts. Don't jump to conclusions without all the facts.

On the other hand, the lesson could be--make lemonade out of lemons. So what if my ex-garden is a mess--I can still enjoy the beauty that blooms in its midst.

What's the moral? Don't know! Glean what you will and what you need.