A few more from BTA

On Jan 13 I headed back to BTA for the 9:00 AM BTA Photography Walkabout.  I left a little early to get a few pictures before the crowds started to gather.  I attended the session which wasn't perhaps the most helpful session but I did get some good pictures while out on my own.  I had packed a lunch as the Gold Canyon Photo group was meeting there at 1:00.  I headed out to the Meditation Gardens and sat on a bench, ate my sandwich and enjoyed the views.  When the GC group showed up we headed out to take more shots.  

I must have a few thousand pictures from BTA but it never ceases to amaze me how just a little change in the light or the time of year can make a big difference in how the same scene will look.  So here is yet again a few more pictures from BTA, most of which are taken from a slightly closer perspective. 

This guy was some distance away and given my
24-105mm lens I had to do some serious cropping.
My wish list for next year includes a 100-400mm Zoom.
I should be able to see his beady little eyes with that lens. 

Will be interesting to follow this cactus from buds to blooms. 

The Acorn Banksia from Australia
Got some great bokeh in the background.

More flowers to look forward to. 

Who said the desert has no colour

Even the rocks have some colour

Needed to increase my depth of field by another F stop or two to get all the bark in focus.
Next time.

Some leading lines taking you down the garden path. 

There is a Gazebo that has this chandelier.
This is from directly below.
I was taken with the geometry but I needed to back off on the zoom just a bit. 

they talk about using leading lines to draw you into the picture.
fences make great leading lines but I needed to get that front post into focus.
More depth of field practice required.

It rained overnight and the water droplets were still hanging from the oranges. 

Large terrace with some intricate tile work. 

Back to the pond again for a little more traditional shot. 

 Love the eye lashes on this tree trunk.

Thats it for today.  Lots more pictures to go through plus a series of shots using bracketing and my new High Dynamic Range (HDR) software, Aurora.  Got some great results especially considering its my first time trying bracketing and HDR. 

Game is over and the darn Patriots won again.  But they were the better team, again.  Thats what happens when you have the best quarterback and coach in the history of the league and there can hardly be any argument about that anymore.  You don't know how it pains me to have to admit that.