Welcome to the rt tulley photography blogIt features photos, text, and poetry.March 25Vision
I am thankful for vision. It is not only the ability to see with your eyes but the ability to see with your mind, which is a much more difficult thing to do. To see things that are not obvious, are hidden, or not there at all takes training and attention. To be able to visualize something that isn't there, ie, see possibilities, really takes something extra.
Vision is crucial for photographers. You have to visualize and think in your brain what you want the photo to look like. You then have to use the tools in your camera and the result of your training to make it look the way your vision ses it. If your vision calls for everything to be in focus, you have to use a narrow aperature. If it calls for a blurred background you go for a wide aperature. Shutter spead is important for stopping moving things in time or blurring them. Then there is knowing how to compose the photo and which lens to use. There are a myriad number of things that you must see in your mind's eye and then to mechanically construct that vision. Sometimes we get lucky with a photo that didn't take much planning. Other times, careful vision and planning results in success. Then there are the times when the finished photo never touches you the way you "saw" it. Oh well. That's when you go back to the drawing board. But I think my vision has improved over the years and there are fewer failures. But I think there will always be failures. I took a workshop with C.C. Lockwood, Louisiana's famous wildlife and scenic photographer, who told me that the majority of his photos are thrown away.
Sometimes, in spite of carefully composing the photo and visualizing it, when you get back to look at the finished photo you discover something there that you didn't notice at the time. Like when someone walked into your field of vision that you hadn't noticed at the time, or when an ugly eyesore reared its ugly head in your beautiful scenic photo. Or you notice in the photo on careful examination that the man in the car you were photographing was giving you an obscene gesture (that actually happened to me)!
In this photo, I am using the metaphor of being able to see represented by a lit lamp. It takes light to be able to see in the darkness - just as it takes a special light inside your brain to see possibilities and things that may not be obvious. I took this photo in the Memorial Oaks Grove at LSU of a lamp and one of the oaks in the grove. I cheated a little by using Photoshop to light the lamp (by using the dodge tool to underexpose the lamp). Even though it was daytime, I think this effect gave the lamp a little extra.
vision
it takes good eyes or glasses to see what is really there but to imagine the unseen takes a mind with special flair but there are those of the opinion and this is their humble diagnosis if you see things that aren’t there you’re either drugged or have a psychosis. © rt tulley March 24The Palms
I am thankful for Palm Sunday, and the hymn "The Palms", which our choir sings every Palm Sunday.
Palm Sunday represents Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusulem riding on a donkey, while the people put out palm leaves and branches before his path. It is that good time prior to the horrible things that happened to Him for forgivenss of sins.
"The Palms" hymn is very beautiful. It was written by Jean-Baptiste Faure (1830-1914), a French opera singer:
The Palms
verse 1 O'er all the way, green palms and blossoms gay Are strewn this day in festal preparation Where Jesus comes to wipe our tears away, E'en now the throng to welcome Him prepare
chorus Join all and sing, His name declare Let ev'ry voice resound with acclamation Hosanna! Praise to the Lord! Bless Him who cometh to bring us salvation.
The theme photo was taken around the corner from my house. It is a sago palm. The photo below was taken in Round Rock, Texas, at a friend of my sister's property. The donkey's name is Dana and typifies the donkey as being gentle and humble, just as our Savior.
prince of peace
prince of peace not the monarch to rule not an earthly king boundless and merciful aboard a donkey gentle rode to his dire and grim fate cloaks and palms laid before for Him they did venerate and they sang songs and praises for Him whom they adored “blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” © rt tulley March 23Spring
I am thankful for spring, my absolutely most favorite time of year. Spring has definitely hit us here in South Louisiana. Within about a week's time, the leaves on the trees have come into full regeneration mode. The weather is warming up, but is not too hot or humid. The grass is turning green and all is well with the world!
This is a photo I took in March two years ago at Avery Island, Louisiana, the home of the McIhenny Company, makers of the world famous Tobasco Pepper Sauce. The photo shows the lovely colors of spring in the grass and the flowers (azaleas and irises) on the bank beside a pond in the Jungle Gardens. I know this photo is a couple of years old, but it had not been previously released for public consumption and although I generally want to challenge myself by having new photos in my blog, I like this one so much that I felt compelled to use it. And I make the rules for my blog, so there!
spring has sprung
we now can say spring has finally sprung time to put out the plants and praises to be sung we fell back one too many times time to spring forward to complete the rhymes it is time to dust off short shorts and short sleeves from snow and cold weather we get our reprieves we will soon have heat and humidity showers and pollen to beware but for now we can sing at long last spring is in the air! © rt tulley March 22Phaelenopsis Orchids
I am thankful for phaelenopsis orchids and orchids in general. I began growing orchids in 2006. In 2006, my wife Bebe and I made a trip to Natchez Mississippi where an orchid grower was going out of buisiness and we were able to get quite a few wonderful orchids. I had twenty to thirty plants at one time, but now, sadly, I killed most of them and only about 3 still produce flowers. The phaelenopsis orchids are the ones I have the most luck with. Even I have a hard time killing them. It's a different story for other orchids such as the Cattelyas.
When I first began collecting orchids, I met a man named Ervin Granier, a retired chemist from St. Gabriel, Louisiana, who bred and hybridized orchids. He showed me his greenhouses and the thousands of wonderful orchids he had growing there. His focus was the breeding of blue Cattleya orchids, which do not grow naturally in the wild, and for which he won many awards. Unfortunately, Ervin passed away in December, 2011.
Ervin Granier
One of Granier's Blue Cattleyas
Today's feature photo is of a phaelonospis orchid at my house, which I took on Sunday, that is now in full bloom. I like to give my orchids names; this particular one is named after my niece, Sabrina Michelle. I had forgotten, but in looking at my old photos, it turns out that the Sabrina Michelle orchid has been around since 2006. Other phaelenopsis orchids that have bit the dust included ones that I had named Legally Blonde, Mandy Moore, Molly Ringwold, and Barbara Jeanne, after my wife. I also named a plant of another orchid variety after my daughter - Gloria Elizabeth.
orchid names
so i have an orchid named sabrina michelle i had one named after a movie and for two movie belles these flowers are so feminine i don’t want to seem like a snob but if i had an ugly male looking orchid i would then surely name it bob. (with my apologies to anyone named Bob - any similarity of the description to any persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental!) © rt tulley
March 21Health
I am thankful for health. We don't know how long we will have health, but when we do, we are extremely grateful for it. I just completed my annual bladder checkup and received a clean bill of health. I am elated that this is the case. I know that health is not something to be taken for granted.
In coming up with a photo for health, my first thoughts were to use doctors, hospitals, nurses, etc., however, I realized that I wanted something that more signified healthy living/lifestyle/wellness rather than sickness. The old addage "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" came to mind. So I created a photo composed of apples. In addition, in the photo, I used the apples to make a heart as another indicator of health. Even though these symbols may be cliche', it was exactly what I wanted to say. Generally, we go to see physicians because we are sick and hope to be made better. I am not trying discourage routine checkups. Afterall, I just went to one. As a lab person, I know that preventive maintenance is much better than the major repairs required if routine maintenance is neglected. Doctors do a wonderful job of making us well when we are sick and can tune us up to make us run better and longer. But to be truly healthy means there would be no need for doctors (at least at that time).
The photo is composed of eight apples, one for each day of the week (an apple a day), and the top middle one, the one that holds it all together. If this apple were put out of place and moved in line with the other two top apples, the shape would resemble that of an upside down teardrop, which I use here to represent sickness. So the all important apple is the one that ties it all together and turns the tear (sickness) into a heart (wellness). What this apple is may depend on the person. It may be different for different people - it may be exercise, diet, healthy choices, genetics, belief in God, living a spiritual life, or prayer.
From the top right and going clockwise, the apples are Cripps Pink (Pink Lady) (Monday), Golden Delicious (Tuesday), Red Delicious (Wednesday), Honey Crisp (Thursday), Red Delicious (Friday), Golden Delicious (Saturday), Honey Crisp (Sunday), and the top middle is Granny Smith.
apple a day
if an apple a day keeps the doctor away does a daily garlic dose keep not the dentist close? © rt tulley
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