Colored chaos

It looks like chaos to me, but the plant knows what's going on, and it's all organized quite logically. It's just not my logic. The yellow one was taken around Thanksgiving time (2007) at the McRae's place in Tennessee. The green one was taken at the side of the pool at the Equatorial Hotel, in Penang, Malaysia (Jan. 2008). The gray one was taken in a canyon in Capitol Reef National Park. The canyon has a name with "calf" in it. Does anybody remember it? Jeana and I hiked it the day before the Whetten family reunion officially started. What year was that?

Yellows

As I got off the plane in Tsuyama, on the East coast of Japan, I came across this flower in the corner of the walkway from the boarding ramp to the airport terminal. I was ahead of the others in my group, so I paused and took a couple of pictures. It's unusual for me to get an image as interesting as this one in such a quick moment. For me, each photo shoot is a learning process, an exploration. How does the subject look from this angle? What about from over here? What if I change the lighting? What about different settings on the camera? This picture was taken with my Nikon Coolpix 995. That camera had the unique design that would allow you to rotate the lens to any angle while holding the display screen fixed. Unlike most cameras where the photographer has to be in line with the camera and the subject, I could be above or below the camera and see the subject. My Nikon eventually died. The newer version of the Coolpix 995 was getting bad reviews so I ended up with a Canon with a display screen that rotates to just about any angle.

red... I mean RED

This close-up image was the only way I could capture the meaning of this flower. Somebody else may have been able to do better. For me, the back ground was distracting. Had I been able remove it from it's natural state and control the back ground, I might have also achieved interesting results... but it hurts me to destroy nature. This flower was part of the landscape around the Richland community club house. The picture was taken at the end of March.

Mini-moisty-mushrooms

Daniel McRae took this picture in the Fall of 2007, near his family's beautiful home in the hills of Tennessee. He presented this image in a nature photography contest and won! I include it on this blog because it epitomizes the fun of macro photography, and I was with him when he took the picture. Who would have guessed that these little mushrooms would be so interesting. We walk right by, looking at them from 5+ ft. above and never see the interesting details that this macro image brings out: the transition in the colors of the tops of the mushrooms, the contrast with the green moss, the glossy wet look, the drop hanging down, and more. These mushrooms are growing from a moss covered log in a shaded gully down from the road to the McRae's home.

The event of our trip to Tennessee was Thanksgiving. And a glorious one it was. Mom and Dad flew into Nashville to join us there. It was a great weekend of fun games, wonderful food and delightful company. We always come away from the McRae's much rejuvinated.

Details

This is a close-up of the arrangement that Heide sent Michelle. Thanks, Heide! There is something about this picture that makes me think of a negative.

Kindness

The story behind this picture is about kindness and friendship. Once upon a time... Michelle was feeling low. Heide R. found out about it. She contacted Clarissa who put her in touch with Kim who picked up these flowers and delivered them to Michelle for Heide. It's nice to have friends... but friends with such class and grace as Michelle's are a treasure. How can I be such a gem of a friend as these? My deliberating mind and awkward tongue are sludge covering what I really want to be.

The art of a fisical phusion

Art in motion; The Art of Exercise; Calisthenic Art; These are some of the titles I was considering for this entry. Check out the link to the web site that Clarissa and her friend, Willow, have put together for their Yoga + Pilates studio. By the way, Michelle is doing Yoga too. (¡Que Mujer!). The image above was created by Willow, who is talented in the visual as well as the physual arts.
[Phys·u·al (fĭz'-ū-əl) 1. Of or relating to a the arrangement of physical forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a physical medium.]

Accidental Art

On a trip to the Orient, I accidentally captured this image in this Occidental style. I was staying at the Hyatt Regency in Tianjin, China, back in October of 2004. I didn't have my Nikon Coolpix with me on that trip. I was using a Cannon SLR from work. I came across these flowers in the lobby. I knew the lighting wasn't good, but I took the pictures anyway, just out of curiosity. I was surprised by how this one turned out. Don't expect me to replicate it.

Big Momma's Rose

About 15 minutes walking from Big Creek campground will get you to Big Momma's place. It's a little store/restaurant/hiker's hangout where you can set up a tent in the yard, take a shower in the back, order a stack of pancakes for breakfast and stock up for a few more days on the trail. For a nominal fee, you can get a ride up the mountain road to where the AT crosses it. Out of curiosity, and to spend some more time talking/learning from some through hikers I met there, I signed up for the shuttle. While I was waiting, I met this most interesting rose on the right side of the entrance to the store. This has turned out to be one of my favorite rose pictures. So many others have turned out unworthily blah relative to the subject. I keep this one in my folder of preferred pictures. The others have been deleted or relegated to the humdum folder. Tomorrow I'll show you another of my favorite roses. For now, here's a zoomed in detail of Big Momma's Rose.

The picture's story

On the North end of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park there is a small campground next to Big Creek. This is my favorite campground in the GSM. It's a couple of miles South of I-40. I camped there back in May of 2005 so that I could finish the northern half of the Appalachian Trail in the GSM National Park. On previous trips, I had hiked from Newfound Gap, near the middle of the park, to Cataloochee, through Low Gap. On the morning of the 17th, as I was walking along the road, toward my starting point at Davenport Gap, I came across the Dandelion clock in the 'Welcome' post below. The picture was taken with a Nikon Coolpix 950.

Welcome

To begin with, let me explain the name of the blog. It comes from my propensity for macro photography. "Zutto" just sounds cool to begin with, but besides that, I believe it translates in Japanese to something like 'always' or everytime'. (A little help would be had here, Naoko). Hence, I like the name "ZuttoZoom".