Some Random Pictures Taken with My New Camera & Blogiversary

I received my new camera via FedEx about a week and a half ago and what a special treat/pain it has been for me. This is my Christmas present-a wee bit early-and it has been fun snapping new photos in the gardens but also stressful for me. I do not like learning new things and my old Kodak EasyShare DX6440 made things very easy for me. Alas, days of ease are no more. I must now learn a completely different system and my hair is turning grayer by the minute!

'Sunny' Knockout rose

The good news is I am slowly figuring things out with the camera and software. I have found that my old EasyShare software will edit my new photos from the Nikon. That's good news for ease of use but I really can't do much to the photos; which was part of the reason I bought a new camera. The main reason I bought a new camera was that my Kodak finally gave up the ghost. I went to use it and the lens would not open no matter what I did. At any rate I've been experimenting with my new Nikon Coolpix P500 and here are some random photos with the new camera. I still have a few posts left with photos from the old camera but within a week or so I'll only be posting pictures from the new Nikon. I am hoping to take a photography class or to read more about photography so I can utilize more features of the camera but again, the learning curve will be steep. 



The fabulous yellow button mums have begun blooming. The color of the day in Tiger Gardens is yellow! And that is not a mellow yellow. These mums actually are arranged in hedges in my gardens. They grow very tall and do well in the sun or shade. They provide lots of green foliage when not in bloom and make the transition between the shrubs and lower growing perennials. The glass mosaic pictured here is one of two that grace my gardens. I made these back in 2009, actually very early in 2009 and both are still holding up marvelously. I can't imagine my gardens without them. It is hard for me to believe it has been nearly  three years since I made them.  More on them in Monday's post. 

Bottle Tree and Glass Wheel on the back fence. The pond is not on my property though it looks like it is right there. There is a slightly sloping hill down to Mr. C's pond then back up on the other side to more gently rolling hills. We simply love this view especially when the sun sets since this view faces due west. The 36X zoom on my new camera really brought the pond and bottle tree up close.

My gigantic camellia and coral bark Japanese maple are providing me tons of late season color. This combination was most fortuitous for me.

My new best pal 'Lady Lou'. She has finally been contained to our yard by an underground fence. I can't recommend these fences enough. When Lady was first shocked it affected her so much she now remembers her boundaries and we can't even drag her close to the underground fence. Although she occasionally forgets those boundaries when chasing one of the billion chipmunks we have living here. I can just picture the chipmunk snickering behind the fence (Lady's boundary) while Lady is shocked and upset about the whole situation. Lady stops chasing the chipmunk needless to say. I then try to take her collar off so she can chase the rodents but by this point she is so traumatized by the shocks she won't come near me. At any rate she recovers quickly enough and has not escaped the yard since we installed the underground fence. 









This picture is of 'Miss Gloria's Thanksgiving Day' mum. It is a mouthful to say. I belive this mum is a 'Sheffield' type mum but this mum is quite tall and needs staking. It is a very pretty magenta color and blooms about two weeks later than the 'Sheffields'.

I decided on a SuperZoom class of cameras. This camera is a point and shoot and is the least expensive class of cameras you can buy. There is a wide range of camera models in this class of cameras but one thing I do not need to worry about is changing lens-the lens are not changeable in the superzooms (to the best of my knowledge). The camera I choose was a Nikon CoolPix P500. I chose it because it was number 1 in its category and had a super zoom (36X) that I thought would be great for long distance and macro shots-oops-more on that in a minute. I also liked that it has a CMOS processor and takes high definition movies. All in all I've been happy with it until I tried to take macros. Here is the thing, this camera is rated high for macros but I simply don't have the knowledge or skill to understand how it all works. I think I have figured out a great zoom is not so good for macros but it kicks butt when trying to see objects far away. That is good but the macro thing has me down since I just can't figure it all out. 

Even without macros I think this camera takes some nice clear shots. I have not retouched any of these photos. They are clear and true to how they were taken. Of course, I never was one for editing pictures. Just can't figure it out and it is ever so frustrating. The 'Sheffield mums' are big bloomers in my garden along with regular cushion style mums. They and the asters are providing all the color for me this fall.



It seemed like this crepe myrtle right outside of my computer room window turned red overnight. What is funny is that it is one amongst four white crepe myrtles and none of the other three show any sign of turning brilliantly like this one has. 



Our first real frost of the season hit the night of October 28th. Even then it was a light frost. I decided to snap a few pictures after the frost and before the sun came up to really show the damage. At this point the pineapple sages and flowering tobacco were holding steady (and are still holding steady thanks to the wonderful covering of mature trees sheltering Tiger Gardens).



This monarch appeared to be hibernating in the very cold grass. We still have lots of monarchs here that are probably not going to make it to their winter homes in Mexico. I picked this one up and placed it on the asters in the sun. I hope she heads south soon as more frosts are expected. It was a delight to hold this monarch that appeared to be dead but as she warmed from my skin she slowly began moving around.





 The leaves on the oak tree hanging down at the back of our property made a nice contrast with Mr. C's large farm behind the house. This picture probably speaks more of winter than fall but since it is was so close to Halloween I thought spooky.


Changing gears now to this blog's four year anniversary. I briefly thought about this blog's FOUR year anniversary but didn't mention it back in September when the date came and went. The magic date was September 21st, 2007. As of today this blog has published 1181 blog articles/posts. I won't even attempt to count the visitors and commenters which have made this blog most fun for us all here at In the Garden. I can tell you I personally appreciate hearing about all of your gardens and learning about the different parts of the world and hearing about different perspectives on gardening. Blogging has been a real great ride for me and I wouldn't change a thing if I had to do it all over again. So here's to a few more years at....

In the Garden....and Happy 4 years plus to this blog and to me learning a new camera and how to use it!

Lastly, the Mexican butterfly weed is still going strong here in Tiger Gardens. So far we've only had light frosts and very little was damaged by them.

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden