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[Mar. 11th, 2014|06:41 am]
E.G.
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I've been fantasizing about having a lawn. My fantasy assumes i come into responsibility for a regular old grass lawn. I imagine cutting a spiral in it, and planting out native low growing plants and slowly evolving a non-grass sward. If you've 11 minutes, you can watch a non-grass lawn grow over several years at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwgPrDDwBG4&feature=youtu.be
 I'm enjoying -- and profiting, i think -- from the photographic coaching available through the eBooks at http://craftandvision.com/collections/landscapes . I got hooked by acquiring some of the free books (Craft & Vision 1 & 2, Ten, and Ten More at http://craftandvision.com/collections/basics ) which - of course - puts you on their mailing list.
The landscape i posted yesterday was from Monte Bello open space preserve, looking down the San Andreas fault, with Loma Prieta in the distance. (See the not-so remarkably similar first photo from http://geologycafe.com/3Dbayarea/html/MonteBello.htm )
I find myself becoming much more aware of wide angle vs narrow, of the hyperfocal distance of my lenses, of white balance, and dynamic range. This photo of the native bee was shot as close as i could get, and required cropping out most of the photo. Just adding the extension tubes allows me to get so much more close. I'm feeling the beginning of knowing what image i want to take and knowing how to take it.
--==∞==--
Still not adjusted to daylight savings time. I can't get myself to believe its time to go to work or go to bed.
One last photo: not technically good, but one i want to take again with a tripod some time. The night light on the bradford pear (or whatever) is rather interesting, i think.
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Lovely photography. I still have your Lenten Rose seed pod as my laptop background.
I'm glad! Another photographer i know makes desktop images with tiny calendars every month. I never see my desktop, so it never occurs to me!
I think your Lenten Rose seed pod is my keeper!
Many years ago, I thought of putting one part of the yard in clover, but I finally decided against it out of consideration for neighbors who would become frustrated when all my clover seeds took root in their grass.
Great photos, and it's interesting to hear about aspects of the art you're learning.
That's an interesting aspect that hasn't been addressed in the information i've read. It does seem that mowing the flowers is recommended, so maybe that keeps things from going to seed. (These aren't no-mow lawns, but after the plants learn to keep their heads down, become less-mow lawns.) The plants the British study selected spread from runners and root rhizomes, not (predominantly) seeds.
Very interesting final sentence: what plants, if you recall?
We three pay for others to mow & put chemicals on our lawn*, which I don't mind--but my one regret is that I think it'd be cool to naturalize spring bulbs, which is not compatible with that care.
* I take care of the non-lawn plantings, and the lawn is the guys' job. When W. was out of work for a long time, he mowed/trimmed and S. raked. When W. got a stable, well paying job, one of the first things he did was hire the lawn services!
Edited at 2014-03-12 02:35 pm (UTC)
The British dissertation project has a FAQ at http://www.grassfreelawns.co.uk/section694629.html There's a plant list at the bottom and i was going to -- in my fantasy time -- go through and compare the species to California species. I recognize the latin names for mints, clover, another legume called lotus that has a number of native species here in California, violets, buttercups.... | |
