Fisher Times-Post-Dispatch-Courier

St. Louis got slammed by a storm last night.  Lots of straight-line wind damage, and I’m among 300,000 or so people in the metro area without power.  But, I’m okay after being narrowly missed by a flying chair or two, and the car was parked out in the open and avoided the falling trees.  Trees, streetlamps, and power are down all over the place.  It’s a mess.

Just couldn’t wait for a regularly scheduled post.  Just had to share.

And because "Mom" couldn’t figure out what it is…it’s a small (6") waterfall at Forest Park, with a small lake above, and a small lake below. 

What can you do with a DSLR that you can’t do with a point-and-shoot?

Well, that depends on the sophistication of the P&S, but every DSLR gives the photographer the ability to adjust the aperture.  The aperture is the width of the opening of the lens’s "iris," a series of blades that widens and narrows to control the amount of light passing through the lens.  Why is this important?  Aperture controls the depth of field, or the depth of focus.  A wide aperture - lots of light, fast shutter speed - does two things: the fast shutter speed allows action to be frozen, and it has a narrow field for isolating subjects.  E.g.:

A narrow aperture requires a slower shutter speed, allowing for effects like motion blur and streaming water.  It also has a wide field for keeping the entire frame, or more of the frame, in focus.  E.g.:

If you’re confused as to what you’re looking for, note that the chimney in the background is blurry in the first image, and sharp in the second.

Have a good day. 

I have decided that Shakespeare is a bit heavy reading for the summer, so I’ve picked up a city library card and started reading. So far I’ve chewed my way through:
Harry Potter 6
The Exorcist
This Monster Lives (behind the scenes of Metallica’s documentary, Some Kind of Monster)
The Rainmaker
Gettysburg
Gods and Generals
Black Wind (new Dirk Pitt novel that is a collaboration between Clive Cussler and his son . . . Dirk Cussler)
A few photography books whose titles both escape me and are unimportant, as I got little from them.
And I’m sure a few others that I can’t recall off the top of my head. Waiting for me at home right now are some new acquisitions -an Elmore Leonard novel, a Jeff Deaver (Lincoln Rhyme) novel, among others. Lots of reading, little spare time.

Took a walk out at a state park - Babler to be exact.

 Dragonfly, I think.  135mm from about 2 feet.

Not sure what flower this is.  For this series, I really like how the flowers are in focus and the rest of the scene is softly rubbed out.

All with the 135mm lens.