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Japanese Maples Fall Color

'Skeeter's Broom' is the most colorful maple in our garden. I have just returned from a 2-week trip to Japan. This was my first ever trip outside the United States. It was an amazing experience and one I will never forget. Japan was wonderful - they really have their act together and I think the U.S. could learn a few things from them. There was one disappointment on the trip - the fall color had barely begun there and was really just beginning as we left. That is okay because the gardens were still spectacular, and I got a nice shot of fall color when I got back. 'Ryusen' I missed a few things - our ginkgo had just turned a glorious color the day before I left, and the leaves were gone by the time I got back.  'Sango-Kaku' I came home to many leaves on the ground but still a lot on the trees. 'Osakazuki', a beautiful red maple always changed color very late and therefore doesn't usually last long. When I left there was no color but a few remaini
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Experimenting with night photography

We are still snowed in and I'm not complaining. The hardest part is trying to decide what to do - do I want to work on a website, bake, watch a movie or read? Decisions, decisions. I love being cooped up like this. The light inside the house from the bright snow reflecting from outside is so wonderful. It gives me such a comforting and peaceful feeling.

Last night, I took some photos out the window using really long exposures. Here are the results.

This photo was taken from the dining room window. I think this Japanese Maple (Booskoop Glory) is one of the most beautiful trees in the garden when covered with snow.



Looking out another dining room window, this one facing north, is the little garden underneath a Yoshino Cherry tree where I have an urn fountain. That is a dentist's office across the street from us.



Another window, another room, still looking north. Our little vegetable garden is to the left and the urn fountain garden is to the right.



Below, this photo was taken looking out the front glass storm door. The vine hanging from above is Jackson Vine (Smilax smallii) and the conifer directly ahead is Colorado Blue Spruce. The lumps on each side, in front of the mailbox, are the lion statues. The shadows are from a street light.



I had to step out on the front stoop to get this shot, looking across the front garden toward the street light. The tree on the right is a Heritage River Birch and the tree to the left is an October Glory Maple.



I really appreciate the comments about my photography but of course, I'm never satisfied. I have a question for people who use Blogger. I find that after I make my postings, my photos are not as crisp and sharp as they are beforehand. Does anyone know why this is and what to do about it? I don't upload my photos from Blogger but put them on my server and link to them that way. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. serial tillerJanuary 11, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    I love these pictures. The plays of shadow and light are so interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. DarlaJanuary 11, 2011 at 12:35 PM

    Everything looks so magical! Have you tried uploading your photos from blogger?

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  3. LKTJanuary 11, 2011 at 12:54 PM

    Just beautiful. And you say that they're even clearer than this? Gorgeous.

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  4. Phillip OliverJanuary 11, 2011 at 1:02 PM

    Darla, I've tried uploading them directly from Blogger and they don't look as good.

    Thanks LKT and Jennifer!

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  5. DarlaJanuary 11, 2011 at 1:05 PM

    Well it was just a thought and seriously I don't know how they could look any better!

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  6. UnknownJanuary 11, 2011 at 1:22 PM

    I had the same problem with my photos. I have increased the photo size to TIFF or just below (I wish I knew what this is called - novice with the terminology) and the photos come out much cleaner on upload.

    I love your night time photos. It looks like almost daytime.

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  7. Becca's DirtJanuary 11, 2011 at 1:31 PM

    What beautiful photos. Love the way the light plays against the snow and the shadows.

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  8. Lisa at GreenbowJanuary 11, 2011 at 1:59 PM

    Dem bones look delicious all heaped up with snow sugar. Excuse me, I don't know what came over me. It must be that I have been cooped up all day watching it snow some more. Ha.. Love your photos. I have no idea what is with Blogger. It is a mystery to me.

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  9. DJanuary 11, 2011 at 3:18 PM

    I wish I had an answer for you Phillip. Nonetheless, the photos are beautiful! there is a glow, a wonderful "warmth" about them.

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  10. Rosedale GardensJanuary 11, 2011 at 3:38 PM

    I've ridden around Tuscumbia the last couple of afternoons after getting off at ECM taking pictures of historical places. Ivy Green was locked yesterday and I forgot to check today. Can't wait to download my picture of Locust Hill. I hope I still had permission from the owners to trespass. Mary

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  11. Karin / Southern MeadowsJanuary 11, 2011 at 3:54 PM

    Great night photographs! I especially like the one out the front storm door...the lighting and shadows make it even more magical. We are stuck at home too and enjoying every minute of it!

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  12. scottweberpdxJanuary 11, 2011 at 4:53 PM

    Nice! I love taking snow pics at night...though the opportunities here are few and far between ;-) Glad you're enjoying your snow days...there's nothing like that "forced relaxation"!

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  13. Dig, Grow, Compost, BlogJanuary 11, 2011 at 6:55 PM

    Really nice (and you must have very clean windows)! I can't believe how much snow you all got! We got mostly ice but it is COLD! I have no idea about the photos. I guess I always expect the photos to look worse when posted anyway. If you find out how to fix it, do let me know.

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  14. The Redneck RosarianJanuary 11, 2011 at 8:54 PM

    Great Pictures! The snow is so beautiful. You captured your garden in a perfect winter light.

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  15. LonaJanuary 12, 2011 at 3:09 PM

    I cannot believe all of the snow you have. It does look lovely in the light.
    You might want to download Windows Live to post your postings. The pictures Do not get distorted from using it.It is easy to use and you can do all sorts of things to your pictures with it.

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  16. SamiJanuary 12, 2011 at 5:35 PM

    how beautiful! I'm a small time amateur and really appreciate good art. I only hope I can be as good some day.

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  17. compost in my shoeJanuary 12, 2011 at 6:44 PM

    I cannot believe how much snow ya'll got this time around. I am a tinge on the jealous side.......but knowing what havoc it would play on the locals here in Charleston, best to enjoy it from afar!!!

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  18. Susan TomlinsonJanuary 13, 2011 at 4:59 AM

    These are wonderful! Love 'em, love 'em, love 'em.

    But I'm afraid I can't agree with you on the joys of being cooped up...

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  19. ...but hey, that's just me!January 13, 2011 at 10:18 AM

    the photos are beautiful! I love the last two, the light is very cool.

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  20. Catherine@AGardenerinProgressJanuary 13, 2011 at 2:02 PM

    It does look so pretty still all covered in snow. I upload mine from blogger and they never look as crisp as they do when I look at them in i photo. If you figure out how to do it I'd love to know, but I think yours look beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  21. scottweberpdxJanuary 13, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    Hi...thought I'd respond to your question on posting photos here as well as my blog:
    I believe it is Blogger, if you upload pics directly into it, it scales them and leads to some nasty artifacts. I also use Flickr to upload and organize my photos. You can just grab the HTML address for the images and paste them into your blog posts (you can even specify the exact size if you want). I believe you can try it out for free, as long as you keep your total uploads under a certain amount, beyond that, I think it's $25/year for a membership...I could be off on that, however. Hope that helps!

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  22. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2011 at 7:55 PM

    Phillip, you've actually made snow look appealling! I'm not a winter fan, but I live in the north so I have to deal with it every year. The light is lovely in these shots, thanks for sharing them.

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  23. Rosedale GardensJanuary 15, 2011 at 9:12 PM

    With Wordpress I can upload pictures directly into my posts, so I'm not of any help. Wish I didn't go to work in the dark so I could have gotten some day shots early Monday. I got a lot of the historical homes in Tuscumbia after work, but I didn't have much time left before it got dark. I'll post those later. Mary

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  24. Molly HJanuary 15, 2011 at 9:15 PM

    Lovely, lovely photos Phillip! Thank you for posting/sharing! Snow has always held a magical quality for me and your pictures are confirmation!

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  25. GailJanuary 17, 2011 at 6:07 AM

    Fun photos Phillip and oh so pretty! I enjoyed the snow and I am thrilled that it has melted! gail

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  26. still goodJanuary 17, 2011 at 7:20 AM

    Beautiful Phillip!

    We were without internet service for several days. Good to catch up with you. I love being cooped up, too.

    Take Care!

    Rebecca

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  27. Rob (ourfrenchgarden)January 18, 2011 at 10:46 AM

    Perhaps, and I'm really not sure, but assuming you shoot RAW I don't know if blogger accepts them,big file so coverts to JPEG, or something like that.

    Your night shots are spot on. I've tried some this winter simply on Intelligent Auto but they're not great. I think the 'bitty' quality is called 'noise'.

    Anyway, enjoy your artic blast.

    ReplyDelete
  28. CarolJanuary 20, 2011 at 6:10 AM

    Phillip, I had that problem once with blogger too. I made my photos extra large and then they come out better. I email my photos to myself then save them to a folder and then upload them with the blogger tools. Lovely night photos here!

    ReplyDelete

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