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My Creative Side

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My Creative Side

Arizona is so beautiful, both scenically and climatically, during the winter and spring. It's the time of year here in the desert to get outside and enjoy. Cabin-fever syndrome just evaporates. The crispness in the air melts as soon as the sun lifts from the eastern horizon. You find yourself in an environment that lends to creative juices starting to flow.

In spite of the urban surroundings, there is an endless supply of natural phenomena to put your imagination to work. Just find a plot of dirt and start digging. Before you know it, a tiny bit of green peers through the moist soil. And while you're tending to these activities, all manner of creatures start appearing too! Honey bees, grasshoppers, dragonflies, hummingbirds... if you're quiet, they'll come close. They are attracted by the scent and the nectar beckoning them. Saguaro trees are favorites of woodpeckers.

If I'm lucky, I've got my trusty camera nearby. I'll startle them away for a bit, but they always return, and hopefully I'll be ready to capture a beautiful macro shot of a bee entering a blossom, or a hummingbird poking its long beak in my strategically-placed feeder. I really love the early morning, just as the sun is rising, and dew is still coating everything. It's fun capturing the reflections of a droplet about to succumb to gravity.

The sun itself is a favored subject of mine in my photographic endeavors. Simply place it's brightness behind just the perfect leafy branch of a tree, to diffuse that brightness - and voila! a great sun ray shot. If there are clouds in the sky - yeah, occasionally there are! - then the varied hues of colors are absolutely stunning!

My roses, mums, hyacinths, and daisies are always good standbys for a beautiful shot, playing with the available lighting.

I've proverbially 'killed' three birds with one stone: beautiful landscape, great images, and a satisfied soul. What else can one ask for!