After a near disaster yesterday, I managed to get outside in the final hour of daylight today and get these photos. The light wasn’t too bad but I wasn’t too happy with the constant breeze that was blowing. There’s not much to be done about the wind, though, as the Fremantle Doctor (daily seabreeze) almost always comes in by late afternoon. Only a handful of the 30-40 shots were suitable for keeping on this particular day.

All of these flowers are gazanias, growing wild on our front lawn. I think they are quite beautiful but I found out more recently that they are considered an invasive weed in Western Australia and should be avoided where possible. While all of the original plants died long ago, we have a regular crop of them thriving in our front garden.

These flowers were dancing in the breeze as i tried to capture them on camera.

I like the way the flower closes up, snug as a bug when the sun is setting.

I particularly like this pink variety. It’s a bit of a loner as there aren’t any other pink ones growing here.

I had a terrible time trying to get any focus on this flower but I really love the brilliance of colors and have kept this as the best of the lot.

One day I’d like to try some time-lapse photography and watch the progression of the flowers opening and/or closing during the course of the day.

I would have thought I’d get stuck into my little project early on the first day. Unfortunately, I didn’t quite plan things out as well as I’d have liked so was left searching for a subjects to photograph in the relatively dim inside light. I took a number of photos of various objects on and around my desk but none showed any promise. I was beginning to think I’d have failed my challenge from day one when my eyes were attracted to a carrying case for a boules set in the games room. Inside were six shiny orbs that provided a bit of potential this time.

I started out with just a trio to see what would happen and adjusted as I went along.

Considering how rarely this set has been used, I am amazed to see how scratched they are. I guess that’s what happens when you get the cheapest set available.

Although it’s not obvious here, I did use the full set

I discovered a color tool somewhere within Photoshop Elements and had a play. I was rather pleased when I happened upon my favorite color.

While these worked well enough for me in desperation, I’d like to revisit them some time during daylight hours and see what I can do with better light and additional color.

I’ve been rather slack with my practice of photography lately so I’ve decided to challenge myself for a month to keep up regular practice. The challenge is to take at least five photos each day for the month of May. Even if I end up with five bad photos, at least I will have made the effort. I plan to blog about my experiences each day and will post up to five photos each day. And my rule is that all photos have to be taken within the 24 hour period of the particular day of the challenge.