Month: July 2013

Glimpse of the 60’s

Published on by tbeckerphotos1 Comment

One day while shooting at the Desert Botanical Garden, I came upon something blooming in the herb garden that was bright orange, my favorite color. It didn’t have typical petals like a flower. They were long and thin like thread. There were many of these thread-like petals in the shape of a ball. What would this look like close up with my macro lens? To have it all in focus would require focus stacking with multiple shots. Not a technique I have done, but seen many times. Looking through the viewfinder with a shallow depth of field, I was surprised at how many different colors there were.Friday Fotos-1286 It reminded me of tie-dye.  As I continued shooting, the song “Time of the Season” by The Zombies was playing in my head. Every time I look at this image that song plays in my head and even as I write this story.

Thinking about tie-dye reminded me of the late 60’s and early 70’s. A time of hippies and back to the earth movements, and flower power. It also brought back memories of The Mod Shop, a store in the basement of a building uptown on Main Street in the small rural town I grew up in. I never went to The Mod Shop, but my sister did. She was older and would walk uptown with her friend and come home with smiley’s and incense. She was barely a teenager and my being 5 years younger she didn’t want me tagging along. The Mod Shop came and went as fads come and go. I have no idea what the space is used for today, probably storage.

Every month I send a photo to my sister to use as her desktop wallpaper. This image was published on the Arizona Highways blog for Friday Fotos for the theme Abstract Arizona. I forwarded the link of the blog to my sister so she could see the two images that were published that week. She replied how she loved this image and how it would look great on her computer. So I sent the image along with a note that it reminded me of tie-dye. She thought it looked like candy corn. One of my aunt’s thought it looked like jacks that kids play.

Although I enjoy shooting landscapes, macro nature photography is my passion. Whether it be a classic portrait of a flower or an insect, or an abstract image and letting my imagination run wild. Everyone sees something different depending on their life experiences and interests. And I love different!

What do you see? Leave a comment below!

©Tamara Becker and Different Isn’t Wrong, It’s Just Different, 2013.  All Rights Reserved.

I Miss the Smell

Published on by tbeckerphotos1 Comment

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Usually I spend autumn during peak fall color in the Midwest. Last year I decided to stay in Arizona for fall color. My plan was to shoot the golden aspen in Flagstaff and the most popular trail for fall color, West Fork in Oak Creek Canyon.

I was looking forward to cooler temperatures as October in the desert is still quite warm. Visions of red and yellow foliage with the beautiful canyon walls and pine trees for the backdrop would be different from fall in the Midwest.  Not to mention the creek and all the potential opportunities for shots of leaves and water.

20121024-_DSC4056Walking along the trail, the color was magnificent. The maple trees were yellow, pink and red depending on if they were just turning or at peak color. The oak leaves were turning from lime green to yellow.  There were plenty of leaves that had fallen, perfect for macro shots.  Especially along the creek the fallen leaves were covered with water droplets.

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But there was something missing. I kept filling my lungs with the cool air of fall. It didn’t smell like fall. You know that incredible smell in the wood of decaying leaves. The smell of earth covered in red, orange and yellow foliage that would turn brown and crunch under your feet while taking a stroll.

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I miss the smell of fall. This year, spending time in the Midwest during the fall season is on my list, just for the smell.