Purple Pickerel Rush

Venturing out yesterday, yet staying close to Louisville, I decided to visit Bernheim before the dry, scorching heat of long Summer days sets in. I love visiting the Arboretum as Spring gives way to Summer while the vegetation is still rich and lush. I discovered Purple Pickerel Rush blooming along the banks of Lake Nevin. For those of you who aren't familiar with this plant, its actually an aquatic plant that gardeners commonly use in gardens and plant containers, as its hardiness can easily withstand full sun. Blooms vary from vivid blues to various shades of purple. If I had a Life List for flowers, this plant would go on it as I had never before made its acquaintance.



After driving the main parameter of the Arboretum, I parked near the gatehouse to walk back to Lake Nevin to photograph a Heron standing in the shallow water of the lake. Given 'Take a Kid Fishing Day' was in full swing, a father and sons had scared the Heron as they approached the lakefront and off he flew to the far side of the lake. I turned to walk back to the car but spotted some bright color peeking through the trees. I crept down to the water's edge to find this beautiful Pickerel Rush in full bloom. As I snapped a few images, several Silver Spotted Skippers flitted about on the blooms making lunch of the pollen there. Does this butterfly remind you of parchment paper. Every time I see it, that's the thought that comes to mind. Just saying.



In closing, I recently purchased a discounted full version of Adobe Lightroom 5 photo editing software. Lightroom 5 is the last full version you can purchase. Sadly, Adobe has reverted to charging a monthly subscription in lieu of purchasing full software packages after each update. I hate paying monthly subscriptions to anything, and definitely not for photo editing software. I had used Beta versions of Lightroom 3 and 4 in the past. Beta software versions are free to download and use for a limited time. The Beta version stops functioning when the final version is released. I never purchased 3 or 4, but knew when Lightroom 5 was launched, I had to have it as Adobe had added features to this new version that I had been waiting for.

Being familiar with this software already, I dropped these images into it today to see what enhancements I could bring out in the images and I'm really impressed with the outcome. I especially like the sharpening and clarity tools. But all of the various color, exposure and contrast enhancement features are far superior than my Paint or Picasa software. While Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite offers a great deal more features and enhancements, having used it on an old laptop that crashed and the software was lost to me forever, I think Lightroom 5 is perfect for my needs and recommend it as it is fairly inexpensive. You can still find it in full versions on eBay at a discount right now. Have a wonderful Sunday. ENJOY!

Spring Perhaps

In May of 2011, I spent an afternoon at Bernheim taking in all that Spring had to offer.

This beautiful scene with the Canadian Goslings lazing about on the fresh green lawn next to Lake Nevin was just one of many beautiful scenes that I witnessed on that day. I long for those warm Spring days with bright green lawns and bushes and freshly grown leaves. If I could will it to be, I would have already done so. I know there are those who are still covered in Winter's snow, but here in the Bluegrass State I cannot wait for Spring to begin to burst forth. I have been absent this week only because I had to travel out of town for several days to a meeting. This was a rare time when I didn't even take my camera equipment. I felt lost without it, but didn't actually need it. I would be out of doors now, but the cloud cover is fairly solid with only an occasional stream of sunshine making it through. Tomorrow perhaps. Hope you are enjoying your weekend albeit warm and dry or cold and knee deep in Winter's cover. ENJOY!

Reflections, Lake Nevin

Seldom do I convert an image from four color to black and white. Seldom do I fall in love with an image after I've converted it to black and white.

However, this image seemed to beg for a black and white feel. I chose several options in my imaging software to enhance the reflections in the water. I love photographing this bridge over Lake Nevin in Bernheim at different times of the year, especially when the light is just right. Hope your week is off to a great start. ENJOY!

The Bridge, Lake Nevin

Today was a warm 67 degrees here in Kentucky. I didn't think the sun was going to come out, but I was wrong. So I decided to take a mid afternoon trek over to Bernheim and go for a walk with my camera in tow.

And while on my walk on the Sun and Shade Trail in the Arboretum, I looked over and saw the wooden bridge across Lake Nevin, and said, "Well, I suppose I should give it another try." So I clicked off six or seven images. I got home later and dropped the images in my software and did a little tweaking and this is the image I ended up with. I hope you like it. I also hope you're having a great weekend. No matter what the temperature is in your neck of the woods. ENJOY!

Wooden Bridge, Lake Nevin!

I had a different post up and then decided it just wasn't working for me. I'll repost it at a later date. This current image I'm posting instead I've been working on for some time. I love this wooden bridge at Bernheim. OK, I like all wooden bridges. And I tend to photograph them every chance I get. I don't know why I like them so much except to say perhaps it's the fact that the bridge takes you from one destination to another destination. Or perhaps it's that they are wooden and not many structures are made simply of wood these days. And by structures I mean bridges, buildings, etc. This bridge sits right off the Sun and Shade Trail along the back side of Lake Nevin. I hope you like it. Hope your week is going well. Hello 2012. ENJOY!

Icy Lake Nevin!

I confess, I played around somewhat with this image to give it a little bit of an artistic feel. I like how it turned out. This is looking out over Lake Nevin at Bernheim this past weekend! Brrrr. It was chilly out that day. ENJOY!