For
the past two Sunday mornings I've gone over to the International Rose
Test Garden in Washington Park overlooking Portland to the East. There
weren't all that many roses blooming on May 17. Most were in the
American Rose Society's garden for miniature roses. Still, I managed to
get almost 100 pictures.
I
went back yesterday and found more roses in bloom, although it's still
only a small percentage of the roses in the garden. That may be a good
thing in a way because I wasn't overwhelmed with choices. I think I
made the most of what was there. I got just over 200 shots, not
counting the ones that got snapped even when the camera decided not to
focus. Digital photography with a good camera is great. Once the
initial investment in equipment is made, the main expense is batteries,
so although it's taken me quite a while, I think I've finally relaxed
into shooting multiple shots and not getting too annoyed if one shot
doesn't work out.
Next
time, though, I'll take along either the tripod or the monopod. I've
been shooting mostly closeups of the roses, so small movements make a
big difference in composition.
During the week between trips to
the garden, I experimented a bit with cutting out backgrounds. But
that's a tedious process. I decided I've got some good shots that will
work well without manipulation, so I uploaded a bunch to Zazzle and
started turning them into products.
This
past Saturday I went into town to look around the Portland Saturday
Market. I didn't want to buy anything, but I did get some ideas for
photos that I hope to use on Zazzle in addition to zoo photos and
roses. One of the ideas was to make a side trip after getting shots at
the rose garden. So after that yesterday, I drove over to St. John's
Bridge, a suspension bridge over the Willamette River. There's a park
under the bridge that's the site of the Portland Pirate Festival, so I
already knew the bridge was a great photo subject. I'd seen one
interesting photo taken through the bridge supports and I got a few of
my versions of it, plus several more. I walked around quite a bit,
including walking up onto the bridge for shots of the towers. It being
Sunday morning, although mid-morning by then, there wasn't too much
traffic, so I was even able to get a few shots of the towers from the
middle of the road. It meant shooting fast so nobody in approaching
vehicles would have any concerns about me.
Some
of the pictures of roses have been uploaded to Zazzle and placed on
products. I've done nine so far and have another seven already uploaded
to work on. There are quite a few more good shots I haven't uploaded
yet, so I expect the Roses line in my Zazzle store will have a lot of
products in it. Each photo goes onto about two dozen products. The
store is at
http://www.zazzle.com/mobyd46* and it would be nice if you
could wander over and take a look. Buying something would be even nicer!
Very
near the Rose Test Garden is the Japanese Garden. Admission is charged
for that and I've only been once, but it's a very beautiful place.
Photography is regulated there, unlike the Rose Test Garden. If I
wanted to take pictures to turn into Zazzle products or sell elsewhere,
I would have to spend $150 for a one-year photographer's membership.
Another visit to explore photo possibilities might be in order,
although it would be good to see if I can make any money off the Zazzle
store and perhaps by submitting photos to some sites that pay if people
are interested in using submitted photos.