The Feathered Friends of Spring

One nice thing about the pre-leaf season
is that it is easier to spot the birds-
and their nests.
I have yet to see an occupied nest, though.
But this robin on campus was quite used to people
and so I could get fairly close.
I would like a really good zoom someday,
but for now this wasn't a bad photo.

Some More Colorful Views

Color clouds go poof!
and are our faces ever bright!

Color Madness

We went to the Springville India color festival this weekend...
along with 80,000 other people.
You can see the clean, non-color folks heading in...
and us powdery folks bright with spring color heading out.

The point is to throw color on one another.
Here my niece and nephew practice flinging:

Jolly color trio:

And one of me at the Krishna temple.

More comparisons

The top two were taken with Camera A.
The bottom one was taken with Camera B.

Again, I see a slight blur on the 'foreward' blossoms
in Camera B's version (bottom photo)
and less blurring of the background than in Camera A.
I think Camera A wins the 'best closeup' in my book.
Now I have to try out A vs. B with some buildings,
and people, and landscapes,
and other scenes,
before I decide which one I will keep.
(I do have to say I like B's battery system better than A's... sigh.)

Comparisons

I am trying to decide between two cameras.
Camera A took the upper picture.
Camera B took the lower picture.
I am more used to Camera B's system,
but A, it seems to me, works better with close-ups,
in keeping the object fully in focus
and blurring the background
(as opposed to Camera B,
which will do a closeup of a leaf or flower,
but often with such a shallow depth of field
that part of said leaf or flower is not fully focused.)

For instance, see how the bottom photo has a center leaf
that projected forward and therefore is blurred,
because it protruded out of the realm of the camera focus.
The top photo is further away, true, but it doesn't appear to have that problem.

April Fool's Day Weather

UGH!
Luckily, it's melting off now.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
(Robert Frost)

First Green!!

I went out for lunch with my sister in downtown Salt Lake City today.
As we were driving by one of the streets, I caught my First Glimpse of green this year.
It's been warm, and the trees have been budding-
but lo and behold, real leaves!
Emily and I cheered!
And since we were stopped for a light in the car,
I was able to roll down the window and get a picture.
(No, I was not driving, anyway.)
What a perfect sight for St. Patrick's Day!
Even if he DID drive all the snakes out of Ireland.