Fresh greens

Posted on May 15, 2013 by

Fresh greens
by Kristel Schneider

Finally I had some time to walk in the forest again. The trees are full with different tints of greens and the leaves are changing very fast now.
By driving up into the mountains (Monts du Forez) I sill could find some very young leaves.  Some buds from the nut trees are still closes.

The greens make a nice color pattern  in the chaos from the branches.
Normally I prefer a day with overcast weather, to get more color contrast.
The end of the day was still  sunny so I looked for places with shades and try to use the sunlight in a way that is was not ‘too’ harsh.

Fresh-greens-between-branches Leaves-budsFresh-leaves_2  Tints-of-green

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The first flower images of 2013

Posted on April 13, 2013 by

Finally Spring by
Kristel Schneider

I hereby declare the flower season open

_MG_0788

When the wood anemones wake up, Spring has arrived for me and can you imagine, it is mid April and I took my first flower image of  2013 !

This afternoon I tried out a different composition, I often look for back-light or color contrast. In this image the fresh grass gave a soft green background and by  combining the Anemone with some other flowers I got a nice ‘flower bouquet’.

Last year I noticed that almost all my flower images were shot with my Canon 300mmL  lens. So today I took my Sigma 150mm macro lens with a 1.4 extender, a combination  I will try to use more often this year.

Happy flower season everybody!

(Update 14 April 2013)
NatureScapes.NET  Flora and Macro forum : Editors Pick

editors-pick-They-are-Wake

Some feedback :
- This is awesome! What a gorgeous comp & I love the softness!
- Beautiful combination of the anemone with the bed straw (I think that’s what it’s called). Love the bright whites and the stamen details.
- A beautiful spring composition that certainly hits the mark imo – sadly rain and wind over here, so here’s hoping for some of that sunshine.

Other editors picks so far (2013):

Posted in Close up photography, Editors Pick, Macro and Flora Photography | Tagged | 5 Comments

Image: Snow Dunes – editors Pick

Posted on March 21, 2013 by

NatureScapes.NET  Landscape Gallery : Editors Pick


Snow Dunes

Les Pradeaux| Auvergne, France

snow-waves-on-ice_3

Some feedback so far:

  • Excellent mood. Like it.
  • Kristel .Love this, just so delicate, cheers
  • I really love this. Beautiful shades and lines.
  • Fantastic!…a good eye to spot this!
  • Absolutely love everything about this!!!
  • Beautifully abstract I love it – in our over populated area the snow just quickly turns into a dirty mush
  • Very well seen Kristel, this is great!

Editors-pick_snow_dunes

Other editors picks so far (2013):

Posted in Editors Pick, Landscape Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Snow dunes

Posted on March 17, 2013 by
PNR Livradois Forez
by Kristel Schneider

Last Friday I had a nice snowshoe walk in the ‘ Monts du Forez’.
For my photo assignment I wanted to have a second look at the lake from the dam des Pradeaux. The night before it had snowed and the forecast for that Friday was sun with some clouds.  When I parked my car at the Col Les Pradeaux (1.196 m altitude) the clouds were still hanging above the  Nordic ski slope for the children.

Les-Pradeaux-in-the-mistI was hoping for more snow on the trees around the lake than the first time I was there , but unfortunately that side is early in the sun and when I arrived the trees looked green with some powder snow on it, too bad for me.  Lake-Les-Pradeaux_3

The lake was frozen and totally covered with snow, the wind had created some nice snow dunes. I got attracted by the lines and shades.

Balancing in the deep snow I managed to get some lower angle shots.
The sun was nicely reflecting on the top of the dunes, which made it challenging to get details in the bright whiteness of the snow.
I also had to be careful that my tripod did  not slide down in the deep snow while I was focusing. It would not be the first time you think that everything is nicely in focus and then, realize that the tripod moved.
snow-waves-on-ice snow-waves-on-ice_3 snow-waves-on-ice_4

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Image: Wood Anemone | Editors Pick

Posted on March 16, 2013 by

NatureScapes.NET  Macro and Flower Gallery : Editors Pick

Wood Anemoon

St. Flour L’Etang| Auvergne, France

Wood-Anemone_4b

Its March and today we had snowstorms as if we are in the middle of Winter. Normally I would already cowl on the flour to look at the first flower buds or even the very first flowers. This image is from last April (2012), lets hope Spring will arrive soon …..

Some feedback so far:

  • nice colour pallette … an overall outsanding dreamy effect…nicely done.
  • Pretty wide-open look, nice textured background, lovely foliage.
    I’ll think spring for you! We just had 6 inches of snow, but it’s melted now.
  • Very nice.We are just getting Spring-like here in the Southeast
  • Fantastic soft color and light , sweet image
  • Somehow I missed this one! Congratulations on EP! The neutral tones in the BG with hints of grass is lovely & I like the way the flower is just peeking out!
  • A beautiful representation of this spring beauty – you had me all excited for a moment until I read this was from last year. It’s the same over here, snow all week, and now rain – spring seems to have gone missing this year
    Editors-pick_wood-anemone

    Other editors picks so far (2013):

Posted in Close up photography, Editors Pick, Macro and Flora Photography | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments