There Were Roses

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.