Little glass teapot

M

y son and I love drinking tea. And we also love the experience of making tea. So my son decided a few years ago that he wanted loose leaf teas and a loose leaf brewing system. For the past three years Christmas has included a variety of amazingly wonderful teas and some really cool brewing systems. This past year’s system was this very cool teapot that has its own acrylic base warmer fueled by a tealight candle. It makes great tea and looks really cool in a dark room as that candle glows beneath it.

By the way... the tea is a wonderful loose leaf mango/ginger/citrus tea.
The tealight warming it is apple scented.

Canon EOS 7D, EF85mm f/1.8 USM lens
85mm fixed focal length
ISO 400, 1/8th @ f/1.8

And this one has a neutral tea light

Canon EOS 7D, EF85mm f/1.8 USM lens
85mm fixed focal length
ISO 400, 1/8th @ f/1.8

I know... we’re weird.

Low natural light photography

M

y passion for photography has grown through many stages, but I have always had a love for natural light. I particularly love backlighting or strong side lighting. I have also come to love dark interiors with bright light streaming through windows or doors. But the high contrast of such pictures makes it very hard to capture photographically.

One week ago last Saturday my family went to a local restaurant for lunch. We got there a bit early and were the only customers in the dining room for a while. The decorations were beautiful and the lighting was outstanding. So I rested my elbows on the table to give more stability in the extremely low lighting conditions, and I took a few pictures.

This first picture is the hostess, waiting for diners to arrive. She is looking at a large wine rack in a darker part of the restaurant, but the strong light shining through the windows and door to her left plays along the edge of her hair and defines her clothing. I loved the effect.

Canon EOS 7D, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
70mm focal length
ISO 800, 1/40th @ f/2.8

The decorations were beautiful in this Italian restaurant and used a lot of food, oil, and wine to set the tone of the dining area. These lemons, peppers, and water pitcher were very close to our table, but the light was so low that I had to use a very long shutter speed. I love how this one turned out.

Canon EOS 7D, EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
48mm focal length
ISO 800, 1/40th @ f/2.8

Photography! What a great hobby!

Victor Wooten - Amazing Grace

I love playing the bass. The lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and lead guitarist all form the personality of the band. But the bass player and the drummer are the heart and soul of the band. And it’s a great role to play.

There are, however, some bass players who are so incredibly good that they can do it all. Victor Wooten is probably the best of the best.