Janet Brien's photos with the keyword: resin

(+6 insets!) (please view large!) For info about the pictures today, please scroll down, down, down to "Today's Pictures". Trip Talk: Taking Time to Relax on a Trip Steve and I know all about the problems of trying to pack too much into a trip. Even when we specifically built in extra time for a destination or made sure to do less, we still felt stressed out over the desire to see more. It's made us realize that when we travel, we need to spend a lot more time at each place so we can relax and enjoy ourselves. This tradeoff means we won't see as many places but we'll feel much more satisfied and happy with each destination. It's important to have the freedom to say, "Today we're just going to hang out and do nothing." So, when we went to Joseph Stewart State Park, we made no plans except to relax and enjoy ourselves however that meant. It helped that we'd been there before and knew what to expect. Neither of us felt compelled to visit all that the park had to offer. We just did whatever we felt like with no agenda. The Joy of Being In the Moment with my Macro Lens... It was GREAT! I got to spend all the time I wanted to creep around with my macro lens and just "be." I took my camera out on several outings that were just for me--my very favorite situation! When I can just do whatever I want and have no constraints on my time, I open up and just drift around, exploring without any worries. Sometimes I just stand still, listening and looking around to see what captures my attention. It's one of the ways I find special subjects, but the only way I can do this is if I'm free to let time pass without worry. Scoping Out Subjects! One day Steve, Pumpkin, and I went on a wonderful walk (we have a "front-pack" carrier for her that allows her to be outside but still be protected ) and as we strolled along, Pumpkin whistled and carried on happily as she looked around and munched on her food. I kept my eyes open for macro subjects because I planned to return with my camera. I got more and more excited as we found countless mushrooms, interesting leaves, and plenty of other things. After we returned to the trailer I bounced out the door with my camera to retrace our steps. I made sure to take my walkie-talkie with me so Steve and I could stay in contact. Out there our phones had no signal so having those walkies was a great alternative. The range is also very impressive--seems like I can be nearly a mile away and we can still reach each other. Is She Dead? I spent about an hour wandering back to all of the things we'd seen, blissfully taking pictures as I went. At one point I was splayed out on the ground in the middle of the path--a common position for me, lol! I was focusing on a group of darling mushrooms when I heard the campground hosts approaching in their atv. The second they saw me I heard the atv slow down as they tried to figure out if the person laying there was alive or not, heh. I knew what they were thinking so I immediately sat up and moved around so they didn't worry. Reassured, I heard the atv speed up again and I crawled over to the side of the path, grinning to myself. We all waved and said hi as they drove by and I couldn't help noticing the look of relief on their faces. About ten minutes later I heard them returning from their little trip and moved off the path again so they could drive by. I wonder how many crazy macro photographers they've encountered as camp hosts? Probably just me I'm guessing, judging by their reaction! Magic Happens When You're Not Rushed I continued my macro walk for a while longer until I felt creatively "full". I was about to turn around when I noticed glinting from a large conifer in the distance. It appeared to have many sawed-off lower branches and though I couldn't see from where I was, I wondered if it would be worth taking a closer look. My curiosity about the glimmers I saw got the better of me and I strolled over to investigate. What was that I was seeing?! Why, there was sap oozing out from every sawed-off branch! All around the tree, the resin formed countless beautiful golden droplets that seemed frozen in place. They were actually dripping very, very slowly , but even warm weather wouldn't make the sap drip fast enough to watch. At least that's my experience. I've seen resin droplets on trees when it's hot and though the sap is more liquid in appearance, it drips too slowly to see. Taking a closer look, I was totally blown away by the beautiful globules. Though the sun was just about to drop behind the trees, I'd caught the light at exactly the right moment and some of the droplets were glowing in the last beams hitting them. Working quickly, I evaluated the best droplets to photograph before I lost the sun. Around the tree I creeped, clicking away and hoping that I'd be successful getting at least one crisp picture in each set. As I composed my pictures, I couldn't keep myself from exclaiming, "WOW!!" I've seen plenty of resin droplets over the years but I cannot recall every seeing so much on one tree. The poor tree was probably suffering, with so much of its "blood" flowing out through the cuts all over it. Hopefully the pine beetles don't get to it before it can recover from the damage. In any event, the sap did allow me to take dozens of pictures that show how incredibly lovely the droplets can be. Today's Pictures I'm sharing a total of seven resin pictures from my visit to this wonderful tree. It was tough to decide which one to lead with…let me know if you have a favorite! Pam, I thought I remembered a picture you took of pine sap so I looked it up… wow! Three awesome posts, two of which are super cool collages! I love that you appreciate these natural jewels as I do. This tree would have you yelling and screaming when it got too dark to take pictures! :D I really would have loved to go back the next day to take more pictures but it wasn't in the cards. However, I'm mightily pleased with my results of about 10 minutes of frantically getting pictures before the light left! Been thinking about you all day…so happy about the news and so is Steve. I have my fingers crossed for improvements in the future! So glad for this win! *BIG HUGS* Explored on 11/26/19; highest placement #4.

(2 inset images) A few years ago a horrible tragedy happened on our property. A squirrel climbed up one of our power poles, chewed into a power line and got electrocuted. It fell into the dried grass and started a wildfire. The fire roared through the meadow, totally destroyed our huge shop and then raced up our hillside where it was finally stopped. We were so thankful the fire department was able to save our house. Nobody was hurt and few things of true sentimental value were lost. Except...the trees. More than half of our hillside had burned, and almost every tree had perished. To me, trees are another kind of person. So it totally wrecked me when all of those trees were killed. I'd spent countless hours up there with my camera, navigating the deer trails and exploring its nooks and crannies. Now, every time I looked up there it just hurt. I've been up there only a few times since the fire because I can't bear the pain. But the past few days I've been looking up there, wondering how things are doing. Forest fires are part of the cycle of life and very important to the ecosystem, revitalizing the soil and allowing the forest to "reset". As much as I knew it would hurt me, I decided on this beautiful, sunny day, to get my camera, put on my boots and knee pads, and take a walk. As I carefully made my way up the hillside I was hit once again by deep sorrow when I saw all of the burned trees. Charred trunks were everywhere and I watched my footing so I didn't trip on any of the downed trees. But then I saw something I didn't expect. There was a small Manzanita plant growing in front of me! But it wasn't just one. As my eyes scanned the hillside in front of me, I saw a CARPET of young Manzanitas! It was incredible! Then, as I reached the top of the hill and walked along the ridge line, I suddenly stopped in my tracks. The most heartbreaking loss of the fire was a magnificent 80-100 foot tall Madrone tree which I'd come to love over the years. It stood sentry at the top of the hillside trail, its massive branches spreading out in all directions. I had photographed its leaves, its lovely flowers, and the mushrooms that grew on moss which lived on its trunk. When I saw that it had burned, the sight made me cry and cry. In fact, it was the death of that tree which was the main reason I couldn't stand going up there anymore. Today as I stood gawking, a feeling of elation washed over me because my wonderful Madrone tree was completely encircled by a huge mass of growth at its trunk! Many of the branches were taller than me and covered with lush green leaves. I was overjoyed as I neared my dear old friend, admiring the new growth and realizing that my favorite tree hadn't died after all!! Looking around, I could see that ALL of the burned Madrones were ringed by new growth and I had to watch my step so I didn't step on the young Manzanitas. I even saw a couple of Oak and Ponderosa saplings here and there. As I made my way back down the trail to the house, I noticed the dead flowers from Mule Ears, and wild iris plants were there to see as well. I felt so much better. It would take many years for our hillside to recover completely, but it was going to be just fine. My smile was warmer than the sun. Today's picture is a resin droplet that I photographed today. It was found on one of the burned Ponderosa pine trees and symbolizes both a tear of sorrow for the loss of our hillside forest, but also a tear of joy because the trees are going to recover, and the other plants are going to be just fine too. Pam, this resin droplet also represents a tear of joy that you are ok and slowly recovering. It is also a tear of joy because I have found my passion again, and I have you to thank. Let there be many more happy tears in our future! Explored on 12/7/18, highest placement, #4.

The fire fighters cut down many smoldering trees and I found droplets of resin in the cuts of some of them. Catching the light just so created a pretty star!

6 more pictures in notes above! :) I feel SO MUCH BETTER today!! Yesterday I thought I might be getting sick because I was so run down from my bike ride the day before. But I took Airborne last night and this morning and I was feeling bright-eyed and bushy tailed very soon after I got my day started!! :D What better way to celebrate a close shave with a bad cold than a beautiful photo walk along our ridge line with Moosie and Zoe to help supervise?! :) Such a lovely morning, it promised to get warm by the afternoon, but the temperature was perfect for our walk! Wandering along, I found myself stopping in front of a very tall Ponderosa Pine tree that had dried sap crusted all over one side. I think that Acorn Woodpeckers may have drilled holes to store nuts and caused the sap to run, but it was dry now and very interesting to look at. Studying the crystalized resin, I hoped to spot some droplets, and as you can see, I found one!! As I began taking pictures, I slowly moved my angle and saw that the sun was at the right angle to cause a star burst, so I took a set of images with the hopes that one would have a brilliant burst. I got lots of pictures that would have worked fine, but the second I saw this one, I burst out with a big, happy, "YES!!!" :D Henri Frédéric Amiel (27 September 1821 – 11 May 1881) was a Swiss philosopher, poet and critic. Wikipedia: Henri Frederic Amiel Explored on October 23, 2013. Highest placement, page 4.

1 more picture above--and to see more pictures of Tarweed blossoms, click on the inset picture and roll your mouse over the inset pictures! :) This bud will open up into the magnificent yellow flowers I shared a few days ago, but I wanted to show you why this flower is called "tarweed". Those droplets are very beautiful but they are are very sticky and this resin rubs off onto anything that it comes in contact with. The entire plant is covered with resin droplets and it's impossible to avoid getting goo all over your clothing if you should walk past a plant. Livestock in fields full of tarweed will accumulate so much resin that it builds up into a dark brown tar-like coating that does not wash off with water! You must use a solvent like "Goo Gone" or a citrus-based solvent to get it off! Horrible stuff to remove! So when tarweed begins growing, I won't let the dogs out into the meadow anymore. On top of being sticky, tarweed STINKS! Sometimes it smells like fresh lemons, but usually it stinks like rotten citrus, ewwww!!! Still, the flowers are absolutely amazing and I'm happy to put up with its problems!

These flowers are so amazing to me, the petals unroll from the center and every one is different and beautiful to behold. Incredible.

Focusing on a few petal edges shows you how detailed and lovely they are! I added some texture to the background to give this image a bit of flair!

How amazing they are, in yellow and black. They look a bit like fuzzy toothpicks! :) I added texture to the background and some vignetting. The result to me looks like a painting! :)

This image was taken during the MeetUp hike along one edge of Howard Prairie Lake on August 7, 2011.

This image was taken during the MeetUp hike around one edge of Howard Prairie Lake on August 7, 2011.

[best appreciated at full size against black] How many times have you leaned up against a pine tree, only to find out later that you got sap all over your clothes?! It's especially nice to get it in your hair, yay!! However, as a photographic subject, resin is endlessly fascinating to me. On this day, I got my first chance to take a macro shot of resin with my new Mark II and 100mm lens! When I got back to the house to look at this image, I was amazed to see something I hadn't noticed when I took the picture. If you look carefully, you'll notice an ant, forever entombed within the resin! This image was taken in February , 2012.

Today was the day to find amazing resin droplets! This is a double droplet of sap on the side of a pine tree! Steve pointed out the tree to me and I found this treasure among the sap!

Can you believe what you're seeing?!! I saw this and my jaw hit the floor...it seems impossible, but here is a very heavy droplet of sap, suspended in a web! INCREDIBLE!!! Even more incredible, the size of this droplet is at least 1/2" in diameter, it's HUGE! I think what happened is that tiny droplets of sap fell one by one onto this web, and as you can see, it's just about to fall through, but not before I got this picture! One of the most amazing things I've ever seen!! I would have made this my 365 pick but I think it needs to be explained before you can understand what you're looking at, so I decided to put the fern as my pick.