Spring is Springing

About a week ago, the first of my dwarf irises in the garden started popping upen.  They are only 4-6 inches tall and they seem to burst into bloom without any warning - one day a bunch of skinny green stalks and the next day a profusion of blooms.  I fiddled with some pics "in situ" and really didn't like them so decided to cut one and bring it inside so I could shoot it in my little soft box.  I moved it as carefully as possible to retain the rain drops.

Well, as often happens, one thing led to another and before I knew it I was shooting "stacks".  Honestly, it used to be much more difficult to stack images when one had to manually capture all the focal points.  Now, it is done in the camera and the only real skill is getting the framing and exposure set up.  This is from a 20-image stack although I only used 14 of the images.  I left it dark because that is the way I shot it, wanting a moody look.  So, other than a small crop and the stack, nothing has been done to this.  I ended up shooting several stacks and I may even do a few more before the day is over.  I'm adding an image to Extra showing my set up, in case you are interested.  The soft box is set up on our coffee table with direct light through the window.  

While I've been busy being creative, Jax has been napping and supervising. He's excellent at both.  I am hoping to get him out for a quick walk before the rain starts up again this afternoon.

I had a routine trip to my dentist this morning for cleaning and X-rays.  All is good and I will go back in 6 months.  Always glad to get this in my rearview mirror.

Hubs is feeling poorly today and we're not sure if it's "just" allergies or if he's managed to pick up something else.  Hoping for the former.  Selfishly, I don't want to get sick myself and have started taking major precautions in advance of my trip to ensure I stay healthy.  

Last night's movie was "Best of Enemies" and we both really enjoyed it.  Another "based on fact" story, this one taking place in 1971 when when segregation in schools was still being done.  It is an uplifting story about how people can change.  Worth watching if you have Netflix.

xo
Debbi