Los Angeles Arboretum

Last weekend, I went to the Los Angeles Arboretum in Arcadia to stroll around and take photos with one of my photo friends, Mario Rodriguez. Getting there was the hard part, everything else seemed to go smoothly after I got there.

I didn't find anything I liked for at least a half hour after I got there. I wasn't in the "mood" to shoot until later on in the day.

As we walked about the park, I started finding things that caught my attention and that's when I started shooting away. The above photo was shot on a slow exposure time of 3 seconds with a closed aperture. I didn't have my tripod on me, therefore, I put my camera on a rock to reduce shake.

The black and white of the birds of paradise is my favorite from the entire day. I'd like to point out that the photo was taken in clear daylight and the shadows in the background where not tampered with. It really was that dark. I think it's great how the birds are the only ones who came out in the light.

After a while longer, I became tired and decided to call it a day.

A major thing for me when shooting is to do so when I want to. I don't ever force myself to take photos if I don't want to because my end result will not be so nice. I have to be craving photography in order to do it. Same goes with editing. You might overlook a great photo in your library because you're so tired of editing other ones. A tip for photographers, immerse yourself in photography ONLY when you want to! It sounds silly, but it has worked for me for the past 13 years.

See ya

Jake