Strike!

We had an enormous storm last weekend here in Belgium. Unfortunately, we were not at home but driving through it. Enormous rain showers made it almost impossible to see anything and the road was slippy as hell. Fortunately though, I had my camera with me (we were coming back from a short holiday trip) and was able to catch this lightning strike. On the technical side, this pic was made in bulb mode at f11. I held the camera steady at the dashboard and used the remote control. I closed the shutter right after the lightning strike. The stripes of the movement are caused by the fact that we are driving. I know this may not be the most photographically interesting lightning strike, but it is my first caught ever! And it tastes like more! Luckily, summers in Belgium are famous for there tremendous amounts of rain.

Little clock

To be honest, though I took this pic in our garden, I’ve no idea about the name of this little flower. As so many in my archives I really need to ask the landlord all the names of his flowers. But it has the form of a clock, right? Oh come on!

Peep!

One of the two beautiful eyes of my girlfriend.

Orchids

We got nice orchid flowers from Martine last week when they were at our home. I love shooting flowers, so here we go!

I set the plant next to the window put a chair with a black sheet of cotton draped over it behind the orchids. This makes the beauty of the flowers really stand out.

Some moderate post-processing is done in Lightroom. I often apply a split toning on my colour pictures. It is an easy way to give your photo’s a nice atmosphere.

All pics were taken with the Canon 17-55 f2.8 at f2.8, fully zoomed in. I used to take my flower pics with my 50mm f1.8 prime, but it can’t focus as close as the 17-55. I tried the 50mm for a couple of shots, but quickly switch back to the 17-55. I like this lens so much, I’m thinking of leaving the 50mm at home for the next vacation. Except for a bit of CA’s the 17-55 is absolutely superb!

Appetizers

No visit without some appetizers. We spoiled our parents a bit with self-made bites.

First some cava with smoked salmon.

Tomatoes stuffed with prawns.

Some chicory with herb cheese.

And some lovely carpaccio.

Do I need to say my Canon 17-55 f2.8 is an excellent lens for this?

Muah!

A nice little kiss from my girlfriend. This is also one from the evening our parents came to visit us and is basically the same setting as the portrait of Martine.

Martine

This is Martine, my dad’s wife and although she refuses to believe me, she’s very photogenic. I took the picture about a week ago, when she, dad and my girlfriend’s parents came to visit us. Lots of very nice spontaneous pictures came out of her. I like this particular one for her dreamy look. The background is a beach cabin which serves as a garden house in our garden.

Strobist info: Martine is standing under a little roof. Sunlight is coming from the camera right. Speedlight 580EX II through a white umbrella from the camera left. I forgot the power I put the speedlight on (I usually do). Does anyone know if it is possible to retrieve detailed flash info from the EXIF?

Planning our trip

Sorry for not posting much lately. All my time behind the computer is being spent on planning our trip to Andalucía, Spain. Three weeks of sun, nice food and beautiful nature and cities. Looking forward to this!

We’re leaving in September, but until then, it’s planning time. Looking for flights, hotels, hostales, a rental car and of course all the interesting sights. There so much so to see and so much to plan. Our planning is getting a bit packed.