Dahlia

They say flowers are God's way of laughing.

Standing Room Only

2007 Pride Parade SF, CA

Sea

Bodega Head, CA

Unknown Flora

I took this at the San Francisco Flower Conservatory. I have no idea what it is.

Unknown Flora

I took this at the San Francisco Arboretum. Know what it is?

Unknown Flora

Taken at the San Francisco Arboretum. Any idea what this is?

Iris

I can't decide if I like this or not. I'll have lots of opportunities to try again for a better shot but for now what you see is what you get!

Water Lily

At the Hess Collection Winery in Napa, CA.

Certified

Young woman selling blueberries at a street fair in Napa.

This is a Peace Lily of all things. I love the name and the flower is beautiful. I chose this to frame and send to my sister as a birthday gift. It came out really nice 8x10 in a black matte frame with white matting. Hope she likes it.

I think this is Bromeliad. Did you know that pineapple is in the Bromeliad family? They do kind of look alike.

Vickie going for a worlds record.

Lily

From Aarons garden in Yountville, CA.
3rd Place Winner, Napa County fair, 2007

Cactus Flower

This was taken at the Stanford University Cactus Garden just a couple of weeks ago. I went to visit a friend who lives near there and we had the best time in that garden. It was amazing how everything was in bloom and so beautiful. We were running from bed to bed shooting right and left and oohing and ahhing. It really was comical. A fond memory for me.
Don

Sweet Pea

This was taken the other day while visiting the Luther Burbank Gardens in Santa Rosa, CA.
I'm so glad summer is pretty much here. Winter is just too long for me. I can finally get out and shoot flower pictures which is what I like to do best.
Don

Golden Gate

Took this the other day from Vista Point. Gorgeous day. I tweaked it using DxO and printed it on high quality satin paper and it looks great. Can't wait to frame it.
I need to purchase a backdrop. I have everything else I need for studio work. Enough lights and I even have models lined up. So, that'll be my next purchase. Now if only I'd sell something to put $$ back INTO the bank. I know it will happen eventually.
That's all for tonight.
Don

Aurora

I used to do fair amount of sailing. I've sailed all over the Caribbean and even sailed from Italy to Antigua on what was at that time the worlds largest privately owned motor sailing yacht. But the best time I ever had sailing was on Clear Lake in N. California on an 18ft. Teak Lady. A beautiful tiny boat made completely out of teak. Here I live practically on the shores of the San Francisco Bay and I've never sailed it. Maybe someday I will. Who knows what's next?

I opened up a store selling greeting cards, postcards and a wall calendar via CafePress.com. It's called Don's Store and if you get the chance check it out.

This picture was taken from the docks in San Francisco. I used my new DxO software to enhance it a little. DxO is great. So easy to use and the finished product always comes out just right.

That's all for tonight.

Don

Well, mom is doing better they say. I'm so glad. It was a real roller coaster of a week I tell ya. Every call I got I was sure was THE call. We almost lost her. But, she's Irish and all that goes with that.
This little girl was at a BBQ I attended last summer. She was having a bad hair day but didn't let that stand in her way of having a great time. She was very curious about my camera and so hung out near me for a while and I was able to get a few good shots of her. Too bad she had food all over her face, too. This is the least offensive of all the shots.
I'm kind of bugged about the high number of visits I'm getting to my website yet no sales. What is up with that? If you have been to my website could you please tell me what I'm doing wrong? I just don't get it. Maybe I should offer matting and framing? The price will go up substantially if I do that but maybe that's what the people want. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
That's all for tonight.
Don

Red Is For Love

I was in Cincinnati this past weekend for my mother's 9oth birthday celebration. This is one of the many dozens of roses she received.
It was a very nice weekend with my siblings and other relatives. My mom is very fragile and frail and I only got to visit with her one on one briefly. That's okay. We know we love each other.
My brother called today to tell me that she has taken a turn for the worse and is at the hospice. All I can do from here is pray.
I'm sad.
That's all for tonight.
Don

Nasturtiums

More fun with DxO.

Seasonal Affective Disorder

Playing with DxO and came across this photo from last Summer. I miss Summer. I'm tired of the cold and wet.
DxO really makes a difference on some of my pics and barely touches others. I guess the others were good to begin with. I plan on touching up all the photos on my website so I can offer the best product possible.
Getting ready to go to Cincinnati this coming weekend for my mother's 90th birthday party. Hope to get some good candid shots while there.
That's all for tonight.
Don

The Frill of It All

Since I'm not getting very many visits here I kind of lost interest in it. But, I'm back and wanted to post this photo which I used DxO software to edit it. It turned out really nice, I think. I'm using a free sample version of DxO for now but will probably end up buying it. I like the results I'm getting and I need all the help I can get. Hope you enjoy this photo.
That's all for tonight.
Don

Red Flower

DSCF1136
Originally uploaded by dos1598.

Wish I new what kind of flower this is. I think it's some sort of daisy. It was in a bouquet and really stood out so I captured it. Sure is red isn't it? I usually have a hard time getting it right when shooting anything red but this one came out just right. I think it's actually a boring picture and the only thing it's got going for it is the bright color and clear focus. What's your opinion?
Spent a large portion of today working on a scrapbook that my siblings and I are giving to our mother for her 90th birthday which is coming up next month. Never done a scrapbook before. It's turning out to be pretty neat. She's going to love it.
That's all for tonight.
Don

Napa valley Sunset

I took this a couple of months ago and have been using it to play with noise removal using the selective Gaussian blur function on GIMP. I'm liking it.
That thing that is standing in the vineyard is a wind machine which is used to move air around and therefore raise the temp when there is the threat of frost. Pretty cool, huh?

Another Rose

Couldn't help myself. I love this one, too.

Rose

This is my favorite flower photo so far, I think. It's hard to choose just one. I'm kind of emotionally attached to all my photos. Really didn't do too much editing. Just cropped and a touch of GIMP to polish it off.
I forgot to mention earlier that the deal here is that the first person to post a reply would receive a print of their choice - FREE! Well, we have a winner! Justin Blanton you are the winner! All you need to do is go to my website and pick a photo that you would like and email me at don@donvirdenphotography.com and we'll get that right off to you. Congratulations! And thanks for your reply to the b/w fire photo. Much appreciated.

Don

The Zoo

Well, I made it to the zoo today. It was a beautiful day for it. Perfect weather. The place was packed! I took many, many photos and am currently working on them in my post-production laboratory (ha!). I'll probably be posting some of them on my Flickr page and then if I get good feedback I'll put them on my website for sale.

Here's a flamingo for ya.

Don

Grasses

Dudley 7/2/95 - 12/7/07

Blue Ribbon Winner, Napa County Fair, 2007

I just wanted to see how this looks on black.

Ahhh...

This reminds me of old romantic films or photos. What do you think?