More Playing With the Panasonic DMCZS7

I'm hoping for some days of brilliant light so I can see what I can do with the new camera.  So far, I appreciate the wide-angle lens for the real estate work I do.  Was updating some indoor shots for Kevin's listings and am very impressed with the shots in low light situations - excellent focus (c/o stabilizer) considering some shots taken at 1/30th of a second.  Quite amazing.

Getting used to the macro setting - can zoom 3x.  Any more than that and the world looks the way it does without my glasses on.  There's a good reason why my driver's licence says I must wear corrective lenses.

What I'd give for some warm yellow light....Anyway, I think I'm making progress.  This is Blue Chiffon Hibiscus.  A pretty good close-up and excellent colour representation.

And now a little telephoto work - by the end of this post, you'll be really glad I've got this out of my system.

A new house, made to look like an old house - may I draw your attention to the garage.  This is where all the shakes were painted and pegged to dry.

And with my super spy lens:  shakes installed, gloves hanging to dry.

Far Away:  Lake Ontario & a Swan.

Close-up:  a bashful swan.

Look at the horizon to the shore on the left.  As everyone else in Canada who doesn't live in Toronto would say - good from afar, but far from good.

The mechanical bits are for loading lake freighters and are probably 15 miles from Toronto.

My backyard.  Keep your eye fixed on that Eastern White in the front yard that you can see over the top of our house.

Much, much closer.

Anyway just a few more random shots - going to have to watch for that white bleeding.  The fence at the bottom and the anemone above look pretty good.  The one at the top looks like a ghost.

This is one of these places I figure that if I work hard enough I'll find the right shot.  The days ahead are filled with the possibility of improvement on this photo.

I had hoped that both my Brugmansia would bloom at the same time.  And, hooray they have!

Am finding the Zoom is a bit of a fiddle for me at the moment.  Obviously need a better touch so that my petals aren't guillotined.

That's a little better. 

Athyrium 'Ghost'.  I really overdid the tough love with this poor fern - no extra water at all.  Many of the fronds are looking brown rather than pale green.

Noticed that the Amaryllis had started to sprout.  I've had leaves but no flowers.  Perhaps I'll get lucky this year.  Making sure that I'm fertilizing.

This is posted as a reminder to all of us who buy plants without tags on sale tables.  This fancy Oak Leaf Hydrangea only blooms when it feels like it.  Nice stems and leaves though. 

One more shot - Bart, the Brug and the Backyard.  Until my next post - more practice and more reading of the manual!