The Trees must be crazy!

It is not even mid February yet and the Magnolia got confused.. somehow it decided it was spring time and decided to bloom!

One of the reasons we fell in love with this house six years ago was this tree and its pretty flowers. It would be sad if the tree is losing its mind and this is a sign of this tree aging.

Took the camera out after almost three weeks and captured the flowers. Please god, please let this tree live on for a long time to come. It makes five people happy every April..or February!

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Ikebana show - Wow!

Did not know much about Ikebana till today. Still don't, but at least got introduced to the concept at the Flower show at the local community center.

It was awesome!

The arrangements looked picture perfect to the point where Jr. and the little one kept asking "Are they real flowers or fake?" over and over again.

Are these real daddy?

how about these ones. are they real?

I learned something new today. My kids are uncomfortable around "perfection" or the notion of "perfection"..

Was taking pictures of the arrangements and the flowers in the arrangements and in the process learnt a lot about changing zoom lenses fast. Finally decided to do multiple rounds of the show...

with wide angle
with telephoto
with macro!

see results..

this one is with the sigma lens maxed out at 200mm taken at ISO 1600, f6.0, 1/60 sec.
Autofocus makes a big difference..

this one with the 50mm macro lens at ISO 1600, f5.6, 1/60 sec. The macro lens was on manual focus and it has a real small depth of field but where it focusses, it is unbelievably sharp and detailed. Should have taken a tripod with me and it would have been better..

The next bunch of pictures are taken with different lenses..

The bud and the flowers are either zoomed in or magnified with macro. You can see the image differences..

For those local readers, it is open tomorrow also. Definitely worth a visit.

A big thanks to the organizers and participants in the events for this visual treat.

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Conservatory of Flowers - Photoblog

The pictures say it all, the carefully designed park with its nice ponds, rock settings, people, dogs, the conservatory with its amazing displays, the amazing exotic flowers which are being saved from extinction, not to mention Jr.'s new fashion statement of wearing sleeveless Salwar tops with black pants..

A day well spent. Strongly recommended for a half day or full day trip with kids.

Note:

1. Botanical gardens is free. The conservatory of flowers is 7$ for adults, 2$ for kids 5 to 11. Good news is they accept cards. It is totally worth it. Please note, it is like a sauna in there with a water mist automatically coming in every 3-4 minutes from the roof. Keep your lenses covered. Don't wear jackets inside.

2. Parking is very hard to find. For around 10$ you can park in the underground parking below the California Academy of Sciences and walk 10-15 minutes to the Conservatory.

3. There are three restrooms which are free. One next to the conservatory, one behind the amphitheater structure (between the Academy of sciences and the botanical gardens) and one near the entrance to the Botanical Gardens.

Note to self : Next trip..take a frisbee and show the kids how to play frisbee. The breeze was just right for frisbee throwing... well, next time!

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Backyard Playtime.. Photoblog

Today was spent in napping, biking with kids (yes, Daddy got back on the bicycle for the 2nd time since the accident... and went on the main road as well!), taking pictures of the flowers, girls, squirrels, and birds in what was a great spring day.

The jasmines are in full bloom and the whole backyard smells divine!

Made some good chai and settled in the concrete steps..

This look on the little one's face is what we refer to as the "theesa kalai".. she must have done something she wasn't supposed to do and that explains that look.. She was moving too fast and I had the camera in manual.

The girls surprise me more than the birds and squirrels...

Need more of these quiet afternoons to lift up spirits...

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4 Things to cheer you up on a cold rainy gloomy day

In other news, the sun finally came out at 5:00 PM this evening after three soggy days...

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