We took a walk around the neighborhood the other night and I had to take my camera.  Our community flower beds are full of colorful pentas right now, and they call my name every time I drive by them!  The mass of colors made me want to experiment with some intentional blurs…

First I tried moving the camera in small circles with a long-ish exposure.  I got a lot of strange looks from people driving by!  I added a bit of Oil Filter and Color Efex to the resulting image and I kinda like it.

I did some zoom blurs, too, but they were a little boring.  So I started to play with the Flaming Pear Flexify filter.  I kept using random settings until I stumbled upon one that made my zoom look like a butterfly.  Then I added a touch of Fractalius and enhanced the colors a bit.  It looks nothing like the original pentas, but it was a fun little experiment!

As we walked home, the sun was setting behind our neighborhood pond.  Our weeping willow trees have always caught my attention, and with my 5D Mark III, I finally have the wide angle to try some of the shots I’ve imagined!  I wish there were more sunset vistas near our house without the clutter of houses in the background!

Fall migration is underway, and pretty soon the pond will have some ducks, I hope! :)