Water over rock

Do you ever get tired of the same old scenery? That's how I felt today. Open vistas and joshua trees? Blech! So I dragged my husband with me on a hunt to find Bouquet Canyon Falls. I didn't want to go by myself in case I got bit by a rattlesnake or fell in a bush of poison oak.
Bouquet Canyon pools
 

Bouquet Canyon Falls

Shorter shutter speed - rough water

Off we went. It was farther than I thought it was, but ended up being pretty easy to find due to the cars pulled off on the side of the road ...and the sign that said "The Falls". We grabbed my camera gear and climbed down into the little canyon with the stream.

Bouquet Canyon Falls 2

Longer shutter speed =  smoother water

Lizard

He even has teal spots - I'm all about the teal!

Edge of falls

And I got some pretty decent pictures! Next time, I need to go when the sun is not directly overhead, so I won't have all the light-and-shadow problems, but at least I know that now.

I also have been wanting to take some pictures of a dandelion puff ball. But as you know, it has been slightly windy lately, and it is hard to find any that haven't been blown completely clean. Our front yard yielded a couple this morning (thanks to not having put weed killer on our lawn yet), and I got some good shot with my macro attachment. I don't actually have a macro lens but I got an extra piece that screws onto the end of my lens and it does a pretty decent job! Dandelion silhouette

Focusing is killer, though, because the slightest movement changes the focus drastically. I heard that a bean bag is a photographer's friend, so I made one with some left over pinto beans (dry, of course) and a ziploc gallon bag. Sure enough! I can lay that on the ground and position my camera on it, use my remote to trigger the shutter and voila! Better focus! 

Dandelion macro