Get out in the Garden this Spring

Nice weather finally arriving has gotten everyone here at the office stirred up. No one really wants to stay inside during the day unless they absolutely have to. One thing that some of them are doing is starting to work on their gardens. While this is a great way to get some sun and to have a good time playing in the dirt, it's also a great time for taking a few photos. Spring is a very rare time for photography. It's the time of year when you can see the most radical changes in plants in a fairly short period of time. Trees that were completely bare just a few weeks ago will soon be in full bloom and have all of their leaves back. The skies and phone lines that were so empty will soon host a full complement of birds. And the grass that was so dull and dry will soon be fresh and green again. Spring is an absolutely ideal time for those of you who received cameras for Christmas to get outside and start experimenting. With the sun being higher in the sky and staying above the horizons for more time each day, there's better lighting -- the most important requirement for photography. Taking photos of flowers in various stages of bloom gives you the chance to master zoom photography and to experiment a bit with which ISO settings give you the look you want in your photos. As birds return from their winter migration homes, you have a chance to play around in your own yard with ways to interact with wildlife that you can later use to help capture photos of different creatures much further afield. So, get out there and get started with your photography. Spring offers you plenty of variety and time to get the basics down before summer and fall come rolling past. -- da Bird