Dave wrote: Hi Jim, A beautiful day here in Rome, NY 74 degrees F. Here are some more shots from out in my photo blind. Here is a shot of the blind on a  pond in an old gravel bed behind our property. Some male Ring-necked Ducks and some male Wood Ducks doing their wild crazy act. Dave

I wrote: I can’t say enough about Dave’s photos – They are great – I think I see a story – It may not be the way it was but that is what I saw.  What do you think? Here is the story I saw: (The blind, the quiet just floating along, the show of male duck manliness, the “get out of here posture”, then the “I am the victor”.)

04 09 2021 Dave Cesari

04 09 2021 Dave Cesari

04 09 2021 Dave Cesari

04 09 2021 Dave Cesari

04 09 2021 Dave Cesari

04 09 2021 Dave Cesari

04 09 2021 Dave Cesari

04 09 2021 Dave Cesari

Now my story:

When I show folks my PhotoShoped photos, they often say “How do you do that? – I want to try that.”   I say in response: “Don’t let anybody tell you what to do.   Only you are the expert on you.”

But everybody’s got something to say about what you do. People you know, people you love, people you hate. Even people you’ve never met in posts like this one.

They tell you what to do, who to be, and how to live.  But nobody who tells you what to do actually knows what’s best for you. So stop listening to them.

But I am going to show you how I do it, anyway:

First, I spend hours collecting photos of various themes that I love – like this one of the theme “Color-in-nature.”  I worry about composition while shooting photos – here I practiced depth of field to show off detail in the upper left focus point.

Then in PhotoShop I collect a bunch of my photos into one photo.

Then I decide my focal point and begin a composition that makes you look at my chosen focal point – here I want you to see the bee and be comfortable with all the natural colors around it, Yep, I still have a lot of work to do.

Then, I added some lines (stems) to control your eyes & mind, and I did a little work on the color values throughout the photo to try to make it comfortable for you while clearly focusing on  my focal point.

That is a quick look at how I do it – But, do not listen to me – I am sure you got better things to do with your time!

As you swing thru life – Enjoy those that tell you what they do and what you should do – BUT, Keep you mouth shut and go do your own thing!