Marilyn Botta Photography

Amanda and CJ

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I went out to Brick Pond Park, in North Augusta, to shoot some pictures of Amanda and CJ. It was a warm day in early November and, although it was a bit hazy, we got some lovely shots.

Sunflower Field

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The Chicks that Click photography group went on a photo shoot to a sunflower field owned by one of the ladies. I tried out some of what we learned in our group: shoot in manual, choose F22, and focus 3/4 of the way in to get the entire image from front to the back in focus. The close up shots of the flowers were usually in Aperture Priority at a wide open F stop to blur the background. It was a good learning experience.

Sunsets

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I was in the midst of an amazing sunset while I was in a  lighting class. I know I should’ve been focused on the class (and I was) but I was very distracted by the gorgeous sunset that was unfolding. It was a cloudy day and had just rained and, in my opinion, that is the absolute best time to get sunsets. When it is too overcast, it is hard to get a good sunset shot, but when the sky is full of roiling billowy white and gray puffy clouds, the colors of red, gold yellow, and orange mix in the clouds creating an amazing image. The first few were taken after a rain in, of all places, a parking lot. The next batch were taken at Brick Pond Park about 7:30 – 8 pm on a Saturday night. Beauty can be seen anywhere and a few of these were taken right in my neighborhood at sunset.

Brick Pond in Winter

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Brick Pond park is so beautiful in the fall and I’ve gotten so many pictures of that time of the year. But, much to my surprise, it also has its own charm in the Winter. Here are several photos of Brick Pond in the Winter. It was a bit cloudy on the day I took these photos, which is better because you get the white fluffy clouds in the sky. It is prettier then if the sky were all blue.

Parrots

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Parrots are such beautiful birds. I happen to have two of them who literally own me. So, I decided to take some pictures upstairs in my studio of my beautiful parrots. They were very cooperative. I used a speed light, LED flashlight, shot into an umbrella. Cord attached to the stand with the speed light and to my camera hot shoe. I used a second umbrella on the other side with a reflector. No tripod was needed. I was pretty pleased with the results.

Fall Foliage at Brick Pond Park

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The Fall foliage has not been too brilliant this year. But it finally arrived, although not as good as last year, it was still nice nevertheless. Here are a few foliage pics taken at Brick Pond Park.

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Brick Pond Park

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I recently went out to Brick Pond Park in North Augusta. The day was glorious, with blue skies, blue water, bright green trees, and wildlife. I got a few shots of some adorable turtles sunning themselves on the logs. They seemed to be oblivious to me and my camera.

Breast Cancer Benefit for Rosanne Grubbs

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On Saturday, October 10, I attended a breast cancer fundraiser for Rosanne. She has been battling this disease since 2009. Since that time she has incurred many medical bills, which is why this fundraiser was arranged. It was a beautiful evening, with good food and good music. I volunteered to be the photographer of this event and I tried to capture the love people have for her and their joy as they honored her. The ultimate goal is to increase breast cancer awareness and to create a permanent vehicle for people to contribute for breast cancer research. $17,000 was raised at this event alone and we hope this is just the start in fighting this deadly disease.

 

Macro Flowers

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I recently purchased a very versatile lens (18 – 270) on the advice of a friend. But I also purchased a Close Up lens and step up ring, to attach to my long lens (also advised by my friend, who is a master at Macros). The green flowers are actually mother’s day flowers, the orange tulips were found right in my neighborhood. The sunflowers were a real treat and found at the Blue House Farms blueberry patch. The bees were very cooperative in that they left me alone. They were mainly interested in sucking nectar from the abundant beautiful flowers. I used a tripod, my long lens, and the close up lens attached. I was pleased with the results.

Abandoned House

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I have driven by an old abandoned house at least once a week for a few months. However, every time I drive by, I am in a hurry and I do not have time to stop. Also, every time I think I will stop and take some photos, I cannot find any place to pull in and park my car. So, one day I just make up my mind that I would drive over there when I had time and scope out a parking space. Luckily I decided to pull into a subdivision and park rather than just parking on the lawn next to the house. Upon further inspection, I saw that the lawn had a built in trench dug out and my car would’ve been badly ruined if I had driven in. Luckily my instincts just told me, “Hey just park on the other side and walk across the street.” The house was very interesting because it actually still had furniture inside (mattress, chairs) and also had paneling on the walls as well as curtains. It would make a good hiding spot for a homeless person.