I am a scientist by day and a photographer by night. Follow my journey as I juggle pipettes and lenses in this crazy thing I call life.
Here you will find my most recent work and, if you're lucky, my personal ramblings about being a new homeowner, my love of blueberry muffins, and videos of me dancing. Please contain your excitement. :)
This is the life I love.
Apparently these flowers have a slew of names: cornflower, bachelor’s button, basket flower, and lastly, the old-fashioned blue-bottle. None of which I knew about until this weekend. I always learn a new flower name, one benefits of Macro Monday. If nothing else, you learned a flower name today too. Whoop! Ok, on to the pictures, so you know what they look like too : ) …
Pretty in pink…
I love the layers of color…
Fluffy!
Guess what!?? You made it through Monday! : )
Yes. The Agapanthus. I didn’t know it was called that until recently, but these flowers are a pretty common sight in San Diego. I really think they are purple, however mom says they are blue. So, to settle the score, we will call them purple blue, or, blue purple if we must. : )
The beginning…
Little flower fireworks!
Bloom…
Loved capturing the pollen…
This past week was crazy hot in San Diego. Luck for me the 9-5er is heavily air conditioned. : ) Sprinklers are a great way to water the lawn AND stay cool. Reminds me of childhood, and I’m not even sure that I ran through the sprinklers all that much haha.
Have a wonderful Monday and stay cool wherever you are!
Nicole
I have been meaning to post some behind the scenes insight to my macro photography for the past few months. I am not an all knowing expert, and of course, there are many different styles and ways of doing things, but if this helps someone then I’m all in! Here we go…
Before we go too far and I forget to mention the lens, the lens used in all of the pictures is the 60mm f/2.8 from Nikon. : )
I think one of the most important things in any photograph is lighting. In all of the macro shots I use available natural light. The majority of the time I am shooting in the early afternoon and tend to work with whatever the lighting situation may be. Occasionally, I ask my assistant (aka my momma) to come and shade the subject to evenly expose the picture.
On to some picture…
The calla lily below is in a planter placed in direct sunlight. This allowed the background to be highly underexposed and all of the focus to be on the deliciously curvy flower…
f/3.2, 1/2000 sec, ISO-125
The sunflower below is part of a bouquet and sitting in a vase next to a large sliding glass door. I used my chocolate colored sofa to create a solid dark backdrop, allowing the focus to be solely on the flower…
f/3.5, 1/125 sec, ISO-400
The bunch of orchids below is hanging over a concrete patio and the sun is hitting it from the side, which is actually the top of this photo. The concrete is over exposed to create a solid white backdrop…
f/3, 1/1250 sec, ISO-200
The passion flower below is in complete shade, which made it easy to evenly expose all parts and colors of the flower.
f/4, 1/160 sec, ISO-400
For me, the most difficult thing with macro photography is focusing. The optics in a macro lens create an extremely shallow depth of field when wide open. Shooting in an uncontrolled environment can be hard, especially when even the slightest breeze makes focusing seem impossible. As with many things in life, patience and practice are key. : )
If you have any particular questions email me at nicole@nicoleglenn.com or leave a comment below!
Happy shooting!
Nicole
I went to the San Diego County Fair (AKA the Del Mar Fair) this weekend! Don’t worry, I didn’t eat any deep fried butter. Promise. : ) As expected, my parents purchased a few plants. Lucky for me, one is already blooming! I was excited to see that one of the passion flower blossoms already opened up! This is THE most complex flower I have seen. So many layers, colors, and textures. It’s beautiful!
Speckled. 
Love the curly cues.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend! We had a blast eating our way through the fair (I am paying for that now ha!). Here is my crazy dad enjoying himself on a few rides. Notice I am not sitting next to him. : )
We have plans to see some sweet concerts this summer (BB King, Gladys Knight, and Smokey Robinson)! It should be epic, I can’t wait!!
Dad, thank you for everything this past year. I don’t know where I would be without your wisdom, love, and support. I can’t thank you enough! Happy Father’s day!
Nicole
The bright yellow caught my eye, so dusty miller is up next for Macro Monday!
Stowaway #1…
I didn’t notice how the leaves really do look dusty until I shot this! It’s amazing what you see with a macro lens…
I was really excited when I saw these stowaways! Love the red and black!
Sneak peek: As I was culling images from a family session this weekend, this made me smile…
Hope you have an exciting week!
xoxo,
Nicole
A little calla lily lovin’ on this Memorial Day!
I’m starting to think I am partial to flowers that include yellow, red, and orange. All in one, please. : )
Calla lilies are curvy! Even the leaves….
It’s amazing how lighting can completely change the mood of a picture. Shot about 4 hours after the first photo…
Special thank you to all the men and women who serve(d) in our armed forces! That’s you Will! I am so grateful for your efforts and sacrifices. Thank you!
Happy Memorial Day!!
Nicole
The orchids are bloomin’ up a storm, so I figured they earned the next spot for Macro Monday!
I love the yellow and purple combo…
I bet you didn’t know orchids had lips!
I love these next two (in color and B&W)…
CLEARLY I need to check my priorities. I guess I had a date with a two headed tennis ball and Sandy. Every where I went she was right there…reminding me. : )
I adore her sweet little face.
Hope you have a fabulous week!
Warmly,
Nicole
It’s time for another installment of Macro Monday!! This time focusing on the dynamic rose.
The rose is given in ways to say I love you, I’m sorry, and just thinking of you. It’s classic as a single stem and timeless as a bouquet. Simply beautiful. Even the thorns. : )
Lucky for me mom has a variety of roses around the yard, and all are in bloom thanks to the abundance of rain in combination with the occasional appearance of Mr. Sun. Drink in their beauty…
Hands down my favorite!
Love the layers…
So bright and cheery… 
The beginning and the end…
And my favorite Rosie Posie…
Why not surprise someone with roses just because?? Even a single rose would surely brighten someones days!
Happy Monday!
Nicole
I know what you are thinking...It’s not Monday!…and you are correct. If it was Monday again I might cry. : ) I had these pictures and wanted to share, so Macro Monday it is!!
We headed out to Anza-Borrego last weekend to admire the wild flowers. We ended up getting out there a little too late to take the hikes out to see the vast array, but made the best of our time there. My best advice is to head out early and bring Dramamine. I’m a wuss and can’t handle windy roads, so that part was NOT fun. The dessert is especially beautiful this time of year (bearable temperatures is a plus!) and worth the trip. Here are a few of my favorite shots…
I love the pollen on the back…
Note to self: Kneeling next to a cactus to steady your camera is a bad idea. Ouch!
Just hanging out…
Ok, I really don’t like insects, but I appreciate how hard these ants work. Moving more than your body weight is tough!
It’s interesting how independent the red ants are..
I feel itchy now haha. Happy end of the week!
Nicole
I was having one of those weeks. Where I felt like quitting. Not following my dream. Just plain giving up. Where everyday felt like receiving one of those letters that start with We regret to inform you. Maybe because it would be easier to just stop. But I can’t, I would regret it. For. Ev. Er.
I hope to look back on this and remember the struggles and feelings of impossibility. Remembering the special moments where those who love me have more faith in me than I do. The times where a bouquet of sunflowers brightened my day. For this I am thankful.
Peeps rolling in to WPPI, dance an extra dance for, take good notes, and most of all have fun!! Oh…annnnnnd blog, so I can live vicariously through you for a week! : )
xoxo,
Nicole
(c) 2010 Nicole Glenn Photography
ProPhoto Custom Blog by NetRivet Sites
by Nicole
show hide 4 comments
add a comment link to this post email a friend