Witch Hazel is a Delightful Border

Here are two examples of Witch Hazel from my neighborhood. One family has left theirs to grow free form, the other hedge has been trimmed in a shape. As you can see, the bush does well under both circumstances, but has a completely different look.

This shrub is easy to grow in most climates and blooms twice a year in Georgia. The spider like flowers are a reddish-pink or yellow.

Keywords are Key to your Website Ranking

So, what are your keywords on your website? Here's how to find out. Open your website in Internet Explorer. Click on the Page down arrow on the right side of the screen. At the very bottom is a "View Source" choice. Click that.

Do you see my keywords there in red? Now go try it with your website. And, go look at your competition's keywords when you are in a marketing mood. By the way, if you don't have any, I would call your web designer and ask for your money back. Or call me to add your keywords.

Studying the Subject - Peach Trees

I have found some really beautiful flowering peach trees on Peachtree Road in Atlanta. The trees are new to me and intriquing. Their color is amazing; the petals are hot coral, white and pink mixed and a white. So I have visited these trees three days in a row to capture their essence.

By doing that, I have discovered what shots I want and what time is best to take them. Each day I have studied my pictures from the day before deciding what I like and what works and doesn't work. By returning multiple times, I am improving the final photographs. I am not leaving as much up to chance and getting that "lucky" shot. Here are a few of my photographs.

Focus

A good word -- focus. Focus on what you want. Focus on where you are going. Focus on how you will get there. And, then there is the ever important piece of -- What is in focus in my photograph?

One of my "secrets" is that I manually refocus every single shot before I press the shutter. I use a very narrow depth of field, so focus is critical. I can easily photograph two flowers right next to each other and one be out of focus. Part of my job is finding flowers far enough apart to pull this off or rearranging so that they are both right in the focused area.

But, lately, I have been leaning towards leaving the photograph out of focus. What do you think?