Photo journeys

2010-09-02T18:36:00.000-04:00

More playing with 'digital art'. Mostly using Topaz Simplify but a little LR tweaking too. I actually kind of like the Stratocaster one.

2010-09-01T17:43:00.000-04:00

A couple of the Nikonians contests this month are 'digital art'. I'm not sure I'm a real big fan, but played around with Topaz Simplify and came up with these:

So far I haven't tried to get real abstract, but it's kind of fun to play with so I'll probably do more experimentation.

2010-08-31T14:54:00.000-04:00

I'm still experimenting with my new 105mm VR macro. It seems to be an excellent lens and I expect it will provide me more windows into the world of macro photography. These are a few shots of fly boxes, the hoppers I wish I would be using this fall out west, and the saltwater flies I plan on using in October.

These were all taken under fluorescent light and then WB corrected in LR. My next new toy will probably be some sort of ring light or dual flash setup for macros.

2010-08-24T10:35:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more shots from the butterfly garden shoot I did yesterday with fellow Nikonian Eric Bowles at the Chattahoochee Nature Center.

While we were there we ran into one of the bird handlers who asked if we were part of the instruction class that was meeting that evening. We were not, but we had a Nikonians outing there last year at one of their photographer only days where they bring birds out one or two at a time to photograph. She said if we had enough interest we might be able to get one of our own scheduled, which we will look into for later this fall.

2010-08-23T17:07:00.000-04:00

Went to the Chattahoochee Nature Center this morning for my first trial of the new 105mm VR macro. I can certainly get shots that would have been difficult with the 60mm simply because I don't need to get as close. Got a few shots that were OK, but I really need a lot more practice. Bought a membership to the Nature Center so I have one less excuse to make that happen. ;-)

2010-08-20T19:33:00.000-04:00

Just a quick shot to test my new 105mm macro lens. This guitar was my brother's. He would have been 61 today.

2010-08-12T11:58:00.000-04:00

Here's a few shots I took with the 60mm and a set of Kenko extension tubes. I tried different combinations of tubes, but the fast moving bees were a bit of a challenge since the depth of field is so small even at f/22.

Luckily there are plenty of bees and butterflies around our flowers, so I'll have a lot of opportunities for practice.

2010-08-09T08:59:00.001-04:00

Went out in the yard the other day to try some macro bug shooting. My macro lens is a 60mm Nikkor and, on the D700, forces me to get pretty close to the subject to get a full frame shot. I tried some bees and butterflies, but the only images that were halfway decent were a couple of butterfly shots.

As you can see below, my bee shots leave something to be desired.

I have a 1.4x teleconverter that I'm going to try with the lens to see if that will let me frame the shots better without disturbing the subject too much. I've also got some extension tubes which will allow for some extreme close up shots, but I need to find less active subjects to practice on. ;-)

2010-08-05T09:07:00.001-04:00

I'm primarily a landscape photographer, but I do occasionally shoot wildlife. Regardless of the type of shooting I'm doing I frequently camp in bear country - both black and grizzly. I keep a clean camp, carry bear spray (where legal), stay aware of my surroundings, don't blunder into thickets, and stay a safe distance from wildlife. I have had some close encounters with bears and other mega fauna, but they were accidental and not provoked - and I like to think I learned from the experience.

I have seen wildlife photographers provoke animals by creeping closer, hoping for a flared nostril charge that will get them a great image. I have also heard of some illegally using game calls in the parks to achieve the same result. In my opinion this is poaching and should be punished the same way. The more we habituate animals by our close presence the more dangerous these animals become to others.

A particularity egregious example of this may have take place with the sow and three cubs near Cooke City that ended up killing one person and maiming others. This story indicates that a photographer may have been baiting the animals. If this is the case I can only hope that whoever did it is caught and prosecuted - not only with wildlife violations but with reckless endangerment as well.

The park rangers have a difficult enough time protecting the animals from tourists with P&S cameras who have never seen and animal outside a zoo crowding around, they don't need people who should know better pushing the limits even farther.

Sorry for the rant, but I find this very aggravating.

This is a shot of a young grizzly I lost track of in the willows while I was watching the sow and two other cubs. The sow got agitated when an idiot lady from Montana drove her pickup right at one of the cubs to get a closer shot. As I was watching this drama I heard something behind me and saw the other cub coming up to see what was going on. I got off a few shots and then decided to find out how sast I could get into my truck. The cub wasn't acting threatening, but I was between it and the mama bear.

Later on the same trip the sow kicked the cubs loose and mated. Several people were by Oxbow Bend watching this cub swim across the Snake to our side of the river when this ninny walked down to the bank to take some picture. Some of us yelled at him but he paid no attention until we started talking about how to divide up his gear in front of his wife, and she got him to retreat. ;-)

2010-07-30T12:33:00.000-04:00

Another test of the LR/Blog plugin from my new MacBook Pro. This is a shot I took at the Photo Walk in Piedmont Park.

2010-07-29T18:22:00.000-04:00

Just a test of the LR/Blog plugin from my new MacBook Pro.

This is a photo I took a few years ago in the Everglades.

2010-07-25T17:58:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more shots from the Photo Walk on Saturday. The more I look through the shots the more it reinforces my opinion that I would have been better served with a macro and a mid range telephoto than with the lenses I carried. Good learning experience.

2010-07-24T14:36:00.001-04:00

Had a great time this morning at the 2010 Kelby Photo Walk. We went to the one in Piedmont Park led by fellow Nikonian Eric Bowles. The Atlanta Green Market was there, too, and that provided the most photo ops for me.

There were plenty of other subjects too: joggers and dog walkers, the lake and skyline, etc., but I didn't carry a long lens and that is the only way I feel comfortable with street shots of people. I had my 28-70mm and 17-35mm but didn't even put the 17-35 on the camera. The next time I do this kind of shooting I think I'll carry my 60mm micro and 70-200mm zoom.

This was also the first time I have really tried out auto-ISO on the D700. I set it to max ISO of 3200 and min shutter speed of 1/60 and was able to shoot most of the day at f/13 and even f/16 without issue. I doubt I'll use that setting for serious landscape work, but for wildlife, sports or street photography I can see where it could be a very useful setting.

At any rate, it was a great morning followed by lunch at the Nook which was also great. I heartily recommend the fried Andouille and Gouda grit cakes as a side dish. :)

2010-07-22T13:30:00.000-04:00

This is one of those 'timing is everything' shots. We were camped at Gros Ventre and I had already been to the barns several times, and didn't really want to shoot alpenglow at Oxbow Bend in the summer, so I was being a little lazy getting up. It turned out to be a beautiful morning, so we hopped in the FJ and took a quick jaunt down Mormon Row. Luckily there were only a few photogs out in the field, and none were up so close that they were in the way of a decent composition, so I lugged camera and tripod out into the field and set up. Just as I was ready the sun popped over the ridge behind us and lit up the barn, I fired off a few shots, packed up and went on. :)

2010-07-16T18:42:00.002-04:00

Here's a couple of HDR's from the Bighorn National Forest after coming out of the East entrance of Yellowstone. This is the only entrance I had never been in or out of before and may well be the most scenic route.

The first is Shell Falls and the other is an unnamed cascade behind a rest area along the route.

2010-07-18T14:18:00.000-04:00

Pretty much done with the first pass through the photos from the western trip. I'll probably do another pass, but here are a few more images.

Also put the fine art print gallery part of my website online. I'm not super crazy about the format, but using FotoPlayer was a shortcut to going live and if I start generating some revenue from it I'll look at other options.

2010-07-15T08:46:00.000-04:00

I'm still going through the pictures I took on the trip to Grand Teton and Yellowstone, and I'm also trying to reflect back and see if I learned anything. A couple of things have come to mind so far.

I have, in the past, tried to schedule my trips out that way in the spring and fall to avoid the crowds and also to see the newborns in the spring and the colors, fall feeding frenzy of the bears, and elk rut in the fall. What I have been missing, though, are the colorful flowers and thermal features that are at their best in the summer months. In the spring and fall the algae that cause the bright colors in some of the thermal areas is duller.

I also learned that I needed a Black Rapid strap (http://www.blackrapid.com/product/camera-strap/rs-4/ is the one I use) on each of my camera bodies. I have RRS L plates on each body and I attach an RRS B2-FAB screw clamp to the strap so I can attach it to the camera. With the various landscape and wildlife opportunities in the parks I found myself switching bodies often and moving my one strap system from body to body. I ordered a second setup from B&H and RRS on my way home and they were waiting when I got here. :)

2010-07-13T07:04:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple of shots from the Black Hills. Both were long range (Mt. Rushmore was the longest) so I decided to just go with the graininess and convert to B&W rather than trying to 'tune up' the images in color. I also added a little vignetting to give them a more old timey look.

2010-07-12T12:59:00.000-04:00

Slowly working my way through the pictures I took on the trip. Here are a few more from the Tetons. This series is about reflections.

2010-07-11T18:09:00.000-04:00

Had to cut trip short due to hip problems and medication side effects (drowsiness doesn't play well in most National Parks). Finally back home after trip through the Black Hills (not many trailer friendly pullouts so minimal photos) and a trip down through Kansas and Oklahoma to visit family. Now I need to start sorting through the photos I took in detail. Saw a number of places I want to revisit when I can get around better, but it was a bummer to have to come home early.

2010-07-04T17:04:00.000-04:00

Stayed in West Yellowstone one night due to grizzly activity but back in the trailer last night. The grizz in the campground were apparently two sub adult siblings, a male and a female. The male was the one who knocked down the tents and bit the generator (good for him) and he was trapped, collared and relocated. Campground is still restricted but they are allowing popups so we decided to pretend that was what we had and stay.

Here's a few shots from Lamar Valley that I processed while doing laundry. Still a lot more shots to go through.

The young grizzly had stolen the moose kill from the wolves who did it, ate his fill, and then scooped out a damp spot in the willows to guard the carcass. The wolves were hanging back but when a larger bear comes along this guy will lose his place.

2010-07-02T16:12:00.000-04:00

Up in Yellowstone now camping at Norris. There are grizzlies in the campground and the tore down a tent in the walk-in portion so the rangers wouldn't let anyone sleep in a tent last night and we had to sleep in the FJ. Just slightly better than airline coach. Hopefully the will get them trapped by tonight.

Here are a few shots from the past couple of days. The flowers are in the Tetons and the waterfall, pelicans, and bear are in Yellowstone.

2010-06-29T13:11:00.000-04:00

Here are a few more Teton shots I scanned through while doing laundry. Going in to Jackson for some errands and lunch and then on to Yellowstone tomorrow. I'll keep going as long as my creaky hip will let me. :)

2010-06-27T16:28:00.000-04:00

Weather continues to be nice in Grand Teton. I'm trying to visit some new places as well as try some different takes on some old familiar places, but my hip is slowing me down a lot. I was hoping it would loosen up with some exercise, but the opposite seems to be the case. Not going to give up until it totally gives out I guess.

Here's a few from yesterday and this morning. I have not had more than a cursory glance at the photos so I don't know how representative these are, but they are the ones I picked. :)

2010-06-25T13:39:00.000-04:00

Yesterday afternoon was cloudy and windy. I did some driving around but not much photography, just some buffalo shots.

This morning I had planned on getting up at 4:30 and driving to Schwabachers for sunrise, but the sleeping bag felt so good I decided to sleep in. Finally gvot up and drove down Mormon Row about 7. Nobody there so I took some shots of Moulton barn and then drove up into the national forest. Saw a mother antelope and her baby but they were too far for any decent shots. Went back to Mormon Row and nobody at the other barn so I went around behind it for a little shooting and then came into town for a library Internet session.