Belle Isle Fishing Pier - Revisited

This has been an interesting journey.  In December of 2013 I was contacted by a local author who found my image of the Belle Isle Fishing pier interesting and wanted to use it on the over of his next book.  The page he found is: Here

The author who contacted me was Kevin Garrity from HammerHandle Press.  The book he was working on was titled Unclaimed Persons.  The book was centered in Detroit but had some connection to Belle Isle.  He went looking - and found my image.

We had some conversations for usage of the photo.  No monies were exchanged - but jacket cred was a must!  Everyone got what they wanted!

The book signing was on November 22, 2014.  Here is me with the Author.

Fun Experience.

Checking Out the Summer Shack

I has been very cold this winter.  These two seem to be checking on the spring accommodations and making sure the shack is intact.  Happens a lot in Michigan.  It was below zero outside when I shot this.  Amazing to me that flight conditions were not grounded.

I'm still looking for a solid workflow with LR5 and PS8.  In this shot I used LR5 first.  I dulled out the front of the house - as the sun was shining directly on it.  I also touched up the two birds a bit with a little bit of fill light and some contrast.  I finished up with a little overall HD from PS8.  I did the final re-sizing with PS8 - and I like what it did.

Some folks are lucky enough to shoot birds out of the neighborhood - I'll take what I can get.

1/250 f/5.30

Aperture Priority

ISO 400

Focal Length 112mm

Focal Length (35mm) 168 mm

Winter Fence

Seems like the worst of weather provides the most interesting photo opportunities.  This is the neighbor's fence along our back yard.  Two days after the storm - and some snow - the clouds cleared and we had lots of great sunlight.  The temps remained (way) below freezing and there was no wind, so this came together very nicely.  I used some over sharpening here to bring out the reflected light in the snow and ice crystals.

1/500, 1/2000, 1/125

F/25

Aperture Priority

Focal Length 50 mm

35 mm Focal Length 75 mm

Write your own caption.....

 No electrical outage here.  The recent ice storm cause a lot of damage, some more obvious than others.  but of all the damage I saw today, this one was one I could laugh at.  This is at the Richland Park Disc Golf Course.  I was trying to get some good ice photos in the Richland park complex, but most of it was closed.  This one area was open and when I saw this, just couldn't help it.  There are no dead bodies in the crushed stall.

1/200, 1/800, 1/50

f/8

Aperture Priority

ISO 400

Focal Length 22 mm

(35 mm) Focal Length 33 mm

Bird House in Ice

We had ice storm last night - about half an inch on everything.  This is the home made birdhouse in the front of the house, just outside the office window.  I took a few photos of the trees and the chain link fence.

This is a three photo merge with On One post processing.  I have move from three photo merges to create HDR because the software has improved so much, but with Lightroom Plugin to Photomatix it makes the process a lot easier and quicker.  As to the On One (Perfect Suite 8) plug in to Lightroom - I have a bit more to learn.  It was much easier to get out of LR and then add the finishing touches with PS8.

1/60, 1/250, 1/1000
f/5.0
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 70 mm

I'm Back!

Suffice to say I've been away for some time.  Writers would call it writers block, students would call it eternal spring break and I would call it a combination of the two.

Think I'm back.  Made some improvements on the hardware side.  Move to 64 bit platform - added some memory.  Moved to Lightroom 5 and On One for post processing - away from Adobe Elements and Topaz.

I'm really PO'd at Adobe Elements because their lack of customer appreciation.  To upgrade is to buy a new version for full price.  I'm on 4th upgrade - having to pay full each time.  Enough of that stuff.  Topaz was collateral damage there as well, but my On One package was roughly half the cost of the Topaz package.

I've upgraded to Photomatix 5.  I'm still a big fan of HDR but there are now better ways to get the effect without the halo.  The HDR soft folks are really good - great upgrade plans and are not trying to pry you from your last cent.  I've found their upgrade policies very friendly.

It's good to be back.....

Algoma (Essar) Steel II

This is the Algoma Steel area on the Canadian side of the Soo.  This is one of my favorite subjects to shoot when I'm in the area.  Lots going on in these photos.  And it always reminds me of the Pittsburgh days when I was a kid.  The original shot isn't nearly this dark, but I think any shot I do of a steel environment will be dark - because that is just the way I remember the J&L buildings.

I've been looking for a way to return the 'crispness' to my shots.  During the HDR processing, the shots will soften a bit.  Any attempts to reduce the halo will soften it even more.  I still like the processing, but I've always thought it could be better.

I've found a way to return some of the crispness without reintroducing the halo.

1/100 f/9
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 38 mm (57 mm for 35mm film)

Lake Huron Rocks

Between St. Ignace and Detour Village there are a number of roadside parks where you can walk to the beach.  At one of the areas these rocks were just off shore.  The water is so clear - no polarizer needed to get at the rocks just under the surface.  The surface is so calm, but with definition.  The sky has some character as well.

1/500 f/14
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 35 mm (52 mm for 35mm film)

Lake Reflection

As I look at Black and White variations of some photos, I am beginning to see many possibilities.  The colorized version of this photo is good, but this one is - well - really good.  and the print is even better!  This is sunset behind a small dammed lake on Drummond Island.  I took a number of 'real' HDR photos - and this is one of them.  Depending on the map used, this is either at the end of DAM or DAMIT road.  (I've noticed that most maps differ on the road naming conventions on the island.) 

1/30, 1/125, 1/8   f/8
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 20 mm (30 mm for 35mm film)

Rock at the Mac

Going to the UP for the weekend.  And always have to stop in Mackinaw City.  And always have to take a shot or five of the MAC.  On our way up, the weather was just great.  And for a Michigan spring this is a real bonus!  I was walking along the shore to the bridge and saw this larger rock.  This was fairly easy to picture in my head.  When the light is there - it is easy.

1/640 f/14
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 18 mm (24 mm for 35mm film)

Bottle Rocket

This is one of my fireworks photos from last summer of a bottle rocket taking to flight.  I like the silhouette of the (IC Lite Beer) bottle.  This was a fun project.  For fun, I did a B&W version.  That turned out really well.

Rt 381

Route 381 - through Rolling Rock Farms.  In fall, no place other place I'd rather be.  So I don't live there, but every fall it is worth the trip back.  This is a very neat piece of road - lots of line here.  The road, road paint, fence lines and trees are all very interesting.  When I first posted this shot, I liked with with more saturated colors.  I'm starting to dial back a bit of the saturation.  I'm still against a 'true' photo shot and lean more toward an 'enhanced' shot - but I'm moving a bit.  The one characteristic of this shot that isn't where I'd like it to be is the sky.  It is so flat, it is washing out part of the tree line.  Some time I will get back when it all falls (get it - fall) together.

1/60 f/5.6
Auto
ISO 200
Focal length 32 mm (48 mm for 35mm film)

Crisp Point Lighthouse - 2009

This is one of my favorites of Crisp Point.  The whole area is a great place to take photos, not only of the lighthouse but of all the natural landscape.  The area is not littered with lots of traffic - you just don't come across this place.  It is a destination.  And even with the best of directions, good luck.  A GPS helps.

In the foreground are the remains of a pier.  What stories this pier could tell! 

Now to the photo stuff.  This is one of the first photos I really had to THINK about what the final image would look like.  Depth of field is everything here - as well as the angle of the shot.  To say I was grounded would not be stretch of the imagination.  To a certain extent I was very lucky.  It was a mostly cloudy day and for about 30 minutes the sky cleared a bit to what is shown here.

1/400 f/10
Auto
ISO 200
Focal length 18 mm (27 mm for 35mm film)

Sailboat Row

This is another photo lost during the blog changes.  This one hangs over the home fireplace - I like it that much.  In the final days of February last year, we took a trip to the UP.  I wanted to see ICE.  And I was not disappointed.  We stopped in Mackinaw City on the way to the Soo.  It was snowing - so as with a lot of my winter shots there is no sky.  When we got up there all the worker's cars were gone from this area and this sight just got to me.  In one of the rare moments of thought process, I had enough focal length to keep the masts straight.  This time around, it was not a mistake.  A year ago - I took this with an AUTO setting.  These days, the set up would be much different.  And then again, maybe the numbers would be the same.  Great depth of field - that could have been a disaster as well.  All in all - a good AUTO shot.

1/250 f/8
AUTO
ISO 100
Focal length 35 mm (52 mm for 35mm film)

CSX Car

Way back when - before I started this the third blog - I had published this photo.  This photo was taken in August of 2008 while on the Somerset County Covered Bridge tour.  Between the Pack Saddle Bridge and the Baronville Bridge is an area where trains have to stop while waiting for another engine to arrive to help them up the next series of grades.  (I know this because I talked with the engineer of this train.)  In 2008 I wasn't sure of my photos - or what I was trying to tell with them.  Lucky I got this one!

This photo means a lot to me for a few reasons.  I am not a train person - but being that close to that much metal is pretty amazing.  I have a few train friends who are borderline fanatical about the subject and have turned their basements into shrines to prove it.  I can see why they are who they are.

One of the reasons I like this shot is the opening door on the front of the engine car.  It is very dark in there, yet I can pull out the interior well enough to read the stenciled message.  This is the first photo I worked with where I could get the trees along the track to look the way I liked them.  With this photo, I started to see photos differently.

The other reason I liked this shot is it taught me one of the first lessons about the subject of a photo setting.  I entered this shot as an after-thought in one of my club competitions and it scored well.  I was amazed - partially because the other shots I entered that I liked didn't do so well and this one did.  When were were talking about the shots after the judging, I found it it did well because there is no guessing what the subject is and the environment around it is nice, but not threatening.  I practice this when I can - but.........

This shot was taken with the camera on full auto - from settings to focus.  The most exciting science to this shot was I probably used a polarizer filter.  Now, I shoot most new shots with Aperture priority to control the depth of field and auto-focus off to better 'see' what I'm doing.  (All the other times, just point and shoot!)

1/200 f/5.6
Auto
ISO 125
Focal length 75 mm (112 mm for 35mm film)

Next Steps..............

As this hobby is moving along, I'm moving (slowly) to a more complete product.  I want to move on from DIGITAL presentation and smaller print formats to PRINT in a larger format presentation.

I am passing the year mark since Channer turned me on to HDR and that leap has really provided a hobby that entertains me.  There are so many great photographers - I really wanted to find a niche that I liked and was extremely comfortable with.  I'm OK with some saying it is not real photography I am doing with the blending of light.  I'm happy with ART.

I am continually inspired by my association with the Flint Lensmen Camera Club and have learned much from them.  (Even Bob....)  The members are all very diverse with a wealth of experiences and different takes on what is good, bad and ugly.  Most of all, although there are a few hecklers in the rear, no one has tried to change my style - just hints on how to be better technically.

So the next step to 'building' a final product is the presentation.  I didn't think much of this aspect until talking with some of the club members.  A few meetings have centered on the art of mat cutting.  So I bit and bought a mid-range model.  I've been working with it for two weeks - and aside from a few mistakes the results are fairly good.

For now - it is an exponential gift.  Another layer to my ART.

These are my first three efforts.  

The first effort is a black mat on a B&W (Algoma Steel) photo.  It is fairly idiot-proof.  I'm sure I still have a lot to learn on what colors to mat a photo with - what adds to the final product.

The next effort is a photo of seven birds on a rail that really doesn't translate well into a 'standard' photo size.  With the mat, I can size the photo to any that best enhances the photo.  That was an unexpected gift.

The third effort is a double mat.  This photo of the Rockland Breakwater light in Maine is a real favorite.  My dilemma was what color to go with - either a green or red.  Went with green.  Worked great.

 Still have a long way to go - but this is fun.

10th Street Bridge

I've been away from Pittsburgh for so long, I'm not sure why they paint the bridges yellow.  At one point, the bridges were a blueish-purple.  There may be a few that still sport that color.  But I like the yellow.  I'd like a better color sky.  There was enough low clouds in an otherwise flat sky that I could work with.  It will be good to get back when the weather is nicer.

1/80 f/16
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 20 mm (30 mm for 35mm film)

Seven on a Rail

While walking around Pittsburgh (not really around - we were heading for an ice cream parlor...) I saw a number of these bird sitting around on the fences and posts.  And then I saw this seven.  Being Super Bowl week - I saw an interior line. There is the Center, Guards, Tackles, one tight end and a slot receiver.  Made sense to me.

This photo is interesting to me on many levels.  The wire and the top rail are actually level.  The building blocks are a bit off due to the angle of the shot.  One of the unknowns is that the sky was so crappy that I was happy to use the wall as it was.  I also like the multiple shades of brown on the back of the birds.

This is also first attempt at a photo in a non-standard size.  I have an old 3 4x6 photo frame that I used for this.  I cut a mat - still made some rookie mistakes but... - and put it all together.  Looks good.

1/125 f/5.6
Auto
ISO 360
Focal length 130 mm (195 mm for 35mm film)

Under the 10th Street Bridge

Trip home to Pittsburgh offered a great opportunity to shoot subjects that are new to me.  No wilderness, no ice formations, no lighthouses, all new STUFF.  I have seen some interesting HDR shots of bridge undersides.  Just had to get my own.  In a perfect world - there would have been blue skies with a wisp of a cloud or two.  But this is Pittsburgh - in February.  I'm happy it wasn't snowing and windy!

This is a true HDR shot.  I'm getting better at hand holding the camera in these situations.  Still not comfortable lugging the tri-pod around...........  This brings out the best of a HDR - light on the underside.  Not sure this is suitable for much more than a screen saver - but it does give me high hopes to get this is a better light in October.

1/15, 1/25, 1/13   f/16
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 24 mm (36 mm for 35mm film)

Flint River Walking Bridge

This is a walking bridge across the Flint River in a county park.  The area is really nice and a favorite photo shoot destination.  With the recent snow, the bridge is looking really nice.  Not many people around - in fact none.  The park is closed to traffic although snowmobiles are allowed.  So it was a nice hike out here.

We finally have some blue sky - first time we've seen the sun in a week.  There are a lot of small trees around - which takes away from the scene to me.  I thought I'd post this shot because of the sun - pretty bright.  I had some different angles but I like the sun position and the reflections on the glass.  I'll probably enter this in a club competition - just to get a discussion going.

1/100, 1/320
Aperture Priority
ISO 400 f/5.6
Focal length 70 mm (105 mm for 35mm film)

South Haven Light in January

This is the South Haven Light - in January.  Lots of ice build up here - and it was snowing heavily.  The lake effect was producing lots of squalls.  And it was cold.  On this trip i learned a lot about shutter speed and what it does with the snow patterns.  This weekend, the snow was horizontal.  I had to keep the speed down a bit because I wanted to keep the DOF a large as possible.  So the snow isn't showing the travel pattern - but they are large.

1/320 f/16
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 130 mm (195 mm for 35mm film)

St. Joseph Light in January

It was COLD.  Really COLD.  Last year I was out on the west coast of Michigan in late March and at that time all the ice was gone.  I think it is still growing at this time of year.  Unfortunately it was snowing all the time - I'd say lake effect was in full motion.  It is really tough to separate the sky and ice and snow.  This shot cleaned up well.  The front range light is covered/caked in ice - and that was the point of the day.  The shot may be on the dark side, but adding any more flattens everything.  And in a weird coincidence, this light is actually on the right side of the histogram!

1/320 f/16
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 170 mm (255 mm for 35mm film)

Tahquamenon Falls Trail

This is the trail to the Tahquamenon Falls from the upper falls lot.  There was a fair amount of snow.  I didn't expect to see the amount of leaves that survived fall.  I like the texture of the trail and the clouds in the sky.  I might work this a little more to get the green of the trees in the background to come put a bit more.

1/160 f/18
Aperture Priority
ISO 100
Focal length 25 mm (37 mm for 35mm film)

Algoma (Essar) Steel - Redux

I really like the B&W effect on this shot.  What I didn't like on the previous shot was some of the sky in the center right of the photo was washed out - no definition.  The effect may work at some point - but I wanted more definition in the sky.  The other shot is a single HDR photo.  This shot is seven different exposure levels - and the sky came out much better.  There is a lot more definition.  Seven levels is the most I've ever tried before.  I like this much better.  New Trick.

Algoma (Essar) Steel

This is a photo from last - well now two - year.  The Soo Lock Boat tour includes a pass through the Algoma (Now Essar) Steel property,  Depending on what time of day you get through there - a lot can be going on.  Anything from freighters to large equipment to gas blow offs can happen.  So what happened here?  Not much going on - but great backlighting!  So I was cruising through some old photos and thought this might be good in B&W.  Exceeded my expectations.

1/640 f/13
Auto
ISO 400
Focal length 32 mm (48 mm for 35mm film)

Whaleback Light

This is a shot of Whaleback Light at the head of the Portland River from Fort Foster park.  A bit deceptive, but the light is a fair distance away from land.  This was an interesting shot with the light between the trees.

The real story about this shot is the processing.  I'm trying to frame the shot better by lining up major points of the shot into the rule of thirds.  The water level fits in nicely for the rule.  The trees could go either way, but this line up seems to work for me.

1/200 f/9
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 85 mm (127 mm for 35mm film)

Rockland Breakwater Light II

Wow - that is dark.  Certainly the day was dark - it was threatening to rain most of the time.  If it wasn't threatening to rain - it was raining.  So I'll go back to - Well everyone has a sunny photo of this.  

This is a single photo HDR.  I had forgotten this series until I saw one of the breakwater photos used as a screen saver this afternoon.  I do like the photos of the lighthouse.  The rust drainage on the wall is very interesting.  (Note to self - next time take a close up or what you like.......)

1/100 f/11
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 38 mm (57 mm for 35mm film)

Bike in Woods - Winter

This is the same bike I photographed earlier in the year.  To get to the location was easier earlier in the year - it is just off a trail that is easily accessible.  This time of year, the best term I can use is trudge.  I had been thinking about this shot for a few days and was not disappointed.

(1/320, 1/640, 1/160)   f/10
Aperture Priority (HDR)
ISO 400
Focal length 70 mm (105 mm for 35mm film)

Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays!

This is the photo I sent out this year as a holiday card.  This is the Gazebo in Ligonier on Christmas Eve - 2009.  The photo itself is a true HDR.  This is one of my first successful efforts of using a tripod, setting the camera bracket settings, using a remote release so I didn't have to touch the camera, aperture priority, manual focus, etc.  I should have used written notes.  After the shot - I didn't know what I had until I returned home and started working with it.  Initially - I had a real had time believing I could get a photo like this without a flash and all the issues that brings up.

I really like how the surfaces of the brick and the rock of the gazebo foundation stand out.  there is enough "light" to see the definitions on the gazebo roof.  The light on the trees is only from the street lamps.

After this shot - I was a HDR convert.

So with this - I say Season's Greetings and Happy Holidays.  Thanks for looking in.

Highland Drive Sunset

Last December at this time, I was in Pennsylvania to celebrate the holiday season.  When we arrived, there was at least a foot of snow on the ground - with the forecast of rain the following morning.  After a few hours of rain, the temperature would then drop below freezing for the next week.  

Now to the photo.  This series was taken the following night - just before actual sunset.  And, this is a true HDR photograph.  Instead of showing all three - I've shown the original RAW image and the final result.  Keep in mind that the photo was taken looking into the shadows and yet I can get some great colors and reflections off of the top layer of ice.

The original 'normal' RAW image:  (The normal image)

 

The Final Image:

 

On RAW images, the file is directly what the camera 'sees'.  It does not get the final enhancement that Nikon wants to present to the world.  But you get the idea.  If I were to do a HDR demo - this would be one of the projects.

On most of my shots, I use the one image workflow.  (I usually don't carry a tripod - and some of my subjects move around.)  So this was a real opportunity to compare both images to see if the three image process is any different than the one image process.  After this, I will carry a tripod more (and maybe use it) .  In a small setting there isn't much difference.  Blown up to screen saver size - the colors are fuller.  There is a difference.  

The four items I really like in this are the greens of the trees, the three bands of light in the sky and the ice of the road and the reflection of the trees on the ice covered snow in the lower right.

(1/20, 1/80, 1/5)   f/4.5

Aperture Priority
ISO 100
Focal length 25 mm (37 mm for 35mm film)

Marquette Loader

With the snow getting ready to fly, I was going through some photos taken last February during some travels through the UP.  This is an ore loader in Marquette - no longer used.  This is one of the largest standing objects I've ever seen.  The theory is that train cars loaded with ore would take an elevated bridge to the top of the loader and dump the ore into holding bins.  Freighters would then come along on either side where the ramps would be lowered and the ore would drop to the ships.  This loader is in the middle of town.  Unfortunately it was closed off - would have been interesting to view the inside.

1/160 f/6.3
Aperture Priority
ISO 100
Focal length 25 mm (37 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Marshall Point Light - Part II

The Marshall Point light as many interesting angles.  Both the house and the light make interesting subjects.  While shooing on location, from the other side is all grass and green.  Here is just the opposite, New England rocky shore.  I like the way the colors in the rocks come out - along with some green on the right.

1/160 f/3.5
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 18 mm (27 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Rockland Breakwater Light

This is the Rockland Breakwater light in Maine.  The sky doesn't tell half the story - it was a miserable day.  This product is a combination of two photos.  In each shot, there is a person who was just strolling around.  Sometimes people add to the shot - but in this case it did not.  Elements has a function that will allow the combining of shots and selective removal of areas.  The location of the person was on the walkway in the middle of the shot.  In one shot, he was in front of the door at the top of the stairs and in the second shot he was on the far right of the walkway - just past the building.  Neat trick.  Instead of waiting for the 'perfect' shot, just took multiple shots.  As far as trying to 'clone' or blur, the door at the top of the stairs would have been very difficult to reconstruct.

Lincoln Highway

Not your usual Lincoln Highway photo.  This Lincoln Highway is a ski run - that hasn't seen any skiers in 5 years.  The sign looks pretty good for being in the weather for that long.  This is a sneaky photo.  The more I see it, the more I like it.  In the original, there are heavy shadows.  With enough post processing - not only could I get dome light in dark places, but great fall color as well.  (And the B&W version is a new screen saver.)

1/640 f/13
Aperture Priority  EV -7
ISO 400
Focal length 38 mm (57 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

RT 381 Fence

I like RT 381 in the fall.  I could almost do a book.  Lots of shadows here and the original is fairly dark.  I tried working on the middle rail of the fence and could not get it right without washing out the whole shot.  (A challenge for the next rainy day!)  As everyone has favorite settings, I'm starting to focus in on fences it seems.  I like the lines.  Who knows, maybe the book will be fences..........

This effect is not quite blown out as some of my other fall shots. This is somewhere between most of my third and fourth shots in the series.

1/200 f/5.6
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 70 mm (105 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Leaf in Sunlight

This was an opportunistic shot.  I was walking along the State road and I saw this red patch in a field of green.  I couldn't tell what it was.  At the time I was passing this, the sun had lit up the small area of the leaf - like a spotlight.  I took a few shots of this and this one is the most wide angle.  This shot can crop out many different ways.

1/80 f/13
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 100 mm (150 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Fall Cat Tail

This is from a few weeks ago from the last Pennsylvania trip.  This stood out to me where I could really work with depth of field and not in a gradual way.  The cat tail is elevated above the carpet of other plant life, so I really though the clear subject would stand out.  The colors are just where I like them.  Good fall photo.

1/320 f/13
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 78 mm (117 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Fence and Tree in Fall

After yesterday's photo of a snow covered road - I needs some warmth.  So back to fall.  This is an unnamed driveway off Rt 381 into Rolling Rock Farms.  To remember, this fall provided great weather and tree colors.  Any scene with a wood fence and a tree with autumn leaves will get my attention.

1/100 f/16
Aperture Priority  EV -7
ISO 200
Focal length 18 mm (27 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Highland Road in Winter

Highland Road is only a few weeks away from looking like this.  This was taken in 2008 with the D80.  If I were shooting this today - well I probably wouldn't change much.  The shot was with the AUTO setting.  Now I try to control the photo a bit more.  It probably works because the scene is much darker.  If the sun were out it might not have turned out like this.

1/200 f/3.9
AUTO
ISO 400
Focal length 26 mm (39 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Why I do what I do........

I spend a fair amount of time on my photos.  For the most part, I don't do family photos.  I try to find what I would consider 'interesting'.  And then I try to translate that moment to print.

That's only the first part - seeing and taking the shot.  What comes next is how to 'help' that moment.  As much as I like the equipment, there are some aspects of the shots that the camera itself will not handle.  Even set to make the images more vivid, that still is not enough.  To go along with color management is light management.  Since I rarely have the luxury of waiting in one spot all day for perfect light, my photos have to be 'adjusted' for light deficiencies.  

I came across a photo that illustrates on many levels why I take the time with photos I like to share.

The original:

And my take:

Old Lobster Traps

This was taken along the walkway to the Rockland Lighthouse.  All along the breakwater were old broken and dented lobster traps.  The yellow colors of the 'seaweeds' along with the green(?) of the plastic coated traps made for an interesting sight.

1/25 f/11
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 50 mm (75 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Rt 381 Post

All along Rt 381where I like to shoot are these wood fences that border the fields.  I really like some of the colors that come out of the wood - and the textures.  With the added addition of the great sky and tree colors - this is a pretty good shot.  I thought I'd like the sign a bit better - and maybe in this case less would be more.  Who knows?

1/2000 f/5.6
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 50 mm (75 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Laurel Lodge - Alternate View

This is certainly an effect that either appeals to you or not.  I tried the same effect on the Point Betsie Lighthouse.  Need to look at it more in different scenarios.

Laurel Lodge

This building, a ski lodge, hasn't been used for years.  Of all the winter buildings I've ever seen this one has an outdoor fire place which is unique.  The ski area could be open next year.  The building is in great shape for being abandoned and I expect there won't be many changes but this could be an empty spot next year.

I really like how the rock and wood come out in this.

1/640 f/13
Aperture Priority  EV -.6
ISO 400
Focal length 18 mm (27 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Bike in the Woods

This bike has been here for at least three years - probably more.  How it stays upright is amazing to me.  (Or how come a bear didn't take off on it?)  Usually when I've been around, the light hasn't been real accommodating to a good photo.  This time around, there was plenty of light - or enough to get decent DOF.  I didn't have to bump up the ISO too much.

1/50 f/5
Aperture Priority
ISO 400
Focal length 30 mm (45 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set

Fall Pathway

Fall 2010 is here!  This is from a wonderful weekend in Pennsylvania - where the combination of blue sky and the colors were the best I've seen or been a part of.  This is in Linn Run State Park on the top of the mountain.  It is a gas line path that has been there for years.  When I was a kid - yes I tried to get through there on a (motorized) bike.  At that time it it was mostly a mud pit and if I remember correctly I wound up pushing the bike through the mud.  Now, it looks like a beautiful pathway.

1/80 f/16
Aperture Priority  EV -.7
ISO 200
Focal length 46 mm (69 mm for 35mm film)

Photo Set