Bunny and Plant

This little fella showed up one day and promptly made camp under the shed in the yard.  Generally speaking, we don't have a rampant rabbit problem and really don't want to have one, but this one is so cute.  I spent two days following him/her (I didn't get that close.) around the house - like I pester the kids.

1/60 f/5.6
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 65 mm (97 mm for 35mm film)

Summertime...................

Well, been away for a while - almost 6 weeks.  Been a great summer so far.  (And truth be told, was burning out a bit...)

Newsletter from photo club showed up yesterday and I sort of got snapped back!  

Not that I took a great number of photos over the past few weeks, but have had lots of ideas.  I'm also viewing scenery as it would appear through my eyes - or after I applied my take on it.

I hung a number of photos in the house.  I'm trying Qimage for a photo print application.  I'm not that disappointed in Elements, but I've read where the algorithms used to blow up photos is different.  I won't say better, but different.  And different is good.

Fritz Henry Lane

One of the first sights (after the shopping district) we hit in Gloucester was the Fritz Henry Lane statue.  The statue is located n a small park dedicated to him and his art.  From this sight you can see much of the harbor.  One hundred years ago - you could probably see more. It was fun working with this photo - trying to keep the beautiful blue sky while drawing out the statue face.  In the original, the face is completely in the dark due to the position of the sun.

1/320 f/5.6
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 38 mm (57 mm for 35mm film)
Photo set

Cape Elizabeth Splash

I like these splash type photos.  (See the Grand Haven Splash.)  The water action is fascinating.  Getting the photos is an art to itself.  In my opinion - you just don't walk down to the area and snap a photo.  One of the nice features of the Nikon is the speed at which it will take shots.  To get this - I had to listen to the waves - look over the camera to look for waves that would hit and hold the button when the time was right........  There were a lot of photos deleted in this effort.  But you get this - and it is all worth it.

1/1250 f/5
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 32 mm (48 mm for 35mm film)

30 Mile (NY) Lighthouse

The last lighthouse we saw on the New England trip was the 30 Mile Lighthouse.  This lighthouse is on the Ontario shore.  We, again, were a bit early in the season and missed the lighthouse museum. The house is made of stone - like Sodis Point.  The house is in a campground and a very nice area.  On the other side of the house is a 30 foot cliff and not much of a beach.

1/320 f/5.6
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 27 mm (40 mm for 35mm film)
Photo set

Pin Wheel - 1333

This is a pin wheel fireworks. (Can fireworks be singular?)

This is quickly becoming a favorite.  Every process I run it through is a good shot.  That usually does not happen.  I like the perfect yellow circle with a red exterior.  Of course the red sparks are interesting as well.  You can see the wood grains of the post that held the wheel.  All in all, very interesting.

1/6  f/10
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 140 mm (210 mm for 35mm film)

Marshall Point Light

Marshall Point light is one of the more famous Maine Lights.  I didn't know this but this light was in the movie Forrest Gump as the endpoint of Forrest's cross country adventure.  Aside from that point of notoriety this is a unique light - with the walkway.  I bet this is great in the winter - but my luck I had a weather challenged day.  And I was lucky.  I like how the green of the grass contrasts against the gray of the sky and water.  I have a photo of the house that is now a museum - which turned out good.  It will make out here soon.

1/320 f/3.5
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 18 mm (27 mm for 35mm film)
Photo set

Sodis Point Lighthouse

On the way home from Maine, we drove the south Lake Ontario shore in New York.  We arrived at the Sodis Point Lighthouse just as it was opening for business.  This is a nice little area - and when we visited it looked like it came out of the winter in great shape.  The original light building is no longer visible except for a brick ring just in front of the building.  The museum is one of the nicest I've seen and the staff were very friendly.

1/400 f/6.3
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 30 mm (45 mm for 35mm film)
Photo set

Portland Head Light

Another of the lighthouses on the New England trip.  This is a very pretty place.  There are paths along the cliffs that provide a number of interesting angles to this location.  This was late int he afternoon and unfortunately the house was just closing.  The tower is open and I would think the sight back to the shore would be incredible.  (Plus an opportunity for a panoramic shot...)

1/500 f/8
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 21 mm (31 mm for 35mm film)

Rock (Well, big Rock)

One of my favorite rocks.  This one is hard to get to.  It is accessible by foot (easiest). bike (hardest) or quad (somewhere in the middle).  This is one of my true HDR shots.  The area is basically dark and shadows are everywhere.  There is very little light - and where it does shine through it will burn out the shot.  I did very little to this as far as enhancing color saturation.  I took three shots here - none of then are any good by themselves.  This is what the rock looks like.

1/4, 1/8, .4  f/5.6
Aperture Priority  EV -0.3
ISO 200
Focal length 18 mm (27 mm for 35mm film)

Butterfly on Flower

I never thought I'd enjoy taking pictures of......  Butterflys.  Over the weekend I was walking at LMV and I saw lots of these creatures.  Taking photos of the butterfly presents a number of issues.  Mostly - they don't 'pose' for you.  Just when you think there is a good shot - they move.  And it always seem to be they will face you.  And almost disappear.  i really like the contrast of color between the butterfly and the foliage.

1/250 f/6.3
Aperture Priority  EV -1.0
ISO 200
Focal length 200 mm (300 mm for 35mm film)

Fireworks - 1342

Fourth of July!  My first effort with really dark area and light.  I have done fireworks from a far away spectator point - but this is first close up.  This is a single bottle rocket.  I found that shooting portrait in this situation, the photos did not come out so well.  In the end, I'll probably look at cropping to a portrait and see what happens - but I kinda like this.  I set up the camera by taking off the auto focus, the VR set to OFF, APERTURE Mode, set the EV to -1 and for a final darkening effort left a polarizer on.  I figured the light would come through - and it did.

10 sec f/10
Aperture Priority  EV -1.0
ISO 200
Focal length 92 mm (138 mm for 35mm film)

Fort Foster Dock

I like docks, or piers.  Lots of great line here - and a bonus of a wonderful sky.  Nothing special or interesting story - just a long wooden walkway over the water.  At the end of the dock there is a notice that says crabs may be caught by fishing line or even by had.  But under no circumstances can you use a trap.  I picture this as modern day horse stealing.  Not looked at kindly.  But didn't see any crabs.  Or horses.

1/125 f/13
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 21 mm (31 mm for 35mm film)
Photo set

Boothbay Harbor

One of our first stops was Boothbay Harbor.  The morning weather was clearing and provided some great sunlight and warmth.  In the search for lunch, we went across the bay from the business district and were able to find a nice place, right on the water.  Lobsters and clams fresh off the boats were available.  And the location had its own observation deck (outdoor dining area) and dock.  In the bay were a number of boats - looked like the fleet was in.  If this was a Monday morning, when does the fleet go out?  Anyway the sight of a full bay of boats in various sizes was fairly impressive.

1/160 f/18
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 120 mm (180 mm for 35mm film)
Photo set

Cape Neddick (Nubble) Lighthouse

This is the Nubble lighthouse, the first lighthouse stop on our trip.  There is no direct access to the building as it is on land separated by about 50 feet of water.  That makes this an interesting sight.  The weather was beautiful.  While we were there, a Miata car group show up - with around 20 cars of all different colors.  there were lots of other tourists and small gift shop.  (And like all first gift shops, it was tough to not buy the place out.  Pace yourself......)

1/200 f/14
Aperture Priority
ISO 200  EV -1.0
Focal length 46 mm (69 mm for 35mm film)
Photo set

New England Shipyard

While driving through Rockland - I passed this site twice.  I didn't know if it would turn out but finally stopped to get this.  To me, this is just awesome!  Reds, greens, blues - it is all there.  The sky has a lot of definition.  The background is just right.  The subject is just what I thought of all the time I was planning the trip.  The size is going to be a challenge - I'm not used to 'tall' objects.  I'll still be able to jam this into a frame.

1/125 f/11
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 42 mm (63 mm for 35mm film)
Photo set

Owls Head Coast

The New England Trip put me in environments that I was not used to - that is the first few stop on Sunday were really crappy.  But as I am getting used to saying - everyone has photos on nice days......

This is the part of the coast around Owls Head.  (The lighthouse is going under massive maintenance - so there won't be a photo in the near future...)  Going to the lighthouse you can not drive up to it - there is a short walk involved.  And on that day - it was a wet walk.  I was trying to figure out how to carry the camera under a raincoat that wasn't bought two sizes too big.  (The answer is to not use the front zipper - just use the Velcro.)  Anyway on the way back, along the road were a few short - 10 to 15 feet - paths to overlooking the coastline.  there were a few of these observation points and even on a questionable weather day - it really had a beauty of its own.

1/160 f/3.8
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 25 mm (37 mm for 35mm film)
Photo set

Lobster Traps on Dock

One of the first places where we stopped was a working area in Porpoise Cove.  Like most places on coves, there were a number of lobster boats and thus a few traps on the dock.  The traps and buoys are all very colorful.  Docks, or any wood built structures respond well to the processing.  Tough to tell, but the Goat Island Light is in the background.

1/250 f/10
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 27 mm (40 mm for 35mm film)
Photo set

Lobster Shack

Since the New England trip was planned, this is one shot I was looking for.  Looking for what I thought would be a 'typical lobster shack'.  Not sure if this is typical - never saw another one like this, but I like what I see here.  Lots of colors!  Each of these buoys belongs to a specific fisherman - it is how lobster lines are tracked.


1/125 f/14
Aperture Priority
ISO 200
Focal length 100 mm (150 mm for 35mm film)
Photo set

York, ME Coast

First photo of many to come from the NE trip.  Our first stop was the town of York and the is the left side of the bay.  What took me by surprise - and why I don't know - is the difference in the shore characteristics between Maine and Michigan.  The Michigan shores for the most part are smooth in a gradual transition.  This Maine coast is not smooth at all.

1/400 f/10
Aperture Priority  EV -0.7
ISO 200
Focal length 78 mm (117 mm for 35mm film)