I've got to get out more.....

I just realized while I'm messing with this photograph that next week I get to go photograph wildlife! No more HDR. No more paint conversions. No walking back alleys with police officers protecting me and my equipment. No wild framing of shots like the one above due to boredom at the airport.

Just the great outdoors. Quiet. Birds, elk, moose, bears, and many others waiting for me. I miss them. They are my friends. They live where the high temps may hit the low 80's. It's not hell (Phoenix) here. It's heaven. No rental car buses here. Wendy's..nope! Big Mac's ...never! Food is secondary to the experience.

This time I will have two little boys with me. One of them five and the other two and a half. Their first experience with Grandpa with wildlife and geysers. It should be an incredible week. Grandpa will teach them how to cook smores and foil dinners. More importantly we may make rock trails, throw rocks into Yellowstone river, and hold hands near the hot pots. Maybe I'll work in a few photograph's

Paint and Mailboxes

I thought I had seen everything until I found this pink "bug". In a state that has a high percentage of tree huggers this was shocking. What a dichotomy the car has with it's surroundings. Not just the shaped metal object but the color pink....

Not much further up the road was this line up of mailboxes. All I can say is WOW!

Prescott Lake ROCKS....

Forfeited the best light for photograph for Olive Garden salad and Zupa Tiscana. There is some tough choices in life.

After dinner Don and I rushed to Prescott Lake just as the sun was going down. Not much good light left. Don found this shot. A slight glow from the west sky help give shape to the rocks.

Three exposure HDR, and a slight lowering of saturation.

One of the shots is a Topaz paint conversion. Can you tell which is which.

Old Flagstaff, AZ

For years I have looked forward to a trip now and then to Flagstaff, Arizona. Home of NAU, the highest mountain in Arizona, summer home of the Cardinals (summer practice) world famous observatory's, and two Maverik Stores. There is some history here for me. The top of the mountain has seen my feet and miles of mountain bike trails have been traversed on my mountain bike. When time was on my side I would walk in downtown Flagstaff. It's like going back in time. Everybody moves slower. People enjoy the night air on the walks with a drink or just great conversation. The dress is shorts, tie dye shirts, long hair for men in pony tails, peace signs and graphity everywhere. Not just any gang graphity. This is art............ Last night I enjoyed the city again

N 42,25.995

W 108,49.7413

2361 meters (elevation) 

I know it's very busy.  But I like the photograph.  

In my opinion NIK has hit it out of the park with Silver Efex Pro.    

If I was to guess how much of my shooting in the last 30 years was black and white (before digital), I would have to say 35% to 40%.  My darkroom was set up for only black and white.  All the classes I took were mostly shooting with black and white.  I love Black and White photography.  Though wildlife is my first passion my roots are in the black and white print.   

NIK's program gives back some of the toning, etc that film had.  It's great.  

Back from Lander, Wyoming today this sky, tree and rock were screaming to be photographed. I answered the call.    

Simple and true

Back to reality..

After my last blog I just had to post a photo with no post enhancements or changes. This week is going to be one that most of the time will be in front of the windshield. After an incredible short vacation at Bear Lake, tonight I drove to Lander, Wyoming. Next...Flagstaff, Prescott, Golden Valley. Two ways to look at this! One a lot of boring driving to locations for work. Or the one I choose - hundreds of miles of opportunity to photograph between work projects!!!!!!

The above photo was taken near Vernal last week. The only post work was to slightly sharpen.

Couldn't Resist.......

Never had the talent to paint.  And really little talent with the Photo stuff too.  It's a numbers game and an equipment game.  And based on the photo - turned - painting above it's also a software game.  

Maverik

Another fine addition to the Maverik line up.  Next Store #200! Thanks to Kelly the Project Manager!  And Penny the store opening GURU!  Oh and thanks for the decent weather and good light!   

Tools of the trade

My Wacom is down!!!!!

I lost the pencil for my Wacom. Help!!!!!!!!!!

It's a amazing how you get used to a certain tool. If you have used a tablet for a while then had to go back to a mouse or pad..YIKES. Peddling without pedals, eating without utensils, playing tennis with no arms?

The above photo is an attempt to assure that my daily blog is insured. HDR, Topaz and Photoshop software was used. The shot was taken with a 10.5 mm lens.

I ordered a new pen. Overnight shipment. Hurry.

Yikes there everywhere.....

N 40.6.8911'

W 109.38.6842'

Now is the time to get out and practice shooting these little guys.  This ones with my 600 @f11.  

Busted Bus

A long way from any road.

About 15 miles down a dirt road was this abandoned and pilfered bus. Age and weather made this a potential "artsy" shot. What gave it some real character was all the tumble weeds around the bus. The halo in this case added to the effect. This shot was particularly fun in post.

Forest Exposure

Deep and dark in the trees.

Wow. This is definitely a time for HDR. There was no wind. Calm and no movement. So I tried it out. More than 7 stops from the sky to the forest floor. Pushed a 9 exposure bracket at .7 difference per exposure. Ran it through Photomatix. The important thing I found with this shot is that I started at -1.3 EV. If not the sky would have blown out. Turned out pretty darn close to the actual setting.

New Filter

I'll never be a painter.

This is the closest I will ever get. Not close at all!!!! Thanks to Topaz software I easily converted this shot to look like an oil reproduction. Hopefully non of you very talented oil painters are offended. I do not plan on using this filter much. If even again. It seemed to work for this particular scene. It will be interesting to see how it prints on canvas. I'll let you know.

HDR - Scenic

N 39,11.5238

W 108,32.7901

Like it or hate it?

I have looked forward to shooting an interesting scene using HDR in post shooting. My first time in grand Junction. Some interesting (but not unusual) scenes on the north side of town. This is only three exposures bracketed .7 stops apart. Starting at -3EV. Can't use this method on all scenes. It has a unique kinda unnatural look. The sky is a little out of sorts for example. But I really like the outcome. Hope you do too!

Back in the day

In southern Utah...again.

Life moves a little slower here. The gardens seem a little more alive. It's quieter. And there's lot to shoot. With the little time I had tonight I ran to Meadow, Utah. This scene screamed take a picture. Back at the hotel I realized I did not download Nik Silver Efex pro on my laptop. Dang!!!! So here is my photoshop Black and White conversion.

Buffalo Circle of Life.....

Back to my trip in Yellowstone.

It's spring.  Everything is wet.   The rivers are running high.  Babies are everywhere.  From buffalo to bears and Eagles to Osprey everything is anew.  My last day only a few miles from the west entrance was a traffic jam.  It was bad enough that I thought it had to be a bear sighting.  It was late.  The sun was resting just behind the horizon.  Stopping I could not see any wildlife worth a huge traffic jam like what I had just witnessed.  Only a few buffalo with calves.  Something was drawing attention to all these people.  Maybe a grizzly ready to take the buffalo.  Maybe a wolf.  My trek back to the crowd from my parking spot made me wonder if my efforts were worth it in pictures.  Of course I had my photo vest on, back pack over my shoulder and the big gun on the tripod over the other shoulder.  

What was everyone watching?  It wasn't obvious.  What we all were watching was moving to say the least.  No imminent threat.  No blood.  Just emotion.  From a buffalo calf. 
This handsome little guy was full of energy, enthusiasm or was he.  He would try to nurse from cows and always to be rejected.  He was nervous.  Like before you have to give that big talk in church or in front of a large group of people.  The tourists that had gathered were all commenting on his unusual behavior.  Something was wrong.  He would direct a lot of his energy at a lone cow some distance from the other cows.   Often other calves would join him near this lone cow.  Then it was obvious the cow had a broken front leg and could not stand.  Several attempts were made.  She could not stand.  At one moment she appeared to raise her hind quarters to try and feed her calf.  But she couldn't.  

The calf would lay her head on the cow. His mother.  His food supply.  His protection.

Tears were shed by people around me. 

I stayed until after dark.  So did many others.  Questions were everywhere.  

"What's going to happen to the calf"? 

"Can the park service help"?

"Will the cow or the calf be killed tonight"?

Even some adult men were moved by the scene.   It's nature.  Right?  The circle of life?  Or just more feed for the wolves, bears and other predators.  

There was a real sense of feeling coming from the calf.  Not pain.  Feeling.  The little guy sensed something dramatic was to occur.  He was nervous.

My trip home first took me back to the site of the previous evenings events.  No calves, no cows, no bears, no blood.  Just this big old bull.  He survived the night.  Did the calf and cow?  Only mother nature knows for sure.....

Thought of the day

New software came in the mail friday!!!

NIK Silver Efex Pro.  Had to try the filter that emulates Kodak Tri-X film.  Crazy!  Shooting in digital and missing the film grain look.   What an incredibly powerful tool.  In my opinion NIK software has it hands down.  Especially if you shoot Nikon.   

My all time photo idol is Ansel Adams.  His talent took me to the roots of black and white photography.  When the dark room in my home was in full service many of his photo's hung about.  They can inspire anyone.  And beg the question, "How did he do that"?  

This flower is quit colorful.  The best part of a black and white image like this is you can imagine it being any color you want.  I took the photo and pushed it through NIK.  Now I imagine it as a different color than it actually  is.  

The saying above is one that my beautiful wife gave me when I held public office.  Kinda kept it close to my heart.  

Fun, fun, fun...

I'm having way too much fun!

I love my job and I love my Hobby. I'm doing better than I deserve.

Have you ever heard this before..."On my way home tonight I stopped to photograph...."

Well from southern Utah I drove home. Stopped in Scipio, Utah mid-day to grab a bite to eat (and scope out a competitor). Well what did I find here? Not something to photograph. No way!

The question of the day. And a test! Is the photo above a HDR image? Now OF, don't tell. OF made an observation about the stubaker photo that has been bugging me also.

Ok. Is it or isn't HDR? Until I can figure it out here is the giveaway. At the old roof line look at how the contrast to the sky has a slight halo effect. BUGS ME TO DEATH. Seems to bug OF also. Oh by the way OF if you don't remember is Old Friend. And I mean OLD!!!! I think he is a scientist now. If not he could be. got the brains of a savant. But has a decent personality. We have had some pretty lengthy discussions about icthiosis on salt water fish!

Yes it's HDR.

This photo is a prime example of a good use for HDR. With out it and with the HOT mid-day light and deep shadows? Good Luck! Look at the detail in the wall lathe. Yet the floor and far window is still close to the right exposure.

But that dang halo. Got more work to do.........

Dan, Alea, Linds. What's the assignment this week? How about "hot lazy summer pics"?

Photofocus

Fairly regularly I check in with Photofocus. Take a look here at his truck storage for his photo gear. AMAZING! Not what I would do. But simply amazing! At the end check out his license plate.

HDR - another experience

There is an unending supply of old things to photograph in Fillmore. If only I had more time. Back out tonight and found this Studebaker Truck. A classic? For me.. you bet. This is an HDR processed image. To most it is obvious. The detail inside the grill was out and the specular highlights were lowered. An attempt was made with a single exposure using dodging. The results were not acceptable. The range here was 7 exposures. HDR will definitely be a process I will consider when shooting.

HDR...my further testing and study

Fillmore Utah. Not a lot to do here...except study HDR photography. Late tonight, after dinner with my P.I.S. friends, my search started for a location to test and learn more about HDR. I did not have to look for very long. Waiting for me was this abandoned farm house. Late day lighting through the windows with a pile of junk on the inside - perfect! Probably impossible to shoot with details in both the highlights and shadows. Look at the photo above. It is the exposure that was the shortest of nine exposures. The correct exposure that reveals detail in the windows. You can actually see the scene out the Windows. Very little detail can be seen in the shadows.

The exposure above is correct to see the details in the shadows. The window light is then blown out. Again, almost impossible to shoot with one standard exposure. Nine exposures .7 of a stop apart was what I used to get the HDR image. The only thing that I did in Photoshop was crop slightly and created a border.....
Pretty dang cool. Some things that I need to study is the color enhancement/saturation. No color saturation was done. Nor any color balance was performed. This is an image direct from the HDR process. You can however see the blues came out more saturated than the original single exposure. The amazing part is that the blues is what I saw. The red hues in the material on the floor is a true representation also. Simply amazing. What do you think? Have you had success with HDR imaging? Do you plan on trying this process? It definitely is a tool that is always available for those times when we as photographers curse those wide exposure shots we want so bad. I plan on studying this more and perfecting the final image.

HDR

HDR...is the rage.  But is it easy to produce quality images?

What do you think?  Can you tell this is an HDR image?  The scene had 6 stops in light variation.  There seems to be an infinite number of experts on HDR images.  The photo above has no burning or dodging.  I did play with the tone mapping a little.  Without critique of composition, etc., tell me what do you think about this HDR image?  The next couple of days I hope to push the HDR process more.  I look forward to your comments.

Beauty or BEAST....

Nikon D-3, 105mm f/2.8 Micro Lens, 1/20 sec @ f/45, -1.67 EV, ISO 200

This flower is a Beauty!

Next to my house at Bear Lake is a home that people seldom reside.  The natural growth is abundant.  The plant that this flower resides is about six feet tall.  Incredibly green leaves, a rose colored flower like never seen before.  It's a natural.  God gave this plant to us.  No mortal planted it where it resides at Bear Lake today.  Unlike the rose this baby is a weed.  I mean the king of weeds.  The top of the list to get even to Adam and Eve weed list.  A man eater.  A weed wacker killer.  A crime stopper.  More thorns, needles and razor blades per square foot on this monster than any plant alive.  Probably can live on sunshine alone.  

There is beauty to this beast.  From a distance.  Not sure if killing or cutting down this weed is appropriate.  Luckily it's on the neighbors property.  

After a long day of work at the house this plant gave me what suits my relax time best.   Something to investigate, study, watch and PHOTOGRAPH!

Assignment....last one (really)

Alea, Lindsay and Dan...

This assignment was hard!  I haven't seen my grandkids for two weeks, I listen to talk radio, haven't looked in the mirror for quit a while and work with a bunch of contractors.  Not a lot of laugh out load stuff to photograph.  I did try to shoot four horses with their heads hanging out of the side of horse trailer.  At 70+ mph.  I'm not sure what was more humorous me driving with one knee while I leaned toward the drivers side window to photograph the horses?   Or the horses that looked like a quartet singing "O Sole Mio" after just having false teeth replacement.  Man can horses pull funny faces?   The picture did not turn out.  My truck has role up windows.  Shooting through car glass windows doesn't make for the sharpest picture.  I could have leaned way over and tried to role up the window.  But(t) the car on my drivers side might have turned me in for "mooning" on the freeway.    So the buffalo lady above will have to do.  Oh by the way.  I'm not sure why she is sticking her tongue out at me.  I only asked her stop and pose.......

PS. does her hair look a little like Penny's?

For Mr. I-Rons and Windmills

It seems as of late whenever I carry my camera it rains or wants to rain real bad.  There is still always something to photograph.

Kelly is the Master PM.  I have heard that he is pretty darn good at fishing.  On the way back from Naples tonight I photographed a spot that he said he has fished before.  Like he said it was beautiful!  It was pouring most of the time my camera was out.  The benefit...saturated greens and contrasting colors.  If I was a fisherman I could dig this place too.  What I did find that will get me back there one of these weekends is a fishing area for Osprey.  They like the tall dead tree and a slow moving river below the tree.  What a spot.  Two birds were fishing.  Put me in a catatonic state for a few minutes.  At this location you have to park quite a walk from the river.  And there is a great drop in elevation.  By the time I went back to the truck and back down it would have been pretty late.  With very low light conditions and the hike to and from the truck, I could not shoot the birds today.    "I'll Be Back"

The photograph of the wind generating "windmill" was from the freeway close to Evanston, Wyoming.  I could not resist the taking the shot.  As I have said many times when nature offers that kind of contrast I will have my camera out to figure a shot.    Mother nature never fails when it comes to lighting!