Focal point

I took this photo about a year or so ago. This spot is located on a dead-end road, not too far from my office. On this particular day, I was playing with depth of field and my focal points, as I wanted to see what view I liked best. I find it interesting how simply changing the focal point changes the entire feel of the scene being photographed. In the first photo Quiet Rail,

[caption id="attachment_318" align="alignleft" width="200"] Quiet Rail[/caption]

I was attempting to capture the sense and feeling that the guard rail continued around the curve for ever and also a general feeling of peace and calm.In the second photo Grasses on the rail,

[caption id="attachment_329" align="alignleft" width="200"] Grasses on the rail[/caption]

the focal point is on the grasses in the foreground.

 

Dusk on the beach

[caption id="attachment_324" align="alignleft" width="300"] From the Outer Banks of NC @ Salvo. With moon showing in the sky.[/caption]

Sometimes there are perfect nights on the beach. I just happened to be at the beach this summer in Salvo, NC on such a night. Just a few clouds in the sky, full moon and the sound of the ocean. I took this picture one evening, just after the sun had gone down below the horizon, and wasn't yet pitch black.

[caption id="attachment_323" align="alignright" width="300"] From the Outer Banks of NC @ Salvo.[/caption]

The moon was still rising and the sky was a beautiful blue. These two shots are long exposures (10 and 13 seconds). I like how the ocean appears in these two pictures, with an airy, ethereal look and the moon reflecting off the glass-like (though not perfectly smooth) surface of the water.

Fall Playground

It's that time of year. Fall in NC brings changing colors of the leaves and yet days warm enough to go out and play and still be comfortable. Today was one such day in NC. This picture was taken at a park in Sylva, NC while visiting family. I love the combination of the playground equipment and the color of the leaves. It just invites you to come out and play.

Leaf

Well, it's getting to be that time of the year when the weather turns cooler and the leaves start to fall. I took this shot while at a local park with my family. Taken with my kit 18-55mm lens, there were no filters added, or any other adjustments made to get the focus I was going for. I was aiming to get the leaf in focus with the fore- and backgrounds blurred. To accomplish this shot, I had to play around with the camera placement. For this shot, I placed the camera on the ground, with the lens just barely touching the concrete (don't worry, I was being careful; just the very bottom of a very small piece of the lens actually touched the ground). I took a couple of shots, each time checking to see if I had captured what I wanted. If I didn't, I adjusted the camera, either closer or further away. In the end, this is what I came up with.

Green Dragonfly

This was taken early one morning as I was on my way to work. It didn't seem to bother her that I was going in and out of my gate. It was a cool morning, so I'm guessing that may have something to do with her lethargy. I've always liked dragonflies, so when I got an opportunity to see one this close, I just had to get the camera and take some shots.

Invasion of the cows

The cows are coming! The cows are coming!

Actually, they're already here. It is the Triangle CowParade (http://cowparadenc.com/) and is an art exhibit of life sized cows painted by local artists that will be later sold at auction to benefit the NC Children's Hospital. The one's I have had the opportunity to see have been located at the North Hills shopping center in Raleigh's Midtown and at Jerry's Artarama. Below are some of the cows in the parade.
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Blue Moon

It has been a while since I've had an opportunity to post. Since my last post in June, my second child was born, and well, that has been keeping me somewhat busy. During that time, I have been taking pictures, but haven't had a lot of time to actually download and process them, let alone update this blog. I hope to get back into updating this regularly. Thanks for your patience!  So, finally, here is a recent photo that I was able to capture.

If you were not aware, August 31 was a "blue moon" or the second full moon in the same month. I was able to capture this picture with the aid of a couple of ND Filters that I recently received. I experimented with several different exposures, mainly trying to capture the detail of the surface of the moon as well as making sure the moon itself was properly developed.

[caption id="attachment_275" align="alignleft" width="336"] Capture Date: 8/31/2012 The blue moon.
ISO 100 f/9 1/160 200mm[/caption]

Photo shoot

Here are a few pictures from a photo shoot I did this past weekend. This was my first time actually trying to make pictures for someone other than myself or my family. The general concept we were going for here is a shot that the "model" could use on a business card for teaching clarinet lessons (he is a musician). I learned a lot, especially as I am going back over the pictures and observing the composition, exposure and lighting. While not 100% of everything I hoped it would be, I don't think these are too bad.

This one is of my daughter and the "model" for my shoot. It is one of my favorites from the day (no, it wasn't part of the original plan to have her be in any pics, but you know how kids are...).

The next one is, I think, one of the better shots I got. I will probably post some of the others at a later time, but for now, here it is. 

I welcome any comments and suggestions, especially on how I may be able to improve the shots for the next shoot. Thanks!

Blue Dragonfly

I had the chance to visit some friends today, on their "farm". While we were down at the pond, I was able to capture some pictures of the various plants and animals that were around the area. This blue dragonfly happened to stop long enough for me to take a couple of shots of it.

Curious Swan

If you ever happen to be in Cary, NC, you should take a visit to Koka Booth Amphitheater. It is a great venue and will afford you an opportunity to take some pictures of different wildlife inhabiting the lake there (Symphony Lake, I believe). I was there this weekend and was able to take a few shots of geese and this one beautiful swan. These birds were not scared of people whatsoever, as I imagine they are fed quite often. Here is one of the pictures of the swan I was able to capture. I think in this shot, he (or she) was actually posing for me. He was very intrigued by me and was actually swimming after me any time that I moved around.

I'll post some of the others after I get more of a chance to work with the pictures a bit more. Enjoy!

Bubbles

Bubbles are awesome. They're fun to make, fun to watch and fun to pop! But they are very hard to photograph. I don't know how many of you have tried to actually get close up photos of bubbles, but they can certainly be quite tricky to catch before they pop. I tried several takes before I got this one, and I don't think it is the greatest. You have to be patient, ideally with little to no wind (it was slightly breezy yesterday, which made catching these even more of a challenge), and you have to be fast and accurate with your focus. Anyway, here is the same bubble picture, post processed in different fashions. Comments and tips always welcome!

 

 

 

The Red Door

I was visiting downtown Raleigh recently and found this red door. Not sure what is actually in the building, but I liked the color and thought it had some character to it. Here are 3 different post processes of the same door. Not sure about what others may think, but I'm partial to the one in color and then the sepia. What do you think?

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Easter Pictures at Duke Gardens

Spring time is here! Easter is fast approaching, so my wife and I thought we'd try to get some pictures of our daughter at Duke Gardens in Durham. This is a great time of year to visit the gardens. Many, many flowers are in bloom and it is very picturesque. Below are some of the shots I took while there.[gallery columns="5"]

Flower for Today

I had the opportunity to wander out and about after a rain shower the other day and came across some early spring flowers. Here is one of those shots. Enjoy!

Capturing that Elusive Child Image

[caption id="attachment_205" align="aligncenter" width="201" caption="Looking through the pebbles."][/caption]

I am always trying to capture my daughter in the act of being herself and doing the things she does when no one is looking. If she knows you have a camera, she does one of two things... either she hams it up and you get goofy pictures or now, more commonly, she tries to hide her face and all you see is her backside. I was able to capture a few pictures this time around that were candid. As with many 3 year old's, she is forever curious about everything and always trying to figure things out.

[caption id="attachment_204" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Picking up pebbles.

Starting to "pose" for the camera."][/caption]

Squirrel!

This little guy came to visit when I was down in Orlando visiting my inlaws. The busy little guy gave me the stare down while eating the blade of grass and then quickly scampered away. For at least a short while, he did pose for a couple of shots.

 

Reflection

It was a rainy morning, and the sun was just beginning to appear from behind the clouds. I happened to be next to a lake when this happened and I caught this in the reflection. You can see the circle of the sun in the slight break in the cloud cover. I caught it just in time, because 5 minutes later most of the clouds were gone and it was nothing but bright sunshine for the rest of the day.

F/5.6, 55mm, 1/800 s. Shot using my 18-55mm lens on Manual

[caption id="attachment_190" align="aligncenter" width="1024" caption="Reflection"][/caption]

Waterfall

Water features. There are a lot of them throughout Florida. Personal, private, public, commercial, you name it, Florida has them all. This is a photo taken at my mother-in-law's house of the pond in her back yard. We were visiting for a week, and of course, brought the camera. I thought this would be a good opportunity to try out a long exposure and see what I came out with. I always love how water looks in long exposure pictures. Just looking at this picture makes me feel a bit calmer and more at peace. I wish I had my own water feature in my back yard. Until then, I'll have my pictures...

A Cute Four Legged Friend

Oh my! It seems it has been a couple of weeks since my last post. I was out on vacation for a bit, but now I'm back. I spent the last week down in Orlando, Florida. There was an abundance of critters, birds, and other things to take in and photograph. Over the next couple of posts, I will share some of those pictures with you, and as always, your thoughts and comments are always welcome.

Of the many critters and such to be found in Florida, these cute little guys are quite common. Some places you can find more of them than in others. They are quite hard to sneak up on and photograph though. You have to be quick (oh, and a longer lens helps too)!

[caption id="attachment_178" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Quick four-legged friend."][/caption]

What's in My Bag

It seems that everyone wants to know what you're shooting with and all associated gear you've got.  I imagine that as I progress my skills as a photographer, I will add to what I currently carry around now. So, what do I use?

1. Nikon D3000


2. 18-55mm kit lens


3. 55-200mm zoom lens


4. Monopod


5. Tripod


6. LowePro Fastpack 100

That's more or less it. Of course, I have a wish list for things I would like to add, especially as I try out and learn new photographic techniques.

Some of the things I'd like to have:

1. Cokin Neutral Density filter kits


2. 5omm prime lens


3. A longer zoom lens


4. External Flash


5. External Flash trigger (I really want to get into off camera flash and try some one light pics)


6. Some California Sunbounces (or similar)

I'm sure there are other things I could want, but I don't want to go overboard and generally try to keep things simple. Also, I see no need to go into debt for this stuff, especially since it is not my full time job. I take to heart what Zack Arias talks about when he discusses what he uses and how he got where he is, and I truly respect what he says (and if you haven't seen his work, you should check it out... click here for Zack Arias' website).  Zack's biggest take away-- DO NOT GO IN TO DEBT FOR YOUR GEAR. Make do with what you have until you can afford what you want.  This also forces you to learn how to use what you have. And I know that I still have a lot to learn about how to properly use my camera and lenses to the best of my ability.

A River Runs

I went for a little hike (yes, a hike... it was about a mile to get to where this was taken) today for my lunch break. It was well worth it too. This was taken in Umstead Park off of the Old Company Mill trail. Apparently at one point there was a mill on this river that got flooded out. There are bits and pieces of it left, mainly a large rock wall and some shaped stones. Not much else. This picture was taken a few yards down from the site. Quite a peaceful area where I could spend many hours photographing and just relaxing. Too bad I didn't have all that much time today. I will have to go back for sure. This was taken at F/18 for 1/6s and -5.0 Exposure Compensation. One day I'll get some ND filters to help with my long exposures. :)

A Winter Flower

I found this the other day on one of my walks at the park. Since it is winter, most everything green is, well, brown. I thought it looked interesting. It looked okay in color, but I like it better in black and white. You may start to notice a trend, if you visit often, that many of the pictures I tend to post are black and whites. I'm not sure what it is about black and white photography that draws me to it. Anyway, thank you for stopping by!

Birds in Flight

I went out earlier this week to take some pictures after being inspired Scott Bourne's post Five Things You Can Do To Improve Your Photography In A Week. Specifically, tip number 3, photographing birds. I thought, you know, I can do this during lunch. The lake is a few miles from the office. Typically there are gulls flying around. I should be able to get SOMETHING.

So I went and had my 55-200mm lens on and was ready to go. Well, the gulls had another idea. Anywhere I was, they weren't. Until I started to leave. Honestly, I think they were messing with me. I'd sit quite and still for a while and wait (10-15 minutes. Yes I know this isn't a HUGE amount of time. However, it was my lunch break, so time was limited). No birds. So I'd start walking back towards the parking lot. As soon as I'd do that, the gulls would fly low and close to the shoreline, fully knowing that they didn't have a camera pointed at them.  Well, finally, I was able to get a few pics, though not as close as I'd like. I must say though, that this was really good practice for trying to aim, focus and shoot a fast moving target. Some of these came out better than others, but I think overall they weren't too bad.

I found that I needed to get a preliminary focus somewhat near where the birds were before I was able to get a better focus lock in a reasonable time. Some of this may be due to the camera and lens (I have a Nikon D3000 and was using the Nikon 55-200mm lens) so they are not the fastest, but they do the job. Next time I go, I want to also work on getting the exposure a bit better. I may stop it down a notch, as I think some of the bird is a little over exposed.

Below are a few shots I got. What do you think?

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The Lonely Boat

I took a little walk today during lunch, not too far from the office. This picture was taken at Lake Crabtree County Park in Raleigh, NC. During the spring and summer, they have boat rentals available. Usually there are many boats on the beach and at the docks. Today, that wasn't the case. The only boat on the lake today was this one lonely boat.

Thanks for visiting!

[caption id="attachment_141" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Lonely Boat"][/caption]

What are these?

I thought it was time to share a few pictures that I took a little while back. One of the photography techniques I enjoy doing is macro photography. I think these would also fit in the category of abstract, as they are more about the shapes and forms than what the actual object is.

One of these pictures was taken during a walk at Umstead Park, the other was taken at a local park. Let me know what you think.