Day 252 (9 Sep 2012) Night Flows

On my way home this evening I saw sight I wanted to shoot, so I turned around, found a place to park, and tried to capture a good image.  I wasn’t really impressed with what I shot (limited access due to road and private property is what I’ll blame tonight, lol).  So as I walked back to my car, I heard rushing water.  I kept walking to the back of the lot and discovered a small creek.  I swapped out my battery (the indicator was blinking) and took some shots.  There was a motion light that stayed on for many minutes and I didn’t realize it was affecting my images, but I did end up with a couple after it shut off that I was able to tweak to my liking.

Normally I would have been home much earlier, but I was spending the afternoon hanging several of my prints at a local coffee shop as the featured artist for September!  So, if you are in the New London, CT area this month, swing by the Bean and Leaf and help a starving artist buy more lens! 🙂

18 mm, 30 sec, f/8.0, ISO 400 (Night Flow)

Day 251 (8 Sep 2012) Snow White, or A Child’s Tale

As you probably know, I try to participate in as many of the photo challenges SeeingSpotsPhotography hosts/co-hosts, as they are fun, and almost always push the envelope of my skills and/or creativity level.  This month’s challenge was “to bring to life an image that represents both details from your favorite childhood tale AND your feeling about that part of the tale.”

After polling friends on Facebook for ideas, I settled on something to do with Snow White.  I picked the scene where the step mother/witch gives Snow the poised apple.  That was always the saddest part of the movie; betrayal by her own family.  These day’s that part is sadly not limited to a fairy tale; thousands of children are betrayed by their own families: violence, abuse, irresponsible decisions, etc.  Even in “good” families children are often neglected by parents who put career/success before family.  I do believe that most parents’ intent is to provide the best childhood for their kids, but never learned from their parents the best methods and are perpetuating the mistakes.  One thing I’m doing, well before I get married and start a family, is reading books about family, raising kids, being a good husband/man, and talking to/observing families I know.  I know I won’t be perfect, but I hope to build upon the many good things I learned from my parents and go forth from there.

Anyway, I didn’t intend to go off on a tangent, but anyway, here are the two images I created today.  I “like” the first one the best for this challenge, but the second is good too.  Which one do you think I should submit?  I’m also open to suggestions on editing these (not gonna reshoot), if you think a different technique could help them.

 

I had a different idea, but ended up getting home too late last night after the fair to try the idea I had with my friend, so I did this all solo; tripod, infrared remote, flashlight, and a bit of thread to hold the apple.

Day 244 (1 Sep 2012) Mt. Marcy, ADKs

Back on Sept 1st, 3 friends and I climbed Mt. March, which is one of the ADK’s “46ers” and the tallest peak in the state of New York at 5,344 feet (1,629 m).  It was the second attempt for two of us, who attempted to climb it back in May, when the last several miles of trail were still covered in snow and ice.  This time the trail was dry 🙂

It was a great hike, with some spectacular views from the top, and a great time with friends!  Here are some of my favorite photos from the day:

Reflection

Spiders Web

Edge of the Path

Nestled Berries

Cloud Break over Mt. Marcy

Marsh Crossing

View From Mt. Marcy’s Summit

Carin
Rock Pile

My Accomplishment

Day 247 (4 Sep 2012) Pinecone

Sunday while hiking I picked up this little guy, I was looking for more, but I was just trying to get down the mountain.  One of my knees started acting up, so my complete focus was on “down”, down to the car.

I still haven’t gotten to processing, or even looking at, the photos from my trip.  Between work and getting some homework done, I just got them downloaded into my computer.  I’ll work on them after Thursday, and hopefully get a few up this week(end).

60 mm, 1/50 sec, f/4.0, ISO 200, 60mm macro lens (Casting a Shadow)

60 mm, 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200, 60mm macro lens (Pinecone)

60 mm, 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200, 60mm macro lens (Negative Space)

60 mm, 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200, 60mm macro lens (Desaturated Cone)

Day 242 (30 Aug 2012) Walking Around

Today I had a little time between work and class, so I took a stroll around the edge of the campus, away from all the buildings and students.  It was kinda relaxing to have nowhere to be for a while and have my camera 🙂

Though when I was shooting the second photo, I could hear what sounded like mini-zaps, “zzzzzzzppptt”.  It was a little unnerving!

 

53 mm, 1/100 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100 (Hydrant in a Field)

29 mm, 1/200 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100 (High Voltage)

55 mm, 1/500 sec, f/8.0, ISO 100 (Power Transmission)

Tomorrow right after work I head up to the ADKs for 4 days of camping and hiking w/ some good friends.  I may post tomorrow, but possible not again until Tuesday or Wednesday.  I’m planning on setting up some of my prints Tuesday evening, after work, with a friend at a local coffee shop as a gallery!!  I’ll deff post a photo of the prints 🙂

Day 176 (24 June 2012) Coffee

Today just before leaving the camp I was at I noticed this old crate and knew I just had to shoot it.  I don’t know why it was there, or for how long, but it intrigued me.  So I took a few minutes to shoot it before leaving.

42 mm, 1/60 sec, f/5.0, ISO 100 (Coffee Crate)

Day 170 (18 June 2012) Important Paper

The photos below are of some very important paper that almost all of us use on a daily basis, most don’t even realize it.  As you may have guessed, it’s an Air Cleaner Filter, similar to what is used in your car (this one is from a mower).  The filters job is to remove dirt and other particles that can, over time, cause your engine to wear out quicker.

It’s important to ensure your filter is clean for two primary reasons:
1. so that it isn’t letting any dirt past
2. a dirty filter restricts the air flow, reducing the fuel efficiency and power of the engine.

An easy way to tell if you need a new one, is to pull it out, and look through it at a bright light.  If you can’t see the light, then it’s time to replace it!  Depending on how bad it is, you may notice the difference in fuel economy (esp. if you calculate it), and maybe it’s “pep”.  It’s also a good idea to ensure you have a recent tune up and that your oil is changed on schedule.  All these things help the longevity and efficiency of you car’s engine.

Day 43 (12 Feb 2012) The Tracks

So I probably should appologize for yesterday’s posting, but I’m not.  This is MY blog, after all 😉

But seriously, I spent the day with my gf, and since it was our Valenties Day, spending any time in “photography” would have been to have ignored her.  Even though she is a budding photog, too, yeasterday was “us” time.  But I didn’t want to miss a day on this project, so I comprimised by snaping a pic of the dipping oil as we were about to leave the resturaunt.

But now back to using my real camera vice my old Droid Eris.  The photo’s from today were taken at the same location that I wanted to shoot when I posted the “hope” shot on Thursday.  It was 25F and windy today, so I didn’t want to linger, but I still hope that I was able to capture the beautiful sky and the Thames river.  I will try the night version again, so stay tuned!

18 mm, 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO 100, Canon 18-55mm kit lens (The Thames and the Tracks)

18 mm, 1/50 sec, f/11, ISO 100, Canon 18-55mm kit lens (Side-Tracked)

Day 6 (6 Jan 2012) My Back Deck

Howdy y’all!

Sitting at my table, working from home, I looked out my sliding glass door onto my deck and thought, “I bet I can find something interesting to shoot.”  I think I did OK, but you be the judge.  As you can tell, there is more than one photo, again. I’m sure you won’t mind if on occasion (or frequently) post more than one photo.  If so, tough!  This is my blog 🙂

55mm, 1/40 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, converted in Adobe Lightroom (umbrella stand for patio)

55mm, 1/40 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, enhanced in Adobe Lightroom (patio table)

55mm, 1/40 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100, converted in Adobe Lightroom (umbrella stand for patio)