Floral Macros

I wasn't sure today was going to produce any new pictures for me.  I had plans to get up early in search of the path around the Utica Marsh but a look out the window at 4:30am changed my mind.  The overcast sky did not look promising so I rolled over and went back to sleep.

The day eventually turned out beautiful but the list of chores was taunting me.  I attended to as many as I could even managing to take a dip in the pool (all in the guise of cleaning it).  Considering tomorrow was back to work for me I thought I would take it easy tonight even though the sunset was producing some wonderful light.

I was exploring Flickr earlier in the evening and joined a group called 'Floral Landscapes' which appeared to fit with some of my pictures lately.  I decided to change tactic and save the day!  I switched lenses to my Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0 macro lens and went searching around the yard for flowers I could use for this new group.

My first stop was the flower pots outside the garage.  My wife and daughter had planted them a few weeks ago and the sun was lighting the pansies up which I couldn't resist.  There was also a cool spider sitting in his web, but that picture is for another day.

The Light Within
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/400s, 70 mm, f/4, ISO 200

I live out in the country with pasture on three sides of my little acre lot.  I generally can find some kind of wild flowers growing next to the fence.  The horse and cows don't seem to mind me hopping over to grab a few pictures in the field if there is nothing right next to the fence.  Luckily tonight I was able to stay within the yard.

I'm not sure what variety of flower this one is but they seem to thrive right next to my yard.  I usually only have to contend with the barbed wire fence to get a good picture.  I was able to capture this one before it closed for the night.

Hint of Purple
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/200s, 70 mm, f/4, ISO 400

We have a group of hosta plants that line one side of the garage.  Every year I need to break up the clumps and I transplant them to the bank on the edge of my yard.  The plants next to the garage are just starting to bloom but there are a few over on the bank which are further along.  This blossom had already started to close for the night but I was able to lay on the ground and capture the inside.

Blushing Hosta Bloom
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/2000s, 62 mm, f/4, ISO 400

At this point the bugs started to attack!  I attempted to flee across the road to the neighbors flower garden but it was only a temporary reprieve.  I did manage to capture one nice picture before I made my hasty retreat into the house.  I have no clue what type of flower this is but I loved the look of it.  I will say I still struggle to capture flowers with a lot of deep red in them and this one was no exception.

The Crown
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/60s, 58 mm, f/5.6, ISO 400

That was my adventure for the day.  All was not lost and I have a new outlet for these floral macros I have been capturing lately.  It also re-affirms to me that I don't always have to travel far to capture some pictures. There are plenty of subjects close at hand if I take the time to look.

A Day (or Evening) at the Beach

Last night after dinner I headed over to Delta Lake State Park just north of Rome, NY.  This park is around the corner from my house (in the country around the corner is less than 10 miles) and although we visited more when the kids were younger it had been quite a few years since I was inside the park.  I can contribute my renewed fascination to my new obsession in photography.  This spring I went to the park to explore with my camera and and old friend has become new again.

I watched the afternoon clear skies become ripe for pictures as the clouds rolled in and I just knew the sunset was going to be worth photographing.  Everything worked out as I was able to get dinner cooked, gobbled down and my hiking boots on to make it to the park with a little over an hour until sunset.

As I topped the knoll between the parking area and the beach this scene stopped me in my tracks.  I quickly made my adjustments to the camera settings before clicking away.  I needed to get a little closer to remove some unwanted elements in the picture but luckily the wide angle lens still allowed for a nice picture.

Delta Lake State Park, beach area
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/50sec, 32mm f/8, ISO 200

I think I have fallen into a routine every time I visit the park but it has given me some really nice pictures in the past.  There is a path that starts to the right of the beach area and mostly follows the lake's shoreline.  This next picture is right at the start of this path and the view is looking toward the dam which created the lake.  I think on my next visit I'll use the telephoto to show the dam more clearly.

Delta Lake State Park, view toward the dam
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/40sec, 17mm f/8, ISO 200

My normal route through the path didn't yield as many photo opportunities as I had hoped and with a limited time frame before sunset I stopped short to circle back toward the beach.  The advantage of living close and being able to get to the park so late is I generally have it to myself.  The few families or groups left are just finishing up their stay so I'm able to setup practically anywhere.

During the summer you are only allowed to swim during scheduled hours when there are life guards on duty. They even rope off different sections of the beach for the varying abilities (or heights) of the swimmers.  I really liked how the buoyed line appears to go on toward the horizon.

Delta Lake State Park, beach looking west
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/100sec, 19mm f/16, ISO 200

In the first picture of this post, the tree filled area is a small overlook which you can get to in numerous ways but over the years small paths from the beach up the hill have been made despite the best efforts of the park to created stair paths.  I always like following the man made paths as you generally find better picture spots along the way.  Once you get to the top there is a area looking west which allows for a nice view of the lake and the setting sun.

Delta Lake State Park, east overlook looking west
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/8sec, 19mm f/22, ISO 100

The last two pictures are back down on the beach and are my attempt at capturing the sunset using three exposure brackets.  I used Lightroom 4 to correct for lens distortion and exported the pictures to Photomatix.  I used the normal exposure image for the water to remove any effects of ghosting and then tone mapped the three exposures with detail enhancing plus a few adjustments.  I brought the finished image back into Lightroom for a crop and some minor tweaks.

Delta Lake State Park, beach looking west
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/15s, 1/60s, 1/4s, 24mm f/22, ISO 100

Delta Lake State Park, beach looking west
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, 1/4s, 1/15s, 1s, 17mm f/22, ISO 100  

I ended up not staying until the full sunset.  I had neglected to bring bug spray with me and was starting to get eaten alive.  I had captured enough pictures to keep me processing for a few hours.  I'm not sure the sunset and the time just after would have provided any better views of the lake.  But then, considering how close I am, there will always be another day.

+5 Months!

Wow!  It has been almost five months since my last post to this blog.  I wish I could say it was because I have been super busy but the truth is more along the lines of losing my voice.  I have been busy taking pictures, keeping out of trouble at work ;), and getting some things done around the house.  It has just been hard to motivate myself to return to this page as an outlet.  I will try to do better going forward...

I finally moved away from my trusty point & shoot camera and purchased a DSLR.  I spent a long time researching which camera to purchase, changed my mind more than once and settled on the Nikon D5100.  I jumped in with both feet!  I opted not to get the standard 18-55mm kit lens and purchased a Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0 macro lens as well as the Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens.  I have been having a blast with all these new toys.

In late May I had a business trip to southern Georgia and added on a few days in Orlando to visit Disney World.  I had 4 days to explore with my new setup and had such a great time.  This was my first solo trip to WDW and although at times I missed having someone to share events with I loved being able to stop for pictures as soon as something caught my eye.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Meerkat along Pangani Forest trail in Animal Kingdom

Topiary display at Epcot's entrance

Stormtrooper guards at the entrance to Hollywood Studios

A different view of the castle from the rose garden

I've also been trying to get out more around where I live to explore and learn more about the camera/lenses. This has been a little slower for me but I made good use of this over the weekend.  I was able to get up and out early both days.  On Saturday I walked of the Rayhill Memorial Trail in New Hartford, NY and came away with this early morning picture of the swamp.

Morning in the Swamp

On Sunday my plans were interrupted for 30 minutes when I had to stop into work but I ended up making the best of it by walking along the NY State Barge Canal between Oriskany and Whitesboro, NY.  I wish I had put on my longer lens because the amount of animals out that early was surprising.  I did manage to snag a few great pictures of the canal.

Morning on the Canal

The Old Fishin' Hole

I won't make any promises but the goal I set for myself is to be more active on this blog and share this great new hobby (obsession) of photography.

Monochrome

I have discovered a new interest.  I beginning to appreciate the beauty of a monochrome (black & white) image.  When I started this photographic journey I only saw pictures as color.  Sometimes the more colorful the better the picture (or so the way the thoughts in my head formed).  I'm just starting to understand the power of a well created B&W image.  I know I have more to learn about this style of photography but I am excited learn and experiment.  Here are a few of my favorites so far...

Grass Poker

I found inspiration!  I put my 365 project on hold earlier this week.  I felt I was not using it as it was intended to be used.  I'm still reading through my Christmas present book and finding it has been getting my mind in a better photographic mode.  Once I finish The book I know I'll be able to restart my project with better focus.

In the interim I have found a Google+ photo theme that has my exploring with my camera with purpose and working at employing some of what I am learning in my book.  There is a grass poker hash tag curated by Jules Hunter and Martin OBER which has been a lot of fun.  I enjoy the pictures people have been posting to the theme and I find it fits a style of photography I like create.  I think it helps that there is great interaction from the curators and other players.

Here are a few of my early hands in the game...

A 25% Break

I have done 91 days on my 365 project and I think it is time for a change.  Every once in a while I take a really nice picture but I feel I am just snapping pictures hoping for something good.  There is no structure or purpose.  I realize the goal of a 365 project is to get me to take pictures but just taking a picture for the sake of posting one everyday doesn't make any sense to me.  I think I need to redefine my goal and possibly outline a plan to improve my images.

I just started reading the book my kids gave me for Christmas, Photographically Speaking: A Deeper Look at Creating Stronger Images by David duChemin.  I have a feeling this book is going to take a few readings for everything to sink in but it has given me something to think about already.  I'll finish reading it and reevaluate what I am trying to do.

My biggest hurdle will be overcoming the picture of myself as a non-creative person.  I draw but nothing original, I am great at copying but struggle with original creations.  I'm usually best at improving on something someone else has started...

Day 91

Working from home today afforded me some extra time at the end of my day.  I didn't have the drive home eating into my fading sunlight, although by the time I went outside the sporadic sun was behind a sky full of clouds.  I hadn't planned any great adventure so I decided to go for another walk through the fields across the road from me.  There usually is something of interest to be found.

I realize it is only the top of goldenrod but today it was out shining the sun.  I have numerous pictures with the hazy sun in different positions in relation to my subject but I liked this one the best.  With the sun only providing weak ambient light I didn't have to worry about hard shadows on the flower of the goldenrod and allowed me to still show the detail in the flower.

Better or Worse?

A couple of days ago I posted a picture of some ice in the creek.  At the time I really liked the picture and used it as my 365 project picture for the day.  This picture was another of my attempts at HDR processing using the Photomatix software.  I basically let the software do its thing and added a few small tweaks in Elements when it was done.

After staring at this picture for a day or two I feel that I went too far with the processing and ruined the actual look of the ice.  I checked out a few online guides/tutorials to basic HDR processing and didn't see where I might have gone wrong on that end other than a tendency for the HDR software to produce grey looking whites.  Which is basically what I felt happened to this picture.  I found where most HDR processing brings the finished picture into Photoshop or Elements to 'correct' the problem areas.  Some of those problems being the grey whites, the addition of noise, etc.

I couldn't help trying to improve my original picture so I opened Elements, brought the first picture back in as well as the 0 EV exposure picture.  I added the 0 EV picture as another layer in the original HDR picture.  I set the blending to Hard Light and the Opacity to 75%.  I think this dramatically changed the picture and for me brought it back to what I saw in the creek the day I took the picture.  This picture is the non-cropped version.

I would appreciate any constructive criticism on how to better process the picture.  I realize a lot of the choices we make as we process are to achieve a picture that matches either our memory of the scene or a vision we had when we captured the picture.  Still, any tips for processing multiple exposures would be appreciated.  Thanks.

Day 90

Even though it is a lesson I am sure I will forget again it was important for me to suffer through it.  On Wednesday I was playing with the camera in the creek down the road from my house.  The last pictures I took where a three exposure bracket but I never changed the settings prior to putting the camera away.

Move forward one day and I spot a flock of turkeys coming through a field on their way to cross the road (insert joke here).  I perform a quick u-turn in the road so I can grab a few pictures.  In the excitement to capture them I just turned on the camera, pointed it at the turkeys and clicked the shutter.  At the same time they made their dash and then short flight across the road.  That is when I realized the camera took three pictures, two of which where incorrectly exposed.  The turkeys were running so all three pictures had them in different stages across the field.  They were also too far away in the shadows of the woods to get any more pictures.  Lesson learned!

I was able to salvage one of the pictures.  The truly disappointing aspect of this lesson is I was unable to take any other pictures yesterday and when I spotted the turkeys I thought my day was saved.  Not a bad picture, but I would have loved to have clicked off a few more as the took flight and flew over the road.  Next time I should be better prepared.

Day 89

Today was another nice day but a little lacking in sun.  The clouds would not give up any of the sky.  I was going to have to spend some time tonight working on real work stuff so I cut out of work about thirty minutes early.  In the long run work wins because I generally lose track of time when working from home.

My plan was to head back down to the creek for more ice and water pictures before heading to the gym.  I remembered to take my little ten inch bendable tripod with me because I was thinking with the overcast sky I was going to get shutter speeds below my ability to hold the camera steady.  I also thought that with the white ice/snow against the darker stream bed I might need to use multiple exposures to achieve what I wanted.

I have about ten to fifteen different views to process but the one I really liked was of a huge ice sheet against shallow water with visible rocks.  I had the advantage of being able to setup about 4 feet above the ice on a large boulder.  I am really happy with the picture I created.

I captured a three bracket set at -1/0/+1 EV which luckily for me my camera can do by itself.  I brought the three images into Photomatix and used the Enhancer - Painterly option.  I left the sliders as set by this options but brought the final image into PS Elements to tweak slightly.  I adjusted the levels a little and added a high pass filter layer for just the ice.  I used the soft light blending mode for the filter layer.

The resulting image is a little more 'enhanced' than I typically work toward but I think it works by highlighting the structure within the ice.  The painterly option for the enhancer mode in Photomatix helped bring the stones on the creek bed into view and I think they contrast with the ice nicely.

Time to go see if I can create anything else with the other pictures I captured today...

Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions or critiques.  Thanks.

Day 88

Once again I end with a picture I did not start out with for my project picture.  There was a beautiful sunset again tonight and I was over in town just before it hit the horizon.  I intended to get another picture of the Rome Cable tower with the clouds and setting sun behind it.  I had captured a similar view early in my journey with photography and thought I could improve on it with my new knowledge.  I guess I have more knowledge to gain.

I just couldn't get the pictures to look the way I wanted.  I was having a problem with noise due to the JPEG file format output by the camera.  I worked at it far longer than I probably should have but I was determined to get a better picture.  Eventually I turned to another picture to step away from my problem.

I had a picture I initially considered a throw away.  I snapped it while waiting for the sun to move into position.  I had no plans to process it but once I uploaded all the pictures to my computer there was a simplicity to it that I liked.  The picture was basically monochrome to start which made my processing choice fairly easy.

It was just a stack of truck tires behind a parked truck but I really liked the detail in each tire.  There was a lot of texture in all the elements of the picture and it was easy to make the whole scene 'pop'.  I'm beginning to appreciate the possibilities of monochrome pictures.  I have been on a recent run of B&W processing but the images are turning out pretty good.

Day 87

It was another beautiful day here in Upstate New York.  Even though my office is in the basement without any windows it was hard to work until quitting time knowing what a nice day was passing me by outside.  As soon as the day was done I grabbed my stuff and headed for some pictures.  I wanted to try capturing the water flowing over the small dam on the Oriskany Creek.  The light wasn't the best but I took multiple exposures to try to compensate.

I used Photomatix to combine the three exposures using the tone mapping process.  I few small tweaks to enhance the color and then a pass through DeNoise 5 to clean everything up.  The picture turned out better than I expected, still not as good as I have seen online but I'm learning...

Day 86

It was a quick trip weekend.  We ended up leaving our house around 11:30am to make the 2.5 hour trip to my mother-in-law's house.  We spent time with my brother-in-law and his family which was half the purpose for our trip.  My wife's older sister also came over to visit with us and brought the 4 month old black lab we gave her around Thanksgiving.  Love that dog!  That was the other reason for our trip this weekend.  It all worked out well and was a nice weekend to do some driving.

We returned home by 3pm which left me with some time to go out playing with my camera.  I made a fast grocery run to get our supplies for the week and still was in the woods by 4pm.  The Daily Shoot assignment for today was about liquids and I read a blog post about photographing water and ice.  This all pointed me in the direction of the stream in the woods just down the road from my house.  The sun was out providing just enough light to make this a challenge but luckily for me the stream is down in a ravine which blocked any direct sunlight.

I had a great time exploring the stream looking for interesting combinations of ice and water flow.  I was hoping I could slow my shutter speed enough to get the water to look smooth.  I wasn't able to get that glass look that I have seen in some pictures but I'm happy with the effect I did manage to capture.  There was a huge assortment of ice formations which made selecting just one picture a little tough for me.  The one I selected had some nice colors in the rocks just below the water.

I stayed away from a lot of heavy processing with this picture and tried a few new techniques I learned recently.  I edited the picture in PS Elements 10 which I am learning more about every day.  I cropped the picture to the 2x3 ratio which removed some unwanted areas in the top of the original.  Due to my camera only saving in the JPEG format I ran the picture through DeNoise 5 to clean it up.  I then adjusted the levels and increased the saturation slightly.  The last enhancement I made to the picture was to create a layer mask for the ice and a high pass filter to just the ice portion of the picture.  I learned this technique from Nick Gatens yesterday and not only did I discover more about Elements it allowed me to enhance the detail of the ice formation.

I have a couple of dozen more pictures involving the stream and the water/ice theme I need to process.  I had a great time trying to capture these pictures.  I'm almost hoping we get a little more winter so I can try this again.

Day 85

I was determined not to miss the morning sun today.  We ended up getting a dusting of snow last night after the freezing rain stopped.  There really wasn't enough to worry about but I view it as exercise so I shoveled the driveway.  Actually I pushed the snow from one side to the other with my 4 foot pusher shovel.  Hey, I was out at 7am walking back and forth which is exercise, right?

The sky was full of clouds when I started but as I finished up you could see the sun start to work its way through.  My plan was working.  I grabbed the camera and went for a short walk.  I managed to get quite a few nice pictures and even captured a bracketed set to show off the colors in the sky.  The picture I liked for my project was a macro of the property marker on the corner of our yard.  It is just a rusted piece of rebar but I like the texture and color against the sky.

We are heading down to my wife's family farm today to visit with her sister and meet her brother to exchange a few things for our nephew.  I usually have a good time down there with my camera so I'm looking forward to a nice day.  I just hope the weather holds.

Day 84

Wow, I have been home for over four hours and just worked my way to my project picture.  To be honest I grabbed a few pictures of the birch tree at work because of the sunlight illuminating it against some great clouds but was anticipating going for a walk when I got home.  As I'm pulling in the driveway the freezing rain was just beginning.  The birch tree was going to have to be the picture.

My 4 hour distraction started when I spotted the 'Hack This Photo' post with a picture of the Portland Head Lighthouse.  This is a lighthouse I have visited a few times and photographed myself.  I haven't participated in this photo editing challenge before but couldn't resist the subject.  I worked the picture through processing a couple of different ways and ended up learning quite a bit more about Photoshop Elements and processing possibilities.  I have included the two pictures at the end of the post.

The birch tree picture I used for my project is very simple but has great detail within the tree and nice colors provided by the blue sky showing through the white/grey clouds.  The processing on the birch tree was done completely within Lightroom and kept fairly simple.  I think I managed to get quite a lot of it right in camera.

For comparison, here is the SOOC picture:

The first of my distractions for the 'Hack This Photo' page was processed very normally for me.  I minor adjustment of the levels, a pass through DeNoise 5 and then a final pass through Adjust 5.  I selected the Dynamic Brightness preset from the HDR Collection to get me started.  I needed to tweak a few of the settings to achieve the look I wanted.  I like what I ended with, but as I mentioned earlier, very normal for me.

I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try something new.  I decided to edit the picture again this time learning how to apply a texture and create a picture that looked more vintage and aged.  I had just read a post from Melina Ilieva on how to add a texture and create a vintage look for the picture.  This is the article I followed: How to make a photo look like an old photograph.

I am really happy with the way this second picture turned out and I was able to learn a few new things about Photoshop Elements.  This gives me more options when I'm out exploring with the camera.  I have a new trick in my bag...

Day 83

There is a new theme on The Hobby Photographer's Photo-Theme Page for reflections.  I've taken quite a few pictures where the reflection is the subject or the picture involves a reflection so this will be an easy theme for contributions.  Also, Monday's are usually the day I get to contribute the most pictures to the daily photography themes on G+ with Mirror Monday being one I have no trouble finding subjects to photograph.

The barge canal is an easy subject for me because I have to cross over on my way home.  Making my choice to stop even easier is the location of a parking area and nature trail right off the road I travel.  Today was no exception since I noticed the warm weather had melted some of the ice and snow on the canal providing a fairly nice surface for reflections.  I knew as I walked up to the overpass that I would be processing the picture as a monochrome image due to the overcast sky and lack of foliage to provide any color.

I first tweaked the picture in Lightroom to get the best color picture I could.  I then passed the picture through Topaz Labs B&W Effects to help bring out the details in the picture.  The results are a little more pronounced than I usually produce but I think it works well for this picture.

Day 82

I was still on a macro/bokeh vibe for today and I knew exactly what I wanted to photograph.  Yesterday as I was walking around the yard I grabbed a few pictures of some tiny red berries.  I liked their color but the angle and composition of the pictures I had were not what I wanted.  I got home a little later than I anticipated and walked straight out to the back yard to get my picture(s).

The wind was blowing just a little more than I would have liked but I managed to get the top down view of the berries that I wanted.  The background winter grass was a better color than the white snow, trees and grey sky I used yesterday.  I was able to play more with the depth of field on the top down view which suited what I envisioned.

Just for comparison here is the picture from yesterday that got me interested in the berries but just didn't work for me.  To be fair I haven't processed this picture yet.

Day 81

I challenged myself to find a picture without leaving my yard.  It's easy to see the grand landscape or the beautiful sunset but there are pictures everywhere.  Granted, not all of them are worth hanging on the wall or showing everyone you know but they are out there.  That really is what I wanted from my 365 project.  Learning to see the little pictures as well as the big ones.

Day 80

I woke this morning realizing old man winter was trying to get his groove back.  It wasn't a heavy snow but there was 4 to 5 inches that needed to be removed from the driveway.  Early in the morning I usually tuse the shovel over the snow blower as not to annoy the neighbors too much.  It has the added advantage of giving me some needed exercise.  All went well and I thought it was going to be a nice day.

When left the house for work it was a clear morning but by the time I arrived 12 miles to the southeast it was practically a white out.  We haven't seen snow like this all winter.  I continued for the better part of the day.  Around 2pm it once again cleared u and I had some great conditions for pictures.  The only obstacle in my way was the snow in the driveway again that needed to be removed.  I was a little over half done when I decided to grab the camera before all the light was gone.

To be honest the amount of snow wasn't as bad as I make it out to be in this picture.  We probably had another 5 to 6 inches of the fluffy stuff.  I liked the look of getting the camera low and exaggerating the amount of snow.

The sun was low and I might have had the white balance setting incorrect but by processing this as a B&W the picture actually works for me.  I'm including the original and would appreciate any advice on how I could correct it.  There was some interesting colors in the sky but I didn't capture them in the original picture.

This is a good learning picture for me.  I struggled with it while processing before settling on a B&W process.  I learned what can and can not be corrected with Lightroom and/or Elements.

Day 79

I was fortunate enough to get the Sunday errands done before the sun slipped below the horizon.  That good fortune allowed me to venture out into the fields across the road to explore with the camera.  I had a nice hour long walk before the snow started to fall.  Of course, as soon as I returned to the house and put everything away the sun pushed the snow back and had one last light show before ending the day.  It didn't matter, I think I managed to get a few nice pictures and I know I had a good time exploring.

I selected this picture from the few I really liked because of the colors.  Currently my world is a mixture of browns and whites, so a little red and green brightened my outlook.  Another reason for this picture is the definition in the leaves.  I liked the saw-tooth edge and the clearly defined veins visible on each leaf.   And then there is the amount of effort I put into getting this picture.  I was moving a few branches out of my way and practically held the camera above my head to get this view.  I had to work for it and I think it turned out how I saw it in my head.

This is another picture from my walk today that I liked.  I know I over exposed the sky but I was intrigued by the condition of the apples.  The few that remained in the upper reaches of the tree were full of texture and stood out with their faint red color.  I could see evidence that the local deer had finished off any f the apples within reach or those that had made it to the ground.

I still have pictures to look through and process.  It might be worth the effort to process my favorites and write up another entry unrelated to my 365 project.  We'll see if I can make the time later in the week...

Day 78

I looked up the word 'fickle' in the dictionary.  I think it best describes my feelings toward my photography lately...  fickle: given to erratic changeableness.  Yesterday and part of this week I had the blahs, but today with the sun actually making a showing I am feeling better about it.  It also could be due to finding a nice picture on my walk this morning.

We had quite a mixture of rain and snow over the past few days which has the little creek down the road flowing pretty good.  I walked down to see if there was any good pictures involving the water and ice but stumbled upon this little guy.  The sun broke through the clouds almost on cue to provide enough light and make the colors more vibrant.


I need to talk to my neighbor and ask if he would mind me walking up the creek through the woods behind his house.  He owns most of the woods and I think there is just the right mixture of snow and open ground to provide me with some photographic opportunities.  I'll have to check the weather first to see if the sun will agree to my plan.

Day 77

I'm beginning to think there is a downside to returning home after a relaxing, enjoyable vacation.  The scenes around me just pale in comparison to the views and pictures I had a couple weeks ago in Florida.  I need to put those behind me and start looking for the pictures here back home.  They were here before I left and they are still here, I'm just not seeing them.

I tried a few different images for my project picture but I'm not really happy with any of them.  I processed one from each attempt and settled on an interesting railroad bridge.  I end up going under this bridge whenever I need to stop in town after work.  I believe there is a cool picture to be captured, I just didn't quite get it yet.

As you can probably tell from the picture the weather was just starting to make that turn to the nasty.  It had been raining most of the day and just before dark it started snowing.  I wish the weather would just make up its mind and pick one so we can deal with it and get it over.

I'm going to include the other two options I had for my project picture.  The first I thought was interesting because the sign for the handicapped parking space was knocked down.  It had me wondering what the story is behind this scene.

This last picture is the corner of my office.  I was waiting for an installation to complete and was pointing my camera around the room.  I think it would take me numerous trips to clean out my office if I was asked to leave...  I've collected way too much junk over the years.