A Gorgeous Start….
Not a bad way to start the day….too bad it wasn’t today.
Hope everyone enjoys this holiday weekend!
Another Beautiful Morning….
First shot is SOOC and then I decided to utilize Topaz Simplify to give it a painterly look….
Have a great weekend!
Before The Crop…
My little trek over the past weekend took my through some of New Jersey’s finest farmland. There certainly aren’t any crops at this point in the year but I’m assuming that if the warm weather continues this farm will be filled with our famous “Jersey Tomatoes”. You know, they don’t call it the Garden State for nothing.
365: Through A Window…
Through a window, straight out of the camera and into your blog reader, this beautiful sunset presented itself to me a few weeks ago. Sorry for such infrequent posting and comments on your blogs, I guess I’m kind of losing steam with my third 365 challenge. I do hope to get out the next few days to capture some early fall scenery. Hopefully sparking a new wave of enthusiasm for blogging. Hows everyone else feeling at this stage of the challenge? Just wondering…..
365: Calm
During our camping trip I try to get out at least one morning and take a few shots of the surroundings. Lake Ocquittunk is just a short walk from our campsite and on this particular morning it was as calm as can be.You know that typical August morning with heavy, humid air and not a stitch of wind. In fact not even a ripple of water could be seen. Ahhhh, just the way I like it.
NJ is Under Water…
Just a few shots of the preparation and water from Irene. Many parts of NJ are in bad shape. We got lucky!
Considering we got 11 inches of water, outside my house is not too bad.
The rest were taken this morning just to show that the Atlantic is still angry with Irene.
El penthouse de las casas del pajaro….
I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to post so I post both. The second appears to be more painterly, more art than photograph.
With the onset of Irene this might be the only house not to be flooded:)
Just Another Boring Sunrise…
As you can see the sky was alive this morning in Ocean City. With a 30 second exposure you can obviously see the movement in the clouds but not enough to cover the lights of Atlantic City just above the jetty.
I was fortunate enough to meet another photographer by the name of Jeff and he and I were here every morning like clockwork. He was a nice guy and a pretty talented photographer. His version of this can be seen here. I really like his portrait version on this day.
The shot below was taken about 3/4 hour later as the sun made it’s way above the horizon, seems like a completely different day.
Believe It or Not…
…I’m really happy with the way shot turned out.
Part of our first day during our camping trip is always dedicated to finding something new within a short distance from the camp site. Buttermilk Falls happened to be a little farther than anticipated and basically in the middle of nowhere but well worth the effort. At approximately 150 to 200 feet high(depending on who you believe) these falls are the highest in New Jersey.
We got lucky all weekend and our trip here was no exception…normally water flow at these falls is minimal at best in August but due to our recent rains the water was tumbling nicely down the rock face. Perfect for that silky look with slower shutter speeds. Cloud cover kept contrasts to a minimum but still allowed me to photograph all the great shades of green and yellow without blowing out the highlights at the top of the falls.
I’m pretty excited with the cache of photos I have for the next few weeks so stay tuned and always let me know your thoughts, please. As always thank’s for stopping by.
The Weekend Away…
A quick break from my week-long postings of the 59th St. pier to bring you a few shots from my annual camping trip to the northwest section of New Jersey. This scene was just a short walk from our campsite and the first sequence I processed from the whole batch.
Nothing too special here as the scenery near our campsite was not visually appealing. Wish there was a person standing on the bridge overlooking the water for added interest. What do you think, is it missing something?
Also, I’m sharing a weekend photography contest brought to you by Brian Matiash on Google+. Submissions are due tomorrow(I submitted this one), so if your interested go here.
The Forecast Called for ….
… pain, from a photographers standpoint because the weather experts were predicting absolutely clear skies and little to no wind. Which basically means boring shots and lots of biting gnats. Good thing only one of those came to fruition.
As you can see the sky had it’s own way of dealing with the absence of clouds so, I just snapped away….and it’s a good thing I did because those damn gnats were having a feast on any exposed skin, which resulted in most of these shots being soft and blurry. It’s never the photographers fault right?
Within minutes the sky transformed itself from a single diagonal ray to multiple rays….. filling the sky…
And just when I thought the fun was over with the sun rays all but gone, I snapped this…
So despite the pain of a few dozen bug bites, all in all it was a great morning. The skies cooperated and the bug bites didn’t itch…..what else could I ask for…… a few clouds please? And boy did I get some, so stay tuned.
Sunburn…
…in botanical terms:)
I really like the perspectives one can get when roaming around a arboretum. The DOF at f/4 and 168mm can bring about amazing bokeh!
I’m Flying Solo, I’m Flying Solo…
Shortly after shooting my last post I came across this boogie board, did a little rearranging of the subject and snapped off a few brackets. After running some of the brackets through photomatix and not being too impressed with the results I decided to export to Elements and mask in some of my favorite parts of each shot. I then finished it off in Lightroom.
Patti made a comment on one of my last posts about single exposure shots and it got me thinking about trying to focus a bit more on singular shots instead of blended or tone mapped photos. Well, I’m going to try and go back to basics, now I don’t know if this post will conform since I blended a few images, but it’s a start.
PS: This may be hard to accomplish now that I just viewed a HDR webcast with RC and Matt on Kelby Training website……. very informative and worthy of a look! It will be re-aired sometime over the next 2-3 days so look for it at www.kelbytraining.com/webcasts.
Single shot with my Canon XTI and Sigma 10-20mm and blended in Elements and finished in Lightroom.
To Standout in a Crowd…
In today’s world what makes common, everyday sights standout? With millions and millions of photographers out there what makes viewers gravitate to your photo’s? Is is your specific style, subject, processing technique? If you care to share your thoughts on your own photography please do, would love to hear it. I guess that’s my thought of the day. Besides paying the bills, painting my garage, etc, etc:)
Naturally….
What a perfect way to satisfy the nature theme of our challenge…. I present to you the Nature Center at Allaire State Park. This place is off the beaten path and it looks like it hasn’t been used in quite some time. A perfect scene for HDR photography. High contrast in the sky and shadows of the overhang. Speaking of HDR, for those still skidish about indulging in this popular technique, the modern day guru of HDR, Trey Ratclif, has a new and concise tutorial on the use of Photomatix. That video can be found here. I think you should check it out to see just how easy it can be.
4 shot HDR processed in Photomatix and finished in Lightroom
Made in the Shade…
Next to the pool, the only other place to be while in Vegas was under these palm trees. 105 in the sun, 90 in the shade and 70 in the pool…….. but it’s a dry heat…yea right!
This Guy is Roaring……
If your someone who loves nature and landscape photography you need to check out the premiere episode of photographer Peter Lik’s new series on the Weather Channel. You can find it here. 22 minutes and nearly commercial free….not bad. The only problem…he’s another Aussie!
He was Trying to Say Something to Me…
As I was taking shots of this little guy he keep shuffling back and forth on the perch and I could faintly hear him trying to say something to me:) At first I thought he was trying to tell me not to get any closer or else I would lose him as a subject. I didn’t stop moving closer and as I got up close I could hear him say something to the effect of “That Aussie guy…….Where’s that Aussie guy?” Now I only know 1 or 2 Aussies and only one through photography so I can only assume………….I don’t know Ron…you’ve got a reputation everywhere!
Simple Sign of Spring….
I had to get outside today. It was still fairly cold but winds were lite and my property is a mess from the winter. Amongst all the clean-up I did see a few signs of spring. Several of the bushes and trees have started to sprout buds. I like how this shot seems to have a mirror effect to it. And that dark background…sweet.
We Will Drink No Wine Before it’s Time…
Just a small portion of the vineyard at the Renault Winery in southern New Jersey. Norto, I suppose, is a particular grape grown on the winery property. I saw a few other markings along my walk but I liked the lighting on this shot the most. I had to run it through Photomatix as a single exposure HDR to open up the Norto sign. It worked pretty well.
On the Positive Side of Negative Space…
This is a shot that I’ve sat on for quite some time and certainly a change from the detailed shots I usually take, I love the simplicity of it.
Play Misty for Me…
Remember that movie? Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut.
Anyway, I took this a few minutes before my last post and the lack of any substantial color prompted me to go with B+W. Again experimenting with slow shutter speeds helped produce this misty/foggy look. I just wish the ocean was a little more angry to produce more dramatic waters. But, all in all not bad.
Also, I experimented with a more modern take on the Gallery series, do you like?
Shot Settings: Sigma 10-20mm at 10mm, f16, 4 sec. and iso 100
New Jersey’s Cement Life Preserver….
Surrounding the Manasquan jetty are these man-made cement barriers. On this particular day they were taking a beating from the wind and waves of the Atlantic. I was the only idiot out there I guess because the temp. was 44 and the wind was howling a constant 30mph. Wish I brought my gloves….
Shot settings: Tamron 17-50mm at 17mm, f11, 1/10 sec, iso 100 and tripod
