Not So Rocky Start….
Unlike many of the Pacific Coast shots I see around the internet, this is about as rocky as we get here in New Jersey. I guess they don’t get quite the sunrises that we get here in the east coast. Oh, the grass isn’t always greener…right?
This is an old fashioned blended shot processed in Elements 10, no HDR, just masking in areas from three separate exposures to get the end result.
The Skies The Limit….
My Mom always says….”Go for it…the skies the limit”! Happy Mother’s Day Mom… hope you had a good time yesterday!
A Gorgeous Start….
Not a bad way to start the day….too bad it wasn’t today.
Hope everyone enjoys this holiday weekend!
Still At It….
Yes I’m still trying to get my new computer squared away and I can say that it’s been quite frustrating….. Right now I’m having trouble with getting my shared printer to actually share. The 2 computers that are connected through wireless are showing that the printer is offline. Hmmmm.
In any event it has allowed me to go through some old folders and discover new photos. You may say this is not a new subject and it’s certainly not but I’ve never showed a perspective from here. I like it but am wondering if the shot would be better with the top of the pier was positioned above the horizon line? I don’t know maybe I’m too picky.
I have to apologize for my lack of commenting on your blogs. It’s that time of year, the craziness has begun and won’t have much time until June. I will be lurking and still checking out your photos but maybe not commenting as much. Again I apologize.
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!
Fired Up…Part 3…
Processed this one the same as the last two except I added a Lightroom preset called Yesteryear 1. I did tweak the saturation of colors and added a vignette to finish it off. I like the look!
Fired Up….Part Two…
Processed this old school for me…. slight lens correction in Lightroom, exported 3 exposures to Photomatix, many adjustments in Lightroom and finished with the Topaz Adjust plug-in to bring out slight details. The best of the individual shots.
The Smell Is In The Air…
Geez, the last few weeks have been crazy busy doing all kinds of stuff and although basketball is almost over, softball is right around the corner and that just increases the madness. But I have to say with the temperature reaching 63 today here in New Jersey the smell of spring was in the air.
With that I decided to post this shot from last summer mainly because it reminds me of the times in which we get to stop and take in scenes that this that rejuvenate the body. At least for me anyway….I am not a cold weather person and enjoy more of what the warmer weather brings compared to winter. Although the cold weather is certainly not over I do get a bit fired up when thinking about warmer weather activities. I’m sure some of you are like me in that respect and to you I hope you feel the warmth coming from this picture. her’s to warmer weather!
Turn It Into Art…
With a bit of Topaz Simplify…
I absolutely love what Topaz did for the sky in this shot. This might be a candidate for a metal print. What do you think?
365: Are You Pointed in the Right Direction for 2012…
I’m gathering my thoughts as I write in an attempt to set some goals in all facets of my life.
What about you? Do you have any photography goals you’d like to share with us? Maybe we can help you reach those goals!
365: Restful…
A great spot in Manasquan, New Jersey. On this morning it was so calm that I could have spent an hour or two just hanging around to watch the different cloud formations. This spot in the warmer months would be impossible to shoot brackets due to the boat traffic in and out of the marinas. Nonetheless, I spend quite a bit of time here in the winter months. Hope it makes you a bit more restful after viewing.
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: Faceless Portraits…
Can’t get enough of these B+W’s. Just love the look of them.
Looking back on this shot I wish I would have moved to the left a bit more to minimize distortion from the wide angle lens. As it is I had to go into Elements and use the free transform tool to push some pixels to the right.
Single shot from my Canon XTI and Sigma 10-20 mm lens converted to B+W in Lightroom
To The Stars…
I have to thank Karen B. for helping me with this one! Over at Google+ Karen, Tammy, Gisele and a few others have gathered for a new kind of social media and I used that platform to contact Karen to help me with this shot. I was having a bear of a time trying to select the ferris wheel to add a texture when I got the idea to call on the “Expert in Elements” to school me on the latest and greatest on object selection. After a failed attempt(on my end) to follow Karen’s directions she offered to do a video describing the steps. Low and behold about 25 minutes later Karen orchestrated a fantastic video on how to select those hard to select objects(in my case the ferris wheel) in your photos. I’ll give you a little hint….threshold layer.
Thanks again Karen and I hope to see a few other photo bloggers over at Google+.
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:)
Daybreak in Blue…
…with a touch of red, orange and yellow.
The quiet ocean and deep blue skies made it quite serene this particular morning in Ocean City. I guess the sea will look much more ominous and become much more destructive over the next few days with Irene crashing the party. I wonder if it will do further damage to this wonderfully photogenic pier, my hope is that it doesn’t.
Lookout…..Above…
We were getting ready to leave the ceremony when I turned around and saw that illustrious blue hour sky so I ran across the street to capture this scene. Initially my main focus was the World War II lookout tower and the blue sky, it wasn’t till I got to processing the shot that I realized I had captured the full moon as well. Bonus!
3 exposures tone mapped in Photomatix and finished in Lightroom
Amazing Fireworks…
My second attempt @ fireworks this weekend…much better than the first but still need some work. My first attempt was feeble at best and I deleted every single one of them. In a nut shell….poor vantage point and the wrong lens. I did my homework for this exhibition and it paid off….better vantage point and the same lens, my Sigma 10-20.
Having positioned myself much closer to the action allowed me to almost fill the frame with light….
Clicking the picture will take you to an even larger version for more details.
I’m fairly happy with the result of these shots. My next goal with fireworks may be to trek over to Weehawken and photograph the Macy’s fireworks…..do you all get to see them? Amazing!
It’s All in the Mood…
Weather has a great impact on the overall feel of a capture and this shot is no exception. This facility has a very cold and hard feel to it and the overcast skies certainly contribute to the overall mood of the scene. I can’t imagine shooting this place with a sunny cloudless sky, the mood would be totally ruined.
Reeking an Ugly Head…
It seems like I haven’t posted an HDR in quite some time so here’s my take on an asphalt production facility I pass on my way to work.
Shots like this are sometimes difficult with my Sigma 10-20mm lens. Whenever tilting the lens upward or downward there’s a fine line when a significant amount of distortion reeks it’s ugly head. I narrowly missed that fine line with the above shot. Below is an example of that distortion I’m talking about…….
Even the lens correction tools in Lightroom and Elements can’t totally rectify this ugly head.
More East Coast Sunrise…
Yes, I do post too many sunrise shots but I haven’t taken a decent shot elsewhere in quite a long time. I’m in a little bit of a funk and today didn’t help either.
Meet Sunrise, Sometimes Confused with Dawn…
Sometimes I think I post way too many of these sunrise shots but I guess there are many people who don’t see these too often, so this is for you!
Shot Settings: Sigma 10-20mm @ 10mm, f11, 1/90 sec. at iso 100
In The Distance…
What a way to start the New Year!
Got up about 6:00am and drove to Sandy Hook(25 minutes) to catch the first sunrise of the year and wow what a morning. The temperature was 34 with little to no wind, the clouds cooperated and I even managed to get the waning crescent moon in the distance….. perfect morning for shooting!
I think this warranted Gallery status so I created the gallery post as follows: In Elements, I resized the canvas by 1.75 inches all the way around. Then I resized it again just for the bottom by adding another inch. I created a drop shadow at 127 degrees. Finally, I added the text by using the color picker to grab a color out of the sky for the Inkburrow letters. I like!!!!
On another note, I received my Xmas present from my wife yesterday, An iPad….this thing is amazing! One of the first apps I downloaded was The Photographer’s Ephemeris. A program that shows the direction of the sun and moon overlaid in Google Maps. It tells you the sunrise and sunset times according to your location as well as many other important geographical related notes. Google it and download for your desktop as well.
Warmth…
Nothing implies warmth in photography more than reds and oranges. I managed to barely pull off this shot at this time of day with my Canon 50mm 1.8 set at 400 iso. I have to say this might be the best prime lens for the price in the industry. I think I paid $70 for this versatile glass and although it searches for a little while in low light it really produces a very usable result.
On another note, I would much rather have these warm nights ahead instead of the cold weather that’s on it’s way. I find that my enthusiasm for shooting diminishes quite a bit in the winter months in the northeast. There’s not much to shoot in the winter and although I’m close to the Atlantic Ocean who wants to shoot sunrises when it’s 25 degrees and windy? So, what do you look forward to shooting in the winter months, any ideas to spike my enthusiasm?
