From the September long weekend
Upcoming photo challenges: Hank, I saw your suggestion for a silhouette… I’ll keep that in mind (great idea!!!) I also have a few other ideas for upcoming photo challenges. One involves mushrooms… hey, its been a wet year, if you can’ t fight ‘em join ‘em! Might do some of that if hiking falls thru this weekend. Also maybe something with a fall theme, I saw some cool leaf photos the other day that inspired me – not sure if I can follow that format or not (maybe) … my flash abilities are quite limited. More suggestions appreciated!
Anyway, work is still busy and certain aspects of it are draining more of my creative abilities but for a good cause (web SEO related) so on a bit of a learning curve with that stuff. Oh and the empty nest thing is going ok, thanks for asking. I haven’t had to kick a pair of shoes for two weeks!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Photo challenge - Murals
Monday, May 24, 2010
Photo Challenge, May long-weekend
Great long weekend... couldn't crack the whole todo list but I did get a lot done including a hike! I decided to see if I could do the whole photo challenge on the hike, see what you think.
The hike was west of Longview: Grass Pass, Boundary Pine, & Bull Creek Hills. The full selection on the day can be viewed here
Friday, May 21, 2010
Coasting across the line
Heading into a long weekend... I've worked the past two Saturdays & averaging 14hr days... running out of gas...
Last Sunday Mike & I hit the slopes of Sunshine for a fine day of spring skiing. Late in the day clouds rolled in with a little precip but nothing too major. No legs left by then anyway. 
As is the custom for the spring season Sunshine has been bringing in bands, today it's Nelson's own BC/DC. They do a great job of covering AC/DC (mostly their earlier stuff) ... fun show. Ya just gotta love a band whose lead guitarist wears a cow-suit.
Party on Garth
Meanwhile back at the ranch... Eric didn't ski with us due to a soccer injury so this was the backyard Sunday morning. How many kids were here???
So this long weekend Moe and I are doing another photo challenge thingie. As we both had about a three email limit on setting this up heres the deal:animal (wild – bird or four legs. No pets) scenic (prefer landscape), plant, macro (nature oriented) so four frames total
Not too restrictive but I really really need to get the camera thing going again. If I can combine that with a hike even better... Not sure where Moe plans to post his shots, his blog: it gathers dust.
Then there's the garden, clean out my truck, Silverland agenda, letter for Eric's grad (already late), visiting with friends, Little Britches parade & rodeo, maybe skiing... or a good book & a sunny patch.
Oh & before I forget I uploaded photos from fall 2009 AZ, UT & NV to Zenfolio today from my laptop. A bit easier to scroll thru than on the blog, full screen is nice, but they aren't annotated yet. What do you want fer nuth'n?
Friday, September 25, 2009
21 Day Shoot’n Challenge (fall ‘09)
Fall road trip extravaganza is screaming up on the schedule & I want to get familiar with my camera again before that happens so I figure I’ll revisit the 21 day challenge.
The Focus / Rules
1) Shoot each day but I’m going to give myself some wiggle room on the processing. I know it’s going to be tough just to shoot daily never mind process.
2) Key on landscape / wildlife shots as that will be the subject matter of the upcoming trip.
3) Pay attention to in camera crops, exposure, etc (the technical stuff). I’ve been a little sloppy with that lately just taking extra frames quick-quick run-run.
4) I know I can’t force creativity but getting those juices flowing before the trip is what I really want out of this.
***Post to comments if you're going to join in***
Day 01 (Sept 25, 2009) 
4:53pm| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/100 | f 6.3 | iso 200 | 40mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): exposure (bump up) | b/w preset
Backstory: I had literally five minutes between packing for Three Hills & catching my ride. Thought the b/w was a nice save.
Day 02 (Sept 26, 2009)
4:46pm| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/1000 | f 4.0 | iso 200 | 25mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): exposure (bump up) | sepia preset
Backstory: Break between volleyball games in Three Hills. Ironically I was doing this in the spring when we were in Three Hills for basketball. Hard to find subjects on a windy fall day with crap light.
Day 03 (Sept 27, 2009)
2:03pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/250 | f 10 | iso 200 | 18mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): exposure (bump up) | crop | preset autumn
Backstory: No excuse not to have a good shot today. Might have punched the color too much in the processing though.
Day 04 (Sept 28, 2009)
7:44pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/6 | f 4.0 | iso 200 | 27mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): exposure (reduce) | crop | preset PH city
Backstory: A dog walk shot. I liked what the preset did to the colors. Otherwise I should have gone with a higher ISO (think McFly) & ideally a tripod.
Day 05 (Sept 29, 2009)
7:31pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/8 | f 3.5 | iso 200 | 18mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): shit show
Backstory: Headless chicken... slightly better than the 'out the truck window' shot which was the alternative. If I was processing daily I'd at least have bumped up the iso. That said this process is working. If I am not able to shoot I'm at least plotting & scheming about it. Look at this shot as the low point of the process (lets hope so at least)
(Note: Day 01-05 processed before shooting day 06)
Day 06 (Sept 30, 2009)_020.jpg)
7:26pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/15 | f 5.6 | iso 200 | 55mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): Crop | Preset "Dramatic Ocean" | Exposure (bump up)
Backstory: About a kilometer north of High River, there wasn't much color in the sky as I was hoping for. I need to revist some tutorials on how to deal with this one better.
Day 07 (Oct 01, 2009)
4:58pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/400 | f 13 | iso 200 | 24mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): preset 'Green Door' | fairly heavy crop
Backstory: Was in the field all day surveying but tight schedule so it came down to another five minute shoot before bolting for volleyball. Shooting into the sun gave this shot an interesting contrast combined with the preset. I like this one.
Day 08 (Oct 02, 2009)
7:25pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 0.6 | f 3.5 | iso 800 | 18mm | flash DNF | Tripod |
Processing (Lightroom): none
Backstory: Clouded over, spitting, and quite dark compared to other days at a similar time. I struggled with making these selections as it works as a b/w too. Wasn't crazy about the dead leaves.
Day 09 (Oct 03, 2009)
9:41am| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/3 | f 16 | iso 200 | 33mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): none
Backstory: Trying to get the soft blurred effect hand held. Tripod would have been good for these shots but also had to keep up with my hiking partners. Branches aren't as sharp as I'd like.
(Note: Day 06-09 processed before shooting day 10)
Day 10 (Oct 04, 2009)_020.jpg)
5:38pm| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/50 | f 5.0 | iso 200 | 28mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): exposure | crop | Preset 'Fort Knox'
Backstory: Snowy rainy schleppy day... a few shots around the garden. Like the color, little else, & not happy that I couldn't at least get the exposure & crop in camera. Sigh...
Day 11 (Oct 05, 2009)_001.jpg)
7:05pm| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/30 | f 3.5 | iso 200 | 21mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): exposure | crop & straighten |
Backstory: One of my favorite 'walk in the woods' type places. Notice the crop & exposure. Yup, I see a trend developing.
Day 12 (Oct 06, 2009)_001.jpg)
6:48pm| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/125 | f 5.0 | iso 200 | 145mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): exposure | dust spot removal (for metal post) |
Backstory: Didn't quite capture the feel of the clouds etc (argueably a little late getting to a suitable spot) & the wind was gusting to 100kmph so shooting from the cab using the door to stabalize the shot... well, it was timed between buffets. Used the dust spot removal tool to kill a metal post that was ruining the shot. It was either that or no cows & I wanted the cows. Without getting out of the truck. Now isn't that more than you really needed to know? Anyway, a nice western theme I thought.
Day 13 (Oct 07, 2009)_001.jpg)
5:33pm| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/250 | f 10.0 | iso 200 | 24mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): crop |
Backstory: On the way to Strathmore (volleyball). To fully appreciate this shot you have to imagine Shannon in the passenger seat screaming at me for a full stop on the hiway with water on either side of the road. Like I'm going to drive into the water...
Day 14 (Oct 8, 2009)_001.jpg)
7:06pm| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/8 | f 3.5 | iso 200 | 24mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): none |
Backstory: Frigging cold snowy day. Looks like old George could use a heavier coat. Got the exposure & crop this time.
Day 15 (Oct 09, 2009)_001.jpg)
4:29pm| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/2000 | f 4.5 | iso 200 | 33mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): exposure |
Backstory: The 'insurance shot' but nothing backed it up since I worked until almost dark. This is the story with most of the fall color this year. It was so warm nothing turned & then got slammed by the cold weather. Some leaves have dropped while still mostly green.
Day 16 (Oct 10, 2009)_001.jpg)
11:30am| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/60 | f 5.6 | iso 200 | 39mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): exposure (slight) |
Backstory: Liked the colors & textures in the flash frozen chard. A cold snowy day in the garden freezing my fingers off digging carrots etc out of the half frozen ground, busting into the rainbarrels with a hammer... good times.
Day 17 (Oct 11, 2009)_001.jpg)
6:33pm| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/15 | f 3.5 | iso 200 | 18mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): crop | preset Dramatic Ocean (liked what it did to the colors) |
Backstory: Yet another shot in my garden. Cold & blah.
Day 18 (Oct 12, 2009)
*FAIL*
Backstory: I was out in the morning for at least an hour & half with Tessa (nice and sunny for a change). Saw a coyote, muskrats, ducks, geeze, neat frost formations etc. Lots of shots framed in my head where the exposure & crops were spot on!
(Day 13 -17 processed Day 19)
So that's a bit short of 21 days but I'm setting the brake on this project. By way of a summary it was middling effective in terms of results (mostly due to lack of time & or crappy light) but I think on objective #4 I was successful. I'm ready to go shoot in the sunny south. Especially since there is now a good 4" of snow on the ground!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Windy Point Revisited
Well Moe was kind enough to offer some thoughts on a shot from the spring photo thing (Windy Point in Kananaskis) so I reworked that shot & then tried another & now I'm not sure which one I like best.
I think maybe this last one.
Well I'm hoping to get a few more shots along this line this weekend as the plan is to go backpacking (already pushed off until tomorrow) but since its trying to snow who knows. Yes its June... yes I know... sit down you.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
"Spring" Photo Challenge
So for the upcoming (now past) weekends Moe and I have devised a photo challenge. Because our long weekends don’t line up (Moe resides in Colorado) we agreed on a deadline of Monday May 25
Obviously now edited to include my chosen shots.
The challenge: one shot from each of these ‘themes’:
1) ‘Macro’ plant / flowers
Wouldn't be spring in High River without a little of the white stuff.
2) Landscape shot (could be from a hike or mountains etc)
These are shooting stars in the foreground and Windy Point (where I had been earlier in the day) in the background. Not a lot of bloom out in the hills yet, I had to work for this shot… & I got chewed up by some very aggressive ants too boot.
3) Wildlife
Nature in action… spider whacks a fly! (Yes, it's a fly... didn't take Entomology fer nuth'n) Pretty impressive when you think that fly had to survive the winter only to land on the first flower of spring and WHAM you’re spider food. Stupid fly.
4) Action shot or shot implying motion either frozen or blurred
My back garden birdbath. Only got off three quick shots of this blue jay before he took off & I think I might have over processed… you be the judge.
5) Capturing the ‘emotion’ of spring (happy, new, fresh…)
A young couple enjoying a moment at Sheep Falls… since I wasn’t even thinking of this theme when I took the shot, not bad.
All in all given the two week window I think I could have done better. Honestly did not over apply myself to the task. That said I like the chosen shots. Now I want to see what Moe came up with.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
21 Day Wrap
See previous post for the 21 Shoot’n Challenge… wrapping up some loose ends tonight before diving into what is sure to be another epic week so these are some runner-ups to the daily shots from that challenge & a few thoughts on what I learned from the exercise.
One of the first things I learned was how to add some code to the otherwise ‘stock’ blog so I could split up the longer posts. I don’t know HTML or whatever this is but in the same way I take apart cars and put 'em back together… alls that matters is that it works eh.
I also finally went to the trouble of downloading some presets for Lightroom off the interweb and although that was only one short session it was worthwhile and I’ll do more of that.
In terms of the shoot I started paying closer attention to exposure etc, in many cases shooting manual. I also started paying closer attention to my in camera crops. In general I could have taken more time, used a tripod more often, but this is the real world.
In terms of ‘seeing’ I think that was the biggest thing I drew from this challenge because some days there wasn’t anything cool to shoot like the moon or birds and I had to get creative. I also found myself noticing the weather and the light more and actually timing things such as work hours etc to give me the best shooting opportunities. I also got out in some weather that would otherwise have clipped my wings. (Spring is still not here … another 6” of heavy wet snow last night.)
Poor old Tessa, could not figure out why I wouldn't bring a gun to go after those pesky squirrels...
One last thing, a thankyou to Moe for joining in and providing some input. He does the 'headless chicken' thing too with similar gear so I look forward to further challenges. And with luck some side by side shooting when we can get together hopefully in the fall at the Big Ditch.
Monday, March 2, 2009
21 Day Shoot'n Challenge
This is a personal challenge I’ve made for myself to pull up out of a bit of a rut I’m in. Basically for the next 21 days* I plan to go on a short shoot each day and then post the best shot.
The rules:
1) Nothing from the archive, that day’s shot must be taken, processed & posted that day.
2) Mix it up so some landscape / macro / wildlife / indoors if necessary.
3) No captions (the cheeze stands alone).**edit on Day 7
4) Creative processing as required… I need the practice.
5) And finally, no cat photos.
I’ll just keep editing this post to add the new photos.
*(21 as that is how long it’s supposed to take to form a habit)
Day 1 (March 3, 2009)
12:42pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/1000 | f 5.6 | iso 200 | 55mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): punch | crop | black clipping | vignette
Backstory: A bright melting kinda day so I went out for a longer lunch (since I actually had a secretary for a change) and pruned my pet apple tree… yes, only I know where it is… and I took about 30 shots of various things… it was hard to choose but catching the drop handheld made this one the daily selection.
Day 2 (March 4, 2009)
7:33am | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/1000 | f 5.6 | iso 200 | 39mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): autotone | punch | black clipping | vibrance
Backstory: A truly ‘random’ shot as I was fueling my truck in the ‘yard’ … didn’t even notice I was still in manual mode from the day before. Oddly enough it turned out better than subsequent shots that I tried harder with. Except I think it looks crooked. Worked thru lunch then went to watch basketball so hooped so to speak… only four shots to choose from.
Day 3 (March 5, 2009)
8:07am | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/160 | f 9.0 | iso 200 | 25mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): crop
Backstory: Crapola day on the roads so I thought I’d try and shoot the blowing snow. Wasn’t intending for this to be my shot… went for a detour after work and shot some deer and saw some eagles but the deer were out of focus and the eagles too far back from the road. I would have moved closer except it was private property, it was cold, and I was hungry. Hope to get an eagle shot yet though as they are in migration mode.
Day 4 (March 6, 2009)
6:20pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/640 | f 5.6 | iso 200 | 55mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): crop | angle | punch |strong contrast preset
Backstory: Two shoots today, worked from home so a hike mid-day looking for birds. Eagles had moved on with the better weather, woodpecker eluded me high in the cottonwoods and the ADHD chickadees just plain pissed me off. Went out again in the evening with Tess and took about 50 shots along the river. This one I’m pretty happy with.
Day 5 (March 7, 2009)
5:38pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/100 | f 8.0 | iso 200 | 31mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): crop | punch |strong contrast preset
Backstory: Saturday, you’d think I’d take lots of shots… felt like crap, then cleaned up the garage (various messes back to November Silverland window project… so really messy) and finally got around to a shoot just before dinner. This is a much loved truck that lasted from when the kids were preschool. When it was finally time to move along those items this one became ‘garden sculpture’. Tonka makes good stuff… check out all the scratches… and it used to be bright yellow.
Day 6 (March 8, 2009)
7:14pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/100 | f 5.6 | iso 200 | 18mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): crop | punch | autotone | custom white balance | cloned out some branch tips on right side of frame
Backstory: Snowed and blew overnight and was freaking cold all day. Earlier shoot didn’t pan out so went out again after dinner with Tess with an architecture shot in mind. Had a destination in mind but the wind was freezing my face so I went to plan B, then C, but this church – St. Benedicts Anglican Church – had always been a favorite of mine. The plan was to process in B&W but retain the red door. Didn’t like the result but kept the shot. Cosy little church inside, my great Aunt’s place of worship… I was last there for her funeral.
Day 7 (March 9, 2009)
12:19pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/800 | f10 | iso 200 | 300mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): crop | exposure adjustment (slight) | punch preset
Backstory: This is in the 'yard' at work, mama and yearling Mule deer, two of a group of ten or twelve that have been munching on the bushes. Bonus shot as I was out at lunch shooting the especially puffy chickadees and was just about done freezing my fingers (-20 plus the windchill) when they popped out of the windbreak.
Edit: Day 7:
** So, modification to rule #3 as after some consideration (and criticism from Moe) I’ve decided to include the metadata and backstory for each photo. It was my objective that this wouldn’t be required and I still maintain that it is not… the objective for each photo is that it stands alone with no explanation but I agree it does make things more interesting in particular since he is participating in this challenge. So thanks for the input Moe, hope you like.
Day 8 (March 10, 2009)
12:08pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/200 | f6.3 | iso 100 | 300mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): crop (landscape to portrait) | autotone | punch | exposure (slight) | custom white balance | vibrance
Backstory: Shoot'n birds on my lunch break. Black-Capped Chickadees, Red Polls, Red-Breated Nuthatch, female Pheasant (who decided not to hang around in a most explosive fashion), and this little Downy Woodpecker. Also got a so-so shot of the full moon at dusk with an orangy glow but limited time so couldn't set it up the way I wanted... ok, I would have burned supper if I'd gone further than the middle of the street.
Day 9 (March 11, 2009)
12:17pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/100 | f14 | iso 100 | 75mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): punch | autotone
Backstory: Be vewy vewy quiet... I'm hunting Wabbits!
11:59pm... holy crap better post!
Ok, a small edit past the deadline... what a day. Long story... how about the shoot options. Full(ish) moon was setting in the west on the way to work and I thought I could get it on the skyline with the mountains and bonus a bit of alpenglo... but I had to wait for a school bus and by the time I got to the point from which I wanted to shoot it was gone behind the mountains. All the times I've watched that happen it never moved so fast as when I wanted to shoot it. Maybe I'll get another chance while its fairly full. Anyway, another walk-about in the yard at work for todays shot.
Day 10 (March 12, 2009)
7:49 am | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/125 | f5.6 | iso 200 | 300mm | flash DNF | Tripod |
Processing (Lightroom): punch | custom WB | crop (landscape to portrait + | contrast (slight) |
Backstory: So, same trick as yesterday only ten minutes earlier and reasonably successful. Ok for the web, the crop and noise would show up in an enlargement but that's a limitation of the gear. After work coyote, eagles etc on a short drive and poke by the river but they weren't stellar &/or focus issues. Cold weather finally broke (got above freezing today) so that helps a lot!
Day 11 (March 13, 2009)
9:40am | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/250 | f13 | iso 200 | 20mm | flash DNF | Tripod |
Processing (Lightroom): autotone | punch | custom WB | crop | contrast (slight) |
Backstory: A few hours working from home this morning and then off to Three Hills for Zones basketball so you get today's shot early and tomorrows will undoubtedly be late. Went out to shoot the Chinook arch this morning, and it shows in this shot a little bit, but I liked this shot with the cattails best. We haven't seen too many Chinooks this winter, at least not strong ones, so it is a welcome sight.
Day 12 (March 14, 2009)
10:13am | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/400 | f 13 | iso 200 | 24mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): autotone | punch | custom WB | crop |
Backstory: All along Hwy 27 between Olds and Three Hills there were signs of recent drifting and Shannon actually spotted this one. We also saw the first gophers of the year and hungarian partridge. I got out later in the afternoon from Three Hills for a few shots but the evening light was what I wanted and it didn't happen before game time.
Boys played incredible ball and lost in the gold medal game by 11 points to the best team I've seen play all year. Good news is because their zone is so competitive they get a wildcard slot to go to provincials! So no banner but a shot at the big show... not bad for a squad of mostly grade 11's.
Day 13 (March 15, 2009)
7:43pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/60 | f5.6 | iso 800 | 55mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): crop | black clipping | contrast | clarity | vibrance | saturation
Backstory: This the ancient neon sign on the Wales theatre here in High River. The theatre dates back to 1927 and has seen a few upgrades since then but still has the 'kettle' style popcorn popper, makes it hard to walk by the place when its open.
I was out earlier today, but without the camera... dog needed a long walk. Left it a little late and didn't take my tripod so a few ok pictures that were just a little too shakey to use. This one will have to do.
Day 14 (March 16, 2009)
3:49pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/500 | f9.0 | iso 200 | 155mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): | custom WB | exposure (slight) | crop | contrast | punch |
Backstory: In the 'yard' on a break at work. Wasn't feeling overly inspired but thought I'd better get something 'in the can' in case tonight got busy & holy crap a Pileated Woodpecker! Sneaky thru the trees but she was intent on tearing apart that dead aspen. I took about 50 frames and think this is one of the better ones.
Day 15 (March 17, 2009)
7:45am | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/400 | f7.1 | iso 200 | 235mm | flash DNF | Tripod |
Processing: None
Backstory: Yeah it's that time of year already... had to step out of the office for a sunrise shot. Decided not to process this one as it was pretty good without any and I figured since that is what Moe is doing I'll give it a shot.
Day 16 (March 18, 2009)
10:11am | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/2 sec | f5.0 | iso 200 | 39mm | flash DNF | Handheld (braced) |
Processing (Lightroom): crop | b/w high contrast preset |
Backstory: To the boards due to time needed to go watch basketball part of Thursday & Friday & calls out (no secretary) so couldn't wander far from the phones today. Then bolt dinner, run to meeting & then the meeting 'debrief' (aka Guiness or the part of the meeting where things actually get decided) and I've got 35 min to spare... so long story short I shot around the shop today & came up with this. Good practice hand-held with longer exposures shooting for some bokeh. I'm finding that if I narrow my focus (no pun intended) I get better results than if I just wander around.
Day 17 (March 19, 2009)
8:15am | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/60 | f4.5 | iso 200 | 24mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): punch | direct positive |
Backstory: Sunrise-fail, Eagles-fail, Geese-fail, ... I am however happy with my shots of the river. Winter is finally loosening her iron grip. This open water is home to ducks & geese right now so it's the drive thru for eagles. All of the above really warry... perhaps they've been getting shot at all winter or something.
I noticed in my processing I have been cropping a lot so I've been concentrating on getting the 'crop' I want in camera. Also watching the exposures closer and trying to shoot manual when possible. That and not falling in the water... that's pretty key (stupid ice)
Day 18, 2009 (March 20, 2009)
8:10pm| Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/5 | f3.5 | iso 800 | 18mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): Autotone | PH Green Door |
Backstory: Happy first day of spring! Ok I totally blew the deadline for the upload so I downloaded some Lightroom presets to play with and found one I liked for today's shot. Was in Picture Butte for Provincials basketball and it's a small town so it's easy to get to edge of it on foot. Warm day and it really felt weird to walk on soil that wasn’t frozen solid.
Day 19 (March 21, 2009)
7:55pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/30 | f3.5 | iso 200 | 18mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): Cloned out a few branch tips | (Preset) Intensive Heaven |
Backstory: Really nice earlier and then some kind of cold front coming in and grey sky... This shot turned out kinda neat, the orangey glow is from the adjacent coachlight & the preset I used intensified the blue tones in the sky. The sculpture itself is kinda weird looking... in the core of High River, been there as long as I've lived here so I don't know its story.
Day 20 (March 22, 2009)
4:29 pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/320 | f13 | iso 100 | 41mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): Autotone | Punch |
Backstory: 4"-6" of wet spring snow overnight. Mother nature: feel the love.
Day 21 (March 23, 2009)
8:16pm | Canon Rebel EOS 300D | 1/13 | f5.0 | iso 800 | 25mm | flash DNF | Handheld |
Processing (Lightroom): Autotone | PH Naturally BW |
Backstory: So I was hoping for an eagle shot to end the challenge, or a nice bright spring shot... then I was trying to find the owl at dusk (could hear him but couldn't find him) so after all that I settled on a photo that fits the mood of the day. In the bleak of winter... 'cause this snow really screwed up my plans for the week.
And that's a wrap. I'll make one more edit on this post and that will be tomorrow to get all philosophical on ya about what I've learned from this... or to maybe post a few of the runners up. (Actually that might go in another post) And Moe and I are cooking up another challenge more suited to our busy skeds, but that won't happen for a week or so as I have collected a few loose ends that need to be tied off. Like a few days are gonna make a dent in that list...
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