July 14, 2008
We took a drive to Northfield, Minnesota yesterday. Very pretty town. We have to go back sometime when we can get there a bit earlier so we can look around a bit more. Spotted a few places that will be nice in the golden hours that we have to see. Maybe stop for a beer while we wait for the sun to go down or get the shots, then stop for a pastry and coffee in the morning!
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July 13, 2008
It’s been a while. I’ll be getting a new post up ASAP. Thanks for your patience!
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July 2, 2008
Here is the Beretta 92FS in the lightbox.
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July 2, 2008
I built a lightbox. All told, I spent under $30 for a plastic storage container, tissue paper to diffuse the light, a few hardware clamp-on lights and a few “daylight” lightbulbs. It did not take long at all to build.
This Glock 17 and a Beretta 92FS were the first test subjects.
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June 29, 2008
We took a quick trip to Bush Lake Park specifically for a few photos. We let the dog play in the lake for a little while as I took a few pictures. I have some great ones of him doing some “jowling.” Maybe I’ll have to post them sometime.
Anyway, I did get a few decent pictures of a dragonfly. Unfortunately, I was not able to get into the perfect spot so there is a small branch in the way. Also, I was not able to get a good, perfect picture where the whites and blacks worked just right. Not bad all in all, though. I like them.
I also got a good candid shot…
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June 16, 2008
It was a GREAT weather weekend. We spent quite a bit of time in the convertible. I’ve got a bit of a sunburn to prove it.
Stillwater, Minnesota was very busy. I guess everyone thought the same thing we did; it would be a nice weekend to hang out by the water and watch the people. The river was flooded badly. Only the smallest of the boats was able to get under the bridge. Anything larger than 17 feet in length or so had to wait for the lift bridge to go up. The water was up and over the sidewalk.
I was able to get a few decent pictures. I am still working on getting them ready for publishing.
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June 8, 2008
I decided to stop at the flower shop and pick up some test subjects. We picked up a few flowers and a couple of vases for a photo shoot.
I set up with a black backdrop on a table, pointed a couple of shop lights using “daylight” bulbs at the flowers and shot from various angles and with various apertures. I used my Tamron 2.8 lens. These three turned out the best in decreasing order.
The first one here I put a couple of lights towards the back to get a glow and used a front light to get the detail. I pulled the flower out of the background and replaced it with a solid black.
Believe it or not, this one is on the background as shot. I turned off all but one light, shot from above and had a wide open aperture.
I’m not so sure I like this last one. The flowers are a bit too small for the vase and I did not feather the selection enough so the flowers are a bit sharp against the background.
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June 2, 2008
This is a barn that I drive by frequently. I hadn’t noticed the colors and general look of it until I passed by in the early morning just after the sun came up.
I shot this with my standard Tamron 28-75 F/2.8 lens with a circular polarizer (which explains the deep blue sky).
I just love this barn with holes in it, the roof sagging and falling, the overgrowth and the lines of the planting drawing your eye towards the big hole in the corner of the red outcropping on this barn.
Filed under: Farm, Nature | Comments (0)
May 29, 2008
This is the best in my first attempts at sound-activated photography. There will be more. That was actually pretty fun.
Put a balloon in view, set the sound-activator to fire a flash when it hears the sound, turn off the lights and pop the balloon. Couldn’t be easier.
Now, I need to hook up a faster flash. The one I used was a $5 disposable. If I hook it up to a good flash (like my 580EX) it can stop the motion a bit better.
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May 27, 2008
First off, I promise not all of my pictures will be of birds! 
I saw this big guy fly right over my head, very close to my head, actually. Luckily, he decided to have lunch on a tree close to our house. I was able to get inside and get the camera while he was still eating. Not a bad shot overall.
Filed under: Animals, Nature | Comments (0)
