You are currently browsing the monthly archive for September 2012.
“In the perspective of every person lies a lens through which we may better understand ourselves.” Ellen J. Langer
I shot this in the bathroom mirror, then processed in Lightroom 4 with Trey Ratcliff’s “HDR in Lightroom: A Surprising Touch”. I then brought it in to Photoshop CS6 where I masked the lens in from the original photo. This is hand-held with the D800E and the 105mm VRII.
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“Follow your dreams, work hard, practice and persevere. Make sure you eat a variety of foods, get plenty of exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle.” Sasha Cohen
I love Water Aerobics. There’s just something about not feeling the sweat of your workout because you are already in the water . . . plus it is an amazing all-body workout. Unfortunately, I haven’t been for almost a year. I was gone for most of November and December last year . . . between my Granddaughter’s 1st birthday in California and a 3 week vacation in Hawaii – we arrived home just 3 days before Christmas. The New Year brought several close family situations that consumed me . . . but now it’s time I get back to my healthy lifestyle. It’s so easy to STOP working out . . . and really, really tough to get going again. Why is that? For me, I know it’s all mental . . . I create my own roadblocks. I feel so darn good when I am working out on a regular basis. Intellectually, I know all about the benefits that support working out and staying fit . . . but then it’s just so easy to “get too busy” or “just not get around to it” and then the day is over and I’ve not done what I said I was going to do. One day soon becomes a week, and a week becomes a month. Suddenly almost a year has gone by! So – enough is enough – no more waiting for “tomorrow” or “next week”. And if doing it for myself isn’t good enough then I’ll do it for my Grandkids and (future) Great Grandkids. They deserve to have me around!
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“In every drop of water, there is a story of life.” Leena Arif
I’m playing around with my D800E and the 105mm Macro lens. Since the sprinklers were on in the garden it was a prime opportunity to get some cool water drop pics. I have alot to learn to maximize the potential of this lens . . . but I was pretty impressed with what I did get. Can you see my reflection in several of the water droplets? I had to really decrease the size of this for posting purposes. These images tend to start out (in RAW) at around 40 mb. I’m finding I really don’t need to do much post processing other than maybe a tad bit of sharpening. The SOOC quality is quite stunning. Coming from a crop factor camera (the D7000), it’s quite incredible.
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“Photography is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality.” Alfred Stieglitz
We had to go back to the camera store today to return the CF card as it turned out not to be the right one for the D800E. We’ll order on e-Bay and get a better price anyway. We also picked up a couple more lenses – one that only works on the D7000 (18-200mm 3.5 VR) that is used and a good deal, as well as a wide angle 16-35mm 1:4 VR that will work on both cameras. I took a few test shots at the front of the store in good light with the D7000 and the 18-200mm 3.5 VR. This display case is full of old film cameras. Kinda cool! My reflection is in the glass . . .
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“You’ve got to push yourself harder. You’ve got to start looking for pictures nobody else could take. You’ve got to take the tools you have and probe deeper.” William Albert Allard
Well . . . today I got out and started shooting with my new Nikon D800! Hubby and I went to a local park just around dinner time, that we haven’t been to in years. It was fun to try out the new lenses on both the D800E and the D7000. The D7000 is a great camera and will continue to be my go-to for portraits and kid shots. The files are more manageable considering I take so many pictures of the little ones. The D800E will be my workhorse for Stock and Fine Art Photography. I’m so excited after seeing the results from the shoot today . . . some really awesome nature shots that will soon be up on my Smug Mug site.
This was taken with the D800E, and the 70-200mm 2.8 VRII.
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“If I am through learning, I am through.” John Wooden
I’ve downloaded this amazing e-book by Thom Hogan. I browsed the manual that came with my new camera . . . but my goodness – the information presented in the e-book is so thorough, so complete, so overwhelming at times with the technical data he presents . . . but I’m learning so much! It’s actually quite exciting . . . and I can’t get enough of it! I still have not really shot anything with the D800E because I want to make sure the settings in-camera are optimal. But it may take me awhile to absorb all 850 pages of this book! Somehow I’m sure I’ll find a happy balance . . .
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“The camera is much more than a recording apparatus. It is a medium via which messages reach us from another world.” Orson Welles
I truly believe that it isn’t the equipment that makes the artist. A good photographer will create amazing photos no matter what camera is used. However . . . I can’t argue the point that the equipment sure makes a difference in the QUALITY of your photograph. I have been trying to break in to the Stock Photography business for over a year now and have discovered how difficult it is to get a photograph accepted if it is not absolutely tack sharp and clean with no fuzziness at all. I have lenses that we bought with our old FX (film) cameras. At the time we switched to digital, we were so excited that we could use our film lenses on our D100 body. When I got my D7000 in May 2010, I quickly discovered that the old lenses just didn’t quite do the job on this newer technology. We bought a 50mm 1.8 and a 35mm 1.8. The 35mm quickly became my go-to lens for just about everything. Since I was really only doing close up work . . . it was a perfect fit. Still though, I had issues with lack of clarity, tack sharpness and over all quality when it came to Stock. An upgrade was the answer. So . . . we’ve saved our pennies and finally made our purchase today! Yay! I now have a new Nikon D800E, 70-200mm 2.8 VRII, 105mm Macro 2.8 VRII, and a 16-35mm 1:4 VR. For the D7000 we picked up an 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 VR. We also picked up an ND8 filter. I am now loaded for bear!!!
This shot was taken with the D7000, as I hadn’t even taken the D800E out of the box yet . . . and the look on my face?? Holy #$^%! What do I do now??? Another learning curve . . .
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“The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web.” Pablo Picasso
I am kind of fascinated by spider webs . . . and the little creatures that create them! Apparently my Granddaughter has inherited the same fascination . . . she found this in the back yard and insisted that I get my camera and take pictures of it. Since my 365 Project allows DNA shots . . . this one counts as that is her in the background. I shot this with my Nikon D7000, 35mm 1.8 with a 12mm macro extension tube.
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“Glitch: A sudden instance of malfunctioning or irregularity in an electronic system” World English Dictionary
I first heard about this crazy art medium called Glitch Art on Michael Andrew’s Blog. A couple of the guys in the 365 Forum tried it, and so I had to give it a try myself. It’s actually kind of fun! I’m anxious to do more of it . . . I can see ton’s of potential here!
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“Revered for its beauty, the stunning dahlia flower comes in diverse shapes, sizes and colors. The dahlia blooms for extended periods of time, surpassing most other garden flowers, and many gardening enthusiasts refer to it as the “Queen of the Autumn Garden.” The dahlia’s allure has a far reach: it is San Francisco’s official flower, an official emblem of Mexico, and is considered in Japan to be a sign of good taste.” Michelle Fortunado, eHow Contributor
Canby, Oregon is known as the Dahlia Capital of the World. We were lucky enough to be in town for their annual Dahlia Festival. I have never seen so many Dahlia’s in one place, fields and fields of them! And so many different shapes, colors, sizes . . . absolutely amazing! It actually became a bit overwhelming . . . we spent a couple of hours there in the morning and then went back in the early evening so I could get some pictures in the “golden light”.
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Nurture Self 365 