The countdown is on!  It’s D-25 to Eagles & Agriculture, and D-38 to Shooting the West.  Of course, Eagles & agriculture is the priority, as I’m showing at the Holiday Inn Express in Minden on Thursday, February 19, and setting up a vendor booth on February 20 and 21 at the Carson Valley Inn.  I’m trying to select the pictures for display, which will also be on sale, and create enough inventory for the booth.  E&A is a big event in the Carson Valley, and I want to put my best foot forward.  Any input from my friends is welcome.

As I discussed last week, I am also trying to learn Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, which is a full time job by itself.  A big thanks to my Photoshop mentors, who let me pop in to ask questions and also take the occasional telephone call, and who don’t pull any punches in their critiques.  I really like it when I don’t have to guess at the message.

These two images consumed a lot of my time this week – an entire afternoon and into the evening, in fact.  This is my first effort at replacing a blown out sky with something better.  It’s not perfect by any means, but I learned so much and the next one will be better.

I had to overexpose the image to get any detail in the Hawk and the cupola, at the expense of the sky.

I imported a new sky and spent a long time softening the ‘halo’ that occurs between the new and the old. I will improve my halo removal skills, and work to match the exposures of the subject with the sky to make a better final image. This editing thing is work!

I made time to get out a few times this week, as I can’t sit inside all day.  I think that’s why I enjoyed my career doing construction management so much.  Outside is much better than inside!  I had the pleasure of shooting with my friend, Steve, early last week.  Steve is a retired Navy engineer (no, he didn’t slosh when he walked), so we compared notes on our military time while we were out.  I showed him a few places in the Carson Valley, and found some hawks, owls, eagles, and a coyote.  I wanted to find an American Kestral for him, but that wasn’t in the cards.  Thanks for the great day, Steve!

Here’s a few from my day with Steve and the rest of the week.

Enjoy – Photorogr

Nope, he’s not walking the plank. He was getting ready to take off.

One of my best shots of these guys. I processed things differently, with better results.

Just a pretty picture.

Again, some new editing techniques. Don’t ask me what I did, because I don’t remember. I have to start writing things down as I edit. Sadly, the trees are starting to bud around here. I don’t think I like that – it’s still January!

I really like these Red-Shouldered Hawks. They are very photogenic and allow me to take lots of pictures before they leave.