Memorial Day is the day we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our great country. I am proud that my family can trace its service back to the Revolutionary War.
I am including three images on this special day (hence the bonus), all close ups of flowers and taken in our yard.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
Hydrangea
Johnson’s Blue Geranium
Iberis (Candytuft)
For those of you who missed it and those who weren’t here to see it, last night’s sunset from our backyard.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
I couldn’t resist the pun, especially since I’ve been posting so many PS Challenge images lately. I still take pictures with the big camera – sometimes the big lens and sometimes a smaller lens – depending on the situation. I’m finally starting to trust my instincts for shooting, but I still ask for a lot of critique in my processing. Thanks to everyone for your comments and critiques.
Let’s get to some pictures.
This image of a Candy Tuft is similar to a recent PS Challenge image, and was taken with the PowerShot camera.
The big camera mounted on a tripod, 5 exposures to maximize the light.
From my drive up Monitor Pass yesterday. I found the moon setting over the Sierras.
Another image of the stream flowing from Lake Heenan, a popular fishing hole! A California Department of Wildlife truck had just pulled out. It had a big tank on the back of the truck, like those used to transport fish for stocking in waterways (a big wink for my friends who fish!).
I was intrigued by this tree in the middle of a meadow. I made multiple images and experimented with several techniques. The ground was very wet from the winter.
I visited the Nevada State Railroad Museum a few weeks ago. The following images are from my series on the locomotive models on display in the museum. Each model is 30″-36″ in length. The project is still underway, but prints up to 12″ x 36″ are available.
I have many more pictures to share, and I will post more frequently – I promise.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
I took a drive down US 395 past Topaz Lake (lots of water in Topaz, but still room for more!) and over Monitor Pass this morning. Lots of snow and water in places I haven’t seen water before – gorgeous views everywhere. A little chilly and occasionally breezy, but a nice drive and shoot nonetheless.
This image was taken from the east side of Monitor Pass, looking southeast. I thought you might enjoy a change of view (an image that’s not Jobs Peak).
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
I was running errands with my lovely bride yesterday and saw this beautiful view of Jobs Peak from the south end of Gardnerville. The clouds obscure the peak itself, but they seem to match the horizon line of the Sierras.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day and treated their Moms like queens! I took care of my Mom earlier in the week and called her after her brunch date with Dad. Our son, Drew, joined us for brunch at the 1862 Restaurant at David Walley’s Resort. Great brunch – big thanks to the crew at the 1862! We had a couple surprises while we were there. Walking to our table, I heard my name and was greeted by one of my Eagle Scouts, now an engineer and helicopter pilot. What a great young man he has become. Also, on the way to the buffet line I bumped into a young man that I knew while serving in the Nevada National Guard. It was almost like old home week!
Today’s PS Challenge image was taken from Johnson Lane on our way to Walley’s. The light on Jobs Peak was wonderful, with a great assist by the clouds over the mountains.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
Driving into town to run a couple errands this morning and the light on the Sierras was great. I processed this while waiting for the afternoon light to make some close up images in the yard.
Bracketed exposures just to make sure, then processed in Photomatix and PhotoShop, with an On1 Photo Raw filter.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
Wow! Time is sure blasting by. In the short time since my lovely ride retired, I’ve only been out shooting once, but we’ve been working on the yard and having a blast (although my sore and tired muscles might disagree that it was fun!). Watch for the pictures of our accomplishment soon!
For now, however, I offer this shot of an Asian Lily taken in the Garden Department at the local Home Depot. It’s an exposure bracket processed in Adobe Camera Raw, PhotoShop, and a Nik Color Efex filter that I created. I’ve learned there’s more tools in ACR than I thought and they’re wonderful!
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
Happy May Day every one! (I’m celebrating Spring in the United States, not the USSR’s holiday – just to clarify.) Temperatures are moving upward, so it’s shorts weather. Also time to start those outside projects that have waited until winter came to a close. I have 6 cy of soil to move, then the planting, topped off with ground cover rock. We’ll see how motivated I am.
Today’s PS Challenge image comes from Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City, taken during our visit on Saturday. This is an old sign advertising a show at Piper’s, on display in the lobby area. The light was terrible and the best view obscured by its placement on the wall opposite the grand staircase. I bracketed exposures to improve my chances of getting a good, usable image. I processed the bracketed exposures in Photomatix, then cleaned things up in PhotoShop. I had to ‘warp’ the image to make it fully presentable, due to the camera optics and combining the exposures. I like the result.
Enjoy – PHOTOROGR
The PHOTOROGR Project 