Energize and revitalize!

August 27, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Aviation Roundup, Beechcraft Twin Beech 18, Carson City, Carson Valley, Genoa Peak, Lake Tahoe, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, sunsets, USAF Thunderbirds, Warren Engine Company | Leave a comment

A little over a year ago, I retired and started a journey to become a photographer. Every time I try to sit back and take stock of my progress, there’s a new subject begging to be photographed. The best part is that I feel like I actually have a starting point to make the image. I’m not always right in my decisions, but I feel like I can make the adjustments and have a successful shoot. I’m still loving my journey and have no regrets about taking that first step.

I have great friends, old and new, and family who have been supportive through it all. Thanks to everyone for helping me along the path, from encouraging words to buying my images to telling me about photo opportunities. It’s not much fun without you. Please stay with me as the journey continues, because there’s lots more to come!

Every now and then, I am unhappy with my images and myself. Sometimes it’s the subjects or the challenges of light and shadow, and sometimes it’s my lack of knowledge in editing. When I get down, I give myself a break, clear my head, and then jump back in. This week, the grind of editing for the Boy Scout car show got to me. I took some horse pictures, and wasn’t happy with the results. Last night, I went on a photo walk with a couple of my mentors and a few new friends. I made images of subjects I don’t normally shoot and cleared my head. The people were fun and the pictures are coming out great. I’m doing a little experimenting with the editing, but I’m renewed and re-energized.

In my last post, I promised more car pictures from the Boy Scout car show. As noted above, it’s become more work than I had originally thought (but it’s providing a great opportunity for learning the business side of photography), and those images aren’t ready yet. I’ve also been distracted by other subjects in the last couple weeks. Here are the images from my distractions.

Lake Tahoe ATV ride: we rode a trail on the east side of the lake, with fantastic views. There are a couple more pictures in the Landscapes and Scenery page.

And the USAF Thunderbirds came to the Carson Valley. See the THUNDERBIRDS! page for more images!

The Thunderbirds were here as part of the Aviation Roundup, with static displays and other flying demonstrations. This is a Beechcraft Twin Beech 18 doing some acrobatics.

Which brings us to the Photo Walk and its non-routine subjects. This is only a sample – there are more to come!

This stained glass piece is in a local antique shop. It was nicely backlit and easy to shoot.

I was intrigued by this street light against the west wall of the original Warren Engine Company fire station. I added the vignetting in the corners, but I’m not sure I am completely pleased with the result.

The sunset was beautiful, and the church steeple made an excellent foreground!

I’m trying several new techniques with this image. I made multiple images from this location, including several bracketed exposures. I’ll let you know how the experiments come out.

I caught the moon over the roof of the Nevada Supreme Court Building. I kept hoping the wind would come up and extend the flag, but it was not to be. I like this image, though.

As you can see, sometimes the distractions are very hard to overcome. They are, however, very necessary to maintain the creative juices. This crusty old engineer needs all the creative juices he can get, because they are sometimes hard to come by. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

All cars – all the time!

August 13, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged car photography, Carson Valley, Ford Falcon, Ford Mustang, Ford Thunderbird, Ford Trucks, Hot August Nights, Lincon automobiles, Minden Nevada, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Reno Nevada, Silver Dollar Car Show, Sparks Nevada | Leave a comment

August is here, and it’s the serious part of car show season. If you’re a car person, Northern Nevada is a great place to be in the summer. There are car-based events within a half day’s drive every weekend and many weeknights all summer long! Many events are in Reno, Carson City, or the Carson Valley, making the drive even shorter. Classic cars sparked the photography bug in me, so the summer months are enjoyable for me. August is wonderful, with Carson City’s Silver Dollar Car Show, followed immediately by Hot August Nights and other local shows.

We have a new show, called the ‘Send a Scout to Camp’ Car Show, put on by Boy Scout Troop 33 in Carson City. This show is this Saturday, August 15, 2015, in Fuji Park, one of my favorite venues for a car show. I will be photographing participant’s cars and the awards ceremony, and selling a photo CD with those images – all proceeds go to Troop 33. Come on down and see the cars. Oh yeah – I’ll have my 2008 Mustang Bullitt on display.

The last couple weeks have been great for me to get in shape for this weekend’s action. I traveled to Mills Park in Carson City for the Silver Dollar Car Show. Just when I think I’ve seen every car in the area, something new pops up. This year, I came across a gorgeous Ford pickup. The truck was beautifully restored and modified, with fun surprises at every turn. Here are the pictures!

What a gorgeous truck. The paint has a matte finish (no clear coat here!). I’d love to get this truck in better light and uncluttered surroundings.

Beautiful craftsmanship in these bed rails.

Radiator overflow? I hope so…but I won’t be accepting a drink from the owner anytime soon!

The tires and wheels were spotless and perfect for the truck.

Underhood we find a 5.0L High Output (HO) motor from a 1988 Mustang. Wow!

And the air filter, with a cap from Shell Motor Oil!

This truck was very easy to shoot, sans clearcoat and no shiny surfaces. Glare and reflections are always a challenge, more so when you don’t control the light. In bright conditions, I use a neutral density (ND) filter or circular polarizer to minimize glare.

The Thursday after Silver Dollar, I loaded up the PhotoRanger and my buddy Rich, and headed for Minden for the Hot August Nights Poker Run. The Poker Run takes the cars on a lengthy journey – usually over 100 miles- and, depending on the route, from Reno to Lake Tahoe, Minden, Virginia City, other places, and back to Reno. I prefer to sit on 4th Street and capture the cars as they come into town. The light is generally good and the background is (most of the time) uncluttered. Here are a couple images from the Poker Run.

This was not the only Lincoln at Hot August Nights. This 1948 made a grand entrance into town!

I’ve always been partial to Falcon station wagons, as my first car was a 1961 Falcon Style 21, a 2 door wagon. It was the lowest priced Falcon, and also the least desired. Yes, I wish I had mine back. This lovely 1964 would be a suitable replacement.

While my lovely bride and I were dating, my ’65 Mustang was having issues. My older brother owned a dark blue 1965 Thunderbird convertible, vey similar to this well restored car.

I was asked to come to Sparks on August 8 to take pictures of a friend’s car, intended to be a birthday present. My lovely bride consented to go with me, but not act as my assistant (I’m hoping to have an assistant one day). We wandered around Sparks, the best venue (in my humble opinion – Victorian Square is like walking around a park), waiting for the cruise night to begin for the pictures. I won’t post pictures of the surprise car, because I don’t want to ruin the surprise. Another day, perhaps. Here are a couple cars from the show and shine, and some cars cruising down Victorian Square.

A beautiful 1966 Mustang GT fastback.

What can you say about this truck, other than WOW?

Sometimes you see amazing things on Cruise Night. That’s an interesting way to walk your dog, eh?

Here’s another Lincoln – this one a 1947.

There are additional pictures in the Automobile page – please take a look! And I hope to see you at Fuji Park this weekend. If you can’t make it, watch for pictures in my next post!

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

On the road with ‘fresh eyes’ – Part 2

July 31, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Cape Creek Bridge, Florence OR, Heceta Head Lighthouse, Mitchell OR, Newport OR, Painted Hills Oregon, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Rogue Brewing Company, Siuslaw River Bridge, Yaquina Bay Bridge | 1 Comment

July 31 is a special day for me. One year ago, I filed my ‘dba’ (doing business as) with Douglas County. Douglas County does not require business licenses, so the ‘dba’ process is used to protect business names and provide a vehicle for taxing a business (just filed my first ‘personal property’ report – waiting for the tax bill now). If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, I hope you can see my personal growth as a photographer. The journey is lots of fun and I am still enjoying the learning process. Retirement is a wonderful thing!

A part of being a business owner is learning how to market your business. I don’t know which is more challenging – learning how take a picture or learning how to market the business. Both are important, as business owners well know. That said, please forgive the following shameless plug for the business. BUY MY PICTURES! They are available in prints or on canvas, and as note cards. Watch for a new page in this blog that will highlight new note cards – and don’t forget that the holidays are coming and my picture note cards are the perfect gift for that person who has everything.

I’m also learning how to blog more effectively, and have learned that I should use fewer pictures in my posts. In this and future posts, look for references to specific pages for additional pictures. Okay – let’s get into this week’s featured images!

The engineer in me can’t pass a bridge without giving a little interest. Often, I have to pass it by because there is no easy way to stop and make an image. On this trip, however, I found three bridges that sat still long enough for me to get some good pictures. Please note that the weather did not cooperate with me during much of the trip. The skies were overcast and, given the time of day I was trying to shoot, quite often appear washed out. In future visits, I hope to have more cooperative skies. For more information on each bridge, just google the name of the bridge.

Coming into Florence OR on U.S. Highway 101 from the south, one crosses the Siuslaw River on this bridge. These images were made from the east bank (the town side).

The view looking south. The steel portion of the bridge raises to allow ships to pass under the bridge.

A detail of the bridge along the southern exposure.

The southern exposure.

North of Florence on U. S. Highway 101, we find the Heceta Head Lighthouse (see part 1 for pictures of the Heceta Head Lighthouse). South of the Lighthouse, we see the Cape Creek Bridge. We drove under the bridge to access the parking lot for the Lighthouse.

This is the most common view of the bridge, taken from the pedestrian trail to the Lighthouse. Some time, I’d like to hike upstream (we’re on the downstream side) to see what that view looks like.

In Newport OR, next to the Rogue Brewing Company Headquarters (great lunch and my sons tell me great beer!!) stands the Yaquina Bay Bridge. My lovely bride ‘googled’ this bridge and found that it is one of the most photographed bridges in the world. After seeing it in person, I’m not surprised. I chose the absolute worst conditions to shoot the bridge, and it shows. In the famous words of Douglas MacArthur, ‘I shall return.’ Until then, this is the best I can offer.

Yaquina Bay Bridge, notes for next time: don’t shoot in the middle of the day; don’t shoot in overcast conditions; move either upstream or downstream for a better view.

On the way home, we drove through central OR. After fueling the car and ourselves in the quaint little town of Mitchell (one gas pump in a dirt lot – analog gauges in 10 cent increments; one great little café), we drove a few miles to the Painted Hills. Here, the skies were awesome and the scenery gorgeous. I loved how these came out. (Susan took a picture of me taking a picture of the hills – it’s now my cover page on Facebook – check it out!)

I thanked the photo gods for the great sky – and the cool temperatures from the rain. Go see this beautiful place!

We will definitely go back to see this place again – hopefully in the evening ‘Golden Hour’ to catch some awesome light!

I hope you enjoyed this brief look into our vacation. Please take a look at the ‘Vacation – July 2015’ folder for more pictures.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

On the road with ‘fresh eyes’ – Part 1

July 23, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged California coast, Canon cameras, Ft. Bragg CA, Glass Beach, Harbor Seals, Heceta Head Lighthouse, Highway 1, Highway 101, light houses, Oregon coast, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Seagulls, Wildlife photography | Leave a comment

A few days after my last post, my lovely bride and I loaded the Escape and headed west. Our ultimate destination was south-central Washington state, to attend our grandson’s birthday party. For a little extra fun, we chose to drive up the California coast and into Oregon before we headed inland. This was not my first time on a coast but, having been born and raised in the high plains of a landlocked state (Wyoming) and currently living in the high desert (Nevada), seeing the vast expanse of water with nothing (figuratively, not literally) on the horizon was different and fun. We also experienced an unknown phenomenon called ‘humidity.’ We’re told they have it there all the time – how very interesting.

One of my photography and Photoshop mentors (and very good friend) has been blogging about travel photography recently. She and her hubby travel often, so she has vast experience and knowledge on the subject. She encourages her readers to take lots of pictures when traveling. Please forgive me, Katie, I tried but probably didn’t take as many as I could or should have. The engineer in me just can’t take pictures just to consume pixels. Someday I’ll get over it – I hope.

In addition to birthday presents and our bags, I packed all the camera bodies and lenses for the trip. My lovely bride expressed an interest in using a ‘big camera’ on this trip, so the Canon EOS Rebel XSi was hers to use. I had to be on top of my game to explain the photography concepts I’ve been struggling to learn. I enjoyed trying to put into words the actions/effects of and relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO in making images. The part I liked best, however, was her fresh perspective on photo composition. Susan is a quilter and tole painter, and her artistic eye is vastly different from mine. As expected, we took many pictures of the same subject, but our interpretations and capture rarely showed the same subject. The wildlife photographer in me, combined with my engineering background, makes me work to get close to a subject, while she takes a broader view. Not surprisingly, her images are very good, and I enjoyed the experience of learning to look at things differently. I hope her influence helps me be a better photographer, in the same way that she helps me be a better person.

Let’s get to the pictures. I’m still working on pictures from the trip so you won’t see everything in this post. This first group are shots along the California coast – I don’t recall specific locations.

Several days after I took this picture, I found a wonderful book on landscape photography. The authors recommend putting something in the image that helps establish scale, such as people. In this image, I have people and the added benefit of the road and stairs at the right to establish scale. Sometimes I get very lucky.

I had seen this rock with the hole from a previous stop. My pictures emphasize the rock and Susan’s introduced a little vegetation in the foreground.

This is Susan’s interpretation of the scene. Very nice!

Long ago, I learned that you must look everywhere when shooting. This is the view in the opposite direction from the above images.

These images created lots of discussion between us. I favor the wider view showing the end of the land mass at the upper left and the hint of the tree at the right…

…but my lovely bride preferred more of the tree and less of the land mass. Both are very nice, I think. If you have a preference, please make a comment.

We spent the night at Ft. Bragg CA. Our hotel was called the Emerald Dolphin and they had a miniature golf course, with a free round included with our hotel room. After a long day in the car, a little mini golf was great. Nope, we didn’t keep score, but I’m certain that my lovely bride took the trophy!

Taken with my cell phone. The best camera is the one in your hand!

On our way out of Ft. Bragg, we stopped at Glass Beach. The views were gorgeous, but we got caught up in the wildlife. I am a wildlife photographer, after all.

From the path above the ‘beach.’ It was overcast on most of the trip along the coast, which made for challenges while shooting. I wasn’t able to get those amazing Pacific Coast sunsets.

The Harbor Seals were enjoying low tide. I think this is a young one.

Another Harbor Seal. We decided that Harbor Seals are kind of homely when they’re just laying around.

While shooting the Seals, we happened upon a Seagull nest with a little one. This little guy was very active and put on quite a show. The wildlife photog in me was ecstatic.

I’m not sure if it was just stretching or checking me out…

We’re not sure which parent this is. Both were present while we were there.

In this setting, the Seals don’t move very quickly. Not like the wild horses and raptors I usually shoot.

The Seals are barely visible in the top third of this image. I was struck by the rock on the bottom left…so similar to a Seal…

The last images for this post come from the Heceta Head Lighthouse in Oregon. Do a quick Google search for Heceta Lighthouse and you’ll find lots of information. This is one of many lighthouses built along the Oregon coast, and is currently owned and maintained by Oregon Parks and Recreation. We took the brief tour and learned about the unique Fresnel lenses that concentrate the light, focusing it in one direction. The landscape shots were made from a scenic overlook just south of the lighthouse. The lightkeeper’s residence can be seen in the last image. They were preparing for a wedding at the residence when we were there – what a fun venue for a wedding.

Great view!

This image represents another of those ‘fresh eye’ moments. Susan requested images of the lighthouse with the tree in the foreground. I wouldn’t have done it if she hadn’t asked.

I worked hard to capture the light as it rotated around. I’d love to be there on a foggy evening to capture the beam of light sending its warning to ships on the ocean.

Sometime, I’ll get a wide angle lens to remove some of the perspective. Maybe they’d let me bring in a ladder? Probably not.

The view from the trail to the lighthouse.

A wider view with the lightkeeper’s residence visible. Could you imagine living there and raising a family? We learned that they had a school on site for the children.

Well, that’s all for today. There will be many more pictures in future posts. After all, we visited an aquarium and a brewery, saw several great bridges, and more beautiful scenery. Oh yeah – we stayed in a bed and breakfast that was originally a Sears kit house!

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Happy 4th of July!

July 3, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Ford Ranger, night photography, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, sunsets, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography | Leave a comment

Can you believe that it’s July? The calendar year is half over, but the business year is not. Next month will be one year since I decided to become a full-time photographer. Am I making lots of money? No, but I’m having a lot of fun and my knowledge of photography and photo editing is growing by leaps and bounds. You’ll see some of that growth in this post. For the business year – It’s time for me to report my business assets to the County Assessor for tax purposes. I think I can get everything together and look forward to the tax bill.

But first, an update on the wild horses. Until last week, I have been photographing four bands in the area. The studs are Blue, Blondie, Socks, and Shorty. Please also recall that we have a group of bachelor studs, the ‘Boys’ Club,’ waiting for their turns to establish a band – Sampson, Jack, Little Socks, and Skip. In a major power move, Shorty stole all of Socks’ mares so Socks is now a bachelor. When I see him, he appears very lonely and forlorn.

A very lonely Socks!

He won’t even look at the camera.

I have a theory that Socks cut a deal with Shorty to look after the family while he took a little break. I’m told that’s not a viable theory.

Here’s an image of Shorty’s band taken yesterday, with all of Socks’ mares and foals in the group. Please don’t ask me which mares formerly belonged to Socks.

They were enjoying a lazy day, just relaxing and not too concerned as I approached on foot.

And my buddy Blondie – remember the butt shot from my last post? Well – late last week I found his band, parked, and approached on foot. Blondie didn’t like that in the least! For the first time, he ‘challenged’ my approach, actually running towards me. He stopped when he could see me and I was never in any danger, but it made me a little more wary than usual of where he was while I made my images.

Blondie keeping a very watchful eye on me!

I only made a couple images due to Blondie’s obvious ‘discomfort’ with me being there. I like this one – I think it’s Little Scarlett and Mama.

Yesterday, Blondie’s band was across a small valley from Shorty’s band. As I approached in the PHOTORANGER, Blondie gathered everyone up and off they went. I’m not sure what I did to make him mad.

Blondie’s band moving off. Horse butt pictures aren’t really exciting, but I like the pattern created by the numerous rears as they walked away.

And Blondie, walking away – keeping himself between me and the band.

And what about the Boys’ Club? Some of my friends have pictures of Socks with the Boys, but I don’t have any as yet. I found the Boys close to some of the houses, just being boys.

Our temperatures have been high the last couple weeks, with intermittent rain and thunderstorms. We have a fire south of us that has burned 18 square miles. Thankfully, the wind has blown the smoke away (and my power bill likes that!). Since I melt at about 85 degrees (figuratively, not literally), my shooting time is short, leaving me lots of time to stay indoors and work on my editing skills. A really BIG SHOUT OUT to my Photoshop mentors (you know who you are!!), who helped me over a giant hump in learning a couple techniques. Here are a couple of images I edited this week – see if you can identify the changes I made! Hint – they’re very subtle.

This is Little Jo with Mom, Dad, and several other members of the band. The exposure is way off and there is the horse at the bottom of the shot who just doesn’t belong.

Through the magic of Photoshop, I removed the horse at the bottom of the picture and rescued my poor shooting. The result is very pleasing, I think. Oh yeah, Blue is facing the camera behind the black horse. That’s not him on the left.

During the winter months, the Raptors migrate through the Carson Valley. Photo opportunities are everywhere. I caught this juvenile Red Tailed Hawk last February at one of the local ranches. Exposure has been one of my greatest challenges, and lately I’m getting a better handle on it.

I think the image works better with him facing right instead of left, and I fixed my poor exposure and got a little closer.

The night skies have also called to me. The sunsets have been gorgeous and I’ve worked on my ‘low light’ shooting while I’m out there. Temperatures are much better when the sun goes down, so why not?

I made this image from my backyard while we still had a hint of smoke from the wildfire.

Another from my backyard, through the trees. The smoke is gone, but the storm clouds made gorgeous light!

Same evening – different vantage point.

…and a little to the right…

A look at the Pergola in our backyard. This is looking northeast, so the evening light is much different.

One final night shot. This is looking southeast from my front yard. My neighbors very thoughtfully built this beautiful scene in the front corner of their yard. I photograph it often.

And I’ll close this post with a couple images of the PHOTORANGER in action. This little truck has been a great addition to the stable, and I continue to be impressed with its performance in the field. I took my father-in-law out to look for the wild horses yesterday. He was impressed with the truck, but said he preferred the ‘softer’ ride of the other cars. I understand completely.

Enjoy – and have a wonderful 4th of July! God Bless America! PHOTOROGR

…you may be in for a shock…

June 25, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged ATV trips, cactus flowers, Carson Valley, Ford Mustang, Ford Ranger, Hoonie Mine, Mercury Cougar, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Quartz Peak, Reno Mustang Car Club, Restomods in Reno Car Show, Wildlife photography | 2 Comments

I have no idea where the time gets to. I sat down to build this post and realized that it’s been over two weeks since my last post. I haven’t been sitting around, however, as you will see from the images below. I have made some changes, too. The first change is that I bought a new camera body – a Canon 7D Mark II. To help me learn the camera, I bought a book by David Taylor. I’ve used his books before, so I was confident things would go well. Then I read the first page – “If you’ve just upgraded to an EOS 7D Mark II from one of Canon’s consumer DSLRs you may be in for a shock.” Boy howdy, was he right!! It’s a big learning curve, but the results will be worth the work.

I would also like to introduce you to the PHOTORANGER!

The PHOTORANGER – a 1999 Ford Ranger Sport – in its natural environment. You can see Blue and his band above the bed on the far hillside! This image was made with the new camera body.)

I took it into the Pine Nut Mountains to find the horses and see how it performs. It did not disappoint. I took it to a few places that I wouldn’t take the Expedition. Very fun for me!!

A couple weeks ago, my friend Rich and I went to the Restomods in Reno Car Show. See the Automobiles page for more images, but here’s my favorites from the day.

Who doesn’t love a classic Mustang with a matching pedal car?

Some people just know how to live. The Reno Mustang Club president just acquired this a few weeks before the show.

This Boss 302 belongs to a good friend of mine. He’s still working on his ’66 hardtop.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Cougars. This car was beautiful and I was pleased with this picture. Note the Parnelli Jones tribute car on the left.

And I hate it when I hit the wrong button and publish too soon. My apologies to those of you who will get this again.

I took a ride with my ATV group to the Hoonie Mine on Quartz Peak. The scenery was gorgeous and the quartz formation was awesome. See the Landscape and Scenery page for more images.

The view of the Sweetwater Range from the summit of Quartz Peak.

Who knew that quartz could sustain life?

But plants are everywhere, if you know where to look…

As I said, the quartz formations were great!

I spent some time in the Pine Nut Mountains. When the horses were hiding, the cactus flowers made great subjects. Check out the Wild Horses page for more pictures of the horses, and the Landscape and Scenery page for more cactus flowers.

This is the Boys Club – Samson, Little Socks, Skip, and Jack. These 4 bachelor studs are hanging out together until they get their own mares and start their own bands. They were on the hill overlooking Blondie’s band and lined up for this shot.

This is Blondie, not too worried about the Boys Club (who were behind me) but wanting to know what I was doing.

For my Wyoming friends – a cactus flower shaped like a ‘W’.

I submitted this macro image to a contest – we’ll see how it fares in competition.

Well, that’s it for this post. Enjoy and I’ll try to be more timely with my next post.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

All RAW — All the Time!

June 8, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Cattle drives, Cinnamon Teal, Daggett Pass, Egrets, Finches, Hawks, Lake Tahoe, Marmots, Monitor Pass, Pelicans, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Raptors, Rock Chucks, Scenery, Waterfowl, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography, Willson's Phalarope | 1 Comment

It’s a quiet Saturday morning and I’m not heading out for an hour or so. My friend, Rich, and I are going to Reno to see the Restomods in Reno Car Show. Assuming they come out, you’ll see pictures in my next post. I’m astounded that it’s been almost 3 weeks since my last post. Time really flies when you’re having so much fun!

I’ve made a couple changes in my shooting and editing process since my last post. First, I’m shooting in RAW format exclusively (All RAW – All the Time). I resisted going to RAW for a very long time because I wasn’t comfortable editing in RAW, it consumes massive amounts of memory, and the images can not be used right out of the camera – they must be edited. In the last few months, I made learning to edit in RAW a priority and have gained enough comfort factor to shoot in that format exclusively. Of course, my editing time has increased and I fill up SD cards quickly. The tradeoff is worth it, however, as I was becoming increasingly less happy with the JPEG images coming out of the camera. The second change is my ‘backup’ process. Like many photographers, I have triple redundancy for storing my images. Until recently, I used the SD card from the camera, my computer, and an external hard drive. Since I’m filling up memory cards so quickly these days (a 32 GB card every 3-4 weeks – yikes!), my lovely bride convinced me that buying more and more SD cards was not the most cost effective method for storage. Plus, SD cards can fail and they are not recommended for long term storage anyway. So I purchased another external hard drive and spent some time backing up all my images on it. Fortunately, memory (data storage, not my feeble mind, darn it) is getting better and cheaper all the time.

I’m refining my workflow for editing in RAW, but it’s getting easier and I’m getting more proficient. A REALLY BIG THANKS to all my PHOTOSHOP mentors who cheerfully (at least when I call) answer my sometimes silly questions. We’re usually on the phone, so I don’t see their eyes rolling and their voices don’t betray them. Occasionally, my questions trigger a learning moment for them, too, so I think it’s beneficial all around.

Enough about that part of my creative journey, though. Now I have to remember what I’ve been shooting for the last couple weeks. Because my feeble memory doesn’t feel like it’s getting any better as time goes by, I keep a shooting log to help me remember where I’ve been, when I was there, and what I was shooting – that’s a big help.

A day or so after my last post, a friend texted that a local rancher was moving some cows and it would be a great photo opportunity. I grabbed the camera and ran out the door – well, I did say bye to my lovely bride. As usual, the appointed time was ‘flexible,’ so I looked for interesting shots while I was waiting.

I found this breeding adult American White Pelican in an irrigation ditch.

This is a great shot of Jobs Peak, the Carson Valley’s most recognizable mountain peak.

Oh yeah, I was there for the cattle drive. George Strait sang ‘How ’bout them Cowgirls?’ I always thought the song was for the Wyoming Cowgirl basketball team – turns out it wasn’t. This was an all female crew and they did a great job!

A couple days later, I made a trip to the Pine Nut Mountains and found Blue’s band. The sly devil moved them from open ground and into high brush, but I still managed a few nice images.

I’m not a big fan of horse butt pictures, although I have quite a few. I liked how this little one was just visible above the brush.

Several of the mares and babies. Our bands look very healthy.

Little Jo – my favorite!

And this is Blue. He’s the stud!

In the last couple weeks, I’ve made several trips to Mottsville Lane here in Douglas County. With the rivers flowing well (for now anyway), there’s lots of water for the migrating waterfowl.

My bird book has been getting quite a workout. This is a Wilson’s Phalarope.

In the same pond, a Cinnamon Teal.

This Great Egret posed and pranced for me, then ‘floofed’ itself and flew away. As my followers know, I love it when a bird does something a little unusual for the camera.

The mountains called a couple times, so I made trips up Monitor Pass in California and took a hike at Lake Tahoe with my son.

I took a drive up Monitor Pass for some scenic shots. After driving by it many times in the past, I finally noticed this tree. I have several images to edit, as I photographed the tree from all angles. I liked this shot and edited it first.

This is Lake Tahoe from Castle Rock, just off the Tahoe Rim Trail near Daggett Pass.

This is a California Snow Flower – some call it a California Snow Plant. They are starting to grow in the Sierras and we saw several on our hike.

Sometimes, one finds interesting shots on the side of the road and in the backyard!

Driving in from the Pine Nut Mountains the other day, I saw these Hawks in a tree next to the road. A baby was visible, when I pulled up, but dropped out of sight when I started shooting.

Okay, this wasn’t on a public road, but I shot this from a vehicle. A friend took me on a tour of a highway construction project and this well-fed little guy, along with several friends, make the project home. I’ve never made images of a Marmot (aka Rock Chuck) like this before.

This Robin sat on a rock in my backyard long enough for me to see him, get my camera, sneak out a door on the far side of the house, and make several images.

Another patient little fella’. This Goldfinch sat in one of my Austrian Pine trees long enough for me to see him, go get my camera, and make several images. Although he sat on the branch for a while, he did not sit still. I have several shots of him in motion.

Many of you have seen my night shots of my neighbor’s trees and the moon (one of those is my cover photo on Facebook). The moon was in position the other night, so I made a few more of those shots. While I was out there, I also made some images of the pergola in our backyard. My lovely bride designed the trees and lights very well. While I was shooting the pergola, a playful spirit found his way into the shot! Silly playful spirit.

I’m finishing this on Sunday night, after a busy day yesterday at the car show and a trip to Reno today for a friend’s retirement ceremony. My apologies for the further delay. The car show images are worth the wait until the next post – I promise.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

As promised – car show pictures…

May 18, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged 1928 Franklin, 1928 Lincoln Tow Truck, 1932 Ford Woodie, 1936 Ford Roadster, 1940 Ford Pickup, 1940 Ford Woodie, 1966 Ford Mustang, Big Mama's Car Show, Carson Valley, Holy Smoker's Car Show, Owls, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements | 1 Comment

In my last post, I promised pictures from the Holy Smoker’s Car Show (May 2) and Big Mama’s Car Show (May 9). I tried some new shooting techniques at Holy Smoker’s, using neutral density (ND) and circular polarizer filters alone and in combination, with interesting results. As a result, the images you see below and in the Automobiles page took a lot of work in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. This is good in several ways. I learned: 1) how to use these software packages better; 2) the value of shooting in RAW format, and; 3) most importantly, this filter combination doesn’t always work in certain lighting conditions. My journey continues. Let’s look at a few pictures. (Go to the Automobiles page for a few more pictures.)

Who doesn’t love a well done Woodie? This is a gorgeous 1940 Ford.

I don’t remember what year this is, but my feeble memory says 1932…if only I could read that license plate…

This 1940 Ford Pickup belongs to my good friend, Charlie. He went a little wild and widened it several inches. More elbow room, I think…

I don’t normally take pictures of cars that aren’t Fords, but who can pass up a 1928 Franklin that looks this great?

To prove I was there – here’s my ’66 Mustang hardtop. Darn tree put my car in shade all day, and the guys in the background were manning the barbecue grills. Yes, I gave her a bath when we got home.

After working on the Holy Smoker’s pictures, I revisited my shooting techniques and decided I was over thinking and trying too hard. For Big Mama’s, I left the ND filters in the bag and just shot with the circular polarizer. I like the results and the amount of work in post-production much better. As a warning to all of you aspiring photographers out there (and a reminder to me), remove your ultraviolet (UV) filter before you attach your circular polarizer. I used both last year and got a condition called ‘vignetting’ (dark areas in the corners). The journey continues!!!

Here are a few images from Big Mama’s. Those of you who follow me on Facebook have seen these pictures, but you haven’t seen the pictures on the Automobiles page.

I have the filters worked out, but now I need to work on the finer points of composition, like ask the nice people making the shadows on the fender to move out of the way…my ’66 Mustang hardtop.

My good friend, Mike, took second in class (gotta’ wipe off the grass from the tires to win the tie breaker) but was picked ‘Best of Show.’ Fudge will be on next year’s show t-shirts.

Another friend, also named Mike, brought this beautiful 1928 Lincoln tow truck to the show. Last year he brought a 1912 Speedwell (featured on this year’s shirt as the kid’s choice).

Not seen on Facebook – here’s the rear of the Lincoln tow truck. See, it really could pick up your car and take it somewhere.

Here’s a teaser to get you to go to the Birds page. Some of our friends have been watching a Great Horned Owl pair in the tree across their driveway. This Owl pair had two babies about two months ago. I finally made time to get some pictures. This is one of the babies. The rest of the family was off somewhere.

No, this little one’s not glaring at me – that’s just the way Owls look.

Well, that’s the fun I’ve had in the last couple weeks. The journey continues as I try new things – some of which work and many that don’t – but that’s what a journey is all about. Until next time, enjoy! PHOTOROGR

Patience is a virtue…

May 10, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

In my last post (Sometimes the Magic Works…), I told you a little about my time as a Deputy Sheriff in Wyoming. I often think about the great men with whom I served for that brief time. They had colorful names (Snake, Namu, Okie, the Magnolia Boys, even a token Marine we lovingly called Gomer) to match their colorful personalities. Another of our favorite phrases was ‘patience is a virtue.’ This phrase is not unique to my law enforcement family, as it is commonly used by many people – mostly Mothers. The difference is that we followed it up with a very long discussion that began with ‘felons are inherently stupid’ and ended with ‘you’ll be standing there ready to cuff them up and take them off to jail.’

In this post, I’m taking a different tack with the concept of patience. I’m trying to learn photography as a means to taking better pictures. I’m trying to learn it by doing, with a lot of help from my friends and reading lots of photography books, blogs, and websites. Thankfully, I have wonderful friends who are very patient with me (a really BIG THANKS to my wonderful, patient friends). I think I’m a source of entertainment for them, which is why they put up with me. But I digress…

For the past couple weeks, I’ve been working with neutral density (ND) filters to control light entering the lens. I bought a couple gradient ND filters that have dark shading on one side gradually decreasing to no shading on the other. I used these filters to make some landscape images last week. I also used standard ND filters and circular polarizer filters, alone and stacked together, at a car show I participated in last weekend. I took my ’66 Mustang to a car show today, so look for car show pictures in my next post.

On to this week’s images. I’ll start with a new image of the owlets. Mama was out of the nest and the two little guys were up and checking things out. Maybe I can catch them taking flight sometime.

Great Horned Owlets. Even when they’re fuzzy, they have that intimidating GHO stare.

Last week, I took a hike on the Tahoe Rim Trail south of Lake Tahoe. It was a short hike to the Meiss Meadow (also called Big Meadow), leading into the Dardanelles Roadless Area. The day was glorious and the meadow was beautiful. The little birds were very busy and hard to get, although I managed to capture images of a couple. And this squirrel didn’t think I could see him.

One of my friends tells me this is a Savannah Sparrow.

I think this is a Lark. I’ll open my new bird book sometime to confirm.

He scampered up the tree, then sat very still.

For the following landscapes, I used the gradient ND filter to control the light at the top of the images. I will use the standard ND filter next time, as the foreground (where the gradient was light) was difficult to work with in editing.

The creek was flowing away from me in this shot. It is deep, but not very wide – clear water so the small trout were visible. The ND filter helped with the sky and trees, but not so much with the grass.

The creek was flowing into the shot in this image. Again, the ND filter helped the sky and trees, but the grass was much brighter before editing. I like the composition, but not the colors in the foreground.

I like this image. The grass is green, but not blown out (too bright). This shows how pretty it was up there.

The distance from the trailhead to Big Meadow is about a half mile, with about +250 feet elevation change. The trail is well marked and maintained. Hikers cross this bridge as an entrance to the Meadow. This image looks from the Meadow side, about 7,500 feet elevation. I like how the ND filter helped this image. Overall, the gradient ND filters worked well – now it’s up to me to figure out when to use them.

I also had some fun in the evenings. My neighbors have stand of aspen trees that they light in the evenings. I have been waiting for the moon to rise at the right time, to make the picture I’ve been visualizing for some time. One evening the moon and clouds cooperated – I noticed at the right time – and made these images.

I was so excited that I had this composition that I forgot that I still had the standard ND filter on my camera from the car show. I like the result and made this image my ‘cover’ for my Facebook page.

The next night I removed the ND filter and moved to a little different spot in the yard. Thankfully, it was dark out there because I was standing in my front yard in my jammies taking pictures. The ND filter gave the nice blue hue in the previous image which begs the question – which do you like better?

A little different crop and editing. If only the neighborhood owl had passed through the shot at the right time…

I also looked at the mountains one evening when we had a gorgeous sunset. I’ll close with this image. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Right place – right time. Deep, vibrant colors with a hint of the sun just over the horizon. One of my favorite sunsets.

Some days the magic works…

April 23, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson City NV, Owls, photography techniques, Raptors, Wildlife photography | 2 Comments

Many years ago, I met and fell in love with a wonderful woman. In one of the greatest moments of my life, she consented to share my life and allowed me to share hers. A couple weeks before we began our journey together, I started a very brief career as a Deputy Sheriff. My fellow deputies were always joking about a book we should write, called “Things You Want to Say in Court, But Aren’t Allowed To.” One of the things we wanted to say was “…some days the magic works…” This would be in response to questioning by the defense attorney regarding the reasons a procedure, practice, or investigative technique worked (or didn’t work) in one case but not another. Those funny (and sometimes not so funny) things we always wanted to say have come to mind many times over the years – most recently in the last week.

As you know, I’m marketing note cards featuring my images. My first note cards were made using a card stock and were 8.5″ x 5.5″ (A9 size, in printing jargon). Several customers requested smaller note cards on a glossy paper. After some looking, I found note card blanks that fold to 5.5″ x 4.25″ (A2 size), with a glossy surface for printing. I bought the paper and began making note cards with wonderful results – until a week ago. Last week my printer adopted the “some days the magic works” mindset. After several frustrating days on the phone with technical support, I finally found a way to make the printer work correctly. The jury is still out, however, as I’m waiting for better consistency (some days the magic works).

Between the printer and other things occupying my time, I haven’t been out shooting as much. I’ve been watching a Great Horned Owl’s nest in nearby Carson City. I saw that the eggs hatched and there are two little ones in the nest. Take a look!

The first time I saw a baby – peaking over the edge of the nest but not far from Mama.

Yesterday, Mama was on a limb below the nest. The little ones were very active and loud. I’m not sure if they were hungry or just mad that Mom was taking a break.

This little one was looking over the edge of the nest towards Mama.

Today, Mama was back in the nest and the little ones were laying low. The leaves blocked the view (there’s a hint of a fuzzy little head just to the right of Mama) of anything fun.

There are a few more images on the Birds page – take a look!

Into the future, car show season is just around the corner. I’m working with a new neutral density filter system to make shooting in bright daylight a little easier. The results will be great. Until next time – ENJOY! Photorogr

The PHOTOROGR Project

A Journey in Creative Photography!

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Energize and revitalize!

All cars – all the time!

On the road with ‘fresh eyes’ – Part 2

On the road with ‘fresh eyes’ – Part 1

Happy 4th of July!

…you may be in for a shock…

All RAW — All the Time!

As promised – car show pictures…

Patience is a virtue…

Some days the magic works…