Tag Archives: Canon PowerShot G9 X Mk II

My Summer Vacation Part V – Yellowstone!

by in Landscapes, Scenery, Wildlife photography, Yellowstone National Park and tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

We chose to enter Yellowstone through the northeast entrance, from Silver Gate MT. We drove over the Chief Joseph and Bear Tooth Highways (see Part IV) again. Boy, was that tough to do.

The road from the northeast entrance into the Park parallels Soda Butte Creek, past the Yellowstone Association Institute to the Lamar Valley. The Lamar Valley is famous for the Bison herds and other wildlife. The Lamar Valley is wider than the Madison Valley near the west entrance, with grander vistas. And the Bison were very photogenic!

My Bison wildlife panorama.

Obviously, these Bison were crossing the Lamar River. There were several babies (more appropriately called calves, I’m sure) with this herd.

Watching the calves was very entertaining. They run and play just like happy children should.

As we continued our drive across the northeast portion of the Park, we encountered lots of wildlife. We saw a Wolf, but from too great a distance for pictures.

The Pronghorn were still shedding their winter coats.

This Osprey was nesting on Lava Creek, I think.

We saw some Bear in the distance in the Lamar Valley, but this one was napping in the trees within camera range.

A final Bison shot with my ‘camera that also makes phone calls’ just a few minutes away from Mammoth Hot Springs.

We arrived in Mammoth Hot Springs shortly after noon. We scouted the area, visited the Visitor’s Center, and found the hotel and some lunch.

The Elk are plentiful in and around Mammoth Hot Springs. As it was calving season, the Cows were very sensitive to people.

Happy to be out of the car but too early to check into the hotel, we explored Mammoth Hot Springs. The mineral springs are a marvel.

A shot of the Lower Terrace with my trusty Canon PowerShot G9X Mk II, a compact point and shoot camera that I always carry.

I walked the path to this spot above the Lower Terrace, looking back towards historic Fort Yellowstone.

Of course, my lovely bride and sometimes model also enjoyed the walk to the Terrace. Even though we arrived on June 3, temperatures were cool for most of the week.

After our walk up the hill to the springs, we were able to check into the hotel. We met our tour guide and the other members of the Old Times on the Grand Tour (aka the Yellow Bus Tour) that evening. Nancy, our tour guide, reviewed the itinerary and provided other information. Our group included visitors from Illinois, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Thailand. We became good friends with them over the next week. Our accommodations in Mammoth Hot Springs were a ‘cabin’ – half of a duplex a nice walk away from the main hotel. Clean and comfortable, but no TV or internet. Pretty good shower, tho’. In the other side of the duplex were Stephanie and Carol, new friends also on the tour.

This is Cabin A26 with my favorite model relaxing on the porch.

The end of a very exciting day, but the beginning of a marvelous adventure! Stay tuned and enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Silhouettes!

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A couple weeks ago, I participated in the Winter Wings Festival in Klamath Falls OR. I took several classes to improve my photography skills and got to see a presentation by George Lepp. George has been taking pictures for over 50 years, and was recently presented with  Lifetime Achievement Award by the North American Nature Photograhy Association. He is a regular contributor to Outdoor Photographer magazine. I was able to visit with him for a few minutes before his presentation – a true gentleman, wonderful photographer, and a great presenter.

One of my classes was silhouette photography. The timing wasn’t great for the field portion of the class, but we did the best we could and I learned a lot about the technique. The key to a successful silhouette image is the background. For those fine art shots that people like to hang in their homes and offices, black outlines with a brightly colored background works great. Think sunsets and sunrises. Another key element is to be as low as possible to ensure that there’s a clear connection with the ground. Get low to ensure that feet aren’t lost in the foreground, for example.

For the images from class, I relied on pretty skies and the details in the trees to make the composition work.

Here’s a few images from the class.

I made this image with my trusty Canon PowerShot G9X Mk II. The instructor, Lisa Langell, told me I passed the class when I showed her this image in camera.

Not a perfect silhouette but still a fun image. Everyone was making images of the Eagle in the tree.

There were several Eagles in the area while we were there, and this one was circling before landing in the nest.

The sun was still in the sky, so I took advantage and made it a part of the composition.

This wasn’t my first attempt at silhouettes. In 2015, I made this image of my neighbor’s house and yard.

I was intrigued by the moonlight and the warm colors in the yard lights, but the tree silhouette on the right became a critical element of the composition.

And this from the Siskiyou River in Florence, OR.

I chose to not make the pilings and birds totally black, but it still counts as a silhouette.

My best silhouette to date was shot in 2016 in the Pinenut Range just east of my home.

A moonrise always makes a good picture – even better with a creative foreground.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Double D and PSC…interpretations on the Sierra Nevada Range!

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In my last post, I talked about the Digital Darkroom (or Double D) and the fun I was having while exploring the application of creative filters. For today’s post, I used an image made with my PowerShot G9X Mk II point and shoot camera (hence the PS Challenge piece of the title).

I don’t remember where I was going last week, but I remember that the light on the Sierra Nevadas was gorgeous. I pulled over and got out of the truck, grabbing my trusty PowerShot, and began clicking. I always bracket exposures for my landscape shots to decide during post processing what I am going to do. I bracket up and down one stop with this camera. I used all 3 exposures to merge them into an HDR in Adobe Camera Raw, then applied filters using Topaz Studio.

Just for fun, I processed this using three different filters.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

 

PS Challenge- April 20, 2018

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When I looked at my blog to see the last time I posted a PS Challenge, I was surprised that it was way back in September. I’ve been using my Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II since then (the PowerShot was the only camera I carried to Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Texas last fall), but apparently I haven’t made a PS Challenge post in that time. (Recall that the PS Challenge is intended to showcase this wonderful little camera!)

Today’s image is special for me – it represents a big first! This is the first time I’ve captured wildlife up close with this camera. Dad and I were headed to the Base Exchange on Warren Air Force Base this afternoon. Warren is famous for its large Pronghorn herds that roam freely around the base. We drove by several that were close to the road. We weren’t able to stop until we pulled into the BX and found this Buck standing near the road – close enough to shoot with my PowerShot!

Male Pronghorns have distinctive black markings on the face, neck, and below their ears. Their horns are shaped like a lyre when viewed from the front. Females also have horns, but they are smaller and generally straight with a slight curve (or prong shape) at the top.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

The Texas Adventure…Texas State Aquarium!

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In my post last week, I showed pictures from the two weeks I spent in Maryland training for my assignment with FEMA. I was assigned to the Corpus Christi Branch Field Office. Corpus Christi suffered wind damage, but nothing like Padre and Mustang Islands and the coastal areas to the north and inland areas to the northwest.

On my first weekend (and day off) in Corpus Christi, I visited the Texas State Aquarium. This is a beautiful facility and well worth the entry fee.

The walk from the parking lot. The former engineer in me loves that bridge on the right!

As is my habit, I started my tour on high ground. This atrium houses the tropical birds and other fun stuff!

Lots of Flamingos. You’d think they would be easy to photograph because they move so slow, but they move enough to screw up any bracketed exposures.

This guy was coy, but enjoyed having his picture taken.

And then there was this guy. I caught him still sleeping, but shooting up and into the light was a bit challenging. I’m told that Sloths have a green tint because they move so slowly that algae can grow in their fur. I haven’t confirmed it, however.

The displays are great, but pictures of fish in tanks have always been a stretch for me.

I tried anyway and made this image.

I enjoyed the Dolphin Show! They were very entertaining, but it was a very hot day and it got a little uncomfortable sitting in the stands.

When I made the decision to take the PowerShot camera, I knew I would be limited in my compositions. With that in mind, I wanted to work on my ‘eye’ to see landscapes. This is a view of the Gulf of Mexico from one of the observation platforms.

The USS Lexington is on display as a floating museum. Here she is, as seen from the Aquarium.

I also enjoyed the 4D Shark Show and picked up a nice t-shirt while I was there. All in all, the Texas State Aquarium gets a big thumbs up as a place to visit!

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

It’s been too long…

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…since my last post. I’m very aware of it. In my defense, I took a job supporting FEMA’s hurricane recovery operations and I’ve been away from home for a while. While on the road, I limited myself to my Canon PowerShot point and shoot camera. I challenged myself to push its limitations and make good images.

On October 1, I boarded a plane and headed to the National Emergency Training Center in Emmittsburg MD. The NETC is home to the Emergency Management Institute and the National Fire Academy. The campus was a girl’s school before it assumed its present duties. Many of the buildings are historical and they are all beautiful. The campus is also home to the National Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial.

This is one of my interpretations of the Firefighter’s Memorial. The view is from the right side and includes one of the stunning sunrises we experienced during the 2 weeks there.

I made this image of the Memorial with my mobile phone the first evening I was there. I had to check in and get my credentials late in the evening and was crossing campus when I saw this. I loved the light on the Memorial.

This is one of the administration buildings, typical of the architectural style on campus. I posted pictures of other buildings on campus in my ‘view from the office’ series on Facebook.

Some of my friends and I took a drive to Hershey PA and the Gettysburg National Battlefield on our one free weekend. Hershey was busy with the Antique Auto Club of America show, but we were able to tour the chocolate factory and take a bus tour around the town. I visited Gettysburg in 1982 when my father was on a tour of duty at the Pentagon. This visit was more rewarding after reading several books on the Civil War in recent years.

If you haven’t been to Gettysburg, you really should go. The locals started preserving the battlefield immediately after the battle, so unit locations and gun emplacements are accurately documented.

The Robert E. Lee Memorial. I pray that all these beautiful memorials and the history they represent are preserved forever.

This is my only fall color picture for this year. The trees in MD and PA had just started turning, but this scene, near the Wheat Field, gave me a little color for the year.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

PS Challenge – September 24, 2017

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Today’s PS Challenge image comes from Sonora Pass, a little over 9,000 feet elevation. My friend, Larry Burton, and I drove CA 108 to check on the fall colors the day before the snow flew and closed the road. We were amazed by the number of waterfalls still flowing and how green the vegetation still was. We also found flowers a little higher in elevation!

I like this color version of the image…

…but I was feeling my inner Ansel Adams as I was editing…

This Stemless Goldenweed is under several feet of snow now. I’m glad we got there when we did!

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

How I Spent My Summer Vacation! Volume 3…

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After we drove by Mt. Rainier and up the Olympic Peninsula, my lovely bride and I arrived at Port Angeles WA to prepare for our adventure to Canada. We rode the MV Coho across the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Victoria, British Columbia, for a fun day trip. I carried my Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II since we were going to be walking everywhere. You may have seen some of my Victoria images in my PS Challenge series.

The MV Coho in Victoria Harbor.

As the Coho entered Victoria Harbor, we were greeted by the beautiful Empress Hotel.

What a gorgeous building. I’d love to photograph it at night!

The Empress grounds were gorgeous and very well maintained. In this image, my lovely bride and frequent model stands near a pink Hydrangea at one of the corner gates.

We found an intimate little garden with these blue Hydrangeas. Hint – she loves Hydrangeas.

We walked around Victoria all morning. One stop was a knitting/yarn store Susan wanted to find. We found it, spent a little green (love the exchange rate!), and found a great place for lunch – Romeo’s! Great food! Here’s a few images from our walk.

This beautiful Totem Pole sits in front of the Parliament Building.

And here is the Parliament Building.

We came across this statue of an old sailor in front of a picture of Victoria Harbor circa 1905.

We saw several churches on our walk, one that had a wonderful cemetery with headstones that were very old. After walking 7 miles, we were both a little tired so we hopped a ride in one of the horse drawn carriages for a tour of the Victorian homes in the area.

Our driver took this picture for us. The horse’s name was Max and he did a great job. The driver explained the various commands she used and described the care of the horse, carriage and harnesses. The Parliament Building is in the background.

This is one of the many Victorian housed we passed on the tour. Owners can get government assistance in maintaining the exterior of these historic structures as long as they maintain the original appearance. Owners are free to do whatever they want to the interiors, but must maintain the integrity of the exterior. Max wouldn’t stop for pictures, so I shot this on the fly.

The carriage ride was only 30 minutes long, but the rest was welcome. We decided to rest a little more by taking a water taxi ride to Fisherman’s Wharf.

We saw many things that we don’t see here in Nevada…

…and we enjoyed sharing the Harbor with many Scenic tour float planes taking off and landing. Victoria Harbor is a very busy airport!

This image was featured in my PS challenge series. One of the many gorgeous views at Fisherman’s Wharf!

We saw very unusual sights among the house boats. My lovely bride thought it would be fun to live in one for a while.

Probably my most favorite image from the day. The MV Coho passing Fisherman’s Wharf on its way to Port Angeles.

We had a very fun day and saw so many beautiful things. We stopped by a visitor’s center and gathered information for our next trip. We’ve already picked a whale watching tour by boat with a trip to Buttchart Gardens!

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

PS Challenge – September 7, 2017

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Round Top, above Winnemmucca Lake as seen from near Frog Lake, on the trail from Carson Pass.

I shot this image using bracketed exposure, merged in Adobe Camera Raw, processed further in PhotoShop with a filter from On1 Photo RAW.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR