Inspiration – the Key Ingredient!

January 30, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, CV Chamber of Commerce, Eagles, Eagles & Agriculture, Geese, Hawks, Owls, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Pine Nut Mountains, Raptors, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Turkeys, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography | 4 Comments

In my last post, I talked about luck (right place, right time, right settings) and the importance of being prepared. In the last month, I’ve discovered another ingredient that I feel is key to the creative photography process – inspiration!

Inspiration comes in many forms and governs everything. For example, I have to be inspired to go out with a camera, inspired to stop and make an image, inspired to spend time processing an image, and then be inspired to share the image. In the last month, my inspiration (and sometimes lack of inspiration) has been all over the map. I’ve been excited to fire up the PHOTORANGER and go looking for subjects. I’ve just stayed home because I just wasn’t ‘feeling it’ that day. I’ve pulled over for something I liked, and often driven on and sometimes missed a shot. When I’m back home and downloading images from the day, I’ve said ‘yuck’ to everything (you don’t see those!) and resolved to correct technical errors or find better subjects, and resolved to get out there again. And then a whole month passes between posts (I really need to work on that). You know how the inspiration roller coaster works.

In the last week, the inspiration peaks and valleys have become less extreme – returning to almost normal, in fact. Subjects have been plentiful and my settings have been good, improving my images and increasing my inspiration. Here’s some images from the last few weeks. I hope you enjoy and are inspired by them!

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Every winter, the eagles visit the Carson Valley for calving season. I found this Bald Eagle along US 395 a couple days ago. Eagles & Agriculture is only 3 weeks away!

This Bald Eagle was hunting along Foothill Road, on the west side of the Carson Valley. Not sure he knew about his ‘shadow.’

This juvenile Bald Eagle was in the southwest part of the Carson Valley.

I’m not sure what these two were discussing, but they sat for pictures for quite a while.

I found the Carson River Road turkeys in the trees a few weeks ago.

Remember that ‘right place right time’ discussion.

These two are part of another turkey flock, generally found just over the California line.

I’ve seen this nest many times, but didn’t see an occupant until the last couple days. I’ll watch and see what develops.

This little fella’ flew from fence post to sign to sign while I followed and took pictures. I’m not sure if he’s sending a message here…

Remember that ‘right place right time’ discussion? I forgot the ‘right settings’ piece, as I was zoomed in too close when this Hawk took flight…

…but I got this Red-Tailed Hawk just fine.

This Blue Heron was focused on his next meal and didn’t worry about me as I got closer and closer…

While he looks unconcerned, he never took his eyes off me.

I don’t normally take pictures of geese, but I was inspired when their flight path brought them close to me. Jake’s Wetlands, Minden NV.

This is KC. His mares are known as the Sunshine Band.

One of the Sunshine Band. I like this composition.

Peeking through the trees…

Next to an eagle shot, new foals are great inspiration. This little one is about a week old, but has not been named as the Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates are waiting for confirmation of the sex. That’s Mom on the left.

New foal staying close to Mom, Suzie Q!

And Suzie Q making sure I wasn’t too close.

This family portrait shows Shorty, the sire, keeping a close eye on me while the foal nuzzles Mom. This picture has gone viral on Facebook! Thanks everyone!

It’s hard to top the ‘family portrait,’ but I wanted to share this panorama of Jobs Peak (second peak in from right). It’s a little different view of the Sierras.

Right Place! Right Time!! Right Settings!!!

December 31, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Ducks, Eagles, Hawks, Owls, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Pine Nut Mountains, Raptors, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography | 6 Comments

I have long recognized that much of my success as a nature photographer is due to being ‘at the right place at the right time,’ better known as luck! In a recent article in Outdoor Photographer magazine, Andy Long tells us that luck “… is when preparedness meets opportunity.”

I have tremendous opportunity, by virtue of where I live. The Carson Valley is teeming with beautiful scenery, a wide variety and abundance of wildlife, and, most importantly, great friends who share their knowledge of photography and where the wildlife are hanging out at any given time. In fact, one of my photo buddies, Jackie Gorton, recently added a third leg to my thoughts on luck – right settings! How wise she is, for one can be at the right place and time but if one misses the correct camera settings, one misses the shot! Of course, this is where the preparedness piece comes into play.

I started this blog to share my photographic journey – learning photography and developing my skill set, experiments in photo processes, successes, failures, and as a showcase for my work. Apparently I’m doing something right, because many of you have shared that my pictures are getting better (thank you for the feedback!). Of course, the more I learn – the more I realize how little I know, so there is lots of room for improvement!

I’m closing out 2015 with a tribute to luck! Please find below a series of pictures that are the result of ‘being in the right place at the right time with the right settings!’

I’m also expanding my outreach! I share my blog on Facebook, and will try to include my friends on LinkedIn. If this reaches you, then I was successful – and Welcome! If you wish to get an email notice when I make a post, then consider following my blog.

I’m not one for new year’s resolutions, so I won’t make one here. I will continue this marvelous journey and share with you, hopefully making better images for your enjoyment.

Enjoy and Happy New Year! PHOTOROGR

Ultimate luck! My lovely bride and I were running errands and saw this Bald Eagle on a utility pole beside the road heading into town. He had just caught a rabbit and was enjoying his meal. In some of my pictures, you can see fur in the air and meat in his mouth.

A little less gruesome shot of our friend.

I saw this Red-Tailed Hawk in a snowy field, but didn’t realize I had interrupted his meal until he took off.

Sometimes I find one Great Horned Owl in this pole barn, but this day I got lucky and found two!

I was at Jake’s Wetlands in Minden looking for the Wood Ducks that some of my very lucky friends had seen there. Of course, the Wood Ducks were hiding from me, but these Mallard Ducks put on a parade in the snow!

Contrary to what you might think, this female Mallard Duck is not conducting an orchestra – she was preparing to dive. This image made a very nice note card!

As stated, no Wood Ducks for me. This Bufflehead posed nicely for me, though.

I was cruising Foothill Road just south of Genoa last week, and this Hawk tried to hide from me.

Yes, it was as cold as he looks. He watched me, but didn’t move away.

This Hawk was just stretching his wings.

I don’t know why, but I really like the shots where the bird is looking straight at me.

I have no idea what these two were up to, but they had a great time for several minutes while I clicked away, safe in my warm truck.

Not a very timely update, but this is Mystery just before Christmas. He was closer to where the Pine Nut bands wander. I haven’t been out to check on him in a while.

Honored and humbled and excited and intimidated…all at the same time!

December 16, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged American Kestrels, Blue Herons, Carson Valley, CV Chamber of Commerce, Eagles, Eagles & Agriculture, Hawks, Owls, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Pine Nut Mountains, Raptors, Shooting the West, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography, Winnemucca NV | 4 Comments

A year ago, my good friend and photography mentor, Craig Moore, introduced me to Shooting the West, a photography symposium in Winnemucca, Nevada. I ventured to Winnemucca last March and had a great time, made new friends and improved my photo skills. Any of you who attend events such as this know that the promoters solicit feedback from the attendees. In my evaluation, I noted that the program did not include a nature photographer and I suggested they include nature photography in future programs. One should always be careful for what one wishes because last August I got a call asking if I would be interested in making a presentation on nature photography at the 2016 Shooting the West symposium (honored and humbled). I thought about it for about 3 seconds and quickly assembled a brief outline with a few examples of pictures (excited), and submitted my proposal for a nature photography tour of the Carson Valley. A couple weeks later, I got an email advising that they accepted my proposal and I would be on the program (more excited).

As the initial excitement subsided, reality set in – I would be showing my pictures to a room full of photographers from around the country (intimidated). Thinking back to last year’s program, I realized that, in addition to the amateur and hobby photographers in attendance, there would be people who have been shooting for decades, travel the world and get published in National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, and other international publications, and write books and teach classes about photography and photo editing. Oh my God!!! (More intimidated!!!!!) And I just said yes to showcasing my work on a really big screen for all to see (even more intimidated). I’m not afraid of public speaking – as many of you know all too well – but I’ve only been shooting seriously for a short time. Then I said to myself, “Self – get it together, put your best foot forward, and see what happens.” Finally, the voice of reason (but I’m still intimidated).

Shooting the West XXVIII will be held April 26 – May 1, 2016. Registration opens January 18. For more information, go to shootingthewest.org, call 877-623-3501, or email info@shootingthewest.org. I’m back to being excited, by the way (and still honored and humbled)!

It’s winter – prime raptor season – I’m out almost every day trying to get new and good images for my STW presentation and to market at Eagles and Agriculture (February 18-20, 2016, go to http://www.carsonvalleynv.org/pages/EAGLESAG1/ for information). Don’t worry, I’m not limiting my presentation to raptors only. I hope to include a good representation of game animals, non-raptor birds, and the Valley’s predators – at least the ones of which I have pictures.

Here’s a few images from the last couple weeks. I think you’ll like them.

I was out checking an area for a Golden Eagle aerie, and I found this stud wandering in the Pine Nuts all alone. He let me make lots of images. I’m trying to decide which one to submit to the Pine Nut Wild Horse Association for their 2017 calendar featuring studs.

He and I watched each other closely while I shot. He’s not from the area, that we know of anyway. We’ll see if he makes it all the way down to the other bands. We named him Mystery. Oh yeah, I haven’t found that aerie yet.

I’ve seen lots of Kestrels in the last few weeks. I’m not sure if they are more plentiful, or if I am better at seeing them.

This one looks like he’s giving me ‘the bird’ as he flies away.

My lovely bride commented that I get a lot of ‘butt pictures’ when I’m shooting birds, but I love seeing the frozen motion of their wings and feet as they take flight.

I saw this Blue Heron on a very windy day…must have stopped blowing for a second or two while I made the image.

I found this immature White-crowned Sparrow near the Nevada-California state line. This is my favorite composition for birds – tack sharp with a blurry background…

It was a snowy day outside this pole barn, but this Great Horned Owl didn’t seem to mind.

I saw this Golden Eagle probably 600 feet away.

This was the scene outside the pole barn…this guy was trying hard to stay warm and paid me no attention.

Same bird – different angle and background…maybe next year’s Christmas card???

Did you see that? Yeah, but I don’t believe what I saw…

Coming in for a landing…er, going up for a landing…

I drove by this Red-tailed Hawk, and went back for the picture. At first, he tried to sell me a watch…

…and then he took a spin around me…

I think this is my favorite. I was checking a location for Owls and saw this guy. Again – my favorite composition – tack sharp subject with a blurred background.

That’s all for this post. Between the raptors returning to the Valley and the wonderful weather, I’ve had a great couple weeks of shooting. I look forward to more fun, finding that aerie, and a visit from Santa! Have a very Merry Christmas! PHOTOROGR

Order and Chaos!

December 2, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Adobe Bridge, Carson Valley, Deer, Eagles, Hawks, Kestrels, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Pine Nut Mountains, Raptors, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Wildlife photography | Leave a comment

As an old crusty engineer and military officer, I enjoy order in my life. I like having ‘a place for everything and everything in its place.’ Those of you who know me well also know that I also have a somewhat chaotic side, and my ‘everything in its place’ side isn’t always dominant. When it comes to certain aspects of photography, I am very ‘orderly.’ For example, I have developed a filing system for my images that works well for me. I have file folders for certain subjects and geographic areas with subfolders for subjects, all arranged by date (year – month – day). I maintain shooting logs that show when and where I’ve been, and sometimes contain notes for future shoots.

My workflow for downloading images to the computer (within the proper subject/geographical area folder and date subfolder) is well established. Recently, I watched a great tutorial about Adobe Bridge, a photo management software linked to Photoshop and Lightroom, and learned how to use Bridge more effectively to download my images and identify those worthy of additional processing. Let’s face it, that little bitty screen on the back of your camera body can only tell you so much (good exposure and maybe if you’re in focus). You have to get the image on the big screen to see if it’s really good. After the tutorial, I made changes to my workflow that I hope will make my filing system better for subsequent retrieval. Time will tell.

Another of my very orderly processes is backing up my images. I used to use a triple redundancy system using the SD card from the camera, the computer’s internal hard drive, and an external hard drive. When I changed my shooting routine to RAW format (see my post ‘All RAW – All the Time’ on June 8, 2015), I began to fill up SD cards like mad, with the resulting problem of devising a means of labeling and storing them. Have you ever tried to put a label on an SD card? They are less than an inch wide, just over an inch long, and usually have a dark label! More importantly, even though they are coming down in price, they are still expensive! I changed my storage system to the computer’s internal hard drive and two separate external hard drives. I still have triple redundancy, and a more effective means of storing my larger images, such as panoramas stitched together from multiple images – they are downright huge! I will admit that eventually the long term storage goes to double redundancy as I haven’t installed additional hard drive capacity on my computer and I’ve almost filled the hard drive with this year’s images. I am removing older images from my computer to conserve space. I back up everything on a monthly basis.

So, we move on to the chaotic side. My computer desk is a mess, with magazines and notes and – well – accumulated crap. I will clean my desk on a cold day this winter – or not! Probably not (ha ha). But there’s also the chaos that results from exploring my creative side. As you’ve seen in previous posts, I’ve been exploring panoramas and monochrome images. I think I’m getting better – the phone calls to my wonderful Photoshop mentors are fewer and I’m not repeating my questions to them as often. I think they’re thankful for that. And I’m becoming more daring in my editing. I try new things more and more frequently, and am becoming more comfortable with the ‘undo’ button when I do something badly or that I don’t like.

Maybe chaos isn’t the right word after all, but to a regimented and very process-oriented engineer type, this new creative side is very chaotic. I just hope the results are worth it! Let’s look at this week’s images.

I have been very lucky to find Kestrels, and the ones I’ve found are very cooperative.

I was in the Pine Nuts looking for the wild horses and caught this little fella’ sitting on this tree. I like it!

I was cruising Foothill Road last week and saw this Kestrel having a bite of lunch.

When he noticed me, he took off to eat in peace somewhere else.

I took this image last January, but used my newly developed Photoshop skills to make this image.

Another from January. Must have been a cold day!

A few weeks ago, I got my first Bald Eagle of the season. Just yesterday, I got my first Golden Eagle. Actually, I drove by a pair of them sitting on a utility pole, but one flew off as I parked and got out of the car.

Goldens are majestic, too.

This one gave me a couple images and then took off. I’m still working on getting focus on birds in flight.

I was checking out Carson River Road last week, and this doe casually walked by.

Check her belly – still wet from crossing the adjacent river.

This image is not cropped. She was so close I couldn’t make my lens short enough and get more background.

The Hawks are returning to the Carson Valley. I was getting out of the car to shoot a fence with several Hawks in line. As I got ready to shoot, a Hawk flew in and forced the one sitting to take off. I was lucky to get this shot!

What a scene. No fighting over roosting spots kids!

This week, you get several panoramas.

PHOTOROGR - sierra panorama1 - 30 nov 15

The Sierras across the Carson Valley. That’s Jobs Peak on the left and Genoa Peak about a quarter in from the right edge. I shot this in monochrome and then made my adjustments.

The Sierras on a different day. I love the cloud formation in the upper left corner of the image.

The Pine Nut Range. The wild horses roam an area to the left of these mountains. This is part of my monochrome exploration.

The Pine Nuts in color. Yes, it’s hard to live here with all this natural beauty. (I can’t believe I typed that with a straight face!)

Well, that’s all for this post. As always, enjoy! And stay warm!!

PHOTOROGR

Slow November…

November 19, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, CV Chamber of Commerce, Eagles, Gardnerville NV, Hawks, Lightroom, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Raptors, Sierra Nevada Mountains, sunrise, Wildlife photography | 1 Comment

November is slow for the nature and wildlife photographer here in the Carson Valley. The bears are heading for their winter beds. The leaves are gone from the trees. The raptors are slowly returning to the Valley. The wild horses are winning at hide and seek. We’ve had some early snow, which has provided some good photo opportunities, mostly of the mountains. I’ve been working with Photoshop a lot, trying some new editing techniques. I’ve done a couple images in Lightroom, too, but I think I like Photoshop a little better.

Here’s a few images from the last couple weeks.

This Red Tailed Hawk wasn’t mad at me – he was squawking at a crow flying behind me.

Driving on Genoa Lane one day, and this Hawk was doing litter control watch. Not sure I’d throw anything out the window of the car with him around.

…and somebody must have done something, ‘cuz he was off in a shot. A good friend advocates that movement in images should always be left to right. I thought about it here, but left it alone.

I love the Kestrels, but they are difficult to get. This one was shy and refused to turn around for me.

This guy was more cooperative. I asked him to sit on this branch and look left. I love this picture!

I got my first Eagle of the season. Driving up Mottsville Lane last week, and there he was on a utility pole. He sat for a minute or so, and then took off.

I can’t get enough of the Bald Eagles and look forward to the coming Eagle season. I think this is one of our resident birds – it’s a little too early for the transients to arrive.

I love the detail I was able to capture. I’m making big plans for this image.

Last Sunday, Edsel woke me up early to show me the amazing sunrise. I tried to resist and stay in my warm bed, but ultimately got up and made these images.

I made this image just before the sun popped over the horizon.

I turned around to see the Sierras just before sunlight struck.

And here’s a couple more panoramas, just for fun.

I worked this image in Lightroom. I need much more practice in LR.

This is the full width of the Sierras in Douglas County. This concept has potential for the future.

One last shot – I was out on a snowy morning and tried to make an image of the ‘welcome to Gardnerville’ sign in Sunset Park, at the border between Minden and Gardnerville. A 24″ x 36″ print of this picture is on display in the Gardnerville town office. I need to get a nice spring, summer and fall shot so they can display a different picture with each season.

Welcome to Gardnerville!

Until next time – enjoy!! PHOTOROGR

A little R and R…

February 27, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Bodie State Park, Carson Valley, CV Chamber of Commerce, Eagles, Eagles & Agriculture, Hawks, photo editing and composition, Raptors, Wildlife photography | Leave a comment

It’s a nice Friday morning here in the Carson Valley, but the weatherman says a change is coming. We may get some much needed moisture and will definitely get some cooler temperatures in the next couple days. I’m listening to one of my favorite soundtracks, The Last of the Dogmen. If you haven’t seen the movie, you should (you should also listen to the soundtrack). The story is excellent, the scenery is phenomenal, and I like Tom Berenger and Barbara Hershey, who play the main characters. With a successful Eagles & Agriculture in the rear view mirror, I’ve slowed my picture taking this week and continued preparations for next week’s Shooting the West photography experience in Winnemucca, NV. I also caught up my checkbook (aggghhh) and made sure the bills were paid, renewed my driver’s license, and made time for a few pictures.

In military parlance, the term ‘R & R’ refers to rest and recovery, or rest and rehabilitation, or rest and…well, pick your favorite ‘R’ word. The key to R & R is ‘rest.’ As you will see, I tried to rest, but there’s just no rest for the wicked, or when you’re wicked, or if you’re wicked. Let’s face it, I’m no singer (I won’t try to type her name, but Travolta butchered it – she sang in Wicked on Broadway, get it?) and I’m having a little too much fun (just ask my lovely bride), and I’ve been called worse than wicked – but I digress. You’re interested in my pictures, not my meandering thoughts!

Here’s what I did this week. And don’t forget to watch The Last of the Dogmen! You’ll love it.

Enjoy – Photorogr

My photo challenge last week was ‘black and white.’ With my busy schedule, I used some images I made in Bodie State Park, http://www.parks.ca.gov/bodie/, last summer. This image was my submittal. After desaturating (removing all color), I adjusted the image to maintain the reflection of the mountains and clouds in the window while trying to enhance the details of the products that have been on these shelves for more than 70 years.

This beautiful old stove is in one of the few buildings that the public is allowed to enter. I also experimented with a sepia tone on this image. For those of you unfamiliar with Bodie, it was a mining ‘boom town’ in the late 1800’s. When the mining stopped, the town was finished. People literally locked the doors and walked away. There are similar stories all over the western United States – thanks to those who work to preserve these historic places!

Some of the old mining equipment. I tried to bring out the shadows in this equipment, but I overexposed the original image which made those adjustments impossible. I guess I’ll have to go back and shoot Bodie all over again – darn it!

I was on my way home from the store with a car full of fresh fruits and ice cream bars, when I spy a Golden Eagle floating on the wind currents. He disappeared behind a house, so I went looking for him. I found him in a pine tree. He made the obligatory adjustment before taking off…

…so I followed him skyward. There I see several more Golden Eagles enjoying the wind currents – like a convention up there. And then they were gone and the sky was empty. That allowed me to get home in time to save the ice cream bars. It was the best of both worlds – great pictures AND ice cream bars!

I went out yesterday with some friends. The birds were skittish and wouldn’t let us get close. I did the best I could. Love this Bald Eagle in the air…

…and this Marsh Hawk taking off – away from us, of course. Fun day with good friends!

I took a quick trip down Mottsville Lane this morning while Edsel was at the groomer. I went to the groomer, too, but Edsel came home much cuter than I. I was on the hunt for pictures for this week’s photo challenge – Abandoned. I found this Hawk on a fence post along the road, and I’m a sucker for a chance to get a Hawk up close. I found some good shots for the challenge, but I’m still working on them. Stay tuned!

IT’S FINALLY HERE!!!!!

February 19, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, CV Chamber of Commerce, Eagles, Eagles & Agriculture, Hawks, photo editing and composition, Raptors, Wildlife photography | 4 Comments

I’m starting to feel a little relief because it’s finally here – Eagles and Agriculture kicks off tomorrow! Yesterday, we set up the opening reception/art show display at the Holiday Inn Express in Minden (of course, some of us had to go back today to finish – no names, but you know who I am). Here’s a quick shot of my display. I hope to see many of you at the reception tomorrow evening.

The Record-Courier said there are still a few tickets available, so if you’re in the area and want to play, go to http://www.carsonvalleynv.org, see what’s available and come on down!

I split my available time this week between last minute preparation for E&A and a little bit of shooting. I was able to locate a juvenile Bald Eagle this week – exciting for me as I’ve been having an eagle drought lately. This raptor is about 4 years old, just on the cusp of full adult colors. You might have seen similar images on Facebook. We have a little group that shares locations of Eagles and other subjects. I let my friends know, and a couple of them came by. When the bird doesn’t leave the fence post, the images all start to look the same.

My favorite of the images I made. Classic Eagle pose, interesting color, but his chest feathers are a little rumpled. He reminds me of a pre-teen child who wants to be seen as an adult, but is still enjoying the fun of his youth.

I couldn’t resist playing with the editing a bit here. I ‘desaturated,’ or removed the color from, this image. I have a lot more that I want to play with on this image, but black and white works here. B&W also happens to be this week’s assignment in my weekly photo challenge – how lucky for me!

I like this image, too. I was trying to bring in the agriculture aspect by including the cow in the background, but it’s not as strong an image as I’d like it to be.

I also found a few Hawks and an American Kestrel.

I like this image for a couple reasons – he just finished eating and still has a little something on his beak, and he looks like he just got out of the shower. The colors came out well and I got good detail in his eye.

And with a nod to last week’s theme of launching birds, I had to include this Red-Tailed Hawk in flight!

Every now and then I find something really interesting and unusual. This Hawk was preening and his tail feathers rotated as his head reached to the left. In my years of watching the Hawks in the area, I’ve never seen this.

Who doesn’t love an American Kestrel. Some day I’m going to find a male in a tree or a bush, anywhere but a wire. Some day!

I’ve been looking forward to this year’s Eagles & Agriculture show for quite some time. The next few days are going to be busy, without much opportunity to go shoot. I hope to see many of you there. Behave as best you can! And I hope you enjoyed this week’s images!

PHOTOROGR

…in control for now…or am I???

February 3, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Adobe Bridge, Carson Valley, Eagles, Hawks, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Raptors, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography | 2 Comments

For most of my life, no one has successfully accused me of being in control. The whole concept of ‘in control’ is akin to other concepts, like growing up or being nice. Yes, avoiding these labels is a source of great pride for me. Thanks to all those out there who are vigorously nodding in the affirmative, and who would testify in support if needed. Now that I’ve taken my bow, it’s time to get serious.

I brought the fire hose under control, but it’s still flowing fast. I’m still in overdrive, but I’m learning to apply the brakes and control the skids more effectively. I’m watching more tutorials for Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and Bridge. These are great software packages for managing and editing pictures. My fear of the Camera Raw format is decreasing, and my memory cards will likely take a big hit as a result. (I’ve already gone from filling up an 8GB SD card in 4-5 months to consuming a 16GB SD card in 2 months and, in January, I filled one-third of a 32GB SD card. Now, before you get all impressed, please understand that it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. At this point in my development as a photographer, however, I need to experiment and learn the things that work and those that don’t. As my knowledge improves, so will my memory management efficiency. Note – my memory will not improve, but I will use the memory cards in my cameras more efficiently. I had to say that to preclude the rude comments from many of my friends.)

Back to being serious. As I explore these software packages, I’m trying new and fun editing techniques. I have to be careful, though. The teacher/moderator of my 52 Week Photography Challenge keeps reminding us that “just because you can do something doesn’t mean you have to.” Having the ability to make an adjustment is vastly different that making that adjustment well. Like photography techniques, editing requires a measure of experimentation as well. And control. As uncomfortable as I am being in control, I have to do it. A little.

So, here’s a couple fun things I did this week. The eagles have been hiding from everyone. I found a few hawks and some wild horses. New images, however, are not numerous, so I’ve had lots of time at the computer. In addition to trying new editing techniques, I’ve also continued my experimentation with replacing backgrounds, specifically skies.

I made this image on a cloudy day last September. His belly is horribly underexposed and the sky can’t get any more blah.

So, I turned it into this. I improved the color and detail in the bird and put him into a pretty sky. Yes, it’s a Nevada sky. I also used a ‘healing’ tool to clean up a spot in the bird’s wing. Photoshop is so cool!

I found this eagle a year ago, on a really cold and snowy day. He posed for me for quite a while. In fact, I was taking Susan to work and we blocked traffic for a short time.

I did a little editing and inserted a pretty Nevada sky. In my mind, this image asks if I went too far with my editing? I’d love to hear your opinion.

And one last set of before and after pictures. I tried some new camera settings when I was out in the Pinenut Mountains with the horses. As you can see, the new settings did not work (insert Thomas Edison wisdom here). Using new editing techniques, I was able to rescue the image. I’ll be really happy when I can remember what I did and rescue the image again.

This is the original image. When I rolled up, I saw these two. The rest of the band was screened from view by the tree on the left.

I edited and cropped. I was happy with everything but the color of the horses. Hmmmm…what to do???

Those tutorials paid off. I tried a new color editing technique and voila, a really nice image from a very bad original. I was very happy with myself.

Well, that’s what I’ve been doing with my week. You decide if I’m in control or not. Let’s leave the growing up and being nice questions alone. Thanks for reading and following my blog!

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Fire Hoses and Overdrive…

January 17, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Eagles, Geese, Hawks, photo editing and composition, Raptors, Wildlife photography | 4 Comments

So, there I was – the new year started with a bang and I was on fire. I was finding subjects in good light and making great images. I was in a good groove editing pictures like mad. Every new technique I tried was working. And then, I had to take care of something and wasn’t planning to take pictures. I took my cameras anyway, and it happened. I got an awesome shot.

I was very excited. It looked great in the camera. It looked great on the computer at home. I applied my newfound editing skill and made what I thought was a great image. Chest puffed and very proud of myself, I took my image to get it printed. When I showed it to my friends at the printer, I asked what they thought. They answered and, thankfully, told me the truth about my image. They agreed that it was a great image with tremendous potential. I learned about the potential in great detail. Not crushed but somewhat deflated, I tried to absorb every detail. I had a few other images, and we went through them, too. I found myself drinking from the proverbial fire hose of photo editing information (nice segue, right?).

I know I didn’t absorb it all, and I’m not going to try to recite everything I learned here, with one major exception: pictures showing motion are supposed to go left to right. Motion ‘right to left’ is unsettling. (Of course, this explains a lot about Mustang people – the running horse logo in the grill of my car is running right to left. Go figure.) I went home and tried again, starting with rotating the image, and I came up with this image.

I have received further feedback on this image – all of it positive and all of it aimed at helping me make a better image. And that brings me to the Overdrive (another nice segue, eh?) portion of this post. I am kicking my study of Photoshop and Photoshop Elements into overdrive to improve my editing skills sooner. I found a couple great books so I don’t have to bother my friends with questions all the time, and I’m going places in these software packages that I’ve never been. Time will tell if I am making progress.

Meanwhile, my photo challenge this week is ‘Find a Line.’ At first glance, that sounds very easy. Lines are all around us – sometimes in places we don’t always recognize. The challenge is further complicated by the caveat that the image be very simple. No lines with extra stuff – just a line. I have an image – not quite ready, and I’m keeping my eyes open for other lines. I’ll share my image next week.

But, here’s a few more of my successes from this week. It’s a mix between Eagles and Hawks, with one ‘guest shot’ of a Goose. Please also take a look in the Birds page. I’ve added a few pictures there. Enjoy – Photorogr

I don’t normally take pictures of Geese, but I missed the Coots that were there when I stopped the car. The Goose was walking by, begging me to make the image.

I think this is a Golden Eagle, but the jury is still out. My friends are almost evenly divided between Golden Eagle or juvenile Bald Eagle. The tie-breaker would be legs and feet, but they are not visible. It really doesn’t matter, however, as this Eagle is up to no good. None at all! Just check the posture and look on his face.

I was trying to get this juvenile Bald Eagle (I know because of a different picture) when this Magpie came into the shot. Oh yeah, I don’t normally take pictures of Magpies, either.

…and 2015 starts off with a BANG!!!

January 9, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Eagles, Genoa NV, Hawks, photography techniques, Raptors, Turkeys, Wildlife photography | 4 Comments

My first week of 2015 was wonderful, from a photography perspective. I enjoyed many ‘firsts.’

My lovely bride gave me a wonderful Christmas present – she enrolled me in a 52 week Photo Challenge. This class teaches photography techniques through a series of challenges. The first challenge was ‘selective focus.’ Without getting too technical, this technique uses aperture to control depth of field (the amount of the image that is in focus). As a nature/wildlife photographer, this technique is the staple of what I do. I submitted this image for the challenge.

Notice how the Hawk, brush, and fence posts near the raptor are in focus, but out of focus in front of and behind the raptor. This is a shallow depth of field, and is caused by opening the aperture as wide as it will go. I use this technique to emphasize the subject and reduce clutter in the image. You will see this in many of my images.

I’m excited to continue the challenge and moving forward on my journey to better photography. You will hear more about the challenge in the coming year.

I found an American Kestral for the first time – actually two! They are a small Falcon, formerly known as a Sparrow Hawk. They are colorful and make a great image, if you can find them and have them sit still long enough!

My very first Kestral. This one was on a utility wire along Mottsville Lane.

This one was north of Genoa on Foothill Road. I had just finished photographing some Golden Eagles and almost missed it.

I participated in the National Bird Count Day for the first time. My partner was an experienced birder who had done bird counts in California. He taught me how to ‘see’ the smaller birds and helped with identification techniques. Here’s one of my images that day.

I’m not sure what this is, but I sure like the detail and composition.

The next day, Susan and I were heading out and I found this beautiful bird in a tree near our mailboxes. I thought it was a Merlin, but I was subsequently told it’s a Cooper’s Hawk.

I’m trying to learn how to identify birds and have purchased a couple books, but I obviously need more practice and training.

And then there’s the Wild Turkeys in the Carson Valley. I found them in a snowy field on the west side of the road – great light, although I don’t know if I used the natural light very well.

And what week is not complete without some Eagles? I found a beautiful Bald Eagle south of town, and a pair of Goldens north of Genoa.

This Bald Eagle was a some distance away, but I still managed a decent shot.

This Golden Eagle was in the tree but, using Selective Focus, I was able to make this image.

And so, the year started great. Thank you for following my blog and being a part of my Journey!