Behind the Scenes look at ‘A View From the Office’…

December 1, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Genoa NV, Genoa State Park, Lake Tahoe, landscape photography, mobile phone photography, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Rocky Mountain National Park | 1 Comment

I don’t know when I started the ‘view from the office’ series on Facebook, but I do remember why! I was trying to poke a little fun at my many friends who are still working, sitting at a desk or on a job site or somewhere every day. More bluntly, I was rubbing their noses in it!! I hope no one takes offense at this revelation – it’s all in good-natured fun and I love sharing my passion for photography with you.

One of my rules for the ‘view’ is that all the pictures and videos are taken with my mobile phone camera. They are frequently taken from the same vantage point as pictures with my DSLR cameras, but not always. I post them on Facebook at the earliest opportunity, since I am often in places with limited or no signal.

I must confess that I took a long time before embracing the multi-media device we all carry to do anything but transmit and receive voice communication. I thought a mobile phone was for making phone calls and nothing else. I started looking at mobile phones differently when I carried a PDA (don’t ask me what it stands for, something like personal assistant) in one of my last professional positions many, many years ago. When I finally bought a smart phone and I worked my way through apps and having my email at my fingertips, I still resisted using the camera. Then I began using the camera, but I avoided video. Last February, I finally touched the little movie icon on the camera screen and recorded the snow falling in my back yard through my breakfast nook window. Since then, I’ve been making lots of short videos with my mobile phone. The next step is to engage the video function on my ‘big boy’ camera, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s get back to mobile phones.

The December 2016 issue of Shutterbug magazine has several articles on photokina 2016, the biannual event showcasing the future of imaging technology. The future is apparently perplexing -Editor Dan Havlik says as much in the issue’s Editor’s Notes. In addition to interesting developments by major photo equipment companies, Havlik laments that there were “…tons of – too many, actually – new Virtual Reality (VR) products at photokina…” A friend of mine received a VR device for his birthday recently, and he tells me his mobile phone provides the operating system to bring the VR media to the device. That’s a long way from making phone calls.

An article by Seth Shostak tells us what a camera of the future might look like, and how we might use and view the images it will make.

Joe Farace writes articles for Shutterbug’s ‘Geared Up’ column, which provides a discussion of new photo equipment. In an article titled ‘9 Trends That Will Change Photography Next Year,’ Joe gives his take on photokina and the future. Joe writes that cellphone photography is adversely impacting the point-and-shoot camera market, and that “…thanks to the smartphone boom the worldwide population of photographers has grown by a factor of eight over the past 10 years.” He continues, “…while smartphones represent the primary camera for a growing number of people…the opportunity for users to step up to a digital camera grows with every new photographer this trend produces.”

I hope I haven’t lost any of you by now – I have a point – really! I began taking pictures as a boy using the point-and-shoot technology of the time, my trusty Kodak 110 camera. I graduated up to a single lens reflex (SLR) camera just before our first son was born and carried that camera for decades. Almost 8 years ago, I bought an entry level digital SLR (DSLR) and have upgraded twice. The mobile phone is a much more advanced version of the point-and-shoot film cameras that my generation grew up with (it makes phone calls and connects to the internet, too).

For now, we have to be content with the tools we have and put them to their best use. For me, my mobile phone allows me to have the advantages of point-and-shoot technology. Further, it allows me to quickly and easily share with my friends and rub my retirement fun in their noses! Mostly, it allows me to quickly and easily share – that’s my story! Whatever your equipment or skill set, I encourage you to take pictures and share them, but mostly have fun.

Here’s a few examples of a view from the office compared with the image from the big camera.

I posted this image from Mormon Station State Park on November 29, 2016. I put my mobile phone on top of my DSLR camera for this picture.

This is the same shot from the DSLR and enhanced on the computer.

The Carson River on November 1, 2016.

From the big camera – love the sky much better!

Remember this image from October 27, 2016. The south shore of Lake Tahoe on a stormy day.

From the big boy camera and enhanced on the computer. Much better composition and drama.

There are some images that are fun to make, but are not deserving of getting out the big camera. This is the Welcome sign in Vernal UT. Mobile phone all the way.

Rocky Mountain National Park with the mobile phone, August 16, 2016.

Same view with the big camera. I shot multiple images and stitched this panorama.

Eden Vale Pond, October 3, 2016. One of the fun things about shooting with the mobile phone is that I can include the big camera in the image.

Same pond, big camera.

While this was not a ‘view from the office’ post, I include it because of the comparison between my mobile phone camera and my DSLR.

I haven’t mastered the art of the mobile phone selfie, hence I make very few and show even fewer.

I vastly prefer the DSLR selfie – I can make a good one that I’m willing to share. Thanks to my lovely bride for being seen with me in public!

That’s the behind the scenes look at ‘A View from the Office.’ I hope you’ve enjoyed the view on Facebook and now see the difference between the view and the final image.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

…I’m at a creative crossroads…

November 3, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Eagles, Hawks, HDR, Job's Peak, Lake Tahoe, landscape photography, Owls, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, Raptors, Scenery, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Wildlife photography | 3 Comments

When people embark on a journey, they plan their itinerary in great detail. Hotels, fuel stops, meals, sightseeing and other tourist stops are set with a timetable and destination in mind. If one is on a journey of discovery, however, there is minimal planning – because it’s all about the journey. A couple years (and lots of posts, don’t forget!!) ago, I started a journey in creative photography. My only plan was to learn how to make better images. This blog has been my vehicle to document and share my journey.

In the last few weeks, I realized that I was approaching a creative crossroads. There are two roads for me; the first continues on the path to making purely photographic images, while the other heads toward more artistic images. I never thought about the differences until I visited one of my photo mentors to learn about his workflow to process landscape images. He opened my eyes to editing techniques that I never imagined, so I’ve been experimenting with new and old images. When an artist takes a new direction or pushes the creative envelope, there is always a period when the work may be considered ‘overdone’ as the artist tries to find a balance – it’s just part of the journey.

I won’t get into detail about the editing for the following images. I think I’ll let them speak for themselves. Let’s start with a few landscapes.

I made this image at the Eden Vale Inn near Placerville CA (a wonderful ‘b n b’ – we highly recommend it!). I’m not satisfied with the sky, but I love the rest of the image.

These fall colors can be found along SR 207, Kingsbury Grade, between the Carson Valley and the Lake Tahoe Basin.

After I made the above image, I turned and saw this view into the Carson Valley. It was a beautiful stormy day, as you can see.

I made this image yesterday morning. The Carson River as it approaches SR 88, just south of Minden. The sun was just coming up behind the clouds.

This is the south shore of Lake Tahoe. I visited the lake last week, on a stormy day. I’ve never seen the weather cover the mountains so completely. I stitched together 10 images to make this panorama.

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The recent storms gave us wonderful skies and light. This a Jobs Peak (the snow covered peak partially hidden by clouds on the left) on a wonderfully stormy day!

Here’s some new Raptor images.

I just love this Great Horned Owl!

I used the same filter on this Hawk image.

It was raining when I made this image. This Hawk was focused on a potential meal. This image was selected as the ‘image of the week’ by one of the photography froups on Facebook.

I got a little aggressive with this image. The dark streak in the background is actually a branch.

Same picture, but with an added twist in editing. A little more detail in the chest feathers. I love this, but it doesn’t look like a photograph to me.

This Hawk was hunting along an irrigation ditch.

A little extra during processing, and the image has a completely different feel.

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I made this image last February. I struggled with the background.

New editing knowledge – new look for the image.

I hope you understand better my dilemma at the creative crossroads. I think my best direction is to assess each image independently and make the edits that bring out the best in every one. The journey continues – as does the fun for me! Using the digital medium, sometimes I will be a photographer and sometimes I will be a ‘cutting edge’ artist.

There’s much more on the way for this exploration. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

I’m just about to burst…

September 20, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged CA 120, Close up photography, fall colors, Ford Ranger, Genoa NV, Genoa State Park, landscape photography, Macro photography, Mormon Station State Park, Mt. Patterson, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Pine Nut Mountains, Porsche Club of America, Scenery, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Sonora Pass, sports photography, sunsets, Treffen Lake Tahoe | 1 Comment

I’m so excited about my photography right now that I’m just about to burst! I know, it’s been 3 weeks since my last post and I’m sure you’re all asking, ‘if he’s so excited, why so long since his last post?” The answer is simple – I’m having too much fun to make a post! The problem with that, however, is the backlog of images to share. I still have two posts worth of images from my trip home last month – stay tuned for them!

We’ll get to current pictures in a minute because there are fun things I want to share. First, I’m waiting for my new lens, the Generation 2 Tamron 150-600, to arrive. I’ve been shooting with the first generation 150-600 since it came out almost 3 years ago and have always loved the results. The new lens has better optics, faster autofocus, and a shorter minimum focusing distance (by almost a foot!). I found a nice home for my old lens (the new owner has already made some great images, and has nicknamed the lens ‘Godzilla’), so I’m without a super telezoom for the short term. My withdrawal is almost as bad as when my camera body fried a circuit board last June and I was without my 7D for a time. I’ll get through it – I promise. With the raptors returning to the Carson Valley, I’m excited to try out the new lens!

Second, I’m launching my exploration into Shutter Priority (Tv) mode. For the last couple years, I have shot primarily in Aperture Priority (Av) mode, which controls light using the aperture opening. Aperture size impacts depth of field, or how much the image is in focus from the foreground to the background (large openings = shallow depth of field, small openings = deeper depth of field). For wildlife shots, especially birds, I shoot wide open. Large aperture openings also allow fast shutter speeds, capturing detail and freezing motion. I don’t worry about the background being in focus because I want to highlight the bird or animal in the image. For landscapes, I use smaller aperture openings to have more of the scene in focus. I shoot my landscapes from a tripod, so shutter speed is not really a concern. I use Manual mode for my landscapes, allowing me to control exposure with either shutter or aperture priority, looking for the best settings for the particular subject and conditions.

What prompted me to explore Tv mode? Sports photography! One of my son’s friends has two little boys who play flag football. I took pictures at a game last Saturday (they won – it was very exciting), and asked a friend/mentor to critique my work. His comments were very helpful, pushing me to explore the wild world of Shutter Priority. Here’s a couple pictures from Saturday.

He had just intercepted a pass and was running into the end zone for a touchdown!

These little guys take the game seriously – look at the intensity (or maybe fear of getting hit) on their faces!

As you can see, the focus is just a little soft. I shot these in Av mode, so a shift to Tv mode will give me a faster shutter speed to freeze the action better. I’m excited to give it a try!

A couple weeks ago, I went to Mormon Station State Park in Genoa to take pictures of Treffen Lake Tahoe, the Porsche Club of America’s cruise around the Lake Tahoe area. The tour made a lunch stop in Genoa. Go to my Treffen Lake Tahoe page (https://photorogr.com/treffen-lake-tahoe-2016/) to see my pictures from the day.

My retired guy ATV group made the ride up Mt. Patterson the other day. Here’s a few images from the trip!

I took this on the drive up, with my mobile phone. Note the smoke low on the horizon.

This is the view looking west from the top of Mt. Patterson. It was mid-day when we arrived and I wasn’t happy with the light. I made the image anyway and am pleased with the result.

The view to the north. Lots of smoke low on the horizon. The signage going up the hill described Mt. Patterson as ‘Mars with vegetation.’ I love the colors in this mountain.

On the way to Mt. Patterson, we passed the turnoff to CA 120, the Sonora Pass Road, and I just had to go back and drive Sonora Pass. The leaves are starting to turn, and the PHOTORANGER loved the drive.

The PHOTORANGER at the summit of Sonora Pass.

Fall colors, on the east side of the Pass.

Hopefully a sign of a good fall color year. I found a great book on fall color in the Sierras, with excellent information on where to go. Fall color exploration, here I come!

I was amazed at the amount of water still flowing.

The mountains had a fresh dusting of snow.

This panorama was stitched from 8 images, then processed using a couple Nik Color Efex Pro filters. Some of my mentors/friends think it’s a little overdone. I like it!

The scenery was stunning, everywhere I looked.

I made several images of this mountain. I like this one for the trees in the foreground.

I didn’t forget to make images of the yard. Here are a few.

Remember the discussion of Aperture Priority above? This flower was shot with a wide open aperture and close up filters. The foliage in the background becomes a pleasing blur, while preserving the detail in the petals, stamens, and pistils. When I master focus stacking, the petal at the top will also be in focus.

I finally found a Daisy bloom that hadn’t been molested by the rabbits.

I love these Roses, but they are proving very challenging for me. I am constantly fighting the monochrome of the petals and work to introduce meaningful shadows to separate the petals. I was drawn to this composition by the dead bloom at the bottom of the image, in contrast with the vibrant blooms above.

The last image of this post. I took a quick trip into the Pine Nut Mountains, just a couple miles east of our house, one evening last week. The sun was going down and was shining through some clouds. I’ve never made an image like this, so I thought I’d give it a try. I’m not totally happy with the result, so I’ll be working to improve my image capture processes in these lighting conditions.

That’s a lot of fun for me. I promise that I’ll get the images from my trip done and posted. They’re worth the wait – I promise.

Thanks for reading my blog. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Photo Editing Software…and Rocky Mountain National Park!

September 1, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Adobe Bridge, Close up photography, Elk, HDR, landscape photography, Lightroom, Marmots, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photomatix Pro, Photoshop, Pikas, Rock Chucks, Rocky Mountain National Park, Scenery | 1 Comment

In previous blogs, I’ve talked about the ways photography has changed due to the transition from film to digital photography. The basic principles of controlling and recording light have not changed, but editing processes have changed dramatically. Like many photographers, I work to get the best possible image in camera but further processing on the computer is essential to my success as a photographer. Thankfully, there are really smart people who have developed great software to make this part of photography easier. I use Adobe’s Photoshop (PS) CC (Creative Cloud – yes, I pay my access fee every month!) and Camera RAW (ACR) as my primary software. I also purchased Corel’s Paint Shop Pro X7 when it was cheap (PSP X8 had just come out) and work it every now and then, but PS and ACR remain my go to software.

As those smart guys at Adobe make their products better and easier to use, and I learn how to use the features I have along with the new stuff, I try to produce better images. Recently, the Adobe CC guys announced a new feature in Lightroom (LR), a sister software to PS. As background, I prefer PS to LR because I can use layers in PS. ACR and LR use similar menus and controls for processing, so I’m not missing out on those features. LR manages files which PS does not do, however, I use Adobe Bridge for my file management.

Back to the cool new tool in LR – Boundary Warp. If I create a panorama in LR, Boundary Warp allows me to adjust the image without having to crop and lose content. Regardless of how well I shoot a series of images to merge into a panorama, there is always inconsistency in the edges requiring cropping and/or filling. Boundary Warp minimizes data loss and is very cool, from my perspective. I processed several panoramas using both PS and LR to determine if one is preferable to the other, but I’ll let you be the judge in the images below.

Oh yeah, LR now has a High Dynamic Range (HDR) feature in PhotoMerge, but I prefer PhotoMatix Pro for my HDR images.

Today’s images come from the day I spent in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), located in north central Colorado, last month. I entered RMNP from the east side (US Highway 36 from Estes Park CO). After a quick stop in the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center for some shopping and a stamp in my national parks passport book, I proceeded into RMNP and that portion of US 34 known as Trail Ridge Road. Trail Ridge Road is only open in the summer months, as its 12,000 foot (+/-) elevation makes for a very snowy road in the winter months.

I came across a flock of turkeys, but failed to get a decent image of them. I drove by this beautiful vista.

I believe the peaks to be (left to right) Mt. Wuh, Stones Peak, and Terra Tomah Mtn, with Tombstone Ridge in the middle ground. This panorama was created and edited in Lightroom, using the Boundary Warp feature.

Here’s the same view processed in Photoshop.

The differences in brightness, contrast, and color are my adjustments and experimentation. I manually cropped the LR version to a standard 5:1 ratio panorama, the same as the PS version. What’s important to note is that there doesn’t appear to be geometric distortion from the Boundary Warp, however, there is more foreground in the PS version (check the tree line) which indicates a larger availability of data in the LR image. Based on my totally non-scientific experiment, I opine that the use of PS versus LR for panoramas is a matter of personal preference at the moment.

Back to pictures.

I believe these peaks to be Mt. Chiquita (l) and Mt. Chapin. This is a panorama merged in PS.

For comparison, I shot this image using a wide angle lens. For this view, either shooting method works fine.

This is a panorama of Sundance Mtn. While I was at this location, I visited with a very nice young lady who was shooting with her Canon T2i and a Canon 100-400 zoom lens. We had a nice discussion about lenses and photography.

One of my favorite shots on the day. This is an HDR. When I shot this, the flowers in the foreground were in deep shadow and HDR allowed me to bring them into the light, so to speak. The wind was blowing at 12,000 feet, as you might imagine, so there is a touch of movement in the flowers. A few minutes later, the clouds moved off but the wind came up. The flowers in the full light images were blurry due to the wind.

If you’re an Elk in the mountains on a hot summer day, how do you keep cool? They’re on a snow bank enjoying the cool. They were probably 1/2-3/4 mile away.

And these Elk were using the trees to keep cool, again, 1/2-3/4 mile away.

I believe these peaks to be (l-r) Stones Peak (the sharp pointed one), Sprague Mtn, Nakai Peak, Mt Julian, and Terra Tomah Mtn. This is a panorama merged in PS.

I came around a corner with lots of people looking up a hill, watching this Bear. He was a couple hundred feet away and cared less about the crowd at the bottom of the hill. I parked and came back for this shot, the best of what he gave us before disappearing behind the trees.

When he disappeared, the crowd dissipated. I hung around to see if he would make another appearance, and made a few images of the flowers and landscape.

Beautiful mountain flowers.

I made this image with my trusty mobile phone. Every now and then, it makes a nice image. Note the wildlife.

I believe the center mountain to be Terra Tomah Mtn, with Jackstraw Mtn on the immediate right. This is another panorama merged in LR using Boundary Warp.

Same view from a PS merge. I see a subtle difference in the foreground, especially on the right side, but not enough to conclusively say one is better than the other. Both images are stunning! oh yeah, the LR image is cropped to 5:1 ratio and the PS is at 3:1.

I was making a series of images for a panorama when I caught movement out of the bottom corner of my eye. This Marmot, also called a Rock Chuck, was very busy and unfazed by all the people just 30 feet away.

The rocks were alive with these North American Pika. About the size of a Guinea Pig, these little fuzzballs were busy working on nests for the coming winter.

I have established a page dedicated to Rocky Mountain National Park. Visit the page to see more images from this part of my trip.

Since I got home, I’ve spent some time in the yard with my flowers, so I’ll close with them. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

One of the Rose blooms in the backyard.

My favorite Candy Tuft. The sun was going down and lighting up the side of the bloom.

Seeing the world differently…

August 23, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Big Thompson Canyon, Big Thompson River, Bridal Veil Falls, Colorado, Happy Jack Road, Interstate Highway 80, landscape photography, Loneliest Road in America, Nevada, Provo Canyon, Scenery, Spring Valley, US Highway 189, US Highway 34, US Highway 40, US Highway 50, US Highway 85, Utah, Vedawoo, Wyoming | 4 Comments

A little more than two years ago, I decided it was time quit working for others and pursue photography on a full time basis. I started this blog to document my journey and share what I’ve been learning. While I’ve learned much about controlling light through digital media, I’ve learned two things that I think are more important. First – the more I learn, the more I’m surprised at how much I don’t know about photography. This realization keeps me motivated to continue the journey and helps to make it fun! Second – I’ve realized that I’m looking at the world much differently than I used to.

During my trip through Oregon in July, I watched the scenery go by with a different eye – evaluating the light and view to see if it was worth stopping and consuming a few pixels. I just returned from a 2,600 mile trip through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. My father turned 85 last week, and we also celebrated Mom and Dad’s 65th wedding anniversary, which actually happens in November. The whole family came for the party! We had a great reunion – the great grandkids put on quite a show and it was good to see my brother, sister, and all the nieces and nephews.

While on the road, I found some great pictures. A couple times, I saw something fun and had to turn around to make the image. Here’s my view from the road.

UTAH:

This rock formation is on I-80 in eastern Utah, near the Wyoming state line. The best camera is the one in your hand, and I took this picture with my mobile phone.

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I got out the big boy camera, too, and shot this panorama handheld from the same spot, but looking a little left.

WYOMING:

West of my home town of Cheyenne, Wyoming, is the Vedawoo Recreation Area. The rock formations are phenomenal. This is an HDR of this formation.

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This is a common scene along Happy Jack Road, Wyoming Highway 210, between Cheyenne and Laramie. When I was a Boy Scout, we frequently camped in this area. I chose a monochrome theme for this panorama.

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As we got closer to Cheyenne, the rock formations changed in color and shape. A storm was coming from the north (left side of the picture).

COLORADO:

My lovely bride had to return home early, so I drove her to Denver International Airport. I returned to Cheyenne on US Highway 85, the Can Am Highway, instead of the interstate highway. Traveling on US 85 is old school – primarily 2 lane road and slow downs through the many communities. I drove by this scene, but turned around to make this panorama. The two bridges in the foreground were part of the original highway alignment. They were not razed when the new road was constructed, and they were the impetus for this image.

I drove home through Rocky Mountain National Park, but that’s a blog all by itself!

The Big Thompson River flows through the Big Thompson Canyon in Colorado. US 34 between Loveland and Estes Park shares the canyon. This waterfall is located near Estes Park.

I found this scene along US 40 in northwest Colorado, west of Craig.

Also along US 40.

UTAH:

This is Bridal Veil Falls, along US 189 in Utah’s Provo Canyon (between Provo and Heber City). I was please that there was enough water to flow this late in the year.

NEVADA:

Nevada markets US 50 as “The Loneliest Road in America,” but the stretch of US 6/50 between Delta, Utah, and the Nevada state line was a little more lonely. In Nevada, I saw Pronghorn Antelope and Deer. I also got all the stamps in my ‘US 50 Survivor’s Guide.’ I mailed in the card and am waiting for my reward!

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After a smoky stop at Great Basin National Park, just south of US 6/50 on the Nevada/Utah line, I found this scene in Nevada’s Spring Valley. Behind me, wind turbines spun slowly to generate electricity.

Also in the Spring Valley. I was channeling my inner Ansel Adams while I processed this image.

I couldn’t stop at just one monochrome shot.

If you go to Cave Lake State Park south of Ely, Nevada, , you’re greeted by this view on Nevada Highway 486.

This is the view from Stokes Castle, near Austin, Nevada, looking west.

As you can see, I had a wonderful trip. The Expedition ran great, got excellent fuel mileage, and I saw some pretty country! Watch for more blogs from this trip.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Water Water Everywhere…

July 13, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Central Oregon, Columbia River, Columbia River Gorge, Crater Lake National Park, Deschutes River, Historic US 30, landscape photography, Latourell Falls, Macro photography, Multnomah Falls, Oregon State Parks, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Scenery, Shepherd's Dell, US 30, Vista House, Wahkeenah Falls, White River Falls | 3 Comments

My lovely bride and I made our annual trip to our grandson’s birthday a couple weeks ago. This year, we decided to celebrate the centennial of our national park system by visiting Crater Lake National Park on the way. Everyone should go to Crater Lake – but beware, you can’t take a bad picture there.

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This pano was taken from the west side of the Lake.

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Also from the west loop, this pano includes the caldera (volcano within a volcano) inside the main crater.

From the south side of the lake. Love the clear blue water and great reflection of the clouds!

After a wonderful day at Crater Lake, we drove to Portland and had dinner with our niece. The next morning, we spent some time in the Columbia River Gorge checking the views and the waterfalls.

World famous Multnomah Falls. This was our first time there, and we understand why this is one of the most photographed falls in the world!

Wahkeenah Falls, just west of Multnomah Falls. Also very spectacular!

Another view of Wahkeenah Falls.

Shepherd’s Dell. A smaller fall than the others, but worth the short hike to get there!

We found this small waterfall on one of the trails. The branch at the top left caught my eye, and I used it to frame the falls.

Latourell Falls. The rocks are the best feature of this site.

The Columbia River is spectacular, as well.

A view looking east from historic US 30. This road was built about 100 years ago, and is a marvel of engineering. I think all transportation professionals should have to study how this road was built. This road was built with emphasis on the journey, not the destination.

The Columbia River from the aptly named Vista House!

We drove along the Deschutes River – one of the images I shot there.

And my favorite waterfall – White River Falls, in central Oregon near the Deschutes River.

I wish we had been there earlier in the day for better light, but I think it worked out.

The state park has several excellent views of this beautiful waterfall!

I am going back to this waterfall – I promise! When one lives in the desert, one forgets how fun it is to see water flowing in July!

I’ll close this post with a few flower macros! I’m really having fun with macro photography!

Found in a park in Richland WA.

I had help from my grandson taking this picture. Look close and you can see the bee in the center of the flower!

I shot this on the side of SR 22 on the way to Portland!

Macro and some creative editing.

On one of our non-photo stops, a nice person working in a store told me about these Poppies and mailboxes at the edge of town. I found it, and had to make the picture. Not macro – but a great image!

Water water everywhere! We had a great trip and really enjoyed the scenery. I didn’t try any new techniques, instead reaching into the toolkit for those that I’ve been developing. Thanks for following my blog – until next time! Enjoy!! PHOTOROGR

Summer is here…

June 23, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Gardnerville NV, Heritage Park Car Show, landscape photography, Macro photography, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photoshop, The Great Race | Leave a comment

…and it’s getting hot outside! Thankfully, the Carson Valley cools down at night, which helps keep the house comfortable!

I’ve had an exciting couple weeks since my last post. I received an email from a museum in Roseville, California, asking if they could use some of my panoramas in their train diorama. I’ll let you know when the display is ready! I have note cards at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park. They’re the big size, so go get them. I also got a call from a company looking for a picture for a proposal. The image came out great and I wish them luck with their proposal.

I got out and did some long exposure/HDR stream shots. They’re so much prettier when the vegetation has leaves and a little color. I also spent last Sunday at Heritage Park in Gardnerville, shooting the Car Show and The Great Race lunch stop. The pictures came out great, but my Canon 7D broke and is at the Canon Repair Center. We hope it’s not fatal! While I don’t think it broke because I was taking pictures of foreign cars and those made by the Evil Empire, I’m not ruling it out!

Take a look at the Heritage Park Car Show page for pictures of the car show, and The Great Race page for pictures of the race cars! There are links to The Great Race website on both pages.

So, here’s a few images. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

This is a Columbine flower. When I master ‘focus stacking,’ it’ll be a better picture.

West Fork of the Carson River.

More Carson River…

The moss on the rocks and branches really made this picture for me!

Great Race racer – Lincoln Continental – now that’s a great cruising machine!

1966 GT350-H…rare and gorgeous. How would you like to drive this across country?

My friends, Mike and Sharon Silvera, won ‘Spirit of the Show’ with their 1911 Chalmers! What a gorgeous car!

Another friend, Mike King, with his classic Woody! Check out the rest of the show cars at the Heritage Park Car Show page!

Up Close and Personal…

June 6, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Close up photography, HDR, landscape photography, Macro photography, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photomatix Pro, Scenery | 2 Comments

Desert flower!

Well, my exploration into Close Up and Macro Photography has begun in a big way! Sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun!

Rob Sheppard begins his book on Macro Photography this way, “…This truly is a different world for most people and most photographers. When you and your camera get in close to things, what you discover can be amazing, unique, and remarkable. We simply don’t usually spend time looking at most things around us with a close-up point of view.” A few pages later, Rob describes this paradox, “By going small, you can go big, very big. How is that possible? By getting in close to the small things, that smaller majority, we actually see more of the beauty of the world. The world becomes a bigger place!”

Not only am I developing a new view of the world, I’m developing a new set of photography skills as well. Depth of field (DOF) is very different when you’re working in close. Shoot a landscape at a small aperture opening and DOF goes for miles. Shoot a flower at a small aperture and DOF is measured in centimeters and fractions of inches. Hand held shooting is possible, but keep your expectations low. The definition of ‘good light’ takes on a whole new meaning, however. For example, mid-day light is very harsh and unforgiving to the landscape photographer and gives me fits when shooting wildlife. Go for the small subjects, and mid-day light can be your friend. For me, Macro and Close Up brings a new set of challenges, but it reinforces the same basic photography concepts by forcing me to use them in a different way.

Enough technical talk for now – let’s get to some pictures!

I found this little fella’ working our new Catmint in the backyard.

My lovely bride likes it cropped a lot closer…thoughts?

This is a Macro of a Rose in our backyard. I gotta say, I’m putting fewer miles on the PHOTORANGER since the flowers in the yard are blooming!

Red Hot Poker just starting to bloom. When it’s fully bloomed, the tips are red and the rest of the bloom is yellow. This is one of my favorite plants!

We found this California Poppy at Topaz Lake. One of my few successful hand held macro shots!

On the Thornless Hawthorne in our backyard. These flowers are gone now.

When I started being serious about Macro, I rented a Macro lens and went looking for subjects. I drove Monitor Pass and found these beautiful flowers. Don’t ask me what they are – they’re just pretty!

This is a Peony from our back yard. I made multiple exposures and merged them in Photomatix. With our flowers, that’s always dangerous because the wind moves everything. I got lucky this time!

I found this Peony at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park.

Not a Macro – a Close Up! This is a headlight on a 1927 Willys Knight that I saw at a car show over the weekend. This is an HDR image processed in Photomatix.

Well, it hasn’t all been Macros and Close Ups. I took a ride with my old retired guy ATV group the other day. We drove east of Carson City to Silver Springs, then south towards Fort Churchill. Just south of Buckland Station, we turned left into the high desert and unloaded the ATVs. A short 11 miles later, we arrived at Hooten Well and took a break.

This is a panorama looking west towards Cleaver Peak. The desert is green, but it was a very hot and dusty ride!

Cleaver Peak with remains of one of the stone structures in the foreground.

Our ultimate destination was Salt Cave. Native Americans used them for shelter and decorated the ceilings.

…and I had to shoot them in Macro…yes, I need to work on my DOF and focusing…

My plan is to continue to be up close and personal for a while, with the occasional landscape and panorama. HDR is a great tool, and I’m getting more comfortable with it.

For my LinkedIn friends, please consider endorsing me for Digital Photography. Thanks in advance!

Until next time – Enjoy! PHOTOROGR

I’ve slowed down a little – could you tell?

May 24, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Adobe Camera Raw, Carson Valley, Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park, HDR, Kites, landscape photography, Macro photography, Nik Efex, Owls, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photomatix Pro, Photoshop, Scenery, Sierra Nevada Mountains | 1 Comment

There’s nothing like a three week break between posts to demonstrate how much I’ve slowed down in my shooting. Just to be clear, though, it’s only my shooting that has slowed down! I’m spending more time studying new techniques and continuing work with those I’ve already added to my ‘toolkit.’ Also, it is Spring so I have to spend a little more time at home working on the yard and taking care of business in general.

I’ve continued my exploration of in-camera High Dynamic Range (HDR), as you will see below. As explained in a previous post, HDR is the process of combining multiple exposures to utilize the best parts of each image for best detail from shadows and highlights. After figuring out the settings, it works much better than I originally thought. I noted an interesting part of the in-camera process the other day. While reviewing several sets of exposures, I saw that the camera floated the ISO setting to obtain the underexposed image. When I manually create multiple exposures, I usually float my shutter speed to create the over- and under-exposures. I never adjust the aperture because of the impact to depth of field. In addition, I’ve been exploring the Nik Efex filters and the variety of options available in Photomatix Pro. I made these pictures at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park, with the Sierras as the background. They will demonstrate better than words.

In-camera HDR with minor adjustments in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). Another problem with in-camera HDR is that the file is in JPEG format, which limits post-processing options.

This image was made from the same set of exposures as the one above. I combined the exposures in Photomatix Pro with additional processing in Nik. I received feedback from another photographer, telling me I needed to change my camera settings to minimize noise and also be careful of chromatic aberration. I’ll discuss these topics in future posts.

This in-camera HDR was processed in ACR.

Also in-camera and processed in ACR.

I should have shifted a touch to the left to keep Jobs Peak from hiding behind the wheel spoke.

My lovely bride and I are members of the Friends of Dangberg Home Ranch, and I’ve been working with the Curator on some note cards for them to sell. Here’s a couple of the options we are discussing.

I took this image several years ago when I didn’t know what I was doing photographically. There are those who will argue that I still don’t know what I’m doing, but I’ll leave that alone for now. This image was shot in low resolution JPEG format at the wrong time of day, but I was able to work it enough to make this image – formatted for a large note card.

Just for grins, I made it monochrome and applied a sepia filter. This will probably not make the cut for the final note cards.

Better light and better angle. Jobs Peak is visible in the left side of the picture. This one will be on the note cards.

The Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park teamed up with the Carson Valley Arts Council for an event called Something in the Wind. A kite group from Oregon came down and put on a wonderful event. The wind cooperated, sometimes just a little too much. Here’s a little of the color from the two day event.

These spinners were on poles – very fun and beautiful.

Can you tell we had good wind? The spinners came down soon after I made this image.

Lots of colorful flags, too!

And then there were the kite fliers – all shapes and sizes! This little guy worked his kite pretty hard.

The bubbles were quite the hit on Sunday!

Kites are very beautiful these days! A far cry from newspaper and sticks that we used.

The kite folks put these in the air and tethered them, and they flew all day!

This young man walked by my booth and proudly announced that he just turned 7 and he got this box kite for his birthday! I enjoyed seeing a father and son spending time together.

I stopped by my favorite Owl venue and captured this Barn Owl!

Looks like a young one by the puffy feathers. I shot this handheld, so it’s not the best focus (camera shake from me and my hands – the low light and long shutter speed also contributed). A cutie nonetheless.

The nice wet winter brought lots of flowers to the desert.

This is the introduction for my next shooting technique – Macro Photography! Stay tuned!

The mountains west of the Carson Valley.

Shot from the road, looking up hill. But the flowers are gorgeous!

I’m really looking forward to my exploration into the world of Close-up and Macro Photography. Thanks for looking at this blog.

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

What a Rush!!!!!

May 4, 2016 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged landscape photography, Nevada Discovery Ride, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Photomatix Pro, Photoshop, Shooting the West, Winnemucca NV | 2 Comments

This week has been wonderful. While Shooting the West (shootingthewest.org) was awesome, the days before and since were equally wonderful.

I was in the final stages of building my STW presentation and needed a little break, so I decided to try something new – flowers overlaid on a textured background. I’ve played with the technique before, but not with a specific goal in mind. I had some textures in a folder, and the flowers from my backyard this Spring were great candidates. To make a long story short, the results are wonderful and I will be making them into note cards and prints. I’m thinking about canvas prints, too, but we’ll see. Here they are!

I drove to Winnmeucca last Thursday. I took my time and enjoyed the drive. A couple months ago, I got my US 50 Survival Guide from the Nevada Commission on Tourism, so I planned to get a couple stamps while I was on the road. The Dayton Chamber of Commerce was closed, but Fernley’s was open so I got my first stamp! For the uninitiated, the US 50 Survival Guide is designed to promote travel on the Loneliest Road in America. When I get 5 stamps, I qualify for my US 50 Survivor certificate and sticker for my car!

While on the road, I got a call from a senior center in Carson City. They were hosting a fundraiser for wild horse adoption, and wondered if I would bring some wild horse pictures to display and sell. The fundraiser was on Tuesday, so I would have to work quick when I got home on Sunday. I agreed and put it on my calendar.

I got to Winnemucca in good time, so I stopped by the Convention Center to check in and coordinate my presentation with the audio-visual tech. He downloaded my file and everything worked, so that was one less thing to worry about. I bumped into a friend who was finishing his workshops, so we grabbed our cameras and headed for the Humboldt River for a few pictures before dinner. All we found were small birds, so we visited the local Museum. I encourage you to stop in when you visit Winnemucca – the Museum is great!

Dinner with more friends at the Martin, a local Basque restaurant. It was a busy night so we had a wait, but it was worth it! I had pork ribs that were wonderful!

Friday morning and Shooting the West kicked off for me. I enjoyed seeing old friends, making new ones, and meeting people that are friends on Facebook. The presentations were great, with diverse subjects and beautiful images. The keynote speaker was Drew Gurian, who discussed his work as a photographer in New York City. Other presentations included ranch photography, large format photography, and a wildlife photography presentation, along with presentation of awards for the Range Outback Photo Contest. I had a great conversation with the Canon representative, who showed me how to use the in-camera HDR feature on my 7D Mark II. An interesting process, worthy of a few pixels sometime. (See my blog ‘An Amazing Week for Me’ on March 29, 2016, for a discussion on High Dynamic Range photography).

My presentation was Saturday afternoon, but I wasn’t worried. I had practiced and I was ready. I paid close attention to the morning presenters. I was almost sold on mirrorless cameras until the presenter told us about the negatives – short battery life and very susceptible to getting dirty when changing lenses. I enjoyed the presentation on photo workshops and tours, but started to get a little nervous as my start time got closer. Finally, it was my turn. I took the stage and, of course, the AV tech ran into difficulty starting my presentation. I knew it would happen, but I only had 15 minutes and a couple jokes. He resolved things quickly and I began. Don’t ask me what I said – I have no idea, and I only had to rush a little at the end. I got great feedback from everyone afterwards, so I feel good about it.

Sunday morning, and I’m off to the car show and air show at the airport. Here’s a little of what I saw!

I forgot the year, but this is a Hupmobile.

You see the darndest things at a car show. The guy on the left was showing this home-built camp trailer, towed by his Model A.

There were several military vehicles there. This is a beautiful Willys Jeep.

The local tractor club was showing, too. I always enjoy an old Ford tractor.

I didn’t get close enough to see if it was armed or not!

After the car/plane show, I headed east to Battle Mountain to have lunch with an old Air Force friend and his wife. On the way, I decided to try that in-camera HDR feature.

This is the in-camera image. It’s nice, but a little off from what I like in an HDR image.

Using the bracketed exposures, I merged them in Photomatix with a little nicer result.

Another in-camera image. Notice the ‘ghosting’ or multiple images of the car on the right side of the image. When using this feature, I will have to be careful to ensure that nothing moves, since the camera aligns the bracketed exposures, but doesn’t account for ghosting.

Here’s the merge I did in Photomatix. Bottom line – in-camera HDR could be useful in the right place at the right time, but it will not replace my existing HDR workflow.

On Monday, I got ready for the fundraiser on Tuesday. The money raised will support the Nevada Discovery Ride (www.NevadaDiscoveryRide.com). This August, Samantha Szesciorka and her horse, Sage, will undertake a 1,000 mile journey to encourage wild horse adoption. The weather was excellent and I met many nice people – sales were good, too! Samantha is very nice, and I wish her well on her ride.

Okay, that’s it for this post. I’m taking a little time and working on the yard (I finally mowed the lawn this morning!), but I will be showing at Something in the Wind at the Dangberg Ranch on May 14 and 15. Come on by and see the kites – make sure you say hello!

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

The PHOTOROGR Project

A Journey in Creative Photography!

Tag Archives: landscape photography

Behind the Scenes look at ‘A View From the Office’…

…I’m at a creative crossroads…

I’m just about to burst…

Photo Editing Software…and Rocky Mountain National Park!

Seeing the world differently…

Water Water Everywhere…

Summer is here…

Up Close and Personal…

I’ve slowed down a little – could you tell?

What a Rush!!!!!