On the road with ‘fresh eyes’ – Part 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A detail of the bridge along the southern exposure.

The southern exposure.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

On the road with ‘fresh eyes’ – Part 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Great view!

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

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

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

The view from the trail to the lighthouse.

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

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

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Happy 4th of July!

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

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

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

A very lonely Socks!

He won’t even look at the camera.

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

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

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

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

Blondie keeping a very watchful eye on me!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Same evening – different vantage point.

…and a little to the right…

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

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

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

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

…you may be in for a shock…

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

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

I would also like to introduce you to the PHOTORANGER!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Who knew that quartz could sustain life?

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

As I said, the quartz formations were great!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

All RAW — All the Time!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Little Jo – my favorite!

And this is Blue. He’s the stud!

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

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

In the same pond, a Cinnamon Teal.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

As promised – car show pictures…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

All Who Wander Are Not Lost

April 14, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Coloma CA, Como Mine, Dayton NV, Genoa Cowboy Festival, Genoa NV, Genoa State Park, Lake Tahoe, Palmyra NV, photo editing and composition, Rawe Peak, Virginia City NV, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography | 4 Comments

My lovely bride and I snuck out for a quick dinner last week and, on the way, I saw a sticker on a car that read, “All Who Wander Are Not Lost.” For some reason, the phrase resonated with me – maybe because I was hungry – but the thought seemed incomplete. Susan and I discussed the sticker over dinner, brainstorming ways to complete the thought. We decided that it needed to say, “All Who Wander Are Not Lost – Some Of Us Are Taking Pictures!” I slept well that night, meeting a subliminal need to be profound. Maybe it was the good dinner and wonderful company – I’ll go with that (love you, Cutie!).

In my last post, I teased you with a promise to deliver a great composition montage from my photography challenge. Here you go!

This is the stamp mill at Coloma State Park, overlaid with a texture from a classic Chevy I found in a barn yard. I placed the wood stamp mill in the rusty areas of the texture and let the faded grey areas interact with the background and foreground.

The challenge for last week was street photography. The instructions were simple: go to a location(s) and take pictures of street scenes – include people if you can. I was a bit apprehensive for this challenge. I don’t live in a big city where people can be oblivious of activity on the street. And the Carson Valley is not small enough so I know everyone. Granted, I know lots of people here, but not everyone and, in true pioneer spirit, being too invasive can get you shot around here – figuratively, not literally. So, I traveled across the Valley to the Town of Genoa. It’s a quaint little place – the oldest settlement in Nevada (unless you’re from Dayton, where they take exception to Genoa’s claim, but I digress). Tourism is big in Genoa with lots of people around, so I felt safe with my camera over there. Genoa has one main intersection with a 4 way stop. I parked a little bit away from the intersection and started taking pictures: a nice couple walking through the Genoa State Park; vehicle traffic going through the intersection; a family stopping at the General Store from their bicycle ride; and a group of men enjoying drink outside the Genoa Bar, the “Oldest Thirst Parlor in Nevada.” My attention kept returning to a group of people placing mulch in the planting areas along the street. I recognized one of the workers, so I approached and said howdy. They are members of the Friends of Genoa, and were sprucing up the downtown before a major tourism conference next week and a big event, the Genoa Cowboy Festival, the first weekend in May. They were very chatty and welcomed me and my camera. Here’s my image.

I got rave reviews from the photo challenge facilitator, who liked that the woman’s red jacket complemented the red in the stop sign, the ‘V’ positioning of the people, and the lines created by the tools connected the people in the picture. Better lucky than good? Yes, I think so!

One of the great things about being retired/self-employed is that my time is mine to use as I wish. Susan and I live in a great neighborhood with wonderful neighbors. Several of these neighbors are members of an ATV group that hits the trail at least once a month. This month’s trip was southeast of Dayton, the Rawe Peak area, and featured fun stops at the Como Mine and the Palmyra town site. If you want more information on this area, just Google ‘Como Mine’ or ‘Palmyra, Nevada’ and you’ll find lots of information on the area.

This is Lynn, John, and Bob, with the Como Mine in the background.

Looking down to the road from the mine equipment. The high desert was beautiful.

This drum was intriguing. I don’t know enough about this mine to tell you what its purpose was.

The remains of the only building ‘standing’ in Palmyra.

I can’t go anywhere without looking for a little wildlife. We hit the jackpot near Palmyra, as we found a band of 6 horses, including a young colt.

Here he is with Mom. A fire passed through this area some years ago, making tough walking to get close to the horses. Not too close, however – this was shot with the big lens and then cropped.

The yellow grass, bare trees, and reds in the horses created quite the challenge for my limited photography skills. The horses were mostly cooperative and didn’t run away.

We also went to a nearby mountain, just down from Rawe Peak, to enjoy the views and let a couple group members do their geo-caching thing.

Looking northeast towards Stagecoach, Nevada.

Looking northwest towards Mt. Rose. Dayton is in the right side of the image, and Mound House is on the left.

Looking across the Dayton Valley to Virginia City on the hillside (along the light brown line in the far mountainside). Mt Rose is just out of the image on the left.

The view to the southwest and the Carson Valley. Jobs Peak, Freel Peak, and Little Sister are the prominent snow covered peaks. Lake Tahoe is just over the ridge of the far mountain range.

I’ll close this week with a images of the wild horses closer to home. I checked on them the other day, and they are enjoying the spring very well. I now have images of 7 new ones this year. I know the names of 4 of the 7. I hope you enjoyed my fun week. Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

These are the two little ones in Shorty’s band, I think. They didn’t get too far from their Mamas.

This is one of my favorite images from this year, and is available on a small note card or as a larger print. Sorry, I had to get one commercial plug into the post!

More fun than I should be allowed to have…

April 5, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Apple Hill CA, Coloma CA, Eden Vale Inn, Folsom CA, Jackson CA, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Placerville CA, Sutters Mill | 4 Comments

Last weekend, Susan surprised me with a weekend vacation to Gold Country in California. She told me to pack a bag, load up the cameras and tripods, and we headed out! We drove SR 88 (it’s very nice that CA and NV used the same number for this road) to Jackson CA. On the way, we stopped near Red Lake and grabbed a few pictures.

It was still morning and the sunlight made this slope an image begging to be made. As always, my greatest challenge was balancing the exposure for the light and dark colored rocks and the bright snow patches (wait -that really is snow -we actually had a little this year).

I am working hard to look around when shooting. Just because there’s a great subject in front of you doesn’t mean there’s not a greater subject to the left or right, or behind, below, or above you. This rock slope is just right of the above image, and I was intrigued by the tree growing out of seemingly impenetrable rock. Again, I loved the lines and shadows of the rock, and the beautiful tree gives the promise of life in the most unlikely places. And then there’s the water – the source of life – coming down the slope. Beautiful!

Just down the fill slope, I found this tree also defying the odds. The summit in the background enhanced the composition very well.

We got to Jackson in the late morning. The weather in this quaint little community was great. We found Tailing Wheel Park, a local park that is home to the remains of a wheel system that moved mine tailings from the Kennedy Mine to a holding pond. The Kennedy Mine was a very busy place in the early 1900’s, and its operations generated a massive amount of tailings. A freak rainstorm washed some of the tailings into fertile farmland, and the Mine constructed this system to prevent a lawsuit. Two of the four wheels remain, but only one remains standing. This is a beautiful area, worthy of a visit. Go to http://www.touramador.com/kennedy-tailing-wheels-park for more information.

Tailing Wheel 3.

More Tailing Wheel 3.

Here is my lovely bride standing next to one of the buckets used to transport the tailings. This is displayed next to the remains of Wheel 3. All that remains of Wheels 1 and 2 are the foundations, the wheels are long gone. Wheel 4 is still standing, and is housed in a building uphill from Wheel 3.

We had a nice lunch at Stanley’s Steakhouse in the National Hotel, in downtown Jackson. This historical building was recently remodeled and is beautiful.

This is the lobby of the National Hotel. I am so lucky to travel with a beautiful model.

After a little walk around town, we decided to visit Old Folsom. We traveled on two lane roads through rolling hills. We hadn’t been to this area at this time of year before, so we were amazed by the green grass. We are so used to traveling Nevada and Wyoming, and found the absence of sagebrush a nice change.

We saw this fella’ when we turned from SR 169 onto Scott Road. At first, we thought he was a statue because he didn’t move – then his tail switched.

When we pulled over to take a picture, we found he had a friend.

We saw several scenes like this on Scott Road, but the road is so narrow that shoulders and parking don’t exist. When we found this tree, we also found a place to pull off the road and park.

I walked a little way down the road for this image. It was definitely worth the walk. This is typical of the country between Jackson and Folsom.

We love Old Folsom, and have visited to do a little antiquing. It’s been a while since our last visit, and much has changed – all for the better! We went down to the railroad museum (which was closed, darn it) but found these couple of images.

I think this is a residence for a station master or someone like that. We’ll go back when it’s open and we can go in.

We could see the displays through the windows, but this was closed, too. Gotta go back sometime!

On our way out of town, we stopped at the Folsom Factory Outlet Stores to look for shoes. I found an awesome pair at the Merrell store – they will be great for the summer! We headed up the hill to Placerville and the Eden Vale Inn. Thirty years ago, a pair of newlyweds bought a barn and transformed it into their home and then a bed and breakfast. Mark and Gayle are marvelous hosts and mere words do not do justice to the Inn. Eden Vale deserves its own blog – visit http://www.edenvaleinn.com/ for more information.

Here is my lovely bride in one of the many garden areas at the Eden Vale Inn. This one is right outside our room.

After dinner, we sat around the fire pit and chatted with a young couple from Los Angeles. Well, that’s the end of day 1 of our great adventure. Are you tired yet? Surprisingly, we only drove about 150 miles total for the day. Not too bad!

Day 2 began with a gourmet breakfast at Eden Vale, and then a trip up the road to Coloma CA. Coloma is on the American River and is home to Sutter’s Mill. Surely you remember what happened at Sutter’s Mill in 1848? That’s right – gold was discovered and the push to gold country was on. We started our visit to Coloma in the peaceful confines of the cemetery. There were several names on the sign at the gate and I didn’t memorize them. We enjoyed exploring the grounds. We encountered a few mosquitos here – the only place we did on our adventure.

From here, we went down to the river and the State Park. At the Sutter Mill replica, we found the Park Historian giving a tour. We listened in for a bit, and then started walking. We bumped into the tour several more times during our time there.

I was off to the side working on other pictures when the tour arrived, so I missed the historian’s spiel, but I think this is a stamp mill. The historian fired it up and made some noise.

I liked the lines and shadows made by this rock wall, the difference in the grass between the upper and lower levels.

And my lovely bride in the remains of the Coloma jail.

Susan decided I needed to be in a picture, too, so I set her up and went to the corner – yes, it’s a familiar place for me!

From Coloma, we drove into Placerville and walked around. Placerville is a great place to visit – lots of things to see and great places to eat. We visited a yarn store and kicked around the antique shops in town. We also drove up to Georgetown to see a new place. I found a picture that I want to make there, but I need to do it when the modern cars are gone – oh no, we have to go back for another visit!

Day 3 and another great breakfast. We loaded the Expedition and bid our hosts good bye. Just uphill (literally) from Placerville is Apple Hill, a farming area that specializes in (you guessed it) apples and other fruits. In the fall, Apple Hill celebrates the harvest with a couple months of tours and fairs and sooo much fun. You can pick your own apples, buy an apple pie, and have a grand time! Wait for images from my visit there next fall. For now, the trees are in bloom and things are quiet. We enjoyed driving the rolling hills and seeing the pretty country without the traffic and chaos.

Apple trees in bloom!

I’m not sure when this tractor ran last. It sure makes a pretty picture!

We drove up US 50 to Lake Tahoe. The traffic coming the other way was the usual for a Sunday afternoon – lots of people heading home from their weekend at the Lake. We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls, and I got out the tripod and worked in the low light. The water was flowing, but not very fast. Darn drought!

We got home, unpacked the car, and started doing the laundry. I rested and then started working on the pictures. We watched a covey of Quail kick around the yard one morning this week, and I caught up with them on the east side of the house.

The blur in the image was caused by a couple other Quail chasing around. I left it alone because it’s kind of fun.

So now you see why I’m having more fun than I should be allowed to have. As always, my lovely bride Susan treats me like a king. I am so lucky to have her and enjoy her love and support. For next week, be prepared to see more baby horse pictures (I found a new one yesterday) and also my submittal for the weekly photo challenge – composite montage. I am overlaying an image with a texture to create a more artsy look. I’ve been experimenting with the technique, but haven’t finished my submittal.

Thanks for following my journey, and Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

My ‘Creative Spirit’ is alive and well!

March 26, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Fallen Leaf Lake, Glen Alpine Falls, Lake Tahoe, Owls, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography | Leave a comment

As promised, I’ve been trying new techniques and subjects this week, and I’ve been having a blast. I haven’t forgotten my familiar subjects, however, and you’ll still see plenty of them. Before we get to this week’s highlights, I’m very excited to announce that I am offering for sale 4.25″ x 5.5″ glossy note cards. I printed a set of prototype cards and sold out immediately. Take a look at the ‘Buy My Images’ page for prices.

Let’s start with my image for last week’s photo challenge – Shutter Zoom. This technique uses a long shutter speed combined with changing the focal length (or zooming) the lens to create an interesting image.

This is one of our apple trees. They are leafing early this year and provided a wonderful subject. The only editing I did was a little cropping and ‘vignetting’ (the light color in the colors).

The challenge for this week is a ‘re-do,’ to make another try at a previous challenge. I didn’t have a plan for this challenge, waiting for the creative spirit to strike. While shooting at Glen Alpine Falls yesterday (more on that later), I made an image that begged to be black and white. Here’s my submission for this week’s challenge, a re-do of the black and white challenge.

PHOTOROGR - Re-Do - Black and White - 6311

Glen Alpine Falls in black and white.

Since I already introduced yesterday’s shoot, here are additional images from Glen Alpine Falls. The falls are usually much more dramatic this time of year, but the drought and resultant lack of snow pack have really impacted the falls. They are still beautiful, but this is more typical of water flows in late summer or fall. I worked on shooting in manual mode, selecting aperture, ISO, and shutter speed, and exploring how changing one impacts the other two. I normally shoot in aperture priority, as depth of field is my primary concern for birds of prey. My next go round with landscapes will include different filters. So much fun to be had!

Glen Alpine Falls.

Glen Alpine Falls.

These rocks are not part of the falls – they are downstream. They have their own water source and create a different kind of waterfall. I noticed the intricate shadows caused by the rock surface, which created a very pleasing pattern. The old and large tree on the left enhances the composition.

Speaking of great trees growing in an unusual environment, on my way to Glen Alpine Falls I saw this tree growing at the top of a rock cut. The road was built about 60 years ago, and the solid rock slope has eroded away during that time. I am amazed that this tree is growing considering the lack of soil and water supply, and exposed root system. It grows, though, and has for years. Nature is truly wonderful!

The wild horse bands have been great this week, too. Blue now has three babies, and Blondie has one. Here are the little ones.

This is the newest little one – Sydney – one of Blue’s babies.

My special buddy, Little Jo. She put on quite a show for me the other day.

And Little Jonah, Blondie’s daughter. She was feeling quiet when I saw her the other day.

I found Hope having quite a fun time. She was bucking and jumping and roiling in this dirt patch. I kept thinking she found an anthill, but she kept going back and eventually lost interest.

And I found some owls.

I’ve been trying to make a good image of these two for several months. I finally figured out the right combination of aperture, shutter, ISO, and shooting technique to get an image that I could edit. The light was not nearly this good when I made the image. And the bird on the right took off right after I made this image.

I found this Horned Owl by accident. She had her head up at the right time. I’ve been back a couple more times, but she keeps her head down more often than not. There will be more of this one in the future.

I will close with a couple fun images. The Manzanita is blooming in the Sierras, so I took this picture. By chance this morning. I saw this balloon in the sky over Gardnerville and pulled over in time to catch him descending and landing. And so, my Creative Spirit is truly alive and well. New subjects, a number of new shooting techniques, and an eye looking for different opportunities – expect lots of fun in the coming weeks! Enjoy – PHOTOROGR

Manzanita is beautiful year round, but these pink flowers make it more so.

Gotta love a hot air balloon in the sky, with the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background.

Hi Ho Silver, Away!!!

March 17, 2015 by The PHOTOROGR Project in Uncategorized and tagged Carson Valley, Hawks, photo editing and composition, photography techniques, Raptors, Wild Horses, Wildlife photography | 1 Comment

For those of you who are counting, this is my 25th post (hence the ‘Silver’ reference)! I’m very excited about my journey, as you saw in last week’s blog. This week was especially fun, as I converted our breakfast table into a studio for several days and, for the first time, built a composition for my weekly photo challenge. Before I get into that, however, I had a very exciting day yesterday. For the first time in several days, I went out looking for nature pictures. The raptors are scarce right now, with most of the birds who live in the Carson Valley sitting on their nests and only a few transients flying through. So I drove into the Pine Nut Mountains to see if the wild horses were available for a few images and to see if I could get glass on the new filly in Blue’s band, Hope.

The day was overcast and the light was a challenge – gotta’ love a lighting challenge. As I came into the Pine Nuts, I found a couple bachelor studs grazing (you can see one of them getting up from his siesta in the wild horses page). They allowed a few pictures and I went on, finding Shorty’s band on a hillside. They were close to the road and weren’t too worried about me, so I took my pictures from the Expedition. As I topped a low rise, I saw two bands on the hillside in front of me. Hmmmm — could I be that lucky? I made my way towards them, parked at the bottom of the hill, and got ready to engage shank’s mare (taking a walk, for those of you not familiar with the term). I made a few images, moved up the hill a bit, stopped and made a few more. Then I realized that I was that lucky – one of the bands was Blue, and I could make out Hope. I pressed on. In his normal nonchalant fashion, Blue began moving his band farther up the hill, using Socks’ band as cover for their escape. I stopped and made a few images of Socks’ band, but my sights were on Blue and I didn’t want them to get away.

I continued up the hill – Blue’s band disappeared over the ridge. Fearful that I would miss my opportunity, I moved more quickly. As I neared the top of the ridge, Blue and his band were to my left and close by. I quickly set up the tripod and hit the shutter release. I located Hope – click click. I looked around and there’s another little one – smaller than Hope and a beautiful brown color, and not getting too far from Mama. I adjusted position and made a few images. My heart was racing – who was this new baby? I wondered about the name, so I sent a quick email to those responsible for keeping track of the Pine Nut Horses, the Pine Nut Wild Horse Advocates. (I love technology most of the time – this time it worked for me, so I loved it!) The response was quick and extremely exciting for me! They didn’t know that Blue had a second baby born this year, and I was the first to report in. Because of that, I had the honor of naming her. Oh yeah, she’s a filly! When I wasn’t sure of the gender, I decided to use Joe for a boy and Jo for a girl. She is officially ‘Little Jo’ until she outgrows her name, and she will become Jo.

Little Jo and her Mama.

Hope and some elder members of Blue’s band.

My weekly photo challenge was Board Game (Harmony/Unity). The challenge uses a board game to illustrate the design concepts of harmony and unity by grouping, overlapping, and/or repetition. I got into our game cabinet to see what we had and generate ideas. For those of you who have known me for a while, you recognize that this level of creativity can often yield very questionable results. I assure you, no one was hurt and nothing was destroyed in completing this challenge.

I decided to use two board games, Risk and Hunt for Red October. When I pulled them out, I realized that we never actually got around to playing Hunt for Red October, but we had put the playing pieces together. Both games have a worldwide conflict theme, so I thought they could work together. My initial concept was to overlap the two game boards, then use a combination of playing pieces to create a grouping and repetition.

First try. Okay – kind of fun. I used selective focus (in focus in the middle and blurry front and back). I didn’t like the background and the boards weren’t prominent in the image. On to concept two =>

In the second concept, I put the camera higher to see more of the boards, and raised one end of the HFRO board to create better background. I also used a little off camera flash to inject drama by controlling the shadows.

Flash from the camera angle: not bad, but not enough drama for me.

Flash from the right: I liked the general effect of the shadows, but wasn’t pleased with the way many of the vertical playing pieces were shaded by other pieces; also, the boards were still not as prominent as I wanted them to be.

Flash on the left: I really liked this image – the shadows made the drama for which I was looking and the boards were good, but I wasn’t happy with the almost reflective light from the vertical pieces.

I played with this concept a little more, trying to overcome the things I didn’t like. I was limited by the type of flash and quickly became frustrated by my inability to control the light better. Challenges to be met down the road! So I created a more simple concept.

Using only the Risk game, I created a series of concentric rings around the compass at the top of the game board. I used indirect natural sunlight for primary lighting, a hand held/fired flash for shadows, and a longer exposure to help with focus. I liked the overall effect and called the challenge complete.

The challenge for this week is Shutter Zoom – I can hardly wait to get started on that! And I can’t make a post without a couple of Raptor images:

One of the few Hawks I’ve seen on a fence post lately. He looks pretty serious.

And this Hawk is working on its nest. The eggs must be in, because all we see is a head on the nest now. More to follow.

Well, that’s it for my 25th post. I’m still excited to share my photographic journey with you, and I hope you are enjoying the ride!

PHOTOROGR

The PHOTOROGR Project

A Journey in Creative Photography!

Tag Archives: photo editing and composition

On the road with ‘fresh eyes’ – Part 2

On the road with ‘fresh eyes’ – Part 1

Happy 4th of July!

…you may be in for a shock…

All RAW — All the Time!

As promised – car show pictures…

All Who Wander Are Not Lost

More fun than I should be allowed to have…

My ‘Creative Spirit’ is alive and well!

Hi Ho Silver, Away!!!