August 18

Hooray!  The Yolo County Fair is finally here!  We went for the first time tonight and got to the midway too late to figure out my best camera location before the sky lost its twilight glow.  This was the first midway photo I took, and it's almost too dark in this shot.  On the bright side, if I'd gotten here earlier I probably would have walked right through the gate without stopping to make a photo, and I think the welcome sign worked really nice as a frame. f/13, 1.0, ISO 100, 26mm

August 17

So I have some issues with this photo, I'll admit.  But I'm going to start with what I like about it.  I like the composition.  And the subject matter.  Luna has always loved a box, and we placed boxes around the house before we went on vacation so she could have fun while we were gone.  I also like that she's actually looking at me, because she doesn't like having her photo taken.  I think she's actually worried about Clover, who was loping around the corner with her cone of shame, banging into furniture and corners.  Luna is ready to spring if Clover gets too close.

What don't I like?  The ISO.  I have a similar photo of Luna from last year, and my shutter speed was 1/10, which is too slow without a tripod, and it showed.  I've been slowly working my way through the Todd and Brad Reed 365 Project (see Referenced Links on right).  I'm noticing that they often bump the ISO up pretty high, and yet I can't see it at all in the photos.  In fact there's a rose hip photo that hangs on their studio wall, probably 24x36, and the ISO on that shot is 1000!  So I'm trying to get comfortable with making ISO adjustments to compensate for low light.  My settings, however, are f/4.5, 1/60, ISO3200, 55mm.  3200 worked the other day on my photo of Daisy's Woods, but it doesn't work so well here.  I don't like the shadow to the left of Luna, and I don't like Luna's coat. 

August 16

Our sprinkler runs three mornings a week. On the days it has run I'm greeted with water droplets glistening in the early morning sunlight when I step outside for the newspaper.  I think this is my first time photographing the roses in our front yard.  We have pink roses too, but I really wanted this photo to be a variation of shades of white.  I love the lighting here!  f/5.6, 1/1000, ISO640, 55mm, +10macro filter.

August 15

Poor Clover returned home from the kennel with the Cone of Shame :(  She snagged her ear on her cage and had to get stitches.  She's actually falling asleep here...she's not that upset about the cone, and manages to get around ok.  Stitches come out on Saturday.  f/4.5, 1/60, 34mm

Looking at attacking the daily post with renewed interest after having a conversation with two professional photographers in Ludington.  Todd and Brad Reed.  I'll include a link to their website with my other links.  They also did a photo a day for a year.  Called the 365 Project, they started January 1, 2010 and between them published 730 photos.  What was most interesting to me was that Jim Brandenberg was also their inspiration!  And while most of the photos were strikingly artistic outdoors photos, many were mundane, everyday things, or around town.  It made me feel like, not only could I do that, but that I should do that.  The trick for me will be not to take too much time on any given photo.  I get a tremendous amount of insight and growth practicing everyday.  And if I'm not too critical of my photos, then I think posting everyday ought to be doable for me...maybe.  Anyway here's hoping...

August 13

Heading home from my last early morning photo walk at Hamlin Lake for this year.  Low lighing here even in the middle of the day.  And no tripod.  I brought it in the suitcase and then never used it.  That's just laziness!  I could have used it here, maybe.  The ISO is 3200.  On the other hand, the graininess maybe gives it a dreamier quality.  I think as a "big picture" I captured it about how I see it.  The "little picture" would be all the daddy long legs running across the path as you walk. 

I had a heavy mood on this photo shoot.  Partly because it was the last day, but mainly because Jay's dog Daisy passed away the night before.  She was old, but it was still unexpected.  I felt like Temple Grandin in her movie, wondering where did Daisy go?  She was there and then she was gone.  So that's what was on my mind when I took this photo for Daisy...

August 12

Ok how cute is this?  I was just saying that I hadn't seen any deer up here, and today begins Day Three in Ludington.  So that's a long time to go before spotting deer in the woods!  I caught this one having breakfast this morning.  Probably 7:30 am.  It's low light, so my settings are f/2.8, 1/60, and I had to push the ISO to 1250 with no tripod handy.  Love the catch light in her eyes.  And love the mouth! 

August 11

This is the big bluff at the edge of Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes and Lake Michigan.  I love the textures in this photo, and the sense of depth.  This was bright lighting again today, and windy!  Although it doesn't really show on the water.   I used my prime lens because the polarizer fits on it, so that cut most of the glare on the water.

August 10

A lone birch at the edge of Hamlin Lake.

Summertime in Northern Michigan...

August 8

Swallowtail butterfly on the bergamot.  Such an easy photo today!  It fluttered right up next to our car as we were loading, and stayed long enough for me to get this photo.  And a yellow/purple photo is a rare combo for me, so I like it. 

August 3

Ummm....could it actually be? The elusive American Bittern? I used to hear this bird all the time at McLane Creek in Washington. It's got a call that's like an ominous fog horn sending out a warning to the whole pond. And I've seen a group of binocular-clad birders go ape over a sighting of this bird. But I've never actually seen once myself (except in photos, which of course is what I've produced here). I thought it was a green heron at first, so I was really surprised to find an American Bittern out in the open like this. And I don't think it was that shy or retiring or any of the other things you hear about the Bittern. It hung around for a while allowing me to photograph from different angles. And so my bird pokedex expands yet again :) ...

One additional note...today's post marks my 200th photo entry!  A far cry from the 365 I would have finished in April, but still,
no small feat :)

July 30

I got a chance to play around with my new lens (17-55/f2.8) while we were waiting for our table at Olive Garden tonight.  This is just some old lavender growing at the edge of the parking lot.  It was pretty lighting, I thought.

July 29

We finally got ourselves to the California State Fair, and such lucky timing for us too.  As we came into the livestock nursery this mama stood up to have her baby!  Of course it wasn't as quick as all that.  The whole process only took about an hour though.  I think we stayed for about a half hour afterwards just to watch as she cleaned the calf (baby girl) and the calf tried repeatedly to stand up.  Eventually mama lay down next to the cow, and that's the portrait that I caught here.  Many photos taken of this event, but needless to say they're a little graphic!  She did get some assistance from one of the vets, but only after the front legs were already out.  A cow's gestational period is nine months, same as a human.  And the mama isn't called a cow until after she's given birth.  Before that she's a heffer.  I don't know how much the little calf weighs, but we thought she was sligthly bigger than Clover, who weighs about 60 lbs.  I wish we could have stayed longer and seen her finally stand, but I feel so lucky that we got to see her born! 

July 22

Today we toured the Stanislaus River Parks, which are run by the Corp of Engineers.  This covered bridge at Knights Ferry, spanning 330 ft., is the longest west of the Mississippi.  If I photographed the inside of the bridge from one end, the light at the other end was just a dot in the photo.  Here we're close to the end of the bridge.  I had fun playing around in manual mode, controlling how much light to let in. 

July 21

So it seems that gardening and photography have converged for me this week, and I'm completely helpless to change this.  I'd much rather put up a variety of photos, and yet here I am with another garden photo today.  This photo has a lot of flaws for sure.  I was just so fascinated with the light glowing through those pumpkin blossoms.  I thought they looked like Japanese latterns.  By the way, these are male blossoms :)  Not that you'd guess it with the fancy up-does they're sporting.  The female flowers are fatter at the base, where the pumpkin will form.  Also the male flowers shoot up on long stems like these and the female flowers are at ground level.  Speaking of ground level, I'm practically there with this shot!  I had lots of trouble bumping into leaves.  They're about 16 inches in diameter! 

One other comment I'll make here:  Summer 2011 is the time I got comfortable shooting in manual, and I'm very happy with the effects I can achieve.  So now I'm almost always working in manual and spot-metering on my subject, then dialing my settings to get the best exposure.  I actually can't remember what the meter showed here, but I think probably it was slightly over-exposed. 

July 20

Back to the garden again today.   I spent some time photographing the tomatillo plant and watching bees come and go.  My favorite photos were the simpler ones with just the blossoms though. Usually back lit. I brought a chair out the the garden, and I have to admit I felt a little bit like Marlon Brando in the Godfather when he's in the garden with his grandson. Not the dying part. The watching the garden grow part. I'm learning that different bees pollinate different plants. And that they come in groups about every half hour. I'm learning the difference between pumpkin and squash blossoms, and between male and female blossoms. And my pumpkin plant that I was complaining about the other day now has two little pumpkins. More Bert than Ernie in shape.  Fun to see the changes each day.  Still working with my prime lens, and f/2.2.  Right now I think it captures the garden mood best.