Monthly Archives: August 2012

Grass Squared

Posted by Mike on

I received my new 35mm f/1.8 lens yesterday but was unable to get go out to play with it. I had a late day eye appointment and the pupil dilation didn’t return to normal until about 8pm. This year the sun actually hurt and I almost didn’t make it home. Luckily my son’s eyes recovered quicker than mine and he drove his old man home.

Today at work was very difficult knowing I had that lens in the bag just waiting for me. With rain in the forecast I decided to get the lawn mowed tonight before the week was lost to the rain. But, as soon as dinner was over I grabbed the camera and headed out. I found this at the park down by the canal…

Grass Squared
Nikon D5100, Nikon 35mm f/1.8G, 1/160s, 35mm, f/4, ISO 200

Disney in the Details

Posted by Mike on

As I have said numerous times and anyone that stays around long enough reading this blog will figure out, I am a fan of Disney. In particular, I love going to the parks. My latest trip was a first time solo adventure in May 2012 to Walt Disney World. I had four days during the first Star Wars Weekend at Hollywood Studios and the last weekend of the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. It was also my first visit since obtaining my DSLR. It was glorious!

I have reached that point with my visits where I just enjoy spending time exploring all the nooks and crannies. The first few trips with the kids were all out assaults on each of the parks. We tried to cram as much into each day as we possibly could. Now I enjoy a much more relaxed form of visit. And with that relaxed attitude comes a new appreciation for the amount of detail the imagineers have put into their creations. I would also attribute this new outlook to the way I see the world around me due to my photography. I notice more, see differently and appreciate the subtle touches.

Don’t get me wrong, I still grab that image of Cinderella’s Castle looking down Main Street and have a hard drive full of Spaceship Earth images, but this post is about the details. The often overlooked treasures you can find when you slow down and explore. During this visit I spent a couple of hours crawling all over Tom Sawyer Island at the Magic Kingdom and I found trails around the Tree of Life at the Animal Kingdom I didn’t even knew existed. I still managed to do all my favorite activities but I found so many knew places it was as if I had visited for the first time.

The Challenge

Posted by Mike on

I decided to go exploring at Delta Lake State Park again after dinner. The temperature hit around 90°F today but after polishing off way too much food I needed the walk. I hadn’t been out with the camera in a day or two so I had to capture some pictures. I swear this photography addiction is worse than my chocolate addiction!

The sun was producing some brilliant orange light as it set through a slight haze which allowed for some great colors tonight. The dry spell we have been experiencing has lowered the water level in the lake so I was able to walk along the rocks and reach a few new places tonight. Luckily for me most of the day visitors had already gone home so I practically had the place to myself.

I decided to leave my 55-200mm Nikon lens on the camera. Normally I would use my wide-telephoto lens but thought it would be interesting to see this familiar setting through a different lens. It challenged me to find different compositions and I ended up focusing on more of the details rather than the grand vistas.

Here are a few of my favorites…

The Line
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/200s, 86mm, f11, ISO 200

Buoy Jam
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/100s, 150mm, f16, ISO 200

Speeding
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/160s, 200mm, f5.6, ISO 200

Prehistoric Find?
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/125s, 105mm, f4.5, ISO 200

Sentinel Posts
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/125s, 160mm, f16, ISO 200

Silhouette in Orange
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/125s, 90mm, f16, ISO 200