Monthly Archives: April 2013

Swirl

Posted by Mike on

I knew it was going to rain eventually today and the forecast was for a 20-30 degree temperature drop so I stopped on the way home from work to walk a section of the barge canal trail. My intention was to capture some images of the dredging equipment. The state is doing some serious cleanup of our section of the canal right now. Those images didn’t turn out so well…

There was some great subtle light coming through the cloud cover and while I walked back toward the car I found a few opportunities to play with some intentional camera movement captures. ICM is another long exposure technique where the camera is moved while the shutter is open (yes, on purpose!). There was a soft breeze creating some gentle movement of the water in the canal. I found a few isolated rocks along the edge where the water and light created interesting patterns.

I must have captured 2-3 dozen images but was only happy with a few of the results. Getting the right balance of movement is not as easy as you would think. I do like the results and think this technique is something I will be exploring more going forward.

My favorite from last evening…

Swirl Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/5s, 55mm, f/13, ISO 100

Swirl
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/5s, 55mm, f/13, ISO 100

Washed Ashore

Posted by Mike on

I know I am addicted to books. I rarely throw a book away or even give it away. I have been known to loan out a book but if I do I will be after you to get it back to me. When I started down this photography journey I immediately turned to books. I wanted to read about this new joy of mine. To learn as much as I could.

And I don’t just borrow them from the library, I buy them. They become part of my collection. Imagine my joy when after receiving one of David duChemin’s books from my kids for Christmas I discovered his Craft & Vision website. I found the eBooks! Admittedly I went a little nuts. I’m still working my way through reading all the ones I downloaded.

I recently finished Andrew Gibson’s book Slow – The Magic of Long-Exposure Photography. I have known about and even attempted some long exposure images but reading this book really opened my eyes to new possibilities. I’m no reviewer so I will defer to Scott Thomas at Views Infinitum who reviewed this book last November.

Here is another image from my night at Delta Lake which is a result of Gibson’s eBook…

Washed Ashore Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 5s, 19mm, f/18, ISO 100

Washed Ashore
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 5s, 19mm, f/18, ISO 100

And the same image in its original color version…

Washed Ashore - Color Version Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 5s, 19mm, f/18, ISO 100

Washed Ashore – Color Version
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 5s, 19mm, f/18, ISO 100

Water over the…

Posted by Mike on

Ever since the first day I started exploring the dam at Delta Lake I have wanted to capture an image with the water flowing over the dam. I realized Monday night after capturing the sunset images that the water was probably high enough in the lake to make this a possibility. Sure enough, I drove past the dam on my way home and the conditions were right!

I made up my mind as I drove home to return Tuesday after work. Of course the weather decided to spoil my chances. My daughter had a dentist appointment late in the afternoon yesterday so I asked her if she was up for a small adventure rather than go straight home. There was still a slight sprinkle in the air but I wasn’t positive the rain would wait for after dinner. We were able to stay for about 15 minutes before we had to get back to the car.

It was such a cool thing to see (and hear)!

Water over the ... Nikon D5100 Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/3s, 38mm, f/18, ISO 100

Water over the …
Nikon D5100 Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/3s, 38mm, f/18, ISO 100

You can hear the roar! Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/3s, 19mm, f/22, ISO 100

You can hear the roar!
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/3s, 19mm, f/22, ISO 100

The Rest of the Walk

Posted by Mike on

I might have mentioned in a few of my posts that I spent last weekend with my parents. I stayed at my Dad’s house since my Mom has her hands full with my Grandpa (he is 97 this year!). I also wanted to stay with Dad since after my last visit in February I pulled him back into photography.

My Dad purchased a Pentax K-1000 and several lenses almost 30 years ago. He hasn’t really done anything with them for quite a long time. I was hoping to buy the system from him but after talking to him I convinced him to keep everything if there was even a small inkling he would be interested again. I found him a used Pentax K10D with a 16-55mm lens which will still accept the old lenses.  This past weekend was our first chance to get together and figure everything out for him.

I have to admit I am a little impressed with the Pentax camera.  I’m not a big fan of the way it handles ISO settings but overall it is easy to use, has in-camera image stabilization and captures a great image with the old lenses.  I was able to get Dad all setup so he doesn’t have to worry about too many settings as he learns about this “digital” camera world.  He wants to be ready for a cruise to Alaska he is taking in June.  I think he’ll be fine.

Even though he wants to understand the camera I kept stressing that the only good way to learn was to get outside and capture some images.  I told him he has to start carrying the camera everywhere he goes so he will be ready when that next image captures his eye.  We did manage to stop last Monday at Long Point State Park which is just done the road from his house.  The park is on the shores of Chautauqua Lake and we had a great time photography by the marina and along the trail all the way to the point.

I have already posted some of the images from that day.  The ones included in this post are more of my favorites…

Buoy, What A Spring... Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/1000s, 55mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Buoy, What A Spring…
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/1000s, 55mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Oh, The View... Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/500s, 42mm, f/8, ISO 200

Oh, The View…
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/500s, 42mm, f/8, ISO 200

Rock View Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/640s, 17mm, f/8, ISO 200

Rock View
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/640s, 17mm, f/8, ISO 200

Finding My Way Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/30s, 46mm, f/11, ISO 200

Finding My Way
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/30s, 46mm, f/11, ISO 200

Green Tiles Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/200s, 35mm, f/8, ISO 200

Green Tiles
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/200s, 35mm, f/8, ISO 200

Travel Theme: Benches

Posted by Mike on

Ailsa over at Where’s my backpack? has a weekly travel theme. This week’s theme is Benches. Luckily for me I already have a thing for capturing benches. This bench is along Chautauqua Lake in Bemus Point, NY (hometown). While visiting my parents last weekend I had some nice weather to get out with the camera.

Iron and Wood Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/160s, 70mm, f/5, ISO 200

Iron and Wood
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/160s, 70mm, f/5, ISO 200