Monthly Archives: July 2015

The Chicken Coop

Posted by Mike on

Backyard

Every time I see the sunlight hit this tree in the backyard I get my camera. There is something about the way the branches and leaves hang with the back lighting that catches my eye. I am never sure of the view I want to capture or how best to show what I see. The other night I was in the same situation. Playing around in the yard and field after dinner once again brought me here. I decided to attempt once again this tree but this time I included the farmer’s chicken coop next door. I’m still not sure this is the final version but it is a good start…

The Chicken Coop Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/250s, 32mm, f/8, ISO 400

The Chicken Coop
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/250s, 32mm, f/8, ISO 400

Karamell-Kuche (Caramel Kitchen)

Posted by Mike on

Germany Pavilion, World Showcase,
Epcot, Walt Disney World

I admit one of the reasons I love walking around the World Showcase at Epcot is the variety of food items I can sample. I am somewhat adventurous and willing to try new things. This is part of the reason I love attending the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival in the fall. There are a few staples though that I always return to and the Werthers Karamell-Kuche is definitely worth a visit.

Hi, my name is Mike and I am a chocoholic. It probably has been less than an hour since my last infusion of chocolate.

Combine chocolate with Werthers caramel and I am hooked! There is a chocolate covered caramel in this shop that I buy every visit. I shouldn’t but I do. There are a lot of other tempting delights but I try to limit myself to the one treat (that doesn’t always work).

I have been trying to capture this building at night for quite a few visits now. Mu last trip in May was my most successful attempt. I captured a three shot bracket, combined it with Photomatix and finished off the image with OnOne’s Perfect Effects 9.

Karamell-Kuche Nikon D7100, Tokina 12-28mm f/4, {5, 8 & 16s bracket}, 20mm, f/11, ISO 200

Karamell-Kuche
Nikon D7100, Tokina 12-28mm f/4, {5, 8 & 16s bracket}, 20mm, f/11, ISO 200

A Grand-er Time

Posted by Mike on

Seven Seas Lagoon, Walt Disney World

A Grand-er Time Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/1250s, 70mm, f/8, ISO 320

A Grand-er Time
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/1250s, 70mm, f/8, ISO 320

Throwback Thursday – Clover

Posted by Mike on

Throwback Thursday

I’m attempting to stick with this Throwback Thursday theme I created two weeks ago but as you can already tell I missed a week. Maybe I need to play this one loose and see what shakes out. Anyway…

This week I’ll stick to an early period in my photography and use another image captured with my Sony P&S. This one is from October 2011 and I believe I was exploring as much as possible in my own yard. I was getting out more often but still only capturing a few images at a time. This was also at a time when I was exploring Google Plus more and attempting to participate in as many week day themes as I could.

The original image is a monochrome conversion of a piece of clover from the field behind the house. I was going for a back light setting and totally lost the sky when I over exposed the image. I converted it to monochrome in an attempt to hide what I had done… 🙂

Clover - Original Sony DSC-H20, 1/40s, 12mm, f/4, ISO 100

Clover – Original
Sony DSC-H20, 1/40s, 12mm, f/4, ISO 100

There technically is not a lot I can change on the image. I went with my square format as I like the balance better. I played with the colors in the original file to allow me to convert to B & W with a little more ‘pop’. I stayed with the over exposed look but toned it down a little and then added a silver tone to the over all image.

Clover - New Sony DSC-H20, 1/40s, 12mm, f/4, ISO 100

Clover – New
Sony DSC-H20, 1/40s, 12mm, f/4, ISO 100

Cavern Cascade

Posted by Mike on

Watkins Glen State Park

Cavern Cascade Nikon D7100, Tokina 12-28mm f/4, 1.6s, 28mm, f/16, ISO 100

Cavern Cascade
Nikon D7100, Tokina 12-28mm f/4, 1.6s, 28mm, f/16, ISO 100

My attempt at a close-up of the cascade failed this year but here is an image from two years ago.

Cavern Cascade Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (0.8, 3, 13s bracket), 26mm f/13, ISO 100

Cavern Cascade
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (0.8, 3, 13s bracket), 26mm f/13, ISO 100

Cloud View

Posted by Mike on

I was working one of the images from my trip to Watkins Glen last night when the sunset caught my eye. I quickly threw on some shoes, grabbed the camera, and headed out the door. The clouds above the setting sun were amazing but as I drove to a spot up the road from me the show got even better.

Cloud View Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/20s, 70mm, f/16, ISO 100

Cloud View
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/20s, 70mm, f/16, ISO 100

Barge Canal Morning

Posted by Mike on

Barge Canal – Oriskany Trail Head

I mentioned yesterday I spent Sunday morning along the Barge Canal. It was a great morning to be capturing images. There was a slight fog on the water and with barely a breeze it hung in the air. I like going to the Oriskany Trail head because of a bridge support in the canal. Over the years people have built up the stones along the canal back to allow easy access to the support. This allows me to be “in the canal” to get some of these images.

Looking East Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 2.5s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

Looking East
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 2.5s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

Looking West Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 3s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

Looking West
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 3s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

This last image is one I probably capture every time I walk this trail. I am not positive of the significance of this marker. I do not believe it is a mile marker but I love the amount of detail in the posts. I was shooting into the rising sun which ended up washing out the sky. Not critical to me though as I believe this works best as a B&W image. Removing the color heightens the attention to the detail.

Marker 599 Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 0.6s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

Marker 599
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 0.6s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 100