Silent Sunday
Barge Canal
Change the World
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 50-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/80s, 45mm, f/16, ISO 200
Silent Sunday: Change the World
Monthly Archives: August 2016
In the Yard Playing
In The Yard – ITY23
There are times when I get stuck with my photography because I am looking for that one great image! The one image everyone will be talking about. The one image which will make me the topic of the interwebs… then I catch myself and realize I keep clicking the shutter because I enjoy the whole process. I enjoy looking at the world around me and seeing the way light plays across the landscape. I am fascinated by how quickly a scene can change at the the beginning or ending of the day as the color of the light changes. What I enjoy most is how photography makes me feel.
The other night, at the end of a long day, I didn’t go out to find my next great landscape. I was relaxing after dinner. Reading a few articles on the computer, thinking about working on more of my Disney images for that black & white photo book I am trying to finish. Luckily, my desk is next to the window facing south/southwest because the sky starting its kaleidoscope of colors again as the sun was setting. At first I wished I had gone somewhere, anywhere, I could have had a cool view. Duh, the view I was experiencing was pretty damn cool. Out came the camera, I switched out the lens to my 40-150mm telephoto and walked out into the yard.
So I can put these images into perspective for you, the time difference between the first and the last is only 15 minutes. Generally the images are either looking South or West except for the one with the tree branches which is looking North. The clouds were on a very good pace through the sky and the sun was dropping quickly. That combination helped to produce this variable color palette in the sky.
By using the telephoto lens I was able to accomplish two things. First, I could isolate different sections of the sky. My ‘go to‘ lens, the 12-40mm would have captured more of the sky and my goal was not the grand vista image. Secondly, I could reduce the space between the foreground and the background elements in view. A good example is the image with the mailbox. The trees behind the mailbox are about a half mile away. By adjusting my height when I captured the image and the effect of the lens you lose that sense of depth. The last image demonstrates the same principle.
If I go back and look at the images I was capturing when I first picked up my point & shoot camera and started figuring out how to use it, I see a majority of the ones I like were capture within walking distance of my house. I occasionally forget what I enjoy most, showing simple objects in a new way. And, I capture what I like, not what I think someone else will like. I swear, I wonder where my head is some days…
In the Yard Playing – 1
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/250s, 58mm, f/8, ISO 200
In the Yard Playing – 2
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/40s, 120mm, f/8, ISO 200
In the Yard Playing – 3
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/30s, 150mm, f/5.6, ISO 200
In the Yard Playing – 4
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/160s, 150mm, f/8, ISO 200
In the Yard Playing – 5
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/160s, 100mm, f/16, ISO 200
In the Yard Playing – 6
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/30s, 74mm, f/11, ISO 200
In the Yard Playing – 7
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/30s, 45mm, f/11, ISO 200
In the Yard Playing – 8
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 40-150mm f/4-5.6 R, 1/13s, 82mm, f/11, ISO 200
Glow
In The Yard – ITY22
Glow
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro, 1/60s, f/4, ISO 200
Dreaming
Backyard
All the TV stations where talking about the coming storm yesterday. Weather alerts and watches and warnings were scrolling across the bottom of the screen on every local channel. I wasn’t sure if I should start bolting everything down or go looking for a good vantage point to watch the show. I chose to stay at home and wait for the impending doom. A little rain came my way but not before the sky presented a last look at the evening colors.
Sitting at my desk working through my emails I could watch the clouds roll in from the West. They were not moving particularly fast and right around 8pm I noticed the last spot of color in the sky. Of course I grabbed the camera! The lightning was off in another direction so I had a few moments before the rain.
The 60mm macro lens was still attached to the camera but that would work for me as I didn’t want the big, wide view as the color was very isolated. As I walked into the field across the road I grabbed the first image. I liked the silhouetted tree against the colorful sky. There was still another image out here but I wasn’t sure where.
The second image was an attempt to capture the feeling of the gathering wind as it blew the tall field grass around. I still liked the color in the sky and preferred not to focus to accurately. Closer. The last image as I walked back up toward the house captured more of the feeling I had as I stood out in the field with the wind getting stronger, the clouds moving in and the rain barely starting to fall.
In all I was outside for less than 10 minutes… I liked the color palette the storm chose to use. Next time I should try capturing some of the lightning.
Silhouette Colors
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro, 1/60s, f/2.8, ISO 200
Perchance to Dream
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro, 1/80s, f/2.8, ISO 200
Dreaming of Colors
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 60mm f/2.8 Macro, 1/60s, f/2.8, ISO 200
Across Crescent Lake
WDW in B&W – WBW03
Crescent Lake Area
Across Crescent Lake
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/200s, 24mm, f/11, ISO 200
Lock 20 Rising
Lock 20, Barge Canal
Saturday morning at the canal did not disappointment me. I knew it would be a race between the sun and the incoming clouds. I’d call this one a tie! Third place finisher would be the fog. You can see it starting up the canal if you look past the lock.
Lock 20 Rising
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 6s, 25mm, f/16, ISO 200
Perseid Meteor Shower
Backyard
As a meteor hunter, I am not very good. I can probably chalk it up to lack of experience and/or opportunity. Of course, there is also the fact that when I went to bed Thursday night the weather forecast was calling for rain. Waking up at my normal time for work (3:30am) I noticed I could see stars out my window. I quickly fed the cats and headed out into the back yard to see what I could capture.
I only spent fifteen minutes pointing my camera at various sections of the sky. My Olympus is not the perfect camera for high ISO night photography but I did manage to snag a couple of meteors. In the first image the meteor is dead center and traveling vertical. The second image I barely caught the meteor over near the top left, also traveling vertical. I can say I did see quite a few more meteors in other portions of the sky, mostly as my camera was exposing in the wrong direction! LOL
Perseid Meteor 1
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 30s, 12mm, f/2.8, ISO 3200
Perseid Meteor 2
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 30s, 12mm, f/2.8, ISO 3200
Reflection
Bellamy Harbor Park, Rome, NY
Reflection
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/15s, 13mm, f/16, ISO 200
MLCreations Photography 