The continuing series Monochrome Winter with this early morning sky…
Venetian Blinds Sky
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/160s, 17mm, f/8, ISO 400
Venetian Blinds Sky
Category Archives: clouds
Great Subject, Annoying Background
This is my favorite tree at work. I love looking at it when the late afternoon sun lights up the branches. It is especially great when there are clouds in the sky although a bright, clear blue sky will make the white bark stand out nicely. I just wish I had a better angle to get this tree captured without all the background clutter.
Great Subject, Annoying Background
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/80s, 17mm, f/11, ISO 100
A Word A Week Challenge: Clouds
It is about time I jump into this Word Challenge that Sue over at A Word in Your Ear blog has been running. I have seen posts in the reader showing up each week and the start of the new year is a good as time as any for me to throw in a few images. For more details about the photo challenge check out the direct link at the site: A Word A Week Photographic Challenge
For this first entry of mine I would like to share some cloud images I took this summer. Here is the link to the original post: Fun With Clouds
Light Within
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/800s, 200mm, f5.6, ISO 100
Streaming Light
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/1000s, 116mm, f4.8, ISO 100
Cloud Wall
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/400s, 200mm, f8, ISO 100
Over/Under
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/125s, 70mm, f8, ISO 100
Into the Light
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/500s, 200mm, f8, ISO 200
The Lite Fluff Between
Nikon D5100, Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/250s, 200mm, f8, ISO 200
Winter Wonderland
I had promised my daughter we would go see The Hobbit yesterday so I convinced her to go to the first show of the day. Getting the near 3 hour movie in early was important because it was looking like the sun was going to be out and I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to get outside with the camera. A little selfish, I know, but with the snow we have been receiving I had an image in my mind I wanted to capture and the possibility it would present itself yesterday was great. Luckily, she understands my photography insanity and manages to accommodate me. 🙂
We arrived back home with an hour to spare before sunset. I didn’t even take off my coat, just gabbed the camera and tripod and headed down the road. I have been watching the snow accumulate on this lone pine tree in the corner of a fenced in field and thought it would look best in the setting sun. I used my telephoto lens to bring the barn across the fields closer and compress the whole scene.
I had to wait 10 – 15 minutes while the sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds but eventually it lit my scene as I wanted. I’m not sure if the cars passing me while I stood on the side of the road knew what I was doing as some of the drivers gave me some interesting looks. Any of my neighbors are use to the crazy guy walking the roads and fields with his camera but the casual visitor to my neck of the woods always wonders what I’m up to.
My Winter Wonderland scene was exactly what I wanted to capture. I made a few adjustments in Lightroom 4 then processed the image with Topaz Labs’ Adjust 5. I used the plugin to bring out some additional detail in the snow and grass. I tried not to over-process the image but I did want just a little extra punch in it.
Winter Wonderland
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/25s, 55mm, f/18, ISO 200
Blue Morning
I had a few days of vacation to use or lose before the end of the year so I decided to have a mini vacation in the middle of the week. Yesterday didn’t work out for me because of the rain but today has been fantastic. This is a four image panorama of the morning clouds rolling in over the Mohawk Valley.
Blue Morning
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/5s, 90mm, f/16, ISO 200 (4 image panorama)
Outlined Beauty
Outlined Beauty
Nikon D5100, Sigam 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/2s, 21mm, f/20, ISO 100
Orange Glow
Orange Glow
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/250s, 55mm, f/16, ISO 800
Barge at Sunrise
Some more images from my early morning walk on Sunday. I usually find something interesting when I walk the trails along the barge canal. This barge and tug were docked just beyond a gate into an access area for Utica, NY. I have noticed quite a lot of activity the past few weeks along the canal. I think there is an effort to dredge our section of the canal and keep it accessible.
Both of these images are three exposure brackets combined using Photomatix. I generally start with a simple tone mapped default and tweak the settings to achieve the image I want. I tend to keep the color saturation to a minimum and hopefully create a more realistic, natural image rather than an ‘over the top’ HDR image. Finally adjustments to the exposure and a slight gradient added in Lightroom.
Barge at Sunrise
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (1/3, 1.3, 5s bracket), 19mm, f/16, ISO 100
Tug and Barge
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (0.8, 3, 15s bracket), 70mm, f/16, ISO 100
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