Category Archives: delta lake

Beachcomber

Posted by Mike on

Sitting on the edge of the beach waiting for the sun to set I spied this lone rock disturbing the sand. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity for a close-up. Luckily, I had done my research before I bought my tripod earlier this year. I made sure the legs reverse folded allowing me to get the camera very low to the ground. The wide angle lens gave me the close-up of the rock I wanted, and it still provided a nice view of the beach and sky. I knew I would be taking this one into Photomatix for a little HDR help so I used a 3 image exposure bracket to capture the scene.

Beachcomber
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (1/40, 1/10, 0.4s bracket), 17mm, f/16, ISO 200

Skipping Stones

Posted by Mike on

Another weekend started off with me having to work Saturday morning. At least the whole day was not lost as I was able to leave around 11am. The afternoon was setting itself up for a nice sunset but my hopes for exploring with the camera were postponed as we decided to head out for a movie. I can’t complain, Skyfall was quite good and I still had one more day in the weekend.

Sunday managed to be an even better day than Saturday, so around 3pm I headed over to Delta Lake state park. I planned on getting in a little exploring while I waited for the sunset to settle in. The lake is still quite low and you are able to walk along the edge in places not accessible when the level is normal. As I was capturing some images of the rocks against the water a couple walked past trying to skip some stones.

It was one of those ‘ah ha’ moments for me. After they left my area I set up the tripod near the water, searched for some good skipping stones and started to create the image I envisioned of a stone skipping across the water. Funny thing is, my first attempt was the best. I did manage to get a few others but this one is the one I like the best.

Skipping Stones
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/10s, 38mm, f/20, ISO 200

Fade Into Night x 3

Posted by Mike on

I wish itching to get out with the camera today. I went during lunch but had very little success in the full onslaught of the midday sun. I did manage to capture one image that will work for a friends photo assignment. The last few days have been full between work and my daughter’s tennis matches so when the opportunity arose to sneak out after mowing the lawn I didn’t look back.

There was a great sunset developing and windless conditions so I headed back to Delta Lake State Park to capture some images after the sun dropped below the horizon. It is always a race against the clock as they start kicking you out soon after sundown since technically the park closes at dark (but that is always open to interpretation!).

The first image is the short exposure from my bracket set which has only been manipulated in Lightroom. Version 4 of that software allows for some great control of the image. The second image is the HDR version of the same scene. I have mixed feelings about this one. I like what I was able to pull out of the rocks but I think the sky went a little too far for me. The last image is a composite image using the first two. I brought them both into Elements and manipulated the portions I liked from each into a single image.

I’m curious as to which image works for you. Let me know in the comments. Thanks…

Fade Into Night – Adjusted
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 0.8s, 26mm, f/22, ISO 100


Fade Into Night – HDR
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (13/3/0.8s bracket), 26mm, f/22, ISO 100


Fade Into Night – Composite
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 0.8s, 26mm, f/22, ISO 100