Wow!  It has been almost five months since my last post to this blog.  I wish I could say it was because I have been super busy but the truth is more along the lines of losing my voice.  I have been busy taking pictures, keeping out of trouble at work ;), and getting some things done around the house.  It has just been hard to motivate myself to return to this page as an outlet.  I will try to do better going forward…

I finally moved away from my trusty point & shoot camera and purchased a DSLR.  I spent a long time researching which camera to purchase, changed my mind more than once and settled on the Nikon D5100.  I jumped in with both feet!  I opted not to get the standard 18-55mm kit lens and purchased a Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0 macro lens as well as the Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens.  I have been having a blast with all these new toys.

In late May I had a business trip to southern Georgia and added on a few days in Orlando to visit Disney World.  I had 4 days to explore with my new setup and had such a great time.  This was my first solo trip to WDW and although at times I missed having someone to share events with I loved being able to stop for pictures as soon as something caught my eye.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Meerkat along Pangani Forest trail in Animal Kingdom

Topiary display at Epcot’s entrance

Stormtrooper guards at the entrance to Hollywood Studios

A different view of the castle from the rose garden

I’ve also been trying to get out more around where I live to explore and learn more about the camera/lenses. This has been a little slower for me but I made good use of this over the weekend.  I was able to get up and out early both days.  On Saturday I walked of the Rayhill Memorial Trail in New Hartford, NY and came away with this early morning picture of the swamp.

Morning in the Swamp

On Sunday my plans were interrupted for 30 minutes when I had to stop into work but I ended up making the best of it by walking along the NY State Barge Canal between Oriskany and Whitesboro, NY.  I wish I had put on my longer lens because the amount of animals out that early was surprising.  I did manage to snag a few great pictures of the canal.

Morning on the Canal

The Old Fishin’ Hole

I won’t make any promises but the goal I set for myself is to be more active on this blog and share this great new hobby (obsession) of photography.

I was fortunate enough to get the Sunday errands done before the sun slipped below the horizon.  That good fortune allowed me to venture out into the fields across the road to explore with the camera.  I had a nice hour long walk before the snow started to fall.  Of course, as soon as I returned to the house and put everything away the sun pushed the snow back and had one last light show before ending the day.  It didn’t matter, I think I managed to get a few nice pictures and I know I had a good time exploring.

I selected this picture from the few I really liked because of the colors.  Currently my world is a mixture of browns and whites, so a little red and green brightened my outlook.  Another reason for this picture is the definition in the leaves.  I liked the saw-tooth edge and the clearly defined veins visible on each leaf.   And then there is the amount of effort I put into getting this picture.  I was moving a few branches out of my way and practically held the camera above my head to get this view.  I had to work for it and I think it turned out how I saw it in my head.

This is another picture from my walk today that I liked.  I know I over exposed the sky but I was intrigued by the condition of the apples.  The few that remained in the upper reaches of the tree were full of texture and stood out with their faint red color.  I could see evidence that the local deer had finished off any f the apples within reach or those that had made it to the ground.

I still have pictures to look through and process.  It might be worth the effort to process my favorites and write up another entry unrelated to my 365 project.  We’ll see if I can make the time later in the week…

I looked up the word ‘fickle’ in the dictionary.  I think it best describes my feelings toward my photography lately…  fickle: given to erratic changeableness.  Yesterday and part of this week I had the blahs, but today with the sun actually making a showing I am feeling better about it.  It also could be due to finding a nice picture on my walk this morning.

We had quite a mixture of rain and snow over the past few days which has the little creek down the road flowing pretty good.  I walked down to see if there was any good pictures involving the water and ice but stumbled upon this little guy.  The sun broke through the clouds almost on cue to provide enough light and make the colors more vibrant.


I need to talk to my neighbor and ask if he would mind me walking up the creek through the woods behind his house.  He owns most of the woods and I think there is just the right mixture of snow and open ground to provide me with some photographic opportunities.  I’ll have to check the weather first to see if the sun will agree to my plan.

I’m beginning to think there is a downside to returning home after a relaxing, enjoyable vacation.  The scenes around me just pale in comparison to the views and pictures I had a couple weeks ago in Florida.  I need to put those behind me and start looking for the pictures here back home.  They were here before I left and they are still here, I’m just not seeing them.

I tried a few different images for my project picture but I’m not really happy with any of them.  I processed one from each attempt and settled on an interesting railroad bridge.  I end up going under this bridge whenever I need to stop in town after work.  I believe there is a cool picture to be captured, I just didn’t quite get it yet.

As you can probably tell from the picture the weather was just starting to make that turn to the nasty.  It had been raining most of the day and just before dark it started snowing.  I wish the weather would just make up its mind and pick one so we can deal with it and get it over.

I’m going to include the other two options I had for my project picture.  The first I thought was interesting because the sign for the handicapped parking space was knocked down.  It had me wondering what the story is behind this scene.

This last picture is the corner of my office.  I was waiting for an installation to complete and was pointing my camera around the room.  I think it would take me numerous trips to clean out my office if I was asked to leave…  I’ve collected way too much junk over the years.

The day started out the same as it has been for most of the week, an overcast, gray sky with little opportunity for exploring outside.  My office is in the basement without a window or view so I venture up to ground level to recharge with some natural light every few hours.  I was encouraged by the conditions thinking by the time work is over I would be able to get some pictures I could process as B&W and they might turn out halfway usable.  That all changed around 3pm.

The weather turned to rain/freezing rain and my chances for any sort of picture outside vanished.  My usual lookout location is in our HR office since we share an interest in Disney.  As we were discussing a particular requirement from NY State for wage information I noticed her Christmas Cacti were starting to bloom.  We always joke that the darn plants never understand the time of year but it did give me chance to get a non-winter picture on a washout day.

Fluorescent lighting is never fun but I think I managed to catch the blossom’s good side.  Just some simple processing in Lightroom was all that was required for this picture.  I cropped in close on the bloom due to its small size and the ugly walls in the office.  A little increase in contrast and vibrance produced the picture I wanted to create.  I thought about masking out the plant and replacing the background with a solid black color but I’m thinking that might be too much contrast.

I’ll have to keep an eye on its progress and get an updated picture once the plants are in full bloom…

The weather the last few days has not been very conducive to my photographic efforts.  The sky has been one color…  grey.  I’m beginning to think the sun has changed its mind about visiting us again.  It was a good run and we enjoyed it while it lasted but now I have to find a way to stay motivated when the views out the window are blah!

I stopped along a corn field on my way how from work to see if I could make something out of the rows of corn stalks left after the harvest.  My plan was to use whatever picture I create for another entry in the Hobby Photographer’s Photo Theme of lines in landscape pictures.  I’m not positive it works but will see what everyone thinks of it.

The original image did not have a lot of color which lead me down the B&W processing path.  I started by combining a three exposure bracket of pictures because I thought it would help maintain the definition in the dark tree line as opposed to the white snow covered field.  I also thought it would help me keep the features in the snow.  I then converted the combined picture to B&W and experimented a little with some diffusion in an effort emulate the overcast, hazy feel to the day.

Yikes!  What was I thinking!

I ended up working from home today so I could ferry my daughter to school for her English regents at noon.  I assumed that would provide me with some extra time after work to explore with the camera.  My sad attempt was an epic fail due to a slight mist in the air.  I even spent 10 minutes trying to follow a little bird around the inside of our pine tree but he never stopped long enough for the camera to properly focus.

What to do for my project picture.  Do this, no, did it before.  How about this, no, seems too familiar.  How about a self portrait?  No way!  Just isn’t me.  I barely post pictures with me in them as it is but to do it on purpose…  no, I don’t think so.

Well, maybe if I try this pose where I’m staring down at the computer as if I’m struggling with a program.  OK, that happens every day so I know what it should look like.  How do I do it?  Point and shoot camera, small table top tripod and the simple timer…  OK, let’s do this before I chicken out…

The glare on the glasses is intentional.  I was hoping it would capture a little more of the screen but it is what it is.  Baby steps!  The next one will be better… hopefully!

It turned out to be a fairly warm day here in Upstate NY although overcast and very grey.  I ended up running a few errands after work but forgot to bring the camera along just in case.  This left me with no light to go exploring with my camera.  I did like the light from the city of Rome that was illuminating the clouds.  I ventured outside with the camera and tripod to try my hand at some longer exposure pictures.

Trying to capture the view from the end of the driveway was not as easy as I thought.  I’m sure it was a combination of the camera’s abilities and my own (probably more my own).  With a little tweaking in Lightroom this picture didn’t turn out too bad.  I’m posting it as my project picture for the day as a reminder of the learning I still need and the attempt of trying something different.