Washed Ashore

Posted by Mike on April 18, 2013

I know I am addicted to books. I rarely throw a book away or even give it away. I have been known to loan out a book but if I do I will be after you to get it back to me. When I started down this photography journey I immediately turned to books. I wanted to read about this new joy of mine. To learn as much as I could.

And I don’t just borrow them from the library, I buy them. They become part of my collection. Imagine my joy when after receiving one of David duChemin’s books from my kids for Christmas I discovered his Craft & Vision website. I found the eBooks! Admittedly I went a little nuts. I’m still working my way through reading all the ones I downloaded.

I recently finished Andrew Gibson’s book Slow – The Magic of Long-Exposure Photography. I have known about and even attempted some long exposure images but reading this book really opened my eyes to new possibilities. I’m no reviewer so I will defer to Scott Thomas at Views Infinitum who reviewed this book last November.

Here is another image from my night at Delta Lake which is a result of Gibson’s eBook…

Washed Ashore
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 5s, 19mm, f/18, ISO 100

And the same image in its original color version…

Washed Ashore – Color Version
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 5s, 19mm, f/18, ISO 100

Water over the…

Posted by Mike on April 17, 2013

Ever since the first day I started exploring the dam at Delta Lake I have wanted to capture an image with the water flowing over the dam. I realized Monday night after capturing the sunset images that the water was probably high enough in the lake to make this a possibility. Sure enough, I drove past the dam on my way home and the conditions were right!

I made up my mind as I drove home to return Tuesday after work. Of course the weather decided to spoil my chances. My daughter had a dentist appointment late in the afternoon yesterday so I asked her if she was up for a small adventure rather than go straight home. There was still a slight sprinkle in the air but I wasn’t positive the rain would wait for after dinner. We were able to stay for about 15 minutes before we had to get back to the car.

It was such a cool thing to see (and hear)!

Water over the …
Nikon D5100 Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/3s, 38mm, f/18, ISO 100

You can hear the roar!
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/3s, 19mm, f/22, ISO 100

The Rest of the Walk

Posted by Mike on April 15, 2013

I might have mentioned in a few of my posts that I spent last weekend with my parents. I stayed at my Dad’s house since my Mom has her hands full with my Grandpa (he is 97 this year!). I also wanted to stay with Dad since after my last visit in February I pulled him back into photography.

My Dad purchased a Pentax K-1000 and several lenses almost 30 years ago. He hasn’t really done anything with them for quite a long time. I was hoping to buy the system from him but after talking to him I convinced him to keep everything if there was even a small inkling he would be interested again. I found him a used Pentax K10D with a 16-55mm lens which will still accept the old lenses. This past weekend was our first chance to get together and figure everything out for him.

I have to admit I am a little impressed with the Pentax camera. I’m not a big fan of the way it handles ISO settings but overall it is easy to use, has in-camera image stabilization and captures a great image with the old lenses. I was able to get Dad all setup so he doesn’t have to worry about too many settings as he learns about this “digital” camera world. He wants to be ready for a cruise to Alaska he is taking in June. I think he’ll be fine.

Even though he wants to understand the camera I kept stressing that the only good way to learn was to get outside and capture some images. I told him he has to start carrying the camera everywhere he goes so he will be ready when that next image captures his eye. We did manage to stop last Monday at Long Point State Park which is just done the road from his house. The park is on the shores of Chautauqua Lake and we had a great time photography by the marina and along the trail all the way to the point.

I have already posted some of the images from that day. The ones included in this post are more of my favorites…

Buoy, What A Spring…
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/1000s, 55mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Oh, The View…
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/500s, 42mm, f/8, ISO 200

Rock View
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/640s, 17mm, f/8, ISO 200

Finding My Way
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/30s, 46mm, f/11, ISO 200

Green Tiles
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/200s, 35mm, f/8, ISO 200

Long Walk to Nowhere

Posted by Mike on April 13, 2013

Long Walk to Nowhere
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/640s, 28mm, f/8, ISO 200

Testing the Water

Posted by Mike on April 8, 2013

I have been enjoying the weekend at my Dad’s house. Came out for a visit for my Grandpa’s 97th birthday and to help my Dad with his new camera. He had a 30 year old Pentax with 4 lenses but hasn’t picked it up in years. I found him a used K10d with a 18-55mm lens for next to nothing. I have been showing him how to use a digital camera and we needed to work out how to use the old lenses (which still capture get images!).

After much tutoring and setting everything up we went out today for a nice walk along the lake at the state park. It was great to see him so excited about using a camera again. And to be honest it was great to be out capturing images with someone. Generally I like to go out alone but I know see the advantage of having company.

Testing the Water
Nikon D5100, Sigam 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/400s, 38mm, f/8, ISO 200

Slow

Posted by Mike on March 31, 2013

Late yesterday afternoon I went down to the creek behind the house to play with some long exposures. I broke out the 2-stop ND filter to see what I could capture. Definitely had a great time exploring the creek bed. I now know I need more filter and I definitely want to get to a place with more motion, like a lake shore or beach along the ocean. I think a trip is in order…