Skipping Stones

Posted by Mike on November 18, 2012

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

Stone Beach

Posted by Mike on November 12, 2012

Stone Beach
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/8s, 24mm, f/22, ISO 200

Fade Into Night x 3

Posted by Mike on September 13, 2012

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

Grass is greener…

Posted by Mike on August 30, 2012

Grass is greener…
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/125s, 100mm, f/11, ISO 800

Blue Hour Silhouette

Posted by Mike on August 30, 2012

Blue Hour Silhouette
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 8s, 24mm, f/16, ISO 200

Utica Marsh Take Two

Posted by Mike on August 25, 2012

I was hoping to make a return trip to the Utica Marsh on Sunday morning but the weather forecast had me thinking I was going to encounter overcast skies. I decided to run down tonight and see what I could capture during the sunset. The sky cooperated by rolling in a few clouds and the sun played its part well.

Framed Marsh
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/20s, 35mm, f/16, ISO 100

Orange over Marsh
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/40s, 21mm, f/11, ISO 100

There was little to no wind so I tried my hand at a few bracketed sets so I could play with Photomatix. I have had some hit and miss sets lately while trying to create a nice HDR image. The first two images in this post a straight up processing with Lightroom and a quick trip into Topaz Labs Adjust. This image is a three exposure bracket with some finish processing in Lightroom.

Marsh Sunset Burst
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, (1/100, 1/25, 1/6s bracket), 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

Nighttime Play

Posted by Mike on August 24, 2012

The colors in the sky during and just after the sunset where amazing last night. I have been wanting to get out with the camera and play with some long exposure and learn how to use my shutter remote. I definitely need to play some more to get a better understanding of the techniques and camera capabilities. I still had a great time playing until the bugs starting eating too much…

Color Silhouette
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 35s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

As bright as the sun
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 30s, 28mm, f/16, ISO 400

Evening Sky
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 44s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 1600

An Evening Canal Walk

Posted by Mike on August 12, 2012

Yesterday morning I took off close to sunrise in an attempt to explore the barge canal along the path less traveled. At the Oriskany access point the paved path heads east toward Whitesboro. There is a path which leads west toward the point where a creek enters the canal. It ended up being a longer walk than I anticipated and just after I started the sun decided to hide behind the darkening clouds. I didn’t want to get caught in the eventual rain so I cut the walk short and headed for the car.

Luckily, the evening turned out to be beautiful with little to no wind and some clouds to catch the sunset. I really didn’t plan on the day ending so nice so I quickly headed back down toward the canal to do some more exploring. This time I started at the Marcy access point and headed west toward Oriskany. It is a portion of the trail I haven’t had a chance to view through my lens.