Tag Archives: Weekly Photo Challenge

Flags

Posted by Mike on

Weekly Photo Theme – Flags

My initial thought to flags was very one dimensional. How many was can I photograph THE flag and make it interesting. This was my first challenge. It wasn’t until I was out exploring that it really hit me that flags as a theme was very cool. There were more possibilities than I originally thought and it was at that moment that the challenge became very compelling. I also was able to do a little more scouting and return when the conditions were better.

My first image is a return to Fort Stanwix in Rome, NY. I used an image of the fort during the shape week theme and was going to try for an image of the flag flying over the fort for this week. My vision was an image of the flag and fort rising above the tall grass. I did get a few images like that but I spotted this view walking toward the fort and could not resist the natural framing provided by the trees.

Proudly Waves Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/400s, 135mm, f/11, ISO 200

Proudly Waves
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/400s, 135mm, f/11, ISO 200

I love to walk around in downtown Rome. Not only is there great architectural photo opportunities there are some very beautiful floral displays that allow for great images. As I was walking around the WWII Memorial I spotted this line of flags next to the sidewalk. Usually used to mark construction or underground obstacles, I really liked the contrast of the orange flags against the fresh green grass. I decided to use the telephoto lens to compress the line and a large aperture to blur everything receding away.

Get In Line Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/200s, 150mm, f/5.6, ISO 400

Get In Line
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/200s, 150mm, f/5.6, ISO 400

This last image might stretch the ‘flag’ theme a little but I have always enjoyed this mural when driving through Rome. Revere Copper used to have a manufacturing plant in Rome. I’m not positive if they still use it (don’t think so) but it was a big part of the Rome economy. I wasn’t able to get the sky I wanted and was tempted to replace it but left it as it is for now… 🙂

Paul Revere Rides Again Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/200s, 65mm, f/8, ISO 200

Paul Revere Rides Again
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/200s, 65mm, f/8, ISO 200

Shapes

Posted by Mike on

Weekly Photo Theme – Shapes

Last week, seeing how I am a little late, our theme was shapes. I will not bore you with any excuses other than I struggled more than I should have. Once I realized that shapes are everywhere and that I just needed to make them the subject of the composition then I was able to find a plethora of images. Maybe I stretched the concept on a few but I think these will work…

Spying on the Fort Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/160s, 38mm, f/8, ISO 400

Spying on the Fort
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/160s, 38mm, f/8, ISO 400

Circles in the Sky Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/640s, 70mm, f/8, ISO 200

Circles in the Sky
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/640s, 70mm, f/8, ISO 200

Spherical Thistles Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/200s, 70mm, f/4, ISO 400

Spherical Thistles
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/200s, 70mm, f/4, ISO 400

Around Town

Posted by Mike on

Weekly Photo Theme – B&W

The theme this week was B&W images of which I am a huge fan. I wanted to try to do something a little different than normal standbys; water, game pieces, etc. I thought I would try to find architectural or street images by exploring around Rome, NY with the camera. I made a few excursions over the course of the week and have determined I am too timid for true street photography (also, not a lot of movement on the streets of Rome). This will have to be something I work on as I have always been impressed with the images I see on Google+. That leaves me with some architectural images or at least some portions of some… 😉

Let it Flow Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/200s, 55mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Let it Flow
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/200s, 55mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

Antiques Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, {2, 4, 8, 15 & 30s bracket}, 35mm, f/11, ISO 100

Antiques
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, {2, 4, 8, 15 & 30s bracket}, 35mm, f/11, ISO 100

Corner Nikon D5100, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, 1/100s, f/5.6, ISO 100

Corner
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, 1/100s, f/5.6, ISO 100

Stairs

Posted by Mike on

Weekly Photo Theme – Stairs

Last week the object of our photographic exploration was stairs. They are everywhere so that should have been an easy task. Or so I thought at the start of the week. Some of my initial ideas did not pan out as access to the stairs I had in mind was blocked (at least for the view I had in my head). And then I tried to think of some unique stairs (like the tree root steps at Pixley Falls State Park, but that park is not open yet), so I struggled more than I thought I would. Hopefully you will find these images interesting…

First Stairs Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/250s, 55mm, f/8, ISO 400

First Stairs
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/250s, 55mm, f/8, ISO 400

Ornate Stairs Nikon D5100, Rokinon 8mm f/3.5, {1/8, 1/30 & 1/125s bracket}, f/11, ISO 200

Ornate Stairs
Nikon D5100, Rokinon 8mm f/3.5, {1/8, 1/30 & 1/125s bracket}, f/11, ISO 200

Stair Lock Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/250s, 55mm, f/11, ISO 200

Stair Lock
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/250s, 55mm, f/11, ISO 200

Colors

Posted by Mike on

This week’s theme is colors. It was a result of a blog post I saw on Tom McLaughlan’s Ministract site (Comacchio in colour).  I’ve been a fan of Tom’s work since I found him on Google+ a few years ago.  He was moderating the Ministract Monday theme and I was very eager to explore new genres. I contributed some images early on but then the whole daily theme concept faded for me as my explorations took other directions. I’m still a fan of his work…

I wish I could say my color exploring produced some wonderful images but that would be misleading. When I did have the time to explore I just couldn’t ‘see’ the colors. I’m sure they are still out there but this is what I came home with.

The first two images are from the Barge Canal at Lock 20. I knew I would be able to find some color there with the bold paint scheme that sticks in my head from numerous visits. The first is a simple padlock on a background of bright blue and yellow. The color isn’t so much the focus but a very bold compliment to the rusted, muted lock. The second image is about the out-of-place orange life preserver ring against the predominantly white and blue background.

Lock Nikon D5100, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, 1/60s, f/8, ISO 400

Lock
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, 1/60s, f/8, ISO 400

Orange Ring Nikon D5100, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 400

Orange Ring
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 400

This third image is a bit of a cheat! I took this in January as I was stuck inside playing with mirrors, flashes and my B&W game piece project. I wanted to do something with the crayons but never ended up processing the images. I took this opportunity to resurrect one of those images for this theme. It has nothing to do with my third image of a rainbow colored truck not turning out as I had hoped. Nothing to do with that at all… 😉

Color Choices Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/200s, 122mm, f/8, ISO 200

Color Choices
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1/200s, 122mm, f/8, ISO 200

Around the House

Posted by Mike on

We were suppose to get hit with some nasty weather. I’m not really complaining though because the week turned out way better than I thought. We had one day of serious snow and one of very cold temps but the rest of the week was sunny and relatively warm. Do you hear that Winter, I’m ready for Spring!

Based on what was suppose to happen we decided the theme this week would be items around the house. This would allow us to not have to go trudging through the bad weather and maybe help us expand our photographic eye but searching out interesting stuff around the house. So, here I go…

Getting Ready for Work Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 0.6s, 135mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Getting Ready for Work
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 0.6s, 135mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Kitchen Weapons Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1s, 135mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

Kitchen Weapons
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 1s, 135mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

An Apple a Day Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/8s, 55mm, f/4, ISO 200

An Apple a Day
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/8s, 55mm, f/4, ISO 200

Signs, signs, everywhere there’s signs…

Posted by Mike on

My apologies to Five Man Electrical Band as I was singing this song while getting these images ready for this post. Although, I am more familiar with the live version recorded by Tesla and that is how I was attempting to sing (don’t ask!). Anyway, as you might have guessed by now the theme this week was Signs.

I had a few ideas to go capture big signs like fast food signs along commercial roads in town or unique signs for some local businesses. What I decided to do was find some small interesting signs while out doing my normal exploring. Once you start looking for signs, you will be amazed at how many are actually scattered across the landscape. My big problem now is turning that portion of my brain off so I don’t see them while I’m out looking for landscape images. lol

This first image is another view of the bridge in the Holland Patent village park. I posted a side view late last week but the ‘No Snowmobiles’ sign caught my eye as I was trying to compose the image. At first I didn’t understand why because I know the bridge could support the weight, then I realized the skis and treads would chew up the wood. Makes sense now…

No Snowmobiles Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/320s, 38mm, f/8, ISO 200

No Snowmobiles
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/320s, 38mm, f/8, ISO 200

The next two images are from a walk I took on Saturday at Delta Lake State Park. What I liked about both of these images is the situational irony (is that even a thing?). The first image proclaims the trail ends here but obviously the snowmobiles continued on. The second image is warning that the beach is closed and swimming is prohibited. I can see why!

Stop, Trail Ends Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/500s, 32mm, f/11, ISO 200

Stop, Trail Ends
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/500s, 32mm, f/11, ISO 200

Beach Closed Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/400s, 38mm, f/16, ISO 200

Beach Closed
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/400s, 38mm, f/16, ISO 200

Weekly Photo Challenge: Forward

Posted by Mike on

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths” – Walt Disney

Forward – this is the Weekly Photo Challenge over on The Daily Post. To me, the start of every day is the point where you put that next foot forward on your journey.

Morning's Light Nikn D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 3s, 65mm, f/22, ISO 100

Morning’s Light
Nikon D5100, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6, 3s, 65mm, f/22, ISO 100