Using My +2 Macro Filter

Canon 20D, Raw, f/5.0, 1/1000, 58mm, ISO 200, +2 Macro Filter

I was looking for something to photograph today. I wanted some inspiration. I got it looking in my backyard at the Christmas Cactus. What changes it made in 2 days! I wanted to use the +2 macro filter with a very shallow depth of field. I am happy with the results.  I upped the green saturation a little and the contrast. I like what that did. I also like the angle of the sun lighting the leaves.

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Late Afternoon at the Dog Park

Canon 20D, Raw, f/5.6, 1/250, 145mm, Silver Efex Pro

I was trying something new with this image. It did not quite come out like I wanted it to, so I consider this an idea in progress. I used my telephoto lens with the sun behind the subjects. The dogs were running around a lot and I wanted them to kick up more dirt. This was the image that was the closest to what I wanted but not quite there. I converted it to black and white and added a vignette. I will be trying this again but I need to go a little earlier in the day.

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I Broke Out the Lensbaby Today

Canon 20D, Raw, Lensbaby, 1/60, ISO 200, Imageomic

I broke out the Lensbaby today to take this photograph of the Christmas Cactus that is just about to bloom. It was my mother’s plant and I know she would love what it looks like now. It is changing day-to-day and I like going outside in the morning and seeing what is new. I like the Lensbaby and it has been a few months since I used it. I opened the image in Camera Raw and cropped it a little. In Photoshop, I ran my Nik filter then I upped the green and red saturation a little, ran my noise reduction (I use Imageomic) then a little smart sharpen.

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A Precious Baby Boy

Canon 20D, Raw, 45mm, f/10.0, 1/30, ISO 800

I really wanted to take photos of this baby boy. He is my ”great” nephew, born October 28, 2009. I took the photos in his bedroom and luckily it was bright enough that I did not need to use any other lighting. I used a high ISO (800) and then got rid of the noise with a plug-in in Photoshop, along with a levels adjustment. I converted it to a soft sepia tone and added a  vignette. I took many photos and this is my favorite one. The others can be seen on my gallery pages.

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Looks Like Mother Goose to Me!

Canon 20D, Raw, 55mm, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 200

I did a little work on this image in Camera Raw and Photoshop. I wanted to blur the background so the goose would stand out more. Originally, the image was all in focus and I wanted to improve it.  I did a gaussian blur on the entire image and then brought part of the original image back with different opacity levels. Am I giving you too much information? I want to share with you what I do with my images and maybe some of you will learn from me. I assume all of you know who Mother Goose is and will agree with me that she is the spitting image (except this goose does not have a bonnet on)!

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Morning Shadows

Canon 20D, Raw, f5.6, 1/40, ISO200, Smart Sharpen, Nik Vignette Filter

I walked into my bedroom this morning and saw the sun casting a shadow on the front of a dresser. I really liked the look of it and how it made the grain of the cherry wood stand out.  My first thought was, “I want to photograph that!” I got my camera and took several photos. I liked this close-up one the best because of the wood detail. It has a lot of texture also. I didn’t have to do anything to the image except I sharpened it a little in Photoshop and added a very faint vignette so the center will stand out a little more and your eye will not go off the image.

An Embarrassing Photograph

 

Canon 20D, Raw, f4.0, 1/320, ISO 400, Nik Low Key Filter

This photo shows what happens to a car when it sits in a garage for close to ten years! Not a very pretty site! This is not something I am proud of.  I took this photo as we were dropping off the car at the upholsterer. This is the second time we have gotten the car reupholstered. That shows you how long we have had it. Actually, we got it when it was just a few months old.  

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Is This a Hawk?

Canon 20D, Raw, f4.0, 1/800, ISO400, Imageomic Noise Filter, Levels

Willie was outside in the back yard and came running in the house saying, “Grab your camera and come outside! There is a hawk on top of the telephone pole!” Well, I grabbed my camera, but my wide angle lens was on the camera! I had to shoot as fast as I could! I took a few photos and Willie went into the house to get the telephoto lens. Of course, it flew away by then. I had to crop this quite a bit so it is a small image. Please forgive me but I wanted to show it to you. It is hard to be ready for what ever will come along! I do the best I can!

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An Older MG

When we were at the shop on Friday, this 1950ish MG was there being worked on. Isn’t it a good looking vehicle? I remember when I was learning to drive, my father almost bought one for me.  Maybe that is why I bought my own years later!  There are always great cars there to photograph. I had to increase the ISO to 400 to get enough light on my sensor to shoot inside. I also had to use different shutter speeds to compensate.

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1969 MGB

Canon 20D, Raw, f4.0, 1/400, ISO 100, 21mm, Nik Pro Conrast Filter

We finally picked up the MGB today. I think it looks great! I took this photograph at the shop before we took off to take it to the upholsterer. So far, it has been a year and a half, and we are not finished yet. This has been a big project. We do have photos along the way, through the different stages of the project.

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Blowing in the Summer Breeze

Canon 20D, Raw, f4.0, 1/400, ISO 100 55 mm, Nik Film Effect Velvia 100 Filter

Willie and I were outside with the dogs this afternoon in the backyard. I looked over at this large “bush” of basil growing next to a pot of geraniums. The sun was shining from the back and the breeze was blowing the flowers. It reminded me of wheat in a field blowing in a field. I hope you can get an idea of what I saw from this image. I took several and this was the one that was the closest to what I saw.

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Happy Anniversary!

Canon 20D, Raw, f10.0, 1/60, ISO 800, 31mm, Nik Pro Contrast filter

I gave this post that name because today is our anniversary! We went for a little walk and came across this tree at the park. There is a lot of moss and some strange cuts on it. Plus it looks like it could be a space alien with those long tendrils coming out at you. No wonder Donnan barked at it!

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My World Wide Moment Photograph

Canon 20D, f10.0, 1/320/ ISO 800, 31 mm, Nik Contrast Color Range Filter with a Levels Adj. and Noise Reduction

Today was the day for the WorldWide Moment. Willie and I went to Central Park late this afternoon to take our photographs at exactly 5:09 P.M PDT. Since the concept is to promote world peace, I thought the peacefulness of the park and people having a good time is a good representation. I am showing part of the library, a young man lying on the grass reading a book, a couple sitting on a bench talking, another couple walking, getting exercise and a man riding his bike. I think this photo shows what I wanted to present. Did any of you participate in the WorldWide Moment?

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An Antique Image of a Rose

Canon 20D, f5.6, 1/160, Nik Silver Efex Antique Plate II Filter with Curves and Levels adjustments

 This is an image of a rose I took that is blooming in my front yard. I love the effect the filter I used gave it. As I said the other day, I love these filters and the black and white effects they produce. I will be doing much more of it and sharing the images with you here.

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At the Barbecue

Today was Larry and Shelley’s Labor Day barbecue. Here is a shot from one angle of their back yard. It was great seeing old friends and making a few new ones. The hamburgers were great, along with the salads and all the other good stuff people brought. There were a lot of people there. What was good is that it was not a late night. We were home before 10:00 P.M.

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Round Two

This is the start of year two of one photo a day. Things will be changing on my weblog soon. I am hoping to have it all ready by the end of next week. Willie told me about these roses this afternoon in our front yard. He said I should go take a look. Well, I did and I liked what I saw. I seem to be on a black and white kick right now. I got some new filters called Efex Silver and there are a lot of options with buttons and whistles to play with. I have barely scratched the surface of the possibilities!

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