Miss Lily at 19 Months Old

Canon 7D, Raw, EF-S17-55mm, 48mm, f/4.0, 1/200, 100 ISO

As you can see, she is really growing up. I was watching her play the other day and she does so much now. She climbs up on her little slide by herself and her feet even touch the ground when she sits in her little plastic chair! I liked this photo of her because you can see some of her little razor-sharp teeth and she is looking at the camera with a smile on her face. I brought the photo into camera raw and made a few adjustments. Then in Photoshop, I did a levels adjustment so the colors would pop. The biggest thing I did was crop it so she is at one side of the image. This looks much better than her being centered. What is she going to think of her new brother Ian coming in December? Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

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The Youngest Piano Protege

Canon 7D, Raw, EF-S17-55mm, 28mm, f/2.8, 1/125, ISO 320

My son took lessons on this piano for nine years. This past week it was moved over to his house. I sure hope Lily wants to take lessons. You can see how much fun she is having. I watched her carefully so she would not pull up on the keys. It is ok to hit down, just not up. Anyway, I love the color of her shirt which makes her rosy cheeks stand out. I did a levels adjustment in Photoshop to brighten up the photo. There was a little noise that I also got rid of. My Canon 7D is such a great camera, after I download in Bridge and go to Camera Raw, those two adjustments are pretty much all I need to make. FYI, the sheet music is Theme From Ice Castles, a very pretty piece of music by Marvin Hamlisch.

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My Photographic Study, Part I

 

Canon 20D, Raw, f/10.0, 1/30, ISO 100, 59mm, +4 Macro Filter

 I decided to do a five-part study in photographing everyday items most of us have in our homes. We never look at these items in an artistic or photographic way. I thought I might give you a chance to look at some common items in a different way and with a different eye. I have five different items and this is the first one. On this image, I upped the contrast and saturation. I would love to hear what you think. It was very enlightening and I am enjoying doing it. I shot this outside, using my large portacube, a great item.

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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.

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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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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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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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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A Very Odd Tree (or is it a bush)?

I took this photo of this very strange tree at Marina Vista Park in Long Beach. I am very curious about how it grew like this. It is very much alive and has a lot of leaves from two or three areas. I have no idea what it is and I am getting tired of writing those words, as I am sure you are tired of reading them! I would appreciate some help. There were several trees shaped like this, but this was the most unusual one. Has a flower on it – can you see it?

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Invasion of the Body Snatchers?

Aren’t these strange looking pods? I took this photo at the park and I don’t think I have ever seen these before. Have you? They look kind of scary to me! Does anyone out there have any idea what these are? I had a good time walking around the park taking photos. It is always fun to see new things!

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Game of Cricket in Long Beach?

I was in Long Beach this afternoon at Marina Pacific Park to take photographs at a baby shower. Next to us, at the other end of the park, was a cricket game going on. I have never seen this before except on TV. I was not expecting it today. I did not know cricket was played at this park. It was a good day and we (Willie and I) took a lot of photographs.

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Donnan and Kyla, Shampooed and Beautiful

It was so very hard getting this photo of Kyla and Donnan today. We took them out to the front yard and there are just too many distractions out there! I waited until late in the day because I believe it must have been the hottest day of the year here. They were washed and fluff dried two days ago so I guess I should have taken the photo then (or at least brushed them first)! Oh well – I tried. It is hard to get them looking in the same direction let alone directly at me at the same time!

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Dana Point Harbor

Here is another view of Dana Point Harbor taken at a later time in the evening than the one from a week ago. You can really see a difference in the sky as the sun is at a very low angle. I realize it is somewhat blown out but I really wanted to get a photo from this angle. The Charthouse Restaurant where we ate dinner that night is up on the hill. What an evening we had!

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Sweet and Juicy Purple Grapes

I bought a lot of fruit at the grocery store today. I thought these beautiful grapes that I rinsed off for Willie to enjoy, would look very nice held up with some sun shining through. I think it worked out alright, what do you think? To me they look very tempting and oh so good! I purchased many other fresh fruits and vegetables today. We will enjoy them all!

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