My Best Side

Tried again with the Green Tree Python. A little more co-operative here, but only a little.

Cute guy, wish he stayed that colour.

Nikon D2x, 50mm Sigma Macro, SB-600 Flashgun

Lost

I understand our team is still in the running for the playoffs, but not last night, as you can see on the faces of the players.

A rare PhotoShop for me, I washed the colour out, to increase emotion from the scene.

So, Action Then

Here is where you can see Noise. In the black backstop behind the players. Beyond that, ISO Noise is pretty controllable in the D2x. 

I wish I could catch a day game, this was under the lights, but perhaps a weekend game will occur soon.

Almost

As the saying goes, "Almost only counts in Horseshoes." I add "Hand Grenades and H-Bombs" to bring it into the modern world, but the point stands, this shot here was almost a good shot. Too much shadow under his hat kind of obscures his face, but so it goes, I'll be trying more action shots as the months go by.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Local minor league game last night. Actually they run almost non-stop here in town, but I'm not much of an action shooter, nor a fan of baseball (what you say?) but the tickets were free and I figured I would push my Nikon D2x to the limits.

And to the limits I did, shooting all the way up to 3200 ISO and getting respectable results.

Our home team lost by the way, which is why the glum face seen here.

Lunchtime!

This is a baby Green Tree Python.

Yes, I know he's Yellow.

Trust me, he's a Green Tree Python. When he grows up he'll change colour. Just like the Emerald Tree Boas.

Beautiful to look it, not overly friendly.

Taken with my new Nikon D2x and 50mm Macro.

Spiral Dreams

This weekend was a hot air balloon festival north of me. Got up at 4am to head out that way and catch the balloons during sunrise.

Didn't quite work out that way, but did get a chance to go up in a hot air balloon. This is a shot from my new Nikon D2x looking straight up into it.

Had great fun, and there will be more pictures to come.

BTW, over 9000 pages views on my journal, yay!

Last Shot of the Day

You can see the raindrops starting to hit the water, just four or five. Just a hint of things to come, but it held off for about 15 more minutes until I was done shooting.

Wider View

Here is a wider view of the marina with that beautiful wood hull in the foreground, and the perfect sky above.

Unsurprising, given the weather, but there was no one about, lending an air of mystery to the scene. 

Classic Boat

The marina was full of very expensive boats. Although the word "expensive" is redundant when it comes to boats. As I once heard, the word "boat" is an acronym for "Bust Out Another Thousand". As much as ownership of a boat appeals to me, I've seen firsthand how expensive it can be to actually own one for long periods of time, so I think I will pass for now, and stick to admiring them through the lens.

The marina was fairly high above the decks of the boats, so I went prone, ensured my camera was securely strapped to my wrist, and lowered my arm down close to the water, and shot blind.

This is one of my all time favourite shots (along with Of Fog and War, taken on Emerald Isle in March of 2011) I've taken of water related images, the wooden hull contrasting beautifully in black and white.

Little Used

So the entire state is under "widely scattered showers" advisory for the whole week, and while that makes for great sky shots, it does make for tricky shooting, as most electronic devices don't work well when soaked.

Yesterday I wanted to photograph boats and when I woke up, it was sunny. Well the trip to the nearest marina is nearly two hours away, and by the time I got there, the sky was threatening to unleash fury.

Fortunately it held off while I shot the following series. In fact, as I'd taken my last shot, put my lens cap back on my camera and was walking back to my car, done shooting for the day, it started the torrential downpour.

So special thanks to mother nature for playing nice with me.

Side note: I have a Nikon 10-20mm ultra-wide lens that I got for a good deal some years ago, but haven't used it much. I put it up for sale but so far have had no takers (it's an expensive lens.) Undecided as to what I was going to do with the lens, I brought it along with me for the day's pictures. What you see here in Black and White, are all shots done with this lens. I have found a purpose for it, it's really good at shooting boats, and bridges.

I may keep it after all. All the Black and White shots are from my Nikon D1x, it has a B/W shooting mode option, and I wanted to explore it further. I'm really like the effect.

No Work Today

I am working on a short story, entitled "The Last Bullet" set in 1934, written on my 1934 Underwood Model 6 Typewriter. 

Unfortunately, my typewriter is experiencing problems today, it's jammed up or something so I won't be working on it today.

600

This is my 600th post. Probably should have been better, but for my 1000th post I'll make sure it's a real stunner.

Sunny weekend day, tons of Dragonflies around but few would stay still.

This isn't a macro shot by the way, this was done with my 200mm lens. No cropping, just got in as close as I could focus.

Nothing New

So I joined in a friendly photo contest. The rules were simple: 1 lens, 1 ISO setting, 1 shot, no alterations, no cropping, no post-processing. Straight from the camera, in other words.

Well no problems for me, I generally shoot that way anyway.

Except this time around I brought the wrong lens (50mm macro, rather than my 17-35mm landscape), and struggled to find something to shoot.

Got lucky with this scene, wished I had brought a wider lens for more sky, but so it goes.