Sunrise and Moonset -- Harvest moon.

It is a sad time when summer comes to an end and we look toward winter.  When I was a very young man, I used to love winter, with it's snow and cold and hunting and crisp air.  Now, after the ice storms of 2007 and following years, it tends to fill me with a bit of dread.  However, even the weather man can't predict it, so why should we worry . . . It's best to take the beauty of today and make the most of it.  In that spirit, I woke up Saturday morning to a full moon and only an hour until sunrise.  I threw my clothes on, grabbed my camera, and went to the highest scenic point I could reach before the transition began.  Here are a few images from Ha Ha Tonka (of course--I'm only 1.5 miles away :) showing that transition and perhaps the last warm full moon-to-sunrise transition we will see for quite some time . . . Enjoy!

 

Sunset and a full moon

Here are some photos from last night. There was a full moon already in the sky as the sun was sitting. You can see the moon just to the right of the water tower as the orange streaks appear around it from the setting sun behind me. I am also including some images taken with a simple 50mm 1.8 lens @ the largest aperture. It's always interesting to go to the extreme and see the selective focus effects when using such a wide aperture. The depth of field is extremely small, of course, increasing our feeling of depth perception.







































- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Ha Ha Tonka

A Rainy Day at the park

A very good friend and I were visiting today about the crazy view that seems prevalent in our 21st century world: "That is a beautiful photograph--You must have a really awesome camera!" NOPE, it's not the camera, folks. It's the YEARS under the hood for the driver that matters! Ok, maybe not totally. I've known a few "photographers" who have been in business for many years and still don't have a clue. They still have dark eye sockets in their subjects, and there are deck posts growing out of their heads!! (You've got to watch what's behind your subject, as well as the light you are using to photograph that subject). Remember, photography IS painting with light, so don't blow that part of the equation. Know your short light, broad light and "Rembrandt" light, butterfly lighting and even rim light, especially when using fill flash or a reflector to balance that light.

Well, enough about that. With todays resources on the web in forums, U-tube, etc., ignorance is really no excuse. Now, for a few images taken before the storm today. My therapy, if you don't already know, is to walk the trails of my local state park, Ha Ha Tonka, and challenge myself to find artistic images amid the daily exercise and "soul therapy" routine. Here are a few images from earlier today. All these images were taken with an old 10 megapixel cropped image camera and a simple 50mm 1.8 fixed lens . . . Enjoy! . . Doug














- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Ha Ha Tonka