Recognition

Encouragement is something everyone needs from time to time. Positive feelings conveyed from friends viewing your art is emotionally gratifying. But then, sometimes, “at-a-boy’s” come from mentors, people we look up to, professionals we aspire to emulate. This happened to me yesterday. Every week Kelby training hosts an internet show called The Grid where oodles of photography subjects are bantered about. Sometimes they do critiques. I submitted a few of my pictures for scrutiny yesterday when +Matt Kloskowski asked for submissions to the show for an HDR discussion. Some of my images use this type of post processing. I will not discuss what High Dynamic Range processing is here for that is a lengthy discussion that I will save for a later date. Three of my pictures were selected (I was elated). This is the link to the show: The Grid Episode 71 The State of HDR The first 30 minutes are devoted to the upside and downside to HDR pictures, critiques start at 33 minutes 50 seconds. My reviews are late in the show at 55 minutes 45 seconds.

​This is the first of my three images

Nikon D800 Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8@ 16mm f/9 ISO 100 5 image HDR 1/160-1/10 sec

Like a slap in the face

Fall has arrived and here’s the bad news. If you’re waiting for the perfect moment to take beautiful, color blasting foliage pictures, then you’ll never get them. I have always loved the transformation the forest undergoes during the seasonal transition from Summer to Autumn. Each year I have watched in dismay as one day trees are green and full of vibrance, whistling their happy songs of summer, to the next day when they become unrecognizable gray skeletons, shaking lifeless, decrepit, crumbling leaves in the cold wind. Don’t wait! Get outside now and soak in the fleeting moments of this seasonal metamorphosis. At most there are a few days of brilliant splendor, as the blossoming hues of yellow, orange and red, sprinkle the landscape. Go for a hike, breathe the crisp air, and inhale the final breaths of long days, before the trees hibernate.

​A Slap in the face

Nikon D800​ Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 27mm f/2.8 ISO 100 1/250 sec

#TravelTuesday Cork Ireland

Todays #TravelTuesday post celebrates the city of Cork Ireland. Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and it’s history dates back to the 6th century. The Lee River splits and winds gently through the city with the city center located on the island in between its channels. The river ends at Cork harbour which is one of the world’s largest natural harbours. Cork was our destination for our first night in Ireland. We landed in Dublin, rented a car (left hand drive) and drove through stunning green countrysides as far as the eye could see for 3 hours. We did make a few stops along the way, but the coziness of Cork city welcomed us with open arms after a long hard day of travel. We dined along the market square, and indulged with fragrant, full bodied wines and fresh seafood. It was a great beginning to a very memorable trip.

​Cork, Ireland

Nikon D5100 Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 @ 16mm f/13 ISO 100 1/6 sec single image HDR​

The Monster Mile at Dover International Speedway

In the fall we (the NASCAR side of my family) attend the AAA 400 race in Dover DE. It’s a great weekend to get away, take a break from work and reminisce about my racing days. The racetrack was given a makeover in 2008 which included the construction of a 46 foot tall fiberglass “Monster Monument” in the center of Victory Plaza. It is quite a spectacle. Everyone takes pictures of it and if you stand there with a camera long enough, many people will ask you to take their picture in front of one of NASCAR’s most identifiable monuments. Congratulations to Brad Keselowsk for his win there this weekend.

"The Monster" at Dover International Speedway, the Monster Mile​

​Nikon D800 Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm F/8 ISO 200 5 exposure HDR 1/2000-1/125 sec

October

Autumn brings wonderful things from a photographers point of view. Spectacular color changes, pleasant temperatures, and shorter days (so I don’t have to get up as early to catch a sunrise).
Nature’s final flourish fills the world with rustling leaves, crisp cool morning air, the sweet perfume of apple cider and pumpkin spice. Landscapes will be painted with various shades of light, hot tea will become the beverage of choice (or coffee with Bailey’s Irish Cream) and the aroma of burning wood from the hearth will greet me at home in the evening.
I feel the best time of the year is always the one I’m in, but Autumn comes with some excellent perks.

Download either of the calendars for October and distributed them as you see fit. You can supply these links to anyone for free download. Directions: Clicking the download links will take you to my Smugmug gallery. Choose the calendar you want Hover your mouse over the picture and click on the "save photo" option (the one at the bottom that looks like a file with an arrow in it) Open up the picture on your computer Right click anywhere on it and click "set as desktop background". Voila!

​October 2012 Calendar Fall Foliage

Nikon D5100 18-55mm kit lens @ 55mm f/5.6 ISO200 1/125 sec​

​October 2012 Calendar Spooky

​Nikon D5100 18-55mm kit lens @18mm f/10 ISO 100 1/60 sec