Spring Frolic

Spring Frolic

SDAK09D-22

July 6, 2009

Ah spring, such a fun jovial time.  While this image was taken in the middle of summer, it still has a spring feeling to it.  While heading through the Black Hills of South Dakota, these young pronghorn were playing with one another, jumping, frolicking together, hiding behind trees and jumping out at their buddies.  It was such a peaceful scene (unfortunately ruined by a loud motorcycle that revved up the highway not too far away), the kind you always want to stumble upon while heading through the mountains.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: NIkon 80-200 mm f/2.8

Focal length:  200 mm

Exposure: 1/160 @ f/4  ISO 400

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Sinuous Silver Serpent

Sinuous Silver Serpent

SDAK08D-73

July 7, 2009

Today we are in the Black Hills of South Dakota, in Custer State Park.  This small cascade was running down a steep part of the trail, slicing between rocks like a kayaker, twisting and turning all the time.  This part of the cascade is not very large, maybe a couple feet high at most, but it formed a portion of a multi-step waterfall that ran about a hundred feet down the hill.  I love the s-curve the water makes between the boulders, and the patch of green at the top left from the moss.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 mm f/4-5.6

Focal length:  17 mm

Exposure: 1.6 sec @ f/16  ISO 100

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Frozen Cascade

Frozen Cascade

COLO09D-132

December 31, 2009

Though this was a very mild winter by any standards (even the lax ones of North Carolina), this week winter officially ended, and we heralded in spring post-equinox.  So, to send winter off for another term, this image commemorates some really cold weather.  In Colorado, at the end of 2009 we were hiking along the Horsetooth Falls trail, and found the eponymous waterfall there, but it was frozen over for the season.  It was graceful and beautiful, suspended animation waiting for the spring thaw to let the water carry on its tumultuous course, splashing down to the canyon below.  And now, spring has come.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal length:  31 mm

Exposure: 1/400 @ f/8   ISO 400

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

The Ominous Storm

The Ominous Storm
NCAR11D-321_pan

November 27, 2011

This was the scene while hiking with my girlfriend (now fiancée) Sarah last November.  We were at Morrow Mountain State Park, and had summited the main peak of the area, when we stopped to look around and survey the land.  Fall was dying off, the trees were losing leaves, and a late autumn storm was coming in from the south.  The mood, the ominous feeling of the clouds behind the silhouetted trees made it a great photograph, despite being slightly warped from the wide-angle aspect of the lens.   This is an HDR composite of 3 images, blended first in Photomatix and then finished in CS4.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6

Focal length:  20 mm

Exposure: 1/30 @ f/8   ISO 400

Post-processing: Minor tone adjusted with PS 4 and LR 1.4.

Crystals of Cold

Crystals of Cold

BERK07D-15

January 14, 2007

My first winter with a digital camera, I was stationed up in the hills of Tilden Park on the eastern side of Berkeley.  While the bay area isn't known for winter wonderland status, a very cold morning allowed me to track some small macro shots of ice crystals formed on the vegetation.  They weren't the perfect crystals you come to think of for winter ice, but they were beautiful, tracing the major veins of the leaf.  I love the out of focus areas of the image, despite my general hatred of those silly tilt-shift photographs, cuase here it concentrates you to a slim section of the leaf.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 105 f/2.8

Focal length:  105 mm

Exposure: 1/13 @ f/8, ISO 200

Post-processing: Cropped down with contrast and tone adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

Through the Golden Haze

Through the Golden Haze

NCAR10D-512

November 7, 2010

Our last homage to autumn this morning, as the cold has made its presence known and there is no going back, at least for a couple months.  The leaves are all gone, the grass is all brown, and Christmas music is pumping through Starbucks.  Yup, winter is coming!  This shot was taken last year as I hiked through Umstead State Park near Raleigh, right before Thanksgiving break.  The leaves were in full color by this point, and it was a pleasant park to wander though.  My only nit pick was the constant sounds of the airport (Umstead butts up against the RDU airport, so there are plenty of comings and goings during the day), but overall a good place to get away from the city for a spell.  Enjoy!

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6

Focal length:  10 mm

Exposure: n/a @ f/8, ISO 200

Post-processing: Cropped down with contrast and tone adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

The Last Leaf Falls

The Last Leaf Falls

NCAR10D-504

November 7, 2010

While November has been kind, and unseasonably warm, winter is coming around the corner very quickly, and the leaves are shedding from the branches quickly (those that are left... most of the storms have stripped the trees bare already).  And the cold chill is not far behind.  So, to finish this week we end with some images of fall, before winter comes through in the last month of the year.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Nikon 80-200 f/2.8

Focal length:  105 mm

Exposure: 1/4000 @ f/2.8, ISO 200

Post-processing: Cropped down with contrast and tone adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

Yates' Mill HDR

Yates' Mill HDR

NCAR10D-4_HDR

January 23, 2010

Moving to North Carolina was a new adventure.  I had left Illinois behind, and with it the flatlands and fields.  There was a lot to like about IL, but nature and wilderness were not among them.  Suddenly, I was among trees again, real forests and topography.  It was great.  And a large city like Raleigh had a fair share of parks and greenery for such an urban area.  This shot was taken within the first couple weeks of living in the city, at Yates Mill Historic County Park.  Just a few minutes south of downtown, this old mill has a large spillway, and the angle and the contrast made me interested in trying an HDR shot.  This was really my first HDR shot ever attempted.  It is not perfect, and I realize that, but it was a first stab at this new form of media.  And the rest is history.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6

Focal length:  11.5 mm

Exposure: variable @ f/25, ISO 200

Post-processing: Merge of 5 images (+/- 2EV) in Photomatix.  Tone and shadow adjustment, sharpening in PS4 & LR1.4

Fall in the Midwest

Fall in the Midwest

INDN09D-30

October 25, 2009

This week, fall has started to make its presence felt.  The nights have turned a bit crisp, meaning that the blankets will soon come out of the closet, and the fans and air conditioning will be retired for the season.  Fall, however, hasn't made itself seen yet; the colors that everyone eagerly waits for have not turned yet, the woods around my house are still in full summer mode.  However, with the change in the weather, it cannot be long off, and soon the hills and forests will burst in color.  I missed last year's major changes; when the fall colors reached the central-eastern portion of North Carolina, I was away on business, and it seems to have lasted just a brief time.  When I returned the leaves had mostly shed, and winter was marching firmly into town. 


So, today's image comes from the fall before, when I and some other intrepid photographers took to the wilds of Indiana's Turkey Run State Park.  We were lucky to arrive in the full bloom of fall, and the subtle shifts in hues from red to orange, with some evergreen peeking around, contrasted nicely with the overcast day and rock formations along the river.  Enjoy.

Technical notes:

Camera: Nikon D80

Lens: Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6

Focal length:  20 mm

Exposure: 1/60 sec @ f/11, ISO 200

Post-processing: Cropping, saturation, curves adjustment in PS4 & LR1.4