HDR Saturday…
I went out with my family today, and while I didn’t get to use the 30D very much at all, I did squeeze off a few pics. I took a bunch of pics of my family next too a SunFlower field, and a chopper leaving Dell Children’s Hospital. I wish I could post the ones of my family, as a few came out really well, but I just don’t post them online if I can avoid it. I will post a few others though.
Today (about 5 minutes ago), I decided that since I am enjoying playing with HDR’s, I should create “HDR Saturday”. Seems like a fun concept. So, here are a few HDR’s from this afternoon…
Chopper leaving Dell Children’s. Yes, the background is cluttered. I prefer it not to be, but this was WAY spontaneous! I saw him putting on his helmet from the Jeep, and before I could fire off shots, I had to get the camera bag from the trunk, and also switch lenses. The time constraint (so to speak), kept me from composing how I would have liked (set spot, pre-scouted, and ready to go). So, that’s that…
Canon 30D & 70-200 F/4L
And a couple of SunFlowers with the 30D & EF-S 10-22. Notice the Bee on the flower in one of them. Personally, I like that a lot…
Strobist: One dedicated flash, on camera, *almost* direct fire…
Baby Birds
Outside my front door, on top of the porch light, there is a bird nest. Every year, the birds make a nest there, which I assume is because it is covered and protected for the most part. That, and it’s sort of hidden from other birds, which I assume can’t hurt. I took one picture last year, and it sucked. I planned to grab one this year, and until last night, I just didn’t do it. Well, around 10pm last night, I decided to try.
There were taken with the 30D, EF-S 10-22, and a dedicated flash, which was bounced above me. The photos aren’t great, but I like them, so I thought I would share…
Like, OMG!
I know this isn’t photography related, but it is MORE tan worth posting (IMO).
I walked out of work to go to lunch today, and I see his! I think it wanted to follow me home!…
Seriously though… For those that don’t know, this is the Ariel Atom. I know all about these, and LOVE them, but never thought I would actually see one in person. The thing is beautiful! I saw the guy when he left, helmet and all, and this ‘kart’ is quick! I would just about kill to take that it around a track a few times, or maybe just down 2222 for you austin guys! I would even let him *gasp* hold my camera! Yea, that might be the most fun/serious/obnoxious/coolest/sexiest/masculine while feminine/under-appreciated/over-powered/blatantly intimidating/subtly inviting/beautifully balanced/all around awesome vehicle on the planet. 300hp, 1000lbs’ish, Power-to-Weight > and Enzo!, 2.7 seconds to 60mph, 0-100-0 mph in 10.88 seconds, and it will rip your face off above 100mph… My thoughts, simply said: “Wow”!
On to the pics… These were taken w/ my phone – G1, not the 30D. Next time I see him/that Atom, if ever, I am going to ask him if I can take some *proper* shots of it. (and yes, I know I am waaay too excited, and you guys probably see these all the time, but I don’t, and cars are my passion, so this is awesome for me!) …
HDR’s? Trying Different PP’ing Techniques…
So I decided to play around w/ HDR’s today. I always shoot RAW, but during my workflow, I end up saving the PP’ed .jpg’s, and deleting the RAW’s. Thanks to this, I only had a few recent RAW files to play with, and these are the results, the Sunflower being my favorite… And yes, I need to practice… a LOT! lol
The Sunflower
I took these two photos on the way home from work last night. I really need to do a PAD project with my real camera, and not just my G1 (site). Both of these were taken with my Canon 30D, and my much loved Canon 70-200mm F/4L.
The Double Rainbow
I LOVE stormy weather. Seriously, I can’t say it enough to actually give an impression of how true that is. If it could be thundering and lightning all the time, I would be IN! Yesterday’s storms passed by us with only a few drops at my house. The Radar showed red and purple areas, which had me giddy with excitement, and then they literally passed within 2-3 miles of my house without giving me any of the benefit! I was not happy about that at all…
Then I walked out back to watch them roll away, and I saw the most beautiful rainbow behind my house. It wasn’t until my wife pointed out the double rainbow that I saw it. From what I understand, those are pretty rare, and really need the right conditions to form, so I am pretty happy to have seen it and been able to take a photo of it. This is PP’ed a bit, with a little added vignetting, which I personally like. I am a big fan of contrast, contrast, contrast. I live by: “When you have just enough contrast in your shot, add more!” Here is the pic…
I also have a shot from my G1 as part of my Picture-A-Day-With-A-Cell-Phone @www.bittenlips.com
There is also a short cell video on my YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/visualoddity
Here is one more version, with a little more Post. I’m just having fun with Lightroom…
My Friend Aurelia…
Aurelia is a buddy of mine that I have known for years. We have worked together in multiple departments, but al w/ the same company. Last year sometime, she jumped ship. Same company, different, arguably better position. Since she ditched us, I don’t see her very often, unless of course she drops by our building to say hi. Well, she is here today. So, what else would I do, but take a few pics.
These are PP’ed in Lightroom (just got it about an hour ago, so I has to play a bit), and as is my style, they are very contrasty. IMHO, these show her personality well. Everything from smiling happy to serious and goofy. Anyway, here ya go…
Stormy Weather…
These are just a few quick pics from Saturday. These were all taken from my backyard. We had some decent storms Saturday, which brought a LOT of MUCH needed rain. Of course, as I was home bored, I decided to take a few snaps out back. Nothing great, but I kinda liked em. Here ya go…
Elgin, TX. v.OnTheWayHome…
There is a bridge in Elgin that has been down for close to 6-months (maybe More). It is right in the middle of my shortcut on the home from work, and the sign rerouting miles past it is about .9 miles from the bridge itself. Yesterday I thought I would go down to the bridge and see if there was anything interesting enough to take pics of. There wasn’t. These are what I came up with while there… (sorry there isn’t more explanation/description. I am posting this on break at my real job, so time is constrained lol)…
And then a mandatory off-camera flash mirror shot from home. It’s kinda cool how the hanging glass things on the chandelier disperse the light from the flash…
