Week 21 - 2014 in Images

Day 141

The late spring snow put me in the need for flowers. Thankfully green houses and studios were able to provide them for me. Inside flowers are a great subject. No went to ruffle their petals and close to the tripod if you wish to set one up. You can also alter lighting or move the subject to a different background.

I confess to not using a tripod as much as the authorities would recommend. Having done outside landscape photography from a 4 x 4 jeep for years I have gotten to be an accomplished master on finding objects to brace myself and my camera on or against. First photo was the butt/feet, knees/elbows tripod. Being able to get in and out of that position quickly is my physical fitness program.

Day 142

Painfully sharp focus was really not a necessity for the photo above. I used the straddle the chair and balance on the elbows on back of chair tripod pose for this one. Then I played with it in post processing to get the riot of color feeling.

Day 143

The first orchid was photographed in place but I moved the second orchid for a better background. In post processing I blurred the edges to get the attention to the star of the photo.

Day 144

I said there would be more snow pictures. When you get an event such as the May 13th snow storm you take a lot of pictures. And frankly I find it difficult to blow a snow photo. I confess there will even be a couple in next week's review.

Day 145

I initially took the mud picture to emphasis what us locals call the mud and flood season the rest of the nation calls spring. But when I got it home and uploaded to the computer I was entranced with all the tracks in the mud and remnants of snow. My studded snow tires, the two sizes of tires on the front end loader, and the driver's truck to get to work.

Day 146

This one was a study in patterns and best in black and white. The sculpted snow atop the metal roof and the electrical wires make for an interesting abstract.

Day 147

My little country road. I obviously was not the first up and out that day, and the car that was had some difficulty with negotiation of the mud and very wet snow.

Grand Canyon Dawn

South rim of Grand Canyon at Dawn

Of all the parks on our list to see this vacation I have been to the Grand Canyon most often. I first went after my senior year in high school. And in the '70's had the good fortune to go down the Colorado River on a raft twice. It is far more than a huge hole in the ground. And light changes it dramatically.

Our task this trip was to see it at dawn. My sister had accidentally had the great good fortune to catch it just this last year as the sun paints the canyon, so she knew where to go and set up our tripods and focus our cameras and wait for the sun.

Watching the canyon come alive is so spectacular that it is possible to forget to click the shutter. And other times I wanted three different cameras with tripods aimed in different directions. The only solution to this is plan another trip with multiple dawns to capture.

Current favorite

There are five inner canyons and at this point the river is so far down it cannot be seen. Does not prevent you from looking or even thinking you see it. On the Colorado at the bottom on both raft trips I kept looking for some sign of life at the rim. It is like being swallowed up by the earth. And at night there is only the sounds of the rapids and a zillion stars.

Where most tourists stood

I wish I had the money everyone had spent on camera equipment to capture this event that happens daily. One car parked next to us in the predawn disgorged three huge aluminum cases of equipment. Debbie and I grabbed our tripods and camera backpacks and beat them to the spot they wanted. First come and first serve. Many of the tourists perched on the canyon wall to the left in the above photo. Some ranged along the south rim trail and snapped at will without a tripod. I find myself wondering what they got in focus. And if those with iphones were able to see any details.

I must confess, however, that I found my photos a disappointment. Debbie with her super wide angle telephoto lens got some awesome ones. Next trip I am at least going to rent such a lens. I have left my photos of the canyon to near the end of my post processing frenzy because of my disappointment. But as I found out in college - darkroom can make a huge difference.

And I want to make use of my polarizing filter next trip. It proved to be such a great help in dealing with the desert light later in our trip.