Fishing at the Lake - D200, IR converted, 18-35mm

Took a drive up the mountain yesterday to one of the local lakes. The light wasn’t the greatest so I got the IR converted D200 out. I was walking around the trails looking for some subjects when I saw this tree line on the slope. Then I heard some voices and sure enough they were close enough to be in the shot. Here’s a vertical of the same scene…not sure which one I like better?

Fishing at the Lake 2 - D200 IR converted, 18-35mm

A couple more shots from my stroll around the lake…click to view a little larger.

Mountain Lake & Clouds - D200, IR converted, 18-35mm

Forest Floor - D200, IR converted, 18-35mm

Garden Abstract Part 3 - D700, Lensbaby Composer

The last of the summer flowers are still holding on…shot this with my Lensbaby Composer through a piece of textured glass. Post processing in CS5 with Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 to bring up the color some more.

Click to view a little larger…

Pink & Green - D700, 85mm PC

I haven’t posted too many images lately, been working on some other projects…so every so often I get an call or email from my friend Tony wondering if I’m still alive or what? Nice to know I’m missed…so here are a few images from the garden recently. Nothing to set the world on fire but at least it show’s I’m still alive and taking photos.

Pink & Green No. 2 - D700, Lensbaby Composer

Pink & Green No. 3 - D700, Lensbaby Composer

Floating in Pink - D700, 70-200mm

We took a trip last week to visit my niece and see their new home. I always look forward to taking some photos of my great niece and nephew. While we were there we took a trip one afternoon to the local town beach. Hard to loose my great niece in the water with that pink float, guess what color her new room is…PINK is the word for everything. We had a great visit and got some good family shots. Here’s my great niece mugging for the camera…notice the pink polish on the nails.

Lilly Giggles - D700, 70-200

Local Garden Center Display - D700, 85mm PC

We went to one of the local garden centers today to get a few plants for the garden. I usually take a camera along to see if I can discover an image among the plants and displays. This scene caught my eye as we were leaving, a left over 4th of July display no doubt. I was drawn to the red-green-blue color triad. Used a Tony Sweet Soft-Ray filter for the diffused effect and processed in CS5 with some Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 filters…click for a larger view.

Pastel Garden, Gaura - D700, 85mm PC

Snapped a few shots in the garden this morning. The light wasn’t really all that great but I thought it might work for the effect I was going after. We put this plant, gaura, in last year and it has filled out a lot more this year. I really like the soft feel of the flowers and stems as it blows in the wind.

Shot this with my 85mm PC wide open with a bit of tilt with a Tony Sweet Soft-Ray filter to spread the highlights out even more. Processed in CS5 with the Pastel filter in Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0. Pretty much conveys the feeling I get when I look at this plant in the breeze…click on the image for a larger view.

1000 Cranes - D700, 24-70mm

We went to Virginia last week to help some friends with their daughter’s wedding. It was held at a private house and the bride folded 1000 oragami cranes. Now I’ve done a fair bit of oragami in my day but I don’t think I could make a 1000 cranes.

The 1000 crane story goes:

“Folding a crane takes time, patience, and understanding. These same qualities are vital for a marriage to last and thrive. This is why the symbology of 1,000 hand-folded cranes decorating a wedding is so powerful.”

Well anyone folding 1000 cranes will get a few photos out of me, here’s another shot of some of the show.

1000 Cranes No.2 - D700, 24-70

and one final shot of the party by candle light…

Candlelight Party - D700, 24-70

Flower and Texture - D700, 85mm PC

The sun was going down on the garden dabbing highlights here, there and everywhere. I was doing some experimenting with multiple exposures in camera. This is a two shot multiple, one in focus and one out. In CS5 I added some Nik Color Efex Pro, Color Contrast filter and also some texture using  the Totally Rad, Dirty Pictures plug-in. The bright yellows in the background are a large bank of yellow day lilies backlit by the sun.

Garden Abstract 1 - D700, 24-70mm

Playing in the garden with camera movement and multiple exposures, all three images were done in camera…

Garden Abstract 2 - D700, 24-70mm

No. 2 is a ten shot in camera multiple exposure and No. 3 is just one shot while moving the camera in small circles, this technique takes a bit of experimentation and practice, practice, practice…I’m still working on this one.

Click on images for a large view…

Garden Abstract 3 - D700, 24-70mm

Sidewalk Leaf - D700, 24-70mm

Sometimes the simple things all around you everyday can become more interesting after a rain…this is just a wet leaf on the sidewalk outside the back door. Processed in CS5 using mostly Topaz Detail…as usual click to view larger.