Macro Fun

Mandarin Oranges

Grapes

To recreate this type of picture you will need the following: a large glass, sparkling water, sprite or 7 up, fruit of your choice, rock salt, camera and macro lens. Pour the sparkling water into the glass. Add the fruit. To make more or extra bubbles add a few pieces of rock salt to the glass. Adding ice to the glass causes frost or condensation to the glass. This makes the picture appear blurry and frosted. I used a light behind the glass for illumination, no flash. Some editing was done to increase the contrast and brighten the picture. Caution: Don't drink from the glass! Have fun shooting macro.

The Game

You either love the game or don't get it!

Praying Mantis

Found this little creature sneaking into the garage one day. I had my son capture it for a future photo section and we brought it into the house. We gave it a bigger home than a mason jar after a day or two. The roomer shoe box was a much more pleasing habit for the mantis. It or she left a egg sack behind in the box. What a surprise for us! With the help of my wife, surprised me too, we put the insect on a house plant. I used two different lens, a 105mm macro and a 70-200mm lens with extension tubes, to photograph the it. Depth of field was difficult to control with either set up but the detail is incredible. Ladybugs, a praying mantis, next time maybe spiders for a macro photo shoot at the kitchen table. Wife willing or out of town!

Halloween Fun

f/13, 20 sec., ISO100

f/22, 15 sec., ISO 100

f/16, 15 sec., ISO 100

f/13, 20 sec., ISO 100

Halloween is a great time to take pictures. I read somewhere that it is the second most photographed holiday in the United States. My neighbor and friend loves Halloween. He has put on a "Spook Alley" or "Haunted House" the last several years. Each year it gets better. No charge for the scare just fun and laughter, for him and the neighborhood kid who dare go through! These or some long exposures with a flashlight and camera flash. The pictures with with fog machine really make the shot look scary! What do you think?

Relaxing View

While driving up the coast from Waikiki, I stopped to see the view and figure out why all the cars are parked along the road. I stumbled on a "locals surfing beach" and what a view. There where several areas like this, a little remote, out of the way, and none of those vacationers around! I caught this guy and his dog enjoying the view and relaxing in the shade. If only I had a bigger telephoto lens with me, I might have joined him. Windsurfers make a great subject.

Another Lighthouse

Sunset Landing

It looked as though this balloon would land right on me as it came down. The skilled pilot dropped it just in front of me and than took a big hop and dropped about 40 yards behind me. It wasn't the most graceful of landing but provided a great picture opportunity. Some edits were done to bring out the color of the balloon.

Lighthouse

I hiked down to take these shots, while my wife hiked to the top of Diamond Head crater to get a different prospective.

Romance Is In The Air

Boat Harbor

Does anyone what to take a "...three hour tour"? I'll be Skipper, you be...?

Arachnid 5 of 5

Saving the best for last, this B-I-G spider really creeps me out. Brightly colored, three to four inches in length and a web as big as a house! Lets just say, I will not be walking through the sagebrush and high weeds near the lookout points and roads on Antelope Island in the dark. I don't want to pick up any hitch-hikers!

Arachnid 4 of 5

Just hanging around!

Sunset In Hawaii

Looking for a beautiful sunset to watch? May I suggest the Turtle Bay Resort in Hawaii as a good spot to relax and watch the sun go down. Be sure to take someone you love with you, it more romantic that way!

Arachnid 3 of 5

Orange and white are the team colors for this spider! This guy/gal is between two and three inches from leg to leg. One of the bigger spiders of the day but not the biggest.

Panoramic View

Arachnid 2 of 5

Location, location, location is a concept understood by the littlest creatures of the world. I like the colors behind this web.

Arachnid 1 of 5

Hanging by a thread.


Afraid of spiders? Me too! The bigger they are the s-c-a-r-i-e-r they get! This spider has spun a web the size of your dinner plate! In fact, all the spider pictures I will be posting have very large webs. Their webs span across walking paths, between large sage brush bushes about three or more feet apart, and even between dead tree branches. Spiders are creepy, but they create delicate webs of death worthy of its capture. As a photo and food! Enjoy!

Canoes At Mirror Lake

I try and visit Mirror Lake at least once a year. I love it there. It is a beautiful place to photograph, fish and relax. I got luck again, and there were canoes out. They make a great subject to shoot around the lake. Next time, I hope to get a person in the canoe. May-be asleep, fishing or just paddling. Does any one want to come and be a model?

Fishing III

Of the lakes we visited on our little road trip, Trial Lake had more people drowning worms! This may-be due to the time of our visit or better fishing from this lake. Who knows? I didn't drop a hook!

Fishing II

The campground was closed to the campers at Moose Horn Lake, but the fish were biting! There were a few anglers in the water and a family along the shore hoping to catch a rainbow or brown trout. I wish, I had brought a pole with me.

In the Uintas there is still snow on the ground in July. This year is no exception, but it was July 31st and some areas had large piles (thing of a full size four wheel drive truck large) of snow slowly melting in the lake. The water is cold and this die hard fly fisherman was right out in it. He cast a few time while I was watching him and landed a beauty. I can only imagine the story he is telling now! I hope it is a doozy!

Fishing I

Caught this young couple and their reflection fishing at Mirror Lake in the Uintas. It was a beautiful morning, except the mosquitoes!

More Water Balloons

Piercing!


To the left you can see part of the dart!




Thanks kids for the help in capturing these pictures. It was a lot of work to set up and clean up, but a blast no less! Love ya!

Water Balloon Fun

We had some fun with water balloons in the backyard today. Thanks kids!

Dragonflies

Dragonflies are fast movers. These guys happened to be at the edge of the water, near birds I was shooting. My hats off to those of you who shoot them often. You make it look so easy! Thanks.

Into The Blue Sky

I wish I could get a ride!

Afternoon Pleasure

It has been said, "The worst day fishing beats the best day of work!"

Fireworks Show

Picture #1 - f/8, 5 sec., ISO200

Picture #2 - f/11, 6 sec., ISO 200

Picture #3 - f/11, 6 sec., ISO 200

I hope those of you who shot fireworks for the holiday captured some good ones. I read an article some years back about shooting fireworks. It said you should use four to six seconds shutter speed, an aperture of f/11 to f/16, and a tripod. A co-worker suggested using a hat to cover the lens also. The hat stops the exposure so the burst of light, firework bloom, does not get to big. It has been helpful tip. Thanks, Mark! Also, the article it mentioned having a famous landmark in the picture. This would give the viewer a sense of scale and place. Well, the Burger Stop in Layton, Utah is not world famous but a landmark no less! Good food and car shows throught out the summer. You should give them a try! Thank you to Layton City and those who put on the show. A good time was had by all!

Which of the three pictures do you like best? Please let me know.

Find The Foot Clips - July 4th Edition

Do you remember the 10-10-10 project? This was another picture I prepared to post. The holiday theme make it an appropriate picture to post today. There are 10 blue foot paper clips and an extra Foote to find within the picture. To enlarge the picture, click on it. Good luck. Happy Forth Of July!

Rainbows

If you look closely, there are two rainbows. This was quite the surprise and a lucky shot. Mom and I had gone out to Antelope Island to capture lighting bolts. We hand our fingers crossed. While waiting for the rain to lighten up and lighting to jolt through the sky we sat in the truck talking about the fun we've been having shooting pictures together. I decided to step out of the truck and start setting up a tripod and get ready for the sunset. By now we could tell there would be no lighting. To my delight, behind us was this incredible double rainbow in the light of the setting sun. The top picture is what I saw. As mom turned to get out of the truck, she could see the rainbow cover most of the island. I quickly changed to a fish-eye lens to capture the wide view you see in the bottom picture. There has been some edits to clean things up and try to flatten out the curve created by the fish-eye lens. I hope you enjoy the beauty of the rainbows! We did.

Fun With Lights

Special thanks to my nieces and nephews for the help in spinning the lights, doing out-lines and modeling. We all had fun at the camp out. Long exposure shots can be lots of fun. More fun with colored lights and the ability to spell ones name backwards. Notice there are no names, we just could not do it. Better luck next time!