Pretzel and the Gypsy King - A Tale of Adventure (cum a spus de fotografie) for 2015
- Thread starter Pretzel
- Start date
Good to have you back Pretzel
Thanks, man! It's good to feel like myself again, and with last night's dive back into the photography world, rediscover an old joy.
Took another trip down south, this year... about 6 weeks ahead of schedule. Didn't get in a lot of beach time this go-around, but managed to get out and shoot one sunset on the live side, and a sunset straight across on the gulf side.
First, a long exposure of the sunrise from the beaches of Hollywood, FL. It had actually been very foggy, so the image under the cloud/fog cover way out was interesting, as it caught the bits of mist still rising from the water...
The rest are from the sunset off of the beaches in Naples, FL. Here, a couple of buddies worship the sun together. I actually waffled a bit with this one, trying to decide whether I should align the center on the pelican's head, or on the space between the pier leggings... I chose the Pelican just per personal preference.
Had a TON of fun getting low light, long exposure shots with my ICE ND filter on the 50mm. Then, toying with the pics is always a never ending addiction... here's a "Velvet Elvis" rendition of the sunset. If you look real close, you can see the buddies from up above.
My son HATES being in pictures, but I talked him into a "last light" silhouette...
First, a long exposure of the sunrise from the beaches of Hollywood, FL. It had actually been very foggy, so the image under the cloud/fog cover way out was interesting, as it caught the bits of mist still rising from the water...
The rest are from the sunset off of the beaches in Naples, FL. Here, a couple of buddies worship the sun together.
I actually waffled a bit with this one, trying to decide whether I should align the center on the pelican's head, or on the space between the pier leggings... I chose the Pelican just per personal preference.Had a TON of fun getting low light, long exposure shots with my ICE ND filter on the 50mm. Then, toying with the pics is always a never ending addiction... here's a "Velvet Elvis" rendition of the sunset. If you look real close, you can see the buddies from up above.
My son HATES being in pictures, but I talked him into a "last light" silhouette...
Here's a few more I messed with...
A nice, contrasty (I know it's not a word, but I used it anyway) B&W sunset shot...
Then, if you can believe it... an iPhone shot that I toyed with a bit to draw out what I wanted. One of my fave beach shots I've ever taken!
Then, while I was shooting the sunset, this amazingly beautiful woman walked up in a blue dress... wistfully looking out over the ocean. I swing around right before we left, horrible low light, settings for the sunset still dialed in, and snapped a quick couple of shots because it was a perfect moment and I thought I should try. This B&W touch on one of the shots gave me that Edgar Allan Poe "Lost Lenore" feel.
Then this pic... yowza. I'm still toying it with it, maybe adding a bit more saturation, but... it's grainy, it's glowy, the pier shack right over the top of her head is horrible composition, and...
It's one of my favorite pictures ever taken.
Random woman - I name thee 'Sea'
She was stunning, like the sunset.
She was strong, like the sea.
A beauty to rival nature...
and unaware of me.
And I, the humbled man,
captured the scene, my heart in sway.
Then I, the broken man...
quietly walked away.
A nice, contrasty (I know it's not a word, but I used it anyway) B&W sunset shot...
Then, if you can believe it... an iPhone shot that I toyed with a bit to draw out what I wanted.
One of my fave beach shots I've ever taken!Then, while I was shooting the sunset, this amazingly beautiful woman walked up in a blue dress... wistfully looking out over the ocean. I swing around right before we left, horrible low light, settings for the sunset still dialed in, and snapped a quick couple of shots because it was a perfect moment and I thought I should try. This B&W touch on one of the shots gave me that Edgar Allan Poe "Lost Lenore" feel.
Then this pic... yowza. I'm still toying it with it, maybe adding a bit more saturation, but... it's grainy, it's glowy, the pier shack right over the top of her head is horrible composition, and...
It's one of my favorite pictures ever taken.
Random woman - I name thee 'Sea'
She was stunning, like the sunset.
She was strong, like the sea.
A beauty to rival nature...
and unaware of me.
And I, the humbled man,
captured the scene, my heart in sway.
Then I, the broken man...
quietly walked away.
Yes sir, the ND1000 or whatever they call it... I have that one and a larger one (that I can't find right now) for my 70-300. Both are great quality. The ICE circular polarizing filters, on the other hand... let's just say I threw both of the ones I ordered out with the rest of the garbage.
Beautiful images, Pretzel! I especially like the cell phone photo. What surprises me is the waves look a little soft (as in a slight motion blur) yet the shutter speed is listed as 1/2200".
And the image with the pelican's wings covering its buddy seems like something you'd find in a Disney movie! All of these are terrific shots. :encouragement:
And the image with the pelican's wings covering its buddy seems like something you'd find in a Disney movie! All of these are terrific shots. :encouragement:
Went out chasing lightning with a new friend... and the sparks did fly!
1st, on the way out, I pulled over at the local softball fields to catch a shot of the sunset that was popping up behind the storm.
The rest were strikes that I caught using my wired remote and 5 second grabs. Ended up with 62 attempts, and 5 with strikes I could use out of it. Not bad for hand firing guesses...
I had to drop the exposure PP a bit, as in the midst of everything... I forgot to check my ISO.
1st, on the way out, I pulled over at the local softball fields to catch a shot of the sunset that was popping up behind the storm.
The rest were strikes that I caught using my wired remote and 5 second grabs. Ended up with 62 attempts, and 5 with strikes I could use out of it. Not bad for hand firing guesses...
I had to drop the exposure PP a bit, as in the midst of everything... I forgot to check my ISO.
sonicbuffalo_RIP
Senior Member
I haven't been on here much lately....since I don't shoot Nikon very much anymore.......but wow! I love the lightning pictures! Nice Pretzel.
2016 sucked. Not a lot of pics, some highs, mostly lows... but 2017 will be mine.
January '16 led to the end of a 24 year journey with the woman I thought would remain forever. Here's to hoping she finds greater happiness... less than a month later, I found out my father (in Florida) had stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to liver, brain, bone and more. I spent my savings to get down there as much as possible, had one of the greatest FINAL HUZZAH weeks ever known to mankind. 3 weeks after that last huzzah, in September, he passed on to greater glory.
The kicker? 1 month before he passed, I found out my mom was in the exact same scenario, but this time I was here to take care of her all the way through. Just two kids to my name, and no other family here... I took on her care myself until she passed just recently on 1/9/17. As you can see from my thread, there weren't a lot of pictures taken as I was focused on other things, but there were some. I'll chronicle it all some day, maybe here. In the meantime, I'll share a photo a friend shot (edited by me just slightly) with her cell phone while I was unaware, and of all the pictures I have ever seen, this one moves my own heart the most, from now and forever. It's probably because of my emotional connection and nothing more. I had just turned down an offer to sleep while she watched over mom because I knew things were winding down. I told her, "This is MY watch." So she stepped back, and while I held my mom's hand and prayed for peace, she snuck a shot in.
I'll miss my Pops, and miss my Mama even more. That was it... I have no more family other than a few cousins and my own two kids (although I have a grandbaby due in August!), so I am now the Patriarch.
What a weight.......... but I will return to photography en force this year, as both of my parents enjoyed and encouraged my art, and it's still one of my driving passions. Until then... if you have parents left, love them. Spend time with them. And when it comes to the end of their road, stand with them and take up the watch. You will never regret it, even as you suffer the most intense grief known to mankind.
"My watch..."
January '16 led to the end of a 24 year journey with the woman I thought would remain forever. Here's to hoping she finds greater happiness... less than a month later, I found out my father (in Florida) had stage 4 lung cancer that had spread to liver, brain, bone and more. I spent my savings to get down there as much as possible, had one of the greatest FINAL HUZZAH weeks ever known to mankind. 3 weeks after that last huzzah, in September, he passed on to greater glory.
The kicker? 1 month before he passed, I found out my mom was in the exact same scenario, but this time I was here to take care of her all the way through. Just two kids to my name, and no other family here... I took on her care myself until she passed just recently on 1/9/17. As you can see from my thread, there weren't a lot of pictures taken as I was focused on other things, but there were some. I'll chronicle it all some day, maybe here. In the meantime, I'll share a photo a friend shot (edited by me just slightly) with her cell phone while I was unaware, and of all the pictures I have ever seen, this one moves my own heart the most, from now and forever. It's probably because of my emotional connection and nothing more. I had just turned down an offer to sleep while she watched over mom because I knew things were winding down. I told her, "This is MY watch." So she stepped back, and while I held my mom's hand and prayed for peace, she snuck a shot in.
I'll miss my Pops, and miss my Mama even more. That was it... I have no more family other than a few cousins and my own two kids (although I have a grandbaby due in August!), so I am now the Patriarch.
What a weight.......... but I will return to photography en force this year, as both of my parents enjoyed and encouraged my art, and it's still one of my driving passions. Until then... if you have parents left, love them. Spend time with them. And when it comes to the end of their road, stand with them and take up the watch. You will never regret it, even as you suffer the most intense grief known to mankind.
"My watch..."
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Bikerbrent
Senior Member
Real bummer man. For you 2016 was truly the year that was. But you have to remember that life is like riding a horse. If you get thrown, you have to get right back on and keep going. Really look forward to seeing more of your work.
Oh, and by the way I really, really like your lightning shots
Oh, and by the way I really, really like your lightning shots
Home for Mom and I was in Oklahoma, so here I stay for a bit. There will still be trips to Florida until I can find the way to relocate though.
Quite a bit of step-family there.