Pretzel's Snack-A-Day (365 for 2014)
- Thread starter Pretzel
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Great Minds Think Alike!
Day 3. Next moon shot! New Moon + a day (LOVE to capture these when I can)
Odd question, though. When I shoot the crescent moon, I *know* the rest of the moon is there, just shadowed over, but with some of the crescent moon shots I take, I get what almost appears to be stars shining through the moon? It's very strange, but the slower the shutter speed, the more likely they are to show up. Any scientific folks (or camera tech gurus) out there tell me how that happens? On the full size version of this shot, you can see them. Just a tiny bit of noise reduction will obviously make them disappear, but they show up with any shutter speed. Is it just sensor noise because of the higher ISO?
D3100, ISO 1600, f5.6, 1/320 with my 70-300mm VR at 300mm. Cropped down, of course.
Odd question, though. When I shoot the crescent moon, I *know* the rest of the moon is there, just shadowed over, but with some of the crescent moon shots I take, I get what almost appears to be stars shining through the moon? It's very strange, but the slower the shutter speed, the more likely they are to show up. Any scientific folks (or camera tech gurus) out there tell me how that happens? On the full size version of this shot, you can see them. Just a tiny bit of noise reduction will obviously make them disappear, but they show up with any shutter speed. Is it just sensor noise because of the higher ISO?
D3100, ISO 1600, f5.6, 1/320 with my 70-300mm VR at 300mm. Cropped down, of course.
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Looks like that cheshire cat has a few cavities now!
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Day 4 - Just a walk...
Alright, folks. Today you are served the "Snack-A-Day Special". All those who stopped by for just one pic today will earn several more for FREE!
At first, I thought 1+1 = a 2 for 1 special, but then those 1's being so close together kinda looked like 11, so here ya go! LOL
Actually, my wife wanted to enjoy the 50 degree day today before the next arctic blast rolled through town overnight, so she was headed for a "leisurely stroll" in one of the local parks. I was warned, "This isn't one of your workouts, I don't want to push the pace, so be prepared and don't rush me!" My response? "NO PROB! I'll just take the camera along and play catch up!" A little over 20 minutes later, we were done, and I found a few pics I thought y'all would enjoy with me. (Just 6 for this post. We'll call them the "non-squirrel" pics.)
My 1st thought, I'll admit, was, "Whee... a drab winter day. Everything will be brown, or gray, or... BLAH, but maybe I'll get 1 good shot." Boy, was I wrong! I should have remembered, as a photographer, there's always an opportunity to find beauty! The first few shots are captures of some color that's still around, even after a fairly harsh ice storm in the middle of winter.
Then, on our way out, I stopped to catch one of the street lights that hangs over the pedestrian bridge. (This is the same bridge I captured in B&W during the ice storm in my "Learning Curve" thread for 2013) I love how they kept them as more of a classic look instead of just utilitarian.
Then, while on the bridge, I caught sight of a beautiful red cardinal (the wife's favorite bird). I tried to get as close as possible, but the cardinals around here are skittish, so he was playing hide and seek with me. Guess I'm going to have to start feeding them in my back yard to get a good close shot.
Also had the random luck to spot another rare sighting in town... a Belted Kingfisher! He was a LONG way away, so this was a heavy crop. I moved just enough to get him lined up with the storefront sign behind, so I could catch as much detail as possible against the white. He disappeared as soon as I started trying to get any closer. LOVE that birdie mohawk!
Alright, folks. Today you are served the "Snack-A-Day Special". All those who stopped by for just one pic today will earn several more for FREE!
At first, I thought 1+1 = a 2 for 1 special, but then those 1's being so close together kinda looked like 11, so here ya go! LOLActually, my wife wanted to enjoy the 50 degree day today before the next arctic blast rolled through town overnight, so she was headed for a "leisurely stroll" in one of the local parks. I was warned, "This isn't one of your workouts, I don't want to push the pace, so be prepared and don't rush me!" My response? "NO PROB! I'll just take the camera along and play catch up!" A little over 20 minutes later, we were done, and I found a few pics I thought y'all would enjoy with me. (Just 6 for this post. We'll call them the "non-squirrel" pics.)
My 1st thought, I'll admit, was, "Whee... a drab winter day. Everything will be brown, or gray, or... BLAH, but maybe I'll get 1 good shot." Boy, was I wrong! I should have remembered, as a photographer, there's always an opportunity to find beauty! The first few shots are captures of some color that's still around, even after a fairly harsh ice storm in the middle of winter.
Then, on our way out, I stopped to catch one of the street lights that hangs over the pedestrian bridge. (This is the same bridge I captured in B&W during the ice storm in my "Learning Curve" thread for 2013) I love how they kept them as more of a classic look instead of just utilitarian.
Then, while on the bridge, I caught sight of a beautiful red cardinal (the wife's favorite bird). I tried to get as close as possible, but the cardinals around here are skittish, so he was playing hide and seek with me. Guess I'm going to have to start feeding them in my back yard to get a good close shot.
Also had the random luck to spot another rare sighting in town... a Belted Kingfisher! He was a LONG way away, so this was a heavy crop. I moved just enough to get him lined up with the storefront sign behind, so I could catch as much detail as possible against the white. He disappeared as soon as I started trying to get any closer. LOVE that birdie mohawk!
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Don Kuykendall_RIP
RIP :(
Day 4 - Just a walk...
Alright, folks. Today you are served the "Snack-A-Day Special". All those who stopped by for just one pic today will earn several more for FREE!
Actually, my wife wanted to enjoy the 50 degree day today before the next arctic blast rolled through town overnight, so she was headed for a "leisurely stroll" in one of the local parks. I was warned, "This isn't one of your workouts, I don't want to push the pace, so be prepared and don't rush me!" My response? "NO PROB! I'll just take the camera along and play catch up!" A little over 20 minutes later, we were done, and I found a few pics I thought y'all would enjoy with me. (Just 6 for this post. We'll call them the "non-squirrel" pics.)
My 1st thought, I'll admit, was, "Whee... a drab winter day. Everything will be brown, or gray, or... BLAH, but maybe I'll get 1 good shot." Boy, was I wrong! I should have remembered, as a photographer, there's always an opportunity to find beauty! The first few shots are captures of some color that's still around, even after a fairly harsh ice storm in the middle of winter.
View attachment 65378
View attachment 65379
View attachment 65380
Then, on our way out, I stopped to catch one of the street lights that hangs over the pedestrian bridge. (This is the same bridge I capture in B&W during the ice storm in my "Learning Curve" thread for 2013) I love how they kept them as more of a classic look instead of just utilitarian.
View attachment 65383
Then, while on the bridge, I caught sight of a beautiful red cardinal (the wife's favorite bird). I tried to get as close as possible, but the cardinals around here are skittish, so he was playing hide and seek with me. Guess I'm going to have to start feeding them in my back yard to get a good close shot.
View attachment 65382
Also had the random luck to spot another rare sighting in town... a Belted Kingfisher! He was a LONG way away, so this was a heavy crop. I moved just enough to get him lined up with the storefront sign behind, so I could catch as much detail as possible against the white. He disappeared as soon as I started trying to get any closer. LOVE that birdie mohawk!
View attachment 65381
I like all of them but the red berries are my favorites.
Day 4 - Part 2. And now, without further ado... the "Squirrel Pics!"
Walking at a "leisurely pace", with my head on a swivel, I caught quite a few snaps of the wee "tree rats" in full glory!
This little guy was actually quite near the walking path. He was scampering around through some of the limbs that were brought down by the ice storm. I zoomed in, said "Hey there little fella!" and snapped. Guess he was intrigued by the fat man with a camera, as he sat right up and checked me out.
Almost missed this lovely, but what a great pose! Perfect silhouette against the "blah" grey skies. I was able to get REALLY close. Not a whole lot of crop involved with these shots!
This was another "tree rat" checking me out from afar. He was far enough away that he felt safe, so he was actually chattering and scolding me a bit for venturing into his sanctuary. Either that, or he was venting about his ruined tree.
This last little lass was good for a laugh or three! By now, my wife was a bit ahead of me, and this little one was hanging on the back of a tree after my wife had passed by, trying to hide out of sight. Guess she should have been watching a bit more closely, because I gave her quite the scare with a little bit of a "BOO!" as I got close, so she scampered up the tree and hid in her nest. Here's the pic that resulted as she was peeking out over the top of the nest to make sure I wasn't going to climb up after her!
Walking at a "leisurely pace", with my head on a swivel, I caught quite a few snaps of the wee "tree rats" in full glory!
This little guy was actually quite near the walking path. He was scampering around through some of the limbs that were brought down by the ice storm. I zoomed in, said "Hey there little fella!" and snapped. Guess he was intrigued by the fat man with a camera, as he sat right up and checked me out.
Almost missed this lovely, but what a great pose! Perfect silhouette against the "blah" grey skies. I was able to get REALLY close. Not a whole lot of crop involved with these shots!
This was another "tree rat" checking me out from afar. He was far enough away that he felt safe, so he was actually chattering and scolding me a bit for venturing into his sanctuary. Either that, or he was venting about his ruined tree.
This last little lass was good for a laugh or three! By now, my wife was a bit ahead of me, and this little one was hanging on the back of a tree after my wife had passed by, trying to hide out of sight. Guess she should have been watching a bit more closely, because I gave her quite the scare with a little bit of a "BOO!" as I got close, so she scampered up the tree and hid in her nest. Here's the pic that resulted as she was peeking out over the top of the nest to make sure I wasn't going to climb up after her!
Thanks! They were my faves on the day too, along with a couple of those squirrel shots.
I've been sitting here wishing I could have spotted one of those shy little cardinals flitting around in the middle of the red berries. Now THAT would have been a shot!
They used to be just "squirrels", and a whole lot cuter... then a few decided to break in through the eave vents and wreak havoc in my attic, stripping out wires and pulling insulation off of all of my AC/Heater vent piping. Since then, "Tree Rats" seemed to be a bit more accurate.
Whiskeyman
Senior Member
I call them rats with furry tails. They are vermin and cause havoc around here: two weeks ago, my neighbor had to have the wiring harness on his pickup replaced to the tune of over $700. Yes, that's right, the squirrels got into it and chewed the daylights out of it. They cause all sorts of other damage to houses as well, including one that caught fire due to squirrels chewing on wires inside the attic.
Right now, the vermin are skittish due to the owls and hawks in the area. Go hawks! Go owls!
WM
Michael J.
Senior Member
Great thread with superb photos
Thanks Michael!
Day 5 - In Honor of @Deezey and @BackdoorHippie
Although not as "close-up" as Deezey's shots, on the way back in from the back yard today, I spotted the bikes stored under the eaves and recalled his day 1 shots, so thought I'd take a similar pic. PLUS, I just started my 15 day NIK trial last night, and in one of the threads I've been active in lately, BDH talked about, in simple terms, his approach to his workflow and the basics of how he used the NIK tools, etc. So here we go... my attempt to learn and apply.
Thoughts? Comments? Shoulda, coulda, wouldas?
Before (SOOC, not so great as it was a spur of the moment "let's see what we can do with this" shot after I was already FROZEN):
After (a little cropping, little PS, little Silver Efex Pro 2):
Although not as "close-up" as Deezey's shots, on the way back in from the back yard today, I spotted the bikes stored under the eaves and recalled his day 1 shots, so thought I'd take a similar pic. PLUS, I just started my 15 day NIK trial last night, and in one of the threads I've been active in lately, BDH talked about, in simple terms, his approach to his workflow and the basics of how he used the NIK tools, etc. So here we go... my attempt to learn and apply.
Thoughts? Comments? Shoulda, coulda, wouldas?
Before (SOOC, not so great as it was a spur of the moment "let's see what we can do with this" shot after I was already FROZEN):
After (a little cropping, little PS, little Silver Efex Pro 2):
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BackdoorArts
Senior Member
Nice. For me, workflow is all about knowing what comes next and when to leave it out. The mindset all begins with the OOC image and whether or not it's "there", "almost there" or "that's not quite what I was going for". The last category usually gets 1 or 2 shots at salvation before going to the bin, though I do tag some to come back to later when I see something in there but just can't bring it out. Sometimes you can get stuck in a tool rut.
LOL, yes, it does! Unfortunately, this was my daughter's bike from 6 or 7 years ago, and I don't think she's ridden it in more than 5. I'm going to give it a work over again this Spring, offer to let her come pick it up and/or sell it to someone who will give it more attention.
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