Pretzel's Snack-A-Day (365 for 2014)

Pretzel

Senior Member
Day 62 - BRRRRRR! (part 2)

Puppy feet in the snow.

Day62.jpg
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
Day 63 - Awww, c'mon, really!? Yup... BRRRRRR! (part 3)

A quick shot down the street before I left for work, to see if I could catch the light and shadows on snow without missing the exposure on either. Ready for this stuff to be gone for a LONG while!!

Day63.jpg
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
I think you got it exactly right. Detail in the snow in the sunshine and detail in the shadows. That is hard to do.

Thanks! Took 2 shots to nail it, so I think I'm starting to improve a bit. Can't eyeball it yet, but getting close!!

Could probably LR the shadows just a bit more, but a good shot to start helps, eh?
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
Day 64 - A day of reflection.

Yup, calmer winds, temps in the 40's and a new UV filter (from @weebee, linked here) to test out... that means the bald guy was headed to the local park to catch some more floating fowl with crazy hopes of catching some reflections as well. It was a very gray and hazy day, and the UV filter helped conquer that quite nicely!

1st, a shot of the golf course, which was flat out abandoned due to the winter weather that hit this weekend. Guessing this is why the non-regular wildlife let me get closer than I've been able to get up to this point.

Day64-8.jpg

Next, a couple of closer shots of the very skittish and elusive pied-bills. I still had to crop quite a bit to get the right feel, but nowhere near as much as I had to the first time I encountered these beauties. No golfers + no joggers = WIN for me! Decent reflections despite the ripples.

Day64-1.jpg

Day64-2.jpg

Then a real nice reflection of one of the male mallards!

Day64-4.jpg

This one was dozing as I approached, and he gave me quite a hiss when he realized how close I was. This was the stare down before he bolted for the water.

Day64-5.jpg

This pair stayed to themselves, but never apart. They kept inching closer as I was shooting until I finally caught a shot in the calmer waters.

Day64-7.jpg

And, OF COURSE, the resident geese REFUSE to be ignored. I actually had a few shots spoiled by this beauty, until I took a picture and told her how beautiful she was. After that, she floated happily away and let me get the closer-up shots of the visitors.

Day64-6.jpg

This, however, may just end up being my favorite shot of the month (and perhaps a contender for the year)! LOVE the colors and the overall feel of the pic, and it's the first time I've caught a male and female pied-bill together in a pic, and once again, decent reflections despite the slightly stirred waters. THRILLED!

Day64-3.jpg
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
Day 64 part 2 - the ALMOST series!

Toward the end of my lunch time jaunt, the couple of geese near me started honking like they sometimes do when fighting over bread that people often feed them. This got the attention of a couple of other geese from across the pond, who came HUSTLING in for a piece of the action!! IT was much too quick for me to settle in on the shots, apparently, as I had been at full zoom for the pied-bills. I tried to snap anyway, and here's the ALMOST series in full gory detail:

BREAD!? ALERT!!! (honking all the way in)

Day64-almost1.jpg

You can see the "honk" in action if you look at the bills close enough!

Day64-almost2.jpg

HONK! (save some for me!)

Day64-almost3.jpg

HONK! This WOULD have been the money shot, as I finally hit the focus (and missed the framing)!

Day64-almost4.jpg

OUTTA MY WAY!

Day64-almost5.jpg

Waitaminute, waitaminute, waitaminute... What do you MEAN there's no bread!? (I had to retreat a bit at this point, LOL)

Day64-almost6.jpg
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
Day 65 - Old haunt, new shots.

Yes, I've posted pics shot from this location before, but came back to catch some "not quite night shots" and a bit of the hazy sunset. We've got a photography lifegroup at our church, so I invited them out tonight as well, so I kind of introduced some folks to one of Tulsa's best kept secret spots. :)

1st, the "not so great as I'd hoped" shot. Managed to get the settings right for a long enough shutter speed to capture all three colors on the traffic light, but there's just not much traffic after 5, so I didn't get the traffic trails that I'd hoped for.

Day65-6.jpg


Saw this sign down the street and a bit below me, so zoomed in and took a shot.

Day65-3.jpg


Thin clouds, a bit of haze, and a catholic church on the edge of the industrial section all worked together for a couple of cool pics.

Day65-1.jpg


Day65-2.jpg


Then, a couple of shots of the downtown skyline, LR5 edits only.

Day65-4.jpg


A little bit closer and converted to B&W.

Day65-5.jpg


Only 300 more days to go!
 
Day 65 - Old haunt, new shots.

Yes, I've posted pics shot from this location before, but came back to catch some "not quite night shots" and a bit of the hazy sunset. We've got a photography lifegroup at our church, so I invited them out tonight as well, so I kind of introduced some folks to one of Tulsa's best kept secret spots. :)

1st, the "not so great as I'd hoped" shot. Managed to get the settings right for a long enough shutter speed to capture all three colors on the traffic light, but there's just not much traffic after 5, so I didn't get the traffic trails that I'd hoped for.

View attachment 76050

Saw this sign down the street and a bit below me, so zoomed in and took a shot.

View attachment 76047

Thin clouds, a bit of haze, and a catholic church on the edge of the industrial section all worked together for a couple of cool pics.

View attachment 76045

View attachment 76046

Then, a couple of shots of the downtown skyline, LR5 edits only.

View attachment 76048

A little bit closer and converted to B&W.

View attachment 76049

Only 300 more days to go!

Those are outstanding. You have captured everyone of these perfectly.
The first two night scenes with the signs are outstanding.
The cityscapes with the sunset remind me of some of the middle east scenes I have seen. Again, just perfect.
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
Day 66 - just dabbling.

Wanted to test and see how something like this would work, but I'll actually need a bigger mirror that this little handheld job.

Day66-1.jpg
 
Top