Hark 2018

hark

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I haven't been out to shoot in the past 6 weeks with the exception of a few snow church photos (will probably do another wall calendar as a fundraiser).

Anyway, after having a water pipe break in December as well as dealing with the passing of my beloved Yorkie Dachshund, I hadn't felt like going out to shoot. Waiting to receive the insurance claim check and adopted a small rescue dog (need to take her photo which I haven't yet done). :heart:

So yesterday I finally felt like getting out. Winter is my least favorite time of year, and although I didn't expect to find much, I was quite surprised to see such beauty! Once I got back in the groove, I saw things everywhere. :)

For starters, this one is for laughs. ;) The Delaware River had an ice jam over the past couple of weeks causing the ice to pile up on land. There were still a few pieces of ice remaining. There is a meme floating around online of Chris Christie sitting in a beach chair last summer. He closed all the beaches forcing the public to stay away then spent time at one with his family. When I saw this chair that washed ashore, I couldn't help but chuckle. And no, there wasn't any sign of him. :shame:

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This is one of the channel markers in the Delaware River--Bristol Waterfront Park. The sky was dark and somewhat ominous with rays of light shining through.

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This is a large chunk of ice that remains. Even though we were in 60+ degrees the other day, not all of these large pieces have melted.

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And below is the Burlington Bristol Bridge as seen from the Bristol Waterfront Park. The big white thing on the bank of the river is another chunk of ice, not trash.

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hark

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So sorry about your troubles and doggie, but glad you are feeling better.
Great shots.

Thank you. She was SO full of love that it's really difficult. We've had a number of wonderful, loving dogs over the years, but her main goal in life was to let us know how much she loved us. She was always near either my mother or me.
 

RocketCowboy

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That’s one of the worst fears I have with our current puppy...that some day that day will come. She’s incredibly sweet...sounds like your puppy. :(


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hark

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That’s one of the worst fears I have with our current puppy...that some day that day will come. She’s incredibly sweet...sounds like your puppy. :(


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Sorry to hear about your puppy. It's like losing a family member. Enjoy your new puppy.

Thank you Charlie and Marilynne. Yes, she totally captured my heart. When it isn't expected and you don't even have a chance to prepare, it is really hard.

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hark

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I edited a few more that I took the other day, but one big difference is I changed the brightness on my laptop. Although it's been recalibrated regularly (and have done full calibrations over the past several years), I decided to read the directions and do another full calibration. The directions state to set the display's brightness to its default. Unfortunately there isn't anything I can find that tells me what it was. :( At some point, I turned the brightness up all the way so I dialed it back a little. One of the problems I've been having is my photos were really too dark yet looked good on my monitor. So now it will be trial and error to see if I can hone in a the default brightness.

I really like the channel marker and never seem to tire using it as my subject. The seagull was a bonus. :)

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This is one of the lamps that lights the walkway. Despite these photos being taken in the afternoon, the lamps were lit.

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Decided to use the poles on the boat dock below as leading lines. The 2 tall poles in the sky are part of a bridge that is hidden by the trees.

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And a little use of framing to show off the channel markers. The sun's rays was another bonus that added to the framing.

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hark

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This is the other channel marker that is in the distance in one of the photos above. I don't go down here at night to know whether or not the red lights blink/flash regularly.

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hark

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I set all 3 of my Nikons with BBF in U1 (Aperture Priority) and BBF U2 (Manual Mode) for the times I want to work with moving subjects. Tried it out this afternoon but didn't have too many chances with my dogs. What few moving images I took tell me this will require some work.

This is our new rescue dog Angelee we adopted in January. Our other small rescue dog passed in December. Angelee is some type of 5-year old terrier mix about 10.5 pounds. Her fur is very coarse so I'm guessing she's part wirehaired something-or-other. She came from Alabama where she was pulled from a high-kill shelter. She seems to be trained and is very obedient. Hopefully she will start running around a little more when it's warmer. It IS pretty cold up here in Pennsylvania today.

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hark

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Decided to upgrade to a 300mm f/4 PF with VR since my 300mm f/4 AF-S is so much heavier (I've been dealing with both trigger finger and trigger thumb in my right hand). I don't know why the EXIF doesn't list the lens as being the PF model. I did set the lens profile with the correct information in ACR--the info is definitely available there.

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hark

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This is the State Capitol Building in Trenton, New Jersey. There is a levee on the Pennsylvania side. I climbed part way up the levee which is the ground in the foreground.

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hark

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This afternoon I went to Core Creek Park to shoot birds-in-flight. Since someone asked me to take photos of her son playing T-Ball, I need to work with moving subjects. BIF is easier said than done! :beguiled: Hopefully taking photos of a boy swinging a bat will be a little easier! :eek:

These first two photos are cross-posted in another thread where I asked a couple of setting questions for BIF.

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And I've been searching for a tree like this just so I can use the saying, To be or knot to be, that is the question. ;)

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hark

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Went out to practice BIF the other day but didn't have too many opportunities. A few of these are posted in another thread where I was asking questions on BIF and and the various auto focus settings. These were all taken with the Nikon 300mm f/4 PF although for some reason the EXIF doesn't indicate that lens here. I made sure to check the box in ACR to indicate it's the 300mm PF lens, too.

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I need to watch my f/stop when I am so close. The seagull below was only 12 feet away so I should have stopped down more to get its tail feathers in focus.

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Below is a crop showing the band information. The original crop was between 2-3" wide. I used On1 Resize 10 to enlarge the image to 10". That software works really well for enlargements!

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hark

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This was taken a couple days before the Nor'easter rolled through (coastal storm). The guy would prop up the upper part of his body from time to time checking on his line.

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hark

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These were from today. There is an industrial park where this engine can usually be found. I was told it transports goods within the industrial complex. And the caboose was in the same area.

Ever since I saw some of Rick M's photos taken with this lens, I've wanted to get in close to a train. I love the perspective distortion a wide angle lens such as this offers. :)

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hark

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Today is Palm Sunday. After the Worship service, I asked my Pastor if she would fold my Palm into a Cross.

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I set the Palm Cross in front of the brass Cross on the Communion Table. I had to turn off my flash to allow the shadows from the brass Cross (lit by the Sanctuary lights) to be visible. The blue spots near the top of the image are stained glass reflections on the marble that is behind the Communion Table.

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hark

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I haven't kept up to date on some of the things I've shot. Both of these were taken yesterday.

I never tire of shooting this channel marker on the Delaware River. The town of Bristol has a beautiful waterfront park and recently built boat docks.

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Big Brother is watching. These security cameras face the boat docks. It would be nice to see more cameras installed in other local parks. Of course not everyone will agree, but they help in case there is any vandalism.

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hark

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These are posted out of order. Last year buds formed on trees at my church but never opened after we had frost. This year it's been so cold that I wasn't sure whether or not they would open. The buds managed to be larger this year, and despite having several nights with frost, they did bloom. :)

These Magnolia buds were approximately 2" long and eventually bloomed. Last year, they were only 1" when the frost got them.

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Below are blossoms from a White Cherry Tree. The tree was from one of my church's congregants. It is so pretty when it blooms.

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And below are the Magnolia blossoms after they opened. They didn't last long because we had so many consecutive nights at freezing temps. At least they opened, and I was able to get to the church a few times to capture several images.

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