Pops Photos
Curly Top
For me, the most difficult part of photographing people is capturing an authentic natural expression. Much of what I end up with is nice, but lacking the true essence of the person I’m trying capture.
I’m pretty pleased with the way this one turned out.
(Click the image to see a larger version.)
Fashion and Friends
What little girl doesn’t like “dress up” and stuffed animal friends.
I’ve had the opportunity to focus on a couple of cuties the last few days. This one loves to pose for the camera.
Portraits have not been my strong suit…but I’m working on it.
(Click on the main image for a larger view.)
Kewaunee’s Premium Blend
The best part of waking up… The sky provided a blend of beautiful colors, layered from the red of the sun on the horizon to the blue, high in the early morning sky.
I made my way to the shore of Lake Michigan – to the Kewaunee, WI beach – to catch a 5:40 am sunrise on the morning of Saturday, April 30, 2011.
It’s interesting to see the different transformations that the sky goes through in the course of a half hour sunrise. For a different look of the same sunrise, see my previous post “Morning Beam.”
(Click the photo for a slightly larger view.)
Morning Beam
I got up early last Saturday to take sunrise photos of the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse. This is a photo from the end of the shoot. The sun was up enough that it was out of the frame but you can’t miss it’s power by the prominent beam of light.
More from this shoot will be posted in the next few days. Keep checking back or simply subscribe to the RSS feed.
(Click on the image for a larger view.)
Prelude to Night
Nighttime seemed to be moving in from the upper left-hand corner of this image.
This was the sunset viewed at our rural Kewaunee County, WI home on Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011. The beauty lasted all of 10 minutes…maybe less.
(Click the photo to view a larger version.)
Spring’s First Blush
After an unseasonably cold spring, we were finally blessed with a sunny afternoon – it was Easter Sunday. We were ready to get outside and took a long walk through a wooded area.
Along the way we stumbled upon a few fresh flowers. These are the very first blooms of the season.
Just a few days ago, the area where we found these spring beauties was under a blanket of snow (nine inches) from a late winter storm.
(Click on either photo for a larger view.)
Crater Face
I’ve been working to get a good shot of the moon. My previous attempts have been OK, but not as sharp as I thought they should be. (See That’s Amore!) I figured out the problem and am fairly pleased with this one.
First I mount my Sony SLT-A55 on a tripod. To get a closer view I use a 300mm zoom lens. Even with the lens magnification, it requires quite a bit of cropping to enlarge the image. I switch the camera to manual focus. My camera also has a setting that allows me to enlarge the image in the viewfinder or LCD screen to really hone in on the focus. I also use the 2-second timer on the camera so that I’m not shaking the camera by pressing the shutter button.
I thought the problem was the inexpensive tripod I was using – that it wasn’t stable enough. I also thought it could be a limitation with the lens, since the one I own would fall under the “budget” category. One other possibility was the UV filter – a clear filter used mainly to protect the lens.
It turned out to be the UV filter. I took a couple of shots with a new, solid tripod and things looked the same as with the flimsy tripod. Then I removed the UV filter and saw an immediate difference. The photo above is the result. Looks like I’ll have to invest a little more in a better UV filter.
The smaller image gives you a perspective of the size of the moon in the actual image the camera captures. Then I enlarge the view by cropping it to fill more of the frame.
(Click on either photo to see a larger version.)
Winter Beach
Of all the images you’ll find in my Flickr Photostream, this is one that has been viewed and commented on more than most.
This is a view of Lake Michigan at the the Algoma, WI beach on March 4, 2007. I was heading to the church early in the morning and stopped, as I often do, to snap a few pictures. It was at the tail-end of a snow storm and, though you can’t see it, snow was still blowing quite a bit. I remember it being miserable outside.
If you go to my Flickr Photostream, you can see this same image in B&W. (Click Here)
The panoramic view below – created by “stitching” several photos together – was captured the same morning.
Curly’s Stairway
I overheard a sad conversation the other day. A man was telling the clerk at a convenience store how he was suffering from “Football Withdrawal.” It’s an affliction affecting many people this time of year…especially those who live in the frozen tundra. Although, for Packer’s fans, the onset was a little later this year, since the Packers got to play all the way to the Super Bowl.
In these parts, when you find yourself in the grip of Football Withdrawal you can make a trip to Lambeau Field – home of the World Champion Green Bay Packers. It’s not a complete cure, but it eases the discomfort a bit. There are a variety of historic images, activities, tours, Packers Hall of Fame, the Pro Shop and Curly’s Pub.
This is a view of the stairway leading to the second level of the Lambeau Atrium where Curly’s Pub is located. The guy in the picture is, of course, Curly Lambeau – the founder and first coach of the Packers and namesake of the stadium where they play.
There’s something about this photo that really appeals to me. It’s one of my favorites. (Probably a beauty-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder kind of thing.)
(Click the image for a larger view.)
Prickly Cold
On a cold, foggy morning I found these ice crystal spikes attached to the antenna of our car.
Though it looks like a Black & White image, this is actually a color photograph. The car is black, the frost is white and there didn’t happen to be any other colors in view.
(Click the image for a lager version.)