Another Day at Work
Apis Workers' Party
Predator
Some of Your Beeswax
Sedum Bumbler
Look of Defiance
Chicory Bee
Bumbling Bees
Garden Cafe
Buzz By Here - To Infinity and Beyond
Pick Your Poison
Blind Side Attack
On a Mission
Honey Bee on Sedum
Covering the Cosmos
Center of the Cosmos
Three's a Crowd
Popular Spot
On A Pedestal
Big Harry Fireworks Display
To Impress the Girl
Different Perspective
Sweet Ride
Perfect Little Piggies B&W
Flipping the Light Fantastic
Festival of Flights
To the Crowd's Delight
Amish Go Round
Wondersome One
The Stars In Her Eyes
Tuesday's Child
Sleeper Hold
Considering the Next Move
Sugar and Spice
Front Porch Portrait
Caged Competitor
Early Adoration
Child In the Ligtht
Stroll Through the Weeds
Attention Grabbing
Eye Contact
On the Line
Eyes of Wonder
Rounding the Curve
Troubadours of Basin Spring Park
Down by the Creek
Sun Day
Catching Some Light
EAA Fireworks
Hear Me Roar
Pops Digital
Subtle Sunset
The combination of setting sun and layered clouds create an enjoyable view.
I spent about a half hour on my front porch early on the evening of February 13th and got several nice images.
This is the third of four images that I’ve posted from the series. Page through the previous posts to see them all. I’ll post the last one of the group tomorrow.
(Click the image to view a larger version.)
Serenity Wow
This image strikes me as the perfect end to a peaceful day.
I spent about a half hour on my front porch early on the evening of February 13th and got several nice images.
This is the second of four images that I will post over the next several days. Check back for more beauty.
(Click the image to view a larger version.)
Drama Scene
My thought, while taking this photo was, “My, that’s an angry looking sky.” It looks very dramatic but, in reality, it was a very peaceful finish to a warmer than usual winter day.
I spent about a half hour on my front porch early on the evening of February 13th and got several nice images.
This is the first of 4 images that I will post over the next several days. Check back for more beauty.
(Click the image to view a larger version.)
Morning Moonset
The moon has been beautiful the last few days. I was finally able to capture a shot about 6:30 this morning as it was slowly slipping behind the trees. I was set up on my driveway, shooting across the farm field west of our home.
The moon was so bright, you can see where it melted the snow. (Of course, I’m just kidding.)
I was using my 300mm lens and had my Sony SLT-A55 on a tripod.
Classic Portrait Pose
This is one of my favorite photos. I snapped this on a Sunday morning before heading off to church in May of ’09. The early morning light (6 am) muted the colors of this Ruby-throated Hummingbird. The more I looked at it, the more I liked the effect. (Click the photo to view a larger size.)
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Of Days Gone By
This is a building on the beach (notice the sand) lining the shore of Lake Michigan in Kewaunee, WI. I snapped this while sitting in a canoe on the lake. I’ve added a little bit of Photoshop enhancement. The original image was taken in September, 2006.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Shining Star of Kewaunee
A night view of the Kewaunee, WI lighthouse – on the western shore of Lake Michigan.
A couple of weeks ago, I took a night photo of this same scene I entitled Kewaunee Night-House. There wasn’t much to see, because the lighthouse light overpowered the image.
I decided to try again. This time, in order to brighten the house and balance the bright light, I shined a 2,000,000 candle power spotlight on the lighthouse for about 10 seconds of a 30-second exposure.
This photo was taken from the parking lot of Kewaunee’s beach. I used a 300mm lens on my Sony SLT-A55 stabilized on a tripod inside the open side door of my Dodge Caravan.
I like this image better, but still feel there’s more work to do.
Winter Lighthouse – Algoma, WI
This is pier light at the entrance of the Algoma, WI harbor. This is a photo taken in March of 2007 using my old camera. That camera did some pretty good work.
(Clicking on the image will open a larger version.)
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Dear Pops – How To Buy a Camera
Buying a camera can be difficult. There are a lot of sellers, brands, models, features and price points.
Here’s a question from a Facebook friend…
Dear Pops,
I want to pick up a pocket camera. What kind do you recommend? I have an SLR digital camera already. I just want this for carrying along with me.
Julie
It would be hard for me to recommend a particular brand and model out of the hundreds of cameras available. People have varying wants, needs and budgets. What I can do, is tell you how I would go about choosing and buying a camera for myself.
The first thing I would do is take my time. Unless you have to buy a camera for some event tomorrow, give yourself some time to research and shop. The camera you buy will likely be with your for, at least, a couple of years. The right choice will yield great photos and lasting memories. The wrong choice will only frustrate you and end up on a shelf in the back of a closet.
If I were looking for a new camera, I’d start shopping around. Visit a few stores, watch the sale flyers, browse your favorite online retailers. Get an idea for whats out there.
While you’re shopping, compare common digital camera features and begin to make a list of what you want/need a camera to have.
Important considerations for a digital camera I might buy:
Batteries
Am I going to be buying AAs or AAAs or does it have its own rechargeable battery pack? I prefer the rechargeable battery pack. I’d also like to know how long the batteries it uses will last before having to be replaced/recharged. Manufacturers sometimes rate battery life by the number of pictures you should get on a fresh battery. I’d reduce their estimate by a third.
Lens
On an inexpensive, point-and-shoot camera, you’re not going to get a high quality lens, but you still want as good as you can get. Every image has to pass through that lens to get to the camera’s sensor. You also need to decide if zoom is important to you. When shopping for zoom, only give consideration to “optical zoom.” “Digital Zoom” is a marketing gimmick and virtually useless to a photographer. Digital zoom simply crops the image; something better done with your photo editing software.
Memory
I prefer a camera that uses SD cards because my computer accepts them. Other types of memory media are fine, as long as its compatible with the card reader you will use to download images. Many cameras don’t need a card reader; you simply plug in a USB cord to download the images to your computer. When you buy the camera, be sure to buy enough memory for the number of photos you might take in a single outing.
Brand
I would be looking for a major brand-name camera. There are plenty no-name cameras that entice you with a long list of features at low prices. They rarely deliver on the promises boldly printed on the package. Pick a camera from a company with a reputation for good cameras. Of course, you could always gamble and maybe you’ll get lucky…or not.
Reviews
After you’ve done your research and found a camera that offers the features you want at a price you’re willing to pay, look for detailed reviews. There are people who know a lot more about cameras than I do – with the expertise and tools to uncover the good, bad and ugly of any digital camera. Before I’d buy any camera, I would look at the reviews offered by independent experts. I’m not interested in reviews that simply serve up the manufacturer’s marketing materials. I want unbiased, detailed testing and review. Three sites I like are www.dpreview.com, www.imaging-resource.com, and www.digitalcamerareview.com. (There are plenty of others on the web.) Go to these sites and type a camera brand and model into the search box, and you’ll likely get a full review, complete with image samples. You can also look for cameras they recommend in the price range your interested in. When trying to choose between a couple of different models, these sites can help you compare them side-by-side.
Owner Ratings
My final step is to look at what actual users are saying about the camera. I like going to Amazon.com because of their Customer Reviews. I’ll look at the ratings and some of the experiences customers share. You can learn quite a bit from someone else’s hands-on, real-world experience.
If I were in the market for a new camera, that’s the approach I’d take. In fact, when I was ready to upgrade from my 5-year-old Kodak a few months ago, I went through this process. I hadn’t been in the camera market for 5 years, so I had to educate myself. I looked at a number of cameras and narrowed it down to three – a Canon, a Nikon and a Sony. There’s no way I could have made the best choice just by browsing the electronics department of a discount store for a good price. On a store shelf, they all look good; they’re all on sale. The Sony I bought (and love) wasn’t even available at the local retail outlets I shopped.
If you have some camera buying tips or suggestions for Julie, feel free to comment below.
Happy shopping!
Pops Quick Tip – Take More Shots
With a digital camera, you can take as many pictures as your camera’s memory card can hold. That’s the beauty of digital photography. Once you own the equipment, it doesn’t cost anymore to take a dozen pictures than it does to take one. So, take advantage of the creative equity stored in your camera and take a lot of shots.
Another great advantage of digital photography is the instant feedback of an LCD screen. With traditional film, you wouldn’t know what you had until you used up the roll, sent it to be developed and picked up your packet of prints – a process that could take weeks or months. Now, with the click of a shutter, you can see the image you shot…kinda. That 2 or 3 inch screen can be deceptive. What looks pretty good on your camera’s screen, might be a mess on your computer screen. Another shot or two of the same subject increases the likelihood of capturing the image you really want.
When I can, I try to take several shots (and sometimes a great deal more) of each photo I’m after. Taking more pictures gives me the opportunity to vary settings and try different techniques. With people, eyes blink and the nuance of expression morphs continually. The more pictures I take, the more I have to select from and the greater my chances of getting an extraordinary final product.
Honestly, I’m not as good a photographer as some people might think. A great photographer could take a few shots and most of them would impress you. On the other hand, I can take a couple of hundred and only produce a few I feel are worth keeping. As I become more familiar with my camera and develop my knowledge and skill, my ratio of keepers will increase.
I’m not suggesting you simply fire off hundreds of shots like a 9-year-old with a submachine gun, thinking the spray of bullets is bound to hit something…eventually. Be a thinking photographer. Think of a different approach, a unique angle, experiment with depth of field, play with the fill flash, vary exposure, fiddle with filters, etc.
One of my favorite quotes, attibuted to a number of people – from Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Goldwin – is, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.”
We can apply that same concept to the art of digital photography: The more photos we take, the more masterpieces we’ll find.