Off to the Scarecrow Festival

I am going to the Scarecrow Festival in Chappell Hill, Texas today.  I am hoping that my visit will bring me out of my photo funk or at the very least, it is cool and the kids will have a blast.  I was going through my online gallery and I noticed that this photo had sold several times.  I don’t remember taking it or what kind of flower it is but since I don’t have anything else to post, voila:

Gray Touch

The background of this photo is different for me.  It was taken in June of 2007 with the Nikon D50 and Tamron 90.  1/160s at f/4, ISO 200.

Self Portrait

I don’t post many self-portraits mostly because I don’t take many.  But it is a beautiful Saturday and I intend to spend it in the pool.  Best of the weekend to all of you.

A private glimpse

Confessions of a voyeur.  Sometimes I feel I am intruding…

Nikon D50 with Tamron 90.  1/200s at f/4, ISO200.  I took this a while ago and I don’t remember what I did.

Decisions

I was asked if I still use my Nikon D50.  I do.  It is simpler than my D90 but it produces excellent images.  This photo is a good example.  It was taken with the 12-24 lens, indoors, at ISO800.

Right after a swim, my son returned to the team area and was obviously hungry.  He opened the cooler and took out the strawberries.  I watched him grapple with a decision: should he eat the healthy strawberry or dart off and get some ice cream like all the other kids were doing?  I didn’t say anything but let him grapple and he ended up eating the strawberry.

He ate a couple more strawberries and some grapes, then he looked at me and said, “Dad, after the meet can we go to Brewsters (a gourmet icecream shop).”   I still smile at this memory.  Yep…we went to Brewsters.

Nikon D50 with Tokina 12-24 at 24mm.  1/100s at f/5, ISO800, Portrait Mode.  In Lightroom, increased lights and vibrance.  Toned down clarity and saturation.  Added noise reduction and cropped.  Most of the time, I crop first and then do my adjustments but sometimes it takes doing the adjustments before the crop makes sense.

Tight Finish

A fan at Summer Thunder cheering her child in a very close race.  She was especially vocal and during the race, she would get physically wrapped up in the event.  I don’t know if her baby won but I think the child is always a winner in mom’s eyes.

Nikon D50 with Tokina 12-24 at 24mm.  1/50s at f/5, ISO 800, Landscape Mode.  In Lightroom, I cropped to frame the woman better.  I adjusted light levels, added clarity and vibrance.  The vibrance adjustment is similar to saturation but it is more subtle and easier to use.  It lets me bring out the blue in the pool water.

The Tokina 12-24 was purchased for architecture and landscapes but I am learning how to use it indoors.  I take few photos of swimmers with it but it is fun for capturing atmosphere shots.

Ready Bench

I think one of the hardest jobs on swim team is the Ready Bench, where the kids are lined up in anticipation of marching onto the swim deck.  At the Pentathalon event last weekend, the Ready Bench was in an area lit by large windows.  Morning sun was streaming in and I snapped this photo from the observation area above.

Nikon D50 with Nikkor 50mm f/1.8.  1/640s at f/7.1, ISO800, Landscape mode.  In Lightroom, converted to grayscale, adjusted light levels, applied noise reduction and sharpened.  Black and white photography is about light.  I liked the contrasts created by the shadows and skintones.  Even at 1/640s, there is a feeling of movement in the photo.

I Need a Happy Photo

Today, I need to post something happy.  When I need cheering, I can always turn to my daughter.  This is her with her bff.  The two of them are peas in a pod.  Neither of them qualified for the Summer Thunder meet, so they were relegated to many hours of boredom while their siblings swam.  They made the best of it, eating everything in sight, getting told to settle down, demanding souveniers that they will never…you get the idea.

Still…nothing lights up my heart like my little girl.

Nikon D50 with Tokina 12-24 at 24mm.  1/100s at f/5, ISO800.   In Lightroom, cropped out as much of the food wrappers, cans, bottles and stuff as I could.  Brightened slightly, increased vibrance to compensate for a softness in the image, used noise reduction because the D50 isn’t as good at high ISO as the D90, mask sharpened and finished.

Exhaustion

I reached a point today where I needed some time.  It is quiet in the house, everyone is asleep.  I am way behind in things and the challenges are increasing so I need to recharge, even if just for a couple of hours.

This photo was taken about a year ago, last July.  I don’t know what the flower is.  

Nikon D50 with Tamron 90 lens.  1/500s at f/8.

out of commission

I have been under the weather for the last two days.  I hope to be back on my feet tomorrow.  Until then, an oldie taken with my D50.  This was a 6 second exposure.

An Angry Encounter

What gets me is that she had been snapping photos of my son until he grew annoyed.  He jumped up and charged toward her but she still managed to fire off one more shot.  Gutsy, I think.  

This format only allows me to post one photo at a time, so tomorrow I will post her favorite shot.  These photos are straight out of the camera although I cropped this one a bit.

Nikon D50 with 18-55 kit lens and pop-up flash.