Snow and more snow

I really do want to go out and shoot some snow photos, but good judgment prevails. I will stay in and shoot through the windows. This is a much more civilized way of dealing with the elements. Of course my UP (upper Michigan) upbringing longs to be out in the weather.

Here are a few of the shots taken this morning. I made use of the window screen as both a backdrop as well as a filter.

Of course the snow looks light.	Back light is just right.
No birds in sight.	Where do the humming birds go for the winter?

All shots taken with a Canon 40D, ISO 1600, various other settings. Processing done in Lightroom 2.2.

This is the first storm of the season and the weather guys say we should expect 8 to 12 inches by evening.

The Holidays are almost here.

Holiday cards can be bought at almost any store at this time of year. Even the charities are sending them in the mail every day. If you take a photo of seasonal scenes and can enhance it with Photoshop or your favorite editing program, use your talents to create your own Christmas cards.

Here are two examples of early morning shots in the city of Plymouth, MI.

   
Decorated trees with the early morning sky.

 
Snowman with street light giving a nice glow.

The finished card.

May you have a Happy Holiday.

Glenn

Heady stuff

I had the opportunity to take a few head shots yesterday. I did the straight on face front shot and decided to capture a few more. The subject was willing and the shooting space let me use a longer lens (Sigma 50-150 2.8) and be out of the clients face. Here are a few examples. The processing was done in Lightroom 2.0 and as I am a fan of presets, I applied some that I like.

Here are two more.

I am a Canon fan (40D) and used 3 speedlites. The one on the camera was set to master and the others were slaves. I used manual camera settings and dialed the slave units down to let the ambient show. It was a fast and fun shoot.

Fall Tree Damage

This summer and fall  has been tough on the trees in the area. Just on my lot, wind and insects have damaged many trees. Below are several examples.

 
Wind damage.

Insect caused bark peeling. The willow is about 60 years old and has been the home to ants for several decades.

My rubber frog is prepared to spend the winter in this position.

RenCen under construction in Detroit

 

The Renaissance Center in Detroit, MI was finished in 1977. While it was under construction, I took several photos of it. The camera was a Pentax and I used Kodak Tri-X film. I do not remember if I developed the film or sent it, but here are some shots taken in the winter of 1976-1977.

That same winter I captured a wild pony and some late blooming flowers.

This last scene was along the Rouge River.

Gray days in Ann Arbor

On a trip to Ann Arbor, my wife and I enjoyed the cold, gray, winter like weather. Here are a few of only a very few shots taken. It was just too cold to enjoy outdoor shooting.
This cake did not stand a chance of making it home.

Hard work will warm a body and remember hard work is good for you.
Heavy gray clouds and a shiny glass building is a spectacular sight.

Sun and Snow

Yesterday's snow had a heavy gray feel. Today the sun adds sparkle to the surfaces covered with it.



You have to love those Lightroom presets.

Fresh Snow

I love the first fresh snow of the season. Early morning with heavy gray clouds seems to have a between heaven and earth feeling.










The animals do not let this snow stop them from doing what their habits tell them to do.














I love this time of year, before the sameness has had a chance to dull my senses.

Christmas is coming

I know that all of you know that the giving season is almost here. I know because I have seen three homes decorated and with light on.

I have given calendars which feature some of my favorite photos from the past year to family members for many years.

Here are examples of two that made the final cut and will be in this years gifts.

Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI.













Detroit River from the Belle Isle bridge.

After the show

Well 9 photographers was the extent of attendance. No formal presentations, but plenty of good discussion and looking at each others photos. A new member "S..." will be getting a new camera (probably a Canon 50D in a month or two.

This was my second meeting and now I am able to put a face to e-mail nicknames ( I wish that the age old practice of obscure e-mail names would go away, the use of real names would give the sender a more adult and professional posture).

New officers will be elected in January and dues (not done before) will be started. More about all this later.

Off to see more photographers

I will be joining a photo group called the Metro-Detroit Photography Club. It is a nice group of advanced users and some Pro shooters. I like this group because of the non structure and no competition. Sharing of photos, ideas and techniques.They can be found at here. They also have a Flickr group. Both the Yahoo and Flickr groups can be accessed from this site.

The Big One

This is the first of hopefully many posts. I want to share some of my photo experiences on a regular basis.

I had a pleasant time yesterday celebrating Veteran's Day with some 18 odd ex-military men. Most of the men were from the WWII era, with one from the Koren conflict and 4 from the Vietnam war.

Of course 'war' stories and a brief bio were told by all. I am on the far left back in the photo.

This was the first time that I joined these fine gentlemen. The event was held at the Finnish Center in Farmington Hills, MI.