2. Photo Diary

My Daily Photo Diary

One photo a day to continue the study of subject, composition, and light. Critiques are always welcome. Although I endeavor to create a photo to match the day shown in the caption, my "day" is the waking period between major sleep cycles. This is my second year of the project. Click here to see the year 1 gallery.
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  • June 24, 2009; Day 53. Campfire Blues. Day 5 in Maine was yet another cloudy, dreary, misty day. We made the best of it. Peter and I found a bike trail and walked it for a while, enjoying a giant iron railroad bridge. We also spotted a mother deer and her two fawn playing in the yard. I was only able to capture the mother, since she was standing still watching the babies, who were never still, and panning from afar with a 300mm lens is not easy. In the evening, we were able to start a campfire though it never got very big due to all the moisture in the wood. It was good enough for marshmallows and campfire photography, so I was happy. This is Wayne enjoying the fire. Beccah and John made supper for everyone: enchiladas! Yum! The remaining Day 5 shots from Freeport Maine start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 4100K; Tint: -8 Raw: Fill Light: 20 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft Light” at 20% opacity PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft Light” at 20% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 24, 2009; Day 53. Campfire Blues. Day 5 in Maine was yet another cloudy, dreary, misty day. We made the best of it. Peter and I found a bike trail and walked it for a while, enjoying a giant iron railroad bridge. We also spotted a mother deer and her two fawn playing in the yard. I was only able to capture the mother, since she was standing still watching the babies, who were never still, and panning from afar with a 300mm lens is not easy. In the evening, we were able to start a campfire though it never got very big due to all the moisture in the wood. It was good enough for marshmallows and campfire photography, so I was happy. This is Wayne enjoying the fire. Beccah and John made supper for everyone: enchiladas! Yum! The remaining Day 5 shots from Freeport Maine start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 4100K; Tint: -8 Raw: Fill Light: 20 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft Light” at 20% opacity PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft Light” at 20% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 23, 2009; Day 52. Although the sun did not make an appearance today, the rain stopped, so we headed into Freeport to enjoy this town, which must always include a stop at LL Bean and any number of the multitude of nearby shops. I took a number of candid shots of Jonee and Wayne and liked this pose best despite my compositional faux pas. For supper Peter and I made everyone our famous salmon with mustard glaze. The remaining Day 4 shots from Freeport Maine start here. Raw: Crop:5.3MP Raw: Color Temperature: 5250K; Tint: -7 Raw: Exposure: -0.4 Raw: Blacks: 8 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: 40 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Channel Mixer: Gray: Red: 4%; Green: 42%; Blue: 54% PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 23, 2009; Day 52. Although the sun did not make an appearance today, the rain stopped, so we headed into Freeport to enjoy this town, which must always include a stop at LL Bean and any number of the multitude of nearby shops. I took a number of candid shots of Jonee and Wayne and liked this pose best despite my compositional faux pas. For supper Peter and I made everyone our famous salmon with mustard glaze. The remaining Day 4 shots from Freeport Maine start here. Raw: Crop:5.3MP Raw: Color Temperature: 5250K; Tint: -7 Raw: Exposure: -0.4 Raw: Blacks: 8 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: 40 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Channel Mixer: Gray: Red: 4%; Green: 42%; Blue: 54% PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 22, 2009; Day 51. Today we took Mom and Dad to the airport, so it was easy to round everyone up for a group photo. I should have put John behind Beccah to get him further from the distortion wing of the fisheye lens and to fill the gap there in the group. Despite that I like this shot, though I should put a little more distance between Mr. Big Head and the camera! It was gray and misty all day again, so the day was filled with food photography. We’re eating much too well for folks who can’t run around and play outside. The remaining Day 3 shots from Freeport Maine start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 4800K; Tint: +9 Raw: Exposure: -0.3 Raw: Fill Light: 10 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 22, 2009; Day 51. Today we took Mom and Dad to the airport, so it was easy to round everyone up for a group photo. I should have put John behind Beccah to get him further from the distortion wing of the fisheye lens and to fill the gap there in the group. Despite that I like this shot, though I should put a little more distance between Mr. Big Head and the camera! It was gray and misty all day again, so the day was filled with food photography. We’re eating much too well for folks who can’t run around and play outside. The remaining Day 3 shots from Freeport Maine start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 4800K; Tint: +9 Raw: Exposure: -0.3 Raw: Fill Light: 10 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 21, 2009; Day 50. Serving Maine’s Finest. Today we finally saw the grounds surrounding our rental house. Not bad, though the mist and dull gray skies will not relent all day. Most of the photographs from this day are food shots. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and shopping. This was the only night that the entire gang would spend together, so naturally, this was lobster night. Beccah was in charge of the main course. I made a treat for everyone (particularly my dad), a home-made recipe for Noodles Romanoff, a long-defunct side dish that we used to make in the 1980s growing up on the farm. It was surprisingly similar to the original article, as we remembered it. Mom and Dad will return to Ohio tomorrow. The remaining Day 2 shots from my Freeport vacation start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 2600K; Tint: -3 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 21, 2009; Day 50. Serving Maine’s Finest. Today we finally saw the grounds surrounding our rental house. Not bad, though the mist and dull gray skies will not relent all day. Most of the photographs from this day are food shots. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and shopping. This was the only night that the entire gang would spend together, so naturally, this was lobster night. Beccah was in charge of the main course. I made a treat for everyone (particularly my dad), a home-made recipe for Noodles Romanoff, a long-defunct side dish that we used to make in the 1980s growing up on the farm. It was surprisingly similar to the original article, as we remembered it. Mom and Dad will return to Ohio tomorrow. The remaining Day 2 shots from my Freeport vacation start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 2600K; Tint: -3 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 20, 2009; Day 49. Vermont meets Maine. A mere 20 hours after arriving home from Japan, Peter and I drove to Maine to start a week-long vacation. We met my sister Beccah, her husband John, and my parents in Portland for supper. Sadly, it was foggy and misty so we lingered in Portland just long enough to eat supper (at Gilbert’s Chowder House, yum). Then we proceeded directly to the house in Freeport. We unpacked, relaxed, and enjoyed this bottle of Vermont Ice wine. That's Beccah and John in the background. Peter and I first discovered ice wine during our visit to Vermont in May. It’s not cheap but it is a treat. I’d like to blame the composition of this photograph on jetlag, which was at its worst on this day. My father deserves better than to be chopped in half like this. Luckily I will sleep well tonight and the photography will improve. The remaining Day 1 shots from Maine start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 2650K; Tint: -3 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 10% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 20, 2009; Day 49. Vermont meets Maine. A mere 20 hours after arriving home from Japan, Peter and I drove to Maine to start a week-long vacation. We met my sister Beccah, her husband John, and my parents in Portland for supper. Sadly, it was foggy and misty so we lingered in Portland just long enough to eat supper (at Gilbert’s Chowder House, yum). Then we proceeded directly to the house in Freeport. We unpacked, relaxed, and enjoyed this bottle of Vermont Ice wine. That's Beccah and John in the background. Peter and I first discovered ice wine during our visit to Vermont in May. It’s not cheap but it is a treat. I’d like to blame the composition of this photograph on jetlag, which was at its worst on this day. My father deserves better than to be chopped in half like this. Luckily I will sleep well tonight and the photography will improve. The remaining Day 1 shots from Maine start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 2650K; Tint: -3 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 10% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 19, 2009; Day 48. Japan’s Parting Gift. Although Mt. Fuji had been on our short list as a free-day activity, the weather reports suggested that the mountain was not going to be visible on any of those days. So we were surprised to hear the captain announce that the mountain was on the left side of the aircraft. Indeed it was! I immediately started shooting and only later did I lament that my ISO was set for shooting in the cabin, 1600. Luckily even though I’m shooting at sunlit snow, I retained a lot of detail. Shooting through polarized glass at an angle probably saved the day. I arrived home before the sun set and had 24 hours to overcome the jetlag as much as possible before meeting my parents and one sister in Portland, Maine the following day. I will be lucky; the jetlag will not be crippling on this trip. The final day of images from Japan (and the return to the U.S.) start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 5500K; Tint: +-4 Raw: Exposure: -1.0 Raw: Recovery: 9 Raw: Blacks: 37 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: +45 PS: Curves adjustment for additional contrast PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 19, 2009; Day 48. Japan’s Parting Gift. Although Mt. Fuji had been on our short list as a free-day activity, the weather reports suggested that the mountain was not going to be visible on any of those days. So we were surprised to hear the captain announce that the mountain was on the left side of the aircraft. Indeed it was! I immediately started shooting and only later did I lament that my ISO was set for shooting in the cabin, 1600. Luckily even though I’m shooting at sunlit snow, I retained a lot of detail. Shooting through polarized glass at an angle probably saved the day. I arrived home before the sun set and had 24 hours to overcome the jetlag as much as possible before meeting my parents and one sister in Portland, Maine the following day. I will be lucky; the jetlag will not be crippling on this trip. The final day of images from Japan (and the return to the U.S.) start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 5500K; Tint: +-4 Raw: Exposure: -1.0 Raw: Recovery: 9 Raw: Blacks: 37 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: +45 PS: Curves adjustment for additional contrast PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 18, 2009; Day 47. Nebraska Boy. Today was the last full day spent in Japan. After departing from work, we made one last visit to the department stores, ready at last to buy that purse for Mom. When the reality of Japanese efficiency sunk in, we descended to the seventh floor where I could assuage my sorrow over dinner. I always worry when I find stores and restaurants so empty, yet again we nearly had this place to ourselves. As usual the waitstaff saw us coming and immediately jumped at the chance to practice English. This lad told us that he was headed to Nebraska in July and would stay there a few months. My guess is that he’s enjoying himself very much right now and that his English is helping him get by just fine. His female coworker had even better English but she’s not coming to the U.S. any time soon. We would waste too much time throughout the rest of the day in a fruitless search for a tatami-style bag. Ultimately we ended up back at the place where Scott bought his hapi and there I found a fairly nice change purse for Mom. For everyone else, I got tatami-style slippers, including a pair for myself. Those luckily were still available. The remaining Day 13 shots from Japan start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 2700K; Tint: +18 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 30% opacity PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 10% opacity PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 18, 2009; Day 47. Nebraska Boy. Today was the last full day spent in Japan. After departing from work, we made one last visit to the department stores, ready at last to buy that purse for Mom. When the reality of Japanese efficiency sunk in, we descended to the seventh floor where I could assuage my sorrow over dinner. I always worry when I find stores and restaurants so empty, yet again we nearly had this place to ourselves. As usual the waitstaff saw us coming and immediately jumped at the chance to practice English. This lad told us that he was headed to Nebraska in July and would stay there a few months. My guess is that he’s enjoying himself very much right now and that his English is helping him get by just fine. His female coworker had even better English but she’s not coming to the U.S. any time soon. We would waste too much time throughout the rest of the day in a fruitless search for a tatami-style bag. Ultimately we ended up back at the place where Scott bought his hapi and there I found a fairly nice change purse for Mom. For everyone else, I got tatami-style slippers, including a pair for myself. Those luckily were still available. The remaining Day 13 shots from Japan start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 2700K; Tint: +18 Raw: Vibrance: +20 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 30% opacity PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 10% opacity PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 17, 2009; Day 46. Japanese Nightlife. Today was the longest workday of this trip. We didn't mind--travel to Japan on business is a privilege I never take for granted. After returning to the hotel, we worked with Ritch trying to perfect an extremely important business letter. Although I have spent most of my life in the study of English, I became visibly frustrated with the task. Every sentence in the letter was written and rewritten so many times that it became alphabet soup in my mind. At some point we finally achieved something decent and we said our farewells to Ritch who departed for home in Tokyo. Oliver and I then dashed to the Hamamatsu station to grab some dinner—McDonald’s. I just had to know what McPork was like (a little like McRib). Except for the language barrier, waxy napkins, and the fact that your drink is put into its own bag, McDonald's in Japan is just like ours. On our way to the restaurant, we stumbled upon these youth. There’s no open case trying to solicit money. Just friends with their textbooks and guitars. And a backpack filled with Pokemon! The remaining Day 12 shots from Japan start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 3300K; Tint: +29 Raw: Vibrance: +10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 20% opacity PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 20% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 17, 2009; Day 46. Japanese Nightlife. Today was the longest workday of this trip. We didn't mind--travel to Japan on business is a privilege I never take for granted. After returning to the hotel, we worked with Ritch trying to perfect an extremely important business letter. Although I have spent most of my life in the study of English, I became visibly frustrated with the task. Every sentence in the letter was written and rewritten so many times that it became alphabet soup in my mind. At some point we finally achieved something decent and we said our farewells to Ritch who departed for home in Tokyo. Oliver and I then dashed to the Hamamatsu station to grab some dinner—McDonald’s. I just had to know what McPork was like (a little like McRib). Except for the language barrier, waxy napkins, and the fact that your drink is put into its own bag, McDonald's in Japan is just like ours. On our way to the restaurant, we stumbled upon these youth. There’s no open case trying to solicit money. Just friends with their textbooks and guitars. And a backpack filled with Pokemon! The remaining Day 12 shots from Japan start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 3300K; Tint: +29 Raw: Vibrance: +10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 20% opacity PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 20% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 16, 2009; Day 45. Act Tower. Today was a busy work day and all the photography was confined to the evening. We explored the public area around the Act City Tower, which closes down in sections, some as early as 7pm and everything completely locked up by 9pm. Luckily we were able to get some shots of the Hamamatsu rail station in perfect storm-dusk light. This shot was taken just before the sky opened up and the rain chased us out before the police could. The remaining shots from Day 11 of my Japan trip start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 7500K; Tint: 0 Raw: Exposure: +0.35 Raw: Brightness: +51; Contrast: +49 Raw: Vibrance: +60 Raw: Saturation: +4 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Curves: Adjustment for Velvia effect PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 16, 2009; Day 45. Act Tower. Today was a busy work day and all the photography was confined to the evening. We explored the public area around the Act City Tower, which closes down in sections, some as early as 7pm and everything completely locked up by 9pm. Luckily we were able to get some shots of the Hamamatsu rail station in perfect storm-dusk light. This shot was taken just before the sky opened up and the rain chased us out before the police could. The remaining shots from Day 11 of my Japan trip start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 7500K; Tint: 0 Raw: Exposure: +0.35 Raw: Brightness: +51; Contrast: +49 Raw: Vibrance: +60 Raw: Saturation: +4 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Curves: Adjustment for Velvia effect PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 15, 2009; Day 44. Souvenir Day. Today we began the task of collecting souvenirs for our friends and family. Today’s mission: find a purse for my mom’s birthday. Luckily Hamamatsu has lots of shops. We started at the big department stores near the train station. We’re in the elevator heading up with all of these shoppers. They know something we don’t: The eighth floor of this particular building will be closing for good, tonight. Unfortunately, I will find the perfect gift up there, but I will delay buying it until my sister lets me know that it’ll please my mom. It’s not the bag she would have picked out, but she likes it. Three days later, the entire inventory is gone and a new store is open, but devoid of any worthwhile gifts. And that purse design will never again be seen by me in Japan. Still, when you don’t know what you don’t know, you tend to be aloof and happy amid the turmoil around you. These shoppers will bolt from the door and shop like there’s no tomorrow. Because there isn’t. The remaining Day 10 shots from Japan start here. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 15, 2009; Day 44. Souvenir Day. Today we began the task of collecting souvenirs for our friends and family. Today’s mission: find a purse for my mom’s birthday. Luckily Hamamatsu has lots of shops. We started at the big department stores near the train station. We’re in the elevator heading up with all of these shoppers. They know something we don’t: The eighth floor of this particular building will be closing for good, tonight. Unfortunately, I will find the perfect gift up there, but I will delay buying it until my sister lets me know that it’ll please my mom. It’s not the bag she would have picked out, but she likes it. Three days later, the entire inventory is gone and a new store is open, but devoid of any worthwhile gifts. And that purse design will never again be seen by me in Japan. Still, when you don’t know what you don’t know, you tend to be aloof and happy amid the turmoil around you. These shoppers will bolt from the door and shop like there’s no tomorrow. Because there isn’t. The remaining Day 10 shots from Japan start here. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 14, 2009; Day 43. Kyoto Station. Our third and final play day was spent in Kyoto, a remarkably well-preserved city spared from the wrath of war and lucky with respect to earthquakes. Oliver and I followed a walking path along the eastern side of the city, through many temples and shrines. This shot was taken at the end of the day, just outside Kyoto Station looking towards the Kyoto Tower Hotel. The remaining Day 9 shots from Japan start here. Camera: Bracketed shots from -3EV to +3EV. Fed the -3, -1, +1, and +3 shots into Photomatix 3.1. Photomatix: Used default settings except for Light Smoothing, which was set to very high. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 14, 2009; Day 43. Kyoto Station. Our third and final play day was spent in Kyoto, a remarkably well-preserved city spared from the wrath of war and lucky with respect to earthquakes. Oliver and I followed a walking path along the eastern side of the city, through many temples and shrines. This shot was taken at the end of the day, just outside Kyoto Station looking towards the Kyoto Tower Hotel. The remaining Day 9 shots from Japan start here. Camera: Bracketed shots from -3EV to +3EV. Fed the -3, -1, +1, and +3 shots into Photomatix 3.1. Photomatix: Used default settings except for Light Smoothing, which was set to very high. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 13, 2009; Day 42. Nagoya Castle. Today Oliver and I enjoyed a play day in Nagoya. Our two stops were Nagoya Castle (shown here) and Atsuma Shrine. These are the two most popular places to visit in this city. I uploaded 93 images in all just from this day, which is why I'm almost hopelessly behind in my daily. June 14 was spent in Kyoto and I wouldn't be surprised if I upload more than 100 keepers! The remaining Day 8 shots from Japan start here. PS: Smart Sharpening:180-1-Lens Blur

    June 13, 2009; Day 42. Nagoya Castle. Today Oliver and I enjoyed a play day in Nagoya. Our two stops were Nagoya Castle (shown here) and Atsuma Shrine. These are the two most popular places to visit in this city. I uploaded 93 images in all just from this day, which is why I'm almost hopelessly behind in my daily. June 14 was spent in Kyoto and I wouldn't be surprised if I upload more than 100 keepers! The remaining Day 8 shots from Japan start here. PS: Smart Sharpening:180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 12, 2009; Day 41. Bicycles. Earlier I said that the train was Japan’s favorite way to travel. I should have added, “but only for distances greater than reasonably achieved on a bicycle.” This photo only shows two rows of this bike-park, situated beneath a rail station. I have no idea whether this is a free public service or whether one rents a space here. All I know is that the place looks full to me, top to bottom, front to back, left to right. Remarkably, most bicycles in Japan look the same. There are no BMX racing bikes with shock absorbers and fancy decals. There are very few mountain bikes. Everywhere you look, you find bikes with narrow wheels, underinflated tires, and wheel guards. Bikes like these were popular in the U.S. in the 70s, I think. I shouldn’t be surprised. Gasoline in Japan runs 120 yen per liter. That’s $4.92 per gallon. This bike-park will remain open and lit all night. The reflectors behind the fluorescent bulbs are blue. This will make for some good photography later. The remaining shots from Day 7 in Japan start here. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 12, 2009; Day 41. Bicycles. Earlier I said that the train was Japan’s favorite way to travel. I should have added, “but only for distances greater than reasonably achieved on a bicycle.” This photo only shows two rows of this bike-park, situated beneath a rail station. I have no idea whether this is a free public service or whether one rents a space here. All I know is that the place looks full to me, top to bottom, front to back, left to right. Remarkably, most bicycles in Japan look the same. There are no BMX racing bikes with shock absorbers and fancy decals. There are very few mountain bikes. Everywhere you look, you find bikes with narrow wheels, underinflated tires, and wheel guards. Bikes like these were popular in the U.S. in the 70s, I think. I shouldn’t be surprised. Gasoline in Japan runs 120 yen per liter. That’s $4.92 per gallon. This bike-park will remain open and lit all night. The reflectors behind the fluorescent bulbs are blue. This will make for some good photography later. The remaining shots from Day 7 in Japan start here. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 11, 2009; Day 40. Happy Hour. This shot embodies all of my favorite aspects of dining in cook-it-yourself establishments in Japan: work clothes, smoke, talking, laughter, and good food. My colleagues fit right in; we were responsible for at least some of this smokey atmosphere. The remaining Day 6 shots from Japan start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 2950K; Tint: +2 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 20% opacity PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 10% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 11, 2009; Day 40. Happy Hour. This shot embodies all of my favorite aspects of dining in cook-it-yourself establishments in Japan: work clothes, smoke, talking, laughter, and good food. My colleagues fit right in; we were responsible for at least some of this smokey atmosphere. The remaining Day 6 shots from Japan start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 2950K; Tint: +2 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 20% opacity PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 10% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 10, 2009; Day 39. Rainscape. This is a shot from my hotel room of the city of Hamamatsu. The heart of the city featuring the bus and train stations are on the other side of the building, but this view is not too bad. The handful of Day 5 shots I was able to take start here. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 10, 2009; Day 39. Rainscape. This is a shot from my hotel room of the city of Hamamatsu. The heart of the city featuring the bus and train stations are on the other side of the building, but this view is not too bad. The handful of Day 5 shots I was able to take start here. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 9, 2009; Day 38. Shark's Fin at Last. In Concord you can order shark's fin at one of the local Chinese restaurants. But you have to give them 8 days notice and the price is $350. I've never tried it needless to say. However, a little bite is cheap in Japan, so I tried it. Sadly, the bite is so little that I still have no idea what it tastes like. But it was pretty and it was served in what I would call a "dim sum" style. This was ordered at a German restaurant called Mein Schloss in Hamamatsu. The Day 4 photos from my Japan trip start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 2550K; Tint: -1 Raw: Exposure: +0.65 Raw: Blacks: 3 Raw: Brightness: +30; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 9, 2009; Day 38. Shark's Fin at Last. In Concord you can order shark's fin at one of the local Chinese restaurants. But you have to give them 8 days notice and the price is $350. I've never tried it needless to say. However, a little bite is cheap in Japan, so I tried it. Sadly, the bite is so little that I still have no idea what it tastes like. But it was pretty and it was served in what I would call a "dim sum" style. This was ordered at a German restaurant called Mein Schloss in Hamamatsu. The Day 4 photos from my Japan trip start here. Raw: Color Temperature: 2550K; Tint: -1 Raw: Exposure: +0.65 Raw: Blacks: 3 Raw: Brightness: +30; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 8, 2009; Day 37. Unagi House. Hamamatsu is famous for its music, mostly. I’m sorry to say that I know this only from word of mouth, not from any abundance of music I have found exploring here. A fancy piano store in the train station is the only clue. They’re also famous for restaurants that serve eel. Eel is a very good fish that you can easily find in sushi (fully cooked) in the U.S. In Japan it is served more often as a main course over rice. It is always fully cooked and always in a teriyaki-like sauce. Yum. In the background are our customers, Ritch and Joe. We’ve been working with them for the past 20 years, almost always via e-mail, so it is nice to spend time with them face to face. The remaining Day 3 photos from my Japan trip start here. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 8, 2009; Day 37. Unagi House. Hamamatsu is famous for its music, mostly. I’m sorry to say that I know this only from word of mouth, not from any abundance of music I have found exploring here. A fancy piano store in the train station is the only clue. They’re also famous for restaurants that serve eel. Eel is a very good fish that you can easily find in sushi (fully cooked) in the U.S. In Japan it is served more often as a main course over rice. It is always fully cooked and always in a teriyaki-like sauce. Yum. In the background are our customers, Ritch and Joe. We’ve been working with them for the past 20 years, almost always via e-mail, so it is nice to spend time with them face to face. The remaining Day 3 photos from my Japan trip start here. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 7, 2009; Day 36. Trains. Japan’s favorite transportation method is the train, which come in many shapes and sizes. Local trains bring folks to stations where they connect to other trains until they arrive at their destination. Japan’s rail system is a fantastically well-oiled machine that is deadpan reliable. You literally can set your watch to a train’s departure. This is Sunday, our first full day in Japan. We chose to arrive a day early in order to acclimate to the time zone. So after a nice breakfast, we did a little work and then set out to find the Hamakita Kite Festival. The story for this day is shown starting here. Here we are watching the train pull into the station. I love the contrast between the folks and the incoming train. Raw: Color Temperature: 5650K; Tint: +16 Raw: Recovery: +40 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 7, 2009; Day 36. Trains. Japan’s favorite transportation method is the train, which come in many shapes and sizes. Local trains bring folks to stations where they connect to other trains until they arrive at their destination. Japan’s rail system is a fantastically well-oiled machine that is deadpan reliable. You literally can set your watch to a train’s departure. This is Sunday, our first full day in Japan. We chose to arrive a day early in order to acclimate to the time zone. So after a nice breakfast, we did a little work and then set out to find the Hamakita Kite Festival. The story for this day is shown starting here. Here we are watching the train pull into the station. I love the contrast between the folks and the incoming train. Raw: Color Temperature: 5650K; Tint: +16 Raw: Recovery: +40 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 6, 2009; Day 35. Home Away From Home. This shot is a consequence of flying over the International Date Line when one flies from the U.S. to Japan: Two dailies in one sleep cycle. Oliver and I departed on a Friday afternoon and arrived Saturday in time for bed. So I have posted this second shot from my Day 1 set to keep the dates correct. There was no touring tonight, only the welcome bliss of sleep. My EXIF data will be a little bizarre over these two weeks because I will forget to reset my camera’s time. This is my hotel room on the 13th floor at the Hamamatsu Meitetsu Hotel. Oliver is next door. From our windows we can see Hamamatsu’s most conspicuous landmark – the Act City tower. We should have asked to change rooms to overlook the bus and train stations instead – lots of color and activity there. Next time. That lamp at left has a dimmer switch! Dang jetlag! Raw: White Balance Tool on the sheets to select color temperature Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 6, 2009; Day 35. Home Away From Home. This shot is a consequence of flying over the International Date Line when one flies from the U.S. to Japan: Two dailies in one sleep cycle. Oliver and I departed on a Friday afternoon and arrived Saturday in time for bed. So I have posted this second shot from my Day 1 set to keep the dates correct. There was no touring tonight, only the welcome bliss of sleep. My EXIF data will be a little bizarre over these two weeks because I will forget to reset my camera’s time. This is my hotel room on the 13th floor at the Hamamatsu Meitetsu Hotel. Oliver is next door. From our windows we can see Hamamatsu’s most conspicuous landmark – the Act City tower. We should have asked to change rooms to overlook the bus and train stations instead – lots of color and activity there. Next time. That lamp at left has a dimmer switch! Dang jetlag! Raw: White Balance Tool on the sheets to select color temperature Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 5, 2009; Day 34. Embarkations. This is Oliver filling out his embarkation card for entry into Japan. I am doing the same to his left. He’ll be my companion for the next two weeks. We’re in business class because my company mercifully allows us to fly up there whenever travel exceeds 15 hours. Our travel will take just over 22 hours. This is short; some of my past trips to Japan have taken over 27 hours. I will be awake for the entire transit. This makes me very fatigued when I arrive in my hotel room, which is fine because it's bedtime anyway. The next morning, I'm about 75% acclimated to the time zone. This is the start of my Japan series of photos. I will upload them as I process them. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 5, 2009; Day 34. Embarkations. This is Oliver filling out his embarkation card for entry into Japan. I am doing the same to his left. He’ll be my companion for the next two weeks. We’re in business class because my company mercifully allows us to fly up there whenever travel exceeds 15 hours. Our travel will take just over 22 hours. This is short; some of my past trips to Japan have taken over 27 hours. I will be awake for the entire transit. This makes me very fatigued when I arrive in my hotel room, which is fine because it's bedtime anyway. The next morning, I'm about 75% acclimated to the time zone. This is the start of my Japan series of photos. I will upload them as I process them. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 4, 2009; Day 33. Private Eye. My friend Steve is a really fun guy to photograph with. I can hardly wait for the chance to go with him and Peter to northern New Hampshire to photograph our friend Marty’s barn which is falling down. Tonight was week 8 in our photography class. Although it is a 10-week course, it was my final week due to much travel beginning tomorrow. During our break time, we headed towards the vending machines which are beyond this room filled with these pastel lockers. This room offers a lot of line and perspective. Unfortunately, Steve has just realized that his camera is wearing the Tamron 90mm macro lens which is much too long for a room like this. He’ll find his wide angle lens soon enough and be absorbed in his work. After today, my POTDs will be posted sporadically and at odd times. The trip to Japan will be 2 weeks long and then Peter and I will be in Maine for 1 week. I’ll be back to a more regular schedule around June 29. Raw: Color Temperature: 3600K; Tint: +11 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves adjustment for additional contrast PS: Healing Brush to remove a speck of paper on the floor PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 4, 2009; Day 33. Private Eye. My friend Steve is a really fun guy to photograph with. I can hardly wait for the chance to go with him and Peter to northern New Hampshire to photograph our friend Marty’s barn which is falling down. Tonight was week 8 in our photography class. Although it is a 10-week course, it was my final week due to much travel beginning tomorrow. During our break time, we headed towards the vending machines which are beyond this room filled with these pastel lockers. This room offers a lot of line and perspective. Unfortunately, Steve has just realized that his camera is wearing the Tamron 90mm macro lens which is much too long for a room like this. He’ll find his wide angle lens soon enough and be absorbed in his work. After today, my POTDs will be posted sporadically and at odd times. The trip to Japan will be 2 weeks long and then Peter and I will be in Maine for 1 week. I’ll be back to a more regular schedule around June 29. Raw: Color Temperature: 3600K; Tint: +11 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves adjustment for additional contrast PS: Healing Brush to remove a speck of paper on the floor PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 3, 2009; Day 32. First Frost. This is my neighbor’s house. I’ve shot it several times, but this was the first time I shot it with the fisheye lens. I wanted to compare it to the 14-24mm lens to see if it was somehow wider (due to the fisheye’s capability of seeing 180 degrees across the frame). Duh, it is wider since it’s 180 degrees, but the house is not set back further; it appears to be right at 16mm. I always assumed that the wider you went, the smaller everything became. This must be why these lenses distort so much: the center is kept somewhat normal while the edges go crazy. As you should have noticed right off, this is not your average black and white conversion. Leaves should not be so white. This is yet another action from Thom Hogan’s magic toolbox full of Photoshop actions for the D700. This one is called “Quasi IR” and it is comprised of the Channel Mixer, Gaussian Blur, and Grain to produce an infrared film quality look. I like it, and it really makes me want to send in the D70 for IR conversion right away. Click here to see the image in color, with some lens blur sharpening applied. This is another just-before-I-left-for-work shot, still busy getting ready for Japan. And really looking forward to it too. Raw: Color Temperature: 5250K; Tint: +20 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Quasi IR action (described above)

    June 3, 2009; Day 32. First Frost. This is my neighbor’s house. I’ve shot it several times, but this was the first time I shot it with the fisheye lens. I wanted to compare it to the 14-24mm lens to see if it was somehow wider (due to the fisheye’s capability of seeing 180 degrees across the frame). Duh, it is wider since it’s 180 degrees, but the house is not set back further; it appears to be right at 16mm. I always assumed that the wider you went, the smaller everything became. This must be why these lenses distort so much: the center is kept somewhat normal while the edges go crazy. As you should have noticed right off, this is not your average black and white conversion. Leaves should not be so white. This is yet another action from Thom Hogan’s magic toolbox full of Photoshop actions for the D700. This one is called “Quasi IR” and it is comprised of the Channel Mixer, Gaussian Blur, and Grain to produce an infrared film quality look. I like it, and it really makes me want to send in the D70 for IR conversion right away. Click here to see the image in color, with some lens blur sharpening applied. This is another just-before-I-left-for-work shot, still busy getting ready for Japan. And really looking forward to it too. Raw: Color Temperature: 5250K; Tint: +20 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Quasi IR action (described above)

  • June 2, 2009; Day 31. Like Father, Like Son. I’m prepping this week for Japan and have little time for anything else. I grabbed this shot just before I headed off for work this morning. I’m sure the neighbors got a kick out of me crawling in the weed-and-dew-filled grass in my nice pants. Although I only had a couple of minutes, I am trying to capture shots using my macro lens but at diffraction-free large apertures. (I really wish that the EXIF data included the macro ratio. This is not 1:1 but I think it's greater than 1:2.) This shot could use more depth of field; it probably would have looked great at f/8 or f/11. Raw: Color Temperature: 4950K; Tint: +20 Raw: Exposure: +0.8 Raw: Blacks: 15 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 2, 2009; Day 31. Like Father, Like Son. I’m prepping this week for Japan and have little time for anything else. I grabbed this shot just before I headed off for work this morning. I’m sure the neighbors got a kick out of me crawling in the weed-and-dew-filled grass in my nice pants. Although I only had a couple of minutes, I am trying to capture shots using my macro lens but at diffraction-free large apertures. (I really wish that the EXIF data included the macro ratio. This is not 1:1 but I think it's greater than 1:2.) This shot could use more depth of field; it probably would have looked great at f/8 or f/11. Raw: Color Temperature: 4950K; Tint: +20 Raw: Exposure: +0.8 Raw: Blacks: 15 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • June 1, 2009; Day 30. Suppertime. Tonight I was in Portsmouth for what may be the only time this month. It was nice to spend some quality time with the boys before the schedule gets hectic. This was shot with my new fisheye lens using TTL bounce flash. I had been a big fan of bounce flash until I recently read this plug at the Strobist website: “Are you worthless and weak? Do you cry for your mama every time you need to balance a couple of flashes with the ambient? Are you still using TTL bounce flash? We are here to save you from yourself.” Oh boy. Boot Camp II is coming and I haven’t even glanced at Boot Camp I. So much to learn! So little time! For most of the day I had daydreams of capturing Portsmouth’s Memorial Bridge under a dusk blue sky but my friend Raymond held up the potluck for 30 minutes cooking his potatoes. When I was finally free to sneak out, the sky was gone. Luckily the late dusk will last into August so that photo will come. Raw: Color Temperature: 5450K; Tint: 0 Raw: Recovery: 30 Raw: Fill Light: 10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    June 1, 2009; Day 30. Suppertime. Tonight I was in Portsmouth for what may be the only time this month. It was nice to spend some quality time with the boys before the schedule gets hectic. This was shot with my new fisheye lens using TTL bounce flash. I had been a big fan of bounce flash until I recently read this plug at the Strobist website: “Are you worthless and weak? Do you cry for your mama every time you need to balance a couple of flashes with the ambient? Are you still using TTL bounce flash? We are here to save you from yourself.” Oh boy. Boot Camp II is coming and I haven’t even glanced at Boot Camp I. So much to learn! So little time! For most of the day I had daydreams of capturing Portsmouth’s Memorial Bridge under a dusk blue sky but my friend Raymond held up the potluck for 30 minutes cooking his potatoes. When I was finally free to sneak out, the sky was gone. Luckily the late dusk will last into August so that photo will come. Raw: Color Temperature: 5450K; Tint: 0 Raw: Recovery: 30 Raw: Fill Light: 10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 31, 2009; Day 29. Unmeringued. Today Peter and I enjoyed a birthday dinner party with friends. This was the fourth course, a lemon pie with a nice crumb crust and a dollop of ice cream. This ain't your grandma's lemon meringue pie. Yum. This is lit mostly from the evening sun streaming in through a nearby window at camera left. Peter is holding a white napkin to camera right. You can see the napkin reflected in the spoon. I don’t know why I have the spoon mingling so close to the dessert. I also had time to pan the dog and got this sole keeper. If that had been my POTD instead, the title would have been “Keep Your Eye on the Ball.” Now begins a long week of prepping for Japan. I hope that the trip yields a lot of photographic opportunities. Raw: Crop: 11.6MP Raw: Color Temperature: 4200K; Tint: +19 Raw: Fill Light: +10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 31, 2009; Day 29. Unmeringued. Today Peter and I enjoyed a birthday dinner party with friends. This was the fourth course, a lemon pie with a nice crumb crust and a dollop of ice cream. This ain't your grandma's lemon meringue pie. Yum. This is lit mostly from the evening sun streaming in through a nearby window at camera left. Peter is holding a white napkin to camera right. You can see the napkin reflected in the spoon. I don’t know why I have the spoon mingling so close to the dessert. I also had time to pan the dog and got this sole keeper. If that had been my POTD instead, the title would have been “Keep Your Eye on the Ball.” Now begins a long week of prepping for Japan. I hope that the trip yields a lot of photographic opportunities. Raw: Crop: 11.6MP Raw: Color Temperature: 4200K; Tint: +19 Raw: Fill Light: +10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 30, 2009; Day 28. Victory Lap. Peter and I enjoyed a barbecue and swim party today at the home of our friends Wayne and Brian. It was a perfect spring day. Although the weather has been cool lately, the pool was great because it is heated. Of course, stepping out of the pool was a bit of a shock, particularly after sundown. I wasn’t expecting to pan today since parties don’t have much motion to them, but when I heard Wayne’s Massey Ferguson start up, I went running. My friend Dale, who really enjoys tormenting partygoers with my camera, was already in position and panning the riders. Unfortunately, his shutter speed was a little too fast. But then he ran me out of memory and handed me back the camera. This was a blessing: I deleted a few shots, set up the shutter speed for panning, and then captured my friend Charles having a blast on this mower-less mower. (It appears that Wayne only uses this for joyriding around the yard.) I like that although Charles is more or less stationary, the Mack Truck hood ornament appears to be dancing. Later, Dale and I teamed up to shoot the guys diving into the pool. He controlled the camera while I controlled the flash. Unfortunately, although I did think that backlighting the water would produce great results, I forgot to turn off TTL. When your flash is in the frame, the camera dials down the exposure so that the flash is not crazy bright. The action portion of those shots was too dark. Raw: Color Temperature: 5200K; Tint: +21 Raw: Contrast: +39 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 30, 2009; Day 28. Victory Lap. Peter and I enjoyed a barbecue and swim party today at the home of our friends Wayne and Brian. It was a perfect spring day. Although the weather has been cool lately, the pool was great because it is heated. Of course, stepping out of the pool was a bit of a shock, particularly after sundown. I wasn’t expecting to pan today since parties don’t have much motion to them, but when I heard Wayne’s Massey Ferguson start up, I went running. My friend Dale, who really enjoys tormenting partygoers with my camera, was already in position and panning the riders. Unfortunately, his shutter speed was a little too fast. But then he ran me out of memory and handed me back the camera. This was a blessing: I deleted a few shots, set up the shutter speed for panning, and then captured my friend Charles having a blast on this mower-less mower. (It appears that Wayne only uses this for joyriding around the yard.) I like that although Charles is more or less stationary, the Mack Truck hood ornament appears to be dancing. Later, Dale and I teamed up to shoot the guys diving into the pool. He controlled the camera while I controlled the flash. Unfortunately, although I did think that backlighting the water would produce great results, I forgot to turn off TTL. When your flash is in the frame, the camera dials down the exposure so that the flash is not crazy bright. The action portion of those shots was too dark. Raw: Color Temperature: 5200K; Tint: +21 Raw: Contrast: +39 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 29, 2009; Day 27. Recession. Remember last year when my rhubarb crop overflowed a 1-cup measurer? This year I’ve got enough rhubarb for a single slice of pie. Sigh. Everyone else in this state can’t kill this stuff, but I can’t grow it. Luckily my friends produce so much of the stuff without even trying that they take pity on me and bring me stalks, some of which can individually fill a one-cup measurer. Sigh. My friend Al promises to take a look at my location and soil and see what’s got my rhubarb in in a slow death grip. I hope he can figure it out and—better yet—fix it. This is lit with undiffused flash which is perched above and behind this. I wanted a hard light on this subject but I should have compared it to a shot lit through a close umbrella. I might have picked this one anyway. I like to think that my photography is improving with time. I have to admit though, last year’s rhubarb shot was way better than this year’s. Great. Now I’m competing against myself. :~) This rhubarb was actually used in a scrumptious rhubarb crisp that only got 1 vote in a dessert contest tonight. (I swear. My friends, who have rhubarb coming out of their ears, don't even like the stuff! Sigh.) Thank you Marty and Al for your prior contributions that allowed me to make this dessert. But next time, the crisp stays at home! Raw: Color Temperature: 5400K; Tint: -3 Raw: Recovery: 75 Raw: Fill Light: 10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves adjustment for Velvia effect PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 29, 2009; Day 27. Recession. Remember last year when my rhubarb crop overflowed a 1-cup measurer? This year I’ve got enough rhubarb for a single slice of pie. Sigh. Everyone else in this state can’t kill this stuff, but I can’t grow it. Luckily my friends produce so much of the stuff without even trying that they take pity on me and bring me stalks, some of which can individually fill a one-cup measurer. Sigh. My friend Al promises to take a look at my location and soil and see what’s got my rhubarb in in a slow death grip. I hope he can figure it out and—better yet—fix it. This is lit with undiffused flash which is perched above and behind this. I wanted a hard light on this subject but I should have compared it to a shot lit through a close umbrella. I might have picked this one anyway. I like to think that my photography is improving with time. I have to admit though, last year’s rhubarb shot was way better than this year’s. Great. Now I’m competing against myself. :~) This rhubarb was actually used in a scrumptious rhubarb crisp that only got 1 vote in a dessert contest tonight. (I swear. My friends, who have rhubarb coming out of their ears, don't even like the stuff! Sigh.) Thank you Marty and Al for your prior contributions that allowed me to make this dessert. But next time, the crisp stays at home! Raw: Color Temperature: 5400K; Tint: -3 Raw: Recovery: 75 Raw: Fill Light: 10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves adjustment for Velvia effect PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 28, 2009; Day 26. Heatwave. Tonight was week 7 in my Thursday photography class. Tonight’s topic was landscapes. One of the books the instructor showed us was a set of stunning urban “landscapes” taken with a medium format camera and using such long shutter speeds that there were no people in the shots. Great stuff. Normally I am joined in the class by Peter and my friends Steve and Alex. Peter and Alex skipped class tonight, so afterwards, Steve and I grabbed a bite at the local Indian restaurant. I was very glad we did this, because after we ate, Steve was compelled to seek night urban landscapes in little Concord. The drizzle kept him from actually shooting tonight, but I already had my camera out and the D700 has been in worse conditions. Steve spotted orange sodium vapor light streaming from a narrow alley and off we went. The light and textures in there were outstanding. Sadly, even if I had seen the alley, I might have walked right by. I really hope that the 4 of us go photographing together some day. Soon. Despite the warmth of this photo, it’s been a remarkably cool May in New Hampshire. It was in the mid-40s when I took this shot. The frost danger has passed for the season, but my furnace still kicks on at night. Raw: Color Temperature: 2850K; Tint: +8 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 5 Raw: Brightness: +31; Contrast: +35 Raw: Clarity: +50 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves adjustment to give the effect of developing E4 slide film in C41 chemicals PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 28, 2009; Day 26. Heatwave. Tonight was week 7 in my Thursday photography class. Tonight’s topic was landscapes. One of the books the instructor showed us was a set of stunning urban “landscapes” taken with a medium format camera and using such long shutter speeds that there were no people in the shots. Great stuff. Normally I am joined in the class by Peter and my friends Steve and Alex. Peter and Alex skipped class tonight, so afterwards, Steve and I grabbed a bite at the local Indian restaurant. I was very glad we did this, because after we ate, Steve was compelled to seek night urban landscapes in little Concord. The drizzle kept him from actually shooting tonight, but I already had my camera out and the D700 has been in worse conditions. Steve spotted orange sodium vapor light streaming from a narrow alley and off we went. The light and textures in there were outstanding. Sadly, even if I had seen the alley, I might have walked right by. I really hope that the 4 of us go photographing together some day. Soon. Despite the warmth of this photo, it’s been a remarkably cool May in New Hampshire. It was in the mid-40s when I took this shot. The frost danger has passed for the season, but my furnace still kicks on at night. Raw: Color Temperature: 2850K; Tint: +8 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 5 Raw: Brightness: +31; Contrast: +35 Raw: Clarity: +50 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves adjustment to give the effect of developing E4 slide film in C41 chemicals PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 27, 2009; Day 25. High Test. I got gas today. Had 2 gallons left in the tank when I filled up, enough for 58 miles. Have I finally run out of subjects? I hope not. It was drizzling tonight, and I did have a couple of subjects in mind. I’m looking for the perfect stop sign to capture in a heavier rain, but none of the signs I found were suitable. I also looked for oil spots in the parking lot for my gym, but apparently modern cars don’t leak so much. Raw: Color Temperature: 4650K; Tint: +21 Raw: Exposure: +0.8 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves adjustment for a Velvia effect PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 27, 2009; Day 25. High Test. I got gas today. Had 2 gallons left in the tank when I filled up, enough for 58 miles. Have I finally run out of subjects? I hope not. It was drizzling tonight, and I did have a couple of subjects in mind. I’m looking for the perfect stop sign to capture in a heavier rain, but none of the signs I found were suitable. I also looked for oil spots in the parking lot for my gym, but apparently modern cars don’t leak so much. Raw: Color Temperature: 4650K; Tint: +21 Raw: Exposure: +0.8 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 10 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves adjustment for a Velvia effect PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 26, 2009; Day 24. Shooter’s Block. Tonight I tried to complete the assignment for my Thursday photography class. That assignment was to find a colorful subject and shoot it every hour, observing how the light changes through the day. Unfortunately, I only had between 6:30-9:30 this evening to do this, so it was more of a study of how the dusk sky changes rather than the more interesting study of the color of sunlight. This was a potential set-up for the assignment. I quickly realized that it wouldn’t work because you need some artificial light to compare against the waning natural light. As a subject, it’s OK, but there are no doubt better ways to show “old wheelbarrow in front of old shed.” I may explore it. Raw: Crop: 9.4MP Raw: Color Temperature: 7350K; Tint: +2 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 20 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 26, 2009; Day 24. Shooter’s Block. Tonight I tried to complete the assignment for my Thursday photography class. That assignment was to find a colorful subject and shoot it every hour, observing how the light changes through the day. Unfortunately, I only had between 6:30-9:30 this evening to do this, so it was more of a study of how the dusk sky changes rather than the more interesting study of the color of sunlight. This was a potential set-up for the assignment. I quickly realized that it wouldn’t work because you need some artificial light to compare against the waning natural light. As a subject, it’s OK, but there are no doubt better ways to show “old wheelbarrow in front of old shed.” I may explore it. Raw: Crop: 9.4MP Raw: Color Temperature: 7350K; Tint: +2 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 20 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 25, 2009; Day 23. The Redwood. Early on our last morning in Vermont, I found a crisp and clean sky far from city lights. Immediately I thought it might be fun to capture this building under star trails. I had no idea whether Polaris would be present in this shot or not. Almost all of the lights in this house can be dimmed and all that are visible here are set quite low. A constant porch light just out of frame below the right side of this house is pointing down onto gravel; the reflection from that is illuminating the trees to the right. The shutter was open for nearly 52 minutes, the longest I have yet imposed upon the D700. On this camera I can disable long exposure noise reduction and have done so here. That’s why there is noise in the sky. If I could have stayed up all through the night I might have tried the same exposure again with noise reduction turned on and compared. Mostly I’d want to see how much detail is lost by the reduction, if any. Of course now that I know where Polaris is, I'd have re-positioned the tripod slightly. Next time. Vacation ended with a trip to the Cabot Creamery annex store in Stowe to get a month or two’s worth of Vermont cheddar, which could be the finest cheese on Earth. We also enjoyed watching a very experienced glass blower make a beautiful vase starting with a few wads of molten glass, an apprentice, and a 2100-degree crucible. Overall, it was a very enjoyable weekend and I’m almost sorry that it was over so quickly. Alas, real life beckons in just a few hours. Raw: Color Temperature: 3050K; Tint: +3 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Blacks: 7 Raw: Contrast: +55 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 25, 2009; Day 23. The Redwood. Early on our last morning in Vermont, I found a crisp and clean sky far from city lights. Immediately I thought it might be fun to capture this building under star trails. I had no idea whether Polaris would be present in this shot or not. Almost all of the lights in this house can be dimmed and all that are visible here are set quite low. A constant porch light just out of frame below the right side of this house is pointing down onto gravel; the reflection from that is illuminating the trees to the right. The shutter was open for nearly 52 minutes, the longest I have yet imposed upon the D700. On this camera I can disable long exposure noise reduction and have done so here. That’s why there is noise in the sky. If I could have stayed up all through the night I might have tried the same exposure again with noise reduction turned on and compared. Mostly I’d want to see how much detail is lost by the reduction, if any. Of course now that I know where Polaris is, I'd have re-positioned the tripod slightly. Next time. Vacation ended with a trip to the Cabot Creamery annex store in Stowe to get a month or two’s worth of Vermont cheddar, which could be the finest cheese on Earth. We also enjoyed watching a very experienced glass blower make a beautiful vase starting with a few wads of molten glass, an apprentice, and a 2100-degree crucible. Overall, it was a very enjoyable weekend and I’m almost sorry that it was over so quickly. Alas, real life beckons in just a few hours. Raw: Color Temperature: 3050K; Tint: +3 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Blacks: 7 Raw: Contrast: +55 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 24, 2009; Day 22. The Lady Fern. Today was our last full day in Vermont. This afternoon we split up to enjoy a couple of activities. The choice was a pottery place or a nursery. I knew that either place would offer a lot of photographic opportunities, so it was a coin toss for me. As you can see from the shot, I chose the nursery. Luckily the light conditions were variable and I didn’t have to cope with full sun the whole time. This particular specimen was in the shade of a tree, so I spent a lot of time here. The end of vacation is always bittersweet, but I’m ready to face the month of June: I’ll be spending two weeks in Japan (on business) and then a week in Maine (on vacation). It should be an interesting month. Raw: Color Temperature: 5600K; Tint: 0 Raw: Recovery: 14 Raw: Blacks: 28 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: +54 Raw: Saturation: 8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 24, 2009; Day 22. The Lady Fern. Today was our last full day in Vermont. This afternoon we split up to enjoy a couple of activities. The choice was a pottery place or a nursery. I knew that either place would offer a lot of photographic opportunities, so it was a coin toss for me. As you can see from the shot, I chose the nursery. Luckily the light conditions were variable and I didn’t have to cope with full sun the whole time. This particular specimen was in the shade of a tree, so I spent a lot of time here. The end of vacation is always bittersweet, but I’m ready to face the month of June: I’ll be spending two weeks in Japan (on business) and then a week in Maine (on vacation). It should be an interesting month. Raw: Color Temperature: 5600K; Tint: 0 Raw: Recovery: 14 Raw: Blacks: 28 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: +54 Raw: Saturation: 8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 23, 2009; Day 21. The Top of Vermont. Mount Mansfield is Vermont’s highest peak at 4393 feet. While that may not seem like much for folks who are used to the peaks offered along the Rocky Mountain range or even those within New Hampshire’s White Mountains, this one is no slouch. Hiking to “The Chin” along the Sunset Ridge trail, one spends a surprising amount of time above the treeline exposed to the elements. This scene is not too far from the summit; I was drawn by the layers of blue disappearing into the distance due to the haze. Unfortunately, my longest lens was the 24-70mm which would have produced a photo that required a massive crop to achieve this. So I borrowed the 18-200mm lens off the D80 which Peter was carrying today. That lens is a DX lens but luckily the vignetting effect is reduced when used at 200mm and focused at infinity. But it was still there so I cropped some of it off. The hike took us 6 hours. Six of the 11 of us made the hike. All of us proceeded afterwards to dine at Hen of the Wood which is a very nice, if pricey, place. Raw: Color Temperature: 5100K; Tint: -10 Raw: Exposure: +0.55 Raw: Blacks: 20 Raw: Brightness: +29; Contrast: +49 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Crop: 9.5MP PS: Auto Levels PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 23, 2009; Day 21. The Top of Vermont. Mount Mansfield is Vermont’s highest peak at 4393 feet. While that may not seem like much for folks who are used to the peaks offered along the Rocky Mountain range or even those within New Hampshire’s White Mountains, this one is no slouch. Hiking to “The Chin” along the Sunset Ridge trail, one spends a surprising amount of time above the treeline exposed to the elements. This scene is not too far from the summit; I was drawn by the layers of blue disappearing into the distance due to the haze. Unfortunately, my longest lens was the 24-70mm which would have produced a photo that required a massive crop to achieve this. So I borrowed the 18-200mm lens off the D80 which Peter was carrying today. That lens is a DX lens but luckily the vignetting effect is reduced when used at 200mm and focused at infinity. But it was still there so I cropped some of it off. The hike took us 6 hours. Six of the 11 of us made the hike. All of us proceeded afterwards to dine at Hen of the Wood which is a very nice, if pricey, place. Raw: Color Temperature: 5100K; Tint: -10 Raw: Exposure: +0.55 Raw: Blacks: 20 Raw: Brightness: +29; Contrast: +49 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Crop: 9.5MP PS: Auto Levels PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 22, 2009; Day 20. Vermont Revisited. Peter and I are spending another Memorial Day weekend in Vermont with 9 of our friends. I have the feeling that this trip will be better than last year’s because the Icelandic horse ride is being replaced with a hike to Vermont’s highest peak, Mt. Mansfield. That hike will be tomorrow and I’m sure the POTD will be from that. Today we warmed up with this 6-mile bike ride that ended at one of the bridges that I photographed during the Vermont photo workshop last October. The ride was mostly flat and nice. With the sun behind clouds, the temperature and light was perfect. Raw: Color Temperature: 4400K; Tint: +28 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Blacks: 6 Raw: Brightness: +51; Contrast: +54 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 22, 2009; Day 20. Vermont Revisited. Peter and I are spending another Memorial Day weekend in Vermont with 9 of our friends. I have the feeling that this trip will be better than last year’s because the Icelandic horse ride is being replaced with a hike to Vermont’s highest peak, Mt. Mansfield. That hike will be tomorrow and I’m sure the POTD will be from that. Today we warmed up with this 6-mile bike ride that ended at one of the bridges that I photographed during the Vermont photo workshop last October. The ride was mostly flat and nice. With the sun behind clouds, the temperature and light was perfect. Raw: Color Temperature: 4400K; Tint: +28 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Blacks: 6 Raw: Brightness: +51; Contrast: +54 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 21, 2009; Day 19. FX Fisheye. My new fisheye lens came in this week and I finally mounted it tonight to the D700. It’s great to have 180 degrees of capture again. The zen of the fisheye is something I’ll probably spend the rest of my life pursuing. Can’t wait. This is my weekly photography class doing critiques. The first zen of the fisheye is not to put people in the fringes! Raw: Color Temperature: 3950K; Tint: +10 Raw: Exposure: +0.2 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 21, 2009; Day 19. FX Fisheye. My new fisheye lens came in this week and I finally mounted it tonight to the D700. It’s great to have 180 degrees of capture again. The zen of the fisheye is something I’ll probably spend the rest of my life pursuing. Can’t wait. This is my weekly photography class doing critiques. The first zen of the fisheye is not to put people in the fringes! Raw: Color Temperature: 3950K; Tint: +10 Raw: Exposure: +0.2 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 20, 2008; Day 18. Why I Don’t Use Weed Killer. If you’d have told me a few years ago that I’d be sneaking into the neighbor’s unmowed yards to gather dandelion seed pods, I’d tell you that you were crazy. But I’ve done it twice now. My pods were mowed down last weekend and haven’t returned, yet. I’m pod-happy because tonight I wanted to recreate one of Oliver’s superb macro shots. I was shocked when I noticed that Oliver’s shot was taken at f/11. There are a couple of differences that help him do this: he’s a little further away from the subject and his camera has a crop sensor. Otherwise, we both have 68mm of extension tubes mounted on our lenses. Oliver’s lens is 100mm which should be an effective 160mm on his crop sensor. My lens is the 90mm macro focused at 1:1. Now that I’ve done this I must say that I like both shots. Still, mine is at f/22 which some would say now suffers from diffraction. I also have serious vignetting but only in the extreme corners. This must be due to the extension tubes. I've shot plenty of 1:1 subjects and not noticed this before. Someday soon I will try this with the D70 see what happens. Raw: Color Temperature: 5700K; Tint: -3 Raw: Recovery: 4 Raw: Blacks: 8 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: +51 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Healing Brush to remove much sensor dust (needs cleaning) PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 20, 2008; Day 18. Why I Don’t Use Weed Killer. If you’d have told me a few years ago that I’d be sneaking into the neighbor’s unmowed yards to gather dandelion seed pods, I’d tell you that you were crazy. But I’ve done it twice now. My pods were mowed down last weekend and haven’t returned, yet. I’m pod-happy because tonight I wanted to recreate one of Oliver’s superb macro shots. I was shocked when I noticed that Oliver’s shot was taken at f/11. There are a couple of differences that help him do this: he’s a little further away from the subject and his camera has a crop sensor. Otherwise, we both have 68mm of extension tubes mounted on our lenses. Oliver’s lens is 100mm which should be an effective 160mm on his crop sensor. My lens is the 90mm macro focused at 1:1. Now that I’ve done this I must say that I like both shots. Still, mine is at f/22 which some would say now suffers from diffraction. I also have serious vignetting but only in the extreme corners. This must be due to the extension tubes. I've shot plenty of 1:1 subjects and not noticed this before. Someday soon I will try this with the D70 see what happens. Raw: Color Temperature: 5700K; Tint: -3 Raw: Recovery: 4 Raw: Blacks: 8 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: +51 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Healing Brush to remove much sensor dust (needs cleaning) PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 19, 2009; Day 17. Of Course I Can Talk and Bowl. I joined 11 of my friends at the Stadium Tenpin in Manchester tonight. Looks like we’ll keep doing this all summer long. This is fine with me; I actually bowled a 163 tonight thanks to a little bit of coaching from my friend Chris. I was actually on track for a 200 game about half-way through so he quickly withdrew his support and I quickly faltered. It was just for fun. This is my other friend Chris who twice now has provided me with the best photographic material at this bowling alley. He literally bowled this frame without missing a beat on the phone. (The two red lights above his pins suggest that he doesn’t bowl quite as well as he might if he were concentrating. But again, it was just for fun.) I did have a shot where you can actually see the ball but by then, the phone was pretty much invisible. I should have shot this at more of an angle. Next time. Raw: Color Temperature: 3700K; Tint: +27 Raw: Exposure: +0.7 Raw: Blacks: 2 Raw: Brightness: +37; Contrast: +47 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Thom Hogan’s “1/3 graduated sky” action PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 19, 2009; Day 17. Of Course I Can Talk and Bowl. I joined 11 of my friends at the Stadium Tenpin in Manchester tonight. Looks like we’ll keep doing this all summer long. This is fine with me; I actually bowled a 163 tonight thanks to a little bit of coaching from my friend Chris. I was actually on track for a 200 game about half-way through so he quickly withdrew his support and I quickly faltered. It was just for fun. This is my other friend Chris who twice now has provided me with the best photographic material at this bowling alley. He literally bowled this frame without missing a beat on the phone. (The two red lights above his pins suggest that he doesn’t bowl quite as well as he might if he were concentrating. But again, it was just for fun.) I did have a shot where you can actually see the ball but by then, the phone was pretty much invisible. I should have shot this at more of an angle. Next time. Raw: Color Temperature: 3700K; Tint: +27 Raw: Exposure: +0.7 Raw: Blacks: 2 Raw: Brightness: +37; Contrast: +47 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Thom Hogan’s “1/3 graduated sky” action PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 18, 2009; Day 16. Starbucked Society. My friend Dennis tells me not to be afraid to channel Edward Hopper in my photography. This was the first time that I was deliberately thinking about it as I shot this scene. My lens choice is too wide to bring the eye to what’s happening inside the window, but I could not help myself in my desire to also capture the light and color of downtown Portsmouth at dusk, and of course, that lovely sky. Raw: Color Temperature: 2900K; Tint: -8 Raw: Exposure: +0.3 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 30 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 18, 2009; Day 16. Starbucked Society. My friend Dennis tells me not to be afraid to channel Edward Hopper in my photography. This was the first time that I was deliberately thinking about it as I shot this scene. My lens choice is too wide to bring the eye to what’s happening inside the window, but I could not help myself in my desire to also capture the light and color of downtown Portsmouth at dusk, and of course, that lovely sky. Raw: Color Temperature: 2900K; Tint: -8 Raw: Exposure: +0.3 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 30 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 17, 2009; Day 15. A Nip for Your Heel. Today I wiped the dust off my road bike which hadn’t been in much demand since my ride last September. But I didn’t ride it; Peter did. He’s testing the waters for a chance to take on the 125-mile challenge himself. This was our first training ride, 14.2 miles today. Me? I’m testing the waters to photograph the ride. Being on a bicycle puts you past a lot of photographic opportunities that are here one moment and then gone the next, way faster than the fleeting light of sunset. That this dog is this more or less in focus (and in a third!) is sheer, blind luck. There were a few other good shots taken during our training ride, but mostly, as expected, a great many throwaways. Raw: Color Temperature: 4900K; Tint: +16 Raw: Recovery: 20 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 17, 2009; Day 15. A Nip for Your Heel. Today I wiped the dust off my road bike which hadn’t been in much demand since my ride last September. But I didn’t ride it; Peter did. He’s testing the waters for a chance to take on the 125-mile challenge himself. This was our first training ride, 14.2 miles today. Me? I’m testing the waters to photograph the ride. Being on a bicycle puts you past a lot of photographic opportunities that are here one moment and then gone the next, way faster than the fleeting light of sunset. That this dog is this more or less in focus (and in a third!) is sheer, blind luck. There were a few other good shots taken during our training ride, but mostly, as expected, a great many throwaways. Raw: Color Temperature: 4900K; Tint: +16 Raw: Recovery: 20 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 16, 2009; Day 14. Babylon. This morning I chased after macro subjects for the week 4 assignment of my Joy of Photography class. Right now the ferns are unfurling in the spring sun and I was hoping to find some fractals. They’re everywhere. When focusing this shot, I kept my eye on the curls and hoped that the tiny aperture would allow everything to be in focus. It’s close, but the DOF is very shallow in macro-land, particularly when you attach extension tubes to your macro lens. I have 68mm of extension attached here. This makes the subject larger than life size (1:1) which subsequently shrinks the DOF. Hence the soft portions despite f/64. Diffraction is at work too, although less than I expected. Raw: Crop: 8.6MP Raw: Color Temperature: 5900K; Tint: -15 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Blacks: 25 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Curves and Hue adjustments to produce a Kodachrome effect PS: Clone and Healing Brush tools to remove sensor dust and a strand of spider web PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 16, 2009; Day 14. Babylon. This morning I chased after macro subjects for the week 4 assignment of my Joy of Photography class. Right now the ferns are unfurling in the spring sun and I was hoping to find some fractals. They’re everywhere. When focusing this shot, I kept my eye on the curls and hoped that the tiny aperture would allow everything to be in focus. It’s close, but the DOF is very shallow in macro-land, particularly when you attach extension tubes to your macro lens. I have 68mm of extension attached here. This makes the subject larger than life size (1:1) which subsequently shrinks the DOF. Hence the soft portions despite f/64. Diffraction is at work too, although less than I expected. Raw: Crop: 8.6MP Raw: Color Temperature: 5900K; Tint: -15 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Blacks: 25 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Curves and Hue adjustments to produce a Kodachrome effect PS: Clone and Healing Brush tools to remove sensor dust and a strand of spider web PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 15, 2009; Day 13. Artist Accoutrements. I like to hang around people who know color, which is why I like to hang around Al so much. I also like his restful contemplative pose in the midst of activity. This was shot in incandescent floodlamp ambient light. Raw: Crop: 11.5MP Raw: Color Temperature: 2700K; Tint: +19 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 20 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Burn Corners: 200 pixels at 50% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 15, 2009; Day 13. Artist Accoutrements. I like to hang around people who know color, which is why I like to hang around Al so much. I also like his restful contemplative pose in the midst of activity. This was shot in incandescent floodlamp ambient light. Raw: Crop: 11.5MP Raw: Color Temperature: 2700K; Tint: +19 Raw: Recovery: 100 Raw: Fill Light: 20 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Burn Corners: 200 pixels at 50% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 14, 2009; Day 12. The Painter. Tonight was the shutter speed lesson in my Thursday photography class. I knew that this would be the fun class. Tonight she told us we’d be painting with light. Thankfully, I had my tripod set up before she turned out the room lights. Also luckily, I made a very good guess as to where to point and what focal length to use. Cool! The woman who’s being painted around is good sport Brenda, another student who’s camera does not have a bulb setting. I probably could have cropped this into a better vertical, but I was lazy tonight. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 14, 2009; Day 12. The Painter. Tonight was the shutter speed lesson in my Thursday photography class. I knew that this would be the fun class. Tonight she told us we’d be painting with light. Thankfully, I had my tripod set up before she turned out the room lights. Also luckily, I made a very good guess as to where to point and what focal length to use. Cool! The woman who’s being painted around is good sport Brenda, another student who’s camera does not have a bulb setting. I probably could have cropped this into a better vertical, but I was lazy tonight. PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 13, 2009; Day 11. Green Still Life. My friend Dennis is an alchemist of art. He takes a few raw materials and produces a living room accent piece like this that just grabs me. His house is a little busy, though, and I wanted to show this without much distraction. Enter the flash and some camera settings that kill off ambient light. The histogram for this shot suggests that it’s a badly underexposed shot, but I like it. In later shots the candles were lit but the shadows cast by the tall candles were bad. The flash's direct reflection on the leather ottoman/coffeetable bothers me a little, but it helps explain the faint light you see at the right of the photo. I definitely didn't work this subject enough, but hey, practice takes time. Raw: Color Temperature: 5500K; Tint: +20 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 13, 2009; Day 11. Green Still Life. My friend Dennis is an alchemist of art. He takes a few raw materials and produces a living room accent piece like this that just grabs me. His house is a little busy, though, and I wanted to show this without much distraction. Enter the flash and some camera settings that kill off ambient light. The histogram for this shot suggests that it’s a badly underexposed shot, but I like it. In later shots the candles were lit but the shadows cast by the tall candles were bad. The flash's direct reflection on the leather ottoman/coffeetable bothers me a little, but it helps explain the faint light you see at the right of the photo. I definitely didn't work this subject enough, but hey, practice takes time. Raw: Color Temperature: 5500K; Tint: +20 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 12, 2009; Day 10. Repulsed. Tonight was my monthly book club meeting, held at the home of my friend Bill. After the meeting, he wanted everyone to see this toy. The base is a battery-powered magnet that creates an attraction/repulsion well into which this dumbbell magnet rests. The other end of the dumbbell has a little metal pin that presses up against the little plane of glass. This provides a nearly frictionless environment in which to spin. The motion is slowed most by the fact that the dumbbell is not evenly weighted. I put this object into many positions. I wanted to show the dumbbell as weightless and in motion. The dumbbell has a pair of little red strobe lights that magically turn on when you give it a spin and turn off as the motion slows. I'm not sure how effective this shot is but I like it. Thanks to my friend Glenn who suggested that I simplify the background. Earlier shots were a little busy! Kashaaf asked me if yesterday’s shot was handheld. Yes indeed. I don’t trust myself to get the horizontal motion right on the tripod, and more importantly, this road is 3 lanes wide, so you can’t predict where the vehicle will be in the composition. You could go wide to cover this, but why? Judy says that I should have cropped even more to get closer. It did help that the D700 can fire 5 frames per second just holding down on the shutter. That’s what I was doing with this shot. I think I got 10 shots of him in all; luckily this shot had the right mix of background and focus. It’s always easy to get one or the other, so you really have to be willing to fill a card with throwaways when you go panning. Kashaaf also asked me about my camera’s timer. Its durations are 2, 5, 10, and 20 seconds. I only use it when I forget my cable release or am too lazy to attach it, so it’s usually set at 2 seconds. Raw: Color Temperature: 2850K; Tint: 0 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 12, 2009; Day 10. Repulsed. Tonight was my monthly book club meeting, held at the home of my friend Bill. After the meeting, he wanted everyone to see this toy. The base is a battery-powered magnet that creates an attraction/repulsion well into which this dumbbell magnet rests. The other end of the dumbbell has a little metal pin that presses up against the little plane of glass. This provides a nearly frictionless environment in which to spin. The motion is slowed most by the fact that the dumbbell is not evenly weighted. I put this object into many positions. I wanted to show the dumbbell as weightless and in motion. The dumbbell has a pair of little red strobe lights that magically turn on when you give it a spin and turn off as the motion slows. I'm not sure how effective this shot is but I like it. Thanks to my friend Glenn who suggested that I simplify the background. Earlier shots were a little busy! Kashaaf asked me if yesterday’s shot was handheld. Yes indeed. I don’t trust myself to get the horizontal motion right on the tripod, and more importantly, this road is 3 lanes wide, so you can’t predict where the vehicle will be in the composition. You could go wide to cover this, but why? Judy says that I should have cropped even more to get closer. It did help that the D700 can fire 5 frames per second just holding down on the shutter. That’s what I was doing with this shot. I think I got 10 shots of him in all; luckily this shot had the right mix of background and focus. It’s always easy to get one or the other, so you really have to be willing to fill a card with throwaways when you go panning. Kashaaf also asked me about my camera’s timer. Its durations are 2, 5, 10, and 20 seconds. I only use it when I forget my cable release or am too lazy to attach it, so it’s usually set at 2 seconds. Raw: Color Temperature: 2850K; Tint: 0 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 11, 2009; Day 9. Pandemic. I’m slowly catching up with my Joy of Photography class, submitting my week 2 photos this morning and finally getting the final shot needed for week 3 tonight. The missing piece in that assignment was a panned shot. I got two or three decent pans tonight after shooting for a half hour in Portsmouth’s Market Square, which made a decent background for panning. I submitted a separate shot of a motorcycle for the class. Whenever I set out to pan, I almost always notice a perfect car or bike while enroute to my spot. Tonight was no exception; as I entered the square a red Mini Cooper drove by. Drat! Raw: Crop: 8.1MP Raw: Color Temperature: 8000K; Tint: 0 Raw: Exposure: +1.0 Raw: Blacks: 11 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 11, 2009; Day 9. Pandemic. I’m slowly catching up with my Joy of Photography class, submitting my week 2 photos this morning and finally getting the final shot needed for week 3 tonight. The missing piece in that assignment was a panned shot. I got two or three decent pans tonight after shooting for a half hour in Portsmouth’s Market Square, which made a decent background for panning. I submitted a separate shot of a motorcycle for the class. Whenever I set out to pan, I almost always notice a perfect car or bike while enroute to my spot. Tonight was no exception; as I entered the square a red Mini Cooper drove by. Drat! Raw: Crop: 8.1MP Raw: Color Temperature: 8000K; Tint: 0 Raw: Exposure: +1.0 Raw: Blacks: 11 Raw: Brightness: 0; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +6 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 10, 2009; Day 8. Play Day at Al’s. Today I joined Peter and our friend Steve in a trip to Deerfield in search of photographic bliss at his 186-acre estate. The moment I stepped out of the car, I knew it was going to be a frustrating day…the black flies are peaking right now. We donned hoods and eschewed deet: we were all holding DSLR cameras. Luckily there were occasional strong gusts of wind that blew all the flies away; those were sweet solitary moments. Peter and I found this grove of birch trees and I taught him how to do a vertical pan. I wasn’t expecting to get one I liked, since the leaves are all green. Luckily, the shades of green are different in the spring, and having the color of Earth in the shot helps too. I may end up with more than 50 keepers from this 6-hour trip. We love going to Al’s because if we call him before we come over, he’ll put a rhubarb pie into the oven. If excess happiness is unhealthy, I would have been hospitalized today. Raw: Color Temperature: 4450K; Tint: 0 Raw: Exposure: +0.4 Raw: Blacks: 60 Raw: Brightness: +13; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Healing Brush to remove sensor dust PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 10, 2009; Day 8. Play Day at Al’s. Today I joined Peter and our friend Steve in a trip to Deerfield in search of photographic bliss at his 186-acre estate. The moment I stepped out of the car, I knew it was going to be a frustrating day…the black flies are peaking right now. We donned hoods and eschewed deet: we were all holding DSLR cameras. Luckily there were occasional strong gusts of wind that blew all the flies away; those were sweet solitary moments. Peter and I found this grove of birch trees and I taught him how to do a vertical pan. I wasn’t expecting to get one I liked, since the leaves are all green. Luckily, the shades of green are different in the spring, and having the color of Earth in the shot helps too. I may end up with more than 50 keepers from this 6-hour trip. We love going to Al’s because if we call him before we come over, he’ll put a rhubarb pie into the oven. If excess happiness is unhealthy, I would have been hospitalized today. Raw: Color Temperature: 4450K; Tint: 0 Raw: Exposure: +0.4 Raw: Blacks: 60 Raw: Brightness: +13; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Healing Brush to remove sensor dust PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 9, 2009; Day 7. Uneasy Ascent. I took a walk through the cemetery today, finding all kinds of spring subjects under a pleasant canopy of overcast skies. I liked this shot the most; I can’t say why. I darkened its mood with the channel mixer. Click here to see the SOOC JPEG, with just the sharpening step applied. You can see why the very slight crop was needed. Raw: Crop: 11.3MP Raw: Color Temperature: 4450K; Tint: 0 Raw: Exposure: +0.35 Raw: Fill Light: +15 Raw: Blacks: 7 Raw: Brightness: +29; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Channel Mixer: Custom preset, Gray output, Red: 10%; Green: 10%; Blue: 80%; Monochrome PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 9, 2009; Day 7. Uneasy Ascent. I took a walk through the cemetery today, finding all kinds of spring subjects under a pleasant canopy of overcast skies. I liked this shot the most; I can’t say why. I darkened its mood with the channel mixer. Click here to see the SOOC JPEG, with just the sharpening step applied. You can see why the very slight crop was needed. Raw: Crop: 11.3MP Raw: Color Temperature: 4450K; Tint: 0 Raw: Exposure: +0.35 Raw: Fill Light: +15 Raw: Blacks: 7 Raw: Brightness: +29; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +10 PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Channel Mixer: Custom preset, Gray output, Red: 10%; Green: 10%; Blue: 80%; Monochrome PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 8, 2009; Day 6. Ugly Flower. I haven’t yet mowed my lawn for the season, which means a lot of weeds are sprouting flowers, to the delight of the bumblebees. I thought I’d practice trying to catch one. But rather than chase the bees, I picked a flower and waited for a bee to come to it. The bees seem to select their flowers somewhat randomly. Naturally, the nearby bees were selecting the adjacent flowers. Someone once wrote that macro work is slow and tedious. I’m beginning to agree! The tripod at its lowest possible setting, just above the ground. While watching the bees, I noticed that they are rather rotund bugs that would need a lot of DOF to show fully in focus. Their girth also causes the flowers to sway under their weight each time they land. By the time the flower has stabilized, the bee is off to the next one. I computed that I’d need no fewer than 8 seconds of perfect stillness on the part of the bee to capture it clearly. (Ring flash to the rescue? I may try that.) I realized that a 1:1 shot of a bumblebee was not in the cards today. Thus, I just photographed the ugly flowers instead. I wish I had noticed the flower in the lower left of the main stem; it is the only attractive one in the bunch. I’d need extension tubes on the macro lens, though, to bring it closer and push the unfortunate dead flower adjacent to it out of the frame. I wonder if flowers are aware of their fallen, rotting brethren next door. I hope not. I could have just pruned it out too. This shot got a lot of post-processing. Click here to see the original JPEG from the camera with just sharpening applied. Feel free to tell me if you think that I’m going overboard with the processing. The lab "a" adjustment did most of the blue-to-purple conversion. I personally like the final result. Kashaaf asked me yesterday if I also tried the rain shot with the focus on the house, or somewhere in between. I didn't try in-between, but I did try a shot of my house with focus on the house. I didn't like it nearly as much. Raw: Color Temperature: 9100K; Tint: 0 Raw: Exposure: +0.25 Raw: Blacks: 19 Raw: Brightness: +18; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Curves adjustment to give the effect of developing E4 slide film in C41 chemicals PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 8, 2009; Day 6. Ugly Flower. I haven’t yet mowed my lawn for the season, which means a lot of weeds are sprouting flowers, to the delight of the bumblebees. I thought I’d practice trying to catch one. But rather than chase the bees, I picked a flower and waited for a bee to come to it. The bees seem to select their flowers somewhat randomly. Naturally, the nearby bees were selecting the adjacent flowers. Someone once wrote that macro work is slow and tedious. I’m beginning to agree! The tripod at its lowest possible setting, just above the ground. While watching the bees, I noticed that they are rather rotund bugs that would need a lot of DOF to show fully in focus. Their girth also causes the flowers to sway under their weight each time they land. By the time the flower has stabilized, the bee is off to the next one. I computed that I’d need no fewer than 8 seconds of perfect stillness on the part of the bee to capture it clearly. (Ring flash to the rescue? I may try that.) I realized that a 1:1 shot of a bumblebee was not in the cards today. Thus, I just photographed the ugly flowers instead. I wish I had noticed the flower in the lower left of the main stem; it is the only attractive one in the bunch. I’d need extension tubes on the macro lens, though, to bring it closer and push the unfortunate dead flower adjacent to it out of the frame. I wonder if flowers are aware of their fallen, rotting brethren next door. I hope not. I could have just pruned it out too. This shot got a lot of post-processing. Click here to see the original JPEG from the camera with just sharpening applied. Feel free to tell me if you think that I’m going overboard with the processing. The lab "a" adjustment did most of the blue-to-purple conversion. I personally like the final result. Kashaaf asked me yesterday if I also tried the rain shot with the focus on the house, or somewhere in between. I didn't try in-between, but I did try a shot of my house with focus on the house. I didn't like it nearly as much. Raw: Color Temperature: 9100K; Tint: 0 Raw: Exposure: +0.25 Raw: Blacks: 19 Raw: Brightness: +18; Contrast: +50 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Linear Contrast preset PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Curves adjustment to give the effect of developing E4 slide film in C41 chemicals PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

  • May 7, 2009; Day 5. Art House. This is my next-door neighbor’s house, which has never called out to me as a photo subject until today. I’m in my car, still in my driveway, in a steady rain. Too bad I had already used the wipers before noticing this. When I got to work I had thought of some more items to shoot like this, but unfortunately, the rain was nothing more than a mist by then. Tonight was the 4th photography class at the Concord High School. We covered aperture. Not much new information for me, but I did enjoy the time we spent critiquing the photos of the other students. Peter produced one of his shots from Sunday, which was great. Raw: Crop: 9.6MP Raw: Color Temperature: 6350K; Tint: +30 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

    May 7, 2009; Day 5. Art House. This is my next-door neighbor’s house, which has never called out to me as a photo subject until today. I’m in my car, still in my driveway, in a steady rain. Too bad I had already used the wipers before noticing this. When I got to work I had thought of some more items to shoot like this, but unfortunately, the rain was nothing more than a mist by then. Tonight was the 4th photography class at the Concord High School. We covered aperture. Not much new information for me, but I did enjoy the time we spent critiquing the photos of the other students. Peter produced one of his shots from Sunday, which was great. Raw: Crop: 9.6MP Raw: Color Temperature: 6350K; Tint: +30 Raw: Saturation: +8 PS: Curves: Medium Contrast preset PS: Lab a channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Lab b channel adjustment: “Soft light” at 50% opacity PS: Smart Sharpening: 180-1-Lens Blur

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