The Adirondack Balloon Fest

My friend Julie from the Photo Club was right.  Once they start lifting off, they all do.  Wow, what an experience!  I got up at 330 this AM and got to Queensbury at 5 AM, thus no traffic or delay issues.  It was fun talking to the balloonists about their craft.  As it was overcast and cloudy I could not get those rising sun, blue sky balloon shots.  Sometimes "available light" means just that.  If you want to shoot,  you use the light that is available!  I looked for backlighting and proximity compositions.  Most of these were shot with a Fuji X10, the last two with a Maxxum 7D using a Tamrom 11-18 lens.  All the images were edited in iPhoto to boost color and clarity.  Enjoy, Jeff

  

--

Larkfest 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today was Larkfest, a fall rite of passage for Albany's young.  These shots capture the excitement and fun of this day.  All shot with the Fuji X10 in Aperture Priority at 4.5, Auto ISO 400.  Enjoy, Jeff

 

White Birch Lake

Shot these two scenes this AM about 40 minutes apart. Used the big Pentax so we will see how the negs come out

These were shot with the iPhone and True HDR

Image created with Snapseed and Slowshutter

Same trees, just a different way of seeing. The joy of photography is being present and open to the images that await your capture and interpretation

Enjoy, Jeff

Dream Trees

Relaxing on our back deck, I awoke to this view of our Locust trees and filtered sunlight I used True HDR and then Snapseed to create this interpretation of my vision. Shot with iPhone 4. Enjoy, Jeff

Gathering of the Tribes Hosted by the Bear Clan

  

Fill Flash used.

   

   

  

  

 Brown Farm in East Greenbush is the site for the Bear Clan Pow Wow this weekend.  What a great photo opportunity!  I used a Fuji X10.  For the dancers I added a polarizing filter to stop down the light allowing me a 1/40 sec exposure to create a little blur.

Jean in Vermont

Walking through a small village near Sugarbush I found Jean. Sitting on her porch I engaged her and she permitted me to photograph her....to a point. At this image she said "alright , that's enough buster!"

This AM I combined the original color image with a sketched one created with the new Art of Sketch App. I put them together in Blender using Hard Light blend. Enjoy Jeff

Coke Relieves Fatigue

Coca-cola really relieved fatigue prior to 1904 when the "happy " ingredients were caffeine and cocaine! This signage is on Broadway, Schenectady, NY.  This shot was done with the iPhone 4 at sunset using True HDR and several further filters within the App.

Enjoy Jeff

Landscape Composition

Whenever I try to create a landscape, I look for a leading element to catch the eye and then let you wander through the foreground, mid portion and then the distant part of the image.  I used the rule of thirds to place the tree and then composed with the 28mm setting on the Fuji X10.  Three bracketed shots were used and I chose the -1 stop image for its richness. A Circular Polarizer was used as well. In iPhoto I adjusted the exposure, shadows and definition to get the result I wanted.  Enjoy, Jeff

 

Vermont Barn

Jeanette and I went on a road trip to explore Vermont, Rt 100.  This scene appeared and I saw the composition of the hay rows leading to the barn and outbuilding.  I enhanced the image in Photomatix which blended the 3  exposures of -1,0, and +1  to a higher dynamic range image.  I then chose the Painterly preset and further adjusted the main color channels to get the effect I wanted.  Enjoy, Jeff

 

57 Thunderbird

What a glorious car! Saw this at a golf course. Shot in Camera+, intensified in Snapseed and then blended with a light blue background in Blender using Overlay Blend. Enjoy, Jeff

Reflections

A picture within a picture, a mood, a feeling, something unique is created

Shot with a Fuji X10 at The Louvre, edited in Snapseed.

Enjoy, Jeff

Texture

One of my favorite subjects....old flowers. The texture of aging, a uniqueness that fresh new flowers lack. Shot with iPhone 4, photojojo tele lens, with Simply B&W then to Camera+ for Clarity and frame. Enjoy, Jeff

HDR Heaven

Old Car

 

Oldsmobile

 

Cracked Window

 

Interior

Out with my great Bud Jeff A. today for an HDR Photo shoot.  We found this auto salvage yard and had a blast!  This are HDR fun pics shot with a Fuji X10, 3 bracketed images one stop apart and then blended in Photomatix software.  Minor adjustments were made to give these an Artsy-Fartsy result.  What a hoot!  Enjoy Jeff

 

iPhone HDR

Love True HDR ON THE IPHONE!! An old wreck in Averill Park made a great subject. I shot this with iPhone tripod mount for sharpness all around. Enjoy, Jeff

Soft Macro Technique

There are many techniques to create a soft Macro look.  Usually one is concerned that everything is in focus, front to back in Macro Photography.  However there are times that a different approach can yield nice results.  This rose was shot with a maroon background outdoors with available overcast light.  The Maxxum 7D was on a tripod with a 50mm 1.7 standard lens and a Canon 500D closeup filter attached.  It was fun exploring the petals and selecting which one should be sharp.  At f1.7 the rest would go soft, my intent! There was minimal editing in Photoshop.  Enjoy, Jeff

 

This morning's gift

Newport Harbor shot with Autostitch to create what my eye saw. I used Camera+ Clarity filter to add a little punch. Enjoy, Jeff

Catching the Light

I knew it was coming. The three mast sailing vessel was going to bisect the setting sun's reflection on Newport Bay. Simply set the Fuji 10 to Av priority at f 5.6 and let the meter do the rest to create a lovely silohouette. Enjoy, Jeff

Boats in Fog

Another shot this AM with Camera+ on an iPhone 4. Put the image through Clarify and Silver Gelatin filters to create a dramatic effect in the mist. Enjoy, Jeff

Trees in Fog

I love fog and mist. You get great light, a terrific sense of depth and isolation of the area of interest Shot with Camera+ and put through a silver gelatin, sepia and initially with Clarify filter, a nice effect was created. A Polaroid type frame was added at the end. Enjoy, Jeff

Newport Harbor at Sunset

Who doesn't love a good sunset? During my early AM bike ride I found Battery Park. This Newport park has a great view of the bay and bridge. I know the sun sets behind the bridge end this time of year . Jeanette and I went there about 7:30pm to set up. For this I used my Maxxum 7D and a Tamron 11-18 lens. I set the ISO, aperture and shutter speed to manual to adapt to the changing light as time progressed. Of course, camera was tripod mounted and fired with a remote cable release. The image was lightly edited in Iris photo suite and then Snapseed. Enjoy, Jeff

Newport Reggae

Shot through a club window with Csmera+ on the iPhone 4. Edited in Snapseed where I converted it to B&W with a green filter. I added some grain to give it a film look. Enjoy, Jeff

Wide Angle Perspective

This is the famous prohibition era liquor boat, the Rum Runner, built in the 1920's to outrun the Coast Guard from the 12 mile limit, to bring Canadian whiskey to Newport. I shot this with a KM DSLR, the Maxxum 7D and a Tamron 11-18 zoom. Exposure was manually set at 1/400 sec, f11, ISO 200. No editing at all. Straight from the camera. Enjoy, Jeff

Newport Morning

Shot on the iPhone 4 using 645 PRO. This App allows for a 6MB lossless jpeg. What a difference compared to any other Camera App. I lightly edited the image in Snapseed. Enjoy, Jeff

The Fisherman

Shot this AM with 645PRO on the iPhone Edited on Snapseed for a Grunge effect. Enjoy, Jeff

Saratoga in Motion

 

 Shot with a Maxxum7D, KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA and a Tamron 28-300 Lens.  This image is different than the ones a couple of posts below.  Here I went for motion and speed.  At ISO 800 I chose a Tv of 1/100 sec to capture enough to clearly convey the subject matter, but not to fast to freeze motion. 1/250 or greater would have done that.  I chose an f stop of f13 to insure the horses would be sharp from front to back.  The final, key ingredient was panning the camera while firing away, thus the blurred background.  See, it is easy!!  Enjoy, Jeff