Blog posts including recent work, tutorials, thoughts on photography and art and just day to day life!
What do you do when you reach the end of the road? Stop for lunch, of course! Still a lot of snow in the mountains of Colorado so we went up to see how far the road went. Just above 9,000 feet we came to a huge snow drift across the road. "No problem, we have 4 wheel drive" the kid in me bragged, "Four people found frozen to death stuck in the mountains" the old guy in me warned. The old guy won! Anyway it was a pretty spot to stop for a picnic. I made a series of…
Just a quiet Sunday afternoon around Neenah. Playing with my newest toy - Canon 2X extender. This doubles the focal length of some of the canon "L" series lenses. I didn't want to spend the money for a super telephoto lens as I though I would not use it enough to justify the expense. Also nice not to have to lug a super around along with a shorter lens. Look for more photos in the coming weeks. Canon 5d MkIII | Canon 70-200 f/2.8 L II | 400mm | 1/400s f/5.6
The Frisco Emporium, Colorado, is an amazing store full of every variety of junk you can imagine. Now some people see this stuff as treasures so who am I to judge? I liked this composition so much because of the interesting lines. They draw your eyes into the frame. I converted to black and white because the color was just too distracting. Canon 5d MKIII | Canon 35mm f/2 II | 1/30s f/4.0
A Coffee Shop Portrait in Steamboat Springs Colorado
Just a quick portrait in Steamboat Colorado. Funny how the non-posed / non-professional pictures are sometimes the best... Natural expression and so much in those beautiful eyes! Taken with my Canon 35mm f/2 lens. Usually 35mm is not a good portrait focal length as there can be distortion if you are not careful. Taken at f/3.2 which gives a good focus on her face while producing a nice background blur. I love this lens at is gives a classic organic feel - it sees the world how my eyes see the world. I tried the newest 35mm lenses and…
Back from a much needed vacation! We had a wonderful time in Colorado and did something fun and interesting every day. Not a "photo" vacation so I only took my 35mm lens and Canon 5d with. Still grabbed some nice pictures.
It was Flower Sale Day at St. Mark's. This was my favorite shot of the day. Not sure why... Not a perfect flower and not the best lighting. Maybe I like it because it looks real. So often photos are over processed and over saturated and over sharpened and they just don't look real. They might look beautiful - but life isn't perfect. Neither am I! Canon 5d MkIII | Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L | 1/80s at f/5.0
A kind of boring building can become magical at night with the right lighting. Maybe its the same with people; if we see them in the proper light we find out who they really are... Maybe that thought is too deep for a Wednesday morning... Anyhow, this photo is kind of extraordinary in a way. Not too many years ago this photo would have been impossible. I took this handheld at 1/30s and ISO 4000. Big deal you might say. Well, only a few years ago ISO 4000 was impossible - no film (at least available to a normal person)…
Just some fun on a Friday. The sun is coming our and maybe it will be warm today. I'll risk it to say Spring is Here! This is a composition (I think it's pretty obvious) of some fun photos. Friday should be about fun so here it is!
Will Spring never come?!? Here it is May and still in the 40's for temperatures. Rode my bike to work yesterday and froze my hands and arms! On the bright side think how bad it would be without global warming! Taken in the Town of Neenah on Oak Ridge Road. Had to get my feet wet but all great art requires suffering (that's what we tell our selves when we are standing in cold water in the rain). I am not sure why but the original picture just screamed out "high key sepia" so that's how I processed it. Conventional…
My neighbors out for a walk on the first night of May. You see them, don't you? Dead center at the bottom of the frame. I did not see them when I took this either - too busy enjoying the glory of a beautiful sunset. Life is like that sometimes. You look at one thing and miss another. That is the joy, and the problem with photographs. You capture a moment in time it all its detail and beauty and imperfection. You also create an image that might interfere with your memory. I only remember the sunet but there were…
A texting break on River Street in Savannah. It is always nice to get away from the kitchen and spend some time on your life. It is so interesting to think that here in the alley it is quiet and almost nobody around, but just the other side of the building is crowds and noise and a parade of tourists. It is good to find some refuge in life if only for a little bit. Taken with a Panasonic Lumix Lx7. Lx7 | 9.8mm | 1/40s at f/2
Chaos, disorder, mayhem, pandemonium... sometimes I feel like I live in a whirlwind! This is not bad - it is actually quite good and fun and exciting! I have so much going on and so many wonderful things in my life. It's just sometimes I would like a few days of nothing! Just sit around and veg for a while. Of course, I would get bored in a day or two and then "off to the races!" This is just a random picture from Doty Island this weekend. Don't know who put up all the pinwheels. Were they just for…
A chilly Friday night at Asylum Point, Lake Winnebago, for the moonrise. We caught some really nice pictures so it was worth freezing! These shots were captured by my "Guest Photographer" Lily. Excellent job!
Cathedral of Saint John The Baptist in Savannah Georgia. A composite of 10 images showing the vaulted ceiling of the church. The construction of the church started in 1873. Panasonic Lumix LX7 | 4.7mm | 1/6s f/3.2
Hanging out at on the deck on a Saturday night. Taken with Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens. Not my favorite lens as I do not use it much, but when it's dark the large aperture comes in handy for keeping the ISO (and noise) down. This picture is right out of the camera with minimal processing. Canon 5d MkIII | Canon 50mm f/1.4 | 1/40s at f/1.4
Questions. We all have them - at least I do and I think everyone else does too... My friend Mollie took this picture at church on Sunday. I asked her to take my camera and get some "Children's Time" pictures. Lot's of nice shots but this one really stands out. Mollie called it "artistic" and I think it it is. I don't know if she focused on his arm on purpose or it just happened but I am glad in any case. Good pictures tell a story and leave you wanting to know more! What did he want to say?…
Captain Steve on Dawn Patrol
Captain Steve patrols the skies over France! Working on "Steve's World" and having a lot of fun. This is a heavily edited composition and I don't even know where to start with a workflow description...
Anchors can be many things. They can hold you fast and safe when all around you are storms and danger. They can weigh you down when you want to move fast. You can pull them in any time you want - or even cast them into the sea. They can be so real sometimes and other times they are only imaginary... This was taken in Savannah, GA, in a fountain on River Street. I used my LX7 in 16X9 mode to give this a very wide angle/aspect ratio. Panasonic Lumix LX7 | 17.7mm | 1/100 at f/2.3
Sunset as a trucker is heading for Georgia over the Savannah River. Traveling again and spent the week "down South" where it was warm, sunny and a bit wet. Missed the snow and cold in Wisconsin - will Winter never end?!? I love spending time in Savannah, especially on the river. Lots of interesting people and things to see (more posts this week). I think the river is my favorite. Ships go by on their way to the open ocean and I wonder where they are going and what they are carrying. I think it is romantic! Part of me…
It was the night before Easter and I was practicing music for the sunrise service. As I left St. mark's I was struck by how beautiful the scene was! The altar was bathed in a single light and all was prepared for Easter morning. Kind of like the original Easter. All creation waited on the night before the resurrection - was the plan a failure? What was going to happen? The followers of Jesus waited too, for what they did not know... This is a composition of two pictures to catch the range of brightnesses. The top of the…
Woke up this morning to snow and almost went back to bed! It's not that I hate snow - it's just I have had enough for this Winter! Sometimes I feel like I just go around and around and don't seem to be able to make any progress. Objectively, everything is going great (and I don't feel depressed or even sad) just sometimes I feel time is getting short and I have a lot to do before I go. This picture is some machinery I encountered in my world travels this year. Processed with Silver Effex Pro to desaturate and…
A beautiful young lady in Madison. Trader Joes run this weekend for coffee, ginger snaps and various urban supplies. Just a simple portrait in a toy store. So much joy and happiness in this picture. You can see an awesome future ahead of her! A quick pose - no flash. Set the camera to aperture mode f/5.6 and let it meter the shot. The Canon 24-105 f/4 L is one of my favorite lenses for trips. It has a nice focal range, not too heavy and very nice color rendition. Only an f/4 so not the best at low light…
A quick portrait on Sunday morning. No time to adjust so you point and shoot. Didn't turn out too bad I think. Something about a young person - so innocent, so open! Canon 5d MkIII | Canon EF 85mm | 1/60 sec at f/2.5
Thunder and Lightning last night as we get a warm beginning to March. The main part of the storm was over Oshkosh and we actually had clear skies overhead. You can see Saturn on the right and a bunch of stars. This photo was taken with a 10 second exposure and at 200 ISO. I just kept taking pictures and a few worked out well. Canon 5d MkIII | Canon 16-35 f/4 L | 35mm | 10 sec at f/4
Creation is an act of patience, faith and love. A block of wood has its own kind of beauty. The grain and the color and all the details that the tree put into it as a function of the weather and sunlight and soil. But within that block is another kind of beauty. The creator sees a new form hidden within the block of wood. With time and work the wood slowly reveals the form within. The creator shapes the wood but I think the wood also has its say in the creation. The grain here fights the shape and…
