My BW Preset

The great thing about photo editing software is that presets can be made which are then applicable to any photo any time with out redoing all the work to get there. I don't think anyone would accuse me of "Photoshopping" this image, even though I have changed colors and tones of the original image significantly. The fact is, everything done here could have been done in the darkroom to a film image!
Nikon D90, 50mm lens, f/3.2, 1/500s, ISO 200, -1/3 EV, SB-600 camera right shot through a diffuser with a slight warming gel.

Last of Summer

Nikon D90, Sigma 10-20mm lens @ 10mm, f/10.0, 1/4000s, ISO 200, SB-600 @ +2.0 EV fired from below camera. Spot metering the sun reduces the overall exposure, while the flash brings the flower back.

Sunrise

I awoke with ash covering my sleeping bag and hazing my glasses. The controlled burn near Palisades Idaho thickened the air with soot. Still, it made for a pretty amazing sunset and sunrise.



Nikon D90, 70-300mm lens
@ 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1250s, ISO 200
@ 165mm, f/5.0, 1/1250s, ISO 100, -2/3 EV

Sunset

Nikon D90, 70-300mm lens @ 300mm, f/14, 1/1250s, ISO 200, -2 EV, spot metered on the sun.

Brothers

I have three brothers. Sometimes you just don't know what to make of a brother, and these new brothers, E. and J., seem to show that pretty well. We shot these guys in the setting sun with diffusers and reflectors. Of course, the trick is to get the right expression. With kids this is done with one setting on your camera: continuous high. Mine shoots several frames per second, and sometimes that's not enough; but it worked out well enough here.


Click through for a peek of times to come.

"You Wascally Webels!"

What do you get when you bring Stormtroopers to a Carnival for Autism? Now what do you get when one of the kids brings his bunny along?


Hop inside for more images...

The last time we had Stromtroopers as special guests Becca Black won an 8x10 print in the Caption Contest. I thought we'd open it up again: the best caption left in the comments wins a free 8x10 print of any image on the blog, or with your next portrait session. I'm excited to read them. We'll wrap it up by midnight on October 3rd.

This carnival was sponsored by Sahara Cares. We spent three glorious hours shooting families and kids with some of the most generous bad guys you've ever met. The folks who wear these suits dress up almost every week for some function or other and sweat it out in the sun for hours at a time. I've realized that they are not just enthusiastic about their genre, but that they are most enthusiastic about serving. You'll see what I mean from the following images.










Nikon D90, 50mm lens, f/7.1, various speeds, ISO 400, -1/3 EV. Gold Reflector and Light Sabers provide fill light.
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Last of the Aquarium, New Feature

Fish aren't the only aquarium dwellers: Birds, otters, and seals also make a home there. Note the link below (Read More!). If there is text before this link on any post, you may click and see more related images. And, as always, click on an image to view a larger version.


Flock here to see more wildlife...

The Kelp forests support all these animals at varying depths. Here an egret lands to stand over water that is 30 feet deep.





Sea otters playfully enjoy their life in the forests. This one lives in the Aquarium; she often takes in orphaned otters found in the bay outside and teaches them to be otters before they are returned to the wild.


Harbor seals are the shyest of the wildlife we saw. This one didn't care for the camera, and quickly took off.

Sentimental Journey

The B-17 ruled WWII. It was an amazing air plane, and there are hundreds of accounts of crews' adventures in it. The Sentimental Journey is one of a very few left flying. We saw it in the skies of Monterey, California over Labor Day weekend. She's beautiful.

No Parking...Please!

Nikon D90, 85mm lens, f/1.8, 1/4000s, ISO 400. This image is not cropped--the pigeon was really that close, and getting closer.

The Aquarium

Monterey boasts an amazing aquarium. The staff is terrific, and the exhibits are breathtaking. It's incredible how much is learned just by watching animals and plants interact at their level. No one is bored on a trip to the Aquarium. This Galapagos shark is sure to hold the attention of anyone who sees her.


Dive into this link to see more images from the Aquarium.

Lets start with some more sharks.








It's funny that they all swim the same direction.



Tuna are probably the fastest fish is the house, and multiple sizes and species are represented.




Of course, the bottom of the food chain is also represented.





The building is full of interesting view points, and visitors spend hours in awe.








Tomorrow we'll see some of the warm blooded occupants.

Each of these photos was shot with a Nikon D90. Most of the images were made an 85mm lens all the way open at f/1.8--in the low light, even this wide aperture was not enough and the ISO was usually cranked up to 1600. No flashes were used, but available light was tweaked with exposure compensation for affects, and the White Balance was also used to create different moods. Besides cropping, color adjustments and vignettes, these photos were not significantly altered with Software. Lightroom was the package of choice when adjustments were required. More tomorrow...