Visual Victuals

Moooo

2009-07-02T02:57:00.002-04:00

ved.

If you haven't noticed, I've moved on to my new domain. Check it out!

I've done this for many reasons, but know that my general photo-focused format will remain. This little blog has served me well, but it's time to continue on.

My reasons for moving:

1. Blogger doesn't have a very good support network, either from the service's owners or the community in general. Wordpress, on the other hand, has a large community actively improving both the basic blogging standard and the absolutely huge collection of plug-ins. Some consider Wordpress to be more for advanced users, but as far as setting up a regular blog, it's just as easy as Blogger. Those advanced options just happen to be there if you feel the need to expand or personalize more.

2. I've always wanted my own hosting. Although this does cost money, the flexibility offered is simply tremendous. Rather than have to resort to Blogspot for blogging, Picasaweb or Flickr for image galleries, Google Pages for website experimentation, I can do all of that within one domain, which makes things much more convenient and attractive for both visitors and me.

3. It's just more awesome to have a domain.

Once again, check out the new domain.

Skywatch Friday 50/16

2009-06-26T02:47:00.003-04:00

Around Nevada Falls in Yosemite.

Do check out my new domain.

Pictures are bigger and yummier.

Watery Wednesday 41/16 - Love Those Lips

2009-06-23T21:11:00.003-04:00

Followers: I have moved to my new domain at visualvictuals.com

I've released my first tutorial, a very easy, very quick technique to improve photos using an overlay layer. Perhaps best of all it uses a free image editor. Check it out here.

Camera Critters 63/13 - Butterfingerless Butterfly

2009-06-20T17:01:00.004-04:00

From the rainforest inside the California Academy of Sciences.

Camera Critters.

As mentioned last week, I'm moving to a domain.

The blog, once launched, will focus on post-processing techniques that I've used over the past few months with a focus on free software (GIMP, Picasa, Photoscape, Paint.net, Photoplus, Picknik, and others). As I still consider myself a beginner, I figure this could be of help to other beginners looking to improve their photos.

I'm in the middle of setting up and modifying a Wordpress install using the very awesome Atahualpa Theme with emphasis on minimization. I still have work to do on the layout, but visits and feedback on my work so far will be appreciated.

Skywatch Friday 49/15 - Oro en Paz

2009-06-18T16:40:00.006-04:00

Not exactly gold, but it's close enough. From somewhere in Potrero Hill. To think, I was standing a few blocks away from where O.J. Simpson grew up. A hop, skip, and a few dozen hundred steps in the opposite direction is the headquarters for Mythbusters.

Skywatch Friday.

Think Green Thursday 2/1 - Windfarm

2009-06-18T00:03:00.004-04:00

I posted on Sunday about the windfarm at Altamont Pass, a source of renewable energy near the Bay Area. This is a slightly larger scale and better framed photo.

As an addition to what was mentioned on Sunday, the turbines here (originally constructed in the 1970's) are being replaced by newer, taller models, which reduce the risk to the local birds while increasing energy return and improving safety for construction and maintenance crews.

According to the 2008 World Wind Energy Report, wind power accounts for 1.5% of worldwide use of electricity, a twofold increase since 2005.

I find this to be an important trend. Greater usage of renewable energy means that more money goes into the development of the technology. Many of the problems associated with wind turbines are a result of mechanical design flaws (Example (youtube)). Research and better materials can only lead to advancements that improve efficiency, aesthetics, and safety to both humans and wildlife.

Think Green Thursday.

PS - No green in the photo. I'm wondering if that's okay, or if the meme is more of a St. Patrick's day-like thing in which case my post will be pinched.

Watery Wednesday 40/15 - Conversation Distraction

2009-06-17T15:59:00.003-04:00

(Narrated in a strong, boring, yet weakly interesting monotone)

It was just another windy Wednesday afternoon down by Crissy Field.

Engaged in a friendly conversation about last night's game with one of the locals, I noticed a large object creeping into view.

"I had nosebleed tickets, but yeah, Cain threw a great game."

The conversation followed my eyes.

"She's a beauty, isn't she?" said the amicable local whilst staring longingly at the vessel.

"No, not rea.." Before I could finish, the conversation had flown away, leaving me with my own thoughts of ugly boats.

Watery Wednesday.

Mellow Yellow Monday 23/11 - Two Tone

2009-06-15T00:33:00.004-04:00

Inside the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, California, there is a four story rainforest. Inside, many exotic plants grow, critters are kept climatized, and birds and butterflies fly happily around visitor heads. As the exhibit ages, the plants are expected to grow into the multi-tiered levels of a typical rainforest.

Mellow Yellow Monday.

Monochrome Monday 6 - Altamont Pass

2009-06-14T14:09:00.004-04:00

Driving on Interstate 580 in California, one can view the Altamont Pass Wind Farm, a large source of renewable energy. This does also mean that getting a decent shot of the turbines is difficult even from the passenger seat.

So yeah, that's my excuse for the framing.

As good as wind power is for the environment, it's not a perfect solution at the moment. Thousands of predatory birds die every year from just the rotating blades in this cluster. Newer technologies do reduce the risk to our airborne friends, but the problem is still there.

I do hope that this and similar farms are developed, expanded, and upgraded with intent to balance the need for renewable energy and preserving wildlife.

Monochrome Maniacs.

Also check out this post over at the World in Black and White for another badly framed photo of two wind turbines.

Scenic Sunday 48/11 - Tunnel View

2009-06-13T18:32:00.000-04:00

This magnificent view is one that ends up on a lot of the cameras that visit Yosemite National Park as only a car is necessary to access the viewpoint.

Tunnel View is what one sees as one exits the Wawona Tunnel on Route 41 heading North into Yosemite Valley.

On the left of the frame is a rock climber's dream: the very vertical southwest face of El Capitan, which rises 910 meters (3000 feet).

Half Dome and Bridal Veil Falls are both visible on the right.

Scenic Sunday.

Camera Critters 62/12

2009-06-13T13:20:00.002-04:00

Quick post today from the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, California.

Camera Critters.

Keep an eye out as I will soon be moving to a real domain. This blog will remain active, but serve mostly to present photos. Err, that's more or less what it's doing now.

Skywatch Friday 48/14 - Low Arc

2009-06-11T13:51:00.001-04:00

This was taken from the base of Vernal Falls in Yosemite National Park. For the hikers out there, this is about 1/5 of the way to Half Dome, both horizontally (1.something miles / 7) and vertically (1000 ft / 4800).

Not much of a constantly uphill hiker, especially when it comes to stairs, I didn't even come close to making it to Half Dome. I turned around at Nevada Falls (3.something miles), which is about halfway. This became a good idea as it later began to rain, meaning that the cable-assisted ascension to the summit would've been even more difficult/dangerous.

Skywatch Friday.

The processing is like a tough hamburger - clearly overdone. It would likely be more appealing if I removed the orange-ish colorcast on the grayer wall and surrounding trees as well as improved the local contrast in the middle of the photo.

Ah well, without many blue-sky trail shots, this will have to do.

Sepia Scenes 34/6 - Snacktime

2009-06-10T22:48:00.000-04:00

The Time: One fateful, late Spring afternoon

The Location: California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, California

The First Sound of Something Gone Horribly Wrong: The crackling of bone grinding against bone

The First Sight of Something Gone Horribly Wrong: A grotesque agglomeration of bone silhouetted against the outside lighting that shifted almost imperceptibly in the direction of the nearest, unsuspecting patrons who were ironically situated near an eating establishment

The Eventuality: Too gruesome to show

Notes For Future Encounters: Creature confused by own reflection in café window, may be useful in development of a containment system

Sepia Scenes.

Monochrome Monday 5 - Leave(s) Me

2009-06-08T02:36:00.003-04:00

Along the paved portion of the hike to the Tuolumne Grove, home to some of the giant sequoias in Yosemite National Park.

Monochrome Maniacs.

Scenic Sunday 47/10 - Morning Tranquility

2009-06-08T01:53:00.003-04:00

Early this Sunday morning, I woke up bright and early to go on a short two hour guided horseback ride through a beautiful part of Yosemite Valley. This photo isn't from that.

What you're looking at is the grassy area behind the rather fragrant stables a few minutes before the ride.

Yeah. Pan left about 112 degrees and you'd see (and smell) my mount Gunsmoke processing his breakfast.

Gunsmoke actually is a pretty famous horse. Come back later this week to find out why.

Scenic Sunday.

Skywatch Friday 47/13 - What Else?

2009-06-04T14:15:00.003-04:00

Despite having visited the bay area five or six times, I still found myself wandering around Crissy Field and staring at the Golden Gate Bridge yesterday. (Sorta) New camera and a fairly nice sky of course meant that my memory card inched a few dozen megabytes closer to capacity.

Without my typical editing software and utilities, I feel like this and the Watery Wednesday post don't exactly look like I want them to (noisy sky, distorted perspective, dull colors in the bottom half, etc). And working in OS X and on a laptop is a bit of a change as well. In a few days I'll be back to the familiar comforts of my aging desktop from the advent of XP, but until then there's much to see, do, and photograph.

Watery Wednesday 38/14 - Share

2009-06-02T20:53:00.002-04:00

Watery Wednesday.

Skywatch Friday 46/12 - From the Summit of Montmartre

2009-05-28T17:45:00.002-04:00

This could've been done much better. However, I have little time before I leave for an eleven day journey on the West Coast, so this is my current, messy result.

Some of you may recognize this effect as the result of solarisation, something that can be digitally imitated at a rudimentary level with a basic Photoshop stylizing filter (Filters -> Stylize -> Solarize). Following this up with colorization can yield some very interesting results.

However, there are better ways to control the effect in both Photoshop and its free alternative, GIMP, which I may be able to cover at a future time.

Skywatch Friday.

Watery Wednesday 37/13 - Expectoration, Salivation, Drivel, Spittle, Slaver

2009-05-27T19:01:00.004-04:00

are all just words for drool and slobber.

Watery Wednesday.

Our hyena friend here was watching a wolf get a nice belly rub from its attractive female handlers. It turned to look at me, head tilted slightly, as if to ask, "where can I get one of those?"

I dunno, buddy, I dunno. For now, solely in dreams.

Ruby Tuesday 10 - Shy Turret

2009-05-26T00:42:00.003-04:00

Hey Buddy, don't be scared. C'mon, I've got some tasty 135mm ammunition rounds for you. That's a good boy.

Ruby Tuesday.

Monochrome Monday 4 - Sheer Pride

2009-05-25T04:06:00.004-04:00

You, sir, are dirty.

Monochrome Maniacs.

Mellow Yellow Monday 20/10 - Mixed Species

2009-05-24T21:06:00.003-04:00

This sleepyhead belongs to a liger, a cross between a male lion and a female tiger, which are typically larger and heavier than either of their parents.

There are also tigons, which are crosses between female lions and male tigers, but they are less common these days.

Growing up, lions and tigers were two of my favorite animals. Seeing them put into one is an interesting experience even if I think their names are uncreative portmanteaus.

Mellow Yellow Monday.

Skywatch Friday 45/11 - Startrails

2009-05-21T18:28:00.005-04:00

Skywatch Friday.

Not long after I received my D40 at the end of January, I became interested in the application of motion blur to photography. This is particularly evident in many of my water photos from the past few months, but I also attempted to shoot the night sky.

Rather than use an extra long shutter speed, I decided to blend photos taken at thirty second intervals over a period of about twenty minutes. I managed to capture just thirty-four usable exposures thanks to a plane that entered the frame momentarily.

I should mention that the moon was also awake on this cold evening, which, combined with the neighbor's TV, illuminated the trees and possibly contributed to the blue-cyan coloration of several of the trails. However, I may soon have the opportunity to properly shoot the night sky away from the lights and distractions of the city.

For a sample of one of the thirty-four photos that comprise this image, check out this post at The World in Black & White.

Watery Wednesday 36/12 - Where Has All My Color Gone Recently?

2009-05-19T16:32:00.004-04:00

Here they are!

It's been awhile since I uploaded a photo with lots of bright color.

This one in particular looks like a box of crayons went strolling through the woods and spontaneously exploded everywhere. Too much? Quite possibly...the whole rainbow is present.

Watery Wednesday.

Camera Critters 58/11 - Peeking at Piglets

2009-05-16T16:56:00.004-04:00

and a pig.

Camera Critters.

Please also check out The World in Black and White where I was invited to participate. My first two posts there are critter related as well.

Sepia Scenes 30/5 - L'Arc de Triomphe

2009-05-13T02:39:00.002-04:00

To me, triumphal arches have always been interesting structures as they are statements and celebrations of war victories. To be honest, I'm not sure why this one receives so much attention as there are plenty of other notables ones around the world that have equal or greater historical significance or architectural or historical value. Then again, in Paris even the tours of the sewers are popular tourist attractions.

Sepia Scenes

Watery Wednesday 35/11 - Is This What You Picture When You Think Of Bratislava?

2009-05-12T15:29:00.004-04:00

It certainly was not what I pictured when I thought of Bratislava.

Although I know that the movies Hostel and Eurotrip both inaccurately portrayed the city, I still expected a more desolate urban environment with obvious Eastern European influences.

Anyone who is thinking about going to Prague, Vienna, and/or Budapest, consider also going to Bratislava. They've just adopted the Euro this year, which unfortunately probably inflated their prices a bit, but there are many interesting sights, good food, good spirits, and good people.

Not to mention the beautiful blue Danube runs right through the city.

Watery Wednesday.

Ruby Tuesday 9 - The European Train Station Offers

2009-05-12T04:06:00.004-04:00

Candy, Soda, Water, Granola Bars, Chips, Sandwiches, sometimes Fresh Fruit or Bread, but always canned Mixed Drinks. No wonder Europe's so much fun.

I always enjoy a good Jack & Coke, but I didn't try any of these since the Euro was much less attractive last summer than it is now. Four dollars for a 330 milliliter can of a very temporary buzz was never worth it even for overnight train rides, particularly when one can purchase a six pack of the drink for the same price at any grocery store not located on a main road.

Ruby Tuesday.

Monochrome Monday 3 - Trees

2009-05-11T02:00:00.000-04:00

It's a picture of trees.

Monochrome Maniacs.

Eleven days into the month and I haven't taken any photos. I could blame the thunderstorms, the job search, Peace Corps updates, or any number of things, but in reality, I'm just lazy. One good thing for my lagging hobby is that I'll be going to California soon for at least a week, so I'll be getting the opportunity to photograph all sorts of scenes and things that are very different from here.

Camera Critters 57/10 - Will You Be My Nuzzle Buddy?

2009-05-09T00:57:00.001-04:00

If you say no, I'll look really sad as I lower my head and stumble away.

Camera Critters.

Skywatch Friday 43/10 - Wake Up, The Train Is Here.

2009-05-08T03:05:00.001-04:00

Wait, what? No it's not - this is Italy.

Skywatch Friday.

As I've participated in a fairly small number of photography challenges/prompts/memes now for the past ten weeks, I thought it would be interesting to look at a few statistics derived from traffic reports collected by Google Analytics. I've also surpassed 10,000 pageviews and 5,000 unique visitors, so I guess those are some round number milestones too.

Listed in order of my participation frequency discounting today:

Watery Wednesday - 10/10 possible entries

229 comments - 22.9 comments/entry

High - 31 comments - Entry 2

Low - 14 comments - Entry 10

161 referrals from meme site - 16.1 referrals/entry

2:06 average time on pages for Watery entries

Favorite Post - Entry 3, a shot of a goose who never learned to share.

Skywatch Friday - 9/10

272 comments - 30.2 comments/entry

High - 45 comments - Entry 6

Low - 7 comments - Entry 1

152 referrals from meme site - 16.9 referrals/entry

1:32 average time on pages for Skywatch entries

Favorite Post - Entry 2, a shot of an Atlanta suburb during some March snow.

Mellow Yellow Monday 9/10

160 comments - 17.8 comments/entry

High - 25 comments - Entry 5

Low - 12 comments - Entry 1

103 referrals from meme site - 11.4 referrals/entry

1:55 average time on pages for Mellow Yellow entries

Favorite Post - Entry 3, a shot of a No Smoking sign in an old World War II fortress in France.

Scenic Sunday 9/10

183 comments - 20.3 comments/entry

High - 26 comments - Entry 5

Low - 16 comments - Entry 1

160 referrals from meme site - 17.8 referrals/entry

2:11 average time on pages for Scenic entries

Favorite Post - Entry 1, a shot from the summit of Brasstown Bald as the afternoon shadows were lengthening.

Camera Critters 8/10

136 comments - 17 comments/entry

High - 31 comments - Entry 6

Low - 3 comments - Entry 1

97 referrals from meme site - 12.1 referrals/entry

1:38 average time on pages for Critters entries

Favorite Post - Entry 9, a shot of a rabbit and a turtle sharing a "foxhole."

Ruby Tuesday 8/10

87 comments - 10.9 comments/entry

High - 16 comments - Entry 8

Low - 1 comment - Entry 1

49 referrals from meme site - 6.1 referrals/entry

2:31 average time on pages for Ruby entries

Favorite Post - Entry 2, a shot of a classical bassist and a curious tourist in Park Guell in Barcelona.

Macro Monday 7/10

110 comments - 15.7 comments/entry

High - 25 comments - Entry 4

Low - 5 comments - Entry 1

51 referrals from meme site - 7.3 referrals/entry

2:12 average time on pages for Macro entries

Favorite Post - Entry 1, a shot of some March snow here in Georgia.

Sepia Scenes 4/10

67 comments - 16.8 comments/entry

High - 22 comments - Entry 2

Low - 9 comments - Entry 4

44 referrals from meme site - 11 referrals/entry

2:25 average time on pages for Sepia entries

Favorite Post - Entry 2, a shot of a cannon in Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.

Blue Monday 3/10

53 comments - 17.7 comments/entry

High - 28 comments - Entry 2

Low - 12 comments - Entry 3

72 referrals from meme site - 24 referrals/entry

1:13 average time on pages for Blue entries

Favorite Post - Entry 2, a shot of the blue Eiffel Tower at night.

I've also entered Monochrome Monday/Maniacs and Thursday Challenge twice, but as statistics show less with less available data, I'll leave those off.

I was mostly interested in the number of referrals per entry as I was wondering whether I would get more from a meme with a larger number of participants or from one with a more dedicated photographer base.

Obviously my sample sizes here don't mean much, but if I continue with this blog, I will accrue much more data that I can compare to my current analysis.

I'd also like to consider the percentage of unique viewers who leave a comment, but I cannot do that unless I start linking directly to posts instead of my main page.

Sepia Scenes 29/4 - Space, The Final Frontier

2009-05-07T01:43:00.003-04:00

The new Star Trek movie will be released today in theaters across the United States. I thought about using a night sky photo with this caption, but that's just too obvious.

Many years ago, I imagine that people thought of the ocean as a frontier and wove tales about exotic and faraway lands, exciting adventures on the high seas, and treasures (booty) beyond imagination.

A few (hundred) years later, the sky came into play.

I've always found it interesting to think that birds were likely a source of inspiration and guidance for the early designers and advocates of both boats and airplanes.

With space, however, there is no evidence yet of anything live willfully traversing the vacuum. I suppose with certain flight paths, gravitational concepts were used, which were likely inspired by the orbits of the planets and moons as well as the movements of every object in this universe.

Asteroids, the birds of outer space? No, probably not.

Sepia Scenes.

Watery Wednesday 34/10 - Gooseback Riding

2009-05-06T01:29:00.002-04:00

Warning.

This activity should only be attempted by hardened, trained professionals and only then after a honking-acclimation period of three (3) months during which the rider must listen to goose calls through the entirety of every night while sleeping soundly.

Without this habituation term, riders risk injury to oneself, to the goose mount, and to any bystanders or passerbys. If you are inclined to ignore this ~~precaution~~ necessity, please see the incident report for the Lake Ch***** Catastrophe of March 2000. Nobody should want to witness that kind of bloody and feathery disaster and destruction again. Some even claim that nursery rhymes suffered a casualty that day as Mother Goose was caught in the crossfire.

Please, think of the children.

Watery Wednesday.

Ruby Tuesday 8 - Again, I Can Sleep Anywhere

2009-05-05T02:41:00.002-04:00

I imagine this Easter Bunny was taking a nap after hiding all the colorful Easter eggs.

One has to wonder...what does the Easter Bunny do on the other 355.25 days of the year?

Ruby Tuesday.

Mellow Yellow Monday 17/9 - I Can Sleep Anywhere

2009-05-04T01:48:00.003-04:00

There's nothing quite like returning to sleeping in a bed after nights on harder, less comfortable surfaces such as couches, carpeted or hardwood floors, bathtubs, forest clearings, steps of a train station, etc.

I sleep on the floor most nights as I find that sleeping too often in a bed makes for uncomfortable nights. Also, my dreams are typically more vivid, more interesting, and easier to remember when I curl up on the floor after a long day.

Luckily I can only claim one true (ex-)girlfriend in my lifetime, so this has never really been something that affects anyone else. Well, damn, maybe that's not so lucky.

Mellow Yellow Monday.

Monochrome Monday 2 - Twin Falls

2009-05-03T13:34:00.003-04:00

Twin Falls near Pickens, South Carolina. This one looked really fruity in color.

Monochrome Maniacs.

Camera Critters 56/9 - Midnight on the Battlefield

2009-05-02T13:34:00.000-04:00

Major Pinknose from HQ just radioed. Reinforcements from The Forest are arriving at 08:00. Until then, we hold this position. No slimy, razortail, or orangefoot gets past us.

I know that Hopper was your best friend, but in this war we've all lost friends and brothers. We've been fighting for so long that many of us don't even remember what we're laying down our lives for, but one thing is for certain; we're here right now. There's nothing we can do but survive.

"War is not nice."
Barbara Bush

Camera Critters.

Watery Wednesday 33/9 - Two Sides

2009-04-28T18:04:00.003-04:00

Not long ago I posted a series of images that dealt with a post-processing workflow.

I applied similar methods to several other photos of well-forested scenes from my hike on the James E. Edmonds backcountry trail at Black Rock Mountain State Park.

The trail is a moderate 7 to 7.5 mile hike that twists and climbs and falls through fairly typical North Georgia backcountry. Paralleling the path at times are bubbling creeks and small waterfalls. The hike also passes by a tiny lake and ascends to a beautiful overlook from the summit of Lookoff Mountain.

A hike with a lake, waterfalls, and a mountaintop view is pretty awesome already in my book, but this is a photo of what a hiker might (imaginatively) see at any point on the trail. That's enough for me to consider this to be one of my favorite trails in Georgia.

Watery Wednesday.

Macro Monday 7 - The Invitation

2009-04-27T02:00:00.001-04:00

Greetings, friend. I've discovered some prime product that I'd like to share with you. Just follow me.

Did you know that if humans had compound eyes, they would have to be as large as a human head to show the same resolution as their simple eyes? Of course they would be able to see in a much wider angle, but then they would also be pretty ugly, don't you think?

Have I ever told you about the story of my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-and so on grandfather who had the honor of annoying Benjamin Franklin while he served as the President of Pennsylvania? Well, I'll tell you about it in a second. We have arrived.

Check it out! I was just buzzing around when I stumbled on this deliciousness. I know you want a taste. I'm willing to part with some for the cheap price of

Hey wait...where are you going? Buddy?

Macro Monday.

Mellow Yellow Monday 16/8 - Storage Towers in a Dusty, Microscopic World (Post #128)

2009-04-26T20:20:00.000-04:00

Rather than celebrate this blog's 100th entry, I thought I would use the 2^7th post as a milestone.

These dusty babies are on the circuit board of a 56k modem from back when my age was a single (base ten) digit and when getting on the internet was a lengthy process involving a lot of strange noises and the unfortunately unforgettable happy sign-on "You've Got Mail!" greeting.

Now the prevalence of high speed internet as well as improved fabrication techniques and changing standards make this modem, its board, and its components obsolete.

Mellow Yellow Monday.

Scenic Sunday 41/9 - Storybook Stroll

2009-04-25T13:45:00.006-04:00

Hiking along the Laurel Ridge Trail below Lake Lanier and Buford Dam, one can find many varieties of animals, plants, and paths. Around this area is where most of my Canada Goose photos come from as about 20 yards off frame to the right is the river.

Scenic Sunday.

It appears that my previous entry has been featured this week. My color change makes it look a bit silly, but I'm glad I was chosen. Thanks, Aisha.

Camera Critters 55/8 - If Katydids Could Sneeze

2009-04-25T05:00:00.009-04:00

Some of you may remember my Macro Monday post from some weeks ago. This is the same katydid from then.

Narcissistic are we?

Let's take a closer look at that mouth!

What makes me wonder ever more how it got inside is the fact that it was missing one of its hind legs. I probably should've kept that information tidbit to myself.

Camera Critters.

Technical notes:

I used the flash that noisily pops out from the top of my camera. The first time I ever used the D40, that freakin' scared me.

As I don't have any external flash or a good light source, I stuck my hand in front of the flash, and angled it in front of the katydid / to the right of the frame to get the "side" lighting in the first photo.

In the second picture, I "aimed" the flash to the upper half of the body and cropped to the lower half.

I don't often use the noisy pop-up, but it's very interesting to see what can be done with just an in-camera flash.

Skywatch Friday 41/9 -

2009-04-23T14:20:00.004-04:00

A return to the more normal images.

I arrived here at the Brasstown Bald parking lot one cold March morning at around 7 AM, hoping to catch the sunrise at the summit of the mountain. The summit is about 0.7 miles of uphill hiking from the parking lot, so I was cutting it close. I managed to snap this photo while hurrying up the trail.

Those with the eyes of an eagle may notice that the entire moon is visible.

Skywatch Friday!

Sepia Scenes 27/3 - Attention Grabbing

2009-04-22T19:37:00.003-04:00

Another work of art in one of the many museums in Rome.

Sepia Scenes.

Watery Wednesday 32/8 - Joining at a Split

2009-04-21T17:50:00.005-04:00

Watery Wednesday.

What I did:

Remove dust spots evident in the lighter water.

Increase the contrast in the foreground rocks.

Apply a Gaussian blur with pixel radius of 2.7 to the rest of the photo.

What I probably should have also done:

Remove the white highlight streak in the background

Do a better job with the pen tool in selecting the areas for blurring.

Apply different amount of blur to different depths.

Ruby Tuesday 7 - Gently Rocking

2009-04-21T00:48:00.004-04:00

This was taken on Lake Hartwell in Georgia.

Night photography is already hard when hand-holding the camera. Add in a boat rocking in time with wave oscillations and suddenly the moon's not so easy to shoot. Of course this was also with a digital camera from before the advent of Image Stabilization. This was all quite the problem as the moon was quite pleasing, and I don't often have the opportunity to be in the middle of a lake at night.

The only way I could get a nice, barely blurred shot was to anticipate the ups and downs of the boat and gradually lean in the opposite direction of the movement so that the camera would stay still.

Ruby Tuesday.

Macro Monday 6 - Alright. You go left, and I'll go right.

2009-04-20T01:12:00.004-04:00

Oh wait, that doesn't fix anything. Let's try the other way.

Macro Monday!

Mellow Yellow Monday 15/7 - Lightning-Type Lightweight

2009-04-19T18:54:00.007-04:00

A very little known fact is that Pikachus, despite being extreme lightweights, seriously enjoy tasty malt beverages. Their general wackiness and their red cheeks can be attributed to this alcoholic proclivity.

While generally friendly drunks, an inebriated Pikachu may turn shockingly violent if any attempt is made at putting it into a pokeball even if the intention is to take it home, snuggle with it, and put it to bed.

Owners should always imbibe alcoholic beverages out of the line of sight of their Pikachu. In the event that one obtains alcohol, allow it to drink its fill and pass out before attempting to take it to the nearest Pokemon Center for rehabilitation.

Finally, the eyes of an inebriated Pikachu may travel in different directions. This is a normal occurrence. After a good night's rest, the Pikachu and its eyes will return to regular, battle-ready form.

---
A selection from The Original Pokedex: What Professor Oak Didn't Want Trainers To Know.

Mellow Yellow Monday.

Scenic Sunday 40/8

2009-04-18T15:08:00.008-04:00

I've posted photographs of Hurricane Falls before for Watery Wednesday, but they were closeups. After having had the opportunity to explore the floor of Tallulah Gorge, I now bring you the entirety of the falls.

Not my sharpest result hand holding at a 1/5s shutter speed, but it's still clear enough for web use. The original version of this photo had the same colors as my last Skywatch Friday post, so I changed it up for today.

Get more Scenic in your Sunday at Scenic Sunday.

Camera Critters 54/7 - Tips For The Everyday Goose

2009-04-18T02:40:00.001-04:00

1. While hiding one's head underwater may seem like a good idea to avoid humans armed with cameras, realize that because you can watch them, they can see you too.

Camera Critters.

Relevant ostrich fact for today - Ostriches don't stick their heads in the ground out of fear. When frightened, they flatten themselves on the ground or run away.

Thoughts on the photo:

The goose head had just broken the water, evidenced by the displacement surrounding the head. Its eye can be seen underwater. These things are much more obvious in the full size photo.

Rescue in the Forest of Fantasy

2009-04-17T02:30:00.000-04:00

Location: Black Rock Mountain State Park - Clayton, GA
Date: April 4, 2009
Camera: D40
Lens: 18-55mm
Focal Length: 18mm (27mm equivalent)
Aperture: f/8.0
Shutter Speed: 1/10s
ISO: 200
Notes:

This image is passable if a tad fantastic, but it didn't start this way. This was its ugly beginning:

I originally snapped this shot to play around with because of the many lighting issues that come up when shooting in the general direction of the sun under thick clusters of leafed trees. As you can see, there are many areas of deep shadow and serious highlights that are probably beyond recovery. The colors here are pretty muted except for the green/yellow.

Well, first step is to get whatever detail possible from the exposure extremes. Exposure blending or a tone mapped HDR do this well. I chose to use Photomatix's HDR utility with three derived exposures of -2, 0, and 2 from the original RAW. Adjusting sliders with some degree of realism in mind yielded this:

The highlights that were actually blown are very obvious now. The lighting is also a bit harsh. Seeing as how this is in the middle of a forest, the lighting should be softer.

As there are many many areas of white in the leaves on the far bank, I figured the fastest way to remove them would be to clone the nearest matching area of the forest floor. The affected leaves are small enough that details aren't important as long as the general shape and color match. Finally a small glow effect was added to soften the image.

Skywatch Friday 40/8

2009-04-16T21:35:00.005-04:00

Seeing as Spring is a bright, happy time of birth and renewal, I figured it would be nice to change from last week's dark stormwatch to this.

After two previous visits, I finally got the opportunity to hike the floor of Tallulah Gorge. This hike is very difficult as there is no defined path. Hikers scramble over slippery rocks and get wet at least once to discover and get up close to two waterfalls.

At this moment I was about 50 feet above the frothy water. Things you do not see in this photo include the 30 degree fairly smooth rock slope that I am ~~standing~~balancing on, Oceana Falls slipping down the decline directly to my right, and a twisting swarm of yellow jackets buzzing above the far end of the Falls just a few dozen feet away.

However, the only thing I was thinking about when I looked at this view was how the sky seemed to be winking at me. So I winked back, stuck the viewfinder in front of my open eye, and snapped this photo.

Skywatch Friday!!

Sepia Scenes 26/2 - Kabloooie! Old School Style.

2009-04-15T01:15:00.002-04:00

Way too dark to resemble a real sepia!

This rolling boom boom is from Kennesaw Mountain, location of the well-named Battle of Kennesaw Mountain during the American Civil War. Notably, the Confederates stalemated General Sherman and his Union army, one of the few victories for the outnumbered Confederates during the Atlanta Campaign.

Sepia Scenes.

Watery Wednesday 31/7 - The Fisherman

2009-04-14T16:36:00.006-04:00

I peered over this cliff in Cinque Terre, Italy to see someone just enjoying the day with fishing rod in hand. He was a bit far away as the cliffs were tall, but he is there if you look close enough.

Get wet and splash away at Watery Wednesday.

I love using this effect with most kinds of photos, but I have to be careful not to use it too often. I like it here because I was trying to get a bit of a disorienting effect to match looking down a tall cliff.

Ruby Tuesday 6 - Something Between the Ears - A Horse's Dilemma

2009-04-14T00:48:00.007-04:00

This one's a bit less harsh on the eyes full screen. Must be the black background. Curses. Perhaps a blurring and darkening of the non-horse would be beneficial.

Red is a great color and Tuesday is a great day. For more great pictures of this great combination check out Ruby Tuesday.

Macro Monday 5 - Sinister Intentions

2009-04-13T02:48:00.004-04:00

One seventy-degree late winter afternoon, I was testing out my new macro filter on the first flower I saw in 2009. These two landed right in front of me, at an almost perfect distance away for my focal length. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I snapped a photo without adjusting anything, and they teetered off before I could get a second shot.

Unfortunately the lens wasn't set at a small aperture or the camera at a fast shutter speed, so I didn't quite end up with a good depth of field or a blur-free photo. Next time, perhaps...

Macro Monday!

I left this underexposed as the twig highlights are out of control.

Mellow Yellow Monday 14/6 - Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein

2009-04-12T22:08:00.006-04:00

There are many delicious dishes to try when visiting Austria including Wiener Schnitzel. This photo shows a pretty standard setup as the schnitzel is served with potatoes and a lemon slice. The only difference is the meat used here is pork rather than veal, which technically makes this Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein.

Supposedly the term Wiener Schnitzel is protected by law in Austria, meaning that a dish with this name must be made from veal. If the law is not followed, I imagine there would be some rather dire consequences.

Just remember, your Wiener Schnitzel must be Wiener Schnitzel.

Mellow Yellow Monday.

Scenic Sunday 39/7 - The Grandiosity of Low Key

2009-04-11T16:55:00.004-04:00

Today, a bit of a change in scenery as I go back in time over a year.

In October 2007, three friends and I flew to Las Vegas for our Fall Break. Besides exploring the City of Sin, we drove to Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon.

I've never seen a photograph of the Grand Canyon that has fully captured its illustriousness, and I'm not sure I ever will as photography has many limits.

Get more Scenic in your Sunday at Scenic Sunday.

Camera Critters 53/6 - A Story

2009-04-11T04:22:00.003-04:00

Camera Critters.

Early one morning before the sun had fully awoken, all was silent.

Still wearing pink pajamas, the sun cautiously peeked out over the cold land from behind a distant hill.

The sun saw that the land was frozen and knew that it was time to start its work. Within moments, the sun began to rise quickly in the sky, its brilliant rays warming the land.

Life slowly returned to the land beginning with happy birds who filled the air with joyous songs.

However, peace and harmony could not exist forever. Soon, Strife and Violence riddled the world.

Countless battles were fought over food, land, and mates spurred by Jealousy, Lust, Greed and Wrath.

Completely engaged in acts of selfish desire, the creatures of the world failed to notice that the world was growing cold and dark again.

Saddened by the choices of the creatures, the sun had decided to leave the world.

The creatures continued to pursue their self-indulgent agendas unperturbed by the dimming light and falling temperatures.

Eventually, the creatures were frozen in place like statues as the last glint of light disappeared, leaving the world encased in a lifeless black.

Some of the Faces of HDR

2009-04-10T03:59:00.007-04:00

After having spent a few hours in Photomatix, I've found that creating tone mapped HDR images in this software can yield a variety of interesting effects.

This image was created with realness in mind. Walking through the woods on a dark, overcast day, you may see a scene similar to this. The greens are a bit too bright and overly saturated and the forest is dark, but that was my mistake. I typically stop here with a natural looking image. However, keeping a scene natural is only a small part of the software's capabilities.

Next, I thought I would even out the highlights and shadows by decreasing the "Luminosity" slider, which brightens the darks considerably.

This reminds me of scenes from older video and computer games before lighting and shadows became an important graphical concern. There is little contrast in the image, but there are still a few differences in brightness. To fix this, I decreased the light smoothing.

Now the image is sufficiently unreal.

Skywatch Friday 39/7 - Stormwatch at the End of the World

2009-04-09T19:45:00.007-04:00

Swift currents, high water levels, and thundering cascades greet visitors at the Class IV "Edge of the World" rapids, a Kayaker's wet dream.

Walking half a mile down the wheelchair-accessible Amicalola River Trail, one can witness one of the most violent cascade systems in northern Georgia.

That's nice and all, but most interesting to me is the fact that there used to be a 10 MW nuclear plant nearby. As a result, there are radioactive deposits hanging out in the area. Radioactive levels are scanned from time to time, and supposedly the trail is within the limits of "safe." That's good news, as I don't really want to grow tumors or turn green before I get to enjoy life more.

Technical Notes:

The sky was actually quite blue, but I took this photo with a dark, stormy edit in mind.

I had to choose between getting the colorful water at the bottom and the tree tops on the top right. One step further back and I would be a very wet photographer. One lower and I would be an underground photographer. Hopefully I made the right choice.

Oh, and Skywatch Friday!!

Thursday Challenge 2 - Silly

2009-04-09T01:10:00.007-04:00

This was one of my favorite signs that I stumbled upon in Europe. I always enjoyed Talespin even if there were a few controversial episodes during its run. What good cartoon or television show doesn't tread on the overly sensitive feet of some political, ethnic, religious, or other group at least once? I also like this sign because I found it in Potsdam, Germany.

Corny is a German granola bar that is actually pretty good. Its name, however, could probably use a bit of improvement, particularly the sugar-free version.

Thursday Challenge.

Sepia Scenes 25/1

2009-04-08T03:00:00.002-04:00

I'm unsatisfied with my previous post and my decision to post a photo that I felt was incomplete in some way. I feel that it may have a bit to do with the lighting, a concept that I still don't understand well, so I looked at another photo that had similarly strong, late afternoon sunlight. I converted the image to a duotone for a better look at the effect of the sunlight, and after seeing the result, I knew it would be a decent first entry to Sepia Scenes.

More at Sepia Scenes.

Watery Wednesday 30/6

2009-04-07T16:07:00.005-04:00

This is a late afternoon photo of the left half of Twin Falls near Pickens, South Carolina. A second waterfall is thundering down similarly off-frame to the right. Color was almost non-existent making photos difficult, but the falls itself is truly awe-inspiring. During my time there, I found myself wishing that I possessed more photographic skill so that I could fully capture the majesty of one of my favorite natural wonders.

Get wet and splash away at Watery Wednesday.

Macro Monday 4 - Stop Eyeing Me

2009-04-06T01:02:00.005-04:00

Less creepy crawly this week, but still not cuddly.

This katydid, also known as long-horned grasshopper, was just sprawled out on the kitchen scale enjoying life. Before I scooped it up and put it back outside, I got the snap-on macro "filter" and took a few photos including this one, which was taken at a focal length of 200mm/300mm equivalent.

Make the small things in life bigger at Macro Monday.

Monochrome Monday 1 - The Nose Drip

2009-04-05T18:01:00.006-04:00

I've been hesitant to join Monochrome Monday since I love color and shoot my photos with color in mind, but then I saw this photo from my time in Italy.

This guy is from one of the museums in Rome. As I'm not a museum lover, I can't really tell you anything about him. I just thought it was funny that the white spots looked like they were dripping from his nose and landing on his protruding chin.

Monochrome Monday

Mellow Yellow Monday 13/5 - Vatican by Night

2009-04-05T16:47:00.009-04:00

As this coming week is a very important time for Roman Catholics (and all Christians), I thought this would be an appropriate photo.

This was taken in Rome just outside Vatican City. Follow the yellow lights (during the day) down to the end, and you'd be standing in St. Peter's Square. That building is the Basilica of St. Peter, the inside of which is stunning as is most of the interior of the Vatican.

Mellow Yellow Monday.

I feel like I should have fixed the colors here, but then there would be much less yellow.

Scenic Sunday 38/6 - Neverending Cascades

2009-04-05T00:16:00.004-04:00

Yes, another waterfall photo. I do love my waterfalls.

This is Angel Falls near the Lake Rabun recreational area in Georgia.

As it was my birthday recently, it took me awhile to figure out just how to present this photo, and I'm still not sure I did it correctly. I played around with things like tonal contrast, diffusion and softening, extreme saturation, and various monochromes.

The main thing I did here was decrease the contrast only in the greens. I also darkened the shadows, and thanks to the shy sun, most of the dark areas in the bottom of the photograph were already pretty dark.

Get more scenic in your Sunday at Scenic Sunday.

The Focus Tree

2009-04-03T02:23:00.006-04:00

Found along the trail to Yellow Branch Falls near Walhalla, South Carolina. I should probably mention that I didn't make it to the falls because of the cascades I ran into early on. I really need to stop doing that.

This feels like last week because it's been raining and tomorrow the clouds are opening up to let in some sun. This means more waterfalls!

Skywatch Friday 38/6 - Sony Center

2009-04-02T14:16:00.010-04:00

This is the Sony Center in Berlin, Germany in Potsdamer Platz. I unfortunately did not get to visit this in the evening when odd light schemes give the entire plaza an amazing ambiance.

Still, it's an interesting sight during the day, particularly if you don't know about it in advance. Oops.

Skywatch Friday!!

The Post-Processing Process

2009-04-01T16:57:00.010-04:00

I do not like to spend much time editing photos as I've always considered the shooting of the photograph to be the most important part of photography. For each photo I've upload on this blog, I typically give myself five minutes of editing time. This usually involves improving contrast, saturation, and colors, straightening, cropping, fixing perspective, and cleaning up any noise, chromatic aberrations, and visible dust spots.

Using an old Scenic Sunday photo as an example, I go from the unmodified RAW

to the five minute edit.

I still found this fairly unsatisfactory so I recently went back and played around with the RAW using HDR. A few minutes later I end up with this:

The lighting is softer, and the tones transition much more smoothly. Details are more obvious as well. However, the shadows are not as well-defined as I would like, so I increased the darkness in the shadowy areas and introduced a glow effect around the lighter areas as well as increasing saturation.

This is quite overdone as I turned a midday winter scene into something that might be seen on a late autumn afternoon through a warming filter, but it does make me wonder if I should spend more time in the 'shop.

Watery Wednesday 29/5 - Waterfall HDR

2009-03-31T18:59:00.007-04:00

The trail to Raven Cliff Falls near Helen, Georgia is a water photographer's dream canvas. Several true waterfalls are spaced along the 2.5 mile one-way creek-side trail, but in between, cascades and creek splits and joinings steal the hiker's attention.

At the end of the trail is a unique 100 foot waterfall that falls between two outcrops. I couldn't quite figure out a good way to shoot it because the water is always partially obstructed by the cliff faces. There is a path to the top of the falls, but as it's already dangerous normally, I didn't think to chance it on a muddy day after rain.

Both of these images were converted into HDR and tonemapped with the intent of retaining a natural looking image. The first one used three exposures at -2, 0, and +2 while the second was created from one manipulated RAW.

Get wet and splash away at Watery Wednesday.

UPDATE

In response to curious commenters, the software used was Photomatix. There is an indefinite free trial of the software available that watermarks the image slightly. Find it at

HDRsoft

A completely free solution for BSD, Linux, and OSX is CinePaint, an open source program that's been used in many movies including Spider-Man, The Last Samurai, and Harry Potter.

If you have Photoshop, there is a basic in-software utility that performs HDR.

For GIMP users, there are plugins that perform exposure blending, which is fairly similar. There are probably HDR ones too.

Ruby Tuesday 5 - Fanzone Wien

2009-03-31T00:54:00.005-04:00

Following up Blue Monday's photo of St. Stephen's Cathedral is this photo from the 2008 Eurocup Fanzone in Vienna.

Fans from all over Europe who couldn't get tickets to the match congregated in the host cities (Eurocup 2008 was hosted by Austria and Switzerland) and watched the games on giant televisions with hundreds of other ticket-less fans.

Today's match was Spain vs. Italy, a breathtaking quarterfinal match that went into penalty kicks. Spain won this match and went on to eventually win the entire tournament.

If you look closely at this photo, you can see one enthusiastic Spanish fan jumping around with a flag. During my time in Vienna, Spanish fans were everywhere exuberantly expressing their national pride and taunting anyone and anything (there were three rather inebriated red fans screaming at a flag) wearing blue, which included me.

Red is a great color, and Tuesday is a great day. For more great pictures of this great combination, check out Ruby Tuesday.

Macro Monday 3 - I See You

2009-03-30T01:18:00.009-04:00

Scenic Sunday, Blue Monday, and Mellow Yellow Monday are all below this post. If you do not like magnified creepy crawlers, you may wish to skip this post. Scroll down past two photos and you'll be good.

Fair warning!

200mm / 300mm equivalent

55mm / 82mm equivalent

Make the small things in life bigger at Macro Monday.

Blue Monday 3 - Triangles in the Cathedral

2009-03-30T01:00:00.009-04:00

Stephansdom, otherwise known as St. Stephen's Cathedral, in Vienna, Austria doesn't always look like this on the inside. I don't exactly know what was going on, but all sorts of weird lights and shapes were floating around the interior.

My visit to Vienna coincided with the Spain-Italy 2008 Quarterfinal Eurocup match. There were hundreds of fans, mostly Spanish, in the streets making lots of cheery noises. A photo of that will come in a Ruby Tuesday post owing to the large amounts of reds from the Spanish jerseys.

Get your weekly blue fix at Blue Monday.

Also an entry for Unique's Photo Challenge as suggested by mirage2g.

This will be one of the very few times I combine challenges/memes.

Mellow Yellow Monday 12/4 - Daffodilly

2009-03-29T21:05:00.009-04:00

Before you get your mellow on, I wanted to note that Floreta over at The Solitary Panda bestowed the Kreativ Blog Award upon me. Thanks, Floreta! I think I'm supposed to pass this along to seven bloggers who I think are awesome, but I haven't been around the public blogosphere for long so I don't think I can do this.

However, blogs that I do enjoy significantly because of photographic prowess and because awesome people run them are listed on my sidebar.

And now for your meme.

I don't know if someone has mentioned this before, but

A quick Google search for "Mellow Yellow" landed me on a Wikipedia page from which the following text was gathered.

The phrase "mellow yellow" appears on page 719 of the first American edition of Ulysses, where it is used to refer to Mrs. Marion Bloom's buttocks.

I definitely do not remember that from my one reading of Ulysses. I kinda wonder if it was meant as a compliment or ridicule.

Mellow Yellow Monday.

Scenic Sunday 37/5 - Full Minnehaha

2009-03-28T15:34:00.007-04:00

As promised, a return to Minnehaha Falls near Lake Rabun here in Georgia.

I feel like each half of this photo would make a better photo by itself.

It's been raining for the past few days, but tomorrow that's going to change. This of course means prime waterfall viewing! There are quite a few waterfalls around Georgia and South Carolina that I've wanted to visit, and the time is now! Er, tomorrow. The time is tomorrow.

Now I need to figure out how to budget my time so that I don't end up with photos of just one waterfall.

Get more scenic in your Sunday at Scenic Sunday.

Camera Critters 51/5 - Double Decker and Odd Goose Out

2009-03-28T00:48:00.013-04:00

When I saw the middle geese, I had to pull out my longer lens just to make sure my eyes were playing tricks on me. Not only do they appear stacked, they also have a very serious goose look on their goose faces.

Imagine that floating towards you.

The goose that doesn't belong looks to be some kind of mixed breed, perhaps between the Greylag and Canada species. It seemed to stay close to the other geese while still maintaining a distance. I'm not a birder, and I've never seen a goose that looks like this. Any help identifying it would be great.

It has yellow-orange legs, a pink-orange beak, and the Canada Goose characteristic chinstrap. Its neck is thicker and shorter than one of a Canada Goose. It also curiously did not honk or leave the water the entire hour I was around, though all of the others at least did the former.

More critters of all shapes, sizes, and number of legs at Camera Critters.

The Slow Breakdown

2009-03-27T23:58:00.000-04:00

Location: Minnehaha Falls, GA
Date: March 24, 2009
Camera: D40
Lens: 55-200mm
Focal Length: 55mm (82mm equivalent)
Aperture: f/18.0
Shutter Speed: 5.0s
ISO: 200
Notes: Various colors decorate these rocks..greens, purples, oranges, and some browns from pine needles and leaves.

I've always found it interesting to think that rocks that alter the flow of water like these, solid as they are, will one day be gone, separated into countless pieces that will never be reunited.

Skywatch Friday 37/5 - Early Riser

2009-03-26T14:58:00.003-04:00

Watch other skies fly by at Skywatch Friday.

Thursday Challenge 1 - Building

2009-03-26T00:38:00.009-04:00

My first entry for Thursday Challenge is this photo taken in Berlin last summer. The advertisement is fairly self-explanatory and is clothing for the building while it undergoes repairs.

Looking closer, however, you will see that this building is a Roman Catholic church. I have never seen a commercial advertisement decorate a place of worship, particularly one that subtly promotes behavior considered sinful in the religion.

I'm sure there's some kind of financial deal between Stuttgart-headquartered Mercedes-Benz and the church or maybe one of the causes of the Reformation is still lingering around, but I see something like this and no longer wonder why organized religion is failing around a lot of Europe.

Thursday Challenge.

An Experiment in Exposure Blending

2009-03-25T23:01:00.007-04:00

I've been interested in HDR and tonemapped or exposure blended images for awhile, but I never took the time to try it out.

This was done using one photo in RAW format manipulated to have exposures of -2, 0, and 2. The original is below.

For best results, this is done using three or more photos rather than just the one I used. However, as the d40 doesn't have automatic exposure bracketing, I've never had the opportunity to test it out. Now that I've got a tripod in the car, I think I'll have to try manually bracketing and creating a true HDR image.

This also isn't the best example, but all of my recent photos don't have the bright city colors, amazing skies, and dark buildings characteristic of the crazy awesome HDR image. I did pick this image to experiment with because there are quite a few details that are difficult to pick out in the original image, particularly in the rocky areas. One rock even has blown highlights.

Watery Wednesday 28/4 - Cascades of Minnehaha

2009-03-24T22:33:00.011-04:00

This afternoon found me at Minnehaha Falls near Lake Rabun in Georgia. I only meant to spend 20-30 minutes here taking photos, but I ended up snapping away for over two hours, which put a quick end to my plan to visit another two or three waterfalls in the area.

It was worth it, as I got my third chance to practice waterfall photography, and I definitely learned a lot.

I'm saving my favorite photo for Scenic Sunday. If you like these, come back in a few days for a much more magnificent photo of the entire falls.

Get wet and splash away at Watery Wednesday.

Ruby Tuesday 4 - No Smoking! Again.

2009-03-24T00:20:00.003-04:00

For this Ruby Tuesday, I am continuing in a one day old tradition of posting unconventional no smoking signs.

Shot in Barcelona, this sign is written in Catalan, official language of Andorra and co-official in several areas of Spain including Valencia and Catalonia.

Our butt-kicking (get it? though I guess it's technically full cigarette-punching) muscled hero who has more glove than scaly underwear is saying to the extra-large cigarette,

"You are a plague, but I will eliminate you!!"

with his mouth closed.

Now I saw this sign while my travel companions and I were enjoying an evening in downtown Barcelona. We also stopped by a bar known as "La Bolsa", Spanish for "The Stock Exchange".

Drink prices in this bar would fluctuate with demand and then reset at some interval. Although this concept is interesting, I'm pretty sure the bar overcharged significantly, but as I stayed dry in Europe excepting champagne and wine tours, I wouldn't really know.

Our cardboard monk friend is holding up a sign in Dutch for Grimbergen, a Belgian beer that was once brewed in abbeys.

Red is a great color, and Tuesday is a great day. For more great pictures of this great combination, check out Ruby Tuesday.

Blue Monday 2 - Paris, La Ville-Lumière

2009-03-23T00:09:00.009-04:00

Paris is known as The City of Lights for good reason.

While fooling around in Photoshop, I accidentally turned the streetlights green and the Eiffel Tower into a rather fake looking blue. I like this though, as it feels artificial and a bit grimy, which reflects exactly what I thought of the city and its inhabitants.

Get your weekly blue fix at Blue Monday.

And a quick clarification for any of my French readers; I loved the part of France that wasn't Paris. Sorry, Parisians.

Mellow Yellow Monday 11/3 - No Smoking!

2009-03-22T18:55:00.004-04:00

This was taken near Thionville, France at the Ouvrage Hackenberg, a huge fortification on the Maginot Line. Despite the stories that pop into my head when considering the possibility, no, water-spouting striped elephants were not part of the defense. I know because I asked.

While studying abroad in Metz, France, my fellow students and I took a mandatory field trip to here and to the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, the largest American World War II cemetery in Europe. A picture of a small portion of the cemetery is below.

10,489 Americans lie at rest here.

Mollify yourself with a Mellow Yellow Monday.

Scenic Sunday 36/4 - Walk here to reach the Falls

2009-03-21T12:41:00.009-04:00

Here we are on the wide trail to Twin Falls, a beautiful waterfall near Pickens, South Carolina. This view would undoubtedly be stunning in the autumn.

Get more scenic in your Sunday at Scenic Sunday.

Camera Critters 50/4 - Hello, Spring.

2009-03-21T11:56:00.008-04:00

I know Spring has truly arrived when I hear busy buzzing.

For other critters caught on camera of all shapes and sizes, check out Camera Critters.

The Job

2009-03-20T19:07:00.009-04:00

Location: Munich, Germany
Date: June 14, 2008
Camera: f50fd
Focal Length: 8mm (37mm equivalent)
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/340s
ISO: 200
Notes: I'm not exactly sure what our armored friend here is thinking as he watches the lady in a pants suit walk on by, be it of noble or knavish intention, but he is gripping his sheath with one hand.

I saw this guy later. He was climbing into his Volkswagen still decked in armor.

That red line is also a bit of a mystery to me.

Skywatch Friday 36/4 - Sun or Moon?

2009-03-19T18:02:00.011-04:00

This is in fact the sun.

Be sure to check out other skies from around the globe at Skywatch Friday.

An orange sun. In the middle of the afternoon. Except it doesn't look orange here. Let's try another one.

That's a bit better. And now lets make our flaming hot ball of gas back into what looks like the only celestial body that man has golfed on.

Overexposing Bratislava

2009-03-19T01:28:00.005-04:00

Location: Bratislava, Slovakia
Date: June 23, 2008
Camera: f50fd
Focal Length: 8mm (37mm equivalent)
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter Speed: 1/500s
ISO: 200
Notes: I did this by accident and luckily didn't toss the image.

Typically overexposure is a horrible, horrible thing to do to your photos because blown highlights is a permanent loss of detail. Significant overexposure, however, can be fairly interesting as in this photo. All non-whites were darkened in post-processing so that we have enough detail to make out objects. I will have to try to duplicate this with the new camera.

Watery Wednesday 27/3 - Why can't we all just be friends?

2009-03-18T00:33:00.004-04:00

Just your everyday goose discord captured at a slow 1/1000s shutter speed. I really really wish it had been sunnier.

For those of you who find this photo hard to accept because geese are just so lovable and feathery and have those long necks like giraffes or Littlefoot, I hope I didn't cook your goose. If I did, seek equilibrium and cure your own goose-related discord at my other blog,The Uncouth Goose.

Make sure to get wet and splash away at Watery Wednesday.

Ruby Tuesday 3 - St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T00:32:00.001-04:00

March 17 is St. Patrick's Day (most years), but many interesting events in history happened on this day. One of those was the creation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 when Victor Emmanuel II was crowned as the first Italian King.

Although I'm not too fond of history, I did enjoy my time in Italy, particularly the beautiful city of Florence, which (after Turin) was the capital of the Kingdom of Italy for the few years before Rome was annexed from the Papal States. So here is a photo from my time there last summer.

There are hints of red strewn throughout the photo....flowers on windowsills, the red building supports on the bridge, flowers in the grass... as well as the obvious greens.

I do also want to point out the vertically-challenged green chair in the lower right.

When I saw this chair, I knew I had to hide it in a scenic photograph, so here we are. As I look at this photo, I wonder if it came that way or if it caved in under the stress of multiple riverbank sittings.

~~Red~~Green is a great color, and Tuesday is a great day. For more great pictures of this great combination, check out Ruby Tuesday.

Linked Friction

2009-03-16T15:39:00.005-04:00

Location: Fort Mountain State Park, GA
Date: February 8, 2009
Camera: D40
Lens: 18-55mm
Focal Length: 35mm (52mm equivalent)
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/60s
ISO: 400
Notes: This turned out differently from what I had originally envisioned. Still interesting (for me).

I've found with experience lately that I don't really like to work with the darker grays. A lot of times they turn out looking blue to me like in this photo or this one. I know I could fix it digitally, but I do wonder how to capture grays correctly with the camera.

Blue Monday 1

2009-03-16T00:21:00.015-04:00

As I've posted a few cats recently, I figured there would be nothing wrong with continuing this with Blue Monday.

As much as I'd like to... No, I'm not posting a blue feline. At least not entirely blue.

Where did I find this cat? In the city here:

If someone could tell me why the word Asparagus is on this train sign, I would love to know.

Now I snapped our Slovakian not-blue cat with a 12 megapixel camera, which of course means that cropping is easy. Just for personal interest I zoomed in to actual pixel size, and cropped to the cat's head. This gave me quite the furry cat face, but I noticed that the eyes don't stand out as much as I'd like them to this close. After a quick desaturation of everything but blue and cyan, I found myself with an effect that I often see done to people with colorful eyes, but never to a cat.

A slightly modified version of this is now my desktop wallpaper.

Get your weekly blue fix at Blue Monday.

Mellow Yellow Monday 10/2 - Banana Petals

2009-03-15T16:30:00.010-04:00

These flowers are seriously wild looking.

Particularly in this next photo.

Those petals fold back quite far.

Share the yellows in your world at Mellow Yellow Monday.

Scenic Sunday 35/3 - Drive By

2009-03-14T15:07:00.006-04:00

This was taken from my car, driving about 55 miles per hour on a North Georgia mountain road. I saw this house en route to my destination and knew I had to return home later by this road and snap a photo. There was only time for one, so I apologize for errors, but I think the subject matter makes up for it.

For more scenic photos, check out Scenic Sunday.

Camera Critters 49/3 - Longing According to the Stray Feline

2009-03-14T13:16:00.015-04:00

Our furry friend here is watching the young couple in the corner, dreaming of catnip and fish bones shared with loves long past.

This was taken at Icaria Beach in Barcelona, where there are many cats wandering around the seaside.

To see more critters caught on camera, check out Camera Critters.

As a quick bonus, here are some less thoughtful photos of my two ex-pet cats.

Tiramisu, named after that tasty Italian dessert

Osiris, named after the Egyptian God of the Dead.

Both of them as kittens. This one was taken by my sister on whatever camera she was using at the time.

Skywatch Friday 35/3

2009-03-12T13:50:00.014-04:00

As most of my Brasstown Bald photos have been used already for Scenic Sunday, I thought I should save one or two for Skywatch. The lighting here turned out a bit weird. I believe I was using a screw-in graduated 0.9 neutral density filter, and I'm guessing I didn't adjust it after autofocus turned it in some direction. And so here we are with yet another photo with unintended effect for Skywatch!

Be sure to check out other skies from around the globe at Skywatch Friday.

I also apologize for the vignetting. I would crop it out, but I think I'd be removing some of the interesting parts of the photo, such as the low clouds/mist visible in some of the valleys. My mom went with me on this trip so I had to take quick photos. She is not a fan of the cold!

First Flower of 2009

2009-03-11T23:23:00.008-04:00

Location: Lake Lanier, GA
Date: March 9, 2009
Camera: D40
Lens: 55-200mm
Focal Length: 200mm (300mm equivalent)
Aperture: f/22.0
Shutter Speed: 1/160s
ISO: 800
Notes: As the title suggests, two days ago I laid eyes upon the first flower I've seen this calendar year. I have no idea what this is or how to catalog any of the other flowers I saw that day. Since then I've seen several other types of flowers, which tells me that Spring has more or less arrived even though the Vernal Equinox doesn't occur for another eight and a half days.

And for a quick size comparison, this is what this flower and its neighbors look like from a standing position.