Total Internal Reflection

Green Racer

2008-06-30T03:06:23Z

Posting yet another camera motion experimental shot. All in all I've enjoyed making these shots. It's fun to look at ordinary objects and think about how it would look when the light is drawn across the camera sensor. This one, again, is blurred wholly within camera. With this one I attempted to use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer in PS to change the colors. However, I found that none of the other combinations that resulted looked nearly as natural as this one. The colors here are quite complimentary. Not sure why the camera was set to ISO 320 given the tiny aperture and slow shutter.

Camera = Canon 40D

Lens = Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro

Shutter = 0.3 seconds

Aperture = f/32

Focal Length = 100mm

Exp Comp = +0 ev

Flash = off

ISO = 320

Monet's Choice

2008-05-20T03:17:04Z

This is the third shot from the experimental camera movement series. I named this one because it reminds me of the colors and the subtle, barely-there textures often seen in the impressionistic paintings of Monet. You also get a treat in that the linked image is full size! Enjoy, or puke if it makes you nauseous.

Camera = Canon 40D

Lens = Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro

Shutter = 2 seconds

Aperture = f/22

Focal Length = 100mm

Exp Comp = +0 ev

Flash = off

ISO = 100

Vapors

2008-05-19T04:11:20Z

Here is the second picture from the Blue Bell experimental series. After reading about these techniques in books I finally tried it out. This was taken with the sun at my back with my macro lens. I was about 2 feet away from a patch of Blue Bells. I closed the aperture down to lengthen my shutter speed. Then, while holding down the shutter release, I moved the camera up and down at an ever increasing rate. After about 10 frames I would stop and look through the images to see if anything looked good. The only editing for this image was the color and exposure. All of the blurring was accomplished in camera. I really like how the purple seems to wrap around the green stems like vaporous clouds of purple smoke.

Camera = Canon 40D

Lens = Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro

Shutter = 1/10 second

Aperture = f/32

Focal Length = 100mm

Exp Comp = +0 ev

Flash = off

ISO = 320

Blue Bell

2008-05-18T06:42:07Z

I've been experimenting with my macro lens after reading some articles about camera motion while shooting. This technique produces some really cool abstract shots. I tried it out today for the first time and I plan to post several of the shots here. This one is a typical macro that I thought came out pretty well.

Camera = Canon 40D

Lens = Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro

Shutter = 1/200 second

Aperture = f/2.8

Focal Length = 100mm

Exp Comp = +0.7 ev

Flash = off

ISO = 100

Ruby Beach Parting Glance

2008-04-12T14:50:10Z

Yet another shot from Ruby Beach. I've been considering buying some grad ND filters for my camera but wanted to experiment a bit in photoshop first so see what I can do digitally. I gave this one a split pink gradient filter set to soft light mode. It looks pretty good but a bit overdone I suppose. I like the rock outcropping in this image as well. It is a tad out of focus because I shot handheld with a slow lens with very little light. Luckily, the Canon 40D handles high ISO pretty well. Amazing lack of grain for ISO 1000.

Camera = Canon 40D

Lens = Canon 17-40mm f/4L

Shutter = 1/100

Aperture = f/7.1

Focal Length = 19mm

Flash = Off

ISO = 1000

Last Light

2008-02-26T03:32:59Z

This is an interesting capture I got from my hike on Ruby Beach. I took this just before the sun began to dip below the horizon. The sun was far too bright to photograph directly so I tried hiding the lens behind a driftwood log. I also managed to capture a rivulet streaming across the sand. I really didn't think this one would come out at all. However, I must say I sort of like the way it turned out. Had been a little more optimistic about the result I likely would have chosen a slightly different, and hopefully better, composition. It is, however, what it is. I was also quite surprised at how shallow the DOF turned out with an f-stop of f/16.

Camera = Canon 40D

Lens = Canon 17-40mm f/4L

Shutter = 1/500

Aperture = f/16

Focal Length = 19mm

Flash = Off

ISO = 200

Ruby Beach 2

2008-02-21T04:45:01Z

Here is the next installment of the Ruby Beach series. The rocks off in the distance covered in mist were very photogenic. It was a nice way to end an 7 mile beach hike. There were also a few other photographers on the scene with their fancy gear and tripods. I got this shot just before I left... no tripod required.

Camera = Canon 40D

Lens = Canon 17-40mm f/4L

Shutter = 1/100

Aperture = f/4

Focal Length = 40mm

Flash = Off

ISO = 400

Ruby Beach

2008-02-20T04:07:58Z

Here's the first picture in a series from Ruby Beach on the Pacific Coast of Washington State. I took a day trip out to the Olympic Peninsula with Scott and Lucy to do some hiking. We weren't able to climb Mt. Muller due to excessive snow. However, we kept on going and ended up on the coast for a great hike and a stellar sunset.

This is also the first time I've taken the new 40D out for a real try and good quality pictures. I was never really happy with my 20D because the pictures always came out poorly. For a long time I thought it was just me but the percentage of shots that I think are good from the 40D is really high compared to the 20D. I think the crazy focus issues with the 20D just kept it from being the rock star camera that I thought it was.

Camera = Canon 40D

Lens = Canon 17-40mm f/4L

Shutter = 1/50

Aperture = f/4

Focal Length = 40mm

Flash = Off

ISO = 200

Mary and the Donut

2007-12-22T06:03:56Z

I usually don't post pictures of people because I am horrible at portraits. For some reason they always look wrong. This one came out really great. There is something really different about the aspect, depth of field, lighting, etc with this shot that really grabs my attention. If I could just figure out how to replicate whatever I did that would be swell. It's my sister mary by the way... isn't she perdy!

Camera = Canon 20D

Lens = Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

Shutter = 1/250

Aperture = f/5.6

Focal Length = 70mm

Flash = Off

ISO = 200

Better Now 1... Or 2, 1... Or 2?

2007-10-20T03:55:34Z

Have you ever had an eye exam? Well here's one for you to comment about!

I've been struggling with Photoshop's masking features forever. For some reason i've had a mental block against them for quite some time. As a result I always get images that I know I can make better using PS and some masking tools; yet, I give up because it was just too hard.

Well, I finally decided it was time to learn. I picked up a book titled "Photoshop CS3 for Nature Photographers," written by Ellen Anon and Tim Grey. Their explanations are really good and I am happy to say I now "get" how to do masks. I don't know what my problem was, they are so easy!

Anyway, here's a pic I processed in my usual way using a few steps in Apple's Aperture software:

The dynamic range for digital cameras has not quite caught up to the range that can be captured with film. So, I always shoot for processing to the middle. That is, balance the light and the dark areas. The results, as you see here, are a sky that's too bright with lost detail in the clouds and a dog that is too dark with lost detail in the fur.

Now that I can do masks, I decided to try again using photoshop to add two curves layers to this image and mask part of it so that I could maximize the exposure settings for both the dog and the sky while maintaining a natural look.

I think this second image is much more visually exciting than the one above... What do you think? Did I over do it?

Camera = Canon 20D

Lens = Canon 17-40mm f/4 L
Shutter = 1/100
Aperture = f/11
Focal Length = 33mm
Flash = On
ISO = 200

Yellow Aster Butte 2007

2007-10-19T02:26:55Z

Yellow Aster Butte is my favorite hike in the Cascades. I've been coming hear annually for several years and am always inspired by the dramatic scenery. This year was no exception. I was surprised to find almost a foot of snow on the mountain this early in the season. I also met several other people along the trail. One couple even camped at the tarns the night before. Apparently it was quite cold! There were bear tracks about and I met a couple of duck hunters who said they could see the bear near the peak through their scopes. What are duck hunters doing up here where the lakes are frozen... and, what is a bear doing on a frosty mountain peak? It was very weird. The whiff of clouds capping Mt. Baker was really dramatic in the bright sun.
Camera = Canon 40D
Lens = Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
Shutter = 1/250
Aperture = f/14
Focal Length = 100mm
Flash = Off
ISO = 100

Updating the Blog

2007-10-17T10:57:07Z

Hi, thanks for visiting...

I'm updating my blog over the next few weeks. I'm working on MT4.01 which will hopefully lead to a lot less spam on the site. Have a look around.

Edmonds Beach Sunset

2007-09-09T06:37:00Z

This is the first pic from my new Canon 40D camera... and the first pic I've posted here in quite some time. Now that I'm done with school I'm looking forward to having more time to spend on my various hobbies.

I was never really happy with my Canon 20D. I always thought the pictures were really soft so I was hoping that the new 40D would resolve those issues. I can say that this image would have looked awful with the 20D. I know this because I have many similar ones taken under similar conditions that turned out all fuzzy looking. This one is quite sharp given that it's a 4 second exposure.

Camera = Canon 40D
Lens = Canon 17-40mm f/4 L
Shutter = 4 seconds
Aperture = f/20
Focal Length = 19mm
Flash = Off
ISO = 100

Paintbrush

2007-06-18T01:07:00Z

Scott and I went hiking on Saturday with the intention of finding Tronson Ridge. However, due to a wrong turn, we ended up hiking the opposite direction toward Mt. Lillian. A great hike none-the-less. The views were outstanding and the weather was very nice. Even spotted a group of six Elk wandering through Haney Meadow.

This is one of the Indian Paintbrush that we saw during the hike.

Camera = Canon 20D
Lens = Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro
Shutter = 1/320 second
Aperture = f/6.3
Focal Length = 100mm
Exp Comp = 0 ev
Flash = off
ISO = 200

Lucy at Iron Peak

2007-06-04T14:20:00Z

Scott, Lucy, and I took a trip up to Iron Peak in Eastern Washington. It's a relatively easy hike (7miles r/t with 2900ft gain). A few people on the trail but not too crowded. This picture was taken at the peak with the Stuart range in the background. She's was really tired when we got back to the car.

Camera = Canon 20D
Lens = Canon 17-40mm f/4 L
Shutter = 1/100
Aperture = f/11
Focal Length = 33mm
Flash = On
ISO = 200