BEDAZZLED

Early Winter Day. Warm Temps. High Sun. 2PM.

Visited Lake Overholser Dam. Just a short 10 minute drive east . Since becoming interested in photography once again, thought a pic or two might present itself!

Walking across the Dam noticed the Pigeons were very active. One stomp of the foot would send them flying over the backwaters! Lighting was not ideal.

Sun was shining fully into lens. Circular Polarizer had been in use for earlier pics. What should I do? Left CP on lens, set camera to 1/1250s---66mm(55-200mm stock lens)------F5.6--at ISO200.

Bedazzled, I went for the shot! I like it! Hope you do to!

Crop and Frame was the only edit!

Playing with NX2 ...

And thinking about Hawaii! From the coast of Maui near Lipoa Point.

Is that Q in that helicopter? LOL

There really is a helicopter in the photo, it's flying above the clouds. You have to enlarge the photo to even see it.

Where the head of this bird?

Hello Everyone, I need some help to identify this bird for me. For the last 2 nights, I found this bird sitting at the same spot right above our main door entrance. I assumed this bird probably gone somewhere during the day, and come back to this spot for resting at night. Also, I'm not sure why this bird wouldn't fly away with all the noises from slamming the door. Maybe it's a dead bird!

Kauai

It's a cold night. Why not thinking about the paradise.

Mark Twain reminisces

For me its balmy airs are always blowing, its summer seas flashing in the sun; the pulsing of its surf is in my ear; I can see its garlanded crags, its leaping cascades, its plumy palms drowsing by the shore, its remote summits floating like islands above the cloud-rack; I can feel the spirit of its woody solitudes, I hear the plashing of the brooks; in my nostrils still lives the breath of flowers that perished many years ago.- Mark Twain, a Biography

I'm dreaming of a ......

Blue Christmas!!!

Cheryl and I have been unable to get away this year so we have decided that we are going to spend ten days in Hawaii over Christmas next year. I'm going to have a hard time waiting that long but we've decided to just buy the tickets and go. So 12 more months for me and then it's island time!

City Lights

I'll have you know I braved 40 mph winds on top of a mountain to get this shot. Even with a tripod I had to take several to get one this steady and that was only because I was putting my considerable wieght on the tripod to keep it from moving!

The local military base was shotting artillery early in the day and had set a field on fire. If you look between the lake and the city lights you can see the smoke low over the hills and even the fire line.

This was taken with the Sigma 10-20mm.

Black Turnstone

I've been playing around seeing how to get the best bird pictures... So far using a monopod, a lens with stabilization, a fast shutter speed and wide open aperteure is what is working for me, but I have much to learn. To really get good I'll have to wait for Q to write his book on bird photography!

Took this little fellows picture at 400mm. The above picture is a crop of about 1/6th of the original picture.

RUFFLED

I like to think of this guy a a real gentleman. Every time there was a gust of wind his feathers would ruffle. Blocking the wind for his mate, she never got a feather out of place!

Mmmmm, Mmmmm Good!

Thanks to Q, I think I have a new favorite marinade! I whipped up a batch of Q's "special sauce" and marinaded theses pork chops for 24 hours and then threw them on a hot grill. Man-O-Man were they tasty!!

It's been a very hectic couple of weeks here. Lots of sales of my laser cut ornaments with Christmas coming and a friend and I have been treasure hunting heavily with the good weather. This has left little time to do much else. Hopefully I will be back to taking some photos soon.

BURFORD DAM & LAKE

Just up the road from Lost Lake, a right turn down a dirt road brings you to a small quaint Dam and Lake known as Burford. Constructed on a smaller scale compared to some of the larger Dams in the area it does a big job of creating a pristene body of water which serves the needs of the wildlife in this area. Also makes a pretty nice place for a fisherman to wet a hook or lure if so inclined.

Backing up the waters of Panther Creek, a Hiker and Picture Taker can enjoy a stroll around the shore practicing his pleasures, the scenery is abundant!

While visiting this place Howdys and Hello's were exchanged with some other visitors enjoying the beauty of this quiet oasis. As they were leaving I couldn't help but notice that their license plate was from "Hawaii" . Thought of Ron, Paul, and Quyn Le, and the conversation these guys could of had!! Is there a Road from here to there ?? LOL

Dallas Mavericks

I took my son Christopher to the Dallas Mavericks game couple weeks ago, they not allowed the spectator bring in camera lenses longer than 5 inches. So therefore, I have to use my Fuji HS10 point and shoot camera, most of these shots are at 750mm zoom, handheld. Sorry for the poor quality photos.

Fall Portrait & Taekwondo

Shot this picture on B/W mode, and set the contrast to high in the camera.
No post processing, just add the frame. Nikon D3 with 70-200mm f/2.8.


Hopefully they will be in USA olympic team in the near future, and hopefully I won't run out of $$$ before that. Kids are expensive these days.

Keltic Sunset

The sun came out the other day so I went out shooting... With the camera, remote shutter release and tripod.

Captured this sunset at Keltic Cannery in Hardy Bay. This picture is actually the best parts of three photographs at different exposures stitched together (poor man's HDR) then embellished (madly saturated) and framed all using Photoshop.

This is the original properly exposed photo. It is difficult to get the total dynamic range of all that the human eye can see with a camera in one picture, thus the three pictures put together. There are also programs you can use that do all the editing work for you. Google "HDR" (High Dynamic Range) for more information.

Old Red Barn

I found this neat looking barn tucked away into the trees while driving around looking for deer of all things. I had to do a little work on the photo to remove some unwanted objects. Hopefully you can't tell what I removed.

Thanks for the turorial on putting frames around your photos. I had tried for months trying to figure it out and you made it really simple.

Sushi Time!

LOST LAKE AGAIN

Although already covered in an earlier post there were a few pics. that I liked , so here they are! With frames and all!

This is the Dam built from the native Cobblestones which are so prevalent in this area .

Reflections in the slow flow below the dam.

Just as efficent as in the early days , and probably more appreciated today, stands as a testament to the skill and fortitude of all who came before us.

Part Two- Dams and Lakes of the Wichitas-

Please click on Pic for full effect

Frames

Thank you Paul for the tutorial! I noticed even Parker was putting up photos with frames so I thought I better get with the program. I figured if Parker can do it I should be able to do it. LOL Sorry Parker! If it wasn't for Paul's instructions I would still be trying to figure it out.

ANOTHER VIEW

On my last visit to Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, one of my projects was to start recording photos of the different dams that I had access to. First was Quanah Parker Dam. The spillway has already been covered in previous posts, so here are a couple of new views.

Built in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Corps or ( CCC Boys ) , the architecture is a work of art!

Backing up the water flow from Quanah Creek the dam forms a magnificent lake which is beneficial to both man and animal.