Early Morning Light

OK, I have to admit that the early morning light is a good time to take photos but I still hate to get up early!

I took this photo about 6:30 a.m. this morning as the sun was coming up over the horizon. The windmill is normally an old rusted color (mainly because it's old and rusted) but the early morning light gave it a nice bright orange tone like it was a new windmill.

Dark Skies and Haunted Forests

These are two more photos from my files that I took a couple of years ago while at the wildlife refuge in Oklahoma. The forest is said to be haunted but I was there while it was dark and nothing bothered me.

Wide open spaces Part II

This is another photo from a couple of years ago, also taken on the wildlife refuge in Oklahoma. Something about the sky that day drew me in.

Ripe and Red

Just Picked

homegrown tomatoes  homegrown tomatoes

what'd life be without homegrown tomatoes

only two things that money can't buy

that's true love and homegrown tomatoes

From Guy Clarks song 'Homegrown Tomatoes'

Wide open spaces

I am going back a couple of years for these two photos. Both were taken at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Oklahoma while we were living there.

Sneaky Wolf

It's amazing just how closely man's best friend and wolfs are related! Every once in a while I am reminded of this especially with my dog Sunny. As soon as Sunny gets near the woods he reverts to "Wolf Mode"!

My apologies for all the "dog" pictures lately... But I don't know any other photo models who will go anywhere, anytime, ride in the back of the truck, do most any thing you ask and all for a bit of dog food! LOL

Ahhhhhhhh....

All you need is a hammock and an ice cold beer.

round n' round

Dizzy Dawg

With a sign painted on the window like this, nothing to do but take a pic and go inside!

Pet Bling Inside

As I walked through the open door a Big Smile and a friendly Hello greeted me! The store owner was opening boxes of new merchandise that had just arrived via the Big Brown Truck seen on the street earlier. Couldn't help but notice her natural blonde hair was just about the same color as the cat laying in the cushioned rocking chair!

     Diamond encrusted collars and leashes of all sizes and colors hang from a rack in the corner. Hard to believe $20 would buy that many diamonds?! Brushes and bowls along with toys and beds lined shelves. Pet snacks and various brands of high quality food filled others! I think just about everything one needs for their pet was stocked!

     Not as large as the big box stores found at your favorite mall, but the customer oriented owner with her knowledge of cats and dogs plus the quality of the merchandise carried, makes this place a winner in my books!

Plaza District

6 

A little relief

We finally got a little rain last night. It wasn't much but it did drop the temperatures a little. It's only supposed to be 95 degrees today. Back in the hundreds tomorrow but for today, a little relief.

There's actually a portion of two rainbows in this photo. You have to look really hard to see them but there wasn't much light out this morning when I took this photo and the rainbows were disappearing the longer I waited.

Two Vistas

Though the day was overcast, the lighting for photography seemed pretty good. So I took a few pictures. Both these photos are with the Nikon 18-135 at 18mm and the aperture at f16 so I could get as much in focus as possible.

Larry the Lizard

Or is it Loretta? I'm not sure.

Brrrrr!

Feb.13,2012

So cold even Rojo the Rooster stayed in his cage this morning!

My 2¢

Here's a "cool" shot! LOL

OK Parker and Aaron, your turn!

Cooler times

It has been so hot here for the last few weeks that I find myself wishing winter was here. Hopefully there will be a break in the temperatures soon and we can get some rain and a little releif.

This photo was taken a couple of years ago during a March snow.

Reflections From Granny's Windows

Well she's not really my Grandma and I suspect none of the readers of this page had a Granny that made such a striking fashion statement as Bad Granny. This lady was way cool and her store contains some of the most Curious, Retro and Upbeat goods assembled in one place for miles around I'm sure. And the reflections from her windows drew my attention as well! 

Shamrocks from Ireland, Christmas lights from probably China, Boomerangs from the land down under, Australia! A world traveler and shopper indeed!

Everybody can be Irish on St.Patricks Day in March. The day of my visit.

Plaza District

5

Lesson Number 1

Know your equipment!

I can honestly say I haven't read the entire four hundred page manual for my camera and I can also say I probably should have. I don't know how many things I learned while Q was here but it has definitely opened up several more opportunities for taking photos. Q, you should give seminars to photographers wanting to learn their craft. You would be very good at it!

These two photos were taken using the SB-900 flash as a remote flash. I knew this was possible but for some reason I was thinking I had to buy another piece of hardware for my camera to make it work. Turns out I was wrong. Q showed me how to set up the camera and flash so that the D700 will work as a commander to other remote flashes.

With the temps in the 100's everyday the hummingbirds have only been coming into the feeder in the early mornings or late evenings. Or maybe that's the only time I'm outside to see them, I'm not sure. LOL At those times there isn't enough light to get a fast shutter speed shot of the birds so I took what Q had shown me and put it to use.

I took these two photos from about ten feet away however I had the SB-900 flash set just to the side of the feeder about two feet away. I used a diffuser on the flash to cut down some of the harsh light and manually focused the lens. I still didn't get the freeze frame shot I wanted but that was just because I didn't set the shutter speed correctly. I'm still learning.

Missing Dog

Took my beautiful white dog for a hike this afternoon. At some point my dog went missing but this other scruffy mutt followed me home... LOL

Going to the fair

I know it may say that Ron went to the fair, but these we were actually taken by me(Aaron). My computer decided to be a pain and since Ron has all the coolest toys and photo editing programs, I thought I would let him do the editing for me and post them to the blog.

With the tempature reaching triple digits, the fair could only be enjoyed late into the evening. So with a little inspiration from a photo seen in a photo magazine I headed out to the fair. All of the photos were takin using my tripod and remote shutter to control shutter lengths to get the look of the rides I wanted. The shutter lengths ranged from 1 to 10 seconds, and with a little help from Ron we converted three of my shots into a HDR. Hope you enjoy the fair photos as much as I did taking them and seeing the results of my vision.

Phantoms

Lucy, you got some 'splaining to do....

OK boys and girls (especially you Q), I have a conundrum for you. This photo showed up in the group of photos I took yesterday while on the train tracks. Normally I would say I moved the camera and that's what caused the wierd lights however,

I will point out the tracks and the train's light, these are straight and exactly like they are in the other photos. Also, this shot was part of a bracketed group, shot 3 out of 5 and was taken using a tripod (yea, I can't believe it either) and a remote shutter release so there wasn't any movement of the camera and the other four exposures came out just fine without any wierd lights.

Any ideas?? Did I get swarmed by some very colorful phantoms of the night? LOL

Rail Rodders

Yesterday on my way to Telegraph Cove I found a most interesting group of people with all these funny little "Speeders" or "Inspectors Cars". They were from all over the United States and Canada judging by the license plates on their vehicles. After talking to several of them I come to find that they get together all over North America on a regular basis to ride the rails with their machines, who would have known such a group even existed!

I hear a train a comin'...

Good morning! I actually got out of bed before sunrise this morning to go take these photos. Even if you don't like the photos you have to be impressed with the fact that I got up a O-dark-thirty just to take a photo. LOL

I've been telling myself I needed to take these photos for about a month now and the dogs woke me up very early this morning so I figured I would just get out of bed and go see what I could get.

Neon Dream

How better a way to advertise a business in the middle of the retro Plaza District than with neon!

Stylish, eye catching colors, with a smooth curving arrow to show the way, all sitting atop stacked rock with portholes. The sign itself is a Work of Art!
     I have seen night pictures with the sign lit and it is most impressive in the glow of neon color. A return trip must be made to capture. Besides, I want to stand under the sign to hear the buzz and steady hum with the occasional sizzling and frying sounds. Look at the glow on my skin while feeling tiny hairs stand on my arms. A hot Oklahoma night in summer with high humidity and no wind brings the full effect! I had one fellow tell me that he could smell ozone burning? I've yet to experience that sense!

    

PhotoArt Studios

The reinvented 3,000sq.ft. space contains two studios,dressing areas and a complete kitchen. Advertised as a fun&fluid space, combining art&function to blend with the edgy, unique character of the District, it works at bringing world class photography to OKC!

     Owners were out at the time I visited, but I cupped my hands around my eyes and took a peek thru the doors and windows. Black and White square floor tiles polished to a high shine, chrome accented furniture, a sparkling stainless steel kitchen and framed and matted photo art from small to poster size neatly hung in the office and waiting area was seen. I can only imagine how nice the studio areas must be! These young entrepreneurs, by all accounts I heard, are enjoying success with this venture and doing well. This does not surprise me. A Dream topped with Neon, always comes true!

Plaza District

4

My Mountains

I took this shot a couple of years ago in the Wichita Mountains of southwest Oklahoma. I grew up hiking and camping in these mountains and they are a special place to me. As long as the federal government doesn't screw them up they will be a place to go and relax and enjoy the surroundings.

Nik Software, a comparison

I've been talking about the new Nik software that Q convinced me to buy and I thought I would show you a comparison of photos. This is the photo from the previous post but it was worked only in Photoshop CS5 and this is the best I could get it after 20 minutes. The photo seen below, and also in my last post, took about 5 minutes to do the post processing on using the Nik software.

If you do a lot of post processing and have a newer version of Elements or Photoshop then I would highly recommend the Nik software. With it's control point processing you can spot process on any photo without affecting the rest of the photo and the processing abilities that the software has is amazing. You can add filters including graduated ND and polarizers to a photo, you can do HDR in a matter of seconds and you can bring out details of photos you didn't know were there. I am by no means an expert and I still have a lot to learn but in the short time I have been using this software I would recommend it to everyone who does post processing on thier photos. The software has allowed me to use photos that I otherwise wouldn't have thought good enough to post such as the one in this post.

I can't thank Q enough for showing me this program.

The Aloha Vortex Syndrome

Once you have been infected there is no cure. The best you can hope for is to quell the symptoms by making an occasional vist to the Land of Aloha.

Can You Dig It?

First thing that caught my eye was the red&white awning shading the windows. Then raising my gaze, the many colored roof tiles capped the top of the building, adding an artsy feel to the structure!

Bright colored window frames held the reflecting glass panes in place, showcasing vintage goods both inside and out!

Who could forget these sinister characters from B&W horror movie days!

(reflected picture taker is not sinister!)

Retro and modern hip goods, along with vintage clothing and other quirky items of odds&ends, occupied the shelves, walls and wherever there was a spot to put a nail! The lady shopkeeper was a blast to talk to and very upbeat on her store and plans to expand! This store is Fun to visit and the merchandise is a hoot to look at. Yes! I DIG IT!

Plaza District

3

Work? Who needs work?

Paul made me feel so bad for him yesterday about not being able to go play I thought I would give him a little bit more of paradise today, just to make him feel better.

Now quit daydreaming and get back to work!! LOL

Snazzy Pink Scooter

Looking West

Attractive streetlamps and wide sidewalks complemented the freshly painted storefronts. A shadow from the lamp post, if used as a Sundial, indicates it was almost noon when these pics were taken!

Parked and Chained

As I was getting my camera gear ready for my picture taking walk, a stylish young woman wearing a backpack rolled up on this snazzy pink scooter. Smiling, she stepped off and chained her pink ride to the post while making the comment it was time for work! I had my first shots of the day!

Plaza District

2 

Blame it on Ron!

At lunch time I saw Ron's most recent post... 

Then I spent the rest of the afternoon working on this...

 But my thoughts kept wondering to this...

LOL Blame it on Ron!