Photography Archives - Page 4 of 16

Nature…as I see it

One of my goals in retirement is to spend more time with my camera, doing some creative things with it and Photoshop. I’ve managed to check off a few projects on a rather lengthy list, so yesterday I grabbed my macro lens and ring flash and went hunting. Here are some of the subjects that… Continue reading Nature…as I see it

Roaming the Web

It’s been a while since we’ve wandered around the web, looking at some cool new tech. Here’s a roundup of some things that have come across my Twitter feed lately. Snap – The Flying Camera Snap, the 4K flying camera with auto-tracking, is ready for the spotlight https://t.co/Kjf4LEtTgs pic.twitter.com/LwHABEOLs9 — TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) January 8, 2016… Continue reading Roaming the Web

Disappearing Snow Time Lapse

As promised, I’ve completed the time lapse movie showing scenes from our back yard in the days following the massive (for us) post-Christmas snowfall, aka Winter Storm Goliath. It took me a lot longer than I expected, not because of any special technical complexity, but mainly due to my use of Apple’s iMovie, a consumer-grade… Continue reading Disappearing Snow Time Lapse

Newsflash! Mother Nature Inexplicably Thwarts Man’s Best-Laid Plans

A week ago today, Midland experienced its third heaviest daily snowfall in recorded history. Officially, we received more than seven inches of snow, making for some very pretty scenery. I had a brainstorm while gazing out at the winter wonderland our back yard had become. Given that I’m a long-time West Texas resident and thus… Continue reading Newsflash! Mother Nature Inexplicably Thwarts Man’s Best-Laid Plans

An exercise in observation and creativity

I was captivated by this photo someone shared on Twitter and tracked it down in the Library of Congress archives. It’s an undated, uncredited picture of what some have dubbed the “Mark Twain Tree” (which is how it was titled on the Twitter post). I can’t confirm this (and, in fact, I doubt it; see… Continue reading An exercise in observation and creativity

More Texas wildflower action (with 17% more bugs, too!)

The bluebonnets are thinning out in the Texas Hill Country, but wildflower season is far from over. The amazing fields of blue are giving way to even more vivid arrays of yellow, red, and white blooms, and not just from the typical flowering plants. Cacti are busy putting out their own displays of color. And,… Continue reading More Texas wildflower action (with 17% more bugs, too!)

Macro photography with a focusing rail & Photoshop layer blending

I received several awesome Christmas gifts, including a new iPad air, a high-powered flashlight, and a set of electronic shooters muffs, but not every cool gadget is hi-tech. Take, for example, this macro focusing rail: One of the challenges of macro photography is the shallow depth of field, meaning that often only a tiny portion of… Continue reading Macro photography with a focusing rail & Photoshop layer blending

New Year’s Day at Casa Fire Ant

It’s 11:03 a.m. and I’m still in sweats. We just killed a pot of coffee, a tray of cinnamon rolls (Sister Schubert’s, of course) and a rasher of bacon (whatever a “rasher” is). The Rose Parade is on TV, we’re rapidly killing BTUs via the gas log, it’s 24º, and we’re still iced in. In… Continue reading New Year’s Day at Casa Fire Ant

Snail

We enjoyed on-and-off rain showers all day, and one consequence besides making the trees happy was the appearance of this guy. Or girl. Who knows? Anyway, it was on our back porch and seemed to be begging me to take its picture. So I did. Snails can be very persuasive. In case you’re wondering, the… Continue reading Snail