Wooden Horses

There's a small playground at Peace Valley Park. Adjacent to the playground is this water fountain. I though these horses looked particularly interesting with the wide angle effect.

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.4-3.5 USM lens
10mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/60 sec @ f5.6
ISO 200
Curves adjusted

Fall Reflections

I'm in a funk these days.  I've seen many others in the blogosphere commenting about this as well.

I haven't felt well this last week, mostly self-induced.  My family and I spent last Friday evening and all day Saturday removing our Kitchen floor in preparation for installing a new one.  I insisted on doing this project rather than paying someone to do the work.  Installing the new floor is easy, removal of the old is the really hard part.  It was quite a lot of work and it kicked my butt, so much so that I had a brief visit to the ER last evening :-o  I'll be fine, I need to take it easy. 

As I was 'relaxing' after the floor removal, the words to my favorite Little Feat song, "Old Folks Boogie", came to mind.  I like the live version of the song from Waiting for Columbus, which came out when I was in college.  Back then, I used to laugh at these lyrics; I'm not 25 anymore and they've become reality.  

"So you know, that you're over the hill
When your mind makes a promise that your body can't fill"

Enough of my self-pity,  we're here to see some weekend reflections!  This was shot at Delaware Valley College (link on the sidebar) from a small basin on the side of the road back in November.  It was shot the same day as this.  Something with some COLOR, not this white nonsense (we're currently having our 3rd major snowstorm of this Winter, highly unusual for this part of the world)

Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
32mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/30 sec @ f5.6
ISO 200
White balance adjusted

I have a visitor

So I'm at work last Thursday afternoon, sitting at my desk and out of the corner of my eye, I see a lady bug crawling all over the place.  Now mind you, it's February and we have two feet of snow on the ground and I can't imagine where a lady bug could have come from.  It was constantly on the move, so getting a shot was tough. I finally had to resort to using the flash.  I was about to have an afternoon snack, so I shared my banana with it and it seemed to enjoy it a lot. 

Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM Macro lens
Exposure 1/60 sec @ f4.0
ISO 400
Curves adjusted for contrast

Granite Reflections

I recently installed new light fixtures in our kitchen.  This is a reflection of the globe from the fixture above the kitchen sink.  You can also see the  reflection of the window blinds and the faucet.  The countertop is made of polished granite, which has a texture and modifies the reflection. 

This is my submission for Weekend Reflections #22.

Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
105mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/40 sec @ f4.0
ISO 800
Curves adjusted for contrast

























I took many shot of these fixtures and threw most of them away. If you want the nitty gritty details, read on. 

This exposure was very tricky to get correct and I experimented over two sessions to get something I was happy with.  I was determined to get this shot and I will explain my logic.

Initially, I autofocused on the brightest part of the light, locked the exposure, and recomposed the shot.  I got decent results, but I was not pleased.  I found that underexposing by 2/3 stop gave reasonable result. 

The second session, I shot four identical shots with the four possible metering modes: Evaluative, Partial, Spot, and Center-Weighted Average.  Evaluative was blown out, Partial and Spot were underexposed, and Center-Weighted was overexposed, but not as badly as Evaluative.  I then used Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) with the bracket at +- 2/3 stops and took three more shots.  It would have been just as easy to take a bunch of shots and manually adjust the exposure compensation, rather than using fancy-pants AEB.  In summary, using Center-Weighted Average with 2/3 stop underexposure gave these results.

I'm still thinking about other 'tricks' to improve this.  I'm sure you have ideas, fire away!

Not something you see every day ...

I shot this Valentine's Day at Peace Valley Park (how romantic).  I thought this sign was very unusual to say the least.  I guess people who no longer want their cats have been letting them go wild at the park.  I can't imagine they could survive very long, especially in the winter.

Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
47mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/320 sec @ f11
ISO 100
Curves adjusted for contrast

Circular Polarizer

After posting a complex shot that involved the sun and fog and the sun was a bit overpowering, a friend recommended that I get a Circular Polarizing filter.  I research them a bunch before buying one.  I've used it a bunch and it's saved my butt several times.  When I mention them to fellow photographers, either they love them or have never heard of them.  A CP filter has two elements, one is fixed and the other can rotate.  You look through the viewfinder and rotate the outer ring until you get the desired effect. 

Some CP's take down the light a stop or two, depending on the manufacturer.  Some CP's come with their own lens cover.  I think using a different lens cap is a deal breaker for me.  The last thing I want is another thing to keep track of. 

Here are two identical shots, one taken with the CP in 'normal' mode and one taken in maximum blocking mode.  A much simpler way to think about this is, I took the first shot without sunglasses and the second shot, I had my Ray-Ban's on.  Check out the footprints.  In the first shot, they're lost. 

No CP

CP

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.4-3.5 USM lens
10mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/320 sec @ f11
ISO 200
Curves adjusted

But wait, there's more!  Here are two more shots same deal, shot with the 24-105.

No CP

 

CP

Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens

24mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/60 sec @ f5.6
ISO 200
Curves adjusted for contrast

What is it?

To demonstrate just how romantic geeks can be, I'm posting this on Valentine's Day.  Although my wife and I stopped exchanging gifts on this day many years ago because it's become so commercialized, I did purchase her a gift and it's somewhat unique, so I may take some photos and post them later.  

What is this? I'll give you a useless hint.  It's metal and the little particles are dust. I think this is a really cool photo, but that just reinforces the whole geek thing. 

Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM Macro lens
Exposure 15.0 sec @ f10
ISO 400
Aperture Priority
no adjustments





I used my flash for this.  I had it fire on the second curtain.  In this mode, the flash 'pre-fires' when the shutter opens, then fires again just before the shutter closes.  Pretty slick. 

Give up?  How about a second hint?  It's not going to help.  Different angle showing the relative height.  I kinda like the first one better. 

Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM Macro lens
Exposure 13.0 sec @ f10
ISO 400
Aperture Priority
no adjustments






OK, here's another hint.  Not likely this is going to be much help either.  Most people would not know what it is because they've never seen anything like this before, unless you're a computer geek like me. I shot this one a few days prior using my telephoto, the ones above were with the macro.

Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens

102mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/60 sec @ f4.0
ISO 400
Curves adjusted for contrast

 Give up?  Don't feel bad. 

This is the heat sink from an Intel Pentium II microprocessor that came from a 'vintage' personal computer.  The microprocessor is the chip that runs the instructions generated by a programmer.  Microprocessors consume a lot of power for their size, thus they get very hot.  Heat sinks attach directly to the surface of the microprocessor and have a very large surface area.  This helps move the heat away from the microprocessor helping it remain cool. 

Way more information than you really wanted. 

'Vintage' in computer terms is anything older than about 3 years.  The Pentium II was initially released in May 1997 and the last release was January of 1999, so this baby really fits the 'vintage' bill.

Wet reflections

First things first ... I've been a bit busy tending to cleaning up of our recent massive snowstorm, so I have not had time to visit and comment on your blogs.  I hope to resume shortly. 

I took this 25-January-10 after we had received 2 inches of rain in 4 hours.  I work in Horsham, PA (the complex I work in can be seen in the background of the photo).  Horsham has a lot of low places that flood easily.  This picture is shot on Davis Grove Road facing Babylon Road.  If you look at the google map link, this stream crosses the road at the number '908'. 

I though this would be good for Weekend Reflections #21

Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
50mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/50 sec @ f4.0
ISO 200
Curves adjusted

If you headed the opposite way on Davis Grove, there's an old stone bridge that crosses a creek and you can see it's way over the bank.  If you look very carefully a little to the right of center, you can see a swing hanging from a tree.  If you can't find it, look at the right-most tree.  There are two more trees to the left of it that are similar distances from me.  It's to the left of the third tree. 

Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
24mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/60 sec @ f5.6
ISO 200
Curves adjusted

Burger anyone?

So, it's been snowing here for 24 hours.  We're currently have received about 20" and it's still snowing like mad.  I took a shot of our grill completely entombed in snow.  Behind the grill is a hot tub that is currently not used.  I completely cleared the snow from the hot tub a few hours earlier.

Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
24mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/60 sec @ f4.0
ISO 400
Flash used

This is a shot out the laundry room door.  This leads to a fenced in area for our dog.  Since she's a small dog, I've already cleared this area TWICE today with the snow blower and it's up to her belly AGAIN. 



Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
24mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/60 sec @ f4.0
ISO 400
Flash used

My oldest son, Nick, clearing the driveway after the township plow cleared the street and blocked our driveway.

Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
96mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/200 sec @ f5.6
ISO 200
curves adjusted for contrast




These shots were taken 3 hours apart. 

 

Bad photo

We all have them. We don't like to talk about them and we certainly don't post them on our blog for our friends to view
 
or do we?


Our local township recycles Christmas trees. They grind them up and make mulch, which is good for Mother Earth. What you can't see is the sign behind the pile of trees that tells you to "Drop Christmas Trees here". Forgive the out of focus. I didn't check the camera LCD.  Shame on me. 

I love taking these shot - things that contradict themselves or just don't make sense.  Here's a link to one I posted last summer, but it's a bit more subtle.  

Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
55mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/15 sec @ f4.0
ISO 800
Curves adjusted for contrast

Help!

 We have a troll in out landscaping.  He seems to be having a bit of difficulty after our recent snowstorm.  The black thing in front of him is an  LED landscaping light.


Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
47mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/380 sec @ f5.6
ISO 200
Curves adjusted for contrast

Snow!

Well, we got a bunch of snow last night and this morning.  I measured 12 inches this morning, but the snow did not stop falling for several more hours.  I think we finished with ~16 inches (~40cm).

I shot a bunch more later in the day.  The sun came partially out and cast a beautiful, orange shade on the snow.  I'll post them some other day. 

Here's Zephyr up to her ears (literally) in the white stuff.  Silly me, the camera was in aperture priority mode at f10, and she was moving like a rocket, but your get the idea.

Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
45mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/50 sec @ f10
ISO 500
Curves adjusted for contrast

My oldest son has only been driving for one year and being the overprotective parent, I drove him to work today.  On the way, I noticed that the train tracks were covered, indicating that the trains were not running. 



Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
24mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/320 sec @ f13
ISO 200
Curves adjusted for contrast

Near my home, we have a one lane bridge that crosses the Reading creek.  The bridge is thought of as a nuisance in this modern, hurry-up world, but I find it the be almost charming - a throwback.  Here's a shot of the creek.


Canon EF 24-105mm L f4 IS USM lens
35mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/160 sec @ f10
ISO 200
Curves adjusted for contrast

Bridge of 8 arches

This is a shot of the 8 arch bridge that spans the Neshaminy Creek (you see that name a lot in this blog, don't you?).  This bridge is directly parallel to Rt 263 (York Rd) just north of Middle Bucks Institute of Technology.  I literally stumbled upon this as I was driving around at lunch one day.  This bridge is closed to vehicles, but it's OK to walk across. Behind where I'm standing is a modern, ugly, 4 lane bridge that carries all the traffic.  Those traveling it probably don't know this gem exists.

This google map link below shows the two bridges.  You make a turn off York Rd as if you were entering Big Brothers/Big Sisters, then turn left before you hit their parking lot.  You'll be driving towards the bridge.  Just before the bridge, you can make a left and pull into a parking lot.

James, I finally followed the reflection rule #1 (photo contains a visual reflection).  I tend to get caught up in the moment and neglect that little fact.  For more reflections, visit Newtown Area Photo

Note that all these shots all made use of a circular polarizer, which enhances the blue in the sky. 

Submitted for Sunday Bridges

Wide angle view of the entire bridge.  We had snow the night before, which has enhanced the ice.


Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.4-3.5 USM lens
10mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/160 sec @ f8.0
ISO 200
Curves adjusted

Here's a closer shot revealing the reflection of the arch in the water a little better. 

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.4-3.5 USM lens
10mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/125 sec @ f7.1
ISO 200
Curves adjusted

Here's a shot from the bridge deck. Not all that exciting.


Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.4-3.5 USM lens
10mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/320 sec @ f11
ISO 200
Curves adjusted

Lastly, a shot of the creek from the bridge.

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f3.4-3.5 USM lens
10mm Focal Length
Exposure 1/125 sec @ f7.1
ISO 200
Curves adjusted

Baseball

My oldest son, Nick, has loved to play baseball since he was four years old.  Years ago, my wife made a mold of his hand throwing a two-seam fastball.  I always thought this was really cool.  It's frighteningly realistic. 

Canon EF 100mm f2.8 USM Macro lens
Exposure 1/125 sec @ f3.5
ISO 100
Curves adjusted for contrast