Friday Faces with Sere

Better late then never today. My day ran away from me and now here it is almost one in the morning and I am just now putting my picture up. Had a wonderful evening with friends so I hope you all will forgive me.

I am on a total animal kick here lately. My litter of all white siberian huskies are now at around four weeks old and beginning to be at that totally cute stage that puppies get. I couldn't resist taking one of my potential Christmas card pics and using it for my post today. They are just too cute not to :)....

Nikon D2X
Fifty Nifty Lens
Aperture F/1.8
Shutter Speed 1/50 sec.
ISO-400
No Flash, natural lighting

I was on a mission today to get some cute, updated pictures of these guys for my website and also to be able to find one that I could send as a Christmas card to my customers this year. I had this idea in my head of what I wanted my picture to look like and I couldn't quite capture what I wanted, came close, but not quite so I will need to try again.

It was kind of dreary out today so natural lighting was hard, i.e. the wide open aperture I had. I could have bumped up my film speed, but you sacrifice some quality doing that so I kept it at 400. A wide open aperture gives you a pretty limited depth of field though. I tried some shots with a flash but the lighting was not right and working with a slow flash is frustrating with active pups so I did away with it pretty quickly. I added a little bit of fill light in Lightroom, but that was about all I did to the shot.

Night, night I am off to bed now.

My Answer

I have a guess as to what Scott was using to tie his photo from yesterday into Jay'me's photo from Tuesday.

The answer is in my photo....

Nikon D40 kit lens
shutter speed 1/1250sec
aperture f/4.5
ISO 400 (because I'm an idiot and didn't change it from being inside)
35mm
natural light with gold reflector from underneath

Could it be "a birds eye view"?

This photo is of a tree that is set up in my backyard for the holiday card photo I've been working on. I got out my 6' ladder, (it was too cold for the 16' ladder that would have really gotten me a birds eye view) climbed up and snapped away.
No big mystery or difficulty with this photo, I merely changed my vantage point. Sometimes a fresh perspective is all that's needed to liven up a photo.

Stand in a new spot and check things out, you just might like it.

~
Brandi

Wordless Wednesday with Scott

The poster must post only one(1) photo with settings. No additional verbiage (other then the rules) is allowed.

Commenter's (that's you) must comment and guess how the photo associates with the previous (Tuesday's) photo. We will take a look at every commenter's comments and randomly select a winner on the following Friday. The winner will get to be our guest photographer on the following Tuesday. If you can't make Tuesday, we will pick another day that works for you. We aren't too picky. So if you think you have an answer (or even if you don't), leave a comment, you might just win!

No previous photography experience required. In fact, wannabe's like us, are encouraged. The only criteria; you must be able to take a photo (any camera will do), email said photo and allow 3C1D to publish the photo and follow the rules...

Only one(1) guess per person. All rules strictly enforced with a paddle (Brandi style)!

Ready, Set, Go.....

Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater

We have deer preying on our pumpkins, smashing and noshing away as I type. That would be fun to catch. I've been in awe of the many verity of Hawks and Owls living all around us FOREVER! They would be fun the catch on film too! Mr. Duck Tape (Cannon elph) and I had a rough day today... So I give you a gift from my Cannon Rebel XT archives.

Cannon Rebel XT

1/125

f 5.6

55.mm

no flash

ISO 400

As you can see I did not take this photo today... These four little guys would be toast or birdie popsicles if they were hanging around in these parts of the woods.

I hope they are well on their way to somewhere warm. This was taken with the camera I'm missing so very, very much.

I can't wait for spring already. There are snow flurries and I'm still excited for the pristine snows and frosted winter wonderland. But I can't help wanting spring. I love our changes of season. We are really spoiled with the wonder of change.

Now, I hope I have talked in circles enough to have mixed you all up enough to forgive me for not playing by the exact rules.

Warm Wishes !

Jay'me

Bird of Prey

Sorry for my thoroughly boring title here. Between several computer quirks and issues and the fact that I almost forgot that today was my day, I'm just glad to be able to get a photo up. I hope everybody had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. I still have guests visiting, which I love, but it makes it hard to stay on top of things. So I have to admit, this photo is from my archives.

Brandi's fabulous photo with the feather made me think of the eagles that come to visit us in droves during the winter season. I live near a dam on the Mississippi River and the river here doesn't freeze like it does elsewhere. For that reason, we are one of the areas where bald eagles come to fish around the dam in the still flowing waters. I have heard that there are some HUGE catfish swimming around that divers have seen. We haven't caught one yet, but my family keeps hoping...

Bald eagles are one of those creatures that make you stop and just reflect on life, freedom, America, flying and a whole host of other things. I try every year to capture some of those reflections with my camera. Sadly it is very difficult for me to do. In this picture I wanted to try and capture the intensity of the gaze that all wildlife predators have. I turned it to black and white for dramatic effect and because the day was grey and icky. I also had to zoom in quite a bit because I don't have my 400mm telephoto lens that I am dying to get! Anybody looking to get rid of one let me know. My wildlife photography dream is still going strong :0).

Sere

Nikon D2X
Lens 18-200mm at 200mm
ISO-400
Aperture F/8
Shutter Speed 1/250

Reflection

Reflection has many definitions.

Scott's version of reflection is defined as
Something, such as light, radiant heat, sound, or an image, that is reflected

Here's my version of reflection
Mental concentration; careful consideration


Nikon D40 kit lens
Shutter speed 1/320sec
Aperture f/4.0
Focal length 24.00mm
ISO 200

Whenever I'm near the water it seems to take me over. Giving me peace, quieting the noise in my head and giving me a moment of reflection. The fact that water also reflects like a mirror is not lost on me. Perhaps standing near the edge and seeing myself in the clear water is what allows for that quiet moment.

Capturing water right as it's forming into ice is harder than one would think. Light, as with all photos, is crucial. Harsh sun and you'll lose the details. Cloudy sky and you'll lose the reflection. So I knew I needed to head out today at the "prime time". "Prime time" or "the golden hour" the last hour of daylight, which sadly around these parts is 4pm.
Also posing a problem is the need for depth, structure if you will. Something to ground the photo. Just a picture of an ice edge is rather blah, as I found out.
As I stood at the waters edge, reflecting and thinking of what I could do to "make" a photo happen, a soft, tiny, whisper of a feather floated down and landed just beside me.



"The day is done, and the darkness, Falls from the wings of Night, As a feather is wafted downward, From an eagle in his flight”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Enjoy the moment of reflection.
xoxo,
Brandi