Emma and Sophia

Another shot from Thanksgiving. I'm not sure exactly how this particular photo was lit but most of the day I was using my Canon 430EX flash on camera and bounced from the ceiling.

Title: "Emma and Sophia"


Shot data: 1/60s f/5.0 at 55.0mm iso400
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Three Generations Redo

Here's a couple of more versions of the photo I posted yesterday. These versions are in response to feedback I received yesterday.

Title: "Three Generations Pano"


Title: "Three Generations B&W"

Three Generations

Taken on Thanksgiving Day at a family get together in Teague, Texas. Is this a great photo or is it just me? Do you have to know and care for the folks in the photo to love it as much as I do or does it move you anyway?

Title: "Three Generations"


Shot data: 1/60s f/5.0 at 44.0mm iso250
Camera / Lens: Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Concan Cypress Trees

Taken two weekends ago in Concan, Texas. The fall colors of the giant Bald Cypress trees lining the Frio River in Concan were at their peak.

Title: "Concan Cypress Trees"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine three tripod mounted exposures (-2,0,+2) into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Galveston Photog

Sunday evening while on East Beach in Galveston I watched a photographer for a while as he set up a wedding shot. Interestingly enough he chose to set up where me and my truck were in the background of the shot. I guess he was planning to remove us in post-processing...but I relocated to save him the trouble.

Anyway, I'm always curious to see how other photographers do their situational photo setups. Hope you are too. :-)

Title: "Galveston Photog"


Shot info: 1/250s f/4.5 at 100.0mm iso250
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Galveston No Swimming

Another shot taken in Galveston yesterday evening. As tempting as the water looked I didn't go swimming...because of the sign! :-)

Title: "Galveston No Swimming"


Shot data: 1/60s f/5.0 at 150.0mm iso250
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Galveston Powered Parachute

I went down to Galveston this evening to try and make a few photos. I really enjoyed watching this powered parachute for a while.

Title: "Galveston Powered Parachute"


Shot data: 1/1000s f/5.6 at 400.0mm iso250
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400 L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Lost Maples Fall Colors

Here's another shot from last weekends trip to Lost Maples Natural Area in Vanderpool, Texas.

Title: "Lost Maples Fall Colors"


Shot info: 1/320s f/3.5 at 37.0mm iso200
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

The Medina River

Today's photos were taken from a highway overpass crossing the Medina River near Bandera, Texas this past Sunday. I didn't really enjoy the cars whizzing by me at 55MPH but I did enjoy the view! :-)

Title: "The Medina Looking South"


Title: "The Medina Looking North"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine three tripod mounted exposures (-2, 2, +2) into one HDR (High Dyamic Range) image > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Maple Leaves

Taken this past Saturday at Lost Maples Natural Area in Vanderpool, Texas . At some point during the outing I removed my wide angle to normal zoom and replaced it with my 100-400 telephoto zoom to focus on taking more detail oriented shots. Since I had found myself in an area where the vistas just weren't what I had hoped they would be (read as: Texas isn't New England when it comes to Fall colors) I hoped to save the day by switching tactics and photographing more detailed shots. I intentionally simplified this shot (removed details) and added saturation (pushed the colors) in post-processing so that the emphasis would be on the shapes of the Maple leaves and the fall colors. Hope you like it!

Title: "Maple Leaves"


Shot data: 1/40s f/5.0 at 190.0mm iso800
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

The Frio River in Fall

I took this shot Sunday morning at a Frio river crossing in Concan, Texas (near Lost Maples Natural Area). The fall colors of the Bald Cypress trees along the Frio River made this scene beautiful and I took about as many photos at this location as I did on my Lost Maples trip the day before. To get this shot I positioned my camera to sit on a flat rock near the edge of the river.

Title: "The Frio River in Fall"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to convert three exposures (-2,0,+2) to one high dynamic range (HDR) image > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Lost Maples 1

We arrived home yesterday evening from our weekend trip to Lost Maples State Natural Area near Vanderpool, Texas. This area is famous for the fall colors of its many Maple trees this time of year. We had watched the foliage reports on the Internet and knew this past weekend was supposed to be the peak time for fall colors. You don't get to see New England like fall color changes in Lost Maples to be sure but Lost Maples is about as good as it gets within convenient driving distance of Houston. You can see in today's photo that while there were some beautiful colors in the trees the majority of the foliage is ever present green.

Title: "Lost Maples 1"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine three tirpod exposures (-2, 0, +2) into one High Dynamic Range (HDR) Image > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

The Birds in Flatonia

Just in from a weekend road trip to Lost Maples. I'm just starting to process some shots. This was my last shot this weekend as we stopped for diesel at a filling station in Flatonia, Texas. The birds of course caught my eye and I needed to do something to make myself quit watching the total sale amount on the gas pump rolling ever higher, so I made a photo.

Title: "The Birds in Flatonia"


Shot data: 1/30s f/2.8 at 24.0mm iso800
Camera / lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Near Times Square

Taken from the top of a tour bus while visiting NYC this past May. The original sky in this photo was solidly light blue and did nothing for the photo. I took the photo toward the surreal by replacing the flat blue sky with an image of the surface of swimming pool. You may or may not like the end result but to me it is much more interesting than the unaltered image. I hope you like it! :-)

Title: "Near Times Square"


Shot data: 1/320s f/7.1 at 17.0mm iso250
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Longhorn Cavern Entrance

This is shot from just outside of the cave entrance at Longhorn Cavern State Park in Burnet, Texas. The entrance is below ground level where it appears that an original portion of the cave collapsed and left openings through which the surface can be viewed (and photographed!).

Title: "Longhorn Cavern Entrance"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine three hand-held exposures (-2,0,+2) into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Longhorn Cavern Approach

This is the approach to the cave at Longhorn Cavern State Park in Burnet, Texas. This shot was taken with my back to the actual cave entrance looking pack down the path we had approached on.

Title: "Longhorn Cavern Approach"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine three hand-held exposures (-2,0,+2) into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Slow Children at Play

OK......but where do the smart kids play? ;-)

Scene near Lake Travis in the area of Austin, Texas.

Title: "Slow Children at Play"


Shot details: 1/250s f/5.0 at 100.0mm iso250
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Happy Couple, Musical Monk and Pirate in Purple

These are my last three shots from the Bay Area Photo Club's field trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville, Texas three weekends ago.


Title: "Happy Couple"


Shot data: 1/80s f/5.0 at 50.0mm iso200

Title: "Musical Monk"


Shot data: 1/500s f/2.2 at 50.0mm iso200

Title: "Pirate in Purple"


Shot data: 1/125s f/3.5 at 50.0mm iso200

Contemplative Character

Taken at the Texas Renaissance Festival two weekends ago. This young man's contemplative posture makes me imagine him as a Renaissance philosopher. Although he may in fact just be wondering where he left his cell phone. :-)

Title: "Contemplative Character"


Shot data: 1/160s f/2.8 at 50.0mm iso125
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

RenFest Pirate

Taken at the Texas Renaissance Festival two weekends ago.

Title: "RenFest Pirate"


Shot data: 1/60s f/3.5 at 50.0mm iso200
Camera / Lens: Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime
Post-processing: Adobe Camerea Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Snakes Exist

Taken at a local park this past weekend. What is the sign really saying? It's not a "Warning", just a "Notice". So it's kind of saying "be aware" but don't be overly concerned unless you actually come face to face with the subject of the notice. I wonder if I went down the path in the background of the photo if I would see other helpful notices like "Evil Exists" or "Liberals Exist"? :-)

Title: "Snakes Exist"


Shot data: 1/3200s f/2.8 at 55.0mm iso100
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

RenFest Horned Warrior

Captured at the Texas Renaissance Festival two Saturdays ago. It's kind of hard not to notice someone wearing horns! And this guy wasn't the only one either! :-)

Title: "RenFest Horned Warrior"


Shot data: 1/250s f/3.5 at 50.0mm iso125
Camrea / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Another RenFest Warrior

Here's another character from our trip to the Texas Renaissance Festival on Saturday before last. My formula for this one was "Interesting Face" + "Interesting Costume" = "Interesting Photo" (hopefully)! :-)

Title: "Another RenFest Warrior"


Photo data: 1/50s f/3.5 at 50.0mm iso125
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Blue Angels

Yesterday I stopped for a while at a location somewhat near the Wings Over Houston Airshow to see if I could get a shot of any of the planes. Since I live near Ellington Field where the event is held I'm discouraged from buying an actual ticket to the event because I've seen the huge crowds and traffic problems associated with it every year. If I can grab a shot like this just by being nearby, and not having to deal with on-site organized Chaos then I'm happy! This is the Blue Angels flying in diamond formation!

Title: "Blue Angels Diamond Formation"


Shot data: 1/1000s f/8.0 at 400.0mm iso200
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust plugin

Renaissance Couple

Here's a couple more photos from my trip to RenFest Saturday before last. I thought this couple did an extraordinary job of dressing in authentic Renaissance period dress.

Title: "RenFest Gentlemen"


Photo data: 1/125s f/4.0 at 50.0mm iso125
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust

Title: "RenFest Lady"


Photo data: 1/160s f/4.0 at 50.0mm iso125
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS3 > Topaz Adjust