#630. Circus Tripp

Happy Halloween!!

I took this photo of a mural on the side of a building in the Heights area of Houston yesterday. I stuck around for about 30 minutes for the artist to finish his work and remove the scaffolding but by then the parking lot had a few cars in it that covered up part of the mural.

Title: "Circus Tripp"


Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine seven exposures into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin

#629. Seven

Taken two weekends ago at a local church that sells pumpkins every year to raise funds. The orange and black color pair of these small pumpkins on a shelf caught my eye and I found a crop in post-processing that I liked a lot.

Title: "Seven"


Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine seven exposures into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin > Nik Viveza plugin

#628. Flying Flag

Another shot from the Wings Over Houston airshow on Saturday. This is how they brought in the flag for the opening ceremonies.

Title: "Flying Flag"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canoin 100-400 L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin > texture from flypapertexture.blogspot.com

#627. The Flying Guppy

Here's another shot I took Saturday at the Wings Over Houston Airshow. This is the Flying Guppy. As I understand it this plane was specially modified for NASA to use to transport very large sections of the space shuttles during construction.

Title: "The Flying Guppy"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine seven exposures into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin

#626. Tail Gun

Taken Saturday morning at the Wings Over Houston airshow. I wouldn't have liked being an enemy pilot charged with attacking this plane in WWII and finding myself looking at this!

Title: "Tail Gun"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine seven exposures into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin

#625. October Kemah Sunrise

Taken this past Saturday morning at Kemah Boardwalk, Kemah, Texas.

Title: "October Kemah Sunrise"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine 3 exposures (-2, 0, +2) into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin > textures from flypapertextures.blogspot.com

#624. Pumpkin Patch

Taken this past Friday at a local church in Clear Lake City. This church sells pumpkins every year as a fundraiser and there are always abundant photo ops. I didn't spend long there this year but I did grab a couple of sets of brackets (and a couple of pumpkins). :-)

Title: "Pumpkin Patch"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine three exposures into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin

#623. Humble Fisherman

Taken this past Saturday at Kemah Boardwalk in Kemah, Texas. I really enjoyed watching this man fishing. This was no frills fishing to be sure. It looks to my eye like the boat is homemade. No fancy rod and reel; just fishing line with a hook on the end tossed away from the boat and retrieved hand over hand, usually with a fish on the hook! In this area where at any given time you can sit and watch a million dollars worth of boats pass every minute it was fun to see a down-to-earth reminder that there are always simpler options.

Title: "Humble Fisherman"


Shot data: 1/25s f/16.0 at 42.0mm iso200
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / 17-55mm f/2.8 zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to create an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo from one exposure > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin > texture from flypapertextures.blogspot.com

#622. Majestic Flight

Taken at sunset a couple of weekends ago at Galveston Island State Park. Even though it's only a tiny portion of the finished image, to me this shot is still all about the bird.

Title: "Majestic Flight"


Shot data: 1/200s f/5.6 at 400.0mm iso125
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin > texture from flypapertextures.blogspot.com

#621. Wildflower

Another shot from my trip down to Galveston Island State Park last weekend.

Title: "Wildflower"


Shot data: 1/1000s f/5.6 at 400.0mm iso125
Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin

#620. A Salute

Taken last night at a local church. I recently volunteered my humble photography skills at the church I attend in Houston. I have since been asked to take photos a couple of times. Last night the request was to pop out on the stage and take a few quick snaps of the congregation holding a sign congratulating their overseas sister church on their one year anniversary. It was a fairly simple assignment and I initially thought the thanks I received were unearned. After I thought about it a while though I gave myself a little more credit for the job I did. First of all, there is pressure. I volunteered so there was no money or contract involved but I still felt pressure to deliver a usable photograph. I've taken more than a few unusable photos in my day so my concern was certainly warranted. I had a brief conversation with the program director in which I persuaded him to give me full house lights for the shot. I was shooting at ISO 1600 as it was and I really didn't want to go any higher than that which would have been necessary at less than full house lights. Even at ISO 1600 I was underexposed but I knew the photos would end up being usable because I was shooting in Camera RAW which allows for exposure adjustments in post-processing. I arrived at the church early and determined the placement of the banner. I had to make a lens selection and a camera selection. I had to take my shots (about 10 I think) in about 6 seconds so the service could continue with as little interruption as possible. And I had to process the photos when I got home. I didn't end up with a work of fine art but the photo is, I think, usable for the church's intended purpose and, in retrospect, I feel that I can give myself a little credit for that! :-)

Title: "A Salute"


Shot data: 1/40s f/4.0 at 24.0mm iso1600
Camera / Lens: Canon 5D Mark II / Canon 24-105 L zoom
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin

#619. Pretty Flowers

Taken Saturday at Galveston Island State Park in Galveston, Texas.

Title: "Pretty Flowers"


Camera / Lens: Canon 40D / Canon 100-400mm L zoom
Shot data: 1/800s f/5.6 at 115.0mm iso125
Post-processing: Adobe Camera Raw > Photoshop CS4 > Texture from flypapertexture.blogspot.com

#618. Lifesaver

Taken on the Seawall in Galveston, Texas on Saturday morning.

Title: "Lifesaver"


Camera / Lens: Canon 24-105mm L zoom
Post-processing: Photomatix Pro to combine 5 exposures into one HDR (High Dynamic Range) image > Photoshop CS4 > Topaz Adjust plugin > Nik Viveza plugin