tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73803039558014649952024-03-18T21:51:38.835-07:00Arizona Sunrises and SunsetsI've always really enjoyed a great sunset, but since I made the switch to Digital cameras, I've been absolutely crazy about taking pictures of them. And, I'm sure that God does some of His finest art right here in Arizona.
"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" Psalms 8:3-4Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-1681065644623293502011-02-15T20:55:00.000-07:002011-02-15T20:55:00.873-07:00Desert by Moonlight<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Yikes!!</span> It's been too long since my last post, again! I've been busy printing some of my photos, matting them, framing them, and selling them at various craft and art fairs in my area. It takes a <i><b>LOT</b></i> of work and time. So, it's not like I haven't been doing stuff with my pictures!<br />
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On Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011, I went out to take sunset pictures. It was three days before the moon was going to be full, which means that the moon rises about three hours before the sun sets, and will be at about 3/4 of full. That is plenty of light to take pictures by after the sun has long gone down, which I have done a few times in the past.<br />
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So, on this particular Sunday, after the sunset was well over, I decided to stick around and see what kind of results I could get by the moon's light.<br />
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Here are three of those images that I really lik. Be sure to click on them to see them larger. The clouds are illuminated by the Phoenix city lights about 50 miles away. Notice in each of the pictures that the clouds become more streaked and smooth in appearance. That is because each of the exposures is longer than in the previous shot, allowing the clouds to move more through out the exposure. That is an effect that I find I really like. The light on the cactus and the desert floor is strictly from the moon.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">The first picture is a 30 second exposure taken at f/3.5, ISO 100.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg80gt-6zdcLORapMyOQi69r4_FoVHApFMA9iDSGwQFOUDu85h-yloQUW3nKPtaR1k_HjBiyoVdFL_Dnod8Rz1mTvMPxa-vptZ5EZQwFK5FzOxCxWAFBEv_C1fYaYj6h6vqM61tuFFVoc/s1600/IMG_1115r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg80gt-6zdcLORapMyOQi69r4_FoVHApFMA9iDSGwQFOUDu85h-yloQUW3nKPtaR1k_HjBiyoVdFL_Dnod8Rz1mTvMPxa-vptZ5EZQwFK5FzOxCxWAFBEv_C1fYaYj6h6vqM61tuFFVoc/s320/IMG_1115r.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> The second picture is a 5 minute exposure taken at f/6.3, ISO 100.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6o0Jf5f95gBuh4YCOIQjgutUfJf5mgOEwaHLA-aXx3RwhXvI6muEqoDmmg0hMOSITQh9KNMFHhnDf0HtC2CuDGrn62nnSNLYQPQnVLJdpC6IITSWaEkWPU_z0oSNenVYjpgqhdyNzkwQ/s1600/IMG_1120r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6o0Jf5f95gBuh4YCOIQjgutUfJf5mgOEwaHLA-aXx3RwhXvI6muEqoDmmg0hMOSITQh9KNMFHhnDf0HtC2CuDGrn62nnSNLYQPQnVLJdpC6IITSWaEkWPU_z0oSNenVYjpgqhdyNzkwQ/s320/IMG_1120r.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"> The third picture is a 15 minute exposure taken at f/7.1, ISO 100.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsg7u1AjgaePdHq6wGSya1cJ7Q91LN_0RZwYY2reAbVXGWNDiJs-Gti3lIdzfVmJgqJrfSp1h75k3gOWy5RXaiZSeowbQjGKMWTybAYJDFjSg8DhhH_QYpqV5lSVPOiCG1v_hy3OYcmo/s1600/IMG_1121r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZsg7u1AjgaePdHq6wGSya1cJ7Q91LN_0RZwYY2reAbVXGWNDiJs-Gti3lIdzfVmJgqJrfSp1h75k3gOWy5RXaiZSeowbQjGKMWTybAYJDFjSg8DhhH_QYpqV5lSVPOiCG1v_hy3OYcmo/s320/IMG_1121r.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
In this third shot, I intentionally positioned the North Star in the frame so that all the other stars would rotate around it. In the lower right corner of this shot, you can just see the Superstition Mountains which are about 30 miles to the North of my location.<br />
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I typically shoot in JPEG instead of RAW simply because I don't know much about processing the RAW images. One of the things that I need to learn more about on my camera, is the use of the noise reduction filter. I have discovered that when I turn this filter on, the time it takes for the camera to be ready to take the next picture, actually doubles from the length of the exposure. So, for instance, the third picture above took a full 30 minutes after I pressed the shutter button before I could take another picture! When you are just wandering around in the dark desert all by your self, that sure feels like a LONG time! Needless to say, I don't manage to capture very many pictures on such a night. What I need to find out is if the camera still doubles the time to run this filter if I have it store the images in RAW only, and not in JPEG.<br />
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After getting home and looking at the images from this night, I got excited at the results. I decided to look back through my Night Sky album on my computer. I realized that I had a lot of pictures that I had not yet uploaded to my on-line album at Picasaweb. So, I am happy to report that I have now uploaded a lot more of those images. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.<br />
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Visit me at <a href="http://facebook.com/ArizonaSunsets">Facebook.com/ArizonaSunsets</a> to see much more up-to-date reports about what I have been up to!Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-84778810151880729762010-11-20T20:10:00.000-07:002010-11-20T20:10:39.714-07:00Gutter ShotsOr maybe I could have called this post "Curb Appeal", or "Street View". Or, maybe even, "In the Eye of the Beholder".<br />
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OK, so what on earth am I talking about? Well, first off, take a look at these first two shots. Click on them if you'd like to see them a litter bigger ...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxqK28fxVKoS0OneWWKORFft9pa0ywimpG72KirPwrHaqoQ3WIYWKRyiRPhABc16_PjTNbcVnIBlPgglEfoyonEeF3s1ejW1IGoVd7gCqOnyRboDdW2b4r6X_VjMYFOs_pxIBmI-zCeE/s1600/DSCF0312-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipxqK28fxVKoS0OneWWKORFft9pa0ywimpG72KirPwrHaqoQ3WIYWKRyiRPhABc16_PjTNbcVnIBlPgglEfoyonEeF3s1ejW1IGoVd7gCqOnyRboDdW2b4r6X_VjMYFOs_pxIBmI-zCeE/s400/DSCF0312-1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You probably know by now that I like to take photos of sunsets. So, no matter where I am when the sun is going down, I just have to take a look and see what is happening in the sky. A couple of weeks ago, I went to a friends house in Mesa to look at his old car to see if my daughter would like to have it. This was after work, and of course, that means that it is getting near to sun down. After we looked at the car and drove it around the block a couple of times, I noticed as I looked down his street, that the sky was starting to do nice things.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But, here we were in the middle of the city with no clear view of the horizon. What's a sunset picture without the horizon?!?! And, no cactus either. Oh well, I grabbed my camera and took a couple of steps down the street, thinking that maybe I could capture a few cars in the shot and make them look interesting. Of course, that shot wasn't any good at all. But, then I noticed a little bit of water in the gutter. Yes, I said, in the gutter!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My friend had gone in the house to get something, and when he came back out he found me lying in the street with my head and camera in the gutter. He really thought that I had lost my marbles. (Maybe he was right?) Any way, I like the above results -- don't you?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now, here is the question, do these shots <i>really</i> look like I took them in the gutter? I know that you are probably saying NO!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have to admit that these shots have been doctored up a little. So, to show you what I started with, here are the original, unedited versions ...</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45Xj_ZB0iAi9b1MXp7fAL1fJBy-HqcY8tbRtiwos-pxyw9gJ_d3tlzYfBRULcrH1DGjCnznEx4IuRLhW2At5hMGz84v-sWpWGuZ6IJLJH5HcGYJSZMLPi2nw2WIWxJAEW-0VK2AZg3dc/s1600/DSCF0312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg45Xj_ZB0iAi9b1MXp7fAL1fJBy-HqcY8tbRtiwos-pxyw9gJ_d3tlzYfBRULcrH1DGjCnznEx4IuRLhW2At5hMGz84v-sWpWGuZ6IJLJH5HcGYJSZMLPi2nw2WIWxJAEW-0VK2AZg3dc/s400/DSCF0312.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>If you compare these two with the first two, you can see that I increased the color saturation a little bit, increased the contrast a little bit to make the cars and other things disappear, and intentionally deleted some things like street lights, cars, and (in the second of the two images) that tall, skinny trunk of a palm tree.<br />
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OK, maybe it still doesn't look like I took this shot while lying in the street with my head in the gutter, so here is the first of the two images, with everything lightened up a bit so you can see more of the detail ...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8_Ug5lNLrjEETDdMGFhlTdcLIa2UO9_H1xyczhRBOGpER1PnQLwHItPW4Os7qGVsQyAk72gw3C4xTFZwXZV11u7xMQ_dP3eW-i9AntqXWBUQxo6b_xznsXql1yjxHhzOX_Ifcj71gno/s1600/DSCF0312-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs8_Ug5lNLrjEETDdMGFhlTdcLIa2UO9_H1xyczhRBOGpER1PnQLwHItPW4Os7qGVsQyAk72gw3C4xTFZwXZV11u7xMQ_dP3eW-i9AntqXWBUQxo6b_xznsXql1yjxHhzOX_Ifcj71gno/s400/DSCF0312-2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
In this version of the shot, you can recognize the curb at the left of the frame, and tell that my head and camera are actually below the top of the curb. I got the camera as near to the water as I could without getting wet. Especially, not the camera!! Also notice the cars and street signs that I got rid of in the versions at the top of this post.<br />
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So, I guess that beauty is where you see it!!Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-75954671873577327922010-10-25T22:58:00.000-07:002010-10-25T22:58:22.895-07:00Trying to be Artistic! Or, Fun with Dandelions!Remember now, I am an engineer at heart. I have been an engineer all my life. Basically engineers only see the tiny details, the "how to" of the way things work. To actually see and appreciate the beauty that God creates and places all around us, typically goes beyond the scope of an engineer. Now, to take a step even beyond simple recognition and appreciation of beauty, is to <i>create</i> something of beauty.<br />
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OK, I'm really not belittling myself and all my engineer friends by implying that we can't be artistic. But, I do find it to be the general rule. So, when it comes to this photography stuff, I find it amazing that I am so enamored. Several decades back, when I first got started in photography, I got myself a nice 35mm SLR. You do remember film, don't you? In the beginning, I took a lot of pictures. Most of the family shots turned out OK. Landscape shots were a bit harder. Plus, in those days, you had to put a roll of film in the camera, proceed to shoot it all up, and take it out of the camera and take it to the store for processing so you could pay for a box of slides or a bunch of prints. The whole process took a lot of time and cost (what at the time seemed like) a small fortune. And, then you would find out that not too many of the shots turned out very good. And as for the better ones, by the time you got the prints back, you forgot how you took the shot, what setting you had used, etc. Needless to say, over the course of a few years, the excitement wore off.<br />
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So, here we are several (!!) decades later, and I've finally gotten into digital photography. Instant results! Low cost! Throw the bad shots away right away! Recognize the good shots in a timely enough manner that you can remember what you did, so that you can learn from the mistakes and successes of tonight's shooting, and apply new knowledge to tomorrow's shots. Whew, thank goodness! So, the excitement is back.<br />
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Not to mention the fact that I'm (personally, at least) wowed by the results of the sunset shots that I have managed to take. I will always say, however, that it is God that puts the beauty in the sky. But, somehow, He is allowing me to learn how to capture that beauty on film. (Well, OK, not on film actually, but on, what, a digital sensor? That sounds so awkward to say!) But, I think about all the beautiful photographs that other people take of landscapes and nature (again, capturing God's creation), and I find that I want to expand my horizons beyond the setting sun, as it were.<br />
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So, about a month ago, I went again to the Men's Retreat that my church group puts on every year. We are very fortunate to be able to enjoy a beautiful ranch setting in the high pine forests of Eastern Arizona about 6 hours ride from our central Arizona homes. The ranch is located only about 10 miles from the New Mexico border at an elevation of about 9000 feet.<br />
Now, central Arizona (where us guys live), consists of the bleak, dry, brown, barren deserts. See the shot of the Superstition Mountains below...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBm126u3Ypv3w4FMPxZBDYeBTKgmZwN-x5u2Vw1P0XxyF_jV8nkb8eLAlV6_Fjlpal6SKSblhyphenhyphenZMBfGGMDmHElDLQCYGmWGmwy4BSsmQ78hxngJNf7zaQ5S2mPRFYJozjGqSdM8cm9GIs/s1600/DSCF9456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBm126u3Ypv3w4FMPxZBDYeBTKgmZwN-x5u2Vw1P0XxyF_jV8nkb8eLAlV6_Fjlpal6SKSblhyphenhyphenZMBfGGMDmHElDLQCYGmWGmwy4BSsmQ78hxngJNf7zaQ5S2mPRFYJozjGqSdM8cm9GIs/s320/DSCF9456.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Well, OK, maybe sometimes the desert isn't all that brown and yucky. But, none the less, there is a great difference between the desert and the pines in the mountains.<br />
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As opposed to the barren landscape here in the desert, the ranch is green, luscious and gorgeous. Immediately, I want to capture the greatness of the area on film (???) for sharing with those back home. Mind you, that even though I find sunsets rather easy to photograph, I find regular landscapes rather difficult. How to compose a shot? What setting to use? Should I use a polarizing filter, etc?<br />
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Without knowing what works and what doesn't, I head off around the ranch (110 acres) with cameras in tow. Every year at the retreat, I spend some time alone just walking around the property, communing with nature and talking with God. As I went along, I tried to spend some time evaluating what might comprise a nice photo. Below are a few shots that turned out OK. But, to make them look nice, with good contrast and color saturation, <b>they all required some editing</b> on my computer.<br />
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<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I tried to capture reflections. </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWioSSWEmWNjGM4RF_izEiNWSMEDIjy0zQcZWO_kQMZYZOANgB-kV71CxBbAZSREWgFxl_MqzgDpRmkFfpXlFoKWIJbMA58q8KWYVN3rQ3ZowGMuN_UlPSmuLiOFhYf0WxV4E6E-OC3M/s1600/IMG_0024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeWioSSWEmWNjGM4RF_izEiNWSMEDIjy0zQcZWO_kQMZYZOANgB-kV71CxBbAZSREWgFxl_MqzgDpRmkFfpXlFoKWIJbMA58q8KWYVN3rQ3ZowGMuN_UlPSmuLiOFhYf0WxV4E6E-OC3M/s320/IMG_0024.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoc71vHtw6XTN1LOZUMN5QXbwYH-7XjMYhFqEgFS53JTRDk_c5DsHAbl4egLsgf-F1Dn4s5M_6Fk-Xeylvbq6Krs-rZCG-lrR4w_9xl2XDtHyfqXN3c6bTRyFwx7cYgsAijHA0Bxusrls/s1600/DSCF9824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoc71vHtw6XTN1LOZUMN5QXbwYH-7XjMYhFqEgFS53JTRDk_c5DsHAbl4egLsgf-F1Dn4s5M_6Fk-Xeylvbq6Krs-rZCG-lrR4w_9xl2XDtHyfqXN3c6bTRyFwx7cYgsAijHA0Bxusrls/s320/DSCF9824.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">I toyed with some of the wildflowers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rDR7xAK0kLSFrHiZrHBgW5v1uekZSUCrCAGuRbCWVIXSktYaXbagdLMWWjtiVs1AV3syp98AocZkvkNFMpsJtXsVJlD352RgwLG5aKDhh7k_sflHWZs8usfN8GClunoApUuxEvnixO4/s1600/DSCF9827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6rDR7xAK0kLSFrHiZrHBgW5v1uekZSUCrCAGuRbCWVIXSktYaXbagdLMWWjtiVs1AV3syp98AocZkvkNFMpsJtXsVJlD352RgwLG5aKDhh7k_sflHWZs8usfN8GClunoApUuxEvnixO4/s320/DSCF9827.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Some of the flowers exhibited wildlife, too! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvdrBDMxTwHYFQNmVciNZFxBVOu19Nk7pq7JIRZ8Q3Q_qKTFdgJPviku9unqlYie3EwkBZ3sL7CdE_lvdYKk3wHeIP5aHAk147tSuS0xG2ZWT0NKYgaZ3N2-xHnvSKDFSO-YnIiPoIvw/s1600/DSCF9831.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivvdrBDMxTwHYFQNmVciNZFxBVOu19Nk7pq7JIRZ8Q3Q_qKTFdgJPviku9unqlYie3EwkBZ3sL7CdE_lvdYKk3wHeIP5aHAk147tSuS0xG2ZWT0NKYgaZ3N2-xHnvSKDFSO-YnIiPoIvw/s320/DSCF9831.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">I had a lot of fun with the dandelions.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit0TwKVR4D9dwMio5axNigJcxpd5cV7CWesVVWhLUN1FgiQ6MLSCnLQCi7EuOdBjDOI8Ii7rExdUJa0mWwvkEGerDij6w_Yb0bwrbotyQjpOgJEUDPJpgGlVqZpmzeaMFLReE7UDFqwrE/s1600/DSCF9829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit0TwKVR4D9dwMio5axNigJcxpd5cV7CWesVVWhLUN1FgiQ6MLSCnLQCi7EuOdBjDOI8Ii7rExdUJa0mWwvkEGerDij6w_Yb0bwrbotyQjpOgJEUDPJpgGlVqZpmzeaMFLReE7UDFqwrE/s320/DSCF9829.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ahMPQLCZFXB34xKeVT3BYfW17tRqQgc4D0SpsPTAC8BFKj-Ijo1eRhRVOTHmJUpnGfogIWou6ak1hrPAIMM0SUl33J3SdL1RXJh0f00foxH3lIcQ5qdzYwZeOktObL42-ZQq0yMxtoY/s1600/DSCF9825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ahMPQLCZFXB34xKeVT3BYfW17tRqQgc4D0SpsPTAC8BFKj-Ijo1eRhRVOTHmJUpnGfogIWou6ak1hrPAIMM0SUl33J3SdL1RXJh0f00foxH3lIcQ5qdzYwZeOktObL42-ZQq0yMxtoY/s320/DSCF9825.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">And I tried to take photos of the landscape.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8ZazsxGTfatl4RBBLoE7bhROo-I1pi1v_n6jETpQTEV6UHqpCKbAWT-3ZYcUcM_-Fn1y1DROM5w3xGCYdcluo0SK57lJJIAPpQsArbF4XUNi6l_ZdAVkE9guocQgSPBJclPlaj2f5Hc/s1600/IMG_0026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8ZazsxGTfatl4RBBLoE7bhROo-I1pi1v_n6jETpQTEV6UHqpCKbAWT-3ZYcUcM_-Fn1y1DROM5w3xGCYdcluo0SK57lJJIAPpQsArbF4XUNi6l_ZdAVkE9guocQgSPBJclPlaj2f5Hc/s320/IMG_0026.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6JgzRqWdRu9leqVy0DSExCEVRN5wRBm-AfZFyXsyazHqKLKK9fKWMjDFWgx1-XEbsIIOyLouN5gAht43EfHbtdH6Qq3SdLVr0EVwCFbeR_ttdCy6Um4GZJdM_hNHIXLkhkTtQIvYiY8/s1600/IMG_0040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj6JgzRqWdRu9leqVy0DSExCEVRN5wRBm-AfZFyXsyazHqKLKK9fKWMjDFWgx1-XEbsIIOyLouN5gAht43EfHbtdH6Qq3SdLVr0EVwCFbeR_ttdCy6Um4GZJdM_hNHIXLkhkTtQIvYiY8/s320/IMG_0040.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqAwRmoHSMiKFeNjrPMZW2dxxWXnyvLCjyRQOZ4qEIHXcW6hCS-Jz6s4rn-seb8tlJ8EIAeZd8LCqac8Hxb_E1RggtB1QF2I0e_TGhF-q_mR7R5igCr0XfcbqaQRLOsjXoojfgOgyyTI/s1600/IMG_0045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTqAwRmoHSMiKFeNjrPMZW2dxxWXnyvLCjyRQOZ4qEIHXcW6hCS-Jz6s4rn-seb8tlJ8EIAeZd8LCqac8Hxb_E1RggtB1QF2I0e_TGhF-q_mR7R5igCr0XfcbqaQRLOsjXoojfgOgyyTI/s320/IMG_0045.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinx94XcNj2obJAXtQiYACitPnRTsYkC71kpKkA1EFDLeckdA9MENj3yFeCaxSTZ-wp26j2Htn_62l3Apo3QuFOLDUcuPpWeaqjQqb3djkyHEtrW_5iOSwkde8yLcCq072JP3rizvMHE2M/s1600/IMG_0046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinx94XcNj2obJAXtQiYACitPnRTsYkC71kpKkA1EFDLeckdA9MENj3yFeCaxSTZ-wp26j2Htn_62l3Apo3QuFOLDUcuPpWeaqjQqb3djkyHEtrW_5iOSwkde8yLcCq072JP3rizvMHE2M/s320/IMG_0046.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Oops, more dandelions.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAksHCE4RYi_ptpyFpMuozInd-veJZaw_RMtRl2u7M68V_OmsLL0tZ38VUzhzrudxeqPHFju_00a5y5XfJ3oeu24Gm_lz5dihDGdqyAND0fi1acNKSTONkDB9YMRCJ9i9PbCrXusywqdQ/s1600/IMG_0058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAksHCE4RYi_ptpyFpMuozInd-veJZaw_RMtRl2u7M68V_OmsLL0tZ38VUzhzrudxeqPHFju_00a5y5XfJ3oeu24Gm_lz5dihDGdqyAND0fi1acNKSTONkDB9YMRCJ9i9PbCrXusywqdQ/s320/IMG_0058.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Eventually, the day began to come to an end. As you can see, my shadow is growing rather long as the sun approaches the horizon behind me.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIuCAjpzoA0MKheyH4a_3J9oRS4Uk8H_2wja7ZBrDesLKk9NvymplrhU6T47IkJjXFfVlVFbtiPprroNqnGLYM6eTq7uXDha4fh-5TmpR4LWwZQteYzOMlBWpGmJiL9JNENhagv2lKwmY/s1600/IMG_0076.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIuCAjpzoA0MKheyH4a_3J9oRS4Uk8H_2wja7ZBrDesLKk9NvymplrhU6T47IkJjXFfVlVFbtiPprroNqnGLYM6eTq7uXDha4fh-5TmpR4LWwZQteYzOMlBWpGmJiL9JNENhagv2lKwmY/s320/IMG_0076.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Off to the West, the sun is going down behind the trees.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mX7GRkpvLsMhlvf021WRR06ZtK7PT4PRUnoCIQuyXqFFIc3Pz3t1sVffegU94_PyDR3Y49ijqaOSp_lG6BbIekHtt-vZHHtw_A7-zi22JbbfDsqdx13ItN43mW74n4agmw9UFD-NnYY/s1600/DSCF9835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8mX7GRkpvLsMhlvf021WRR06ZtK7PT4PRUnoCIQuyXqFFIc3Pz3t1sVffegU94_PyDR3Y49ijqaOSp_lG6BbIekHtt-vZHHtw_A7-zi22JbbfDsqdx13ItN43mW74n4agmw9UFD-NnYY/s320/DSCF9835.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>As you can see below, the pasture and the trees are now in the shade, but the sun is still shining on the clouds. This shot is looking South East, away from the setting sun.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSl0JTIVyPkJMQVkOiVn_hbgFm0UccKArhre8coZCxSopPD2biLhZ7Q6dUooFl3o7xMZBiCBvJ0lEOIrTFhWB115ARxuisZuRptB0YpIFJR0luTVcEqZEeT4vNmUsd6unHX2wwtmVrp8/s1600/IMG_0094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSl0JTIVyPkJMQVkOiVn_hbgFm0UccKArhre8coZCxSopPD2biLhZ7Q6dUooFl3o7xMZBiCBvJ0lEOIrTFhWB115ARxuisZuRptB0YpIFJR0luTVcEqZEeT4vNmUsd6unHX2wwtmVrp8/s320/IMG_0094.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Looking back to the West again. Oops, looks like another dandelion wants to get in the shot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZR6b_j15c6pS2iKr-LZjZrfnJJ8NnY4taYoikICDmE7uJx5dVpvkFwjWJclRPc2PY8ZFxo8jM-sNlhyphenhyphencf79iYUXenz-J41iN_QErXzX8sQbsE5Me04PHhsfBLBVQuPIoKtHsUKDXoNjY/s1600/IMG_0079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZR6b_j15c6pS2iKr-LZjZrfnJJ8NnY4taYoikICDmE7uJx5dVpvkFwjWJclRPc2PY8ZFxo8jM-sNlhyphenhyphencf79iYUXenz-J41iN_QErXzX8sQbsE5Me04PHhsfBLBVQuPIoKtHsUKDXoNjY/s320/IMG_0079.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Well, no wonder. Looking back to the East, you can see that the dandelions are all over the place!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpE5vRSd_7Z_2t_E-Tw7f-0M2zY9Zz2vgov7joDc56iBy4WXfm3JAhGtSvrG_7sIcxm1_AX-cVXlK-MySNRRHCdeRdUDCTLH1RDrS2AdDLad2jeWIXmdCc13KE3H-Pu0LgNhsIWPxQLIA/s1600/IMG_0093.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpE5vRSd_7Z_2t_E-Tw7f-0M2zY9Zz2vgov7joDc56iBy4WXfm3JAhGtSvrG_7sIcxm1_AX-cVXlK-MySNRRHCdeRdUDCTLH1RDrS2AdDLad2jeWIXmdCc13KE3H-Pu0LgNhsIWPxQLIA/s320/IMG_0093.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;">Eventually the sun did go down below the horizon, yielding the next three shots. Yep, those are dandelions in the first shot.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQY9Q4DDznmPkFz6W5KCtVsYa_mQGZ7HAS4wjqadSUhrKU2hXTP_fzBBYfAI-eaLgLttZt2FVAvQuJHxe_9etjllJ6NMguV6nh_3Fzuf9DaQy_zHjyJxtp8edks1_xMlfzfiW4yTBkRek/s1600/IMG_0096.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQY9Q4DDznmPkFz6W5KCtVsYa_mQGZ7HAS4wjqadSUhrKU2hXTP_fzBBYfAI-eaLgLttZt2FVAvQuJHxe_9etjllJ6NMguV6nh_3Fzuf9DaQy_zHjyJxtp8edks1_xMlfzfiW4yTBkRek/s320/IMG_0096.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUm3er_zfa512jWvkXz2qcTR1P2wDMT2i9bb8-r1MKIRSojdfqA1VWTemw6iWMquR1HYi69R6U55JZ7i0ZKcEmZN1idTzU1Wj77WGwSVVHnHOS491ekI_4bJA9-6CaUWqkOXgl4hL0On0/s1600/IMG_0102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUm3er_zfa512jWvkXz2qcTR1P2wDMT2i9bb8-r1MKIRSojdfqA1VWTemw6iWMquR1HYi69R6U55JZ7i0ZKcEmZN1idTzU1Wj77WGwSVVHnHOS491ekI_4bJA9-6CaUWqkOXgl4hL0On0/s320/IMG_0102.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3fl6ilxaEmoZnoYFy8tGWbNeZ9mi0Uewd056cDNc77nSuAO5azNuFYDPMoIJf2-LsTqDVV7gF9VkFn5qWg4Uns_siBYVUXMpMogVn6OOMmhPlTwUgFWVu_Ces6c0ksS2xvsowUCmaDc/s1600/IMG_0105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE3fl6ilxaEmoZnoYFy8tGWbNeZ9mi0Uewd056cDNc77nSuAO5azNuFYDPMoIJf2-LsTqDVV7gF9VkFn5qWg4Uns_siBYVUXMpMogVn6OOMmhPlTwUgFWVu_Ces6c0ksS2xvsowUCmaDc/s320/IMG_0105.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The sunset was nice. But, I've noticed every year, that being up in the mountains where the air is fresh and clean, just doesn't produce as spectacular a sunset as does the dusty, dirty air that we have down in the desert.<br />
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Anyway, this final shot is us guys. That's me, at the far right with the hat on. I put my camera on a tripod, set the timer, and ran to get in the picture along with the rest of the guys. I've taken photos at the retreats every year, including a final group photo each year, but, usually I end up being the <i>one</i> guy that's not in the picture.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbc1OgqohSxPo2DkEtCB3C53_MIHMS12aZOvjS1xi7_QUd-FysA-sgu2f1BKSO_bboa3199weQP6go8JDr1clo5a5aMv0roPGFFmETSWdkD0iulIugyIs7fEMOPvb68BFqKrNUny9j9wE/s1600/DSCF9837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbc1OgqohSxPo2DkEtCB3C53_MIHMS12aZOvjS1xi7_QUd-FysA-sgu2f1BKSO_bboa3199weQP6go8JDr1clo5a5aMv0roPGFFmETSWdkD0iulIugyIs7fEMOPvb68BFqKrNUny9j9wE/s320/DSCF9837.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>This year, several of the shots turned out OK, at least after some editing. I think that overall they were better than the shots I took last year. But, having said that, with a lot of the shots I'm still not too happy with the composition. And, I still haven't learned which setting on the camera to use to get the best results. And, when should I use a filter on the front of the lens, and when should I not? So much to learn!!!<br />
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So, the bottom line is -- learn by doing.<br />
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I hope you didn't mind this trip away from the normal sunset stuff.Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-14296698541174305142010-09-07T22:29:00.000-07:002010-09-07T22:29:26.872-07:00Lightning Strikes!Bad! I've been very bad! Well, OK. Maybe not really 'bad' -- just BUSY! I do think <i><b>regularly </b></i>about creating new posts, but everything else seems to get in the way. When I look at the date of my last post, I get all embarrassed!<br />
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Some of the most fun photos to take are of lightning. I like to joke with folks about how hard it is to capture lightning. You know, wait, see the flash, press the shutter button. Darn! Missed again! It brings on a chuckle. Obviously, there must some other way to do this. And so there is -- long exposures!<br />
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But, there can be a problem with that approach, too. There are three factors that add together to create the proper exposure of a photograph; film (or sensor) sensitivity, shutter speed, and aperture. The sensitivity is the ISO value, such as 100. As the numbers double, the sensitivity increases by a factor of two. But, there is a down side to using larger ISO values, and that is increased graininess of the image. Newer cameras are getting better about this all the time, but it will always be an issue. The shutter speed is the length of time that the shutter remains open allowing light to reach the sensor. This is given as a number of seconds, or as a fraction of a second, such as 1/125 of a second. The longer the shutter is open, the more light will reach the sensor. And, finally, there is aperture. In essence, this is a number that is representative of the diameter of the opening in the lens through which light is admitted to the sensor. This value is usually specified as the letter 'f' divided by a number, such as "f/1.4" or "f/5.6". In technical terms, the aperture number (or f-stop number) is calculated as the focal length of the lens divided by the diameter of the opening. But, don't get bogged down by that. Here is the important thing to remember, every time the aperture value increases by an additional multiple of 1.4, the amount of light that reaches the sensor will be cut in half. Or, to make it even simpler yet, the <i>larger</i> the f-stop number is, such as 5.6 vs. 1.4, the <i>smaller</i> the diameter of the opening, and the <i>less light</i> that makes it to the sensor.<br />
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So, here is the deal, to take a picture with a longer exposure time, and yet maintain a correct exposure, requires that you either decrease the sensitivity of the sensor (set for a lower ISO value), and/or shoot through a smaller diameter lens opening (larger f-stop number). Sounds easy, huh?<br />
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That's what I thought too. But, recently I learned something. And that is that it is much harder to take lightning shots during the day than it is at night. Why is that, do you suppose? Well, here is what I have figured out. Let's see if I can explain it clearly enough.<br />
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First off, I always try to shoot at the lowest ISO value I can get away with, so as to avoid grainy pictures. This means that I stay at ISO-100 as long as I can. Yes, there are reasons to increase the ISO value, but for now, let's just stick with 100. So, that just leaves altering the aperture and shutter speed.<br />
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It may seem that the easiest thing to do to capture lightning shots would be to shoot with a very slow shutter speed. My camera allows me to go to as long of an exposure as 30 seconds. Beyond that, I can put the camera into its bulb setting, and, using a remote trigger device, can shoot exposures as long as I like. Such as when I have taken some star photos with exposures as long as 15 minutes. OK, so what's the problem? Well, technically, it has to do with the mathematical integration of all that light energy. But, let's see if we can make that a little easier to understand.<br />
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Let's pick an example of wanting to shoot with a shutter time of 30 seconds. Of course, to compensate for that, you'd have to shoot with an smaller aperture (i.e., a larger f-stop number) such as f/22. The exposure will be a function of the total amount of light that hits the sensor. During the brighter hours of the day, to shoot a 30 second exposure would require a <i>really small</i> aperture so as to not over expose the image. The brief little lightning flash, when compared to the overall brightness of the sky/clouds, is so insignificant that it just disappears, and doesn't show up at all in the image. Wow, all that time taking that picture, and the lightning did flash while the shutter was open, but, darn, nothing shows up!?!? Yup.<br />
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During the darker hours of the evening or night, you will be able to shoot at a much larger aperture. And, the integration (or collection, or summation) of all that light energy will still produce a correct exposure. But, the amount of light energy that came from the lightning flash, will be a much larger percentage of the total light energy collected from the dark sky, and so it will show up much better in the picture. Whew! I hope that makes some kind of sense! Trust me, it's easier to think through than it is to try and explain it!<br />
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So, here are a few shots from a few nights ago. I was very lucky on this particular night, because usually when I try to capture lightning, I may take a dozen or so shots but only come away with a single shot actually containing a strike. I think I got about a half-dozen strikes on this night. Following are the best four.<br />
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This first shot came first, while it was still a little lighter out. Note that the exposure was only 8 seconds at F/22. The shorter exposer makes it harder to catch a flash, because you are just guessing when a strike may occur, and triggering the shutter ahead of time. I got lucky in this one a captured a fairly decent strike.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGU-kKnspELZsn89t_sVyiOgAgn1xfj2kxw3OKsHiJGGm-TcOEMdxejUm4EPe2fsO-RT2x8O0TihmnfZpZ3oeuKkCMnxw97lX29PZaMGhF1HSOogaFpBubn56TGpi5WETfVxaf_OCc_c/s1600/IMG_9700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCGU-kKnspELZsn89t_sVyiOgAgn1xfj2kxw3OKsHiJGGm-TcOEMdxejUm4EPe2fsO-RT2x8O0TihmnfZpZ3oeuKkCMnxw97lX29PZaMGhF1HSOogaFpBubn56TGpi5WETfVxaf_OCc_c/s400/IMG_9700.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISO-100, 8-seconds, F/22</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In the next shots, note that I've been able to increase the exposure time to 30 seconds, making it easier to capture a strike. Because it has gotten a little later in the evening and has gotten somewhat darker, I've been able to open the aperture to f/18. Note also that the longer exposure time makes the moving clouds streak and blur. That's an effect I rather like.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVOX97mr0aSbCZi7a_cszSGJySLbBdzXW6sQC23S9FxSxZTXrsSxbVKLcZLO5zkDtUjiIcOlj6cAMout2l8BAzp78QUewnJf3X1KyYCrkeGAsviD-DM8DmGEhEwmFXm_cL5ImEhRFXEA/s1600/IMG_9706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxVOX97mr0aSbCZi7a_cszSGJySLbBdzXW6sQC23S9FxSxZTXrsSxbVKLcZLO5zkDtUjiIcOlj6cAMout2l8BAzp78QUewnJf3X1KyYCrkeGAsviD-DM8DmGEhEwmFXm_cL5ImEhRFXEA/s400/IMG_9706.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISO-100, 30 seconds, F/18</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjIxcKh8ux9wekpeS-8XvwsnEWGbb7gKFwyZnV474hIB0ZeT4mc_s9gs_k2LQ18XP3i5veXKm3-4SGBtuaKcJ58KUiiVvY6ZNboqwsrxuk4xP8T6oJUOpei9w55pG0_TqluaUSDVAFnE/s1600/IMG_9708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFjIxcKh8ux9wekpeS-8XvwsnEWGbb7gKFwyZnV474hIB0ZeT4mc_s9gs_k2LQ18XP3i5veXKm3-4SGBtuaKcJ58KUiiVvY6ZNboqwsrxuk4xP8T6oJUOpei9w55pG0_TqluaUSDVAFnE/s400/IMG_9708.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISO-100, 30 seconds, F/18</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMbVgSqAJXMjnVySFLHwdL3ZmtkzQIjyt_KafQRySbLfET77tk5VZjyUNM8L7aYS-RMXS7ZYvCgXvN8AirGnWnKdKOn33DLubzcGPTf1dqxNciMQUwDR5qZt3zIq1W0LiyMbVXcwlVCQ/s1600/IMG_9709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMbVgSqAJXMjnVySFLHwdL3ZmtkzQIjyt_KafQRySbLfET77tk5VZjyUNM8L7aYS-RMXS7ZYvCgXvN8AirGnWnKdKOn33DLubzcGPTf1dqxNciMQUwDR5qZt3zIq1W0LiyMbVXcwlVCQ/s400/IMG_9709.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ISO-100, 30 seconds, F/18</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I'll try to not be so long at getting back to make my next post. Till then, God Bless!!!<div><br />
</div>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-35454237074049100192010-05-30T19:22:00.019-07:002010-05-31T21:01:15.224-07:00Is It Really Cheating?I've had talks with my friends ever since I started shooting sunset photos a couple of years back, and sharing them with my friends. One of the comments I have heard a quite a few times is that I could 'PhotoShop' (note the use of the name 'PhotoShop' as a verb instead of a noun, much the same way that 'google' is frequently used as a verb!) some of my pictures to get rid of power poles, etc. Earlier on, I felt like I didn't want to spend any time learning how to edit pictures in such fine detail. Plus, I felt like it was cheating. You know, make the image look like something that it's not.<div><br /></div><div>As time has rushed by, I find that I like to edit my pictures more and more. Usually all it takes is a little contrast adjustment to turn a so-so picture into a real keeper. I've written about this in the past. I find that I use Picasa for most of my editing since it is so simple, and doesn't require a large learning curve. One of the special editing features of Picasa that I have talked about in detail here in the past, is called Graduated Tint, and can be found on the Effects tab.</div><div><br /></div><div>This time, I'd like to discuss another special editing feature of Picasa that you can find on the Basic Fixes tab, and is called Retouch. Take a look at the following picture. Go ahead and click on it to get a larger view. I really like this picture. The colors are great, and the silhouettes of the plants in front of the water are nice. I hope you will notice the major annoyance that bugs me -- those wonderful street light poles.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-r9ASXdbqGlURF4URUj4GhfwHJG2SHiDWq-r7ovoR87HUaCq7fMALX7TA5LRvwfyb6QO7PPI1Y0fTVlKiEGDCbgsCKDVQmttYOIJmcvEXi0skitMKgSwv3F84idlg3cbAWd9ORItqX6U/s1600/IMG_7688+orig.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-r9ASXdbqGlURF4URUj4GhfwHJG2SHiDWq-r7ovoR87HUaCq7fMALX7TA5LRvwfyb6QO7PPI1Y0fTVlKiEGDCbgsCKDVQmttYOIJmcvEXi0skitMKgSwv3F84idlg3cbAWd9ORItqX6U/s400/IMG_7688+orig.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477264545428360162" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div>Now, take a closer look at this next picture. I increased the contrast a small amount which makes the plant silhouettes show up a little bit better. But, do you notice what is missing? Where did those street lights go? Enter the Retouch tool!</div><div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6NYKEn8cKID8e_ZDBlSS8seC2rhFnmRT0P2VsmLc-w5nCD_WGldlu4YL2angHa_NoNflltVnYcOiUIO5GfJjpsUzLseiKGu8ZOuatL9OUO-Xc3xWjqdIFzjzrhbJyIN0pq9fDhMvAMY/s1600/IMG_7688.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6NYKEn8cKID8e_ZDBlSS8seC2rhFnmRT0P2VsmLc-w5nCD_WGldlu4YL2angHa_NoNflltVnYcOiUIO5GfJjpsUzLseiKGu8ZOuatL9OUO-Xc3xWjqdIFzjzrhbJyIN0pq9fDhMvAMY/s400/IMG_7688.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477264554817195154" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div>Here is another sample, taken from a slightly different angle. I think that I like this shot even more than the one above. But, there are those wonderful street lights again! Yuck!</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXK8BUCWoMxkV8THrzLAMiqE7YH9Ee_08r470Mf3-GpA1lndHAwXnzZxtMCoHWCn7aPG6vTJoBUt1uEbol8GXXTqeGGE0chY-nFjNlLoWdKefcDMBa7xPa6TLmr6KxKwzlyVLMWLrD8p0/s1600/IMG_7690+orig.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXK8BUCWoMxkV8THrzLAMiqE7YH9Ee_08r470Mf3-GpA1lndHAwXnzZxtMCoHWCn7aPG6vTJoBUt1uEbol8GXXTqeGGE0chY-nFjNlLoWdKefcDMBa7xPa6TLmr6KxKwzlyVLMWLrD8p0/s400/IMG_7690+orig.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477264562872373154" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div>So, once again, enter the Retouch tool! Yeah!</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTchi2OWYueUND6QxKgMD_AaElyup3yHd9D0HRNL43nMJcNVkBUeOjWwfAMSriW0s_NLT5eD1heC1OZUQ6w943ZoOH8bo0ENcNd8leop98INmLgSp7H0rT_dRN20tlbhy-UcDheVep1q4/s1600/IMG_7690.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTchi2OWYueUND6QxKgMD_AaElyup3yHd9D0HRNL43nMJcNVkBUeOjWwfAMSriW0s_NLT5eD1heC1OZUQ6w943ZoOH8bo0ENcNd8leop98INmLgSp7H0rT_dRN20tlbhy-UcDheVep1q4/s400/IMG_7690.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477264568886207602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div>I really, really like this modified image. But, the question that I want to ask is - "Is this cheating?" If the idea is to capture the true environment, then I guess that the answer would be yes. But, if the idea is to make a pretty picture, hopefully one that someone would like to look at, and if art can be considered as part of the process of creating the image, then maybe it's OK.</div><div><br /></div><div>What do you think?</div><div><br /></div><div>And, since I didn't go into any detail here as to how to use this Picasa tool, let me know if you would like more details. The instructions included in Picasa are a little bit skimpy. I know that I don't have it totally figured out yet, but the more I use this tool, the more I understand. Seems like that's the way it usually goes, huh?</div><div><br /></div></div>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-24402507981637751632010-01-27T20:43:00.018-07:002010-05-14T20:48:04.391-07:00An Experiment With a W-I-D-E View<div>I have no idea where the time goes. Busy, busy, busy - right? Probably you too, huh? It's been a <i>long</i> time since I last created a new post. Sigh!! Oh well, here's one that I've had partially finished for a long time.</div><div><br /></div><div>On several occasions, I've looked at the scenery that surrounds me, and wished that I could capture "the whole thing." I remember reading, a long time ago in my past, about cylindrical cameras consisting of a sheet of film positioned inside a cylinder, and a slot in the side of the cylinder to let the light in. The cylinder was held in a vertical position, and rotated, which would allow for a 360 degree picture to be taken. But, much more recently, I've read about software that will take a collection of individual digital photos and stitch them together into a single 'huge' picture. So, on a couple of occasions, I've stood in a fixed place, and taken a collection of individual photos, moving carefully from my left to my right, being careful to make sure that each new photo overlaped some of the scenery from the previous. I also tried to keep the distant horizon vertically poistioned at a uniform place within my view finder.<br /><br />So, I wanted to show you an experiment that turned out pretty good. To put this together, I used the Autostitch program, which I downloaded from www.autostitch.net. (If you go to this address, note that you will be redirected to another address.) Click on <strong>Download the </strong><a href="http://people.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.zip"><strong>FREE demo version (Windows)</strong></a><strong> now!</strong>.<br /><br />On this particular evening, we experienced a very lovely sunset -- one of those that seems to wrap all around you. I stopped by the side of the road on the way home, and jumped out of my car with my camera. I started oohing and aahing at what was developing, and started taking pictures. After noticing that the 'show' was wrapping itself all around me, I decided to see if I could capture enough shots to put together the panorama.<br /><br />The following 8 photos are a progression from left to right. Each of the original photos is 3264 pixels wide by 2448 pixels high. When I upload those photos to this blog, I have to reduce them in size to 800 wide by 600 high. However, when I configured Autostitch to process these photos, I told Autostitch that I wanted the 'output' file to be 2400 pixels high. I wanted to be able to pan the panoramic picture left and right, and see the entire 360 degrees that I saw when I was standing there taking these photos. I didn't want to loose any resolution. After running these 8 photos through Autostitch, the output file ended up being 14,026 pixels wide by 2,400 pixels high.</div><br /><div> </div><br /><div> Note that each of these has been uploaded as 800 by 600. But, because the resulting panoramic picture is so large, I uploaded the final picture as 1600 by 274.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpQeXKW1NsjaZNI2e7YUOWvKRtsFysa6YW5XAmrwQP7SeKBI8ig_-IxURDQG2EKRqh9cMJ2baSvgEDxKHoIBYzPyJWwXUsS7ihW9eeGy-UQupUvHI5rwIbVTAx5GdwdFUBCR_qp529yc/s1600-h/DSCF7259.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431638858026759650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvpQeXKW1NsjaZNI2e7YUOWvKRtsFysa6YW5XAmrwQP7SeKBI8ig_-IxURDQG2EKRqh9cMJ2baSvgEDxKHoIBYzPyJWwXUsS7ihW9eeGy-UQupUvHI5rwIbVTAx5GdwdFUBCR_qp529yc/s400/DSCF7259.JPG" /></a> 1<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_0xK0tqAbup3hsR3vvUOQ5qx_lHU2hR2kjvp2EHaLRgZgf4u_5VyKeG37tru7HJi5YJsiw7ZRgCmIPUYoKCPttkp2Qa-vTbiS9Pv6ZbgiZ1JRjLb1IE90ZqAuEaSw_UxBUV-jBWSkWw/s1600-h/DSCF7260.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431638854578695714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH_0xK0tqAbup3hsR3vvUOQ5qx_lHU2hR2kjvp2EHaLRgZgf4u_5VyKeG37tru7HJi5YJsiw7ZRgCmIPUYoKCPttkp2Qa-vTbiS9Pv6ZbgiZ1JRjLb1IE90ZqAuEaSw_UxBUV-jBWSkWw/s400/DSCF7260.JPG" /></a> 2<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKqrBMRvuKLgTykIv2ooLYFQwuf5R1W9jNh0fy9n1IjxTpZ391GkH_WH3QffDaSpG-EjvNCIL_KavdRO46BP2jJPuvCvHrA4FBJk1_ZMvR7owAUQqk7TQqA5-pSo51WEVDZtFSMCsSac/s1600-h/DSCF7261.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431638846700680402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKqrBMRvuKLgTykIv2ooLYFQwuf5R1W9jNh0fy9n1IjxTpZ391GkH_WH3QffDaSpG-EjvNCIL_KavdRO46BP2jJPuvCvHrA4FBJk1_ZMvR7owAUQqk7TQqA5-pSo51WEVDZtFSMCsSac/s400/DSCF7261.JPG" /></a> 3<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM0Xg4kUKz99WIy5J9bYtG47_UyNnZIXc4EsdUveHvWL77pYbEJszcLCI3bU4eBqz_i0PuGyJrPMA5y1dJBPC9z6z8dPqPSZInNiNsMzuFP-KkNwOl9wxDuDV4qpSXaWAAMrsvk0fDLeE/s1600-h/DSCF7262.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431638842964092210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM0Xg4kUKz99WIy5J9bYtG47_UyNnZIXc4EsdUveHvWL77pYbEJszcLCI3bU4eBqz_i0PuGyJrPMA5y1dJBPC9z6z8dPqPSZInNiNsMzuFP-KkNwOl9wxDuDV4qpSXaWAAMrsvk0fDLeE/s400/DSCF7262.JPG" /></a> 4<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KYAldv4EdfCIJlI1_TNyEqI5rczMlNIuXHe_B3bu9D6JPO5VoGWKt8aHX8DdX-8DRIL4aFDkqWrJjThDGfF95ADu43qdd3OIrW3it46pUJBMNbCTDX3FaRCoFmIfjcT3XnzUdutTHNM/s1600-h/DSCF7263.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431638500306898834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6KYAldv4EdfCIJlI1_TNyEqI5rczMlNIuXHe_B3bu9D6JPO5VoGWKt8aHX8DdX-8DRIL4aFDkqWrJjThDGfF95ADu43qdd3OIrW3it46pUJBMNbCTDX3FaRCoFmIfjcT3XnzUdutTHNM/s400/DSCF7263.JPG" /></a> 5<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpqGqqbeO867tdqh5bAPXu3-K2GkmYVZP6mr1NXfpIFbVNYjDlsWnkw7lK8zMgpWaWfmgDe8AMqswJxPmw_rwVp1AHMIko_f_ZylUziOJ5AB_UCsrEx9vZPZtik7cvgL9VptUWCdsitc/s1600-h/DSCF7264.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431638498272844994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmpqGqqbeO867tdqh5bAPXu3-K2GkmYVZP6mr1NXfpIFbVNYjDlsWnkw7lK8zMgpWaWfmgDe8AMqswJxPmw_rwVp1AHMIko_f_ZylUziOJ5AB_UCsrEx9vZPZtik7cvgL9VptUWCdsitc/s400/DSCF7264.JPG" /></a> 6<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4osccxueDhphys4CMrmitbWC26t-kmkc9-8jHwDZZEb8Lc3p6x9wQMejCaFEvRYdyNYlPBnMNPaVXhgYNJfcB07K2EG8stKklrk_KuZgXDBDpdp3D9B7NM2btTdmAMEYkhZGOYwE0krk/s1600-h/DSCF7265.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431638492621208626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4osccxueDhphys4CMrmitbWC26t-kmkc9-8jHwDZZEb8Lc3p6x9wQMejCaFEvRYdyNYlPBnMNPaVXhgYNJfcB07K2EG8stKklrk_KuZgXDBDpdp3D9B7NM2btTdmAMEYkhZGOYwE0krk/s400/DSCF7265.JPG" /></a> 7<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFeL8XbaOVlK2jqOLAKKK7e6fk8HKXlOfx70cb9K-cYx_c25yzinIVytNPYgC4lvLVKnuLH7EqtjMAjwSSseZlj0dKcUtk9pC-vr7_VemNKX62yaW2kaCsMb8bzPHqEJHbqTA1FndI7A/s1600-h/DSCF7266.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431638483008615042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUFeL8XbaOVlK2jqOLAKKK7e6fk8HKXlOfx70cb9K-cYx_c25yzinIVytNPYgC4lvLVKnuLH7EqtjMAjwSSseZlj0dKcUtk9pC-vr7_VemNKX62yaW2kaCsMb8bzPHqEJHbqTA1FndI7A/s400/DSCF7266.JPG" /></a> 8<br /></div><br /><div>I wish that I could upload the entire output picture in all its splendor. But, I can't. Anyway, make sure to click on the picture below to see it in a larger form.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tPnPmSEK5LuAmU4-5eKwLwxD6oXErxW1NrhghIQpPKOcEvDzeVBXx9sGS71Yu9KOaFpjYaojReccpxRDkwpQOR9SUsiWetoaoKR048hg97qyYHKj_Kli8hTwVF0on7UJvUmTnxEzpkA/s1600-h/DSCF7259-66+pano.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 68px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431636989728723810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9tPnPmSEK5LuAmU4-5eKwLwxD6oXErxW1NrhghIQpPKOcEvDzeVBXx9sGS71Yu9KOaFpjYaojReccpxRDkwpQOR9SUsiWetoaoKR048hg97qyYHKj_Kli8hTwVF0on7UJvUmTnxEzpkA/s400/DSCF7259-66+pano.jpg" /></a> </div><div><br /></div><div>All in all, I am very pleased with the results. I don't know if I will do this very often, but it is a very good tool to have under your belt when the scenery demands it.</div>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-62116904114501819952009-12-31T21:20:00.012-07:002009-12-31T22:07:16.818-07:00Midnight is Rapidly Approaching!<div><div><div><div>The year is nearly gone. And, I am so far behind in posting my sunset photos to my web albums, and writing about them here, that I am ashamed. Like you, I've been very busy. This has been a very stressful year. But, I wanted to make sure to get one last blog entry done before 2010 begins. So, here goes ...<br /><div><div> </div><div>I think I'll just keep this one simple, and show a few recent photos. This first one is to show that, yes, we have still been having beautiful sunsets here in Florence. And, yes, I have been out photographing them. This is one is from my 'near backyard.'</div><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGLh1tBxc30VLkvvLEiXVfWH3FLrcn9VbDVsZ5Qa-Wmc4oIDEs3QNhjLbzhHKluhU5RLLTLJkpY3kZ-yfAlEGimXb7pk6e2xPhH8i58Xt7J0y_zcHbx3yI5Ob5vsKoVnI6V56GlvY0Ns4/s1600-h/DSCF6903.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG2DSDX3Eb2dOBMj_5NWw3l-tzIbcTr-_Lb-Yz59CZzviOLlF2RktVixMPKLi3ubfE7N5mYK-xuptgMXrtdL8nD8ZUm6hFLnwanr41COeEo807S_-zfRjpdFcK1ulLdnvKv9lt8PAVEwY/s1600-h/DSCF6903.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421625330389528914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG2DSDX3Eb2dOBMj_5NWw3l-tzIbcTr-_Lb-Yz59CZzviOLlF2RktVixMPKLi3ubfE7N5mYK-xuptgMXrtdL8nD8ZUm6hFLnwanr41COeEo807S_-zfRjpdFcK1ulLdnvKv9lt8PAVEwY/s400/DSCF6903.JPG" /></a> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>This next series was taken just two nights ago, and far, far away from my home. I have wanted to drive into the Superstition Mountains for some sunset photos for quite a while. But, that is about 40 miles, and an hour, from my home. Since you never know whether there will be a good sunset or not, I've been a little hesitant to just up and drive there. But, this looked like a very promising day. So, off I went. I drove about a mile off US60 on the Peralta Road, and stopped beside the road. There is some really beautiful desert all around there. I've been back in here several times in the past, to hike the Peralta trail. I did it again about a month ago. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Make sure to click on these images to view them larger. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>This first picture turned out pretty good. This is the Superstition Mountains with the setting sun shining on them. The desert is real pretty, and the clouds are great. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEq7yeb-p0woqBBw-n2QKYrzvve7n2ZGU2IRUARGKQtNDmLIPtOgW7yKAYJ7coK-y9krENZfRV1RumDaKg7EUGhm_-qWsvcwDgCaYUVRP0d_S7UG48rm24MnqtyHyL9guZgmDUohscftI/s1600-h/IMG_4803.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421624728034285522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEq7yeb-p0woqBBw-n2QKYrzvve7n2ZGU2IRUARGKQtNDmLIPtOgW7yKAYJ7coK-y9krENZfRV1RumDaKg7EUGhm_-qWsvcwDgCaYUVRP0d_S7UG48rm24MnqtyHyL9guZgmDUohscftI/s400/IMG_4803.jpg" /></a> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The sunset wasn't too bad, either. I really like having the cactus forest to shoot through. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmd2km2JyniE8VCR2NpGTmyyYRRdrgbF1a1B28nmFB3HIJtlp7zLfJtfJMiKGsKK4cWZZCnhjZn6-3ojdj1K06vfFvzzq_945JylcB7WnNccTavljm_ve3F02NVvNIJsjjIbtvUgfkeM/s1600-h/IMG_4830.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421624734938895218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmd2km2JyniE8VCR2NpGTmyyYRRdrgbF1a1B28nmFB3HIJtlp7zLfJtfJMiKGsKK4cWZZCnhjZn6-3ojdj1K06vfFvzzq_945JylcB7WnNccTavljm_ve3F02NVvNIJsjjIbtvUgfkeM/s400/IMG_4830.jpg" /></a> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>And now comes the surprising part. After the sun goes down, it gets dark. (That's not the surprising part!) In the following shot, the clouds are being illuminated by the city lights of Phoenix. I see that effect all the way down in Florence, so that didn't surprise either. Remember, it was dark. There was nearly a full moon hidden above the clouds behind me, which provided enough light to see (kinda) where I was walking even without a flashlight. Did I mention that it was dark? And, did I mention that there was a breeze? </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Since it was rather dark, I set my camera aperature to F8 so a long exposure would be required. The first shot below was 25 seconds, and the last one was 30 seconds. I normally shoot at ISO100, but for these shots I changed to ISO400. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>The breeze was moving the clouds, and that caused a blur in the image that has produced a fantastic 3D effect in the images. You can see that the cactus is still and in focus, and so are the stars in the sky. Just the clouds are blured. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNGrzvpRMngWweaZSl_fBHS-yKLDGgdhI2wF9gpmx3khgQjfGerqRfA3Ywtu7PqzjghY0aJhxasJeZurimN6Pjsv0MIWxMjWRd-mrnOs5fEyrV9YWGbb8SiaCmXQotMKATfmS10FA43rQ/s1600-h/IMG_4901.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421624738105830482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNGrzvpRMngWweaZSl_fBHS-yKLDGgdhI2wF9gpmx3khgQjfGerqRfA3Ywtu7PqzjghY0aJhxasJeZurimN6Pjsv0MIWxMjWRd-mrnOs5fEyrV9YWGbb8SiaCmXQotMKATfmS10FA43rQ/s400/IMG_4901.jpg" /></a> </div><br /><div></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELI1ESiOYq-EbH3EbLipnVjq4FpWfBV-bOUxqWDGY8X3zT0ljDUAU3-s5HrGS51VT9RbbM1abz-eJsZ6gegwwf-xM1uABKlsY9OgGSxDgWXgq2zkWIIk2Cbz5ZEY_GhTcggR1-tIJmK0/s1600-h/IMG_4904.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421626075072733922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgELI1ESiOYq-EbH3EbLipnVjq4FpWfBV-bOUxqWDGY8X3zT0ljDUAU3-s5HrGS51VT9RbbM1abz-eJsZ6gegwwf-xM1uABKlsY9OgGSxDgWXgq2zkWIIk2Cbz5ZEY_GhTcggR1-tIJmK0/s400/IMG_4904.jpg" /></a><br /><br />I just love this effect, and I think I will be trying to duplicate it much more in the future.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Meanwhile, thanks for reading, and I pray that God will bless you with a wonderful New Year.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXt9FGfQC6mkvA2XAAeYwStfduAz1k18B8U51cV-nZiXs7CeE6-_K7vQ4YPwMPLJEiTkaz2L6WY3DnYJwau_cisGXXntYtfTgY7SQOK8rFRPBfEKMYQaGf7ZStvkph3scZPlxY62pniD4/s1600-h/IMG_4904.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXt9FGfQC6mkvA2XAAeYwStfduAz1k18B8U51cV-nZiXs7CeE6-_K7vQ4YPwMPLJEiTkaz2L6WY3DnYJwau_cisGXXntYtfTgY7SQOK8rFRPBfEKMYQaGf7ZStvkph3scZPlxY62pniD4/s1600-h/IMG_4904.jpg"></a></div></div></div></div></div></div>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-41633929018290248072009-10-25T15:31:00.021-07:002009-10-26T23:13:49.260-07:00A New Effect - Graduated TintMost of the photos that I post to my web albums are unedited; just as they came from the camera. Some however, do go through some minor edits - such as rotating and cropping. Some even experience some contrast enhancement. For working with my photos I have some free photo editing programs, and some that I have purchased. My favorite of all of them is Google's Picasa. And yes, it's free! It may not be as fully featured as some of my other programs, but it is very capable none the less, and is also very simple and intuitive to use.<br /><br />In case you haven't noticed, there are a LOT of ways to edit a photograph. And, what I've found, is that the majority of them actually make the picture look worse than the original. Snapping a picture with a camera is simple, compared to the art of photo editing. To do this requires a very talented eye, and a flare for art. Mind you, I don't claim to have any such skills. At least, not yet.<br /><br />Over the last couple of years, I've maintained a constantly running slide show in my office at work. That gives me 8 hours, give or take, every day to examine my work. What I've found is that lately, some of the photos that I used to consider a very enjoyable, now seem quite bland, or washed out. And so, I have begun a slightly more serious look into photo editing.<br /><br />I have discovered a couple of very simple things in Picasa that can make very stunning improvements in some shots. Not <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> shots, mind you; just <span style="font-style: italic;">some</span> shots. Number one on this list is increasing the contrast. I'm sure that it is the same with you; when you get back from a photo shoot and look at your results, some shots are keepers, and some are only fit for the round file. Sometimes, a little enhancement is all that is necessary to change one of those disposable pictures into a keeper.<br /><br />As an example...<br /><br />Actually, I never considered throwing this shot away; I liked the colors too much. This was a one of those very special nights where the sunset was spectacular. And to the South of me, some clouds were beautifully glowing in the light of the setting sun. And to top that off, a very localized rain storm was passing by. The storm was close enough to enjoy but not close enough to get wet. This is a shot looking South at that storm, but it's kinda hard to tell from the original image that there really is a storm here because the picture is so dark.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxMDCqRQMVJwq0PeIB7b3GthN5k-nt35o94zjDSbU0Vz8W7NTNHDrlXeT_0guM4fMCrI_UtTcM7x8__GmrdYiHICMFutsw-_-uINbG7En_Hg0O3ApFmzBDoNvJcF_seYQAoRcSWnIunk/s1600-h/DSCF6643orig.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxMDCqRQMVJwq0PeIB7b3GthN5k-nt35o94zjDSbU0Vz8W7NTNHDrlXeT_0guM4fMCrI_UtTcM7x8__GmrdYiHICMFutsw-_-uINbG7En_Hg0O3ApFmzBDoNvJcF_seYQAoRcSWnIunk/s400/DSCF6643orig.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396669521270025202" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The first thing that I learned to use in Picasa to really help shots like these, is the Tuning tab, which you can see below.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTS_quPf0I/AAAAAAAATWY/-f1YDvaCZ5M/s1600-h/Tuning1.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTS_quPf0I/AAAAAAAATWY/-f1YDvaCZ5M/s400/Tuning1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396670244738531138" border="0" /></a><br /><br />On this tab, I like to use the Fill Light and Shadows sliders. To show what effect these sliders <span style="font-style: italic;">can</span> have, first I have moved the Fill Light slighter all the way to the right.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTS_wgAaJI/AAAAAAAATWg/gBOOWtWyHbk/s1600-h/Tuning2.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 168px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTS_wgAaJI/AAAAAAAATWg/gBOOWtWyHbk/s400/Tuning2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396670246289434770" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCG1QGsOZsFz64luiijpTgrJ2rgdGHLK3hVYsgmkdhsQcnFn7aDuYA5HqR_hSUoQVxP1IM3rgPYMj97H7FPZokin__lx9Pyfr0bgIN1hjv3sLuc-PfE6oT9r96Lcax5l1r0rsH1HcdSvI/s1600-h/DSCF6643orig-1.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCG1QGsOZsFz64luiijpTgrJ2rgdGHLK3hVYsgmkdhsQcnFn7aDuYA5HqR_hSUoQVxP1IM3rgPYMj97H7FPZokin__lx9Pyfr0bgIN1hjv3sLuc-PfE6oT9r96Lcax5l1r0rsH1HcdSvI/s400/DSCF6643orig-1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396669507398865602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As you can now see above, there is actually some desert in the foreground. But, now the clouds are all washed out. So, the next thing to see, is what happens if I slide the Shadows slider all the way to the right.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTS_yERb6I/AAAAAAAATWo/2GSO1m5Rg20/s1600-h/Tuning3.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 168px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTS_yERb6I/AAAAAAAATWo/2GSO1m5Rg20/s400/Tuning3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396670246709981090" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As you can see below, the saturation of the colors is greatly increased, making them look much brighter. However, this has now taken on a very artificial look. And, if you will notice, the foreground has nearly disappeared again.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoohDfX4yA5BgdfxaB3Wt4ooK9RWSwCwddQjez9Sshi-pob2ArY9LBrLt8RFlMNbCjMQQjmNsB15-rLjcGWGZqQwV47SKnsh7WcTSp6D_3XpRTxwIoArWtyZqSaCWXlhVfMidkYJEgOGc/s1600-h/DSCF6643orig-2.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoohDfX4yA5BgdfxaB3Wt4ooK9RWSwCwddQjez9Sshi-pob2ArY9LBrLt8RFlMNbCjMQQjmNsB15-rLjcGWGZqQwV47SKnsh7WcTSp6D_3XpRTxwIoArWtyZqSaCWXlhVfMidkYJEgOGc/s400/DSCF6643orig-2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396669515690981682" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So, next I will bring the Shadows slider all the way back to the left and back off on the Fill Light slider a bit, as you see below. I adjusted this down until the desert plants in the foreground are just visible, approximately as I would like them to appear in the final version.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTTAFOoPwI/AAAAAAAATWw/DrwPOvyKfec/s1600-h/Tuning4.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 167px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTTAFOoPwI/AAAAAAAATWw/DrwPOvyKfec/s400/Tuning4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396670251853692674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFRT6eVghRnijAfMvnmX3xhog4jGUhohYK_oF6phiCXmYykl4vzNzNAjcb8NbbRnDIVJ5VCzlUuOwkb27WakPjpl8ER6BfP4Y-keoLunlffDTIs9YqUuafOBzGLrmZQ6OmVaw-_ARbjU/s1600-h/DSCF6643orig-3.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpFRT6eVghRnijAfMvnmX3xhog4jGUhohYK_oF6phiCXmYykl4vzNzNAjcb8NbbRnDIVJ5VCzlUuOwkb27WakPjpl8ER6BfP4Y-keoLunlffDTIs9YqUuafOBzGLrmZQ6OmVaw-_ARbjU/s400/DSCF6643orig-3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396669512254984450" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As you can now see above, the desert has some character to it, and the clouds have a little definition back to them. But, they are still too washed out. So, it seams that what I need to do is to darken the sky without darkening the foreground. Enter the Graduated Tint Effect.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTSpBpD5UI/AAAAAAAATVw/RAanf9wDA7I/s1600-h/Effects1.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 350px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTSpBpD5UI/AAAAAAAATVw/RAanf9wDA7I/s400/Effects1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396669855753823554" border="0" /></a><br /><br />When you click on this tool, two sliders appear; Feather and Shade.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTSpYBqowI/AAAAAAAATV4/5NZy0RZ5Db8/s1600-h/Effects2.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 284px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTSpYBqowI/AAAAAAAATV4/5NZy0RZ5Db8/s400/Effects2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396669861762605826" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Also, in the middle of your photograph, a green plus symbol appears (see below). You can click on this plus sign and drag it around your picture.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTSpqWbFTI/AAAAAAAATWA/BbFPrQflShw/s1600-h/Effects3.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 90px; height: 67px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTSpqWbFTI/AAAAAAAATWA/BbFPrQflShw/s400/Effects3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396669866681505074" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As you can see below, I've positioned the plus just below the bottom of the clouds.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTSps0twCI/AAAAAAAATWI/1KAb-LSXPTs/s1600-h/Effects4.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 152px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTSps0twCI/AAAAAAAATWI/1KAb-LSXPTs/s400/Effects4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396669867345428514" border="0" /></a><br /><br />You should experiment with the two sliders to fully understand what they do. The Feather slider broadens the darkening effect, so as to soften its impact on the lower portion of your photo. The Shade slider causes the image above the plus sign to become darker the further you move the slider to the right. By the way, below the Shade slider is the Pick Color tool that allows you to alter the color used to tint the image. If you leave this alone, the color of your image is not changed - it is only darkened. You should play with this, as you can get some very interesting effects. So far, I haven't seen any need to use the Pick Color box, as I am quite satisfied with the normal darkening tint.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTSp-0ZnxI/AAAAAAAATWQ/xP1I8rhnwyw/s1600-h/Effects5.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 284px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SuTSp-0ZnxI/AAAAAAAATWQ/xP1I8rhnwyw/s400/Effects5.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396669872175947538" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Once I get a desired image, I click on Apply. Below is the final result. The clouds have a fairly bright coloration, and yet not unappealing. They also exhibit a lot of detail. And, the rain storm and the desert foreground are nicely visible. I knew there was a reason that I didn't want to throw away the original!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2Is6VbgRG29xwTmPaboGtqGth_gbf6hvT8ZR4GBggovQrUG9zlb7u9huPA9QRNflQIwmE93NxXrOBzcIVY3k9B2mlT8I2_nqKdkptU0vK5rMSalbzeFigrijiKyn0F1CMUd1tEZtI-s/s1600-h/DSCF6643orig-4.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2Is6VbgRG29xwTmPaboGtqGth_gbf6hvT8ZR4GBggovQrUG9zlb7u9huPA9QRNflQIwmE93NxXrOBzcIVY3k9B2mlT8I2_nqKdkptU0vK5rMSalbzeFigrijiKyn0F1CMUd1tEZtI-s/s400/DSCF6643orig-4.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396669518907212418" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Below is another example using this technique. The shot is of the Superstition Mountains, looking over a pasture with some cows enjoying the coming of the evening. In the original shot, the foreground and the cows are very dark; there is hardly any green visible in the grass. This is <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> how this scene appeared to my eyes; the colors were much more vibrant as I stood there.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSCcbuy9zqvaSbiE9uSwzfu_UGyry4l3yPBoS2VGQU0RCxoCdV36F32RGWiHD64kBKHsBVqh25E19JClr_at8KRkxpHmt17mdi_sMyOPzC0k16KS3ymTBNWhhqw410IKzw_1RCZTDJMc/s1600-h/P1060448.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSCcbuy9zqvaSbiE9uSwzfu_UGyry4l3yPBoS2VGQU0RCxoCdV36F32RGWiHD64kBKHsBVqh25E19JClr_at8KRkxpHmt17mdi_sMyOPzC0k16KS3ymTBNWhhqw410IKzw_1RCZTDJMc/s400/P1060448.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396702938473814226" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So, in the shot below, you can see the fruits of the editing technique described above. I don't know about you, but I much prefer this second image.<br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZ2UqJ_FsOTFbLN586_4kf5lpoLjqqgjD6sZAtmKLOKRV7kah890pIdUgwmm6O7fQo13UQxbSwxQHJ-7vk7Vko9RihdXFYqcoeUXFXtXnJRCh1KunX__X0BVcvXwoQyfTdduZgugPwic/s1600-h/P1060448-2.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFZ2UqJ_FsOTFbLN586_4kf5lpoLjqqgjD6sZAtmKLOKRV7kah890pIdUgwmm6O7fQo13UQxbSwxQHJ-7vk7Vko9RihdXFYqcoeUXFXtXnJRCh1KunX__X0BVcvXwoQyfTdduZgugPwic/s400/P1060448-2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396708106513686338" border="0" /></a>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-891676108604736742009-09-12T14:07:00.014-07:002009-09-12T17:26:57.844-07:00The Night I've Been Waiting For!Sometimes the sky is absolutely amazing. What God has designed is beyond all possible comprehension.<br /><br />As I have been working my way through my sunset collection, and trying to get at least some of them uploaded to my Picasa Web Albums, I've been approaching this particular night of July 21, 2008 (Yes, I know - that IS more that a year ago!) with great excitement. It was indeed a very magical night. I was shooting this night with the Fujifilm FinePix S8000fd, since I did not have the Canon Rebel-xsi yet. But, that is actually part of this story.<br /><br />You will recognize the cactus in these photos, as I have photographed it literally thousands of times because it is probably about 500 yards from my house - quick and easy to walk to. By my count, on that night I took 102 photos! That in itself indicates that it was probably a pretty good night. Since there are so many pictures from that night, I'm going to try something new -- I've created a short movie from some of them, along with some credits at the end, giving credit where credit is due!! Here is how the night progressed:<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxaux1ur05kGchmFh2sHmwUzNmMYOCk59iTy4-uAMElJKyehcNSoq007cyDfute1dOMO6I0dQRplNP1RjzOcg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />The final picture in the video is a special one to me. Shortly after taking these, I noticed that the theme for Circuit City's Photo Contest of the Month for August, was "Sunrises and Sunsets." It hit me right between the eyes that I should try entering one of my photos. Of course, I wouldn't stand a chance, but I should give it a try any way.<br /><br />At that time, my sunset collection consisted of about 8,000 photos. The rules of the contest allowed for each person to enter <span style="font-weight: bold;">only <span style="font-style: italic;">one</span> picture</span>. So, I proceeded to go over each and every photo in my collection several times. Whew! Once I narrowed the search to about 500 pictures, I asked my wife and granddaughter for their input. Of course, they refused to even look until I further reduced the number of candidates. So, I put some more sweat into it, and got the number of choices down to about 70. Then I turned it over to them. They fussed and fumed for a while, and further narrowed the selection down to about a dozen. And then it was back to me again.<br /><br />I looked at their choices, and although I liked them (after all, it was I who put them in the list of 70), I just couldn't pick one of their dozen as my <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">one</span> favorite. I wanted to pick a shot that I both liked myself, and one that I thought the judges might like. So, I thanked my wife and granddaughter for their efforts, and returned to the list of 500, and picked the one that is at the end of the video above.<br /><br />To complete the story, and to be real careful to give credit where it is really due, the photo I entered into Circuit City's contest took first place in the August contest. The result was that I won the Canon Rebel-xsi camera from them. The irony in this is, that before I received the camera from them, Circuit City announced that they were closing all their Arizona stores. And after that, they announced the closure of all their stores. But, I am very happy to say that the camera did arrive, I'm very thankful for it, and I really enjoy it.<br /><br />Now, as for the credit that is due, I have said it before and always will, that God puts the beauty in the sunsets. He has simply given me the great love for that beauty, and the ability to push the shutter button. I also think that He must have helped me select which photo to submit to the contest. Mind you, my wife and granddaughter were slightly disappointed that I hadn't picked one of their choices. However, since the photo that I selected actually won, they have gotten over their disappointment.<br /><br />Again, here is the wining photo:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlp_KnOqNzO06okQJ88neraxi-qjRL0YVvmhCp1O2AC2U60vFXhizg4LVXsGg-P2eeJfwfV0Gvb1ibg2tp1-HeXOuYTXpv4Q7QxvoHvFEjbGPYPg7NZuQFR9aosGFrgq_scX6b1S3wiZo/s1600-h/DSCF6478.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlp_KnOqNzO06okQJ88neraxi-qjRL0YVvmhCp1O2AC2U60vFXhizg4LVXsGg-P2eeJfwfV0Gvb1ibg2tp1-HeXOuYTXpv4Q7QxvoHvFEjbGPYPg7NZuQFR9aosGFrgq_scX6b1S3wiZo/s400/DSCF6478.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380736698181306802" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Thank You, Lord!!<br /><br />And you can see more photos from this night in my <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/roger.degler/AZSunriseSunsetJuly2008#">July 2008 web album</a>. Just know that I haven't finished uploading all the pictures from night that I want to. So, more will be coming.Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-54738805606964646402009-08-30T17:22:00.006-07:002009-08-30T20:24:05.483-07:00Where Ever You Are ...... You just gotta stop, and take a picture! So, you had better be ready, huh?<br /><br />You know, I find it rather strange, that a good portion of my collection of nearly 16,000 (!!!) sunset pictures, I can remember taking. Well, OK, not all of them. But, I got around to posting these shots from last July (a year ago) to my Picasa web albums, and I can remember where I was, and what the circumstances were, when I shot them.<br /><br />In the shot below do you recognize the reflections? Can you identify what they are off of?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlgg0er-efrsEXKxjmeyUzcyF_MeaD257EcYg4ZJflKSkRWpLC7iR-_iUlU_PeroPbe-lcMNRgmt4P2226BzVfNpSbdGjL6vUGx-4dR8BRSpfKEwXCs-gWgvdxXi_SYBKLHEH37ByDYM/s1600-h/DSCF6410r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlgg0er-efrsEXKxjmeyUzcyF_MeaD257EcYg4ZJflKSkRWpLC7iR-_iUlU_PeroPbe-lcMNRgmt4P2226BzVfNpSbdGjL6vUGx-4dR8BRSpfKEwXCs-gWgvdxXi_SYBKLHEH37ByDYM/s400/DSCF6410r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375917086554762674" border="0" /></a><br /><br />On this day in July, I was on my way home at the end of the day. And, of course, I was racing the sun. It was obvious that there was going to be a nice sunset, and I wanted to get to a place outside, or at least mostly outside, of town where I could place myself behind some mountains or cactus. But, the setting sun waits for no man, and I couldn't get out of town fast enough. I was headed South on Val Vista Drive, when I came to this somewhat open area. So, I just pulled over and started shooting. OK, now can you figure out what the reflections are off of? No, that's not water. They are off of the roof of my car! It turns out that I rather liked the results, even though they were quite unexpected and unplanned. Sometimes, you just accidentally learn something new!<br /><br />So, after clicking a few shots, I headed on down the road. But, I hadn't gone far when I had to pull over again. I really liked the pastel colors of the clouds. This time, I at least moved clear of the car.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9ssT-GkSdKJTYeK_m-DhoJO_WNoXWI-s8YTw1ayGUJK6THgIJjAZIbvGtR06ozQRn6j6gniLYy5gosbAid-M_kYbKPVvwujEjIBCnMh30rWiEzLhMoWBWcehkHwZfXudpjli9GH89nA/s1600-h/DSCF6419r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP9ssT-GkSdKJTYeK_m-DhoJO_WNoXWI-s8YTw1ayGUJK6THgIJjAZIbvGtR06ozQRn6j6gniLYy5gosbAid-M_kYbKPVvwujEjIBCnMh30rWiEzLhMoWBWcehkHwZfXudpjli9GH89nA/s400/DSCF6419r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375917068444536642" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdhMSCIFdmn7B7vHksJhL5HzQ6GnswxI8YQ8ufmzJ4ZgXkLe_rCvs2TH0167Hd9A9ou34f4tzv0gW18Zudz13WJlZn0PNd7cZXZ10axf9wL6YpfrYMlF_ARWBS0dCSpmfmva4L-s4gzc/s1600-h/DSCF6420r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXdhMSCIFdmn7B7vHksJhL5HzQ6GnswxI8YQ8ufmzJ4ZgXkLe_rCvs2TH0167Hd9A9ou34f4tzv0gW18Zudz13WJlZn0PNd7cZXZ10axf9wL6YpfrYMlF_ARWBS0dCSpmfmva4L-s4gzc/s400/DSCF6420r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375917062399210770" border="0" /></a>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-88965180231952353072009-08-22T20:51:00.011-07:002009-08-22T21:23:41.972-07:00Sometimes the Water is NiceWe had some beautiful clouds throughout the day. And, as they usually do, I was afraid that they would completely disappear before sundown. But, alas! Some of them were kind enough to stick around. So, tonight I rode my trusty bicycle up to the community lake, hoping to get some good reflections. The first thing that you are probably thinking is "Where is the cactus?" That's a fair question. And the second is probably "What are lakes doing in the middle of the Arizona desert?" That's an even better question.<br /><br />As for the cactus, well, sometimes I just like to broaden my horizons (no pun intended). And, after all, who doesn't like reflections off of water? As for what the lakes are doing in the desert, well, who doesn't like reflections off of water? This community lake is by the playground area and near the community center. This puts it near the streets. And streets bring street lights. When I am shooting around cactus, I try to avoid getting any man-made objects in the pictures. If I can't completely avoid them, I at least try to hide them behind the cactus or a handy bush. But, hey, when you are at the lake by the street, your gonna have street lights! You can see them in all of the following shots. It's just almost impossible to keep away from them. So I do my best with them, and try to make them fit in as best as I can.<br /><br />Any way, when I first arrived at the lake tonight, the sun was still behind a cloud. But, I could see that there was a clear area beneath the cloud that the sun should come bursting through. This first shot give you and idea what the cloud was like that the sun was hiding behind.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhPFvtmV0iZcrN2pDPP8MdUL5MDsaHY-ejtZ8CNyhhlVbuJebBjP1m-LhjWu6ySFzBLOuWIRg3drofjtq2nQyyhXmcN8rGi4lVtEempZnFZnLIDzscLJinrZn9pDdHmlymPmnZ0dewd0/s1600-h/DSCF4786.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhPFvtmV0iZcrN2pDPP8MdUL5MDsaHY-ejtZ8CNyhhlVbuJebBjP1m-LhjWu6ySFzBLOuWIRg3drofjtq2nQyyhXmcN8rGi4lVtEempZnFZnLIDzscLJinrZn9pDdHmlymPmnZ0dewd0/s400/DSCF4786.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373002633058971570" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As I was waiting for the sun to make it's appearance, I rode my bike around the lake a few times, trying to pick my positions for my shots. I decided on the location below for the shots of when the sun first dropped below the clouds. I tried to include the reflection of the sun itself, as well as reflections of trees, light poles, etc.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2W1QkGmsVyk6Os3qlcLzfz6SdwPCwVaVxgBhAYPEPGalIzBbrwYYI9bMW_EjtQFoCZk2s_NOsF_4KQP3wUWz1eg1NOLqVd61hiD2hD-5Ac2fMyyKZjUz7wqVJXHfYugU-UblmWLgWkVI/s1600-h/IMG_3368.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2W1QkGmsVyk6Os3qlcLzfz6SdwPCwVaVxgBhAYPEPGalIzBbrwYYI9bMW_EjtQFoCZk2s_NOsF_4KQP3wUWz1eg1NOLqVd61hiD2hD-5Ac2fMyyKZjUz7wqVJXHfYugU-UblmWLgWkVI/s400/IMG_3368.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373002621898799666" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Whenever there is a tree nearby, I like to use some of its branches to add a little interest to the foreground, as in this next shot.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo22F57UHp31mQGZlSBWl9p-PPJ4lw2NP_gq9A_lTg16vHf85M30qiYQ0BebDdbZGgGZqoHf_hWuDT_PyV_6WdvGFGswhKHAouip-BsTJMCUlwkvp-2i3eBrMQ0oXirWbqrQB_LAXZclY/s1600-h/DSCF4791.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo22F57UHp31mQGZlSBWl9p-PPJ4lw2NP_gq9A_lTg16vHf85M30qiYQ0BebDdbZGgGZqoHf_hWuDT_PyV_6WdvGFGswhKHAouip-BsTJMCUlwkvp-2i3eBrMQ0oXirWbqrQB_LAXZclY/s400/DSCF4791.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373002627010209218" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A little later, I moved around to another location, where the pool of water is larger and more still. The still water provides smoother reflections.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69Sf-CH4RwLTcePwLN_xUDPpSmfKYFGI2oZfKFD2LxyNyuhSZCaQtWZOkkw-Z8hRt1gciOBHJ7krn8VarG4iOFHhPyVToJzywzOqc6qhplHmCY-YbRN9rj_EEqYkiFeOxkeTM1omlu_g/s1600-h/IMG_3374.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69Sf-CH4RwLTcePwLN_xUDPpSmfKYFGI2oZfKFD2LxyNyuhSZCaQtWZOkkw-Z8hRt1gciOBHJ7krn8VarG4iOFHhPyVToJzywzOqc6qhplHmCY-YbRN9rj_EEqYkiFeOxkeTM1omlu_g/s400/IMG_3374.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373002611847120866" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And, tonight we had a small crescent moon. Click on this next shot to see it a little larger. I tried to capture the moon and its reflection along with the colors of the sky.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjUc6pkbaAbkVKDRwgmOF6B8HGgYlISlF_ZaqzZWeG904sELfSd-Ko7SAKDOQC1II6VSxfGFDFc15D5R4ZucY7inoD1xZYrhRbTi9AupatgUutb01HhlvaKBEd3lCrFD-aM62h2ZcnEE/s1600-h/IMG_3396.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZjUc6pkbaAbkVKDRwgmOF6B8HGgYlISlF_ZaqzZWeG904sELfSd-Ko7SAKDOQC1II6VSxfGFDFc15D5R4ZucY7inoD1xZYrhRbTi9AupatgUutb01HhlvaKBEd3lCrFD-aM62h2ZcnEE/s400/IMG_3396.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373002604022496354" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Then I hopped on my bike and made my way back home.Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-36487939586622710862009-08-19T18:53:00.008-07:002009-08-19T20:27:00.512-07:00Wow! Where does the time go?I ended my last post by saying that I had just thrown my back out of whack. Well, I'm glad to say that I am up and about. I'm just taking it rather easy, as my back is still kind of edgy. Add to that the fact that I've been really busy at my work. Add to that the fact that we haven't had a very rainy season this summer. Not much rain, not many clouds. So, I've only been out shooting sunsets a couple of times in the last couple of weeks.<br /><br />So, I thought that this time I'd talk about a couple of photos from last July (yes, a year ago!). I have posted these pictures in my Picasa web albums, so you can see these and more, there.<br /><br />The first shot is one that I took when I stepped out my back door just to check the sky and see if I was going to need to go shoot the sunset. As I looked at the sky, I was really stunned at the sun's rays through the hole in the cloud. So, I ran back in the house to get my camera, and was very happy to see that the hole had not vanished when I got back to the yard. I try to not take pictures of roof tops and light poles, but sometimes you gotta take the picture where you stand. Any way, I love the sun's rays around and through the cloud.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEaQ5RFu3jcUmtUdAHkeVP1qs-AveMbbJntmsK3lLAwnDm99u_uzqFmZQudWbpxHL96_iRy9HkzXCKfl1KnLkGODgPdAV8-dxZHQF1ndGGe6iq-2CqkEOsDMRvSH17dm4Iw-FRIVsm3Yg/s1600-h/DSCF5435r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEaQ5RFu3jcUmtUdAHkeVP1qs-AveMbbJntmsK3lLAwnDm99u_uzqFmZQudWbpxHL96_iRy9HkzXCKfl1KnLkGODgPdAV8-dxZHQF1ndGGe6iq-2CqkEOsDMRvSH17dm4Iw-FRIVsm3Yg/s400/DSCF5435r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371861200574237906" border="0" /></a><br /><br />It was looking like some good things might happen in the coming sunset, so I hit the road in search of of the setting sun. Here are a few more pictures from later that same day.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggEC4wDXBzVhf_WQAwUczMqdefJrlTF3vWPE2R-4WfgIwEUe9P1MkWf_1ZyykJPGlTe7O-LurV3Mm3Bin_xiYAFEoNSdCLAXb0RWd3nzKpXPQu3ZX3c52WvGrK0eqRwNl79BsCv-8nMEo/s1600-h/DSCF5442r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggEC4wDXBzVhf_WQAwUczMqdefJrlTF3vWPE2R-4WfgIwEUe9P1MkWf_1ZyykJPGlTe7O-LurV3Mm3Bin_xiYAFEoNSdCLAXb0RWd3nzKpXPQu3ZX3c52WvGrK0eqRwNl79BsCv-8nMEo/s400/DSCF5442r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371878242957488642" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMpiDBlI-SVyP9DdwijtdYTt4di343rjTRtm-BcNek1tXy0QR50UZZsgwpyEzqHObP9V9IMVcAbyzHUNbjvMXVGk0Pv1qh3pkDrdwcq5WOi_SAoXE1-ZWozzo6Ek1M-S2eWhI1Ro3cWc/s1600-h/DSCF5445r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCMpiDBlI-SVyP9DdwijtdYTt4di343rjTRtm-BcNek1tXy0QR50UZZsgwpyEzqHObP9V9IMVcAbyzHUNbjvMXVGk0Pv1qh3pkDrdwcq5WOi_SAoXE1-ZWozzo6Ek1M-S2eWhI1Ro3cWc/s400/DSCF5445r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371878233588593762" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rhbpesFZ4zBIs-eq-BM9_63MzLf8Rwol9TdB7pDWKQRUz-LGJxN5Zss8t6tUyNHWE_w96VQd_EkrCJkDl8RhDst8sbrpb3VOcHFelELdq2uFq5XtWJRY9ltsI0ErTIRqtVzUsRf13pY/s1600-h/DSCF5467r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rhbpesFZ4zBIs-eq-BM9_63MzLf8Rwol9TdB7pDWKQRUz-LGJxN5Zss8t6tUyNHWE_w96VQd_EkrCJkDl8RhDst8sbrpb3VOcHFelELdq2uFq5XtWJRY9ltsI0ErTIRqtVzUsRf13pY/s400/DSCF5467r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371878219357289378" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXKQQWnGu9I7VV4gCFkcV9bjNRrZVqyLOfvyHi7sZEz_WBJtLTQCKOE6e4Thy4O77KEnoVZQTDjQSmTA9ootT6x5C1dHM_vufw_umdSiCIJ-2d84bcEK9ijM5AGHf4MJCRshL1_EcUE8/s1600-h/DSCF5472r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXKQQWnGu9I7VV4gCFkcV9bjNRrZVqyLOfvyHi7sZEz_WBJtLTQCKOE6e4Thy4O77KEnoVZQTDjQSmTA9ootT6x5C1dHM_vufw_umdSiCIJ-2d84bcEK9ijM5AGHf4MJCRshL1_EcUE8/s400/DSCF5472r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5371878212036895634" border="0" /></a>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-41011318729335224582009-07-25T17:25:00.013-07:002009-07-28T08:20:18.578-07:00I'm Still Here!!I could start by asking, what else could go wrong? But I won't. If I did, you might think that I was just whining. On the other hand, I know that each of you has experienced much of the same. The happy news is that I'm now back on the air!<br /><br />OK, so what's been going on?<br /><br />Computer crash - One day, my computer decided that it didn't want to boot up any more. The Windows boot procedure reported that a certain file was missing or corrupt. After spending about a week trying to restore a copy of that file and get running again, I finally gave up. The next approach was to buy a new hard drive, and start over by restoring from the factory restore disk. Of course, this puts the machine back into its <span style="font-style: italic;">factory new</span> state, which means that every Windows Update needed to be reinstalled, and every program that I use needed to be reinstalled. What with only being able to work on this in the evenings after getting home from work, this took several weeks to get back up again. As for all my photographs, I was able to install the old hard drive as a second drive, and copy all my pictures to the new disk. I wasn't so concerned about loosing the picture files, since I keep a copy of all of them on a external USB hard drive, and on burnable DVD disks. So, I was quite certain that I could recover them all. Note to all -- MAKE SURE TO BACKUP ALL OF YOUR IMPORTANT FILES!!!<br /><br />Office furniture exchange - In the midst of trying to get my computer back up again, my wife wanted me to exchange my office furniture with hers. It would seem that it would have been easier to exchange offices, but she didn't want to do that. Did you ever play that computer game Sokoban? This games goes back several years ago; it was a simple game involving a bunch of boxes that you had to push around to get them into the proper places. There were 50 levels to solve, and some of them were extremely difficult. But, not nearly as difficult as actually exchanging furniture between two rooms. In reality, it involves at least four rooms in the house, and more likely <span style="font-style: italic;">every</span> room in the house. And that's exactly what it did. And to start off, all of the computers had to be shut down and moved to a safe waiting area. It took me about two solid days to get the furniture moved. And then it took about another week to get the computers back up and running. And, of course, my wife's computer had to come first. Anyway, both my wife's computer and mine are back up and running. But, there seems to be a lot of stuff left all over the house. The entire household has not recovered yet. So, the job is not yet finished.<br /><br />Through it all, do you think that I stopped taking photos. <span style="font-weight: bold;">No!!!</span> Alright, here two photos from just last night.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_SzDrPLsv-YSsgT6y_nEhYjCSzOF0pB7ofITSfHP7aypZ19iQrzBZmjXu1qrPE5lC2zJut-K4-fzrQz8sd4ejjd4V3m-GijqY2Qwgl_nTVRNdIGQNbsrlJfR4oShjvbVyV3EmOtbJMA/s1600-h/IMG_3204.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp_SzDrPLsv-YSsgT6y_nEhYjCSzOF0pB7ofITSfHP7aypZ19iQrzBZmjXu1qrPE5lC2zJut-K4-fzrQz8sd4ejjd4V3m-GijqY2Qwgl_nTVRNdIGQNbsrlJfR4oShjvbVyV3EmOtbJMA/s400/IMG_3204.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362571289899994466" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUwT8iRoN5iWmc_x4qVGjTH0gcspUpfY67E2buw90XeMJRNMS7hqd6w1pRwBJKpH-pALhFBiV5BH5ceCoRKu0qPs11h_IG77-p9ubHBblwFgYxdYMmus4vkAX2U1DS3Rue5qv_Y0LTC8/s1600-h/DSCF4708.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUwT8iRoN5iWmc_x4qVGjTH0gcspUpfY67E2buw90XeMJRNMS7hqd6w1pRwBJKpH-pALhFBiV5BH5ceCoRKu0qPs11h_IG77-p9ubHBblwFgYxdYMmus4vkAX2U1DS3Rue5qv_Y0LTC8/s400/DSCF4708.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362571301731451778" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So what's next? Well, today I threw my back out, and right now as the sun is ready to set, it's raining real hard to boot. So, no pictures tonight. Hopefully I'll be up and at 'em real soon.Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-32013512831496830082009-06-07T17:00:00.022-07:002009-06-20T22:01:56.364-07:00Oh No - It's June Already!!Where does the time go?!?! For a while, I thought that I might be able to catch up with photo uploading and blogging. Well, here it is, and we are more than half-way through the month of June. And, I only just now finished uploading the pictures that I took <span style="font-style: italic;">last</span> June. Yikes!!<br /><br />I'd like to present just a couple more shots from last June. Make sure to click on the following pictures to see them in a larger format. There are a lot of details to see in these shots. No matter how many sunsets I've photographed, I never cease to be surprised by something new. If the clouds are in just the right position, and the sun has a clear view, when the sun just goes down below the horizon, even when it is no longer shining on you, it will be shining on the bottoms of the clouds above you. And wow! Usually, the clouds turn red. But, there are times when they turn an almost brown color. And the bottoms of them can look all puffy and billowy.<br /><br />In the first shot below, you can see that the sun is just about to drop below the horizon. Due to the <span style="font-style: italic;">stuff</span> that is in the air, the color of the sunlight shining on the cloud bottoms makes them look brown.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-8GRqOo9-WHwj6NyDppY5gZck8vWRKknuq0uMTLl2yZL049EvAWbT3u9QneoGMM3_lSNtr921xjMdIdIskaxjky8maV0wR5XD30riuBXNljYHK7pOX_9MttULK_MIW42E3p2kxNuY1Y/s1600-h/DSCF5299.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-8GRqOo9-WHwj6NyDppY5gZck8vWRKknuq0uMTLl2yZL049EvAWbT3u9QneoGMM3_lSNtr921xjMdIdIskaxjky8maV0wR5XD30riuBXNljYHK7pOX_9MttULK_MIW42E3p2kxNuY1Y/s400/DSCF5299.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344742802307278242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />In the following shots, I just wanted to show what I thought were some really beautiful clouds. Make sure to click them to see them larger.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOmWZmAUwYr5eAnxnL3vuC0-AkOnacx2q5izD-T9hZFfx_PvCIxH-3Ou-rsvj5P4NiYXRatUo7KeyvCtkPWt1ARuT-OcJ1xh4aROtvUTcMSRD9h-NSFR6sKdSfVxQzdJdpqPlFhVCfnE/s1600-h/DSCF5303.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOmWZmAUwYr5eAnxnL3vuC0-AkOnacx2q5izD-T9hZFfx_PvCIxH-3Ou-rsvj5P4NiYXRatUo7KeyvCtkPWt1ARuT-OcJ1xh4aROtvUTcMSRD9h-NSFR6sKdSfVxQzdJdpqPlFhVCfnE/s400/DSCF5303.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344742798202416914" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgt4dBENMIKGrOo5a6mY1mnWVCuyFvM0hwkYQ2uFODG_8rYWxSYII4N_bD_Rg4QgGLoDNkVu5nI5pARAUaT6p5Tsp-Qi1sd4H2r7NWfDMbncNp4XI0lFxZJHOCXe8RVmvNYcb2fVhcis/s1600-h/DSCF5309.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgt4dBENMIKGrOo5a6mY1mnWVCuyFvM0hwkYQ2uFODG_8rYWxSYII4N_bD_Rg4QgGLoDNkVu5nI5pARAUaT6p5Tsp-Qi1sd4H2r7NWfDMbncNp4XI0lFxZJHOCXe8RVmvNYcb2fVhcis/s400/DSCF5309.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344742797875381970" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBFrTBOovgVteEk2lTX_kySpe4TRKglIR9CezCP49jiv10o0wvS5kYoNIn1eQAcx4-vn48UA7RQ6S2XNFTR1WzmEy7bY7bOpskKV0y2mZDf0eYdv8Q1op-6VGnJo7B7B75vP171lFgCk/s1600-h/DSCF5313.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBFrTBOovgVteEk2lTX_kySpe4TRKglIR9CezCP49jiv10o0wvS5kYoNIn1eQAcx4-vn48UA7RQ6S2XNFTR1WzmEy7bY7bOpskKV0y2mZDf0eYdv8Q1op-6VGnJo7B7B75vP171lFgCk/s400/DSCF5313.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344742793200907250" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33sfdvJDurK4zWXYn0yqJPQeaBypRLIABv0xFpNZRMg0A75ADXy2DuWdmHcKLLrEgQaz0B4P7DjKxATa_CElu1RCusCkN6t6uMxQKFCaQcogWVq6GFcwKmZaoW-BgMgPbjo_mZWCaTZg/s1600-h/DSCF5315.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33sfdvJDurK4zWXYn0yqJPQeaBypRLIABv0xFpNZRMg0A75ADXy2DuWdmHcKLLrEgQaz0B4P7DjKxATa_CElu1RCusCkN6t6uMxQKFCaQcogWVq6GFcwKmZaoW-BgMgPbjo_mZWCaTZg/s400/DSCF5315.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344742793244752066" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Believe it or not, I'm all done now with last June's photos. I think that now I'd like to spend more time talking about current photo shoots, rather than talking about year-old shots. So, here is a picture from a couple of weeks ago.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlG8j-49ZmJZaLq_lldUVyUU2nYwl5flZruibVG-EtXDdsC04mF1nbpKAz7zz8gi5f1693X67YBaGUNEmc3lD3JKdrTuufiShbx-tUxUqV3y2j7OEBFrHWzIo9tkAAoMpu4DBr8rxRoU/s1600-h/DSCF3693.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnlG8j-49ZmJZaLq_lldUVyUU2nYwl5flZruibVG-EtXDdsC04mF1nbpKAz7zz8gi5f1693X67YBaGUNEmc3lD3JKdrTuufiShbx-tUxUqV3y2j7OEBFrHWzIo9tkAAoMpu4DBr8rxRoU/s400/DSCF3693.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349637664570791874" border="0" /></a><br /><br />That's all I have for right now. Life has been quite busy, as has probably been the case with you, also. I certainly hope to not be so long before making the next post. Till then...Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-29586507547929366732009-05-31T14:50:00.016-07:002009-05-31T18:05:29.239-07:00Almost the End of June<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>Sooner of later, I'm sure that the month of June will come to an end. <span style="font-style: italic;">But</span>, until that time arrives, I have some more special picture to share. After all, last June, we had some really <span style="font-style: italic;">great</span> sunsets.<br /><br />We are very near the end of June. These shots were taken on the 26th. So, there are not that many shots remaining before we finally get in to July. The first shot below shows how great the sky was looking. As the sun began to disappear into the haze at the horizon, it turned its typical beautiful Arizona Orange. Above that, was a patch of blue sky. And above that, was a cloud bank that was beginning to take on a brown cast.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjerr1DckfvTKyNOEpT0QXgHNSp4KJpyROdtWpoZcVdZLQjZMpjcYz6Y5s26zhPWaCCWn-B_wCyIHkq6bt5ALMrivQAzGA4zZyBmu78NFPBjIWjzAAoyesBCGkMcHhwCGvuymkVZrrptXw/s1600-h/DSCF5262.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjerr1DckfvTKyNOEpT0QXgHNSp4KJpyROdtWpoZcVdZLQjZMpjcYz6Y5s26zhPWaCCWn-B_wCyIHkq6bt5ALMrivQAzGA4zZyBmu78NFPBjIWjzAAoyesBCGkMcHhwCGvuymkVZrrptXw/s400/DSCF5262.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342114480520214562" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Zooming in a lot shows what almost looks like a Martian landscape.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOm53fUASykpd1coQd95VyrqQ8iydXjzPL4Nht2qFXZgq024IzxriZUI67BcfrOh3pwFPzMtZZjADsHm2PqF7Ixs7BBZ4C-b7Z7mg3MggNsMB_IdD8fLm7uEaFheAaJ3ZfaZgT2SEwO8g/s1600-h/DSCF5265.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOm53fUASykpd1coQd95VyrqQ8iydXjzPL4Nht2qFXZgq024IzxriZUI67BcfrOh3pwFPzMtZZjADsHm2PqF7Ixs7BBZ4C-b7Z7mg3MggNsMB_IdD8fLm7uEaFheAaJ3ZfaZgT2SEwO8g/s400/DSCF5265.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342114479799116754" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And then it was time to start playing around. I repositioned myself to put the sun behind some trees. After all, I do like having something of interest in the foreground.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnk_94TJ136a8vlETMlcjh6GX08SLO7f_XPavc5OhpVdvQtp70vIx9XrpyMTgq0Q_HluSFMcVmwIRdVx_AeJTi2PjzGkVaC_QPY2tNj-OdATeQj0rd6C3upZ4zAfXBKkQgplndK-05GNU/s1600-h/DSCF5268.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnk_94TJ136a8vlETMlcjh6GX08SLO7f_XPavc5OhpVdvQtp70vIx9XrpyMTgq0Q_HluSFMcVmwIRdVx_AeJTi2PjzGkVaC_QPY2tNj-OdATeQj0rd6C3upZ4zAfXBKkQgplndK-05GNU/s400/DSCF5268.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342114194951193330" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Once again zooming in, reveals the Martian landscape again. But, this time with those rather non-Martian looking tree leaves bracketing the shot.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFA8ziMdA7OwQpocDwHFdV6ce2WWtkdorQooV-lSYY563Ni6M4w5cipIt1k0D5aJCm3fmpsVGJfBywZP9k_KWNAUsP_RAak7ISH1-cRd0dtxV1yTmGO2TyGXfhWXwhxTd5_D7tjpJ24o/s1600-h/DSCF5270.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBFA8ziMdA7OwQpocDwHFdV6ce2WWtkdorQooV-lSYY563Ni6M4w5cipIt1k0D5aJCm3fmpsVGJfBywZP9k_KWNAUsP_RAak7ISH1-cRd0dtxV1yTmGO2TyGXfhWXwhxTd5_D7tjpJ24o/s400/DSCF5270.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342114191518798802" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As the sun continued down, it encountered another bank of clouds. The next two shots show the sun partially hidden by the clouds. I really like seeing the big round ball of the sun with a streak of clouds in front of it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75wA202ZXhYvHCjOIFOWe-KDfzgeefsjlldtXOnu5LIahyFNUO-u5bMMTz7SDAr5FbAy2c6sG1PAkjauOyAw4BDRQVj45jCmTPiIX8Ga2AkSsCv-XR8LCRasoFJh7MX6sjyT_QanKkuc/s1600-h/DSCF5278.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh75wA202ZXhYvHCjOIFOWe-KDfzgeefsjlldtXOnu5LIahyFNUO-u5bMMTz7SDAr5FbAy2c6sG1PAkjauOyAw4BDRQVj45jCmTPiIX8Ga2AkSsCv-XR8LCRasoFJh7MX6sjyT_QanKkuc/s400/DSCF5278.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342114188160090546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GxyHdKmD3a923UEY2qDw5XT6Bhrys02apGPVntPgsSJfZ7Acj7MYfy20ONvfuZRUaa1UO3YpDKNY9RTemgCjAGtDJmllXQJLuMRDqzgoc5qE6ktqpP9CfRq8OYJrHl8cPvlMUlk3BPo/s1600-h/DSCF5280.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GxyHdKmD3a923UEY2qDw5XT6Bhrys02apGPVntPgsSJfZ7Acj7MYfy20ONvfuZRUaa1UO3YpDKNY9RTemgCjAGtDJmllXQJLuMRDqzgoc5qE6ktqpP9CfRq8OYJrHl8cPvlMUlk3BPo/s400/DSCF5280.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342114181803125954" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is one last shot from that night, just before the sun began to sink below the mountains.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVZGJOfyKCgcsLcH6niTCej2l_grZFMqp818LQz1bKPjYk69Jg8O7bDFGhIAYvLVDpd6kSPXl0G4EUPeiPZA5Y30HIP2RTs7Mcah-juMpKlynUby2KgJtT5wTDYy_KIE9tzsVLQ8jc4Q/s1600-h/DSCF5294.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVZGJOfyKCgcsLcH6niTCej2l_grZFMqp818LQz1bKPjYk69Jg8O7bDFGhIAYvLVDpd6kSPXl0G4EUPeiPZA5Y30HIP2RTs7Mcah-juMpKlynUby2KgJtT5wTDYy_KIE9tzsVLQ8jc4Q/s400/DSCF5294.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342114183826390274" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Alas, to let you know that we have had a few nice sunsets more recently than a year ago, here is a shot I got just a couple of nights ago. The sun is setting in the West, and this shot is looking Northeast. I've mentioned before, sometimes the best stuff is happening behind you!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1I26SmOv_Q8X2ZrWAiKwogKo9t4uUxft_2-AUUajK0HxmmHBmboPx_8oiT77H_0ltAOWfFecsxqHcTd1kdjywuUNcnSzB4b4X72KWeQJxcdAOnCd40LYZtq8JPac-NhPLSvjXh96pZY/s1600-h/DSCF3606.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1I26SmOv_Q8X2ZrWAiKwogKo9t4uUxft_2-AUUajK0HxmmHBmboPx_8oiT77H_0ltAOWfFecsxqHcTd1kdjywuUNcnSzB4b4X72KWeQJxcdAOnCd40LYZtq8JPac-NhPLSvjXh96pZY/s400/DSCF3606.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342119314944498962" border="0" /></a>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-51077584084799826042009-05-24T18:09:00.033-07:002009-05-24T22:19:49.227-07:00For Jerry - the Brother I Never Knew<span style="font-size:130%;">How do you say goodbye to the brother you never knew?<br /></span><br />If you will pardon me a little, this post is going to be a little out of the normal. But, yes, it does contain some sunsets photos!<br /><br />I am the youngest (by far) of four siblings. My brother Ward was 16 years old when I was born, my brother Jerry was 14, and my sister Shelley was 11. Jerry suffered brain damage before he was born, and would never be normal. My mom and dad did the best they could raising all three of my siblings in their home, and giving them a good start in life. But when they discovered that an unexpected fourth child (me) was coming, they feared that Jerry, who was at about the developmental level of a four-year-old, and was just as wild and full of energy as any four-year-old boy that you have ever known, might accidentally harm a new-born baby.<br /><br />And so, for my parents, came a very difficult decision; one that I'm sure must have caused them great pain for the rest of their lives. They decided to turn Jerry over to the state of Missouri. This happened before I was born. I know that when I was a very small child, Jerry came home for visits a few times. But, these are occasions that I have no recollection of.<br /><br />We moved out of the state of Missouri when I was eleven, and I never saw Jerry again. So, basically, to me, Jerry, even though I knew that he existed and I counted him as a brother, at the same time he, in essence, did not exist.<br /><br />Last Tuesday morning, I received a phone call from my sister (who also lives here in Arizona), saying that Jerry had been admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and an unknown infection, and that his organs were shutting down. By that evening, my sister called me again to say that Jerry had died.<br /><br />The question echoed in my mind - how am I supposed to feel about this? Even now, with his funeral a couple of days in the past, this is still a difficult question. Please don't think me cold and hard if I say that for the most part I have felt nothing. There have been, however, a couple of moments when the tears flowed.<br /><br />Since both of my parents have already passed on, it occurred to me very briefly, that perhaps I didn't even need to attend Jerry's funeral. After all, I <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> never knew him. And plane fare to Missouri on short notice amounted to a small fortune. But, on the other hand he <span style="font-style: italic;">was</span> my brother. And, my other brother and sister were definitely going to be there, and what would they think of their baby brother, if he didn't make an appearance, too. I felt I owed it to them, and to Jerry's memory. And, somehow, I also felt I owed it to myself to be there. And so plans were made, and my sister and I caught a flight on Thursday. Our brother Ward and his wife Jeanne, had driven to see Jerry when they heard that he was ill, and had in fact, arrived in time to spend the last three hours of Jerry's life with him. When Shelley and I landed in Springfield a couple of days later, they drove to Springfield to pick us up.<br /><br />So, here are some photos that chronicle my experiences and the trip to meet the brother I never knew.<br /><br />The night that Jerry died, as I was driving home, I was nearing my neck of the woods as the sun was setting. So, I found a spot that I had been to before about a year ago, actually on a day that I had had one of our cats put down, and had taken sunset photos in honor of that cat. I know that may seem kind of silly, but, that's how I felt. So, on this night that Jerry died, I got out of the car in this same spot of desert, and walked around taking pictures, this time in honor of Jerry, even though to me, he was nearly a complete stranger. It was during this photo session that my emotions first stirred, and I cried some for the brother I never knew.<br /><br />These first three photos are from that night, and I dedicate them to Jerry.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgni4cJOkdMX-nhufpGZGZ4ibu-BPksGIjs0c5m0pFCSghiGBEdbEqVMohHuuUxsn6RW0ENk5HOhFTgMGpG_8GH2DZvh472PsL063nnANkqEhy2hsbOLpfTDeXliZ_Ez4Aa4yN4KOgxcU/s1600-h/DSCF3366.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgni4cJOkdMX-nhufpGZGZ4ibu-BPksGIjs0c5m0pFCSghiGBEdbEqVMohHuuUxsn6RW0ENk5HOhFTgMGpG_8GH2DZvh472PsL063nnANkqEhy2hsbOLpfTDeXliZ_Ez4Aa4yN4KOgxcU/s400/DSCF3366.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339501730455809858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtiepmQJILTk6HDnNmQTXRRFtKfLi-wkaE1eAOV0dRH5-B-tktcS2IXFM3lf5E4m9ZX1yLjBdYla_Wd58s9J7YoBhH__Z4K7NE5C-dNIOAijCTUVxhqvoHBeRgnzcAEfM4t4LjLisPRY/s1600-h/DSCF3393.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJtiepmQJILTk6HDnNmQTXRRFtKfLi-wkaE1eAOV0dRH5-B-tktcS2IXFM3lf5E4m9ZX1yLjBdYla_Wd58s9J7YoBhH__Z4K7NE5C-dNIOAijCTUVxhqvoHBeRgnzcAEfM4t4LjLisPRY/s400/DSCF3393.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339501729974199266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WYjGmKrN-6Rjj9V0xHKGpAQ-_pBngTMjVV-Onccaa-yDvuHeFKg0amGtMkRnWUGJ0Hm9gsrPjEoa8-vuVNYO-CtbTR2by-ieud1hXTsGomA7IlWZyeeIbr3G5nlaegJRKcA-Qs1cCS0/s1600-h/DSCF3400.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9WYjGmKrN-6Rjj9V0xHKGpAQ-_pBngTMjVV-Onccaa-yDvuHeFKg0amGtMkRnWUGJ0Hm9gsrPjEoa8-vuVNYO-CtbTR2by-ieud1hXTsGomA7IlWZyeeIbr3G5nlaegJRKcA-Qs1cCS0/s400/DSCF3400.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339503770258270594" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The next day, Wednesday, I spent most of the day trying to set up flight arrangements. That evening, I went out to shoot a few more pictures. Here are a couple from that night that I like. The second picture below, shows that sometimes, the clouds really do have silver linings.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXGiuZ0KzoJltvoM9gTr50O0E6AG-QUJGxSDM3fPkMq_6Hj_-xPBX0Qh5-f6RaP8M4Vod45BZueP_DjUnN3qTtzAQIjgPvYGiDHnYdBQofphZgrWAwVYxeAzkjNMOKd1SAW9EymroYCI/s1600-h/DSCF3418.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXGiuZ0KzoJltvoM9gTr50O0E6AG-QUJGxSDM3fPkMq_6Hj_-xPBX0Qh5-f6RaP8M4Vod45BZueP_DjUnN3qTtzAQIjgPvYGiDHnYdBQofphZgrWAwVYxeAzkjNMOKd1SAW9EymroYCI/s400/DSCF3418.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339504991428570658" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxxu7DF5d4p4DuOhT_2m_LVzVmt9zz-BjEQPwS435eGMWHwmVn-LEwjiaGSSH3JXxuszMCt8Ita3svUAqcSUgYQn6aPFEZAmhzRAao8u1B6F8YidtGOWIhx8dUobKuCFAWDZZgThy3ho/s1600-h/DSCF3428.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYxxu7DF5d4p4DuOhT_2m_LVzVmt9zz-BjEQPwS435eGMWHwmVn-LEwjiaGSSH3JXxuszMCt8Ita3svUAqcSUgYQn6aPFEZAmhzRAao8u1B6F8YidtGOWIhx8dUobKuCFAWDZZgThy3ho/s400/DSCF3428.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339504988676119794" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Thursday, Shelley and I took wing. That night, as we were on the last leg of the journey to Springfield, I had a window seat on the left side of the plane, which happened to face West. Here are some pictures that I took that night from about 30,000 feet. These, obviously, were shot through the airplane window. I wasn't expecting very good results, but the pictures turned out to be not too bad. The sunset itself, was spectacular as the sun sank below all the haze in the air and the clouds. I didn't have any idea of what to expect from on high. In some of these photos, you can see the wing of the plane.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbMrxteHTGECxUI2bgEdIZesLEDoFKjvIdxjtk55Z6Tfip5-vZYT-AJS5fJWzdY5u5xhBh8B3wA5y34mvWnpiuJcs7sL61oyCOlAT0W_PI3BJ7c220jRmHUj2-oGo0zLnNFAdSJBODfA/s1600-h/DSCF3445.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfbMrxteHTGECxUI2bgEdIZesLEDoFKjvIdxjtk55Z6Tfip5-vZYT-AJS5fJWzdY5u5xhBh8B3wA5y34mvWnpiuJcs7sL61oyCOlAT0W_PI3BJ7c220jRmHUj2-oGo0zLnNFAdSJBODfA/s400/DSCF3445.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339607296489499442" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmGPlRcHOhTCnFWlDzjwgWUAXGFmHcjGjzO0CdK4Wc_3VUctplrbn9BG-_NUy_yQx6T09XTcqlKKPWjx1xXGX789Dc_PbSJx_V7Ozv1qaGGRLduBjbtxV5qwPIVkkIYi93lN-fY9x6G0/s1600-h/DSCF3451.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmGPlRcHOhTCnFWlDzjwgWUAXGFmHcjGjzO0CdK4Wc_3VUctplrbn9BG-_NUy_yQx6T09XTcqlKKPWjx1xXGX789Dc_PbSJx_V7Ozv1qaGGRLduBjbtxV5qwPIVkkIYi93lN-fY9x6G0/s400/DSCF3451.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339607293839588450" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeLePJN8rww51vElJfQ0gZXg3_8W-HMoK7TOC36a-cHLbTdFxLvDcvpiXstcVOJU6U0x_aY1a-L9vaMyFc-gCgB4rphOP5Pp55MMoKPilcmnTYMEr0sUN4ixADuGNZhgkNHgcKk_YvdE/s1600-h/IMG_2136.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeLePJN8rww51vElJfQ0gZXg3_8W-HMoK7TOC36a-cHLbTdFxLvDcvpiXstcVOJU6U0x_aY1a-L9vaMyFc-gCgB4rphOP5Pp55MMoKPilcmnTYMEr0sUN4ixADuGNZhgkNHgcKk_YvdE/s400/IMG_2136.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339607289957355474" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxWXvbsXmYWwpT6ATk7CuQpNUQ30s-msP_hfhKbUD9qlOq6dfsCB79cPpyeKc5hnTS1xY62B9P1hCIaiK5DcAw1sT3OZjEmMAa12jR_CgqxguX0yMcnMFO8eGMaQyZdoWsiMQXrEBGwk/s1600-h/IMG_2146.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSxWXvbsXmYWwpT6ATk7CuQpNUQ30s-msP_hfhKbUD9qlOq6dfsCB79cPpyeKc5hnTS1xY62B9P1hCIaiK5DcAw1sT3OZjEmMAa12jR_CgqxguX0yMcnMFO8eGMaQyZdoWsiMQXrEBGwk/s400/IMG_2146.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339607292459275522" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNXtCxxeTmWVD5VMRSyjat4Vhapetu6Pi5YZmLzLaVOIdJZKaLz_O0znKgrpZpfwbPI2FEUG5ivgeNollfaql2I3mKRWQskcJnnTAt0fEdmzhebM-ik6GTRchgVeqUINIWX5be1wLQ70/s1600-h/IMG_2148.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNXtCxxeTmWVD5VMRSyjat4Vhapetu6Pi5YZmLzLaVOIdJZKaLz_O0znKgrpZpfwbPI2FEUG5ivgeNollfaql2I3mKRWQskcJnnTAt0fEdmzhebM-ik6GTRchgVeqUINIWX5be1wLQ70/s400/IMG_2148.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339607286282378050" border="0" /></a><br /><br />While I was taking the pictures from the airplane, I was using both the Fujifilm and Canon cameras. I was afraid that the cameras would have difficulty focusing through the window. The Fujifilm was in auto-focus mode, and even while zoomed in quite a bit, as long as there was sufficient detail in the clouds, it was able to successfully focus. Even traveling at 600 miles-per-hour didn't seem to matter! As for the Canon, I put it into manual focus, and focused on the details at the end of the wing. I figured that was near enough to infinity.<br /><br />The following morning, we awoke in our hotel room and I looked out the window at the sunrise. Here is one of the interresting shots.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi16J_O-jqe6GawB6gRpswR5do5VinqO1yvHi1vsdtrXyk08gmlZPJsYTnAcAfJ6S8DJ3zaIPoLyMP0XyLzrj5toXNxAowdmJjgvkK6NKq_X7-vjkTFmq-LKGTyeYNK0fXM6-Wjahuo18/s1600-h/DSCF3480.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi16J_O-jqe6GawB6gRpswR5do5VinqO1yvHi1vsdtrXyk08gmlZPJsYTnAcAfJ6S8DJ3zaIPoLyMP0XyLzrj5toXNxAowdmJjgvkK6NKq_X7-vjkTFmq-LKGTyeYNK0fXM6-Wjahuo18/s400/DSCF3480.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339610510229402306" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Notice the double image of the sun. I was shooting through the window at an angle. I am assuming that something in the window glass caused this refraction.<br /><br />And so, the day proceeded. I met the wonderful people who had known and taken care of Jerry. I met the other men with mental disabilities that lived in the home with Jerry. I met the people who supervised him at his job. (Yes, he was able to hold down a job at a business that employs persons with disabilities.) I learned that there was a lot more to Jerry than I would ever have imagined. It turns out that a lot of people, not only liked him, but truly loved him. Jerry, in his arrested mental development, had an innocence about him that let the love and joy of God show through. And the people around him felt that. The funeral was very well attended. It was there, that I shed a few more tears.<br /><br />I think that now, I am proud of this brother of mine that I never knew. This trip has brought me, hopefully, some closure on this matter. After all, I now feel that I really do know him, at least a little.<br /><br />I arrived home late last night (Saturday) from this trip to Missouri. This morning in our Church service, we celebrated Memorial Day - a time to remember those who have died in military service. But, we did something more as well. Our celebration was opened up to all who wanted to remember anyone that has passed from our lives who we found to be special. For each such person, a candle was lit by the person doing the remembering, and the name of the deceased was spoken for all to hear. One of the candles you see below, I lit just this morning, in memory of the brother I never knew - Jerry Ronald Degler.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzaK5Q6jU_l5dom3CocEU4wPayJOyar2HNWBMc47h1QAYIuSN8dZVbPTk1VHLXMFUE0ZAtytwuqLQYM1p_4Fx97v-WzJY1wGMfZ2bs2oQrcPbo9PAt7XQEaYdlgIflIT2aPfbrExFOnY/s1600-h/0524091103a+Memorial+Candles.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzaK5Q6jU_l5dom3CocEU4wPayJOyar2HNWBMc47h1QAYIuSN8dZVbPTk1VHLXMFUE0ZAtytwuqLQYM1p_4Fx97v-WzJY1wGMfZ2bs2oQrcPbo9PAt7XQEaYdlgIflIT2aPfbrExFOnY/s400/0524091103a+Memorial+Candles.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339611638797602402" border="0" /></a>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-32401667396884134792009-05-15T20:12:00.007-07:002009-05-16T18:35:45.793-07:00Even MORE Pictures from Last June!In my last posting, I said that I would show what became of the cloud bank that was above and to left of the cactus. So ...<br /><br />In that last picture (in the last posting), the clouds behind the cactus looked nice, but normal. By zooming in for a closer look, the clouds took on a very pink appearance. This color was unexpected, and didn't really show up until I took this closer shot.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OWgIcNvdg_2y487Ehw2H7ddjzQK4pkXhz6B14iGkIfo36EpH0neaV7o_mhjTC72D-pqekV7WHHiCBNg2c3h2ZAiJMJG1gkpruZY_C3T1ACHZHy779sm81A4eGzTzOO99SDEdYKQORzk/s1600-h/DSCF5225r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-OWgIcNvdg_2y487Ehw2H7ddjzQK4pkXhz6B14iGkIfo36EpH0neaV7o_mhjTC72D-pqekV7WHHiCBNg2c3h2ZAiJMJG1gkpruZY_C3T1ACHZHy779sm81A4eGzTzOO99SDEdYKQORzk/s400/DSCF5225r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336259933100952786" border="0" /></a><br /><br />In just a short while, the sun went below the horizon, and the tops of the clouds above the cactus turned a wonderful orange. I love the shape of those clouds. Another thing that I really like in this shot is red glow on the horizon in the lower right corner, which is where the sun went down.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu_zPE3kAMcDnxOdDY12sKGez-88fKnx83Gf-ZkHGu_8jU1BQi-j7w7Tz-6QMMUI82wnC5rNWAPMj4OuKDxWjWfaOTK-etyUyYnKV3WFLI8u1z9HE82lLou4MWMm879Awl3Nm0YVEr_zo/s1600-h/DSCF5227r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu_zPE3kAMcDnxOdDY12sKGez-88fKnx83Gf-ZkHGu_8jU1BQi-j7w7Tz-6QMMUI82wnC5rNWAPMj4OuKDxWjWfaOTK-etyUyYnKV3WFLI8u1z9HE82lLou4MWMm879Awl3Nm0YVEr_zo/s400/DSCF5227r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336259930578466818" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And, a little bit later still, and the overhead clouds turned red. Also, notice the sky shadows being cast by the clouds.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOAVPU4-fuU-_gd0BtkrKap_yw2K6hB85LXN0tL25Fr8wFrgHNN6nyRPlJDE6eZAMOdmySwpwuHBgkAxY5gOibd2A_WZIuWPLzoZORCu61mug6D68-6GxcwIkzhz7ZSeoqA19jYH929E/s1600-h/DSCF5248r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJOAVPU4-fuU-_gd0BtkrKap_yw2K6hB85LXN0tL25Fr8wFrgHNN6nyRPlJDE6eZAMOdmySwpwuHBgkAxY5gOibd2A_WZIuWPLzoZORCu61mug6D68-6GxcwIkzhz7ZSeoqA19jYH929E/s400/DSCF5248r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336259927173170418" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But, now I'd like to back up a little in time to just before the sun went down. This next shot shows rain falling from the cloud to the west. But, as it frequently does here in the desert, the rain never reaches the ground. You can see the wind causing the rain to fall at an angle.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEfcgW5b2duKJyTSnM-2btDB7RDw-sZMomkAoA49AjGZ-epfIodnc8ka3proQklx_sMr1RuvNysEMqn7jounNTxyd-0yngyKBnluOOfMGYBBfdQegoMkL4FW1R56IRO-3SaNKI3CKpZI/s1600-h/DSCF5208r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIEfcgW5b2duKJyTSnM-2btDB7RDw-sZMomkAoA49AjGZ-epfIodnc8ka3proQklx_sMr1RuvNysEMqn7jounNTxyd-0yngyKBnluOOfMGYBBfdQegoMkL4FW1R56IRO-3SaNKI3CKpZI/s400/DSCF5208r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336259932014833506" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And finally, here is a shot that I really like. I love shots where the sun looks quite large as it goes down, partially behind the horizon. But, look right above the sun -- you can see the rain falling, but not making it to the ground.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Uzw2-Hl-Gfl-8_bYBXeddvuQKobTuDk-2kQmcuMn1TJ0pf6rIfj4V0fKbcrsveDvtnRuDO47TBb3i6Gdbsk3arZYGX54AfYTX9PNHq4Ic7URriHAApEka8Pym-tGFWw5v4Eg9zbHh9k/s1600-h/DSCF5209r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9Uzw2-Hl-Gfl-8_bYBXeddvuQKobTuDk-2kQmcuMn1TJ0pf6rIfj4V0fKbcrsveDvtnRuDO47TBb3i6Gdbsk3arZYGX54AfYTX9PNHq4Ic7URriHAApEka8Pym-tGFWw5v4Eg9zbHh9k/s400/DSCF5209r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336259933391476898" border="0" /></a>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-5387667323758073132009-05-09T12:39:00.011-07:002009-05-09T13:42:35.993-07:00Still More Pictures from Last June!Here is another installment of that special June evening. At the end of my previous post, I showed some cactus being silhouetted as the sun broke through below the clouds. If you look closely at those last pictures, you can see two Saguaro cactus in the foreground - a small one closer to me that has no arms, and the larger one with arms farther away. Also note the position of these two cactus relative to the sun.<br /><br />The first shot below makes these cactus look quite strange. I've repositioned myself so that the sun is directly behind the larger cactus. What's happened here is that, coincidentally, the smaller cactus happens to be in a straight line with the sun and the larger cactus. And, yep, it makes the cactus silhouette look strange.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpJ7p6GDZoNE8yncAQYSXcYp1xbF_iOK9_NBxsSSaZKs9cLa2AtxGab8KYfGXnBMTAJv6zRYbZ79WExf2oT0aVWLgzIWtBQtxYuju-NDUj6CXSagCdP1j7xrpH1O1-hkHRHba_ObKj7Q/s1600-h/DSCF5176r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDpJ7p6GDZoNE8yncAQYSXcYp1xbF_iOK9_NBxsSSaZKs9cLa2AtxGab8KYfGXnBMTAJv6zRYbZ79WExf2oT0aVWLgzIWtBQtxYuju-NDUj6CXSagCdP1j7xrpH1O1-hkHRHba_ObKj7Q/s400/DSCF5176r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333918682773490866" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As the sun sank further down, there was yet another bank of clouds for it to pass behind. The following three shots show the sun disappearing behind these new clouds, and then reappearing once again. There are also some rays and cloud shadows in these shots that I just love.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqMprzGxaVSkfUqo1o4Q_EnuBtlgA4Hm8xMLutD6PVl5epB4ystA8Qt86GMoK7Aorc6XbqQyvgw8UMnNVtWFqAc1pCahyphenhyphentNs701gBa2kfEJKJARorfDoyojW67G4NTGzOHipH2RgOfEUI/s1600-h/DSCF5182r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqMprzGxaVSkfUqo1o4Q_EnuBtlgA4Hm8xMLutD6PVl5epB4ystA8Qt86GMoK7Aorc6XbqQyvgw8UMnNVtWFqAc1pCahyphenhyphentNs701gBa2kfEJKJARorfDoyojW67G4NTGzOHipH2RgOfEUI/s400/DSCF5182r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333918679853851394" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvhyphenhyphenOqYYeu57dcZ8J1p9VUjtjqzkzJ5nX38LzcKiEriExZhgOe-o0sG6p-IeGzKed3Ln4JrMYChmkm0eccQpuMTmIsMEbnJDBkRMdSsP-K0pbHFQ1upO3QSKk1WJlvyC494MLjn47Dao/s1600-h/DSCF5186r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvhyphenhyphenOqYYeu57dcZ8J1p9VUjtjqzkzJ5nX38LzcKiEriExZhgOe-o0sG6p-IeGzKed3Ln4JrMYChmkm0eccQpuMTmIsMEbnJDBkRMdSsP-K0pbHFQ1upO3QSKk1WJlvyC494MLjn47Dao/s400/DSCF5186r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333918675520044482" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4KMqJx0pMuiaijTuw4eCzJ6Pqgu1DpJGzZMPa5WcbKLUH_s_V4doLcjBth5023GyG9ogCtGtXoqMCafpD-XoMc7byiXqgAYtAQDVNONMkas4SHMNecp5_b3sanvVpZ93u5AwTqo-AII/s1600-h/DSCF5192r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4KMqJx0pMuiaijTuw4eCzJ6Pqgu1DpJGzZMPa5WcbKLUH_s_V4doLcjBth5023GyG9ogCtGtXoqMCafpD-XoMc7byiXqgAYtAQDVNONMkas4SHMNecp5_b3sanvVpZ93u5AwTqo-AII/s400/DSCF5192r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333918666951689042" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Finally, here is another wide-angle shot, repositioning my self to once again show the two cactus in separate silhouettes. In this shot, notice the cloud bank just above and to the left of the cactus. In my next posting, I will show what becomes of this cloud bank.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLp-RzvxBrQ27u8pRfcVU-OafZ7cFy66WFvYdU5XJdazFFFRvLyWST4JMZgxX3HzKqXu-HgHBecoRBgwYOQvk2m3Jsp4NLunTko2sWhKt4RDXxwT5sxPwb43B4RFVtd9oYmCcuOUsA_c/s1600-h/DSCF5199r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLp-RzvxBrQ27u8pRfcVU-OafZ7cFy66WFvYdU5XJdazFFFRvLyWST4JMZgxX3HzKqXu-HgHBecoRBgwYOQvk2m3Jsp4NLunTko2sWhKt4RDXxwT5sxPwb43B4RFVtd9oYmCcuOUsA_c/s400/DSCF5199r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333919165584674754" border="0" /></a>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-79654735562783993502009-05-03T16:22:00.016-07:002009-05-03T17:11:35.029-07:00More Pictures - Later Post!OK, as I mentioned in the last post, I would present more of the photos from that special night of last June that started off with the unusual cloud formation. By the time I had driven to my target destination for the night, I could tell that it was going to be a very special night, indeed. Here is a little closer view of the sun rays beneath the clouds.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpWWPQ2xAzoNhZg78Hi8w7OGV3v503u2BQrmf3tN541b2vw08wsWf65pXBk83gV4HMILWBcadR8byAxAy9N1VcbzRbEypC5sYG1T6G4KUdCuHCpz7y84TCK3j5nBOhSFwUG0bIgqQpeM/s1600-h/DSCF5146.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpWWPQ2xAzoNhZg78Hi8w7OGV3v503u2BQrmf3tN541b2vw08wsWf65pXBk83gV4HMILWBcadR8byAxAy9N1VcbzRbEypC5sYG1T6G4KUdCuHCpz7y84TCK3j5nBOhSFwUG0bIgqQpeM/s400/DSCF5146.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331743768284878098" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I believe that I have mentioned this in the past, but, it's worth mentioning again -- it's not always what's happening in <span style="font-style: italic;">front </span>of you that's photo worthy! Sometimes you just have to look <span style="font-style: italic;">behind </span>you. This is sometimes difficult to remember when you are shooting the sunset because your target is <span style="font-style: italic;">obviously </span>right in front of you.<br /><br />But, with a partially cloudy sky, some of the terrain behind you may be in direct sunlight while other areas are in the shade of the clouds. Depending upon the terrain, that may make for some beautiful photos. So, remember to look behind you!! Make sure to click on the following images to see a larger version so you can see more of the details of the mountains.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFSUGfixoD6KuVuQjDMRGgM27_TctPEM3LKOf3SBNHy0pn9-06Mv7pC8Iiai6qw_LA8y1QNuczqt8fmU1patYT7AP9IJ5ho6zKN8M2V6wIFlu63retvoUE0MiNlESJk22CQtzK3ud3IlM/s1600-h/DSCF5147.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFSUGfixoD6KuVuQjDMRGgM27_TctPEM3LKOf3SBNHy0pn9-06Mv7pC8Iiai6qw_LA8y1QNuczqt8fmU1patYT7AP9IJ5ho6zKN8M2V6wIFlu63retvoUE0MiNlESJk22CQtzK3ud3IlM/s400/DSCF5147.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331743766664532002" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiySy6VAQqwC0zxUsPyy3nwEvcaku7KtlkNVMGye3DPeTc_6xtBHzVzcMcHfHsbiQsU_kx8zyuXGYHo0uDUUU3l6lEBA_DpgG73OBGt-Ykc388GOEDRfFuhtjYL7Ta8s4tMpLM4Huyu8Y/s1600-h/DSCF5148.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 196px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiySy6VAQqwC0zxUsPyy3nwEvcaku7KtlkNVMGye3DPeTc_6xtBHzVzcMcHfHsbiQsU_kx8zyuXGYHo0uDUUU3l6lEBA_DpgG73OBGt-Ykc388GOEDRfFuhtjYL7Ta8s4tMpLM4Huyu8Y/s400/DSCF5148.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331743765354781122" border="0" /></a><br /><br />As you can see in the first image in tonight's post, the area below the clouds has an interesting orange glow. Zooming in reveals the nice mountain shadows.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZV-FhU_Hi2LKRbzrw5dzuhOd1CGo4M8L0bgSnPSKqhFAZs3vUqykX_r2rcMveSA-ueTklysce3CgUFtFf72MN8f53Uwi74GuKNFA4dck8_nG5hfZbjqra3lk1YqB7Mq-8um2I-1hF38/s1600-h/DSCF5150.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZV-FhU_Hi2LKRbzrw5dzuhOd1CGo4M8L0bgSnPSKqhFAZs3vUqykX_r2rcMveSA-ueTklysce3CgUFtFf72MN8f53Uwi74GuKNFA4dck8_nG5hfZbjqra3lk1YqB7Mq-8um2I-1hF38/s400/DSCF5150.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331746722430506658" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After waiting long enough, the sun finally broke through beneath the clouds. By this time, I had repositioned myself, putting some delightful cactus between the sun and me. In the following three shots, I zoom in a little more each time, to change the composition of each picture. Take a close look at the top of the cactus in the last shot below, and the second shot above of looking behind me. The stuff that looks fuzzy on top is the cactus in bloom. Pretty cool.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEv_AODjXJLgrKby32ikExh4PfREPGwsZkzB5ck0qq5H2bLAZOVNvBUj9WUQjO40KD2HZX1Urc1MIcpNj6KSKNEVIA8IM8f4MwzmSPW6dgyD0yFTctbep3VBQI8f_xg0Oc6UKSl7p7zrM/s1600-h/DSCF5162.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEv_AODjXJLgrKby32ikExh4PfREPGwsZkzB5ck0qq5H2bLAZOVNvBUj9WUQjO40KD2HZX1Urc1MIcpNj6KSKNEVIA8IM8f4MwzmSPW6dgyD0yFTctbep3VBQI8f_xg0Oc6UKSl7p7zrM/s400/DSCF5162.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331746723304291426" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfEpl7jBVlYZ5uRMjb6OoS4dDXzZxJGMvee3jRmt7zeI2XmHp_T1lm6AuT10nsXei1iAGiS-kDOVis5cQMnBwCyLTNLTaFAlqYf5LDRdpAZcf-l6cfU3T5DQRaw-4DX7QKviMqBiQhbI/s1600-h/DSCF5163.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkfEpl7jBVlYZ5uRMjb6OoS4dDXzZxJGMvee3jRmt7zeI2XmHp_T1lm6AuT10nsXei1iAGiS-kDOVis5cQMnBwCyLTNLTaFAlqYf5LDRdpAZcf-l6cfU3T5DQRaw-4DX7QKviMqBiQhbI/s400/DSCF5163.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331746718182131842" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5QexoGfiL4pbwhNrLdfsWTQ7VXbKgqheDA9gRD87j56h70bzBsUKSR0tYI4qmcWneyY52SOzV2EDil5vmsNrhyphenhyphenN9Y5KCEe43nXNxFq6cMWABvm_qmFOps5hi71hT8eHUX9q39sQROpc/s1600-h/DSCF5164.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC5QexoGfiL4pbwhNrLdfsWTQ7VXbKgqheDA9gRD87j56h70bzBsUKSR0tYI4qmcWneyY52SOzV2EDil5vmsNrhyphenhyphenN9Y5KCEe43nXNxFq6cMWABvm_qmFOps5hi71hT8eHUX9q39sQROpc/s400/DSCF5164.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331746721039671042" border="0" /></a><br /><br />If you have been following some of my earlier posts, you can tell that I was using the Fujifilm camera. This is obvious from the radials that shine out from the bright sun.<br /><br />That will pretty much cover it for tonight. But, there are sever more <span style="font-style: italic;">special </span>photos to discuss from this same night. So, 'till next time ... God bless!!Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-77325870507073328172009-04-28T20:13:00.006-07:002009-04-28T20:37:37.506-07:00Unusual CloudsHere are some photos, again from last June. As I left the house on this particular evening to go out to take pictures, I was stunned by this cloud formation. Before I even got in my car to head to the destination of choice, I had to start taking pictures. And, as I was driving along, I just had to stop several times along the way to take more pictures.<br /><br />I really loved the clear blue sky above, the light fluffy cloud on top, the dark menacing cloud below, and the bright sun's rays. This first shot was taken from right in front of my house.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAY-Twh3JgdGEj6FGTkvtI6h4dFaBUfIdcOJ1ttccmbjneo_mCTHPBQTcq_YrtAgmUpch_CMvXzimO-5OcIvAkUD3T4licVAeFZgPAAg8VvoYdw3ddBMRQhmihZd0iiM_nyuk1S5PUTo/s1600-h/DSCF5132r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYAY-Twh3JgdGEj6FGTkvtI6h4dFaBUfIdcOJ1ttccmbjneo_mCTHPBQTcq_YrtAgmUpch_CMvXzimO-5OcIvAkUD3T4licVAeFZgPAAg8VvoYdw3ddBMRQhmihZd0iiM_nyuk1S5PUTo/s400/DSCF5132r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329947100278649570" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This second shot was taken just around the corner from my house.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3loDQpbNkFv5JxMgO_TQhKEQjBLjSzy88wkWLVcKZhjTRVssQr2uTmKSjn4LThwVX0Q0lV6IDjfhj5h-M3CMMHseXwnq6zdLGwVmU9VqE7-CD0O19dA_oXYnSrlwif4B0SsbHCAZEMa4/s1600-h/DSCF5135r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3loDQpbNkFv5JxMgO_TQhKEQjBLjSzy88wkWLVcKZhjTRVssQr2uTmKSjn4LThwVX0Q0lV6IDjfhj5h-M3CMMHseXwnq6zdLGwVmU9VqE7-CD0O19dA_oXYnSrlwif4B0SsbHCAZEMa4/s400/DSCF5135r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329947099331038962" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The next two shots were taken just a short distance further along.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMH93KrsD00xCNsMTWuIvlrM8_5m7tX8UdzBEDI-qxau6ObXKNl2azY9sA4biMI5DccAfltpzHVRfN53EfrBepJZHgABwim2B7qbBHkSFNggFRR0XKSkjwh1iASpuueSPJQ8UBPeb1Sc/s1600-h/DSCF5137r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPMH93KrsD00xCNsMTWuIvlrM8_5m7tX8UdzBEDI-qxau6ObXKNl2azY9sA4biMI5DccAfltpzHVRfN53EfrBepJZHgABwim2B7qbBHkSFNggFRR0XKSkjwh1iASpuueSPJQ8UBPeb1Sc/s400/DSCF5137r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329947094705392786" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwTHfNJVnoQcJhIauJSse_0hduwbOTCGlhZPEMed8A2_wH85VssJ7gxbI66cTLeIuXG1UCo7yl4qCKX3e3iwpN0JhfOYSkJTxLIx8NcJh6llduVDTcvayO_3AlKDwTJgnj1dc_3f7xLs/s1600-h/DSCF5140r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwTHfNJVnoQcJhIauJSse_0hduwbOTCGlhZPEMed8A2_wH85VssJ7gxbI66cTLeIuXG1UCo7yl4qCKX3e3iwpN0JhfOYSkJTxLIx8NcJh6llduVDTcvayO_3AlKDwTJgnj1dc_3f7xLs/s400/DSCF5140r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329947093720147874" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Finally, I arrived at my desired destination. The following shot shows what I saw when I looked back to the west.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUPwaaqYD0HmMciEitbI0EKTWZgo7Z5noUaKEP_sAik66DSC5pc788FczFH0C4ixg7AY-kn8ITNjgdnrX5RiV__x-7br1XpM4E-sPDqis2eLgja2f5f1tMevxNgPnPG6sr202If09WRA/s1600-h/DSCF5145r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibUPwaaqYD0HmMciEitbI0EKTWZgo7Z5noUaKEP_sAik66DSC5pc788FczFH0C4ixg7AY-kn8ITNjgdnrX5RiV__x-7br1XpM4E-sPDqis2eLgja2f5f1tMevxNgPnPG6sr202If09WRA/s400/DSCF5145r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329947091105187746" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Now, here is the really good news -- the above shots were just the beginning of a really great evening. To see more of these unusual cloud shots from the beginning of this evening, check out the web album at <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/roger.degler/UnusualCloudFormations#">Unusual Cloud Formations</a>. I'll write about more of the pictures from this special evening in a later post.Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-82970832125949213362009-04-26T18:40:00.011-07:002009-04-26T19:53:25.961-07:00Cactus and ContrailsI'm still working on getting the June '08 photos uploaded to my Picasa web album. It takes a lot of time to go through <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> the pictures in the collection, select the ones to upload, and process them to add my watermark. The actual act of uploading is the quickest, simplest step of them all. Google's Picasa makes that step extremely easy.<br /><br />I haven't been out to take any new photos for a couple of days, which usually gives me a little more time to play catch-up. So, here are a few of the photos I've recently uploaded. The first shot here is a rather simple sunset, but I think that the multiple cactus make it interesting.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInyTkoZYpUOHk2yj_xmUkU0KxSM7ajHSR0JCPO9zGyc0M9W11cKhLV4qAqWbc5De7ZHwjIkdDi4UyjBnGaJvjo4lvlfUbQJsu4oW6k6gCh-mYtLnVHjQCZ3nMan0-X63dapRiC8gZ_44/s1600-h/DSCF5027r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjInyTkoZYpUOHk2yj_xmUkU0KxSM7ajHSR0JCPO9zGyc0M9W11cKhLV4qAqWbc5De7ZHwjIkdDi4UyjBnGaJvjo4lvlfUbQJsu4oW6k6gCh-mYtLnVHjQCZ3nMan0-X63dapRiC8gZ_44/s400/DSCF5027r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329180807736474754" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Two days later, the sunset started out like shown below. I like shots that show the sun as a big round ball, especially when a portion of it is hidden. If you take a close look at this shot, you can see something else that intrigues me - the bushes in the foreground directly below the sun are softly glowing against the mountains in the background. It amazes me that sometimes, even though all the rest of the foreground looks completely black, that plants that are within a very close distance from the ball of the sun, show up quite clearly.<br /><br />Actually, when I get almost all of my sunset photos onto my computer and examine them, I find that if I increase the brightness of the entire picture, I can see the details in the foreground. So, the camera is actually capturing more details than shown up in the normal picture. Of course, when I brighten the entire picture like that, then the sky and the sun look way too bright. So, I typically leave the pictures darker. After all, I like the silhouette look.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zNaklDIWHy3zb-4NwQkfi_nshhw68skLQGX8_FXDdgUU64Auij1gkRUZe9nbpbt5wydYniMQHyd3meBcjnhAnRkAeHpMfKQ_O7nBz7AEAM0uhb0MNcPBJkm5w9aJMhK1LiNnf5wdI_k/s1600-h/DSCF5055r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6zNaklDIWHy3zb-4NwQkfi_nshhw68skLQGX8_FXDdgUU64Auij1gkRUZe9nbpbt5wydYniMQHyd3meBcjnhAnRkAeHpMfKQ_O7nBz7AEAM0uhb0MNcPBJkm5w9aJMhK1LiNnf5wdI_k/s400/DSCF5055r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329180801445881666" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And, here is a shot a little bit later after the sun had gone down. Yup. Those are contrails, which I find rather fascinating when they are glowing with the sun shining on them. My question is, "Where are all those planes going, anyway???"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAscxYrBtyCiWuCdWS4QzpZnAPmb8GmOnU-O4ZCqzXrQYFZDzptu152E97kx6o9wXOxyJZdZqrg9dGCPpcqJhpt2-qivtwCXBLKl23TaBO_WrJ3eNDvqY1j7qUcMWtqwo1IxnPWNZe9j8/s1600-h/DSCF5082r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAscxYrBtyCiWuCdWS4QzpZnAPmb8GmOnU-O4ZCqzXrQYFZDzptu152E97kx6o9wXOxyJZdZqrg9dGCPpcqJhpt2-qivtwCXBLKl23TaBO_WrJ3eNDvqY1j7qUcMWtqwo1IxnPWNZe9j8/s400/DSCF5082r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329180802205509826" border="0" /></a><br /><br />These last two shots were taken by the side of the road on my way back home yet a couple of days later. The camera that I had with me on this day was the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ75. This camera has always taken great photos, has a 6x optical zoom, is very convenient to keep in my briefcase.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJcTcMwZailpqqM_jth67VSvEsp9tkPC7WQ0o0azags1vt648NL3pgoStKtJ_aqDmbl019Y_gcdxH21uburA0jBACb58khUKQEyP3TiBA2qu_dAeqG8ekmxD_SPrdo5NsbmRo636OoiI/s1600-h/P1060327r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfJcTcMwZailpqqM_jth67VSvEsp9tkPC7WQ0o0azags1vt648NL3pgoStKtJ_aqDmbl019Y_gcdxH21uburA0jBACb58khUKQEyP3TiBA2qu_dAeqG8ekmxD_SPrdo5NsbmRo636OoiI/s400/P1060327r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329180799511664882" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVW_H7cvwydeGuUOW5KWyy-AT3XKXVYrXFARTtTVV15ujOPPFmXhrcmEW8-E5PkA0Z9S_QDMlVGfZ60NmpoFM2Tq20JeK6mGPtRrncUxVr2rdhfH4CdW0szA2FXDddL7-7jsVYcZnOH5I/s1600-h/P1060329r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVW_H7cvwydeGuUOW5KWyy-AT3XKXVYrXFARTtTVV15ujOPPFmXhrcmEW8-E5PkA0Z9S_QDMlVGfZ60NmpoFM2Tq20JeK6mGPtRrncUxVr2rdhfH4CdW0szA2FXDddL7-7jsVYcZnOH5I/s400/P1060329r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329180797606730370" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The only down side to this camera, and those like it, have to do with looking into, at, or toward the sun!! The only viewfinder on point-and-shoot cameras like this is the LCD display on the back of the camera. When you hold a camera like this between you and the sun, you find yourself squiting so much that it is very difficult to see any details on the LCD.<br /><br />On the other hand, the Fujifilm camera that I always carry with me now is quite a bit larger, but, in addition to the LCD on the back of the camera, it has a small LCD built into the viewfinder, that acts like the viewfinder on an SLR camera, except that you are not actually looking through the lens, but only at the LCD inside the camera. Holding the camera up to your face in this way, blocks out the sun, and allows all the detail to be seen in the viewfinder.Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-6166737638155663082009-04-23T20:14:00.006-07:002009-04-23T21:24:46.468-07:00Sometimes a SurpriseHere are some more shots from last June. The night started off with out a lot of clouds in the sky. I've said it before, but, I'll say agan that I like the sun when it is peeking out from behind a cloud like this.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mCvrHuIz8ggkRuNn0mRzHmVT2WxcW19bzg3aqarM1K6Z3SyacKMCOkqcU36oImvVZ_uGhnWvvxMatktZeOuTJMVNLg5UXZ6W-2u-Py-LSWLW4SFId3QY1OyB14SbsRRMO4DLzxEOXBs/s1600-h/DSCF4929r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3mCvrHuIz8ggkRuNn0mRzHmVT2WxcW19bzg3aqarM1K6Z3SyacKMCOkqcU36oImvVZ_uGhnWvvxMatktZeOuTJMVNLg5UXZ6W-2u-Py-LSWLW4SFId3QY1OyB14SbsRRMO4DLzxEOXBs/s400/DSCF4929r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328092167291993106" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After taking the above shot, I went on up the highway about a mile to a place with some cactus up on the side of a hill. By this time, the sun was nearly down. At this point, the clouds look pretty much the same as they did earlier.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgihypaeDTj3lHlzx1j5CkYtGrZUoSLOrfwEMEgQE-oPPqEjTWXXCqOlgord1qbvFPHpotwk7-87JiaeMaN2UI1EeWg6gIY9bO0o9Ri1Q6AjlMpN0s72TWk-UoZ941s1FX2dE9SJJOUU/s1600-h/DSCF4934r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkgihypaeDTj3lHlzx1j5CkYtGrZUoSLOrfwEMEgQE-oPPqEjTWXXCqOlgord1qbvFPHpotwk7-87JiaeMaN2UI1EeWg6gIY9bO0o9Ri1Q6AjlMpN0s72TWk-UoZ941s1FX2dE9SJJOUU/s400/DSCF4934r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328092160874791122" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But, this was one of those nights where the clouds surprised me. Two things began to take shape. One, the upper bank of clouds took on an eerie glow. And, two, the lower bank of clouds, that I really didn't even now was there, began to show some streaks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsAIdLnaRmEFkhja1JeNFgNCdH9SKx5RtW_pJ09G59ktuUF8iTnYOHxGoR0WiAwHHNN13INY_AINIXc6Y6hlQfInL4IiMlJ8BfQxIYjby-ich626Sf9OuHNyMSnyTRDUW_NUKTOX6aK0/s1600-h/DSCF4940r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzsAIdLnaRmEFkhja1JeNFgNCdH9SKx5RtW_pJ09G59ktuUF8iTnYOHxGoR0WiAwHHNN13INY_AINIXc6Y6hlQfInL4IiMlJ8BfQxIYjby-ich626Sf9OuHNyMSnyTRDUW_NUKTOX6aK0/s400/DSCF4940r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328091470056375426" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is a closer look at the lower bank of clouds. They took on a wonderful golden glow.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrION6OnKPkA3VZozWiunZtbRJ7a7eC-xAeUk8XvpJH2Wq57p6ZsXbWgRv-ES_UmF3zOz7HlHHdsqlSb14IIF7ri0LSK2c-hE-5T7sH15NF-5YeAJhaaZMecZDMyy6llhUSY79v7JNLtU/s1600-h/DSCF4957r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrION6OnKPkA3VZozWiunZtbRJ7a7eC-xAeUk8XvpJH2Wq57p6ZsXbWgRv-ES_UmF3zOz7HlHHdsqlSb14IIF7ri0LSK2c-hE-5T7sH15NF-5YeAJhaaZMecZDMyy6llhUSY79v7JNLtU/s400/DSCF4957r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328091472076557746" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This next shot is a wider view again, and shows the very unique glow in the upper bank.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcMCa_sJBVwgfcqt5dkl6Z3VP8-5aoZjpphndFyUAx_s2x5AYayIswZbpOyyDOHswLqv3uLqDfhhgSVFlhp-nbzQ35Qqrjlo_JmOJHjC_4FOc9_nsymQ4pUF8wqwljjTj0uLAhL4E-EJI/s1600-h/DSCF4970r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcMCa_sJBVwgfcqt5dkl6Z3VP8-5aoZjpphndFyUAx_s2x5AYayIswZbpOyyDOHswLqv3uLqDfhhgSVFlhp-nbzQ35Qqrjlo_JmOJHjC_4FOc9_nsymQ4pUF8wqwljjTj0uLAhL4E-EJI/s400/DSCF4970r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328091465789561394" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And, next is what the sky looked like after the sun was long gone. I love the soft change in the colors from orange into purple.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-ffC581HiDiKW-q1P08GB95Gdi4c3q1X0LOwUOtrElyKcTTF8ZrgEOmJ_zSRPihS8h2iCL-mkXHAEP6Pk0je9PhxLPiWkv-SiNXSRU-dI6n6601a3TID6ASmHB7SJW0mLObojV7qHOo/s1600-h/DSCF5001r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK-ffC581HiDiKW-q1P08GB95Gdi4c3q1X0LOwUOtrElyKcTTF8ZrgEOmJ_zSRPihS8h2iCL-mkXHAEP6Pk0je9PhxLPiWkv-SiNXSRU-dI6n6601a3TID6ASmHB7SJW0mLObojV7qHOo/s400/DSCF5001r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328091467612942498" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Finally, here is a shot from three nights later. Again, not a lot of clouds. I just found a spot between some bushes to add some foreground interest. I like the wispy look of the clouds. I think it looks like the sun is behind some of the clouds, and in front of some of the others. Of course, that's not too likely!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi07YY7j2Ue_UgR0-BWYeGyQPUGFlocy-pjE-9_6LxdkROjlolqL7weaqjiBGYnxYyaqdEWVTxmSUqw0EOkmRHdLWSzrJ_OGq6XfrHhxJ3orWJmGw582BiQ6TSbdoybPHvOYole7IEK07I/s1600-h/DSCF5009r.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi07YY7j2Ue_UgR0-BWYeGyQPUGFlocy-pjE-9_6LxdkROjlolqL7weaqjiBGYnxYyaqdEWVTxmSUqw0EOkmRHdLWSzrJ_OGq6XfrHhxJ3orWJmGw582BiQ6TSbdoybPHvOYole7IEK07I/s400/DSCF5009r.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328091463921003394" border="0" /></a><br /><br />To see more of these shots, visit the <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/roger.degler/AZSunriseSunsetJune2008#">June album</a>.Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-61406440395795706672009-04-18T10:27:00.012-07:002009-04-18T11:47:40.067-07:00Sundown at Church (and Palm Trees)It's likely that I'm getting carried away with today's posting. I've been a little too busy lately, and so it's been a while since I last made a post. And here are a few (probably too many) shots from last Thursday night.<br /><br />I had to be at Church that night for a meeting that was going to start at 7pm. And, wouldn't you know it -- the sun was going to go down at about 6:57!! What a (wonderful!!) coincidence.<br /><br />I was actually going to grab a bite to eat and do a little shopping on my way to Church. But, when I noticed the sky, I bypassed that and made a mad dash straight to Church. I've been trying to get some <span style="font-style: italic;">great</span> sunset shots around our Church for a long time now. But, to do that, you need to be there when the sun is going down. (Well, duh!) I now live about 40 miles from our Church, so being there at sundown is <span style="font-style: italic;">usually</span> a little inconvenient. And, on those nights when I've needed to be there, we haven't had any really good sunsets. Until last Thursday.<br /><br />We have several <span style="font-style: italic;">very </span>tall palm trees around our Church property. And, palm trees make <span style="font-style: italic;">great</span> silhouettes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeoQg6jrUNI/AAAAAAAANK8/apxrdJXmn1w/s1600-h/DSCF2592.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeoQg6jrUNI/AAAAAAAANK8/apxrdJXmn1w/s400/DSCF2592.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087666979786962" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is what the buildings and trees look like. This shot is looking North-East, so the sun is behind me. This only shows <span style="font-style: italic;">some </span>of the palm trees -- there are lots more around.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bN1BTWoudaUATtPJcZSfHCIYVY0k0xDxTHEfhUb20IBiyLLhGRUP18RLLYWUshkL1TIN_OwE3WNmAfD9DrECR3S9EXfrGp0hJlebuqhjYNYuhxqD_ooVwCTsiacj1p1tSeLjZ2xiUs0/s1600-h/DSCF2602.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8bN1BTWoudaUATtPJcZSfHCIYVY0k0xDxTHEfhUb20IBiyLLhGRUP18RLLYWUshkL1TIN_OwE3WNmAfD9DrECR3S9EXfrGp0hJlebuqhjYNYuhxqD_ooVwCTsiacj1p1tSeLjZ2xiUs0/s400/DSCF2602.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087665292048466" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I parked my car and walked around the property at least five times. Every time around, the sun and clouds looked different, and so I took <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">lots</span> of pictures. In the following shots, I really like the look of the the bright spot being right behind the cross. It gives these shots a rather antique look.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeoQgqBA5YI/AAAAAAAANKs/77zpDVXJ_b8/s1600-h/DSCF2611.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeoQgqBA5YI/AAAAAAAANKs/77zpDVXJ_b8/s400/DSCF2611.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087662539433346" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkNAaVXSA0oP-cM-rDGISrFJVvHUgezVSokztq9v00sXzxRsWF3_AEZW0lmNQCuGvptKB7YE_lJ-SKI5fJee1SJxJhRdku5t9QOuG0Eftm-QGrLPT5SSx1tDh5S93wOG6KWqY8fbqB9k/s1600-h/DSCF2617.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkNAaVXSA0oP-cM-rDGISrFJVvHUgezVSokztq9v00sXzxRsWF3_AEZW0lmNQCuGvptKB7YE_lJ-SKI5fJee1SJxJhRdku5t9QOuG0Eftm-QGrLPT5SSx1tDh5S93wOG6KWqY8fbqB9k/s400/DSCF2617.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087660373323138" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And I kept walking around. And, I really love the palm trees.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeoQPHRfA8I/AAAAAAAANKc/g_5R_6IrW4o/s1600-h/DSCF2622.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeoQPHRfA8I/AAAAAAAANKc/g_5R_6IrW4o/s400/DSCF2622.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087361155498946" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is kind of a soft shot, with the bright spot of the sun out of the picture.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeoQOxaOHOI/AAAAAAAANKU/x3b1NzWIaZk/s1600-h/DSCF2649.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeoQOxaOHOI/AAAAAAAANKU/x3b1NzWIaZk/s400/DSCF2649.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087355286559970" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And then, here is a shot repositioning my self to place the sun so that it is shining <span style="font-style: italic;">through </span>the bell tower. I really like the radials that the Fujifilm camera makes in these cases.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNnBel8g59G1BrJAlPWeUi0GeQBfVxXNjumkXjEv0n58gRu-gGunDkCAE6ac5PoxXAUriWuLUjvaqdrzODOzsVD-2SyudJ3kcitr6rsJwFLUzNVbgh-c8pmGXEqIDpw_v3YKVDa73Veo/s1600-h/DSCF2651.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwNnBel8g59G1BrJAlPWeUi0GeQBfVxXNjumkXjEv0n58gRu-gGunDkCAE6ac5PoxXAUriWuLUjvaqdrzODOzsVD-2SyudJ3kcitr6rsJwFLUzNVbgh-c8pmGXEqIDpw_v3YKVDa73Veo/s400/DSCF2651.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087358006622354" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And again at a slightly wider angle ...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6oClAUcH-ed69uV-q0V5eVuWX7iL-O_8IUJ7msmSGCPDOHHMtVuWTpnnNpWU2cjvRo_ErHdai8z95s2svVJgNiJVpf9gTHNAgw2gsPQdMwbb6c8AyywOzIBBTnvz0KuIN0gobt65jM5o/s1600-h/DSCF2652.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6oClAUcH-ed69uV-q0V5eVuWX7iL-O_8IUJ7msmSGCPDOHHMtVuWTpnnNpWU2cjvRo_ErHdai8z95s2svVJgNiJVpf9gTHNAgw2gsPQdMwbb6c8AyywOzIBBTnvz0KuIN0gobt65jM5o/s400/DSCF2652.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087351726521554" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here I am back around the front of the Church again. I think that due to the way the buildings face, sun<span style="font-style: italic;">rise</span> pictures would look best. But, let's see, that would mean that I would have to get there <span style="font-style: italic;">before</span> the sun comes up. And, remember that I live about an hour away. And the sun is now coming up at about 6am. And, if I left the house at 5am, I really wouldn't have much of an idea of what the sky was going to look like because it is still quite dark. Not to mention the fact that I'm still in bed at 5am. Oh well, I think that sun<span style="font-style: italic;">sets</span> will just have to do. OK, maybe some day???<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2aQUib23X8cqsS0Nba1jNguMN7UQ1iTi4QuOU7i0pHiV6nKdLA7KwYWUsTppV0XYhb8BceUNUTmaqtXoUbwrn1j6SwZ5DR54bQlsAByNa4LpbHRiYzjfPYaODbrlwEWqd8-Pwp3OJ6k/s1600-h/DSCF2667.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge2aQUib23X8cqsS0Nba1jNguMN7UQ1iTi4QuOU7i0pHiV6nKdLA7KwYWUsTppV0XYhb8BceUNUTmaqtXoUbwrn1j6SwZ5DR54bQlsAByNa4LpbHRiYzjfPYaODbrlwEWqd8-Pwp3OJ6k/s400/DSCF2667.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087353668602306" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Back around the rear of the buildings again, and the sun is behind a cloud, shining out both from the top of the cloud and the bottom. Notice the birds in flight?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WgPyVLewdIUaqCCGde-Uda-XZ_ZNnrJT1U5yz0aaekh26co42R14ZBmDcdwFUSLr-rKBEN567uSgGG0ZzduPTn66lukwhLsZSZZHHA-LtV43na_lLJ_xvmUN6uZW9Af21xjPL2b6EVc/s1600-h/DSCF2687.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-WgPyVLewdIUaqCCGde-Uda-XZ_ZNnrJT1U5yz0aaekh26co42R14ZBmDcdwFUSLr-rKBEN567uSgGG0ZzduPTn66lukwhLsZSZZHHA-LtV43na_lLJ_xvmUN6uZW9Af21xjPL2b6EVc/s400/DSCF2687.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087004545659426" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And, again the palm trees. Notice the cross?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zveFTrFZ_D0dGfyb_bc0nu4YZBuvOh_bhe6xuL82H7avS3ZLl6n11oMs_U6tuHq8hggd_NNRD9mtAy4g62LfdYpURGpOirGFtRqGnFjW4W1iPeeI-vi2pxwLhEyUEn8fIu27WQzfmJE/s1600-h/DSCF2700.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3zveFTrFZ_D0dGfyb_bc0nu4YZBuvOh_bhe6xuL82H7avS3ZLl6n11oMs_U6tuHq8hggd_NNRD9mtAy4g62LfdYpURGpOirGFtRqGnFjW4W1iPeeI-vi2pxwLhEyUEn8fIu27WQzfmJE/s400/DSCF2700.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087003256174514" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is a rather simple shot that I really like, showing the cross against the pink clouds. Simple, but nice. This is taken from the rear of the Church, but, if I didn't tell you that, you probably would never know, even if you were a regular attender at our Church.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqKW4tv34SDeP68MEfxehFKBm_RVzO48EWUU-XVdQXFc0QgwEMkW9FG4ljmEKFQE-9Vn3xfX6_GbiuyWlRROUNYwnpJdWlKC8PPmRX0k505lvxFh3orqxV0QxLYezsY4OIbxkyzWpvh0/s1600-h/DSCF2727.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqKW4tv34SDeP68MEfxehFKBm_RVzO48EWUU-XVdQXFc0QgwEMkW9FG4ljmEKFQE-9Vn3xfX6_GbiuyWlRROUNYwnpJdWlKC8PPmRX0k505lvxFh3orqxV0QxLYezsY4OIbxkyzWpvh0/s400/DSCF2727.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087001147084482" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Here is a shot that took me by surprise. On another trip around the property, I came around front and noticed that the sunset was being reflected by the windows above the main entrance. No, that is not light coming from <span style="font-style: italic;">inside </span>the Church, but from <span style="font-style: italic;">outside</span>. Now, we may like to the think the the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Light</span> lives <span style="font-style: italic;">within</span> the Church walls. But in reality, the <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Light</span> comes from <span style="font-style: italic;">above</span>, and actually lives <span style="font-style: italic;">within</span> God's people!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS223DzpyGB7p91EDGgX2O4qjG3Ow_O_lS6Jv8wKVrZBbLP2FH_MXWGRDTulH0Q9JwsB_DsZ4V7VQ5swa6vR__tiD4y05GUFonFBU58l-d32SAvMwDQ29V0DmP792XCdGdhKIWIUhJCEA/s1600-h/DSCF2729.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS223DzpyGB7p91EDGgX2O4qjG3Ow_O_lS6Jv8wKVrZBbLP2FH_MXWGRDTulH0Q9JwsB_DsZ4V7VQ5swa6vR__tiD4y05GUFonFBU58l-d32SAvMwDQ29V0DmP792XCdGdhKIWIUhJCEA/s400/DSCF2729.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326087000595775538" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And one final shot from the rear. The sun has gone down, and there is a completely different look to the sky.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnY2Nk41X3vvj14bKU_4i_VTrJM71KxRVf4SihVd4-Cbr03TP6w8R3-lQ5WpeuN_OsufSd3NUZrQSamWfKyZsRpvhrG3ac5J7XR8Jx66DT3cEAqeO0D5DzD5I5gfXLPOwYtwA5Ezr-es/s1600-h/DSCF2732.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYnY2Nk41X3vvj14bKU_4i_VTrJM71KxRVf4SihVd4-Cbr03TP6w8R3-lQ5WpeuN_OsufSd3NUZrQSamWfKyZsRpvhrG3ac5J7XR8Jx66DT3cEAqeO0D5DzD5I5gfXLPOwYtwA5Ezr-es/s400/DSCF2732.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326086994140414386" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'd like to think that these shots bring a little more praise and glory to God, the one who made it all. And, putting one of His houses of Worship into the pictures, just seems to add something.<br /><br />By the way, if you would like to see all of the pictures from this night, please come and visit my web album at <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/roger.degler/SunsetAtCCNApril162009#">Sunset At CCN</a>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-89384253912222687902009-04-11T20:37:00.012-07:002009-04-11T22:01:09.065-07:00The Amazing Polarizing FilterI've made a discovery! Well, OK, somebody else made the discovery - I'm just a slow learner. Years ago, when I was actively using my 35 mm SLR film camera, I had a collection of lenses, and for each of them I purchased a protective filter - usually just a UV filter. The main purpose of keeping these filters on the lenses was to keep the lenses from getting scratched. After all, it'd be a lot less expensive to replace a filter, than to buy a whole new lens!<br /><br />For my new Canon DSLR, I have only a single lens, and I really didn't want to see it getting scratched. So, I bought a pair of filters; one a UV filter, and the other a circular polarizer. I always keep one of these on the lens at all times. But, to be honest with you, I hadn't been able to see these filters make any difference in the pictures. That is until now.<br /><br />Yes, of course, I'd read about the use of these filters, and how they are supposed to help landscape photos look better. I tried them, but couldn't see the difference.<br /><br />The other night, I put the polarizer filter back on. I tried looking West toward the sunset (my usual subject) and rotated the filter, but again, couldn't see any difference. I tried looking in the opposite direction from the sun (East), but, again, no difference. Just for the heck of it, I tried looking North and South. And, there it was!<br /><br />At sunrise or sunset, when looking <span style="font-style: italic;">perpendicular</span> to the direction of the sunlight, rotating the polarizing filter makes the brightness of the sky change drastically, without having much affect on the brightness of other things, like clouds and cactus.<br /><br />The following two shots were taken just a few seconds apart. I'm facing North in these shots. I had the camera on a tripod so as to not move it between the pictures. In the first shot, I rotated the polarizing filter to make the sky look as bright as popssible. I also adjusted the the exposure time so the exposure would be taken at about - 1/3 EV. In the second shot, I quickly rotated the polarizer to make the sky look as dark as possible, and re-adjusted the exposure time to again take the shot at about -1/3 EV.<br /><br />Take a look at the two shots. Notice how in the first shot, the clouds look dark gray against the bright sky, and in the second the clouds look white against the dark sky? Although it doesn't show up very well in these two minature pictures, the desert forground shows up much better, too, in the second shot.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFkGNK4VwI/AAAAAAAAMh4/MH48nzWIhMU/s1600-h/IMG_1631.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFkGNK4VwI/AAAAAAAAMh4/MH48nzWIhMU/s400/IMG_1631.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323646292305925890" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFkF3il8BI/AAAAAAAAMhw/5cz4s9wyI5k/s1600-h/IMG_1632.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFkF3il8BI/AAAAAAAAMhw/5cz4s9wyI5k/s400/IMG_1632.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323646286499803154" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Alright, on to tonights sunset. When I first went out to start taking pictures, the following shot shows what I saw when looking East -- storm clouds in the desert.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFkF1JsjKI/AAAAAAAAMho/2EK5sHFeX3k/s1600-h/IMG_1573.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFkF1JsjKI/AAAAAAAAMho/2EK5sHFeX3k/s400/IMG_1573.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323646285858507938" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And the following shows what was happening in the West.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFjqswjotI/AAAAAAAAMhg/NbqIeYMGfnQ/s1600-h/DSCF2471.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFjqswjotI/AAAAAAAAMhg/NbqIeYMGfnQ/s400/DSCF2471.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323645819749114578" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After a while, the sun broke through an opening in the clouds. The next shot was taken with the Fujifilm camera. Note the radials out from the sun. I like them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFjqspseAI/AAAAAAAAMhY/1UULKLcUX_0/s1600-h/DSCF2493.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFjqspseAI/AAAAAAAAMhY/1UULKLcUX_0/s400/DSCF2493.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323645819720333314" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The next shot was taken right after the previous one was, but was taken with the Canon. Notice that the radials are absent. I don't have a good answer as to why this is, but I just remember the fact when I'm shooting. If I want to see the radials, I shoot with the Fujifilm camera. If I don't, I shoot with the Canon.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFjqQFt3EI/AAAAAAAAMhI/XGYlMmO8Nck/s1600-h/IMG_1591.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFjqQFt3EI/AAAAAAAAMhI/XGYlMmO8Nck/s400/IMG_1591.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323645812053236802" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And finally, a few minutes later, here is what happened when the sun went down a little lower, below the bank of clouds.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFjqBHPvrI/AAAAAAAAMhA/X3HiG7zamJA/s1600-h/IMG_1593.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/SeFjqBHPvrI/AAAAAAAAMhA/X3HiG7zamJA/s400/IMG_1593.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323645808033119922" border="0" /></a>Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7380303955801464995.post-44772197840726131292009-04-10T16:43:00.015-07:002009-04-10T20:07:46.028-07:00Sundown at the Mining Camp RestaurantI've got a lot of pictures to talk about tonight. But, first, I have an urgent question -- Does anybody know what this railroad building is (or used to be)? I've been driving by it for the last couple of years, and ever since I began taking sunset photos, I've been meaning to stop and shoot some pictures of this thing. I thought that it might be an interesting subject. But, you know how it goes -- when you are driving down the road, there is always somewhere more important that you need to be.<br /><br />However, on this given night, when I was driving by, it was getting near sundown, so I finally forced myself to pullover and investigate. The more I looked at it, the more puzzled I became. I'd guess that it is about 25 to 30 feet in diameter, and about 30 or more feet tall. It has a doorway and a couple of windows. The windows have bars in them. Whatever used to installed in the middle of the floor is long gone.<br /><br />There are apparently two chambers, one above the other. When I stood inside the lower chamber and looked at the roof, I could see that it is about at the halfway-up point. You can see a ring around the outside of the building where the division is located. What I found to be the strangest is that the roof of the lower chamber is domed. Unfortunately, I couldn't get to the upper chamber to see what it contained.<br /><br />Ok, what is this thing?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_ayFkWf0I/AAAAAAAAMfw/73cR2_5C8b0/s1600-h/DSCF2156.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 301px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_ayFkWf0I/AAAAAAAAMfw/73cR2_5C8b0/s400/DSCF2156.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323213838598176578" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This next shot shows the doorway, and to the right you can see one of the windows.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_axxNx5tI/AAAAAAAAMfo/Bd4bIoihfAk/s1600-h/DSCF2159.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_axxNx5tI/AAAAAAAAMfo/Bd4bIoihfAk/s400/DSCF2159.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323213833134794450" border="0" /></a><br /><br />OK, enough of that. Now, on to the the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mining Camp Restaurant</span>. This is a very famous destination here in the Phoenix area. It is nestled in the foothills of the Superstition Mountains. Since I moved to the Phoenix valley in 1967, and heard about this restaurant ever since I arrived, I just figured that it had always existed! Ha! The restaurant opened in 1961.<br /><br />The strange thing is that it's now 42 years later, and I still had never been there. I'd always heard great things about the food and atmosphere, and always wanted to go, but just never seemed to make it. It's kind of like living in New York City but never having seen the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty, or living in Arizona and never having seen the Grand Canyon. (Just kidding, of course I've seen the Grand Canyon. I've even hiked to the bottom of it a couple of times.)<br /><br />My wife, Paula, and I decided that it was time to have dinner with Dave & Ann, friends of ours that we hadn't seen in a while. It just so happens that they were planning on spending a few nights in Apache Junction, which is located sort of at the mid-point between the places where be live. So, we thought we would eat in Apache Junction. But, where?? Well, of course, where else but the Mining Camp Restaurant. And, it's funny how dinner time happens somewhere near the time that the sun goes down.<br /><br />After we had finished eating, and the girls continued talking about family, etc., Dave and I excused ourselves and escaped outside just before sunset. Dave has done a lot of professional photography and sold a lot of his pictures. Imagine this, though -- I was the only one to bring a camera. (I <span style="font-style: italic;">almost</span> never go anywhere without my camera.) So, as Dave and I were talking, and he was giving me some very useful hints, I started taking pictures.<br /><br />These first two shots show what meets you right outside the restaurant's entrance. Notice the Superstition Mountains in the immediate background?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_wfTsV6cAM8Y189v-o982u4f38vNry0emmBYo3gVfpLRfNlvAh_hb_IOvXZMfvu1RNbDJRcRoI5Fypkz3n76VCjWQT1J9gbsOwwLn2s1lyC3G2q-QYdUdttZZoALOF7KatbEyUvDEaM/s1600-h/DSCF2187.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_wfTsV6cAM8Y189v-o982u4f38vNry0emmBYo3gVfpLRfNlvAh_hb_IOvXZMfvu1RNbDJRcRoI5Fypkz3n76VCjWQT1J9gbsOwwLn2s1lyC3G2q-QYdUdttZZoALOF7KatbEyUvDEaM/s400/DSCF2187.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323213833511576370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIegvRAiLXgzSzNPd0qfCeVPE6yzrJfykpOQMHR-g_9Ljf_I3yhFdvkYDGopFhN19YlPoLNjyrWCIYeAzKb_IJ4ypPPNXjrvcpem2aD7_VO28c8iVr027D6lt_QzvIs15rGKqWB4bymg/s1600-h/DSCF2190.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZIegvRAiLXgzSzNPd0qfCeVPE6yzrJfykpOQMHR-g_9Ljf_I3yhFdvkYDGopFhN19YlPoLNjyrWCIYeAzKb_IJ4ypPPNXjrvcpem2aD7_VO28c8iVr027D6lt_QzvIs15rGKqWB4bymg/s400/DSCF2190.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323213828573953602" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And, here is to show you that we all observe the world around us differently. Dave asked if I would mind if he took a couple of shots with my camera. Here are a couple of the shot that he took. Notice that while I was looking at buildings, mountains, and eventually the setting sun, Dave focused in on something completely different -- something that I hadn't even seen!!<br /><br />Take a look at the wagon wheels. There is something about wheels these that caught Dave's interest.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja21gNvrImFz7o30Vb_AT37iC0vpNxU5Qor8YLRky-swsi-ru-Xxa7AMjs0Q7YkZGUW7sdc40MWYDyz5cOcMJbAyfsMr4gPCShnlQuGQNbcYDZbSrJuC5u9IcCVeSoxCF7__LyQEY5WeM/s1600-h/DSCF2191.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja21gNvrImFz7o30Vb_AT37iC0vpNxU5Qor8YLRky-swsi-ru-Xxa7AMjs0Q7YkZGUW7sdc40MWYDyz5cOcMJbAyfsMr4gPCShnlQuGQNbcYDZbSrJuC5u9IcCVeSoxCF7__LyQEY5WeM/s400/DSCF2191.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323213826703721634" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And here is probably the best shot of the whole night. There is some real artistic flare in this shot!! I just love it. Thanks, Dave!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR7W3k6IcbDjzGwkuvAjP3OmudAOpOWntAxQjxFmkRVMgNtaGBt3CeBFo6eY1SpXxbzn3DvXEhdWQrlt_lYZyHkhE0oxo1mTTN3MIXPlx0ZuBojeFEAeB5zW65jLd-io7ZGcwKA-pV5PY/s1600-h/DSCF2192.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR7W3k6IcbDjzGwkuvAjP3OmudAOpOWntAxQjxFmkRVMgNtaGBt3CeBFo6eY1SpXxbzn3DvXEhdWQrlt_lYZyHkhE0oxo1mTTN3MIXPlx0ZuBojeFEAeB5zW65jLd-io7ZGcwKA-pV5PY/s400/DSCF2192.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323213406451759778" border="0" /></a><br /><br />About this time, I looked up and saw the following. I usually keep track of the sun's and the moon's rise and set times. I knew that a near-full moon was going to be rising on this night, but in the excitement, had completely forgotten. So, I grabbed the camera and shot some moon shots. (Does that make sense?)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_aYTxrWdI/AAAAAAAAMfA/pPLnkfS2FuA/s1600-h/DSCF2199.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_aYTxrWdI/AAAAAAAAMfA/pPLnkfS2FuA/s400/DSCF2199.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323213395735566802" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Yep, that's the moon rising right over the Superstition Mountains.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_aYFPISII/AAAAAAAAMe4/ImzPD7DJuKg/s1600-h/DSCF2206.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_aYFPISII/AAAAAAAAMe4/ImzPD7DJuKg/s400/DSCF2206.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323213391832565890" border="0" /></a><br /><br />But, then of course, the sun was going down, and I was obligated to take some sunset pictures. Here is a view <span style="font-style: italic;">through</span> a cactus.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_aX4UtCvI/AAAAAAAAMew/JShAaH3cY5w/s1600-h/DSCF2209.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_aX4UtCvI/AAAAAAAAMew/JShAaH3cY5w/s400/DSCF2209.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323213388366285554" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And here is a view over the mountains to the west.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_aXhZnmPI/AAAAAAAAMeo/auZdp3v2G5s/s1600-h/DSCF2218.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_E-nwdwY1NB4/Sd_aXhZnmPI/AAAAAAAAMeo/auZdp3v2G5s/s400/DSCF2218.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323213382212884722" border="0" /></a><br /><br />By the way, you can learn more about this famous restaurant at their web site at:<br />www.miningcamprestaurant.com.Roger Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663922828872205365noreply@blogger.com0