In a Hurry

Saw this young lady moving towards me at speed of sound.  As she drew closer, I could hear her talking into the phone at the same speed.  I quickly pulled my camera to my eye and began firing.  I wanted a photo to capture her rapid pace and focus and show the backlighting that set her off from her sorroundings.  Hopefully, this photo does that.

I do wish that I knew what she was saying but I do not speed listen very well.  Too old for that!

Enjoy.

Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 at 155mm, ISO 360, f/4.8 and 1/180^th of a second.

Post Processing:  

Lightroom 3—Set black and white points, adjusted exposure, added clarity and mid-tone contrast.

Patrick Is Going Canon

Now I am sure that several friends of mine will immediately hit the comment button after reading my title, but wait a minute.  Canon just made me too good of an offer.  All the gear I wanted up to a maximum of twice what I currently have invested in Nikon equipment plus an annual allowance which will more than pay for all my equipment needs and finally preference of the delivery of new equipment.  No more waiting six to nine months for newly announced equipment.  So, I sold my soul.

Just kidding.

But, this photo was taken with a Canon G12.  The boss told me that I was to purchase a little camera that:  (a) she could use; and (b) I was to use for casual family outing.  The two cameras that I tried out were the Canon G12 and the Nikon P7000.  Both are excellent point and shoot cameras however the Canon seemed to deliver slightly better photo—a little more contrast and a tack sharper.  Not enough to completely blow away the Nikon P7000 but enough to give the Canon the edge.

Overall, I am happy enough with the Canon to place my order.  But there are a few things that I will need to get accustom to:  (1) the delay that you get between the time you press the shutter and when the photo is actually taken; (2) noise at what I consider low ISO (say starting at ISO 400); (3) how many of the controls are buried in the menus rather than on buttons on the camera body; and, (4) the on camera flash—really not sure what is going to do or how the photo will look.

Still, with all these things, plus a few more, I am happy.  Why?  Because the BOSS is happy.

Enjoy.

Camera settings:  Canon G12 with a 6.1-30.5mm lens at 30.5, ISO 80, f/4.5 and 1/320^th of a second.

Post Processing:  

Lightroom 3—Set black and white points, adjusted exposure, added clarity and mid-tone contrast.

Playing Around

Saw this reflection of two ladies and their bikes in window.  Tried all sorts of things—multiple exposures, long shutter speeds, out-of-focus, and so on.  Really did not like any of the photos that I took, but learned something valuable—I need to play around more with my camera.  

Enjoy.

Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 at 110mm, ISO 200, f/8 and 1/60^th of a second.

Post Processing:  

Lightroom 3—Set black and white points, adjusted exposure, added clarity and mid-tone contrast.

Taking a Rest

When it hot and muggy, even shoes need a little rest and Gatorade.  Got these shoes resting after some hard skateboarding.

Enjoy.

Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 at 110mm, ISO 200, f/4.5 and 1/1500^th of a second.

Post Processing:  

Lightroom 3—Set black and white points, adjusted exposure, added clarity, mid-tone contrast and vignetting and sharpened image.

Out for a Walk

How can you tell when a woman’s jeans are not tight enough?   Easy.  When you cannot determine the make and model of her cell phone in her back pocket.

In this photo, I like the contrast between the vivid colors and details of the boy and girl walking with the blown-out, muted colors of the background. 

Enjoy.

Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 at 270mm, ISO 360, f/5.6 and 1/125^th of a second.

Post Processing:  

Lightroom 3—Set black and white points, adjusted exposure, added clarity and mid-tone contrast and sharpened image.

All’s Fine in the World

As I watched this couple with their little girl, I could not help but marvel out how safe and secure she seemed to be.  Just holding mom’s and dad’s hands was enough.  Wish we all could have a secure place like that!

Enjoy.

Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 ISO 200, f/5.6 and 1/180^th of a sescond.

Post Processing:  

Lightroom 3—Set black and white points, adjusted exposure, added clarity and mid-tone contrast, and added vignette.

Street Scene

I admire street performers.  They lay it on the line.  No retakes, no Photoshop adjustments, nothing but what they have at that moment.  They just go out there and perform.  That takes courage.

I sat and listened to this folk singer for some time before I took any photos of him.  Why?  Because I was not really sure what I wanted the photo to represent.  Finally, I decided to try and show his passion while he was singing.

Enjoy.

Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 ISO 200, f/5.6 and 1/350^th of a sescond.

Post Processing:  

Lightroom 3—Set black and white points, adjusted exposure,  added clarity and mid-tone contrast, and added vignette.

Spring Means JD’s Garden #7

I like two things about this photo:  the strong contrast in colors and the very narrow shallow depth of field.  Both make the subject come forward in the photo.

Enjoy.

Camera settings:  Nikon D3, Nikon 300mm f/4 with a 1.7x teleconverter (effectively a 500mm lens), ISO 1,600, f/6.7 and 1/180^th of a second on a tripod.

Post Processing:  

Lightroom 3—Set black and white points, added clarity and mid-tone contrast, adjusted hue and saturation of green, yellows and orange and added vignette and cropped image into a square.