Picture of the Day - 2006

The End

2007-01-01T09:47:00.000-05:00

Well, that's the end. When I started this project, I had the vague idea of putting together a calendar at the end of the year, and I accomplished that goal. I took around 6,000 shots on my point and shoot camera, and around 7800 on my dSLR camera, and posted 302 of them to my photoblog. I learned a whole lot about the manual modes on my camera, I can now find my way around Photoshop, and I can see a bit more potential in a lot of the shots that didn't come out just the way I wanted (but that doesn't mean I can salvage them all). I think some of my favorite types of photos are macros, nature, and abstracts... considering that, I decided to make the focus of my 2007 blog "Shallow DOF". You can follow along at by following this link.

Anyway, it's been a fun year. And, since it's now 2007, I can post a photo I didn't take. Here is a photo of the cover of the calendar I put together which shows all 12 months. I had them printed at cafepress.com, and I was reasonably pleased with the way they came out. I hope everyone has a wonderful 2007! Happy New Year! :)

Filtered Sunset

2006-12-29T17:09:00.000-05:00

So I got a Circular Polarizing filter for Christmas, and now that I have the right size in hand, I have to figure out what to do with it. So here is a simple sunset shot out my front window. I took too many comparison shots earlier where I wasn't using the right settings for a good picture, so this is probably the nicest of the bunch. Thanks grandpa :)

For those of you who have been doing this PaD project all year... congratulations on making it (almost)to the end. And for those few who managed to make one post every single day... wow! It's been fun seeing everyone else's photos, and many, many thanks to all who took the time to leave comments!

I'm not up for another whole year of daily photos, however, I will be working on the themed Photo A Week project along with the other DPC folks. I think I've chosen my theme (although I still have 2 days to change my mind, right?), so I'll be going with shallow dof. While Blogger has been (mostly) great for these projects, I decided to move to a different site for next year, so as of Jan 1, I'll be using my Photo A Week Project for 2007 photoblog. Hope to see everyone over there for another year of photos

... and whiskers on kittens

2006-12-28T18:16:00.000-05:00

Ok, for those of you who aren't cat fans, I apologize. I promise I'll finish off the year with something different. The cat ended up wearing all of the ribbons from the packages on Christmas morning, and was relatively tolerant of the experience. Maybe it was from all the catnip she'd been sniffing. And as for the title, I watched The Sound of Music the other night. I guess the song is still stuck in my head.

Winter's Eve Nap

2006-12-21T22:15:00.000-05:00

Yes, another picture of my cat. Today was one of those days where curling up for a nice afternoon nap in the sun sounded like the perfect thing to do. Tomorrow will be the winter solstice, and I must say, I'm looking forward to the daylight getting longer again.

So, this makes post #300. I doubt I'll make another 52 photos to complete a full years worth of pictures, but maybe I can add a few more before time runs out!

Kaaterskill Part 2

2006-12-18T22:11:00.000-05:00

This is the larger waterfall back the trail. There is parking near the top of the falls, but the only time I've been to the top, I was unaware of the parking, so I took the long way in... oh, and did I mention it was in a complete downpour? I've also hiked (climbed?) to the middle section, though I don't think I'd do it again. Here is a description of the falls from another website:

This is the highest two-tiered waterfall in New York State. Its upper tier measures an impressive 175 feet, while its lower tier is 85 feet tall. The falls are truly spectacular, explaining the fact that this is a very popular area - one of the best visited locations in the Catskills. Don't expect to be alone here, unless perhaps you go on a weekday when it's raining.

Water level varies significantly at Kaaterskill Falls. In late summer, the water flow can reduce to a trickle, or even virtually dry up completely.

The falls are best appreciated from a distance, where the entire scene can be taken in. There used to be a trail that climbed to the top of the falls, but it is now officially closed and unmaintained. Deaths and injuries have occurred here, so do be careful. However, with great difficulty and care, it is possible to climb to the base of the upper tier. This is a particularly nice area, as the overhanging rock of the upper falls creates a large amphitheater like area behind the falls. Also, there is a beautiful pool before the water continues its course over the lower tier of Kaaterskill Falls.

Kaaterskill Falls (#297 / #298)

2006-12-17T17:49:00.000-05:00

This is the small waterfall near the road... the larger waterfall is about a half mile back the trail, but those shots didn't come out as nicely.

And just because I've been really slacking here towards the end of the year... here is a strange abstract mix of slinky shots. These two shots put me at 298 photos posted for the year.

Chickadee

2006-11-26T19:03:00.000-05:00

Tweet, tweet.

Smooth

2006-11-11T21:24:00.000-05:00

So, you know how you go out and take a bunch of pictures, only to come home and find out that they're just not as great as you'd hoped. You keep clicking to the next one, and eventually get into a rut of 'next, next, delete, next, delete'... and then there's finally one that's worth keeping. It makes you stop, and look... and smile. Well, this is that picture from today's hike. I don't think I even looked at the last few pictures from the day.

Anyway, I was taking pictures facing the OTHER direction, and then turned around and decided this was definitely worth a shot. Hand held, on manual... I was expecting it to be horrible. What a nice surprise!

Picture in Picture

2006-11-07T20:24:00.000-05:00

I found a podcast about Photoshop tips and tricks, and one episode was about making these picture in picture things. So, for those people who were sick of the cat shots, those who were complaining about my "POTM" blog, and those questioning if I was ever going to update again... there ya have it! :)

Life of a Cat

2006-10-29T14:39:00.000-05:00

Yep, still playing catch up. I'm way behind, so here are two more shots I took today. I've always had trouble taking pictures of my cat... the darks are too dark or the white is too bright. So I underexposed and played with them in Photoshop. I'm pretty happy with them :) She, on the other hand, was sick of me taking pictures and finally got up, turned around, and faced away from me.

The Fly

2006-10-29T09:24:00.003-05:00

This little guy found his way inside, probably to avoid the cold weather, but he wasn't moving too quickly. He was a very patient model. Used my point & shoot to try to get a good macro of him, but it's hard to get the exact spot I want to focus on. The second picture, I'd put a flashlight above him to add more light. Anyway, I'm a little more caught up now! :)

Playing Catch Up

2006-10-28T20:23:00.000-04:00

So, Monday mornings hit and I completely forget to even add pictures. So here are a few to make up for the missing days this week. I'll try to post a few more tomorrow too.
When you're out hiking, and the leaves are a beautiful autumn shade of yellow, it makes it REALLY hard to follow the yellow trail markers!
Abstract lake shot... just a bit of a contrast adjustment. I liked the reflections so I snapped a shot.
Isn't this the next challenge topic? Landscape in portrait? Took this one too early though.

Paper Mill Bridge

2006-10-22T13:39:00.000-04:00

Since I'm falling quite behind, here are two shots of another covered bridge we found on the trip... the Paper Mill Bridge. We explored this bridge from just about every angle possible, except for climbing on top. We walked around all 4 sides, and under (see picture below).

Henry's Bridge - Part 2

2006-10-22T13:37:00.000-04:00

Here is another shot of Henry's Bridge. This is taken from the side with the B&B. I wish the foliage had had brighter colors, or have been more on the trees instead of the ground for that matter! Oh well :)

Leaves

2006-10-18T22:34:00.000-04:00

Just some leaves out back. So many colors on just one tree... nature is amazing.

Henry's Bridge

2006-10-16T21:46:00.000-04:00

Looking through Henry's Bridge, in Bennington Co., Vermont. The Henry House (which is now a B&B) is at the end of the road. This was the first of 4 covered bridges we hunted down on a drive through the area, and when we arrived we were the only tourists there. By the time we left, and at every other bridge we showed up at, there were swarms of people looking around and taking pictures.

The original bridge was built in this spot in 1840, and was used as a main thoroughfare between NY and VT until a railroad was built. The bridge was used to haul heavy loads, and so it had 2 sets of trusses to handle the weight, making it the strongest covered bridge in Vermont. It was rebuilt in 1989.

Beaver Pond

2006-10-15T20:55:00.000-04:00

So here is the place where yesterday's shot was taken. We had been out geocaching around this beaver pond when we came across some very fresh wood chips and chew marks. I've seen old beaver chewed tree stumps before... maybe a few inches across. This area was filled with all kinds of beaver chewed trees, and there are some pretty ambitious beavers there from the sizes of the trees that were down! Below is a shot of the same tree from yesterday, just zoomed out so you can see the whole thing. I loved the fresh teeth marks in the soft wood just under the bark!

Abstract Macro

2006-10-14T15:05:00.000-04:00

Abstract macro... but I'm not telling what it is. I'll post another picture tomorrow of the place this picture came from.

Catnapping

2006-10-13T18:10:00.000-04:00

Just one of the neighborhood kitties. I came home and he came over to say hello. A little while later I saw him catching the last few rays of sun. I didn't like all the junk on the porch, so I played with it in PS.

Empty

2006-10-02T09:37:00.000-04:00

Climbing

2006-10-01T12:36:00.000-04:00

Just a hint of more fall colors.

Glowing

2006-09-30T10:07:00.000-04:00

So, I guess I cheated a bit at this shot. This was a smaller balloon that was set up as a kids demonstration, and it was carrying a teddy bear in the basket.

On Top of the World

2006-09-29T06:29:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's a person standing on top of an inflated hot air balloon. The guy was kind of strapped down to a platform on the top of the balloon as it inflated. After it was fully inflated, he unhooked himself, stood up and waved the American flag to a cheering crowd. I can't say I envy the guy... it seems like a kind of scary place to be. Standing overtop of a flame being held up by hot air? I'd rather be taking pictures of it. Needless to say... this was another balloon that never lifted off. He strapped himself back to the platform while it deflated to get back down.

Deflation

2006-09-28T06:16:00.000-04:00

I have no clue what critter this balloon was supposed to be. It had little claw things on the end of it's many arms, a gold tooth, a pointy nose, spikey eyelashes and pointy ears. It never ended up taking off... just inflated, stayed up for a few minutes, and then deflated. I was just playing around in photoshop with a few shots I took in a row as it came down.

Lift Off!

2006-09-27T06:26:00.000-04:00

We were standing right next to this balloon as it took off, so I snapped a few shots as it floated just overhead. It was easy to tell when a balloon lifted off anywhere nearby... people would clap and cheer as it left the ground.

Stages

2006-09-26T17:41:00.000-04:00

I guess what I liked about this one is that the balloons sort of show different stages of taking off... one is just starting to inflate, one is lit up by the flames, one is just kind of there, one has just taken off, and the last two are well on their way floating away in the fog. Oh, and, it's colorful too. :)

Inflation

2006-09-25T06:31:00.000-04:00

Took this one as we were driving in the long line of traffic to park. I like the little silhouette of the person... gives a sense of how big those balloons are.

27 Balloons

2006-09-24T19:01:00.000-04:00

The Adirondack Balloon Festival was this weekend. I had every intention of getting up at 4am, and driving up for the 6:30 a.m. launch. But when I got up and looked at the weather, it showed rain. So, instead, we drove up for the evening launch. We got there a little later than expected, and by the time we parked the car, this was the view. It was very hazy, and many of the balloons either didn't take off at all, or didn't make it past the end of the airport runway. It was cool watching them float off into the haze though.

Considering how often I've been picking up the camera lately, I'll probably be using balloon pics for a little while here... so I suppose this begins a mini balloon series of shots for my PaD.

Fall Colors

2006-09-18T21:02:00.000-04:00

So hard to believe the colors of the leaves are changing. I stopped at the store today and all of the little trees in the parking lot were yellow already. I was parked under one, so I snapped a quick picture before finally heading home after a long day.

Sunrise

2006-09-13T20:45:00.000-04:00

Yep, another day missed. Sorry everyone. So I got up this morning and as I was puttering around, I noticed the blinds were glowing orange, even though the sun wasn't up yet. I peeked outside and the sky was all kinds of neat colors, from purples and blues down to the bright oranges of sunrise. So I snapped 3 shots (which I made into a panorama) with very little editing otherwise. By the time I put the camera away and went back to look at it again, the sky was completely dark blue and cloudy. A little peaceful moment before the chaos of the day. Aaaahhhh.

Togetherness

2006-09-11T06:23:00.000-04:00

Hmm. One of my pet peeves is crooked horizons. When I posted this one here it felt off, and it seems that I leveled with the ground, but the bridge is slightly crooked. Anyway, yet another back pic from the other weekend.

Sky Lines

2006-09-10T13:57:00.000-04:00

Yep. I missed yesterday. I don't know how much longer I can keep this going. It's starting to feel more like a chore than something enjoyable. With school starting, I've got lots to do, and less time to shoot. Granted, I take tons of pictures in a week, but they're all of my kids at school, and I probably shouldn't be posting those here. So, we'll see how things go. Anyway, here are some cool sky lines.

Bridge #2

2006-09-08T06:27:00.000-04:00

Here is the other version of the bridge shot. I never really played with dodge and burn, but tried it on the clouds to make them more dramatic. Definately makes the sky less boring, but I'm not sure if I went overboard. Either way, it was good to experiment.

Bridge

2006-09-07T19:45:00.000-04:00

Shot of the Rip Van Winkle bridge in Catskill. The clouds around the mountains looked really neat. I had two shots that I worked on, and I liked this composition better. Other shot coming tomorrow... if I have any energy left that is. Today was the first day of school, and I don't know how the kids left with any energy left... *I* was ready for a nap by the end of the day!

Holding On

2006-09-06T07:21:00.000-04:00

Found this butterfly hanging on while walking around the other day on a chilly morning. I actually had time to go back to the car and get the camera, and when I did a second pass by this spot he was still there. I figured he wanted his picture taken if he waited that long.

Allyson Ann

2006-09-05T06:37:00.000-04:00

Just a few boats that were sitting out on the water, with the very tips of the trees in the background starting to change color. All too soon, we'll all be out shooting the colors of the fall leaves.

Fisherman... Part 2

2006-09-04T11:06:00.000-04:00

The same man from yesterday's shot... relaxing and maybe even catching a fish.

Going Fishing

2006-09-03T13:42:00.000-04:00

So I got a few shots that I liked yesterday while I was out, so unless anything better comes up, I'll probably be using them this week. I took a few pictures of these posts, but the shot with the guy going fishing looked best. I cloned out a bright yellow thing he had in his pocket, and a few little pieces of distracting trash on the ground. I was also playing with different parts of the shot in photoshop. Hopefully it's not too evident.

Texture

2006-09-02T23:45:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I'm a little late for the Rope challenge... took a few shots of some neat posts and rope, and sadly, this was the one I liked best out of all of them. Maybe I'll play with a few others to see what I can salvage.

Grasshopper

2006-09-01T15:23:00.000-04:00

Well, a grasshopper and a little Photoshop. For those of you who like to see the original shots, here ya go...

Coneflower #2

2006-08-31T17:51:00.000-04:00

De Plane!

2006-08-30T23:31:00.000-04:00

So, sitting in the parking lot, waiting for the little buzzer thing to let us know that there was a table available at the restaurant.. these planes kept flying over. I finally said that if it flew by again, I was grabbing the camera for a shot. And that one shot was all I got. So it's blurry, but we'll just call it artistic motion blur. I gave it a bit more of a sepia tone than the boring ugly grey that the sky was originally. I tried to salvage it, and I'm not sure that I succeeded. But, it's the only picture I took all day.

Classroom

2006-08-29T17:38:00.000-04:00

So New York seems to be one of the few places where school hasn't started yet. We still start after Labor Day. But, my classroom is almost done. Still quite bare, since the walls need some kids' artwork, but that will happen soon enough. I haven't been out taking pictures of anything else since I've been stuck in this cave cleaning, organizing, labeling, cleaning, scrubbing, decorating and cleaning, so I snapped a quick set of shots for a panorama before I left for the day.

Maybe I'll take a picture from the other corner tomorrow (just to prove that at least once a year my desk is clean!) :P

Fern

2006-08-28T19:44:00.000-04:00

I've always liked ferns. :)

Coneflower

2006-08-27T19:38:00.000-04:00

New Doo

2006-08-26T17:25:00.000-04:00

Harriet: "Oh, Mabel! I went to the Bird Bath Salon today and got a new doo! Don't you just LOVE it?"
Mabel: "Uh, Harriet, I don't want to rain on your parade, but did you bother to look in the mirror?"

Bird Bath

2006-08-25T11:55:00.000-04:00

These little guys and gals were a hoot to watch! There were a bunch of them all fighting for space on the edge, dipping, diving, and flapping around. You might get part two tomorrow!

Sunflowers

2006-08-24T18:01:00.000-04:00

First off, thanks to my mom and dad for today's props! I love 'em! They're purty! :)

And now, the story...

So, my parents sent me some flowers... sunflowers to be precise. Who knew that a box of sunflowers would weigh 6 pounds! So, realizing that they probably needed water pretty badly since I was got home a little late, I rushed to get them out, cut and into their water, half reading the instructions as I was hacking the box open. I had to cut them twice since they were SO tall for my vase. Feeling confident that they were finally short enough to stand up, I stuck them in the vase, and went to get a little ribbon to tie them together so they looked sort of like a bunch so that I could take a picture of them.

So, I tie them up, arrange them, set them by the window, and walk off to get my camera. Well, apparently 6 pounds of sunflowers (minus some stem) was a bit too top heavy for the vase and the whole thing fell to the floor, water splashing everywhere! So, after I cleaned that up I decided it would be better to just hold the vase with one hand and shoot with the other. Thankfully, the flowers are sturdy and they weren't hurt in the process. And, also thankfully, they sent me two bags of flower food, so I had a backup!

So, mom... be thankful all your flowers came in little baskets this week! ;)

Traveling Sunset

2006-08-23T18:55:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'm back and everything is well again in the world! I haven't been taking many pictures, and with the start of school coming up, I don't know that I'll be out shooting much. Anyway, here's a shot I took while I was driving home the other week. Seems whenever I drive through this section of road at sunset, it's always a spectacular array of color. Just cropping, no color adjustments at all here.

Be Back Soon!

2006-08-20T19:19:00.000-04:00

I didn't abandon my PaD... just had to take an unexpected trip out of town for a family emergency. Should be back up and running with this sometime later in the week. Looking forward to catching up on everyone else's PaD's when I get back! :)

Quiet

2006-08-13T15:44:00.000-04:00

Sunset

2006-08-12T10:50:00.000-04:00

Bzzzzzz....

2006-08-11T20:38:00.000-04:00

...zzzzzzzzzt

Three

2006-08-10T23:11:00.000-04:00

Found a link for some cool processing I wanted to try, and I thought this shot might do well for a bit of an impressionistic look... but it didn't work out so well. So, just some layer adjustments that I was playing with instead.

Warped

2006-08-09T21:21:00.000-04:00

Another shot looking up the building from yesterday. I wasn't standing quite centered so the lines were a little off. Played with the perspective, rotated, tritoned... just generally playing around with PS tools and some abstract lines.

Looking Up

2006-08-08T23:59:00.000-04:00

Took this with the "From the Ground Up" challenge in mind... it's something like the tallest building between NYC and somewhere up north. Yeah, so I don't have all the facts quite straight. But it's 11:59.. so I'm posting!

Flutterby

2006-08-07T19:49:00.000-04:00

Just a butterfly :)

Panorama

2006-08-06T14:27:00.000-04:00

Here's the panorama shot from yesterday's hike. Hmm.. It seems like blogger isn't fond of that wide shot, it cut down the size of the original. Oh well, you still get the idea! :)

Huckleberry Point

2006-08-05T23:18:00.000-04:00

View from Huckleberry Point, a little overlook in the Catskills. Great hike and I actually took the tripod along. I attempted a panorama of the view, so I'll have to see if I can stitch it all together.

Flowers

2006-08-04T20:25:00.000-04:00

Day 217, and wishing it was day 364. So, just some flowers.

Abstract Lines

2006-08-03T20:17:00.000-04:00

Random shot taken with the point & shoot, without looking at the screen. Altered a bit in photoshop. And voila, abstract lines.

The Egg

2006-08-02T18:23:00.000-04:00

Another night shot of Albany from the other day. This is The Egg, and while I've never been inside, it's apparently used for performances and events, and has a stage with theater seating inside. It's quite a unique shape for a building, that's for sure!

Cool

2006-08-01T20:56:00.000-04:00

It's hot outside. It's hot inside. It's muggy, miserable and disgusting. Ice is good on a day like today.

Yuck!

2006-07-31T20:42:00.000-04:00

The kitty and I were playing with a ribbon, and I figured since I didn't have a shot yet for today, why not take a few pics. I don't know if she didn't like the ribbon, or if she was mad at me for the constant flash going off in her direction. Not the most photographically perfect shot, but it was just too silly not to use!

And so, that ends month #7. Five more to go folks! :)

Nestled

2006-07-30T15:56:00.000-04:00

Playing around with ideas for the Zen challenge. This was the best I came up with so far.

Albany at Night - Take 2

2006-07-29T08:42:00.000-04:00

Just another version of yesterday's shot, taken a few minutes earlier.

Albany at Night

2006-07-28T23:43:00.000-04:00

So when I bought my camera at Ritz, I got coupons to go to some of their classes. Now, most of the classes are set up where any monkey could probably read the book and click "next" on the slideshow and run them. But the instructor at this particular site is fantastic. I don't think he opened the book once during a class, but mostly he just talks about real stuff and real situations and you can tell he knows his stuff and has a genuine interest in what he's doing. He also scheduled excursion classes (yes, there is a point to the rambling), and tonight we met in downtown Albany for a class on night shooting. This is one of those shots looking across the plaza. I did some perspective stuff to it so the buildings were more straight and desaturated a bit (yeah, WB was set wrong). I think you'll get a different view of the same building tomorrow since I couldn't decide which to post.

Crayola

2006-07-27T22:27:00.000-04:00

Blogger seems unhappy and doesn't want to put up a picture... but I do have a picture for today! I'll edit it in once Blogger gets over it's hiccups.

Edited to add... YAY!! Finally! :)

Cemetary

2006-07-26T22:00:00.000-04:00

One of those "oops... I almost forgot to post a picture today" days. So here is an older one of the cemetary with some neat lighting at dusk.

Ice

2006-07-25T21:11:00.000-04:00

Ok, so this was a failed idea for abstract food... but I didn't have anything else for today. Strawberry frozen in layers of ice.

Stones

2006-07-24T19:37:00.000-04:00

As I was taking pictures at the waterfall, this group of people came along and started swimming in the water. So much for the nice waterfall shots. So I was looking around and saw all these stacks of stones. And again.. tripod, tripod, tripod. I really need to just take it with me always. All of the shots were blurry... this being the best of the bunch (though not compositionally the best of the bunch). Anyway, seems I'm just a bit early for this weeks challenge topic again... Zen Photography. Oh well :)

Webby

2006-07-23T11:57:00.000-04:00

So it's drizzling, has been all morning. We come to this cool little bridge, and there are oodles of cool spiderwebs. I only got 2 shots (one was really blurry) before I felt it better to put the camera back in its bag. And there it stayed for the rest of the very wet trip.

Waterfall

2006-07-22T23:53:00.000-04:00

Took a bunch of pictures of this waterfall between the intermittent raindrops... but by the end of the day hiking, we were completely drenched. Too bad to, because hiking to the top of the bigger waterfall would have made for some incredible photos. But, the camera gear stayed mostly dry, so the raincoats did a tiny little bit of good.

Lulu #2

2006-07-21T20:02:00.000-04:00

Just another shot of Lulu. For anyone who is commenting, I had to turn the verification on for the comments... I had 28 spam comments in about 5 minutes earlier today, so I figured it was a quick fix to enable that. I'll turn it off again soon.

Apple

2006-07-20T19:59:00.000-04:00

This was one of those attempts to recreate something that I thought looked cool. Unfortunately, I only took a few shots until I got distracted with the fact that I have some dust in my sensor and it didn't turn out the way I hoped it would. Anyway, I tried using alfrescos soft blend spot technique with limited success. I must have not have read the rules correctly. The spots look a little better though.

Dinner, Day 200

2006-07-19T19:01:00.000-04:00

This is one of those dinners where I wandered through the store, picked up some ingredients, came home and hoped for something edible in the end. So, if it needs a name, I guess its Tomato, Garlic and Basil Linguini. Anyway, it seemed healthier than cupcakes to celebrate day #200 of this Photo-A-Day thing, and besides, it's too hot to bake. Maybe I'll go get some ice cream later. That's better than cupcakes anyway :)

Congrats to all you other PaD'ers who've been sticking with this up to now! I love looking at everyone's pictures, even if I'm not commenting every day! :)

Indigo Bunting #2

2006-07-18T22:08:00.000-04:00

Technically this is post #200 for my PaD since I posted one shot on Dec. 31. But for the year, it's only 199. Still, I can't believe I actually made it this far. Yay!

Gold Line Food Abstract?

2006-07-17T22:12:00.000-04:00

I was originally playing around with the Abstract Food idea for that challenge, which turned into playing around with all of the lines and reflections for the Lines challenge, but this goes beyond the basic editing. So after I decided that it would just get a spot here, what challenge comes up the next morning but Gold!

Middlecreek

2006-07-16T14:51:00.000-04:00

This shot was taken at Middlecreek Wildlife Center in PA. Here's the before shot... I'm a sucker for those before/after things!

Leafy

2006-07-15T13:30:00.000-04:00

The only bad thing about taking so many pictures, is dealing with them once they're on the computer. I took this one with a lovely vison of a leafy green deskop, only to find out that there was some worse then terrible purple fringing all around the leaves and stems. The small branches were completely purple. So, this shot was more of an attempt at figuring out how to deal with purple fringe than turning into a lovely desktop. I still like the lens :P

Serene

2006-07-14T22:48:00.000-04:00

A scene from the other day. I liked the shot, but didn't like that it was so busy with leaves and branches. So I used a simplifier action on it.

And, it was requested that I note the distance at which yesterday's shot was taken... it was taken from .6 miles away. ;) And I wouldn't necessarily call it a "fun" ride... it's not one of those where it takes you to the top and then drops you down. It's a simple, air conditioned ride that takes you to the top and turns you slowly around so you can get a 360 degree view of the area. The a/c does feel good though on those hot summer days!

The Kissing Tower

2006-07-13T19:23:00.000-04:00

Yep, it's really called the Kissing Tower. It's a ride at Hersheypark in Hershey, PA. Hence all the little Hershey Kiss shaped windows and lights. Took this one while waiting for the fireworks to start on the 4th. I had another shot that was clearer, since it was taken with a bit more light, but the flag was droopier.

Shadows

2006-07-12T22:22:00.000-04:00

I was walking across a bridge, and looked down and the leaves were making a neat shadow on the mossy log. So I took a few pictures of it. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but I like it and that's what matters, right? :)

On another note for those of you who are doing this Photo a Day thing... every day I click the little box to "use these settings every time" so it uploads a large, centered photo. And it only seems to keep it for that session that you're logged in. Anyone else sick of clicking those little dots every day? Or did you find a secret way to keep them checked?

Lightning

2006-07-11T11:00:00.000-04:00

It's 5 a.m. and I'm sound asleep. Then I hear the KABOOM that wakes me up. I knew there was a line of storms with lots of lightning heading towards me from watching the news last night. So I get up, stumble and get the camera and tripod, and somehow manage to remember to set all the settings right off the bat. I took 99 shots over about 45 minutes, and got lots of bright flashes, but this was the only zigzag of lightning that I got. It's actually in focus, and I like the way it mimics the tree line. Bumped the colors around a bit and cropped just a smidge. Yay! I finally got one that I like :)

Yellow Springs

2006-07-10T19:47:00.000-04:00

Took this shot while out geocaching the other day. Ahh, relaxing :)

Lulu

2006-07-09T15:05:00.000-04:00

This is Lulu at a year old, laying on a lid to a catnip container. I took some pictures of her last year around the same time, including one that I entered at DPC. What a cutie!

Blue Berries

2006-07-08T19:53:00.000-04:00

Found these strange blue berries and started taking some pictures just so I could look up what they were when I got home. But I kind of liked the abstract background with the colors. Still trying to find out what these blue things are!

Tiger Swallowtail

2006-07-07T21:01:00.000-04:00

Went hiking today and at the end of the hike came across a field full of flowers and butterflies. They were much more interested in the flowers than us, so it made for some easy picture taking. This one didn't even get any post processing besides a resize.

Flying Overhead

2006-07-06T19:37:00.000-04:00

When the planes are flying really low over the mountain, and you're standing in a clearing at the top with a 300mm zoom lens, you can almost check the altimeter on their dashboard. Well, not quite. I went to edit this one and couldn't even crop it since there was nothing to crop off. Pretty cool :)

As for the fireworks settings from yesterday, I think I was shooting at ISO 200, and 2.5 second exposures. I'll check on the rest of the details on them later.

Kaboom!

2006-07-05T21:29:00.000-04:00

Craters

2006-07-04T18:47:00.000-04:00

Just testing the 300mm zoom... yep. It works.

Pondscape

2006-07-03T14:56:00.000-04:00

Ok, so maybe I made up the word pondscape, but it sounded more interesting than landscape. This is looking down the edge of the pond where the frogs were. Just played around a bit in Elements to fix it up.

Rrrrribbit!

2006-07-02T20:07:00.000-04:00

Semi challenge spoiler...

Found these little guys at the pond... most of them posed nicely for me. Was shooting with the idea of entering one of them in the 48 hour speed challenge where no post processing is allowed. This little guy needed some photoshop help though. And below, some yummy raspberries. :)

More Critters

2006-07-01T15:48:00.000-04:00

Just a few more critters from a drive last night. I really want to clone out that weed coming out of the bunny's nose, but forgot to before I uploaded it. Oh well, he's still cute :) Oh, and a correction on yesterday's bird picture. It's not a bluebird (well, it IS a blue bird), but instead we're pretty sure it was an indigo bunting.

Bluebird, Wineberries and Rattlesnake

2006-06-30T13:47:00.000-04:00

So we went out for a morning drive and I took along the new 70-300mm lens and the tripod. I'm a little disappointed in the purple/green fringing, but thats what I get for buying the cheaper version of the lens. Anyway, I couldn't decide on just one of the 192 shots I took, so here are three... Bluebird, Wineberries and Rattlesnake.

Happy Kitty

2006-06-29T16:44:00.000-04:00

Yes, another cat picture. I'll try not to do 3 in a row. So, anyway... after about 5 hours in the cat carrier (which included some puking near the end) and her very empty stomach (which she let me know about until I got her food bowl out), we finally arrived in Pennsylvania at my parents house, and she's now all settled in on her favorite chair. Not only that.. but she posed very nicely as I played around with my new 70-300mm lens! B&H Photo is great... it was waiting on the front porch when I got here! :) Yay!

No, Really... Help Yourself!

2006-06-28T15:35:00.000-04:00

I sat the cup down and turned around to do something, when I heard slurp, slurp, slurp. She drinks from the sink, the tub, and apparently my cup now too. But of course, not her water bowl! Hope she liked the ice cubes. Silly cat! At least she kept drinking until I got a picture of it!

Prickly

2006-06-27T13:28:00.000-04:00

Just resized.

Crayons

2006-06-26T15:34:00.000-04:00

I was thinking of trying out VistaPrint to get some of their free stuff, and thought I could do something school-ish for the free postcards. I've been playing around with crayons, and realized I needed a PaD, so this is one of the configurations I had.

Wildflowers

2006-06-25T08:24:00.000-04:00

Ahh, the wonders of Photoshop... I was aiming for one of those pretty wildflower scenes, but the before shot is completely flat and uninspired. A few tweaks of contrast, sharpening and a paint daub filter and voila! Here is the before shot...