Fireworks 2017

Nikon D3000, 10.5mm, 0.3 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

This year’s festivities were considerably more low-key than last year. No huge crowd, no elaborate multi-camera setup. Still, we had fun and I got a few good shots.

Nikon D7000, 28mm (28-200), 1/80, f/3.8, ISO 400

Before sunset we set of smoke bombs.

Nikon D3000, 45mm (18-55), 1/125, f/5.6, ISO 200

 They made some interesting colors of mess in the grass.

Nikon D7000, 28mm (28-200), 1/20, f/3.8, ISO 400

And speaking of making messes ... I stuck candles next to the sidewalk so we’d have a little light and a good source of flame to keep the punks going. Unfortunately they dripped wax all over the place.

Nikon D7000, 50mm (28-200), 1/60, f/4.5, ISO 400

One of the displays looked like a camera.

Nikon D7000, 200mm (28-200), 1/40, f/5.6, ISO 400

“Bees in a Thicket” is a popular classic we do every year.

Nikon D3000, 10.5mm, 2 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

And as usual a good time was had by all. Lens flare notwithstanding, I love the dandelion shape of this one.

Best of the 365 Blog - June 2017

June always seems to be a good month for photography. The spring semester is clearly in the rear-view, and the fall hasn’t crested the horizon yet. Time to get out and take some pictures!

This odd specimen is the inside of a LifeFactory glass bottle. I shot it through the top looking down, using a 10.5mm lens to get as much in as possible.

Nikon D3000, 10.5mm, 1/200, f/7.1, ISO 100

Mongolian barbecue is such fun to watch. Turns out it makes a pretty good photo, too.

iPhone 7

I was taking some pictures of typewriter keys for a project I was working on, and I also got a few good ones of the rest of the machine.

Nikon D3000, 36mm (18-55), 1/30, f/5.0, ISO 200

This one looks carefully planned, but it was totally spontaneous. While on my way to move the Jeep from the rear driveway to the street in front of the house, I happened by this backyard plant on one of its rare flowering days. Quick snap with the phone.

iPhone 7

I’ve been doing some prep work for my Beginning Photography class in the fall. I decided to make a banner graphic for the weekly quizzes out of pictures of objects that look like letters. The Q is a quick, natural light setup on a piece of foam core in a window.

iPhone 7

Here’s how the rest of the banner came out:

I don’t think this will make the quizzes any easier, but I hope a pleasant graphic presentation will at least take some of the stress out of the experience.

Coffee pot at First Watch (another sure sign that I’m getting old).

iPhone 7

A small (coffee cup size, maybe a little larger) Ganesh side-lit by the setting sun and photographed with a macro lens.

Nikon D7000, 80mm (35-80), 1/800, f/7.1, ISO 400

And a trio of lovely ladies getting an early start on Day of the Dead festivities. I stood the figures up in front of a computer display showing a Dia de Los Muertos celebration and used an open window and a shaving mirror to do the lighting. The result was filtered for shake reduction but otherwise not Photoshopped in any way.

Nikon D7000, 55mm (35-80), 1/50, f/4.8, ISO 400