Water Creativity

Fun with waterdrops...

The first images were from a waterdrop workshop with Susan Candelario while the last few images were inspired by an article in the PSA journal and images by Charles Needle. Check out some of Susan's awesome high speed photos here: http://sdcphotography.com/hswaterdrop.html

See more here: http://www.breaphotosgalleries.com/Creative

Grand Central Terminal

We had a blast at photographing at Grand Central Terminal !!

Tom's HDR images from Radio City Music Hall

Tom's HDR images from Radio City Music Hall

I love the way he included the bend of the railing on the bottom... 

He even has the water running in this one!

Having so much fun with HDR

I have been having soooo much fun with HDR

This first image was taken in Radio City Music Hall, yes we went into the bathrooms too since many were decorated in Art Deco, Georgia O'Keefe, etc. 

I titled this image "Now I know why there is never a line for the men's room"

and yes, it is the only time that I have been on the floor in the men's bathroom, LOL

This was taken in the NY public library. The image was 5 exposures HDR and tone mapped using Photomatix and then I added Pooja (a model shot in our studio) and the light rays in post processing.

Frog friends

Pixel (our red-eyed green tree frog) seemed lonely and we contemplated getting him a friend (but are worried that he would eat it or fight with it).

Pixel  would have preferred that his friends were from "The Amazon", rather than from Amazon.com. I think that while he enjoyed the company he thought that his new friends were a little rigid, LOL.

Refreshment stand at Radio City Music Hall

The refreshment stand at Radio City Music Hall.

We went on a workshop with Susan and Roman and got to use tripods at Radio City!

Frog on a frog

This little red-eyed green tree frog has given me countless hours of enjoyment!

I got a frog planter/candy dish for xmas, so Pixel the Frog had to test it out first...

A Rose

Tom bought me flowers for the first day of school. It was quite nice coming home and seeing them on the table because I had been missing my mother (like I do often, but especially the beginning of the semester. Flowers on the first day of classes is something that she would have done.

more from the stunning (and stunned) hawk in my backyard

more from the stunning (and stunned) hawk in my backyard

NY Public library

We went into the NY public library on a Sunday, it was quite busy, but I was patient and it paid off. This is the stairs from above, kind of has an Escher feel to it.

Library

I have been having so much fun with HDR! It has really changed the way that I do photography. Here is a series of seven exposures processed in Photomatix. One was old books and the other was looking down into an atrium.

I have lots more to process! but at least I am getting a few online...

Hawk in my yard

I woke up to a thunk against my window and say that this (Cooper's) Hawk must have hit the window after grabbing a mourning dove (aka pigeon) from our bird feeder. It was still early and my alarm was not due to go off for another hour so I went back to bed.

When I awoke the bird was still there, sitting on the ground, obviously stunned from hitting the window, dead bird (aka breakfast) at his feet. I got the camera and snapped a few photographs out the window, the hawk did not notice me.

I went to the downstairs bathroom and stuck my head out the window and took a few more photographs, again, the hawk did not move. I went out the back door and stood on the deck, taking a few more photos. The hawk started eating. I moved slowly, crouched down to the cold ground in my PJs and kept clicking and moving closer a little at a time.



I got to the dog run and still the hawk did not even notice me, you can tell because when I moved or made a sound the hawk did not respond so I kept getting closer and closer, to the point that when the hawk lifted its head up to pull on the meat I clipped the head. I zoomed my 100-400mm lens to 300 and then 250. I could not believe it!

He got up on the stump and ate some more, got back down and ate some more, the concussion (?) must have really affected him and just when I was wondering if I was going to have to call a bird rescue place it finished the last morsels and flew up on a branch, cleaned its beak on the tree limb for a few minutes and flew away.

I have posted just a few photographs here, just enough to tell the story, but I have LOTS  more -- no lie, I took over 500 photographs (continuous burst mode). I will edit a couple later, but the first four are SOOC (last one was cropped and sharpened). What a treat! What a great way to start project 52 (posting a photo a week for 2013)!

Backyard winter photography

This was taken this winter after a snowfall at the end of December. I was looking for leaves in frozen water, which I did not find, but I found various leaves and flowers in the snow.

Just a simple leave on top of the snow. 

I walked around it until I had the composition the way I like it with the handle turned. 

Pretty much SOOC, just Levels and sharpening

Played with solarization in Nik Color Efex, completely different effect. 

One of my perennials dried up and sticking up out of the snow

with a texture on it

Our Ivy, one leaf popping up thru the snow.

I used a bunch of Nik filters in this one to make it "pop"

Pier in VA

This was taken this November near Chincoteague in VA, we wandered around taking HDR images and I just love the contrast of the blue against the saturated planks (a little warped and a few missing from Hurrican Sandy).