Another Year...

...Another Dragonfly.

One of six images entered in the 2011 Whiteside County Fair.

Simply...

...the Hat

Olympus E-510, Pentax K mount Ozunon 28mm f/2.8 @ f/11

via Fotodiox adapter

Lighting info:

Sunpak 422d camera right

Shoot through Umbrella

42 inch reflector camera left

Cactus V2s triggers

Voigtländer...

...Vitoret L

This Vitoret L, introduced in the mid-sixties, has a 50 mm. f/2.8 Color Lanthar lens a Prontor 300 LK four speed shutter, rapid rewind crank, brightline finder and coupled exposure meter with viewfinder display.

Basic info:

Olympus E-510 40-150mm @ 114mm

f/5.6 @ 1/125

Olympus FL-36 @ camera left in a 'Pringles can' strip light

Background lit by Sunpak 422d with red gel aimed at glassware

Triggered via Cactus V2s

Peanut Butter..

..on Whole Grain.

I was hungry.

Sunpak 422d, white shoot through umbrella located

Camera left triggered via Cactus V2 triggers

Keeping the Doctor...

...Away.

Just playing around this morning.

View LARGE version

Lighting info:

Sunpak 422d, camera left

White shoot through umbrella

Cactus V2 radio trigger

The Rites...

...of fall.

Fall...that wonderful time when the leaves begin to change their colors, the morning air takes on a cool crisp feeling and the baseball diamonds go into hibernation as the gridirons come to life with the sounds of victory...and defeat.

Profile...

...on White

Circular diffuser used as a backdrop, lit from behind with an Olympus FL-36 with a Sunpak 422d at camera right.
 Freckles on nose included at no extra charge.

"Let's do the..."

"...Time Warp again.."

The reason I even wanted a "Real" camera a few years ago was to take portraits of my friends and loved ones.  Flowers, animals and landscapes just didn't do it for me, never have.  It was always youth sports and portraits that inspired me and drove my interest and enjoyment.  And for the preceding few years I was content and satisfied, expanding my abilities with each portrait or each athletic event I shot.  I was able to learn something new with each portrait and more importantly I was able to make people happy with the resulting images.

Unfortunately, due to life changes (changes in latitudes, changes in attitude?), I have not shot a single portrait in 9 months.  And I miss it.  The sudden inspiration, the satisfaction of creating an image that you want to proudly show to others...the hopefully capturing the essence of the subject.  Those are the things that drove me.

So what have I been doing to keep that desire alive?  I've been reading and rereading books on lighting and posing, trying to keep things fresh in my mind and also I've been reviewing past portraits, critiquing them, telling myself what I would have done differently, what different post processing steps I would have done. I am my own harshest critic, this I know, but I strive to push myself and to evolve as a photographer.

I'll spare you my self critique of the above image, just know that I like it and it represents some firsts for me.  It was one of the first times I ever went on location (a hill overlooking the local elementary school) and an attempt to combine sunlight with off camera flash.  Before this I had tried to always use shade to overcome the sunlight but this time I had embraced the sun and attempted to slightly overpower it.

I was quite happy with this image two years ago and I am still happy with it today.

Taken in Aug 2008, E-510, 40-150mm with FL-36 via sync cable.

"Signs...Signs..."

"...everywhere there's signs."

"Horse sense is the thing..."

"...a horse has which keeps it from betting on people."

- W.C. Fields

Harness racing at the county fair last Friday.  A powerful storm limited the racing and the sun was uncooperative from a photography view point, but what racing there was, was enjoyable.  The one mile races were being completed in right around the 2 minutes mark with a track record being set by a Pacer on Saturday. 

A repeat...

...of yesterday.

A few more logos, not by popular demand but rather because I just like them.

A few more HERE

"I am Superman..."

"...and I can do anything."

I saw this logo on a Farmall Super M tractor today and I thought of the R.E.M. song 'Superman'.

Decided to capture a few other logos while I was at it.  To me there is something about old tractors, they just have more style and character than newer ones.

Oh, somewhere in this...

...favored land the sun is shining bright;

The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,

And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

But there is no joy in Mudville –mighty Casey has struck out.

Whiteside County...

...Fair Entries.

The 2010 Whiteside County Fair in Morrison Illinois begins Tuesday.  I'm submitting 8 images with hopes of grabbing a ribbon or two and the corresponding premium.  Premiums are given out for the Top 4 images in each category.

Wish me luck.

Updated 8/18/10:  Seven ribbons won, not too shabby if I may say so...

The power of...

...Imagination.

What's in the box?  Must be....?

Asked them to envision something wonderful and they pulled it off.  Showing that childlike amusement and imagination that we once all had.

.

At least that's how I view the story, the story of the 'Box'.

Olympus E-510, FL-36 flash synced via cable.

Warbirds...

...over Fond du Lac.

North American P-51 Mustang flying over Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

The sky was abuzz with airplanes due to the EAA AirVenture being held in Oshkosh, Wi.

Find our more about AirVenture..Link

Image is best if viewed large: LINK

The Last Game...

...of the Season.

For reasons beyond my control, I wasn't able to attend as many games I had in the past, but the last game was a good one.  The boys played hard and they had all greatly improved over the short month and a half season.  Way to go North Fondy!

View more photos on the 2010 North Fondy Baseball page

A Fixer Upper...

...with a Waterfront View.

Playing around with the Lomo script in Gimp. The Lomo is a primitive plastic camera that takes photos that are 'artistic' if anything.  Lomo and other plastic cameras (Holga's for example) have a fringe but large following.  Large enough for their to be a plug-ins and scripts for Photoshop and GImp just to replicate their unique image qualities.

Here is my Faux-Lomo for your viewing 

A summer's day...

...through the view finder.

Olympus E-510, Zukio 70-300mm

Special thanks to Oceant for the texture layer.

You looking...

...at me?

Yes.  Yes I was.

Just a prairie dog at the NEW Zoo just north of Green Bay WI.