TtV

I built a new Through the Viewfinder contraption so I can use my 17-55 lens with my old cameras. today I chose the Anscoflex for the bottom camera and here are some results:

 

Reflections of the subject catch on the aluminum faceplate of the camera and are conveyed into the viewfinder area by even more reflection on the aluminum lens cover. I left these in the tops of each picture.

the sun is the same in a relative way

A High Dynamic Range photo of Cameron Village in Raleigh at daybreak. I've just started working with HDR and I think this is the best one, so far.

I had the opportunity to shoot both sunrise and sunset a few days ago. Here are a couple from the morning:

Note the times. In just 38 seconds there's that much change in the sky.

These were not "photoshopped" (except for the HDR photos). The camera was adjusted to pull out the orange more at the beginning and then I turned it down a bit. Here's a crow flying by:

Then Jupiter passed by...

really close to Earth and you guys were all asleep.

This next one is another HDR:

For those who don't know what HDR means, the quickest definition I can come up with is the conglomeration of several photos that each accentuate the shadows or highlights of a single scene. It gives you more definition in shadows and highlights than the camera can do at once. The camera fires 3,5,7, maybe even 9 pictures in a quick burst. These images all have different degrees of exposure. Software them combines them to make one crazy looking picture.

This is a regular photo - the Sun finally emerged:

Before I left I shot a handful of pictures of the city and had fun combining them:

Now for the evening of the same day. The skies weren't as exciting but I went to meet my photography club at a lake in Morrisville and shot a few:

So I brought a new toy to the lake; a homemade lens filter. I made this thing with a #8 welders' glass and it allows me to shoot at the sun for much longer exposures. Kinda like a serious Neutral Density Filter, except it cost $7.
The other thing is that it makes everything a lovely toxic green...

But, you can shoot awesome black and whites with it, too.

Now here's what can be done if you want to push things too far with HDR:

HDR taken in yet another direction:

Animal parts.

Today I offer you many close ups of animal bodies. I've collected these from shoots of three zoos -
The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, NC
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia, SC
Central Park Zoo in New York City NY

Adult Sheep.

Young Lamb.

Zebra.

Zebra.

Polar Bear.

Ostrich.

Lioness

Lion.

Giraffe.

Elephant.

Kangaroo..

Diamondback Rattlesnake.

Koala.

Flamingo.

East African Crowned Crane.

  East African Crowned Crane.

  East African Crowned Crane.

There are few prettier birds on earth. If they weren't huge I'd be looking into having one for my backyard!

night,
sedg 

a new camera and more

 

First, I just have to show this off. I've been practing product photography lately and I got this shot of my Mother's Capezio bowling shoes that were made around 1962. I think it's one of the more appealing photos I've shot this year.


Now let's have some camera stuff - I found this Nikon FM2 on craigslist:

That's a 180mm ƒ/2.8 on there and not the lens that came with the camera...

Here's the lens:

A super sweet 50mm ƒ/1.8, Series E!
One of the six pancake lenses that Nikon put out in the early seventies.
I've shot a bunch with it and I think it'll be a regular.

Let's see it in a golden platinumy black & white-ish kinda feel:

The guy I got the FM2 from gave me this possibly broken Canon FT:

 I let my buddy Albert Alligator pose in the picture.


So I've done a little macro work lately and here's a neat one:

I also pulled down some cameras that were on the shelf gathering dust and had a cleaning party:

Well there's so much more I should be showing you but I need my beauty rest...
By my calculations,if I go to sleep now and wake up in 55 years, I'll be a pretty hundred year old.

s

smoke

I'll be doing more of this later but I'm eager to stick something up to show off because that's a-what i am, a showoff.

This creepy picture was taken with my droid in Florence. That's my son Oliver and a sparkler.

I brought the Liberty statue back from Manhattan. Albert Alligator was a character from the comic strip Pogo. My beloved bobblehead gothgirl who has been on my desk for ten or twelve years.

I love Japanese girl figurines.