Another weekend has passed and again, I didn't get any new pictures shot. Well, I didn't shoot any that I will end up using (except maybe one or two unremarkable shots). What a bummer. But, I had some household things I had to take care of. Here's some thoughts about what I did get done relating to photography...
Post Processing
I think I've about got all of my current pictures (from the last 9 months or so) posted on my online gallery (http://www.RandyMorter.com/photos) that I intend to post. There may be a few more stragglers, but I finally got my shots from Willcox, Arizona posted, and I think that those were about the last of them.
As I processed them, I noticed a few things. 1) I had processed a number of them before and they seemed to take a lot longer the first time I did them. And, now I use fewer adjustments in Nikon CaptureNX 2 than before. 2) I'm dismayed that Nikon is dumping CaptureNX 2 in favor of a watered down post processing software package. 3) I've posted over 400 pictures to my gallery. 4) My right shoulder starts aching after processing only a few pictures.
Don't use Scotch Brite on Plexi-glass
I thought I'd try taking some pictures of the fish in our fish tank. I wanted to ensure it was clean so I used a Scotch Brite pad on it. It scratched the surface of the tank and wifey isn't happy about it. The scratches don't lend themselves to good pictures either.
Extension Tubes
Even though the fish pictures didn't turn out, they were aided by the use of my extension tubes. This was only the second time I'd used them. I need to use them more; they open up a new world and if I'm not getting out of the house at least I could try using the extension tubes to get some different perspective on things.
I've been sick this past week. I got a virus from somewhere, something that my doctor said has been making the rounds. It starts in the upper respiratory system then progresses downward. By the time it got downward I was dehydrated and had to visit the emergency room for re-hydration. After 3 liters of liquids, along with other tests, it only took a couple more days to start feeling good again. Consequently, one more weekend has gone by without any new pictures being taken. And, to rip of a common phrase, those pictures aren't going to take themselves!
Today, Mother's Day, was a slow day. Wifey didn't want to do anything, not even to ride her horse. I was feeling somewhat better, but not yet good enough to go to a park. I need to make sure I can get to my J.O.B. tomorrow (otherwise I may not be able to afford a new camera in a couple of months). So, I decided to at least try to post
process and upload some more existing pictures to my online gallery.
I've been wanting to see if I could get some of my pictures from last summer worked to the point where I didn't mind posting them. I did my best.
Last summer on my "Birthday Driveabout" I visited northern Arizona and got some decent shots, or so I thought. Looking at them now, I'm not as happy.
That was the trip that got me interested in getting a good camera, which in turn led me to this blog. The pictures that I took then were all JPEG format, the only format the camera would take. And, they were all automatic exposures (not the camera's fault, but it isn't fully manual anyway).
I really have grown to see the difference between shooting JPEG vs. RAW. Not to mention, my Nikon's better overall image quality. While I don't mind my compositions from that trip, composition doesn't mean much if the end results are like they're drawn with big but inconsistent colored color crayons.
On the other hand, one other purpose that I have for taking photographs is to be able to prompt memories of the locations or trips I take. Looking at my pictures from that trip definitely makes me remember the trip. It was the first time I'd left Phoenix for years (due to trying to get a band going and then trying to record some songs). I was on the road with my companion Elmer, seeing places I hadn't seen before.
It was my birthday and I'd taken a bottle of Chivas Regal and some Padron Series 4000 Maduro wrapped Robustos. I hadn't smoked for almost 10 years; hadn't drank alcohol for a couple of years. I opened the bottle and had a cigar one night, and found I didn't care for either. I chatted with new people at the motels, but since they were Motel 6 (where I know they'll take pets), the people didn't end up becoming facebook friends. Elmer and I shared junk food like Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and Burger King. I wanted the road to keep going, didn't want my little trip to end.
When I re-discovered my pics of Elmer, he really brought home my memories, brought a smile to my face, and brought a warmth to my heart. I really am glad I took those pictures, regardless of what format they are!
Keeping it Local
I didn't end up getting out of town this weekend. But, yesterday I did get up at 3 AM to go shoot some kind of pictures, and of course, my photography dog Elmer went with me.
I first thought of the Arizona Cardinals stadium, named "University of Phoenix Stadium" (UoP). It's a large building and in its short existence has become an easy to spot landmark along the Loop 101 that runs through Glendale, AZ. I notice it on my way to Cabela's which is near the UoP Stadium.
It's an interesting structure - not box shaped at all. It seems like it should yield some interesting photos of the curves, material, size, or something. I was hoping that it would give them up in the early morning.
On the way, I stopped and got a coffee from a gas station mart. I can't drink it right away due to the temperature so I put it in the cup holder in my Explorer.
Tail Lights
Instead of going right to the stadium, I decided to try a shot I've been wanting to try for some time - a long exposure of moving cars from an overpass above I-10. This particular overpass does not run all the way through - it provides an exit from, and entrance to, the H.O.V. lanes of I-10. And, it has area to park and take a picture from.
I'd never done it from there because my cheap tripod didn't have the feature required - an extension arm. The overpass is lined with chain link fence and I needed a way to get the camera close to the fence, suspended over the thick concrete wall, to allow me to point the lens through an opening in the fence. The Manfrotto 055XPROB works great for this with its center column in the horizontal position. I did find that I wish that I still had some way to more easily adjust the column vertically. Once the center column is in the horizontal position you have to adjust the tripod legs to change the vertical height and it was necessary to futz around a bit before the lens was centered on an opening in the fence.
Once the camera was positioned, the rest was pretty easy. I set the aperture to f/25. I just wanted to make sure I got sharpness from front to end. I didn't change it for any of the pictures I took; I'll go back sometime and try with a bit larger aperture like f/18 or so. I kept the ISO at 100 as usual, and by shooting the exposure at the sky, got a time of 30 seconds. No problem. Using my infrared remote, I let her fly.
While the camera was working, I went back to the Explorer and had a sip of coffee. The cup was leaking and it was hot on my little fingers. I had another empty cup in the car (that I keep for sunflower seed shells) so I put the coffee cup inside of it and went back to the camera.
I took about 6 shots total and decided to leave. They weren't turning out great - not because of the camera, but because at about 3:30 AM on Saturday there just wasn't much traffic. I'd envisioned a lot more tail lights in the picture.
University of Phoenix Stadium
I headed up the UoP and found a place to park. The large parking lots were actually gated - preventing me from getting any kind of distant shot unless I walked out there. I decided to shoot the main entrance where there is a large, illuminated Cardinal logo. I discovered that there were no easy or good shots for it. The trees around the main entrance had grown enough that any distant shots would have the logo obscured. It would likely have been poor from the far end of the parking lot too, since they are all on level ground.
And, there was an awning set up in front of the logo so taking the shot from ground level also wasn't great. I took a few shots anyway but it ended up being a waste of time. At least, I couldn't find any shots I thought were interesting.
I got back in the Explorer and took a sip of coffee. The coffee had leaked out inside the other cut and it made a nice large and hot spill on the front of my Cabela's shirt! That, along with the waste of time at the stadium, made me grumpy a bit.
Encanto Park
So, I decided to head to Encanto Park in the middle of Phoenix. I'd never stopped there before but I had driven by it. By the time we got there my shirt was fairly dry.
The park was wonderful. It was still nice and cool (I didn't look, but it was probably in the 70's which is great for Phoenix). I got my camera bag, tripod, and Elmer, and found the man-made lake. We got there about 5:00 AM or so, when it was still pretty dark, and there were people already there fishing or preparing to fish. My kind of folk!
I was able to get some pictures before the sun broke over the horizon, and really liked them. The park lights were still on and they ended up as a star-burst in the picture and I like it. There are a good number of bridges in the park, and they all appear to be unique. I shot pics of a few of them but now I know I have to go back. I left because even at maybe 6:30 AM there were enough people in the park that it was hard to get shots without people.
I also got some pictures of the many ducks at the park. They're fairly tame and used to humans so you can get pretty close without scaring them off. I also want to go back to try my had at more of those shots.
Overall, I really liked the Encanto Park pictures, and it's close to home, making it easy to get back there. You can see more of my pics on my online gallery at:
http://www.RandyMorter.com/photos.
