365.164 prescience, perhaps

Not much to say about this. I think this would be much better as maybe 3 or 4 different photographs. Maybe just quarter it evenly. Or maybe some overlapping bits: take the lower right, up to a bit above that planet in the center right, and over to just before the vertical in focus strip on the left; then one that’s just that vertical strip and its explosion bokeh; then maybe one of the subtle variations in tone just below the lefthand vertical; and I could keep going.

But one thing’s for sure, this is too busy, methinks.

Oh well.

Also, I’ve come to the conclusion that the 24mm is a brilliant lens for getting up really close and personal, but it’s really a pita under certain circumstances, due to the severe and impossible-to-remove chromatic aberration.

It’s still a great lens, though. For sure.

And look at that… I said more about this than I did about yesterday’s shot, even though I had more to say about yesterday’s shot. Fun times.

D7000. Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 ai, reversed, on 100mm extension. ISO100, 1 second, f/2.8. Run though Topaz Labs’s Adjust 5 and B&W Effects, plus a bit of exposure and levels tweaking in Aperture.

365.162 the panic at the carnival

Another storm, another opportunity to play with long exposures while flying down the highway in the wee hours…

If I had more daredevil in me, I would’ve turned off the windshield wipers while the shutter was open, but I was nervous as it was, what with the wet roads and sprinkle and percentage of drunks on the road at that hour (shot was made at 5:20am), and had enough trouble negotiating the swerving, brake-happy fellow travelers while aiming the camera and composing throughout the exposure.

But I’m happy-enough with this, so GoGo.

D7000. Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 ai. ISO100, 15 seconds (AP mode), f/8, -2EV. Moderate post processing to deepen blacks and bring out some greens and violets. I even opened up the curves panel and played around until I got happy. Fun times.

365.161 june showers on silk flowers

After failing to capture the groovy clouds on the way home—from the window of the speeding Golf—I was gazing blankly off into space, trying to come up with an idea for a shot to make, when I noticed it was raining a bit.

Nice.

And then I noticed the pretty reflection of the fake flowers in the wet concrete edge of the fountain.

And then it stopped raining, so outside we went.

I got about 20 really good shots of the inside of a fogged up L37c filter, wiped off the filter, and snapped this one, just as the rain started up again.

So all was not lost, and I did come up with an idea for a shot, which I’ve added to the shot list for another day when I missed the shot and can’t think of anything to shoot… (of course, I didn’t even think to check the shot list today, so I don’t know what makes me think I’ll remember to check it in the future, but who knows…)

D7000. Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 ai. ISO800, 1/20th (AP mode), f/8, -2EV (leftover from yesterday: RESET THE CAMERA JAMES!!!!!), and not as much processing in Aperture as you might think, though there was some: levels adjustments, exposure/contrast/black point/vibrancy/saturation/definition all given nudges in one direction or another, but not to an unreasonable level, or even one worth mentioning.

365.160 I need a shower

On the way home today, I remembered the large rocks that adorn the courtyard of the set of apartments that shares the parking lot with us, and decided that they might make a nice landscape for these two little cowbows.

But I forgot one thing…

I got home, changed out of my work clothes, deliberated on focal length, attached the nifty 50, wandered over to the other side, set the figures up, plopped down on the ground and started shooting.

That’s when I remembered: the Others allow their dogs to relive themselves on the fake grass that covers most of the ground…

I didn’t find any wet spots, but I did recognize the smell.

And now I’m in need of a rare afternoon shower.

Thanks, Others, for taking such pride in your living situation.

D7000. Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 G. ISO100, 1/640th (AP mode), f/5.6. Slight desaturation and pump of vibrancy to give a sense of high desert light in Aperture, though I don’t know if I really captured it or not.

365.159 Object Lesson

Let this be an object lesson to you:

When you have total control over your subject (as in the case of these two little Elastin cowboys) and virtually all the time you want to take to try out various lenses and focal lengths, at least pretend to try and get yourself in position to get a shot that you’re happy with.

Case in point: this little picture here.

Too much headroom. Too little foreground. These issues are related, unsurprisingly: the concrete planter box is slightly visible in the lower right.

I couldn’t get much lower, couldn’t move the subjects up or back, and this was one of the better possible spots in the little courtyard outside.

But there is a  wide world out there, and lots more places I could’ve taken them, if not for the agoraphobia that crept up on me at the last minute, though nothing that really looks much like the landscape I picture these fellows hanging out in…

Oh well…

D7000. Nikon 75-150mm f/3.5 Zomb-E Series. ISO800, 1/125th, f/3.5. Minimal processing in Aperture.

365.158 the showdown

I’m suddenly feeling too out of it two say much about this little Elastolin cowboy, so…

I will say that I’m not particularly happy with this shot, or with the subject, or with the title, and I’m beginning to tire of this 365 project. I expect this last bit will pass in a day or two, but I feel that I’ve been phoning it in for the past several days.

Oh well.

D7000. Nikon 75-150mm f/3.5 Zomb-E Series. ISO400, 1/50th (AP mode), f/3.5. Extensive processing in Aperture to add a bit of drama.