Photo365-20100210 – Snowy Wall, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/100 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 3200, 82mm (EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM)
The snow is practically coming down sideways tonight. Right outside of the hotel’s front door it is sticking to the walls. The light shining straight down from the ceiling created this dynamic lighting on the textured wall. The snow sticking to it added even more texture. This was one of those photographs that I knew would come out great no matter how I shot it. I am learning more and more that good light is everything in photography.
Photo365-20100209 – Photo365-20100209, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/80 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 3200, 55mm (EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM)
Visit the photoblog at http://www.cyberfrontproperty.com for the rest of the story.
It has been snowing like crazy up here in New Jersey for the last few days. As of right now, the end is finally insight. I ventured outside of my hotel room and outside the front doors just far enough to make this picture. The lighting adds a dynamic to the image which takes the boring tree in the snow to a more complex and interesting picture.
In post production I applied a softening preset to add a bit more “drama” to the photograph.
Photo365-20100206 – Icicle Madness, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/500 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 100, 35mm (EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM)
The snow has finally subsided, the ground is covered with over three feet of snow and the slopes are packed. Instead of skiing, I decided to hike around the mountain in an attempt to grab landscapes and action sports photographs. I was hoping to find snow shoes to rent in one of the stores at the resort, but gave up my search after a while of not finding them. The hiking was extremely difficult in the freshly fallen snow and my construction boots offered little traction even though every step sank a few feet into the fluffy snow. Fortunately, I was able to find the half pipe feature in the terrain park. I set up with my 70-200mm lens near the bottom of the half pipe to catch some snowboarders doing tricks. However, it seems the half pipe was too icy this afternoon and the only people entering the feature were skiers who went straight through from top to bottom. The disappointment did not stop me from taking this photograph of the incredible ice formations hanging from this mountain restaurant. Some call them icicles…my fiancee and I call them death-cicles!
Photo365-20100205 – Blizzard on the Slopes, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/13 sec @ f/4.5, ISO 1250, 24mm (EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM)
This is the view from my room at Seven Springs resort in Pennsylvania this weekend. The east coast is getting blasted with a huge blizzard right now. Meteorologists are calling for feet of snow, not inches! The slopes in the picture are a mere two hundred hards yards away from the resort building and you can barely make them out. I am thinking that there will be plenty of photo opportunities over the next couple of days thanks to Mother Nature. Stay tuned!
Photo365-20100129 – Thanks To A Tip, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/320 sec @ f/1.8, ISO 100, 50mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
I received a text message from a friend this morning suggesting that I take a look outside for a picture opportunity. Sure enough, when I peaked out the front door, I saw a beautifully lit sky. I grabbed the camera from inside and spent about five minutes shooting the sky in my pajamas. I love the color in this photograph, especially against the silhouetted houses.
Photo365-20100126 – A Lucky Lunch, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/3200 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 400, 185 mm (EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM)
I was on my way to Wegmans today to pick up some lunch to bring back to work when I spotted this hawk in a tree fifteen yards off the parking lot. Luckily I still had the DSLR in the trunk of my car, usually I bring it into work and lock it up during the day. I quickly parked the car and got to work getting my 70-200mm lens and flash put onto my camera. By the time I was ready to start shooting the hawk, she had flown about fifty yards away into another tree. I made the small trek and started shooting picture after picture when I could fill the frame with my new friend. I set the flash in a way to provide me a bit of catch light in the hawk’s eyes. Doing this gave life to the bird, without it, the hawk may have looked fake.
I spent about fifteen minutes taking different shots using both the wide-side, 70mm, and long-side, 200mm, focal lengths. In the process, I walked a complete circle around the tree where my friend stayed perched during the shoot. At one point I was about fifteen yards away from the the tree. The hawk did not seem to mind my presence and constant flashing. In fact, she was even kind enough to try several different head positions for me.
Photo365-20100123 – The Circle of Life, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/400 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 100, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
Today I took a photo walk on one of the many trails Leesburg has to offer. This particular trail ran along Goose Creek all the way out to the Potomac river. I did not quite make it that far this afternoon, but I did have a nice hike. Towards the apex of my of walk, I found this downed tree covered in mold. The way the sun was hitting the log at a long angle made for some intriguing light.
I used another Matt Kloskowski Lightroom plugin in post-processing. The preset is called Matt’s Wedding Fantasy and can be found on Matt’s Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Killer Tips blog.
Photo365-20100119 – Fairwell Flowers, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/250 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 200, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
My fiancee was given some flowers on her last day of work by one of her coworkers. I decided to put the flowers in front of the portrait backdrop and snap some shots with the softbox and reflector. I am really impressed with how the shots came out. This photograph, in particular, has some great tones and sharp details. The purple flowers and the yellow rose are my favorite parts of the photograph. The gray background does appear in frame as it was off to camera right at this angle.
Photo365-20100111 – Present Plant, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/30 sec @ f/1.8, ISO 800, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
My brother gave my us a bulb kit as one of our presents for Christmas. He told us to get it planted as soon as possible. I heeded his advice and planted it this afternoon. I figured I would take a picture of it to show a before and after. If it grows like he said it would, it will not be long before I post a picture with a towering stalk coming out of the bulb.
Can you spot something a little bit off in the photograph?
Photo365-20091220 – Time to Dig Out, originally uploaded by HokiePerogi.
1/500 sec @ f/7.1, ISO 100, 50 mm (EF50mm f/1.8 II)
This was the scene in our neighborhood the day after the big snow storm hit us. The sun was out and the skies were clear creating a beautiful scene that I wanted to try and capture with my camera. Sure, the fence in the bottom of the picture is not ideal, but I was not yet ready to venture out of the house more than a few feet.
There was no “magic” photograph needed to create this image. I applied a slight crop to remove some of the unimportant details on the left and right side. Unlike most of my snow photographs from yesterday, the 7D got the white balance spot on for this scene. The majority of my time was spent tagging and titling the picture in Lightroom.
A self-proclaimed tech-geek, I enjoy anything powered by batteries or electricity. I'm not happy until I understand the full potential of any new gadget I get my hands on....
