"Don't judge me."

 F5.6, 135mm, 1/100 sec, ISO 200

After leaving the devil-fire spewing, shirt-peddling clam in my wake, I continued on to the land of the Northmen. But, as I reached the Great Bridge, a shadowy being blocked my path. He stood about eight feet tall, and was an abominal mixture of features both bear and man.

“Halt!” the beast thundered. He stood with a bit of a hunch, and a long whipping tongue whirled around his saliva caked maw, as if searching for crumbs. “Son of Man, you must pay a toll before traveling across the Great Bridge.”

“What manner of Troll-Magic is this?” I countered. My hand fasted around my sword, Frownsender.

“No magic,” the beast answered after swatting away a thick cloud of devil-eyed black flies. “It is the Law.”

“Northern Law governs not the Men of the South,” I snapped.

The beast lumbered nearer. Dagger-like claws adorned his shaggy paws, and wherever he stepped, the ground quaked. “It is not Northern Law, South Walker,” he spewed. “It is my law.”

My eyes became slits. I regretted trading my mail vest for the talking clam’s Ships Happen shirt and two pounds of fudge. I spotted a pile of skulls and bones just beyond where the beast had been standing. Further to the point, I was low on silver, and doubted I had enough to cover the devil-bear’s toll.

He sniffed and halted his approach.  “Is that fudge I smell?”

“What if it is?

“I am willing to let you pass for a pound of fudge.”

“I only have half a pound,” I lied and hoped he could not smell how much I had.

“Half of something is better than all of nothing.”

I felt this was well said, and tossed a chunk of fudge to him, which he caught with his whipping tongue. He savored the flavor for a moment and stepped aside to grant me access to the Great Bridge.

#

Links to my Other Stuff and Things:

Ginger and the Geek – 033 – The Man From Dragon*Con

Geek Speak – Earthbound Revisited, Part One: All My Friends are in There

Watch out for wandering packs of cover-less novels. They hang out by the river, and smoke.

 Taken with the Retro Camera App for Android Phones

Ah, Street Photography. You have to love any medium which let’s one pass off black and white photos of street trash as Art. I spotted this topless novel on Lansing’s River Trail. I do not know how or why it came to be there, but I can only guess its previous owner rid themselves of the novel after they finished their filtered cigarette.

The real travesty is, upon reading the Sister Mary Rose McGeady byline, my memory instantly shifted back to my high school English teacher’s “Sister Mary Elephant” joke. The travesty not being said joke, but the fact I had forgotten about it for so many years. Time to work that baby into my regular rotation. That will go over great at this year’s Christmas dinner.

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Links to my Other Stuff and Things:

Geek Speak – Upper Peninsula Odyssey, part 7, Comics to Lend to Your Non-Comic Reading Friends

Lovable Geek – Photo – Sing Me a Song, You’re a Singer

Lost Highway’s B-Movie Reviews  (as Tiger Sixon) – Bloodtide

A brand new multi-million dollar exhibit at the Detroit Zoo.

 F13, 50mm, 1/100 sec, ISO 100

I came across this terrifying beast at the Detroit Zoo on a recent trek. Thank Thor it was locked behind a sturdy fence, for I would have needed a change of pants otherwise.

The Detroit Zoo needs to update their signage as well, as it is painfully obviously this is a Golden Squatted Hydrant, not the Crimson Domed Hydrant as shown in the sign. Think of the children!

"Beep."

F1.8, 50mm, 1/125 sec, ISO 1600

I call the blue one Peely.

The green robot in this photo is obviously the only friendly robot on the wall. It is waving hello. How nice.

Or, perhaps it is trying to lure me into a sense of false security. Its faceplate and green color makes me feel safe, so I approach. Then BAM! A face full of laser, or a mechanical hand crushes my windpipe.

Looks can be deceiving, for sure. It is the reason I don’t trust car salesmen or Care Bears.

Insert Reference to the Twilight Zone episode about the Guy Who Reads Stuff.

 F1.8, 50mm, 1/100 sec, ISO 400

Ah, books. Those portable gateways to Other Worlds, be it Oz, Middle-Earth, or Sweet Valley. I found these at the Michigan State University Surplus Store. It is the sort of place where you buy books by the pound.

I wish I could buy more items by the pound. Like pancakes. “Yes, I’d like ten pounds of pancakes please.” Or “Give me a stone of your finest sarcastic tshirts, my good man.”

Speaking of books, someone needs to have the guys from Dude, What Would Happen do podcasts of public domain books. Audio gold, right there:

“Dude, it was the best of times!” “No way, dude, it was the worst of times!” “Aw, man, dude! It can’t be both!” “Literature, dude!” “Dude! What would happen if it WAS the best of times AND the worst of times?” “At the same time?” “Yes!” “DUDE!”

"Aw man, who washed my derby girls in hot water?"

F8, 163MM, 1/4 sec, ISO 200 (with Sunpak flash)

It would appear that our beloved Lansing Derby Vixens, like the Guild Navigators of Dune, have the ability to bend Time and Space. Or I just had shutter set to a slow speed. Details.

Thankfully, the ladies make for colorful blurs, just like the last time I drank a whole cold medicine in one gulp.

Ah, that was a very special Social Media Day–a day which is perhaps best spent under the influence of Something. All of the Social Media Gurus and Experts in attendance ate up my speech, even though I was only randomly quoting Dukes of Hazzard episodes–which led to my coining the new Social Media marketing term: Jump.

Does your Social Media campaign have #Jump? No, then how do you expect to cross the river and escape Boss Hogg meet your analytic goals?

Feared by sunflower seeds. Adored by women.

F1.8, 50mm, 1/80 sec, 1600

Melon H. Amster (2009 – 2011) left the world last week the same way in which he entered: without anyone knowing if he was a boy or a girl. But, gender ambiguity aside, Melon was a stand-up hamster. He ruled his kingdom of one with a firm, tiny fist. He savored every day, nap and yogurt drop. An expert climber, Melon would entertain guests for hours by scaling the walls of his home with expert grace.

From within his Traveling Ball, Melon loved to explore the Outer Regions, the forbidden area beyond the ivory bars of his home. He sought out the darkest corners of Bathröm or the wild, untamed lands of Kit’chen. Rumors persist of his reaching the Far Wall Next to the Closest of the Spare Bedroom, but if he did indeed accomplish such a quest, he took the details of the adventure with him.

His mustachioed doppelganger, Fuzz Aldrin, remains at large.

It is a bit crooked on purpose. It MEANS something.

F8, 55mm, 1/100 sec, ISO 400

Some may ask, “Why bother with a post on a holiday?” and by some, I mean just a few of the voices in my head. No, it is not Harry Potter’s birthday (yet), it is the 4th of July.

But, just because the 4th of July is celebrated here, in the United States of Corporate Conglomerates America, does not mean the holiday is is celebrated worldwide (yet). Thus, for my True visitors, I give unto thee, like a modern day Prometheus, this photo.

I was on a constitutional on Lansing’s River Trail when I spotted this (seemingly) never ending blackness before me. The columns reminded me of some Grecian tomb, and I half expected a wild-eyed minotaur to spew from the shadows and challenge me for ownership of my Reeboks. What would my dozens of Twitter followers think, if I had met such a challenge and failed?

Thankfully, no such creature dwells under the bridges of downtown Lansing (yet).

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Links to my Other Stuff and Things:

Ginger and the Geek – Podcast 027 – Andi Osters, Geek Design and Michigan Beer

Geek Speak – Try the Retro Camera App for Fun Cell Phone Photography, Geek LoveLansing: the Michigan Historical Museum

Lovable Geek – Snake in the Sand, Coiled, Another Out of Focus Photo of a Snake

Laundry day was a very tiring day for Abner.

F8, 50mm (prime), 1/640 sec, iso 100

June 15th, 18xx

While on Safari in the wild, untamed marshes of Mid-Michigan, I came upon a most peculiar sight–that of a tiny turtle, shown above. I asked my assistant, Dr. Watchband, for a bit of coinage. “Whatever for?” he asked, searching his sweat soaked pockets for a shiny discus. “Why, for scale of course,” I answered.

The good Doctor appeared perplexed as he stroked his golden beard. “I thought you did not bring any instruments for weighing specimens?”

I shook my head. “Not for weighing, my dear Dr. Watchband,” I placed the turtle on a white plate “but for the sake of photography.” I set the coin near the turtle and readied my camera. “You see? Now, when someone views this photograph, they will have a sense of the size.” I clicked the shutter.

“I say, Bully idea, Professor,” Dr. Watchband exclaimed. He walked nearer to the turtle. “I wonder how big the adults get?” he proceeded to poke the turtle’s face with his right index finger. I returned my camera to its case, “I cannot say, but I would advise against molesting that turtle, Doctor.”

The little turtle began to emit a series of high pitched whines, but the Doctor did not lessen his assault. “What an interesting sound, I wonder why it does such a thing?”

“Likely it is the result of your fingers prodding its tiny eyeballs,” I suggested. “Doctor, kindly cease your childish behavior. We are Men of Science, not school boys playing at the creek.”

“Perhaps I should take this little chap with us.”

“I dare say that would be a terrible idea,” I replied. The sound of branches snapping in the distance caught my attention.

“Poppycock,” Doctor Watchband replied as he pulled on the turtle’s tiny tail, it responded with a more intense whine. “I shall take him with us and give him a Proper name. Like Pancake.”

“Pancake is not a Proper name for such a creature,” I retorted. Birds scattered and cawed from the nearby bushes and trees as if in a panic.

“Very well, Doorstop then.”

“That is an even worse name,” I said as a low groaning grew in volume behind the Doctor. “I pray you never have any children. Your first Born would be named something silly like Toothpick.”

The doctor stood up in a huff. “That was my great-grandfather’s name!”

“This explains so much,” I sighed. “Toothpick Watchband? Really?”

“Don’t be silly,” the doctor responded, “our family name was changed after leaving the Old Country. He was born Toothpick von Vatchhand.”

“Because that is so much better,” I fired back. The tall grasses behind the doctor shook. “Now, SEE HERE!” the doctor shouted. Sadly, these were his last words. Well, nearly. His actual last words were gurgles and sputters as a six-foot tall turtle tackled him from behind and proceeded to maul him with its jagged beak.

- Prof. Rutherford J. Hogan

"I...saw...a giant, burning lidless Eye. And some moron in a stupid, white hat."

F8, 50mm (prime), 1/100th, 400 ISO

Here is some Proper Photography. Reflections are where it is at, amiright? Look how everything bends and twists–such is Life. A series of Bends and Twists, forever going in a timeless spiral, with none of us knowing Where we are going.

Sure.

Taken at the East Lansing Arts and Crafts Show (the other thing going on during the East Lansing Art Festival). This reminds me, I need a new summer hat. My ol’ white one has seen better days.

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Links to my Other Stuff and Things:

Ginger and the Geek – Podcast 024 – Geek the Library, Books and Fashion

Geek Speak – GeekEats: Wine Caucus Fridays at Troppo, LoveLansing: the Hawk Island Triathlon

Lovable Geek – Full Body Mugshot, Stick Around

Captain America was also known to throw stickers.

Taken in the downtown Lansing Post Office (my shipment of prescription flip flops had arrived).

Shot with my phone (Samsung Epic) and processed in the Vignette Android app. I believe I used one of the Tobacco filters for the gradient, and a couple of other options, including the panorama cropping.

This is the perk of (finally) having a fancy smart phone: I always have a 5 mega-pixel camera on me, and access to photo editing software. Sure, I’d rather have my DSLR (a Canon Rebel T2i) and Photoshop, but my phone and Vignette are a very acceptable Plan B.

There are days I miss having a simple point and shoot with me, but since the camera on my phone is nearly as good (my old point and shoot was 6MP), I don’t miss it too much. Plus, shots with my phone get online much quicker.

As photo-friend Becky Johns told me once, “The best camera is the one you have with you.” (And she bought me a Shamrock Shake once, so you know she’s Good People)

Such was the case during my visit to the Post Office. I spotted the sticker and thought, “Man, why did they cancel the Gummi Bears cartoon?” “Hey! That looks neat.” I wasn’t there looking for a photo opp, it just happened, like a seagull sticking out its tongue.

Sometimes the best shots are the ones you aren’t looking for–and that’s what I love about photography: capturing those unexpected moments.

This shot is from my 2011 Year in Pictures set on Flickr.

For this photo, we were in one of the archive rooms which the public isn’t allowed to visit without special permission. It is where they store state records, and our guide pulled out this prison record book–he wanted us to see the photo above.

The man in the photo had a full body mug shot taken. Why? He had quite a bit of tattoos. Including one on his torso which said “Ladies Only” and had an arrow pointing to his groin.

That’s classier than Valentine’s Day at White Castle. Puts my “I Brake for Log Ladies” tattoo to shame (ah, college and Twin Peaks marathons. What a winning combo).

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Links to my Other Stuff and Things:

Ginger and the Geek – Podcast 023 – Be a Rock Star in Your Own Town

Geek Speak – LoveLansing: Be a Tourist in Your Own Town, LoveLansing: Board of Water and Light Chili Cook-off

Magic of Eyri - Podcast 038 – Witchy Business

Trying out remote publishing through Flickr. Huzzah!

Via Flickr:
Foster kitten. More details here, gingerandthegeek.com/2011/05/26/podcast-22-kitten-town/

I also ended up being an impromptu photographer at the service. Read the whole story and see some more photos after the break.

The bride, Gracie, on the left, the groom, George, on the right (names changed). I really like George’s expression.

While riding with the groom to the service, I asked about the photographer for the wedding and reception:

“Who’d you guys hire?”
“Uh, well. We didn’t.”
“…You don’t have a photographer?”
“We couldn’t afford one.”

Due to funds being tight, the couple couldn’t hire a professional photographer. They were relying on guests to take all of their pictures on their special day.

I made a quick call to my mom and asked her to bring my DSLR to the service. I don’t consider myself a wedding photographer in the slightest, but I could at least help George and Gracie out (names changed per the groom’s request).

George calls the shots.

Regular readers will note that I rarely take photos of people. So, this was a new challenge. I did do a few ‘posed’ shots, but I had more fun walking around and getting the candid shots you see here. These are my favorites. I may post some of the posed shots later, so I can compare everything.

I cross processed the colors in Photoshop to make them a bit more interesting. I like the end result a lot. Since I was stuck with only natural lighting, I had to do what I could.

Bill, the best man.

I need to take more photos of people. I haven’t done that nearly enough, candid or posed.

Signing the paperwork.

This was another of my favorite candid shots. I like how everyone is lined up. That’s the Reverend/Pastor/Whatever on the left. The Maid of Honor and Best Man are in the background. I also like how the groom is leaning out of the frame a bit. I had to Clone Brush out a rope in the tree above the Rev’s head. That was a lot of work, but thankfully, it was blurry and in the background

I did the cross processing technique here too, but I had to alter it a bit, as George’s skin looked really weird.

And here is the original version (with original color). See that annoying rope?

I knew I didn’t want that in the final photo, as I hated how it went right into the Rev’s head. It took a bit of Clone Brush/Stamp/Whatever work in Photoshop, but I got it outta there. The trick with Clone Stamping (yeah, that’s it, not brush),  I’ve learned via trial and error, is to use a low opacity and keep taking different samples.

Am I going to start a wedding photography business? Nope.

I don’t think it would be something I would enjoy that much, as I’m not a big fan of attending weddings. Although, being paid to attend a wedding may change my tune. Fast. But more importantly, I’m not good enough for something like that yet, and I don’t have the proper gear anyway.

I am enjoying my ‘man on the street’ approach to photography though: just walking around, taking pictures of whatever, without dragging a bunch of gear with me. All I have is my 18-55mm kit lens and my 55-250mm zoom.

A gig I wouldn’t mind though, would be something like a staff photographer for a zoo (or something similar). But again, I’m not at the skill level for that kind of job yet.

More photos tomorrow!

]]> http://danieljhogan.com/home/2010/08/10/photos-the-wedding/feed/ 4 http://danieljhogan.com/home/2010/08/05/photos-chihuly-sculptures/ http://danieljhogan.com/home/2010/08/05/photos-chihuly-sculptures/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:00:08 +0000 Daniel http://danieljhogan.com/home/?p=877 Here’s some more photos from my trip to the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park. Yesterday’s post had photos of the famous horse statue at the park.

Today’s post has a few photos of the current exhibit by artist Dale Chihuly. Here is the first, with a couple more after the break.

I loved these sculptures, the whole exhibit was amazing. This was my first time ever seeing Chihuly’s work, and I was blown away. I tweaked the contrast and such to bring out a bit more of the details and swirls in the glass. I love all of the odd reflections.

I was trying to go for a bit of a reflection shot here, and it kind of worked. The weather was weird, shifting from sunny to cloudy and raining all afternoon.

This sculpture was one of my favorites, I think. I liked the red spires set against the blue sky and green grass. This shot was a bit underexposed (d’oh!), so I did what I could to boost it in Photoshop.

Yeah, I know, “Why aren’t you shooting in RAW?” Well, I know I should be–especially when shooting outside. But, I don’t have Lightroom (yet) and until I get a new external hard drive, I don’t have much space to spare either. Sure, my camera came with a program I can use to at least convert my RAW images to TIFF or something, but it is kind of clunky. We’ll see though, I need to experiment with shooting RAW some more.

Here’s one, with more after the break.

The famous horse statue at Meijer Gardens.

The weather kept switching between bright/sunny and overcast/rainy. I think I got a little bit of rain on my while snapping this photo. I may have been laying on my back for this one. I converted this shot to black and white in Photoshop.

This statue was inspired by a work of Leonardo da Vinci that was never completed. You of course remember this as a major plot-point for the Bruce Willis film, Hudson Hawk.

Or, perhaps not.

This bronze statue (by artist Nina Akamu) is, to be brief, huge. It is 24 feet tall. This was my first time seeing the statue in person and I was in awe.

This was a small model of the finished statue, I’d guess (horribly) and say it was about six inches tall, give or take.

And here we have all three versions of the statue. I converted this to black and white so the tourists in the background weren’t so distracting. I used the green color channel, which helped separate the dark horses from the grass/hills.

If you have never been to the Gardens and Sculpture Park, I highly recommend making time for a visit.

]]> http://danieljhogan.com/home/2010/08/04/photos-horse-play/feed/ 2 http://danieljhogan.com/home/2010/08/03/photos-skins/ http://danieljhogan.com/home/2010/08/03/photos-skins/#comments Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:30:11 +0000 Daniel http://danieljhogan.com/home/?p=860 As part of my “staycation” last week (read: I couldn’t afford a real vacation after moving), I went to Grand Rapids and visited John Ball Park Zoo.

After looking over some of my shots of the various reptiles, I decided to do something a bit different with the final photos.

I cropped the photos in close and focused on the patterns and textures of their skin. Here’s the first with more after the break.

This was a chameleon. Or something. I forgot to make note of some of the critters.

EXIF

Body: Canon Rebel T2i
Lens: Canon 55-250mm IS f3.5/5.6
Exposure Time    1/160 sec
F-Number    F5
ISO Speed Ratings    3200
Exposure Bias Value    -1 EV
Focal Length    84.0 mm

This was shot inside, with low lighting, and through glass. Hence the high ISO. Oh well. I boosted the colors a touch in Photoshop, but that is pretty close to what they were.

This hide of a Komodo Dragon. I don’t know what this uh, spot, is on the Dragon, but it was near its neck. Apparently, John Ball Park Zoo houses the only Komodo Dragon in Michigan. Neat. I may do another crop of the original, with the eye as the focus. This shot was taken outside, and it was a BRIGHT day. I need lens filters. Seriously.

Another outdoor shot, of an Alligator. Or a Crocodile. I can’t remember which. This was the first photo I shot at the Zoo.

Another grainy indoor shot, and this one is of the reticulated python. Graininess aside, I liked the colors and the overlapping of the scales.

I have more shots from the Zoo I’ll get up this week. I liked this idea for a photo ‘exhibit’ and I may try for similar shots the next time I’m at a Zoo. I wasn’t shooting these photos with this blog post in mind, so I wasn’t trying to get great shots of the skins at the time. I like the idea of cropping in on different details of animals though.

This is my friend Matt, who also took part in the photo walk, feeding a bird with a seed stick. More photos and EXIF after the break.

Body: Canon Rebel T2i
Lens: Canon 55-250mm IS f3.5/5.6
Exposure Time    1/320 sec
F-Number    F5
ISO Speed Ratings    3200
Exposure Bias Value    0 EV
Focal Length    55.0 mm

Again, I wasn’t happy I had to use such a high ISO, but I needed more light to use a fast enough shutter speed. That little bird was chomping away.

A close-up, solo shot of the hungry bird. This exhibit was filled with a bunch of birds that could fly around you. It was a sight.

I try to avoid taking photos of the peacocks at Potter Park Zoo, only because I’ve done so many in the past. But, this guy was outside the main gate, and had decent lighting. I love the texture on his face and beak.

Hooray! A tortoise! EXIF and more photos after the break.

Body: Canon Rebel T2i
Lens: Canon 55-250mm IS f3.5/5.6
Exposure Time    1/500 sec
F-Number    F5.6
ISO Speed Ratings    800
Exposure Bias Value    0 EV
Focal Length    250.0 mm

I’m actually surprised how well this turned out considering I shot it outside at 800 ISO.  I love all the texture, bumps and wrinkles on this thing. It appears to be staring at me as well, hmm.

One of Potter Park Zoo’s Bongos. I believe this is the female, Bella. She’s pretty. I shot this through a fence, and thanks to my zoom, I avoided the chain links.

Here are some piglets, and they don’t know the meaning of “sharing” just yet. While snapping photos of these guys, I saw something rather gross: another piglet was drinking from a puddle of water it was standing in, while urinating into the puddle at the same time. Yuck.

More tomorrow!

Here is one of my shots, with more after the break. I’ll be posting more throughout the week (I took a lot of photos!).

Say “ahh!”

EXIF

Body: Canon Rebel T2i
Lens: Canon 55-250mm IS f3.5/5.6
Exposure Time    1/200 sec
F-Number    F4
ISO Speed Ratings    3200
Exposure Bias Value    0 EV
Focal Length    55.0 mm

Everyone was taking photos of this lion. And can you blame us? This was probably one of my favorite shots of the day. I had to crank up the ISO because of the dim lighting inside the big cat house, and shooting through glass is never a fun thing. But this shooting environment was a good test and forced me to keep shaking up my settings. All in all, this was a lucky shot.

Here, I tried to get a bit “arty” I guess. I had to switch this to black and white so I could bring out more of the details without the colors looking crazy. The original shot was more underexposed than I would have liked. I switched it to the Blue color channel and used the Curves tool in Photoshop. I also created a circular selection over the eye and pasted at copy to a separate layer so I could tweak the eye highlights. I cropped very little out of this shot, just a bit on the right.

EXIF

Body: Canon Rebel T2i
Lens: Canon 55-250mm IS f3.5/5.6
Exposure Time    1/160 sec
F-Number    F5.6
ISO Speed Ratings    400
Exposure Bias Value    0 EV
Focal Length    250.0 mm

This was another of my favorite shots of the day. Thankfully, the bald eagles at the zoo don’t move around too much, which let me get this nice shot off. The day was rainy and overcast, which made for its own set of challenges, but I’m still happy with this photo. The rain is probably why this eagle’s feathers are a bit spiky. As you can see by the EXIF, I was zoomed all the way in for this shot.

More to come!

I moved to a new apartment this past week, and after five years in my old place, it was rather surreal.  Five years was the longest I’ve lived in the same spot since graduating high school ten years ago, thus this was my first big move as an ‘adult.’

More details after the break.

EXIF

Body: Canon Rebel T2i
Lens: Canon 18-55mm IS f/3.5-5.6
Exposure Time    1.6 sec
F-Number    F20
ISO Speed Ratings    800
Exposure Bias Value    0 EV
Focal Length    18.0 mm

This is at my new place. I  knew I wanted a shot of some of my piled up boxes, so I used my wide angle lens (18mm) and got down on the floor. Sure, this isn’t the most amazing photo in the world, but I think it captures some of the chaos of moving.

Now that I’m totally moved in to my new place, I have the joy of unpacking. This is going to be an epic chore in its own right. But, at least I’m doing moving out of my old place, which took way longer than expected and was more work than expected. Even with hired movers, it was a lot of work.

Details, EXIF and links after the break.

I was at an outdoor wedding last month, and I spotted this little critter on my table.  Thankfully, it stayed still long enough for me to get a few decent shots off. I have no idea what kind of insect this is, if you do, let me know in the comments.

I used the Aperture Priority setting because I knew I only wanted the bug in focus.

Camera      Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Exposure     1/125
Aperture     f/5.6
Focal Length     55 mm
ISO Speed     100
Exposure Bias     -1/3 EV

Links!

• Monday had a photo of another insect, a spider of some kind.
• Tuesday was a photo of a lake filled with lily pads.
• And Thursday (my birthday), I shared some more photos from my trip to Alcatraz Prison.
• LansingNext was a rerun, so we did not have a new show. But feel free to catch up.

Other links!

• A friend sent me a link to a Gizmodo article about creating light stencils for long exposure shots. The full thing can be read on Flickr.
• Make had a neat article about creating a gadget that will let you photograph “light orbs.”
• Another friend sent me a link to a photo of a Simpsons-Ghostbusters mural in San Francisco.
• And Saturday was the Worldwide Photo Walk. I took part in the walk at Lansing’s Potter Park Zoo. I hope to get my photos online soon!

This was a run down building on the island, and as you can see the seagulls have taken it over. I think I counted 12 in this photo.

Two more photos and such after the break.

EXIF

Body: Canon Rebel T2i
Lens: Canon 18-55mm IS f/3.5-5.6

Exposure      1/1250
Aperture     f/4.0
Focal Length     18 mm
ISO Speed     100

The above photo took some work in Photoshop. Like another photo from Alcatraz I posted earlier, the original color was very flat due to the overcast morning. I messed with the Curves tool to bring out some more of the grit and grim, and I added a warming filter, which makes this look like I took it at sunset/dusk. I like how far back the seagulls are in the photo.

I love all the different colors and textures in this shot. There are so many interesting things to take pictures of on the Rock.

And here is a close-up of one of Alcatraz’s many, many seagulls. It was waiting near the dock when we arrived. According to my EXIF, I snapped this with my Canon’s Portrait setting. Not bad, even though I rarely use that setting any more. Still, it is good in a pinch.

Body: Canon Rebel T2i
Lens: Canon 55-250mm IS f3.5/5.6

Exposure      1/500
Aperture     f/5.6
Focal Length     200 mm
ISO Speed     100
Exposure Bias     0 EV

This is why I like looking at my EXIF, I can learn what to set my camera to manual for decent shots and not have to rely on the easy modes.

I shot this at Woldumar Nature Center in Lansing, Michigan. Details and EXIF after the break.

Body: Canon Rebel T2i
Lens: Canon 18-55mm IS f/3.5-5.6
Exposure Time    1/200 sec
F-Number    F8
ISO Speed Ratings    100
Exposure Bias Value    -2/3 EV
Focal Length    18.0 mm

I found a dock on a little lake they have at Woldumar and sat down. I set my lens to the widest I could (18mm) and snapped away. I liked the endless sea of lilies in the distance. I boosted the color a bit in Photoshop, I really wanted to bring out the green of the lilies.

I found this critter at the Woldumar Nature Center here in Lansing. EXIF and links after the break.

Exposure Time    1/30 sec
F-Number    F5
Exposure Program    Aperture priority
ISO Speed Ratings    200
Exposure Bias Value    1/-3 EV
Focal Length    131.0 mm

I was walking down one of the (many) trails at the Nature Center and I glanced at this plant. I did a double take, and noticed this spider. I have no idea what kind it is. I took a bunch of photos, but they didn’t turn out as well as I hoped–there was a bit of a breeze and it kept blowing the plant around. I even used my tripod (which was a challenge on the uneven trail), but oh well. Its eyes are so tiny!

Links!

• Tuesday I talked about photographing fireworks for the first time.
• I shared a photo I took in Alcatraz Prison of a decayed wall/window.
• I posted a funny video ad for a DSLR.
• Friday, I had a couple versions of a photo I took of El Azteco in East Lansing.
• And on Saturday, there was a new episode of LansingNext.

Other links

• I Write Like (via BBspot.com). Paste some of your writing into this tool and it tells you which famous author you write like.
• This Saturday is the Worldwide Photo Walk at Potter Park Zoo in Lansing (I’ll be going, woo!).

More photos tomorrow!