Bad Robot!

Bow before my new robot minion!
ISO 100, 4 second exposure, F22.

Sawblade and Concrete



Two different treatments of the same photograph.

Rusty Old Bucket

Another scene near the Old Mill District.

Corrosion

A departure for me from my usual subjects, this is the corroded surface of some type of old iron pipe. Thought it made a good abstract subject.

Photoshopped Photos from Disney Star Wars show


Heres an image that I spiced up in Photoshop from the Star Wars Jedi Academy show at Disneyland in Anaheim. I really like my touched up version, although I need to figure out how to add a reflection to the floor from the altered lightsabers. The show itself was really fun and we all got a kick out of it. The idea is that a 'Jedi Master' picks kids from the audience and teaches them the way of the force, as the show progresses, villians show up and must be dealt with by the jedi and their new students. Bryson really got a kick out of the show, but was too shy to volunteer for it. Maybe next time!

More Disneyland Trip Photos

Tomorrowland

Cinderella's Castle at Night

Quick Post - Hey I'm on vacation!

Heres a quick image I took this morning. Before the official opening of the park. Be back home soon! And yes we're having a great time!

Tree at Lava Lands south of Bend

This tenacious little guy was growing right out of the lava field. I doubt it will get much bigger than it is, but I still find it interesting that life will always find a way to grow and adapt to nearly whatever environment its put upon.

Smith Rock State Park - Wallpaper Sized


Another image from yesterday, perfect size for a 1280x1024 destop. Just right click and 'save as'.

Smith Rock 10/07/2007

Went for a walk with Bryson and Cassandra today at Smith Rock, this is a view from the trail marked 'Burma Road'.

Microwave Tower

Microwave Tower out in the desert near Maupin. Its actually for sale too! I just know I could somehow incorporate this as my future secret lair when I eventually take over the world.


I guess they like 'em bigger in Maupin....

Taken at a market in Maupin, the womens is on the right. Why is it bigger? I will not even begin to speculate.

More Fake Tilt Shift - Mt. St. Helens

Does it work? I'm not sure, but I am having fun with it.

Bend Harley Davidson Billboard

Camera phone image of billboard I saw while doing a sales call today. Either (A) Pranksters got to the billboard or (B) Somebody at the dealership has a strange sense of humor or (C) theres some really, really freaky stuff going down at the dealership. Pretty funny in any case.

Tilt Shift treatment on Hixson Bridge


Just for the heck of it.

More Tilt Shift Effects - Rodeo Images



More Tilt Shift Effects. Click here for tutorial.

Another Painted Hills Image


Painted Hills Unit - John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

Saucer

I don't know what this is, but it seemed like it would make a cool image.

Parabolic


Another object I've stumbled across recently. I originally thought about removing the lines via photoshop, but for some reason, I kind of grew to like 'em.

John Deere Motor Grader



Image taken from one of the new housing developments in town. This was taken with 3 separate images taken two steps apart and then processed together using imagenomics Photomatix Pro software.

Hixon Bridge Black and White Redo


Ah, this is better. I used a gradient map combined with a channel mixer to make this a high contrast black and white that is also a lot brighter and easier to see. A much improved image I think.

Hixson Bridge at Shevlin Park, Bend



I can't decide which image I like better, the color or the black and white. What do you think?

Benham Falls

A shot I took a couple of weeks ago on a hike to the falls, we got eaten alive by mosquitos! If you go, bring some repellant.

Sheep Rock - John Day Fossil Beds National Monument

This is the view of Sheep Rock from the parking lot of the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. I stopped by there on the way home after doing some work in John Day this afternoon. There is a really, really excellent visitor center there with some really nice and helpful staff. Unfortunately I was only there for a few minutes before they closed for the day, so I did a hurried self guided tour. I definitely plan on coming back with the family for a more relaxed, longer visit to the area.

Photographic Trickery

Heres a composite of the two lower images. Its the shot that I wish I had gotten, that I could have gotten, but I wasn't in the right place at the right time. Thank goodness for Photoshop!

High Desert Lightning - A Goal Fulfilled



I was able to accomplish one of my photographic goals earlier this evening, that is to capture lighting in an image, and oh boy, did I ever! We had a really spectacular lightning storm pass through, and I was lucky enough to get some shots. Heres a couple of them. The top photo was taken from a gravel lot behind St. Charles Medical Center and the bottom photo is a shot of "The Center" an orthopedic clinic near the hospital.

Heres a sunflower for your desktop wallpaper

This is a nice size for a 1280 x 1024 desktop. Enjoy!
This image is also available for purchase! Click HERE!

Sunflower



Heres a nice sunflower to wash away the bad stuff from the Aliens vs. Predator film clip below.

Aliens vs Predator 2 - Red Band Theatrical Trailer

"I say we take off and nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." -Ellen Ripley, Aliens

"They mostly come out at night, mostly" -Newt, Aliens

"You are one, ugly mudafucker" Dutch, Predator

"You got chocolate in my peanut butter! You got peanut butter on my chocolate!" -Reeses

Yes folks, two great tastes that go great together! Once again Fox has paired up some of the all-time best movie monsters in Aliens vs Predator 2. Except this time, instead of peanut butter and chocolate being mixed together it like a jar of awesome being mixed with a jar of um.....more awesome. This is the redband trailer for AvP 2, so that means its got some gore and bad language, so it may not be safe for work. This clip looks pretty promising, although I would say it looks like they are completely throwing away the continuity of the Alien series, as Ellen Ripley and the crew of the Nostromo were supposedly the first humans to contact the alien creature. Hopefully they will manage to maintain the mythos of the series and come up with a way to explain how the aliens could be on Earth. Well anyway, I'm excited, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Camera Phenomena and Pop Culture Mythology

Above you see what many folks out in the world would think is some sort of paranormal apparition (no, not the cat the light streak). Its not, and I want to do my part to stop this nonsense. The urban myth of paranormal 'orbs' in photography has really exploded with the popularity of handheld digital cameras. For the layperson, the above image would be impressive, but let me share with you what I know about the image. First the aperture of this image is F2.8. Thats a really, really wide open aperture, and because of that, objects in the image easily fall out of the narrow depth of field of the image. So what you are seeing is most likely dust, reflecting the camera flash. Why the trail? Because the image has a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second. That may not seem long to you and me, but to a camera thats a heck of a long time. So, the dust was moving at the time of the exposure. Why was it moving? Ha! Because the intake for the heating system is in the room that it is traveling into. So, what you have is reflected dust, caught in air currents, moving toward the intake for my central heating system. Not a ghost. If you came here to see a photo of a spooky 'orb' may I suggest you read a book instead. Oh also, ghosts don't exist, now go play outside.

Diamond Lake


Heres a shot of Diamond Lake that I took yesterday, for a free 1280x1024 desktop wallpaper, just click on the image and 'save as'.
Enjoy.

Last Nights Shots Noise Filtered and Color Corrected




I applied some noise filtering using Photomatix's noise filtering program. I also employed some color correction to these images using Scott Kelby's book "The Photoshop CS2 Book for Digital Photographers". I think the images look much better now, and I shouldn't have released them prior to putting them through a proper work flow. Enjoy!

Images from the Pine Mountain Observatory

This is the home of the 32" telescope at Pine Mountain.


A 30 second exposure of one of the telescopes at the observatory.


One of the telescopes at the observatory, this is also a 10 minute exposure.


This is a 10 minute exposure focused on the North Star. Notice the amount of movement in the starfield around it during those 10 minutes!

Its really late, I'll add comments later about the visit. For now, enjoy the images!

Images from "Flashback Cruz 2007" at Drake Park in Bend, OR.

The Buick is my favorite.

Corvette emblem

Stop!

Corvette Badge