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

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

Flashlight Painting

A flower and a smiley face. I was inspired to try this after reading a recent article about a guy who made an animated film using this technique. Absolutely Incredible. Here's a link to the article.

More Found Junk

"87 32 What it do"

Found Junk Photography

"Final Resting Place"

Theres a large undeveloped track of hardscrabble land behind my house that is largely populated by rabbits, mule deer and disgruntled teenagers. The area, it would seem, has become an unofficial dumping ground of all sorts of lost and forgotten objects. From clothes washers to automobiles and an old train tanker car, all sorts of large metal objects wither away in the unrelenting high desert climate. It makes for some interesting images, and I'll be putting a few of them up. I have found that the challenge to this isn't finding the images, its presenting them in an interesting way. I'll try, but if I fail, let me know. This is a bit of an experiment for me, and sometimes the best way to learn about something is to fail at it a few times before finally succeeding. Thanks for viewing.

Painted Hills of Oregon Trip

Setting sun shining through cloud layer, illuminating painted hills.

Moonrise over a 33 million year old painted hill.

Near Horse Heaven, Oregon.

Tiny Mushroom

About a 1" tall mushroom I found in my backyard after mowing the lawn. I don't like having mushrooms in my yard, I automatically think they're all poisonous, but I do admire how they look. F-36, ISO 200, 1/20th of a second exposure with on board flash. Hand-held! Lens was a reversed Canon 18-55 mm lens.

I've been Simpsonized!

Wow, the net never fails to amaze me. Just send in a photo of yourself at www.simpsonizeme.com and the software at that site will analyze your photo and come up with a simpsons character based on it. Woo Hoo!

Fireworks over Pilot Butte. Bend, Oregon

An amazing fireworks show that was launched from the top of Pilot Butte. The contractor for the fireworks display, Homeland Fireworks, really put on one hell of a show. I hope that they come back again. Notice also the spot fires on the butte, one in the center and a larger one to the right of the butte. The center one was put out fairly quickly, but the one to the right grew to a pretty big size!

Field of Honor -continued

Field of Honor

This display of American Flags is part of the traveling memorial "Field of Honor" that is presented by the Veterans of Oregon. This particular exhibit was taking place in Burns, Oregon. The Veterans of Oregon organization is a non-profit group of veterans from every era who help out their fellow veterans in times of need. Flags displayed at the "Fields of Honor" traveling display can be sponsered by individuals and organizations. I happened to be in Burns today and while driving past their display, I just had to pull over and get some snapshots. The veterans that I met their are a very friendly group of fellows and are happy to explain to anybody who asks the meaning and significance of this display and their organization. More information about them can be found at their website.

Linda Vogts Retirement

This image is of myself and other former Clackamas Print staff members. The Clackamas Print is the Clackamas Community College newspaper in Oregon City, Oregon. The folks in this photo were all members of the newspaper in the early '90s (myself included). We had gathered together to celebrate the career of Linda Vogt (centered) at her retirement party on Wednesday June 13th. As a former student of Linda's I would have to say that she is the most memorable instructer I ever had. She is an incredibly intelligent, thoughtful, fun person who devoted so very, very much of her time and energy to her students. She worked with us, and guided us during our time on the Print. She is a damn fine instructor, and although I didn't end up working in the journalism field, the impact of my time spent with her and on the newspaper has profoundly impacted my life in a positive way to this very day. Many of the folks I shared time with on the paper are my good friends to this very day. Indeed, I met my wife through one of my friends that I met while I was on the newspaper there. There really isn't enough that I can say to Linda, so I'll make it simple. Thank you, thank you for being the absolute ideal college instructor. I am honored to have been able to be one of your students. Thank you.