04-11-12 Easter Morning, 2012 - San Juan Island

This photo was taken a few miles west of the city of Friday Harbor, Washington, on San Juan Island. I had found this location the day before but thought that it would photograph better just after sunrise. The chances that I would have a mostly clear morning weren't that great. But, as you can see, nature performed well for me.I used Auto Exposure Bracketing to take three different exposures of the same scene but in the end I used the darkest of the three and a plug-in in Aperture to create this photo, which shows details in the darkest parts and in the brightest. That's what HDR (high dynamic range) does.

Seattle City Scape

Being in the right place at the right time makes a photographer's job easier. Sometimes I manage this by intent and sometimes by luck.In the case of this photo of Seattle, I got lucky. Apparently, it had been cloudy, cool and rainy for most of the week prior to our three-day stay in the area. But during our entire stay, it ranged from partly cloudy to crystal clear. I took this photo later in the afternoon, which resulted in nearly perfect light for the scene. And I couldn't have asked for more interested clouds.And, yes, this photo is manipulated in software. In my intent to work on the contrast in the photo, I found a setting in Nik Color Efex 4 that gave a look to this scene that I liked.

Early Morning North of Town

Big Beach - Maui

Yes, it is a "big" beach but it really is known as Big Beach, though officially it is Makena Beach State Park. A few years ago, our family visited Maui and we spent a sunny afternoon enjoying the warmth and the waves of Big Beach.Incidentally, in doing a search for "Big Beach" to find the official name, I found about 1000 other photos taken from this vantage point. So much for giving the world a different look at things in this blog. . . . And, incidentally, if I rotated 180 degrees and took another photo, I would be photographing Little Beach, where naked people abound. Officially, nudity is illegal on the public beaches of Maui but apparently the authorities look the other way. Do I have photos of that beach? Nope.

Morning Calm

In my quest to find photos to post, I occasionally come across things I have forgotten about. In this case I was heading out to the Missouri River for a sailing trip and I noticed that the wind farm that is near Ree Heights, South Dakota, was partially shrouded in fog. Otherwise, the morning was one of those amazing summer mornings that make South Dakotans forgot about all the winter mornings that aren't so brilliant.I took one photo with my 70-200mm lens, got back and the truck and continued west to my destination.

01-23-12 Squall Line

I was out on the water and hoping the rain wouldn't come my way. It didn't.