Photo Rookie

Near Hubbard Glacier, Alaska

2008-04-30T22:09:00.002-04:00

Glass Wave

2008-04-28T21:48:00.002-04:00

Lounge

2008-04-28T21:46:00.002-04:00

Sky

2008-04-28T21:45:00.000-04:00

Soon To Be A Relic

2008-04-26T00:10:00.002-04:00

Cleavage

2008-04-25T21:10:00.001-04:00

Vroom

2008-04-25T21:08:00.000-04:00

Mini Metropolitan

2008-04-15T09:20:00.002-04:00

NY Skyline

2008-04-14T22:45:00.000-04:00

Vertical

2008-04-14T22:44:00.000-04:00

Yellowstone River Bank

2008-04-14T11:00:00.000-04:00

Dogwood

2008-04-06T23:01:00.002-04:00

Atlanta Motor Speedway

2008-03-24T22:21:00.002-04:00

Jimmy Johnson

2008-03-24T22:20:00.002-04:00

NASCAR Tires

2008-03-24T22:17:00.001-04:00

K-Bar

2008-02-04T16:29:00.000-05:00

Empire From The Rock

2008-02-04T16:23:00.001-05:00

Liberty

2008-01-28T22:57:00.000-05:00

Yellow Cabs

2008-01-28T22:54:00.001-05:00

Yellowstone Clouds

2007-08-11T16:03:00.001-04:00

B17 Bomber

2007-06-23T21:22:00.001-04:00

Number 9 Racer

2007-06-02T23:30:00.001-04:00

Solid

2007-01-28T16:25:00.000-05:00

Waiting

2007-01-28T11:28:00.000-05:00

Miniature Pyramid

2007-01-09T00:59:00.000-05:00

Hilton Head Heron

2007-01-07T01:21:00.000-05:00

With The Wind

2007-01-06T19:59:00.000-05:00

Trolley

2007-01-06T00:31:00.000-05:00

Jellyfish

2007-01-05T21:11:00.000-05:00

Sky Ship

2007-01-02T23:32:00.000-05:00

Utah Clouds

2006-12-27T00:06:00.000-05:00

Goodyear Eagles

2006-12-22T20:53:00.000-05:00

In Bloom

2006-12-17T19:37:00.000-05:00

Jump In

2006-12-15T00:36:00.000-05:00

Every Highway In Kansas

2006-12-12T00:20:00.000-05:00

Sherbet

2006-12-11T00:11:00.000-05:00

Hilton Head View

2006-12-07T23:43:00.000-05:00

This is the ocean view from the 10th hole of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Great golf course. One day I'll try to walk that course with only a camera -- no golf clubs. It will be tough, but fun.

Chattahoochee

2006-12-02T12:49:00.000-05:00

Clouds Below

2006-08-17T23:49:00.000-04:00

Sunny

2006-08-14T13:27:00.000-04:00

Alaska Skyline

2006-08-08T22:48:00.000-04:00

Bay Bridge

2006-08-08T22:34:00.000-04:00

Beluga Tail

2006-05-27T21:26:00.000-04:00

It's a crowded, noisy place, but the photo opportunities at the Georgia Aquarium are spectacular. Unfortunately my camera broke after about an hour (reminding me that I should always carry a spare!). Now I must return to shoot the photos I missed...looking forward to the trip.

Golden Gate Bridge

2006-05-10T21:58:00.000-04:00

We rented bikes at Fisherman's Wharf, rode across the Golden Gate Bridge, had lunch in Sausalito, and took the ferry back to San Francisco. Beautiful views along the way -- this is among my favorites.

Jeff Gordon

2006-05-08T21:46:00.000-04:00

NASCAR races are full of great photo opportunities. The people are interesting and the colors are bright. There is so much going on around you that it's tough to know what to shoot!

River Road

2006-05-07T21:51:00.000-04:00

Portofino, USA

2006-05-07T21:42:00.000-04:00

Mmmmm...Fish

2006-05-06T12:48:00.000-04:00

Many years ago, a friend told me I needed to try fly fishing. I resisted for about 10 years, thinking that it must be boring. I was wrong.

Keep Trying

2006-05-06T11:56:00.000-04:00

Some photographers really have a knack for shooting flowers. I'm not one of them.

I really admire great images of flowers, but it takes a ton of patience to create a great one. Just finding the right flower is a challenge, but that's only the start. This is one of my better attempts. I like it, but I don't love it. I'll get it figured out someday.

Rush

2006-05-06T11:45:00.000-04:00

Pictures of speed are really easy to shoot, but you need to experiment a lot to get an image you like. That's one of the great things about digital photography; you can shoot hundreds of photos at no additional cost and you get instant feedback from your camera's display. With film cameras, this type of shot requires a lot of time and expense.

Vary the shutter speed and overall exposure a lot. Use the camera's meter as a starting point, but don't be afraid to dramatically over- or under-expose the shot...the results can often be surprising.

For the image above, I made several adjustments in Photoshop using Levels and Gradient Map to get the contrast and color the way it looks now.

Mo Blues

2006-05-05T23:43:00.000-04:00

The Blues

2006-05-05T18:26:00.000-04:00

The color blue consistently gets my attention, even when the subject is otherwise dull...

Another Panorama

2006-05-05T17:40:00.000-04:00

This image is Turner Field in Atlanta. We had terrible seats, about a mile above the field. It was nearly impossible to get good action photos (we could hardly see the game), but the view of the ballpark and of the Atlanta skyline is fantastic!

Shooting Panoramas

2006-05-05T17:20:00.000-04:00

I have been experimenting with stitching panoramas for quite some time. This is accomplished by taking 5-10 images in sequence, overlapping by about 20% on each image. Although some people insist that special equipment is necessary (panoramic tripod head, etc.), it is possible to get excellent results by handholding the camera. You do need manual exposure and manual focus to get consistent pictures. Here is a photo shot from the suites in the pit area of the Homestead Miami Speedway before the final race of the 2004 NASCAR season. I stitched the images together in Photoshop, then used Layers to create a color version and a black & white version. I put the black & white version on top, then "erased" parts of the black & white version so the cars would show through in color.

Bahamas Color

2006-05-04T20:55:00.000-04:00

From a recent trip to the Bahamas.
We had never been to the Carribean before...What a place. I have always thought of myself as more of a mountain man, but I could get accustomed to the island life. The fishing was fantastic. This image, of nothing more than water and sky, sums up my thoughts on the subject: just find a spot on the beach and hang out.

A Beautiful Place

2006-05-04T20:15:00.000-04:00

My favorite city is San Francisco.
Great food, great wine, great views. I took this photo last year -- It never looked quite right until I played with it in Photoshop. I now love this image.

Photo Geek

2006-04-22T11:44:00.000-04:00

Everyone knows someone who really likes cameras and photography -- a photo geek.
I'm one of those people. My father introduced me to photography when I was a young boy. I have been involved in photography ever since. For over 30 years I have been fascinated with cameras and the images people create with them.

As with many photo geeks, I am frequently asked for an opinion on the best cameras available. Photo geeks love that question. Frankly, most amateur cameras available today are far superior to the snapshot cameras of the past (remember the old 110 cartridge cameras of the '70s and '80s?). Great pictures are possible with most of the digital cameras on the market today.

I admit, I do like some cameras better than others and will be happy to share my thoughts on the subject...after all, that's why this blog exists. In addition, don't forget that the camera is only a tool to capture images. There is so much more to photography than the equipment you use. It takes practice to create great photos. Through this blog I hope to expand my skills by documenting my day-to-day experiences in photography. Let's see how it goes...