Sunrise on Sprague Lake

I took this photo early in the morning on Sprague Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park.  I almost missed the sunrise by sleeping past 4:30 that morning.  When arrived, this was my first view of the lake.  I was nearly moved to tears as I walked the half-mile loop around the lake.  The scenery was just too beautiful for words and nearly too gorgeous for the camera. This photo is just a small representation of the glory I experienced that morning.  A few touch-ups to brighten the dark portions of the photo brought the picture closer to how I remember the view.

Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 26mm, 1/6 seconds at f/13, ISO 100; tripod.

Here’s the photo I had with some vibrance and contrast added.  Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens starting at 29mm and going to 200mm, 1.3 seconds at f/25, ISO 100.

I converted to black and white, then to cyanotype and the effects made the scene almost look like an xray of sorts.  Actually, the photos reminded me of the movie Little Otik, a rather strange and creepy movie.

Then, I increased the saturation, vibrancy, and contrast to get this very artistic looking image.

Here is an example the colored fireworks.  For these, I could leave the shutter open and catch multiple fireworks going off during that time period.  I think it turned out well. Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 24mm, 1.3 seconds at f/16, ISO 200.

Welcome back to the Photobook Solutions blog.    Hope everyone had a great Independence Day.  My favorite part is taking photos of the fireworks.  I have quite a few to share over the next few days.  I found a good spot to shoot this year at Houston’s Freedom Over Texas.  I had my tripod set up with my camera on manual.  After a few fireworks went off, I found that the best orientation was portrait instead of landscape.  I used some trial and error and took many shots to get an idea of when to open the shutter and when to close it on the bulb setting.  I found that with white colored fireworks, shorter shutter speeds were necessary to keep the shot from being too bright.  Colored fireworks could have a longer shutter speed.  Also, I decided on an aperture of f/16 to maximize the blackness of the sky.  Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 40mm, 1.3 seconds at f/16, ISO 200.

Also, check out the Flickr 365-day groups.  It might be interesting to see what other people are doing.

If a portrait a day is not your cup of tea, think about other items that can create a 365 photo project.  Maybe 365 photos of buildings, trash cans, or street signs.

Most of all have fun with your camera!

As I drove over a hill a gold light became visible in my rear view mirror.  The moon was rising in the east directly behind me.  It was golden due to the low spot on the horizon and it was gorgeous.  In fact I was most impressed when an 18-wheeler crested the hill behind me and with the moon just so, it was a perfect photo, but only for a second.  I really longed for my camera and tripod.

Beauty is everywhere and you never know when a great photo opportunity will present itself.

Perhaps it’s time to give Photobook Solutions a call so we can get your photos into an album and off your computer.

Do your New Year’s Resolutions include organizing your photos?  If so, give Photobook Solutions a call.  Before you know it your photos will be in an album and you can cross that task off of your to-do list.

The simplicity of this house attracted me in the midst of highly colorful houses filled with yard ornaments.  I took the photo at a slight angle to make it more interesting.  Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 18mm, 1.3 seconds at f/7.1, ISO 400.

At night when long shutter speeds are necessary to correctly expose a photograph, I look for interesting motion.  Here are two Spanish dancers.  The twirling of her skirt caught my eye and I knew I had to capture it on film.  Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 18mm, 1/5 seconds at f/4.5, ISO 1000.

One of the assigned challenges on this photowalk was to find holiday cheer in an abstract form.  I liked finding smiles and when this one popped out at me I just had to take a picture.  This smile is adorable and completely happenstance with the bush in front of the window just so.  Camera specs: Nikon D300 with 18-200mm lens at 200mm, 1.30 seconds at f/5.6, ISO 800.