Chrissie bought me a hummingbird feeder that I just installed next to the nest, and when I installed it I noticed a tiny baby hummingbird! And it’s brother/sister right next to it in egg form. I’m hoping nothing happens to it. Hummingbirds are rare to me, let a lone seeing a nest and it’s eggs! I’m pretty excited. I sat there with the door open, camera in hand, waiting for the bird to land, or fly away, so I can get the action shot. I sorta screwed up on the focus, but…it’s the thought that counts =) And I’ll do better next time.

Sure wish I had that 300 2.8 prime right about now. Oh well, my 200mm 2.8 prime will have to suffice.

Well, I’ll need to revisit this motion concept once I figure out how to take good car photos. I’ve never really done cars before, but I guess I’m now officially inspired.
As a midlife crises car, (well, truth be told for those that know me, I’ve been wanting a yellow car since 01). But my loving wife, told me you should just do it, maybe it’ll make you happy. In light of recent events, so I think I have someone up there watching over me. I was about to find a rare 01′ spa yellow (banana yellow, not the cool yelllow that I wanted). And I was about 1 day from sealing the deal, when all of a sudden, the day before, a dealership in El Cajon (San Diego), about 105 miles away called me and said they had an immaculate one, with just 40k miles on it. Bone stock (not an Asian Ricer punk touched or modded it at all). So I went to take a look at, it…and the rest, is history. I’ve already become sun burned, drove to my dad’s spot in forest lawn to tell him about the car. My mom said he would of love the yellow!

I wanted to play with B&W photos today for something a little different. This was the first shot I took out of about 10. The tall grass looks like it’s blown over by the wind (motion) but it was really a calm day. Taken with 7D w/ 50mm @ f2.0 for 1/400 sec.

One of a Bizillion Waterfalls in the North Cascades National Park

Hermosa Beach Promenade at Dusk

This is a 4-second exposure at the lowest ISO setting the D700 has, and f/7.1. I was hoping that the Promenade would have more foot traffic, but I probably would have to come back later when the night owls come out, and I would have lost the depth due to the darkness. So this was my compromise. I took about thirty shots, and I liked this one the best, partly because of the foreground light trails from a three-wheeler, and the background light trails from the auto traffic. Not quite what I wanted, but close. Normally the scaffolding wouldn’t be there, but the L.A. Galaxy was having an event today due to the U.S. World Cup match.

Two kinds of unique light sources

This is an HDR (3 images) of a lava lamp in the background, with a fiber optic tree in the foreground. Roughly f/16, 0.5 – 1.3 sec exposure, ISO 200. Nothing fancy. I tried to keep it photorealistic in Photomatix, so this is close to what you’d really see.

It’s good sometimes to have you’re camera ready anytime you spot something exciting about to happen. So this is shot during midday, but the crow is black so he looks like a shadow ferrying the dead to the other side.

Pooh and Friends

The more I learn the more I realize I haven’t even started! 

There are Heather’s “pooh guys” as she called them.  I tried to get deep shadows and properly exposed highlights.  As Maxwell Smart would say “I missed it by THAT much!”

As I have more time I will continue to work on controlling the light.

Photo Detail: D300, 24-70 @ 70, F/4.8,1600 iso, 10/1250 sec