Month: May 2014

Sunset Country Sky Calendar

Published on by greavesadmin1 Comment

The area in which I live has been designated by our provincial tourism body as “Sunset Country”.  We regularly get spectacular vistas throughout the year. Of course, those over the water are most beautiful because of the duplication created in the reflection. Part of my daily routine includes checking the west sky for colour as the sun dips below the horizon. Last June we were treated to one of the most colourful skies I have seen. The processors in my camera had difficulty dealing with the vibrant hues.

So, here is a desktop calendar for you to download and enjoy. For different screen resolutions, drop down the Free Calendar menu for June 2014.

free desktop calendar june 2014_1440x900

Night lights

Published on by greavesadmin3 Comments

Didn’t see the expected meteor shower at 1:30 this morning but was treated to the beauty of a moonless night sky!

Night Sky

 

I found this article very helpful in getting my gear set properly the evening before so I wouldn’t have to do it ‘in the field’ in the dark. I used my widest, fastest lense a Tamron 17-50mm at f/2.8, 17 mm, ISO 3200 set the mode to BULB and used my wireless timer remote shutter. It was impossible for me to see well enough to fine tune the focus so I crossed my fingers. made sure it was on manual focus and dialed to infinity.

Because of the brightness of our yard light, I took several images with different exposure times. In Lightroom, I selected the image shot at 25 seconds for the horizon and sky (on the left below) and one with a 4 second exposure for the foreground.

exposure time comparison

 

The two images were then layered in PhotoShop. I added a layer mask to the darker shot then applied the gradient tool to reveal just the bottom of image for the foreground.

layered image

All definitely worth the effort, I’d say. 🙂

 

 

Wet Willows

Published on by greavesadmin2 Comments

Damp dreary days don’t normally draw me out with my camera but after such a long, cold and snowy winter, I was eager to get out in spite of the soggy conditions. Driving some back roads in a light drizzle I noticed what I thought was pussy willows on the branches in the ditches.

water droplets and bokeh

The light rain was clinging to the branches creating the effect of soft, white pussy willows.

There were also willows starting to bud with furry catkins present.

pussy willows and water droplets

I was entranced the juxtaposition of the buds above and droplets below. Then noticed tiny droplets that appear as bulging eyes on the the buds at the end of the branch! I was wishing I had brought my tripod to more effectively zoom in for a clear shot.

A few other branches held some different bud and droplet configurations.

wet pussy willows

A wet day well spent.