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August 2014 Calendar – Island in the storm

Published on July 30, 2014 by greavesadmin2 Comments

One of my favourite aspects of living lake-side is watching the rain move across the lake. Whether a light shower or raging storm, the sight, sound and smell is amazing. This past week we experienced several days of sudden and brief thunderstorms. I was able to capture the dramatic change in the colours of sky, shore and water before heading for cover!

I decided to lay the calendars on two images taken in the sequence but could not decide which I liked better. So, I’ve set them both up so you can choose. Different screen resolutions can be found here.

free desktop calendar august 2014_1440x900 — Calm before the storm

July 2014

Published on July 3, 2014 by greavesadmin1 Comment

Hi. My name is Karen and I am a procrastinator.

If it wasn’t for the last minute, I might not get anything done! My problem is that the list of things I should be doing and want to be doing is unrealistically long and my decision-making skills are too weak to time manage effectively. Has anyone else out there borrowed time management help books from the library and returned them unread (and late) having not been able to make time to read them?!

Phew. I feel slightly better having expressed that; not sure it will help but it explains why the calendar is late and the photo quality less than usual. I took the photo this morning with my iPhone 5. My DSLR and gear got left behind at my daughter’s place during a recent visit and I won’t have it back until the week end. Of course I hadn’t scheduled time to capture a calendar worthy photo prior to being away at the end of the month nor had weather conditions been suitable until this picture perfect, calm lake, clear sky morning. It actually, finally feels like a summer day!

What does this scene invite you to do? Don’t you just want to run and jump off the end of this dock? Or dip your toes in the glassy water? Or set out in kayak or canoe to explore the distant shore? Where ever and however you choose to savour such days, enjoy!

Sunset Country Sky Calendar

Published on May 30, 2014 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.

Night lights

Published on May 24, 2014 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!

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.

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.

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

Wet Willows

Published on May 9, 2014 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.

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.

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.

A wet day well spent.

May 2014 desktop

Published on April 30, 2014 by greavesadmin2 Comments

Although we’ve had some spectacular snow days recently which I captured with my camera, I am certainly eager to look ahead to the liquid version of the lakes around me! So with memories of summers past and in anticipation of fish jumping, I offer the re-work of a moonrise shot from last summer at Raleigh Lake. Enjoy!

Larger and specific screen resolution options are available here. For more about capturing this image last summer (in case you missed it) check out this post.

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