Category: Photography

Hit and Miss

Published on by greavesadmin3 Comments

A couple of thunderstorm systems passed just south of us just after sunset last night. Lightning and thunder played tag in the air. Between 9 pm and 10 pm I shot 87 images in attempt to capture at least one with a streak of lightning

lightning shoot thumbnails

The camera was set with my 17-50 mm at 17 mm, ISO 1600, f/2.8 and BULB so I control exposure length. I was using my Trippertrap remote shutter for the second time.

Triggertrap webpageIt works through the app on the smart phone. It has lots of great features but I really miss the feel of a button. The ‘trigger’ on the phone is a small dot at the bottom of the screen so it is difficult to find by touch. Perhaps there’s a setting for any part of the screen to set off the shutter – will have to look in to that.

Anyway, there was a lot of lightning but most was sheet lightning.  Even when I thought I was capturing a streak of lightning, the extreme brightness caused the lines blended into the overexposed sky. It was tricky to react like a trained game show contestant with a buzzer and at the same time calculate how long to leave the shutter open relative to how bright the flash of light was! But about the 65th try, I got one!

lightning streak in sky

1.0 sec, f/2.8, 17 mm, ISO 1600 with Canon EOS 7D

 

Blue July Moon

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blue moon July 2015I love the moon. One of my favourite scenes is the reflection of the moon (in any phase) dancing on the water. I love to chase its cycles in anticipation of capturing a beautiful moon rise or set.

The date of the next full moon is always on my radar. When it is likely to be rising or setting around sunset or sunrise, respectively, I scout possible locations for an interesting capture. The Photographer’s Ephemeris is a great tool to virtually scout angles and times.

So the blue moon occurring July 31 looked like it could be worth trying to capture.

ThePhotographersEphemeris 30 July 2015

The blue dot at the base of the pin is my location. The blue line running from me to the right is the direction to look for the rising moon. I geared up with raincoat, bug jacket, rubber boots and umbrella. All were essential for comfort and survival this particular evening! Here I am at the site.

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What the hundreds of mosquitos and I saw:

 Three Mile Lake rain

It poured! Then broke off and threatened more.  And I mean threatened; thunder and all.

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So I packed it in and headed home hopeful for a morning chance at the moonset over Agimak.

(Note the time at the top of the screen shot below. Yes, I got up just after 5 to get there and set up.) The dark blue line is the moonset direction from Agimak Beach. The moon should be setting directly between the two islands.

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When I got the beach the clouds were starting to move in. It was 14C and breezy.

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I’m pretty certain I had the line right. The moon would have dropped exactly where I expected. I just didn’t get the proof. You can bet I will be chasing the moon again when it rises tonight!

Since I didn’t get the shots I hoped for the August desktop calendar, I pulled a moon shot from my collection. This one is a moonrise I posted about in October 2012. Enjoy.

free desktop calendar August 2015_1440x900

Happy Trails

Published on by greavesadmin1 Comment

February desktop calendar image was taken along a ski trail at Sandbar Provincial Park just north of Ignace.

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Specific screen resolutions can be found at the Free Calendar drop down list in the menu above.

 

December 2014

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The final month of 2014 is around the corner!

free desktop calendar December 2014_1400x900

For the past few years, I’ve made photo calendars for gifts and for purchase. This December’s desktop calendar image (above) is the one I used for December in my printed 4″ x 6″ 2014 calendar.
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It took most of a previous winter to capture the shot I planned. I hung the oversized ornaments on a tree in near our home in early November and didn’t get the right combination of snow on the ground and large flakes in the air until March!

My 2015 calendars are ready for purchase. They retail for $10 and include a heavy a magnet clip. To have them shipped with the magnet clip would double the cost so I am offering to mail within Canada and the US without the magnet for $10 including postage. Payment would need to be made by e-transfer. Use the Contact Me link at the top of the page for more information.

October 2014

Published on by greavesadmin1 Comment

This fall we have been experiencing the most colourful and vivid fall shades we seen in a number of years. Having had two harsh frosts may have contributed to this unusual condition. Because of the lack of maples here, we typically see only the yellows of birch, poplar and tamarack mixed with the greens of pine, spruce and cedar. Any orange and red is usually proved by low berry bushes in the undergrowth. This season, the random maple is gloriously evident. Even a dreary day like the day these photos were taken, can be aglow.fall colours on lake shore

So for the October desktop calendar, I chose a back road scene with the full range of this season’s colour. Enjoy.free desktop calendar October 2014_1440x900

Fogbow?

Published on by greavesadmin2 Comments

The last two posts feature images of a misty morning shot from the shore of Agimak Lake. I was determined to shoot from the water at the next opportunity. Each night, I made sure my gear was ready for an early morning departure. A crisp morning not days later started off crystal clear but ground fog moved in thick and fast. Setting off from shore I headed straight out of our bay in the direction of ‘my’ island.

kayak in the mistIt wasn’t long before I was in a silent dome of fog, no shoreline in sight. It was only slightly unnerving. I knew I couldn’t get lost and that the mist would eventually burn off.  I kept the sun on my 8 o’clock which should take me on a direct line out form the shore and to the island. Directly on my 2 o’clock, a bright arch began to appear. You can see just a hint of it in the image above. My camera had a difficult time processing the arch alone but as the fog lifted, the arch remained and became more defined.

kayak to island with arch of fogI’ve never seen anything like this before. We’ve lived here almost 30 years. This summer has certainly provided some remarkable sights!

fog arch over island