Whimsy
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Ruby Tuesday
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I was in Austin, TX this past week on business. I was driving to dinner one evening when it dawned on me that I did not have a photo ready for this Ruby Tuesday. What to do, what to do. When I pulled into the parking lot of Chili's, there was my Ruby Tuesday photo staring back at me! As you probably know by now, I almost always have a small point & shoot camera with me. So...I pointed and shooted! Happy Ruby Tuesday all.
Tomorrow is Wordless Wednesday and I have a collection of pics that I have themed "Whimsy". Come back tomorrow to find out why! As always Friday will bring a Skywatch photo and a little inspirational music to end your week.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Skywatch Friday
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A New Day
We've had several days with great sunrises and sunsets recently. I don't have space to show them all, but I can keep them in the archives until I need them. There are days with there isn't much color in the sky. Life is like that. There are days when we seem to be filled with excitement, things are happening and people from everywhere color our lives. Other days, life seems to be a little boring and not as filled with life as we would like. Maybe it's on those days that we should reflect on all that God has done in our lives and just how much color our Creator brings to our very soul. Without Him, our lives are truly void of color and purpose. Thank you Lord for all that you bring into my life and for walking with me each day.
This week, the inspirational song comes from one of my favorite Southern Gospel groups, The Booth Brothers. For all of the things that God has done in my life, I just have to stand and "Testify". Enjoy.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Ruby Tuesday
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This winter I bought a bird feeder holder that attaches to the railing on the back deck of the house. Now, the bird feeder is considerably closer to the window than ever before. It took a week or two for the birds to get comfortable with the location in such close proximity to the house, but now they don't seem to mind at all. However, all of my photography must be done through the window, since they are not fond of me being outside when they are feeding.
I have also begun experimenting with capturing the birds in flight, rather than waiting on them to land on the feeder and just photograph them sitting still with a piece of food in their beaks.
So far, so good. It takes a little more practice to anticipate when one will leave the trees in the back yard and make their way to this feeder, but the results are worth it, don't ya think?
Another thing that helps is a camera that will capture multiple frames. I am shooting with a Nikon D7000 DSLR that will capture up to six frames per second. I am shooting around 1/500th of a second. Even though the feeder is only about fifteen feet from the window, I am still using a telephoto lens. These images were captured using a Tamron 70-200mm f2.8 lens. The top to photos were captured at a setting of about f4.0, which is the reason for the darker background. The last capture is at f2.8, which lets more light into the frame and is the reason that the background is a lighter gray. I have three telephoto lenses. My primary lens is a Tamron 18-270mm. It is on my camera most of the time because it has the widest telephoto range and works well in a variety of situations. The Tamron 70-200mm is a great lens for lower light situations like Friday night high-school football, indoor basketball and other locations where you need the lower f-stop. My final telephoto lens is a Sigma 50-500mm lens that allows me to reach out at touch someone. It is great for wildlife captures, soccer matches, etc. Why do I use third-party lenses instead of Nikon? Cost! I don't earn a living from photography and I can't afford the Nikon lenses. The third-party lenses are typically 1/2-1/3 the cost of the major lenses. I bought the Sigma lens a couple of years ago on Ebay and it was a steal!
Now that I am semi-retired I will have more time to enjoy this hobby and get more serious about capturing quality images. I participate in meme's like Ruby Tuesday because they give me a reason to practice photographing various images and they force me to notice specific opportunities in the world around me. Ruby Tuesday and Skywatch Friday are my favorite meme's and I have been participating in both of them for over two years. If you like photography, I would encourage you to find opportunities like the blog meme's to practice and perfect your skills. You don't have to have a DSLR to capture good images. Many of my favorite Skywatch photos were taken with a little Canon point&shoot camera that I carry with me nearly everywhere I go. The most important thing is take photos and lots of them. Have a great week. See you tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday and again on Friday for Skywatch.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Skywatch Friday
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Colorful New Day
One thing that I like about Skywatch is that God does all of the work. I just have to point the camera and capture the image. Every day is a new day with a new opportunity to capture the sky. It may be crystal clear and blue, or it may be filled with a rainbow of colors. There may be puffy white clouds or the sky may be filled with the promise of rain, or snow, but it is never the same from one day to the next. Whether we realize it or not, our lives are much the same way. God has done all of the work to order our steps, all we have to do is follow His plan. Each day should move us closer to Him. Sadly most of us never bother to determine what God would have us do. We just wake up each morning take control of our own lives and wonder why we run it off in the ditch so often. I am as guilty as the next person of not consulting my Creator each day regarding my life. I really need to be better about including Him in my morning.
My choice for an inspirational song today comes from one of the most popular contemporary groups. It speaks to the responsibility of Christians in this world and most particularly, Christian men. We were created to make a difference in this world. We were given the responsibility to be the spiritual leaders in our families. For the most part we have either delegated that authority to someone else or ignored it all together. Why? Well it takes courage to be the spiritual leader. We were made to be "Courageous". Enjoy.
Have a blessed week-end.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
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