Another Tree That I Have Been Watching

Last night Judy and I started with a beer at the Chapter House with Gary and Maude and Friends, and then the Ithaca Artist's Market.  The Ithaca Artist's Market is a great event that happens once a year.  It was a great opportunity to see other people's work from the area.  There are a lot of photographers in this area, and some of their work is fantastic.

On the way home, we had to take a detour because of road work.  As we passed Ludgate Farms, I noticed this tree. I've driven by this tree several times, and have often thought of stopping and photographing it.  Last night the lighting was spectacular.  Thank you detours.

Steve

May 6, 2010 Ithaca Festival

This past weekend Judy and I went to the Ithaca Festival.  What a great place to listen to some great music.  The weather was horrible on Sunday, so the crowds were not very large.  The musicians still played, and I think everybody who was there had a great time.  The photos below are from the Go Cats, and Hank's Garage.  This was the debut for Hank's Garage, and they were incredible.

Lessons Learned:

• The musicians were playing under a pavilion without lights.  In the past when I have tried to take photos with these conditions, it has been horrible. The light outside the pavilion was very bright, and the people would come out very dark.  This time I didn't worry about the light outside the pavilion.  I just concentrated on getting the exposure on the people correct.  It turned out very well.  The people look like they are in a studio.  I like the effect.

Week 50, Day 347, April 11, 2010, Stewart Park Willows

It was a beautiful day for the Skunk Cabbage Classic 1/2 marathon, and 10k in Ithaca, Ithaca New York.  Congratulations runners!  I took over 5500 photos of the runners, and I'm in the process of sorting through them.

As an added bonus one of the runners had a birthday today, and her husband had a surprise birthday party at Stewart Park.  She's had the dream since she was a little girl to have a new pair of socks everyday.  Her husband asked that we each bring a pair of socks, and had hoped for 50 pairs to commemorate her 50th birthday.  I think that the goal was reached.  When she opened the 15th pair of socks, she realized that her dream was coming true.  Happy Birthday Nancy.

While we were in Stewart Park, I noticed the wind swept willows.  The breeze blowing off of Cayuga lake was very strong.  The color of the willows in the spring is an interesting yellow, and is very beautiful.

There's also another special birthday today.  Kyle, my son, turns 23, and is enjoying his birthday in Hawaii.  Happy Birthday Kyle.

Lesson Learned:

• Sorting through 5500 photos takes a long time, and a long time to upload.
• I've been to Steward Park several times, and each time the willows have a different look.  I think it's important to continue to return to the same places throughout the year to look for changes for photo opportunities.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/100 sec, Aperture f/9.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 17 mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, handheld, circular polarizer filter.  

Week 48, Day 333, March 28, 2010, Ithaca Commons

The Ithaca Commons is a unique part of Ithaca.  It has several interesting shops and restaurants.  Many times during the year many people will come and participate in the special events like the Chili Festival, and the Ithaca Festival.

Judy and I went to the Commons to stop at the State of the Art Gallery.  They were having an exhibit of local photographers.  What an incredible exhibit.  I hope to submit some of my photographs next year.

We also stopped at one of our favorite restaurants, Viva Taqueria. Viva is known for it's Mexican Food that isn't very authentic, but it is delicious.

I highly recommend both the Gallery and the restaurant if you are ever in the Ithaca area.

Lessons Learned:

• I learned that I know very little about the various printing techniques.  I need to learn more.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/6.4, ISO 200, Focal Length 19 mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, hand held.

Week 46, Day 323, March 17, 2010, When Life Hands You Lemons

I stopped at Ludgate Farms on the way home from work.  It's a great store, with lots of heathy food options.  Since this month's challenge is food, I asked if I could take some photographs.  They said yes.  As I wondered near the produce, I noticed the sun light on the lemons.  I liked the effect that it had.

Lessons Learned:

•  Lighting is what much of photography is about.  I'm finding myself spotting interesting contrasts in light more often.  
• I'm finding this food challenge a lot of fun.  I didn't think I would like it when I started.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/320 sec, Aperture f/4, ISO 100, Focal Length 30 mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, hand held. 

Week 40, Day 280, January 30, 2010 "Taughannock Falls in Winter"

It was cold today, but the sun was out.  So Judy and I had an Ithaca type day.
  We started by going to the Moosewood Restaurant for lunch.  The food was fantastic, and the service was great.
Next we went to the Taughannock Falls Overlook for a view of the falls.  These falls are incredible any time of the year, but the ice helps to make them spectacular.  A sense of scale is difficult, but these falls are 215 tall.  They are among the tallest falls East of the Rockies.  Plus a year long photo blog in this area wouldn't be complete without at least one photo of Taughannock Falls.
  We ended the day getting supplies at the the Shops at the Ithaca Mall and were elbow to elbow with Cornell University and Ithaca College students who have returned to Ithaca. 
A cold day in Ithaca is not necessarily a bad day.

Lessons Learned:

• It's always interesting to go to a site seeing spot with lots of people with cameras.  Many assume I'm a professional (probably because I'm old, and have a tripod.)  Little do they know.  But I find it a great place to talk to people, as well as take photos.  I find that many times there are others that are there that also know something about photography.  I learn by watching what they find interesting in ways that I haven't considered.  I also tell them what I'm trying to accomplish, and I like to hear their responses.
• I find that if I attempt to blur the water in the falls by using a longer exposure that it begins to look like ice.  I like having a distinction between the ice and the falls.  So, for me I don't tend to blur the water in these types of photos.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/25 sec, Aperture f/20.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 70 mm, Lens Canon 70-200mm f2.8L USM, tripod.

Week 38, Day 272, January 21, 2010, Ice

As I was walking back to work from lunch I noticed a lot of ice in the bottom of the gorge along side the creek.  After work I walked down part of the gorge to take these photos.  I didn't have my tripod with me, so I did the best I could.

I think if the lighting was just right, this could be an incredible subject.

Lessons Learned:

• From what I've been reading, when photographing snow you should set your camera to over expose the photo by 1.5 to 2 stops.  This has worked fairly well for me for most photographs.  Today however on some of my shots of ice, there was a lot of exposed rocks.  These rocks were much darker in color.  My over exposing of those photos made the ice very over exposed.  I should have compensated for the dark rocks.  I should have also checked my histogram.

 Photo details: Exposure time 1/160 sec, Aperture f/3.5, ISO 200, Focal Length 115 mm, Lens Canon 70-200mm f2.8L USM, hand held.

Week 38, Day 267, "The Man Behind The Color Tree"

Today Werner Sun had an Opening at the Corners Gallery in Ithaca.  I really like Werner's incredible mobiles.  Each is unique, and has very interesting shapes and colors.  Many of them represent some sort of theme, but it's also up to the observer to see what they mean to them.  And as a mobile they continue to shift and change.  They create new shadow, and new shapes as they align with other shapes.  They are a lot of fun to watch and enjoy.  In his blog The Color Tree he photographs and discusses some of his work.  I don't think the photos do his work justest. 

If you're in Ithaca, please stop by and take a look.

Lessons Learned:

• I would have loved to have spent a lot more time photographing Werner and his work from various angles, but he was in the middle of his opening.  I didn't want to disrupt the Opening to much.  He was a great sport, and allowed me to take many photos, and I thank you Werner.  Maybe some other time when there isn't an opening I'll have another opportunity to try and capture Werner and his work in a more creative way.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/5.0, ISO 400, Focal Length 17 mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, hand held.

Week 27, Day 192, November 1, 2009, Willows at Stewart Park, Ithaca

Stewart Park is a park at the South Side of Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, NY.  I have seen several photos of the willows.

It's a great place to photograph.  I like to come to the park to photograph the geese.  When we arrived I didn't see any.   Shortly after our arrival, as if on queue, I started hearing the geese as they flew into the park It was a beautiful morning.

Today marks the 6th month of my journey.  I have learned so much from my experiences, and so much from many of you.  Thank you for all of your wonderful comments.  Your advise has helped bring me a long way.  One of the things that was interesting was that today's photo choice was the first one that I took.  In the beginning, I would have to take a lot of time with setting my camera, seeing the results, and then resetting the camera.  It seems that I can do that much more quickly now.

Lessons Learned:

• I'm making progress.  It was useful to look over the past 6 months.
• In photographing geese on the ground, or in the water, take time.  At first all of the geese were moving away from me.  I took a lot of butt shots.  As I just sat there for a while, they began to move more naturally, and I could once again photograph their heads.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/250 sec, Aperture f/4.0 (higher apertures show the dirt on my CCD in the solid blue sky, grrr), ISO 100, Focal Length 17 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 27mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, hand held, (I forgot my tripod), circular polarizer filter.

Week 27, Day 190, October 30, 2009, Gorge from the Bridge

After work I had a little time, so I decided to head over to the gorge on the other side of the Cornell campus.  I found some new hiking trails, and took this photo.  Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees, but there are still some trees on the south side (right side of the photo) of the gorge that have many leaves.  In the distance is the foot bridge that spans the gorge.

I feel blessed to be able to have so many amazing natural attractions so close to home.

What beautiful areas are there were you live?

Lessons Learned:

• I'm still having problems with the bright spots on my water shots.  I think that I have to widen the aperture a little more.

Photo details: Exposure time 1.3 sec, Aperture f/22.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 25 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 41mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, tripod, circular polarizer filter.

Week 26, Day 189, October 29, 2009, "Mustang Mike"

You may remember Mike from the famous photo Chopsticks.  Mike has a great Mustang convertible.  I think it's his midlife crises car.  He sold all his motorcycles from his youth (and not so youth) to purchase the car. Once a week we have lunch together.  I get to enjoy his midlife crises, and go for a ride to wherever we are going to eat that week.  We scream at the kids, "Get out of the road!".

I've had this photo in mind for a long time.  It's not very often that there is a parking space available in front of the Royal Palms Tavern in Collegetown, Ithaca.  I thought that the red of the car with the bright yellow of the building, and Mike standing in the background would make a great photo.  I thought this would be a good change in pace from the Fall photos that I have been taking lately.  If Mike ever takes up the guitar again, and records a MP3, he can use this for his album art.

I hope you enjoy.

Lessons Learned:

• Sometimes I need to be patient for the photos.   This one I've been thinking about for a few months.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/8.0, ISO 800, Focal Length 34 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 55mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, hand held, circular polarizer filter, I changed the intensity of the colors.

Week 26, Day 188, October 28, 2009, A Carpet of Leaves

"It can't snow until the creeks are full.", is a old saying in the North East.  There was a lot of rain today, helping to fill the creeks.

The last of the leaves are a brilliant yellow color, and they are falling quickly.  They produced a carpet of leaves on the hiking trails that follow the gorges.

Lessons Learned:

• The circular polarizer works well on cloudy days as well.  It helps to bring out the colors of the leaves.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/30 sec, Aperture f/9.0, ISO 1600, Focal Length 17 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 27mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, hand held, circular polarizer filter. 

Week 26, Day 187, October 27, 2009, Gorge Revisted with Zoom Lens

I had all my lenses with me today, so I revisited one of the sites that I had taken a photo about a week ago.   This time I used my zoom lens.  Because of this I was able to capture both the bridge with the local colors, as well as some of the trees on West Hill.

The leaves have changed color in the past week.

I like this photo better than my first one.  I think the beauty of the bridge is highlighted better, and the trees still have some great color.  I also think the sun was more cooperative, and highlighted some of the trees in the gorge.

Lessons Learned:

• Don't be afraid to return to the same site at different times, with different equipment, and look for different lighting.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/125 sec, Aperture f/7.1, ISO 200, Focal Length 70 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 113mm, Lens Canon 70-200mm f2.8L USM, handheld.

Weekly winner in online viewer poll. Monthly winner in online viewer poll

Week 25, Day 180, October 21, 2009, Gorges II

A Professor in our department said that if you want spectacular photos, go to spectacular places.  Spectacular places do help, and Fall in Central New York is pretty spectacular.

In this photo I took a photo of the bridge that I stood on yesterday for yesterday's photo of the day.  I'm standing on a little foot bridge overlooking the gorge.

Lessons Learned:

• Take advantage of the sun when you have it.  The clouds were moving in fast, so I took a lot of photos before I lost the sun.  I think the sun at this time of year adds to the colors of the fall leaves.
• Be patient with other people.  Twice today when I was taking photos, people took out their cameras and came and started taking photos of what I was photographing.  I need to take this as a compliment instead of an annoyance.  (I've never had that happen before.  It was kind of cool.)

Photo details: Exposure time 1/50 sec, Aperture f/5.6, ISO 100, Focal Length 37 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 60mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, handheld, circular polarizer filter.

Week 25, Day 179, October 20, 2009, Gorges

A few years ago my family traveled to Rome Italy.  We stayed on the edge of Rome, and had to travel by bus to the center of the city.  Many days people were sleeping on the bus.  I wanted to wake them up, and ask how they could sleep with such incredibly interesting places to see all around them.

Just about every day that I work, I walk over this gorge.  Before I started taking so many photos I didn't pay as much attention to my surroundings.  Now, I think I pay a little more attention.  I'm glad that I do, but I wonder what other cool things do I miss.

Lessons Learned:

• If the sun isn't shining,  It's pretty dark when I get home for work.  This will limit the fall color photos.  I have to take more photos during lunch time.  

Photo details: Exposure time 1/3 sec, Aperture f/22, ISO 100, Focal Length 33 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 53mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, tripod.

My impressions of yesterdays photo:

I found myself wavering between not liking it, and liking it.  It some ways, I thought it had a Thomas Kinkade type of look.  I'm really not very interested in that type of art.  In other ways it does have a surreal look that AB mentioned.  I kind of like the surreal aspect of it.  I'll probably continue to try some more experiments like this to see if I can improve my abilities.  I really like Lynne Daley's photo that she did, so I think the technique has a lot of potential.  If you haven't looked at her work yet, please do.  I think you might enjoy it.

Week 20, Day 144, September 14, 2009, Ithaca Commons

I had a meeting on the Ithaca Commons after work.  The meeting was with Ian Golden the owner of the Fingerlakes Running Company. Ian is the Race Director for the Iroquois Trail Ultras a 50 and 100 mile race taking place near Ithaca this weekend.  I'm going to be photographing parts of the race.  It should be a great time, and I hope to have some great trail running photos at the end of it.

The Ithaca commons is a very interesting place full of very interesting people. There is always music, and people dancing.  Today these two men were playing drums.  I really enjoyed their music, and that they allowed me to photograph them.

Lessons Learned:

• Once again I learned that many people are great about letting a photographer photograph them.  I think it's important to ask before taking photos.  
• I think that if I had the opportunity to do this again, I would have tried my 50mm lens with a 1.4 aperture to blur the background some.  That might have made for a more interesting photo.
  

Photo details: Exposure time 1/60 sec, Aperture f/9.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 40 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 65mm, Lens Canon EF 17-40mm, hand held.

Week 7 - Day 47, June 16, 2009 "Sunset over Groton"

One of the things that I'm finding is that on some outings I'll take a variety of photographs. When I look at the photos later, I often surprised by how some of the photos turn out. Later I'll return and shoot a more comprehensive set of photos on the same subject.

Back when I photographed the geese, I also took a couple of photos of this tree near sunset. Tonight when trying to think of ideas, I decided to go back and reshoot a similar photo. When I have more time with a single subject I use a variety of apertures, shutter speeds, and sometime various white balance settings. This allows me to choose the best of all the shots. I like the results of this one.

Lessons Learned:

• It can be difficult to remove power lines from a photo. I actually selected a darker color photo because it helped hide the power lines that are in the lower part of the photo.
• Around Groton it's difficult to find single trees that do not have other trees around them. I was trying to do that for this photo.
• The day after I put up some photos I think, "What was I thinking on yesterday's photos." Some photos I seem to enjoy more as I think about them, others loose something with time, and still others loose something a few minutes after I put them on this blog.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/320s, Aperture f/20.0, ISO 100, Focal Length 108 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 175mm, Lens Canon 70-200mm f2.8L USM, tripod.

Week 5 - Day 31, May 31, 2009, "Drum Circle"

There was a Drum Circle today at the Ithaca Festival in Stewart Park. It was very interesting to watch, but I quickly became part of the circle. The rhythm became my rhythm, and I found my self swaying to the beats. This eclectic group was a lot of fun, and I wanted to try and capture some of it through photography.

Lessons Learned:

• Seeing something that I enjoy helps to put me in the mood to want to take great photographs.
• I can commit to this journey, and have just completed my first month of photos. I feel like I'm in the steep learning curve of the process.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/2500, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 200, Focal Length 150 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 242mm, Lens Canon 70-200mm f2.8L USM, hand held.

Week 5 - Day 30, May 30, 2009, " Rockin' Johnny"

The Purple Valley was performing today on the Ithaca Commons as part of the Ithaca Festival Celebration. It was a fantastic day for the event.

I took a variety of photos today, and this is my favorite. (and the music was fantastic.) In this photo I like John's smile, and I like the blurred background with the lighting on the trees. It's great to be able to photograph this band in daylight, but in a shaded area.

Lessons Today:

• I need to work more on my moon shots. It's been a while, and I have forgotten my settings.
• Getting the right light requires a lot of time. I was chasing clouds and sunshine shooting through the clouds. I didn't have a lot of luck.

Photo details: Exposure time 1/250, Aperture f/2.8, ISO 100, Focal Length 85 mm, 35 mm equivalent focal length 138mm, Lens Canon 70-200mm f2.8L USM, hand held.
Whew, I just got this one posted in time.