Jan 31, 2010

Fiber Optic Light

This is Trevor's favorite light. Trevor, my 2 1/2 year old grandson, is legally blind and legally deaf. So he loves to look out the window at the contrasting tones of the dark tree branches and the bright sky. So you can see why he loves this light.

It took me four tries to get this to where I was happy with the contrasting textures. I used my Nikon D80 with the 55-200mm lens set at 55 mm. The ISO was set at 400 and the f-stop was 5.6. Exposure time was a full 2 seconds.

I didn't want the interior lights on so I did use flash along with my home made diffuser (white tissue) which blocked over half the light. I think it allowed just enough light to bring out the texture in the brick fireplace without overexposing any part of the image.

What do you think?

Jan 30, 2010

Covered Bridge

This covered bridge is one of six covered bridges left in Minnesota. This one is located in Zumbrota.

Jan 29, 2010

Perigee Moon

Here are two photos I captured this evening of the full moon. I had two different cameras with me, the top was a Nikon D2oo while the bottom was a Nikon D80.

Why I didn't take the FujiFilm S800, my point and shoot, I have no idea. It would have been nice to have photographed using total automatic setting, just to see what it looked like. : (

As you see the top photo has some really warm color tone to it while the lower photo has a cooler tone to it. I was thinking that the color was purely due to the different cameras. In reality, with the top image, the camera's white balance was set to 'flash' while the bottom or the blue image's white balance was set to 'florescent'.

You may like one better than the other, you may not like either one or you might like both. This just goes to prove that not all cameras are alike (even though they had the same lens (both Nikon's 80-200mm set at 80mm f/2.8.

This also shows me that there necessarily is to wrong way to capture the moon. With temps out of only 2 degrees F, I sort of like the blue tone of the vertical photo... lets the viewer know just how cold it really is in Minnesota!

This spectacular, larger than normal moon is called Perigee Moon. It is 14% wider and 30% brighter than any moon you will see in 2010. You may also notice that the moon in the horizontal photo is a bit fuzzier that the other one, It truly was hazier looking until it got higher and brighter in the sky.

Nice way to end the first month of the new year... Please let me know, by voting, which one you like better. 1) Hazy, Horizontal, warm tone or 2) Cool Blue Vertical image.

This image can be seen at Skywatch Friday's .. click to see more!

Jan 28, 2010

Jack Frost

What a pretty picture he paints upon my window pane.

Jan 27, 2010

Johnny Cash

Yesterday, Jan 26, was the anniversary of the birth date of the late Johnny Cash. This gentleman, Boss whom is a Johnny Cash Tribute artist is one of the finest around.

I've captured him playing at one of the hottest bars in town, Buster's. The top picture is the picture I took today of my laptop screen... hey, it counts! the bottom picture is the actual photo I took almost a month ago.

Jan 26, 2010

My New Note Book

My creativity is out of order this week. It's been so cold out again. I should have peeked outside to see if I could even leave my drive way after the snow storm we had again.

Any way, here is my new note book PC. it has a 10.1 " screen. I think I'm going to like having to carry this with me when I travel instead of the full size lap top.

This photo inside a photo reminds me of another project I done a few years back... I'll see if I can locate that and photograph that one for you all to see. Tomorrow Friends.

Jan 25. 2010

Tommy

Here's my little cutie again.

Sorry, it's too cold to go out and photograph.

Jan 25, 2010

Fiends

These are a few of my friends that I know from different circles. We all ran into each other as I was photographing a band.

Maybe next time I'll ask my friends to join me instead of going by myself all the time.

Jan 23, 2010

Trevor & Rachael

I was playing around with images today and this was one I loved but was slightly out of focus. To correct that, I processed it much like the one of Big Elvis and me posted back on Jan 7.

I did shoot today, but Elvis' eyes turned blue in the picture and I didn't want to mess with it. but I'll post it... here.

Jan 22, 2010

Elvis

Many of my friends know that I photograph a lot of Elvis Tribute Artists aka Elvis Impersonators. This cat fell upon us by accident. We had lost our family cat after 17 years of love. This cat was owned by a big Elvis fan that was fighting diabetes and his wife didn't want the extra work of caring for his failing health and the cat.

So my daughter adopted him, and his name is Elvis.

Jan 21, 2010

Rachael

Today Rachael is 15 months old. She had her 15 month check up today and is doing quite well.

Striving to get a picture taken before I crashed tonight, we found Rachael looking around the corner. Being she cannot hold her head up for very long, we just let her hair hang down over the step and snapped.

She's grandma's cutie.

Jan 20, 2010

TJ &TJ

These are my two TJ's.
My son Thomas J. and my grand son Trevor J.

I didn't have a lot of time to photograph today so I quickly snapped this shot of the two boys playing.

Yes, my son Tommy has a dirty face again. Oh well, maybe one day, I'll actually take a photo of him with a clean face!

Jan 19, 2010

Sarah

This is my daughter Sarah, the mother of my two beautiful grand babies

Jan 18, 2010

Hidden

I am sitting in a nice hotel down in Des Moines, IA. I spent the day in CE photography class offered by my company and I'm meeting some really nice people.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my job? The company that I work for is by far the best I've ever been with.

Being that I have so much to do tonight, I just shot this image real quick for another group I'm in, sort of multi-tasking, eating on the run, photographing one picture for two reasons... What's that about killing two birds with one stone? You get the idea.

Jan 17, 2010

My Quarter

My quarter...

This is what's left of my dollar after inflation. Three quarters gone!

It's going, going, gone.... See your money run!

Jan 16, 2010

Cowboy Jack

This hansom old chap was just standing there holding up the sign. I wish I would have stopped to read the sign he was covering up before I left after capturing his image.

Inquiring minds now want to know... what does that sign say? Hmmmm

Jan 15, 2010

Brian Evans

Brian Evans aka Tom Petty from the group Free Fallin' along with the guys from Three Eagles Communications.

Jan 14, 2010

Fox Run

A Sweet, Fruity, Party Wine From A Local Vineyard

This is part of a series I am doing for a client whom wanted their valuables photographed for insurance purposes.

Cy is a wine connoisseur and values local businesses including wineries. I realize that this wine isn't considered a valuable asset, but I loved the label. So I had to play a bit.

Jan 13, 2010

Tommy

Here he is again, my little guy. Left over lunch on his face and all...

Oh well, boys will be boys!

Jan 12, 2010

Rachael

This is my grand daughter Rachael. She's now a year old and has the sweetest smile. She still wakes up screaming, but as soon as she sees grandma, she has the biggest smile!

Jan 11, 2010

Nikon ED AF NIKKOR 80-200mm 1:2.8

This is a pretty fast lens and the images are quite sharp. I'm really enjoying the post production as I've only needed to crop a few out of the hundreds of photos I've taken.

Being a portrait photographer, I'm so addicted to my zoom lens. Sure I love the 50mm 1:1.8 I bought myself for Christmas, being able to take natural light photographs add a huge array of color in my band photography... in which I love. But there's nothing like the clear crisp image that this new zoom lens has to offer. Wow!

Jan 10, 2010

Free Fallin'

Tom Petty Tribute Band

This is by far one of the more faster paced bands to photograph. The fun I have watching them, and interacting with them make playing with my new lens even more interesting.

I didn't play as much with my new Nikon 80-200mm 1:2.8 as I wanted to. This band drawls a crowd where ever they go, and I don't easily get impressed with silhouette shots of the crowd. So I stuck to playing with my new 50 mm f:1.8 instead. Actually I had two cameras going... one for each lens, then I just took the 80-200mm 2.8 off and use the Nikon 18-70 mm zoom lens with flash. Tomorrow I'll keep it simple and just show yo a picture of my new lens. And to think I almost didn't go out! (Did I ever mention how much I dislike winter?)

A funny thing happened this morning on the way to church. I have stayed home a lot these past two or three weeks except for a Dr appointment in the twin cities for one of the grand babies and working a few days in Iowa before New Year Eve... other than that, I've gone no where. In fact, there was a snow storm one weekend, freezing sub zero temps another weekend and my car broke down as soon as I got home from Iowa, so I haven't even made it to church... pretty sad.

Any way, the past two nights I drove to Mankato, a 20 mile drive for me, to photograph bands, at the same venue. This morning my son and I were in my car heading to Mankato to go to church, and I found myself heading back to that venue, a total of 2 miles out of my way of the right path to church. My son had to ask where we were going before I realized my mistake. Yes, I am a blond, but don't hold it against me, I also am operating on about 20% less sleep than normal. But I have heard that venue I photographed at has a pretty nice breakfast on weekends. To check them out, stop in a Buster's... the food is great!

You'll find more photos of the band here and more info about Free Fallin' here. Thanks to Buster's and Three Eagles Communications (especially Z-99 Radio) in Mankato, MN for such a wonderful show.

Jan 9, 2010

PowerHouse

This was a local band that I haven't seen since the night I captured the photos for the big hog barn fire about 18 or 19 months ago.

I was so involved in getting the hog barn photos published in the all the area papers that I forgot to edit and upload my band photos.

Too much excitement, but I didn't have my good DSLR camera with me to photograph the street dance. Back then, I just wanted simplicity. Now I have so many lenses that I almost need a suit case to carry them. My wish list still has some sort of a a mega zoom lens on it, just in case there is ever another fire that I have to capture from a mile or two away. Or if I want to ever start trying to capture wildlife.. I love Eagles.

Back to the band, PowerHouse, more about them and a sample of their music can be found here. More photos of the band that were taken last night can be found here. And previous photos of them can be found here.

Some of the photos take last night were with my new Nikon ED AF NIKKOR 80-200mm 1:2.8 D lens. From what I seen so far, it's a pretty decent lens. Nice crisp images, I still need the flash though for this venue. But I won't use the SB800 with this lens. That would be weight restriction overload... LOL That is one reason I love the images from my new Nikon 50mm 1:1.8 lens, no flash needed. Nice!

To check out the Venue, please stop into Buster's Sports Bar, their burgers are great, got the best fries around and the steaks are to die for!

Jan 8, 2010

Happy Birthday Elvis!

Today, fans of the late Elvis Presley around the world are celebrating the anniversary of his birth. Had he lived, Elvis would have been 75 years old today. There has been more loyal fans keeping true to his memory than any other artists in history, and that's even after he's been dead for over 30 years.

His fans remember him either in his black leather suit that he wore in the '68 Come Back Special or one of his many different sequined jump suits. No matter how you remember him, the young rockabilly or the older, mature voice that everyone fell in love with during the Vegas years; you got to admit, he was good!

Sure, not everyone liked Elvis then, and not everyone likes Elvis now. As for me, I loved his voice, the one of the '70's. Anything pre army, no thank you, that's not how I want to remember him. I was only 13 when Elvis died back in '77. Those were his best years, he sounded so good. His voice got deeper, more mature, sexy, seductive... so strong and powerful. Listen to him singing his final piano piece on stage at one of his last concerts in '77..."Unchained Melody" where he plays the piano (now a copy righted video I see). But listen to the song "Hurt". Powerful!

Above you will find two pictures today. I did not take these pictures today, but both were in my favorites pile for the year 2009. The ETA wearing the black leather '69 come back suit is Brad Boice out of Minnesota and the ETA wearing the midnight blue sequined Vegas style jumpsuit is Walt Sanders out of Ohio. The White Peacok jumpsuit is Dwight Eisenhower out of Florida. By the way, if you want to see and hear how good an ETA, (Elvis Tribute Artist) really is, have them perform "Hurt". You'll know right away if they're good. You might me able to listen to all three of the above on my web site, ETAsightings.com

I did go out to play with my new Nikon ED NIKKOR AF 80-200mm 1:2.8 D lens today, So I have over 200 pictures of a great local band. I'll upload these pictures here as soon as I'm able. Look for the band "Power House"

Jan 7, 2010

Today is, I mean was, the day I've been waiting for!

Today I was supposed to drive up to Minneapolis to photograph an Elvi competition. This is the 2nd year in a row I've not been able to make it. I was supposed to work today, then the church date was re-scheduled. So I was going to, nothing was going to stop me... except maybe mother nature that is.

The weather and the roads are so bad, I decided to stay home where it is not only warm, but also safe. My best friends, the parents of an 18 year old ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist) drove all the over from Cashton, WI to attend this competition. I so wanted to be there.

As many of you know, on Jan 8th, 2010, if he had lived, Elvis Presley would be 75 years old. So every year on the anniversary of Elvis' birthday and on the anniversary of his death, Aug 16, (1977) fans gather around the world to celebrate 'Elvis week' at Graceland, the famous home of the Rock n Roll legend. This week is one week I would not want to be in Memphis as their cold is almost just as bad as ours is here in southern MN.

My photography started with bands over 20 years ago, using a 35mm camera. After my Minolta was stolen along with my movie camera, I put away the lens for quite a few years.

In August of 2005, I was visiting my mother from AZ in Vegas and my sister (whom lived in Vegas) and I went out to an Elvis show. Wow, was I blown away! I fell in love immediately with the way this guy sang gospel, I would have sworn we were in a chapel, not in a casino lounge on the Las Vegas Strip.

To this day, the first thing I listen to when an ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist) sings is how he sings his gospel. Only the best can match this guy in Vegas. And this guy in Vegas, named Pete Vallee is Big Elvis. He is the closest I've heard to the real deal. And I have heard a lot of Elvis Impersonators.

Since that time, I have photographed many ETA's and started back professionally with a Nikon DSLR camera photographing bands. This photo was taken of him and me from a little pocket style point and shoot propped up on the table with the timer set. The picture looked so bad, but we looked great, and with a little photoshop I brought some beauty back to it.

Jan 6, 2010

Tommy

This is my little angel! Okay, some days he's not an angel. But we all have our days, don't we?

This was taken after school today as soon as he walked into the house, it was truely amazing that I had the camera in my hand and ready for that beautiful smile of his.

I'm Going to guess that it's pretty safe to say that he had a good day at school today.

More about Tommy and me can me found on my MySpace page.

Jan 5, 2010

Hello, Grandma, can you come out to play?

This is my grand son, my pride and joy. This little guy is a fighter.

About a year ago, over Christmas 2008, he was in the hospital for over 3 weeks. We went from hospital to hospital. When our local hospital couldn't help, we tried another, thinking that St Mary's Hospital, part of the Mayo system in Rochester, MN would be able to help. When they wouldn't help, we went back to our local hospital to get a referral for Children's hospital in Minneapolis.

We wasted a year and a half with Mayo. They may be able to help accident victims in an emergency, but they couldn't help baby Trevor. We have had nothing positive from them about Trevor. We can't even get a copy of the medical records unless we want to pay $10 a page!

We just got back from Children's again (the one in St Paul this time) yesterday, and we don't have to go back until next month... YEAH!!!

Jan 4, 2010

Little Princess

This is my baby grand daughter. This was actually her baptism photo taken a while back. So she's a bit older now, and cries more during services.

Tomorrow I will post a picture of my grand son.. He is such a cutie too!

Jan 3, 2010

On a Cold Winter's Day

We've had plenty of these cold winters days lately. Maybe a lot more than I care to remember.

This is an old worn out abandon farm house on an Iowa back road. The house is falling apart but I'm sure there are lots of memories lurking around the old farm site.

A pretty sunset will grab a lot of peoples attention, grant it this is not the most beautiful, but when seen near this old abandon house, it is warm and comforting.

Jan 2, 2010

Facing My Giants

With God, all things are possible.

This image is one I took last summer. The reason I named it as I did is because I am afraid of heights.

This platform I was standing on was about 102 ft off the ground. The only thing between me and the ground was a pipe style rail. Looking up to the top , from where I was standing at the statue's feet, this statue of Hermann the German stands 32 ft.

Jan 1, 2010

Happy New Year!

What a remarkable evening I had. I was working in Solon, IA the past few days and Clear Lake, IA was on my way home. So I decided to stop at the famous Surf Ballroom. I knew my friends Free Fallin' a Tom Petty Tribute band was going to be there. They are a wonderfully fun band to photograph! And they sound really good too!

Yes, I was saying that for my benefit as much as yours. You see, I'm country... but if you know me at all, you'll also know that Elvis is one of the important images in my life. Admiring Elvis throughout the years have introduced me to many of my closest friends. It also allowed me to build my desire to learn more about photography.

So anyway... The Surf Ballroom... It's amazing! I've worked in Clear Lake, IA many times, I even visited the site of Buddy Holly's plane crash that ended in his untimely death along with Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. For more info about Buddy Holly and the fatal plane crash, visit 'The Day The Music Died'.

I really enjoyed the evening at The Surf Ballroom, not only was Free Fallin' the Tom Petty tribute band there, but so was a Kiss Tribute band named Kiss Army and an Aerosmith tribute band named Toys in The Attic. Anyway, I ended up taking a lot of pictures. I was using my new Nikon 5omm f1.8. This is the first time I was able to play with the 'burst' in my Nikon and still get some pretty good pictures. I had fun not needing the to use the flash at all. When I said I took alot of pictures... I did, approx 2000 were captured. and belive it or not, I dumped less than 300 due to too much movement (blurred) or not quite enough light. I will dump more though because when you use bursts, you do end up with too many duplicates sometimes. I will upload photos to these bands to my MySpace page within a week.

Hope your New Year Eve was as fantastic as mine!

The photo of the day, which is above is of the Canadian Pacific Rail Road's Holiday Train that came through our state a few weeks ago. I was able to climb up into the engine and visit with the engineers. I wish I would have thought to go out to the side of train, up on the plank, and photograph towards the back from there.

Photos taken of Free Fallin' can be found here.