And Now for Something Completely Different

No more birds for the moment. And I  did not find a nest of snakes on Eastbeach, just some sand ripples.  In ACR I increased the exposure, blacks, vibrance and clarity.  In CS3 I added a Curves layer for contrast and a Levels layer, then ran the Popsickle action by Kubota and sharpened with Smart Sharpen.

I Didn't Know

that pelicans could skip.

Nikon D200, 70 - 200m lens with 1.7 TC at f9 and 1/800th, ISO 200

Sanderling Ballet

Or maybe he is just stretching.  If these are not Sanderlings, I apologize, I am still learning to identify birds.  These little guys are fast, skittering all over the place and stopping for a quick peck in the puddles.

Nikon D200, 70 - 200mm lens with 1.7 teleconverter 

top image at f4.8 and 1/2000th with a -.67 exposure compensation, ISO 200

bottom image f9 at 1/750th, no exposure compensation, ISO 200

Staying With the Bird Theme

I think these birds are Marbled Godwits.  What a great name!  I spent an hour or so one cold morning recently photographing the shorebirds out on East Beach with my D200 and  70 - 200mm VR lens with a 1.7 teleconverter.  I am SO bad at panning.  It could be my technique, my lack of upper body strength, or the focusing mode the camera was in.  Many of my shots where the birds aren't flying are not sharp either.  But, birds are not a subject I shoot very often and I haven't attempted to do so in over a year, so I am out of practice. And I need to find a way to stabilize myself and not slowly sink into the sand (I seriously considered laying down but didn't think Mike would let me back in the car). Even though these shots aren't great, I enjoyed watching all the different birds there that morning and shorebirds are some of the easier birds to get relatively close to, so I will try again. 

Wakeup Call

OK you guys, nap time is OVER!

Shot recently while on East Beach in Galveston.

Nikon D200, 70 - 200mm lens at f6.3 and 1/1600th with a -.67 exposure compensation,

ISO 200

All Together Now...

While looking through some old folders I found this shot I had never processed.  It was taken on the Galveston side while heading out on the ferry to Bolivar Penninsula in July 2008.  I remember being impressed that all the birds except one on the left seemed to have spread themselves out in a perfect formation, almost like they are about to give a performance.  It was taken a little after 9 am and so not in the best light, but still worth a shutter click to me.

Nikon D200, 70 - 200mm lens at f8 and 1/1000th with a -1/3 exposure compensation,

ISO 100

Stations of the Cross

This series of crosses is on St. Joseph's Catholic Church.  I did not darken the area around the one cross, it seems to have the background missing and replaced with screen.  When editing it I knew I wanted to try a black and white conversion of some kind and thought I would post some of the variations I tried.  I thought it was really interesting how different the image looks and how much the bricks change by choosing certain filters in the black and white adjustment layer drop down menu.  The top image is the basic edit, the second image is the Photoshop black and white adjustment layer with the high contrast blue filter, the third image is the PS layer with the green filter chosen, the 4th image is very close with no filter chosen but a curves layer added for more contrast and the final image is a Pioneer Woman Vintage action. On all of the black and white versions I also ran a Kubota Black and White Modern action that adds a little warmth to the cool tones of a regular black and white converion. I prefer the High Contrast Blue and the Vintage versions the most.  I did try replacing the fence with a copy of the blank top section of bricks, but decided I like the fence there.  However, in the lower right I removed an airconditioner behind the fence.  So do you have a preference?

Nikon D700, 70 - 200mm lens at f4.8 and 1/250th, ISO 200