Photo of the Week: Tiger Lilies

OK - this week it actually two photos. I Couldn't resist taking a couple of shots of some Tiger Lilies in our front garden. Click on the images to see the full res version.

Both were enhanced with Adobe PhotoShop Elements 6. I shot them with a Nikon D40x using the RAW format just before sunset.

The first shot was enhanced with the Camera Raw editor to increase the exposure, clarity and vibrance. I love how the colors and the details really "pop"!




The second shot was edited in the full PSE6 editor after a little tweaking with Camera Raw again. I used a light smudge technique to soften the surfaces and borders to create an interesting effect.



Enjoy!

Photo of the Week: A Fine Wine

One of my favorite Chardonnay's.

This was what was left of a bottle from cocktail time on May 21st, 2005 out on the deck.

Ah, I remember it well!

Photo of the Week: Cool House

I was on a recent trip to New Buffalo, MI and we took a drive around the town to check things out. We were driving down a road near the channel to Lake Michigan and I saw this house. The bright blue created an interesting contrast against the grey sky. I just thought it was a cool looking house.

Photo of the Week: New Orleans Neon

This was a neon sign I found inside a great little restaurant in the French Quarter in New Orleans. The name of the place was the Olde N'awlins Cookery, but unfortunately is was damaged by hurricane Katrina and has not reopened. I took the shot in April of 2002 when I was down there for a technical conference. It was one of the better business trips I have taken as the sessions were good and the atmosphere was inviting and fun. I have been to New Orleans a few times, but this one stands out as one of the better trips down there (thanks to Smelly Girl and the whole gang!). I just thought it was a cool image (I'm sure it had nothing to do with the copious amount of alcohol consumed prior to dinner). Click on the image for a larger version.

Photo of the Week: 1223 Pere Marquette

I'm going to try something new, a feature I call Photo of the Week. Once a week I plan to do a post around one of the pictures I've taken over the years with a little history or story behind the shot.

The inaugural shot is one from back in August of 2002 taken near a park in Grand Haven, MI. It's a favorite of mine around railroading featuring the the 2-8-4 Pere Marquette steam engine # 1223.



1223 hauled freight between Toledo and Chicago in the years immediately before and after World War II and was retired in 1951. She's a reminder to me of the bygone days of steam locomotives.

New Toy!

I went out today and bought a new toy/gadget. It's a Nikon D40X digital SLR camera.

A friend of ours was over this weekend and we started talking about photography. He was showing me his Nikon camera and the great pictures it takes. Now I had been contemplating purchasing a new camera for several months, but hadn't focused on it as a top priority. Well after seeing the results of our friends camera and the wonderful conversation around the hobby, I decided there wasn't going to be a better time to take it up myself. So after several hours of research Sunday, I headed out and picked up my new camera.

I have to say that after playing with it for several hours today I am absolutely thrilled with what this camera can do (not that I've even scratched the surface of exploiting all of its rich features).



Of course there's the obligatory flower shot to start things off...






I look forward to experimenting with it more and posting some of my results in this blog and others that I author.

Stay tuned!