Photo of the Day

"Texas in Bloom"
135mm, f11, 1/46, Canon 7D, tripod, processed in Lightroom 3 Beta 2

Yesterday evening, a friend and I went out in the country on our weekly bike ride. What was supposed to be a 20 mile ride ended up being 39 miles. But the route was so beautiful that it made up for the extra pain and suffering. Texas can be amazing in spring.

I went back to some of the more memorable spots along our route and got some photos this evening just as the sun was setting.

Photo of the Day

You probably wouldn't believe me if I told this I took this photo in south Texas...but you're going to have to believe me because that's exactly where I took it.

One of the local parks - which is usually very peaceful and pretty - is just stunning right now. In fact, there's so much green I could almost convince myself I was in Washington!

"Oasis in the Desert"
(sorry TX lovers, I had to say that)
28mm, f3.5, 1/45, Canon 7D, tripod, processed in Lightroom 3 Beta(2)

Photo of the Day

"Birds and Lines"
132mm, f6.7, 1/60, Canon 7D, processed in Lightroom

Well it's been rainy here in San Antonio for the past few days. Since everything looks so gloomy, my photographic opportunities are somewhat limited, but I've still been trying to get out and shoot for a few minutes on my way home from work. Tonight I was driving through a very familiar intersection and noticed the huge flock of grackles and starlings that gathers there every evening to hang out and party on the power lines. I almost didn't stop to get the shot, but reconsidered and took about 10 minutes trying to frame it right.

This photo had barely any color to begin with so I simply processed it in black and white, and decided to focus mainly on contrast and leading lines. I actually think it turned out kind of neat.

Photo of the Day

"Mt. St. Helens Sunset"
44mm, HDR exposure, Canon 7D, processed in Photomatix, Photoshop and Lightroom

Here's another HDR image. I don't know how the color depth will appear on your screen, but hopefully it looks ok.

I'm really enjoying HDR. As you can tell, I'm not the type to go "over the top" with it, but it's an incredibly useful technique regardless of how you like to use it.

Photo of the Day

"Streaming"

85mm, HDR exposure, Canon 7D, processed in Photomatix Pro and Lightroom

This photo may look "beyond real" at first glance. That's because it was created using a special technique known as HDR (high dynamic range) photography. It's my first HDR image processed with a licensed version of Photomatix HDR software, in combination with Lightroom, so even though I have more learning to do I'm officially a happy camper!

If you're interested in the technique and theory behind HDR, this article will do a far better job explaining it than I can. Believe me, I could ramble on and on...

I hope you enjoy the image!

Photo of the Day

"The Mansion"
28mm, f3.5, 1/45, Canon 7D, processed in Lightroom

Finally! A Photo of the Day that wasn't taken over a month ago! This is a shot of one of the big "Ivy Lane" mansions (well, more gate than mansion I guess), in our neighborhood.

Tell me honestly, is this over-processed in your opinion? I experimented with some split toning (contrasting red and green in the highlights and shadows), and fairly heavy vignetting. Maybe it's overdone... What do you think?

Photo of the Day

"My Backyard"
75mm, f5.0, 1/100, Canon 7D, processed in Lightroom

I shot this when I was back home for Christmas. Of course, in the original, everything was intensely green, but for this shot I wanted to focus on the contrast created by the bright light and shadows.

Photo of the Day

109mm, f5.6, 1/200, Canon 7D, processed in Lightroom

This is a shot of beautiful sister Aimee taken a few weeks ago. (I know, I'm cheating again. This isn't a photo shot today...)

I hope it doesn't appear too washed out - one of the downsides of JPEG images is their tendency to appear undersaturated. Depending on your screen calibration, the color might be completely different than I intended. There are my caveats! I hope you enjoy the image.

See you tomorrow!

Photo of the Day

"Alamo Heights Presbyterian Church"
28mm, f3.5, 1/60, Canon 7D, processed in Lightroom