Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Corn Field Sunset


Corn Field Sunset
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*
Once again I've been just too darn busy to write anything serious lately despite plenty of interesting subjects.

Jack Layton's passing, Hurricane Irene or the recent storm right here in Ontario that spawned tornadoes and lit up the sky better than any Canada Day fireworks display.

But as always I usually have my camera with me when I'm out and about and on this particular night I was driving home from the trailer and watching the sky. The place where I thought I'd be able to get some nice sunset photos didn't really provide anything special.

However, as I was driving past this corn field the clouds in the distance were an amazing orange colour and I thought the tall corn in the foreground might make for an interesting silhouette against the sky. I thought the final result was worth sharing with you.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Lightning Strikes Twice


Lightning Strikes Twice
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*
I have been trying for a very long time to get some photos of lightning that don't suck. It finally happened for me on Saturday night.

Sitting by the campfire at Presqu'ile Park along Lake Ontario we watched during dusk as the storm rolled down the lake. Although we could see lightning, it was too far away to photograph.

Finally the storm got a bit closer and the group decided to head for our respective trailers and call it a night.

My night was just beginning as I set up shop under the awning with my trusty tripod and Nikon. Just as I was ready to start shooting, the lightning had moved off. I figured I had missed my chance.

I decided to change my focus to the light rays coming down from the cloud covered full moon. Some of those shots turned out pretty good but I was till disappointed I didn't get my elusive storm photos.

All of a sudden there was a flash in front of me and a crack of thunder. Holy crap, another storm front was moving in and I had another chance. I didn't waste the opportunity.

I managed to get four or five impressive shots of the lightning as it struck the lake and near the lake shore. I was a very happy photographer.

In this particular image you can see the lightning has broken into two separate strikes from one bolt.

On a night when I figured my camera would stay in the car, an unexpected opportunity popped up and I was glad I had the tools handy to get the job done.

Tuesday, August 09, 2011

Presqu'ile Lighthouse


Presqu'ile Lighthouse
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*
With all the bad stuff happening in the world right now, it's nice to be able to get away for a bit and escape the madness.

Since I'm not one to bury my head in the sand, it's much easier to grab my camera and head out and forget mine and the world's troubles by getting creative.

Here is another recent photo I shot of the Presqu'ile Provincial Park Lighthouse at the point of the peninsula where Lake Ontario meets Brighton Bay. I liked the natural framing of the trees and the cool looking clouds which I thought helped to make the image more interesting.

I also thought the image looked better in black and white.

Monday, August 08, 2011

Milky Way Lake


Milky Way Lake
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*
I'm enjoying some time away from work right now and one of the things I don't have time for when I'm working is my photo hobby.

So I'm trying out some different things with my new Nikon D7000. One of the reasons I bought the new camera was for it's ability to take better long exposure photos and shoot images at higher ISO's with less noise. Those of you who dabble in photography will know what I mean. It's a pretty big deal.

Anyway, I had a clear night at the trailer next to Lake Ontario the other night so I popped my camera onto a tripod and started experimenting and this was one of the resulting images.

In the photo you can see the lake and the orange / yellow glow of the lights of Rochester, New York reflecting off the clouds. You can also see the Milky Way and a whole pile of stars. At the top of the image you can also see two lines crossing in the night sky. Those are actually satellites that are orbiting the earth that happened to be going by.

It's experimenting like this that leads to interesting results and what I enjoy about my photography hobby.