Assignment 16 Recap

I was not prepared for such a big response to the assignment asking for your best photos over the last twelve months.  Twenty-six contributors and even more links as some people used more than one post to share their best.  Some new faces among the list, too.

As I indicated, the meaning of Best was left to you, the photographers and bloggers, to determine.  There is no right or wrong to your interpretation.  However, after viewing them all, the word “best” has many more meanings to me.  Thank you all for taking the time to share Your Best!

As I have done in the past, I will present them to you in the order they were shared on the original post.  If more than one link, I will use the time the first link was shared. Click on the links to visit each person’s blog or other photo sharing site. Also, please, read the last couple of paragraphs.

Sybil of the Eastern Passage Passage blog was first on the scene with a collection of very artistic scenes.  Please, do yourself a favor and click on the first photo which opens up a large gallery view of her photos where you can admire them better.

Ted Griffith presented a set of stunningly beautiful flower photos which I predicted would be a hit among my readers.  It was! Notice the attention to focus, composition and detail.  Excellent, Ted!

Kathy of Lake Superior Spirit is the first of our multi-posters.  Not only does Kathy share her wonderful photography with us, the stories she weaves around them continually entertain and makes us think.  Not to mention her creative titles like Will the seal roll off the rock and into the sea? and Deeper and wider seeing in 2011.

Holly of Photo by Holly blog shows us how fast someone can learn photography from capturing the image to using software to enhance them to create art in the digital age.  Fantastic set of photos and commentary on each one.

Dawn from Sahlah, Photos and Thoughts blog proves once again that it is not the equipment but the photographer’s vision and use of the camera with them that creates good photographs. I am happy she took up the challenge of this assignment by way of Kathy’s blog. Besides, anyone who names a cat after a hockey player is okay in my book!

Teresita (aka ThePetalPusher) of the The Incredible Lightness of Seeing blog loves to capture the mood of a scene and is a very good student of the light.

Barbara of The Aspiring Photographer blog decided Favorites was better than Best as she shares with us a fine set of photos from her photographic journey of the last year.

Nye who is my most avid commenter here at Views Infinitum shares her best which are also her favorites in several categories.  I was happy to see she included her favorite photo of her daughter who is growing up before our eyes.

For someone who had a lot of health challenges over the last year, KD of A Half Hour A Day blog found solace in her photography.  She has a knack of capturing those special little moments in her and her family’s lives. Hope 2012 sees you back in the pink, KD!

Dawn King shares with us a variety of photos from her travels and life at home over the past year.  Not to mention she shares a life with the Farrah Fawcett of the dog world.  🙂

Scott Bishop of Life Normal blog shares a wonderful set of photos going from a street photo to the majestic beauty of Nepal’s mighty mountains. Would you like to climb Mount Everest (the real one not the Disney version)? Scott has a series of photos from his adventures there.

Now we come to Karen of Karma’s When I Feel Like It Blog who discovered she had a lot to share with us and it would take five posts (listed below) to do it.  I did say as many as one wants. 😀  Karen took to her dSLR camera like a kid to a new bike and learned how to use it over this time period.  It was a challenge at times for her (as it is for all of us) and she has done a wonderful job.

Best of, Part 1, Best of, Part 2, Best of, Part 3, Best of, Part 4, and Best of, Part 5.

Carol of Wanderings of an Elusive Mind blog shares photos of various subjects.  What I like about these photos was how she used different angles to tell us stories through her photographs. Using a variety of angles creates high impact photos.

Carsten of Just Another………blog blog tells us the best photos he selected we might have seen before.  Then I must apologize to him as most of these are new to me and they are very good indeed!  Especially the last one.

Guess who’s next?  Yep, tis me.  Of course, I had to share with you my best Disney photos from the past year.  Had a lot of neat opportunities from the Disney Dream cruise to spending a few days with other fan(atic) Disney photographers.  I tried to get another post up but ran out of time and will share that one towards the end of December, 2011.

Debbie of My Life in CNY blog shows us her award winning photography from the past year.  While only one of the photos she shows us won an award, they all look capable of doing so to me!  Great job!

It is a pleasure to introduce you to my friend, Howie, who is a retired policeman from New Jersey and is able to fully enjoy his hobby of wildlife photography by visiting a nearby National Wildlife refuge almost daily.  I truly envy him for this. Howie is the one I visited earlier this year.  He is a great guide and a good friend. He used a flickr set to share his photos and I hope you will take the time to see his wonderful outdoor photography.

Isa of Isa’s Threads of Life blog had a difficult time like some others in choosing her best photos to share.  How nice it was she presented us with photos not previously published and a lovely array they are, Isa!  Thank you!

Tracy (who keeps me on my toes around here) of Milkay Photography blog presents us with a set of photos and images showing us her skills and breadth of talent as a photographer.  However, she did not show the one photo I wanted.  Her in that red batching suit. 😉

Truel’s asked me if the photos could be from previously published blog posts.  I told him that was fine as many of my blog photos are what I consider my best.  I am so glad he asked.  His photos are accompanied by links to the posts where he first shared them.  A chronicle of his year in pictures.  Don’t miss his trip to Australia.

I have known Michael Summers for a few years now but it was not until last month at Walt Disney World during Pixelmania that we finally got to meet face to face. I have admired his vintage train photography for a long time.  So, I was not surprised when a few of you commented on his Google+ post with links to his best photos. Not only is Michael a talented photographer, he is a big Green Bay Packer fan. 🙂

It probably would not come as a surprise that another new comer, Joanie Eddis-Koch, is a fan of Walt Disney World which is how we connected on Google+.  She is also on flickr where she shares with us her best photos from 2011 which include some cool Star Wars characters and other very creative photos.

Karma’s sister, Jennifer, who’s Bread and Putter blog mixes in some technology with a lot of food and VERY good food, too, shares a sunset, her modest dog, a fabulous mouth watering food item and a couple of her favorite guys with us.

Birgitte who still calls her blog, My 2008 blog, knows her photographic self very well.  When she posts a photo(s), the comments almost immediately start mentioning how she has captured the light.  It pleased me then when she choose a set of photos from the past year which highlights this talent of hers.

Gerry of the famous Torch Lake Views blog does not know why she ended up with her batch of best of photos but I am sure glad she did.  While she would not call herself a photographer, she is a very creative person who sees interesting things in front of her camera all the time and shares them with us.  Gerry, don’t ever stop!

By way of Jennifer’s blog, the Modern Wench chimes in with her favorite photo of 2011 and I dare say she might have trumped us all with her single entry.  Thank you for joining in!

In reading and looking over all of these fabulous and I do mean fabulous photos you all choose to share, one thing kept coming to mind…I need to make these assignments tougher! 😀 In that vein, I have a question for you.  I would like to ask you all a favor. I want to know what assignments you would like to do next year. If you have any ideas or something you would like to see us do.  Leave me a comment here or send me an email via my Contact page.

For those of you participating in the Four Seasons assignment, the deadline is December 28, 2011.  To my fellow United States citizens, have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  I will be taking a break the next couple of days and will return with a new View on Monday.  Again, thank you all for being you!

Posted in Assignments | 23 Comments

View 204: Highland Forest Open House

People enjoying the view from green Adirondack chairs near the Skyline Lodge at Highland Forest in Fabius, New York.

People enjoying the view from green Adirondack chairs near the Skyline Lodge at Highland Forest in Fabius, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/125s, f/13, ISO 200, EV 0, 170mm focal length.

Onondaga Country Parks held an open house at Highland Forest in Fabius, New York for people to preview all the winter activities they can enjoy in the park last weekend.  The day was sunny and breezy which made it hard to think of the snow and cold I shared with you the last time I visited Highland Forest. As you can see, autumn colors are practically nil this late into November as the trees have shed their leafs.

Inside the Skyline Lodge, tables were set up for groups presenting nordic skiing, snowshoeing, orienteering and biathlon (an Olympic sport combining cross country skiing and marksmanship).  Outside, people could try some paintball biathlon.

Father helping his daughter with a paintball rifle during the Onondaga Parks Open House at Highland Forest in Fabius, New York.

Father helping his daughter with a paintball rifle during the Onondaga Parks Open House at Highland Forest in Fabius, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/250s, f/8, ISO 200, EV 0, 44mm focal length.

My wife and I enjoyed a much warmer and brighter ride as the Cooperstown Carriage Company, who do the winter sleigh rides at Highland Forest, were giving complimentary wagon rides using their beautiful Haflinger draft horses to pull them.

Cooperstown Carriage Company gave complimentary wagon rides during the Onondaga Parks Open House at Highland Forest in Fabius, New York.

Cooperstown Carriage Company gave complimentary wagon rides during the Onondaga Parks Open House at Highland Forest in Fabius, New York. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/125s, f/8, ISO 1800, EV 0, 36mm focal length.

Back at the Skyline Lodge, we enjoyed some hot ham and potato soup, crackers and cheese.  After which we investigated the Onondaga County Parks tables and learned about snowshoeing and cross country skiing lessons and rentals.  I am also interested in coming back to photograph a few competitions held for winter sports at Highland Forest.

Posted in Weekly View | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Making a Color Splash

The people at MacPhunn who gave us FX Photo Studio for the Mac and iOS devices have Hydrobowlcome out with another useful app called Color Splash Studio.  Color Splash Studio is only for the Mac OS X and is a very specialized app.  For only $1.99 (as of this writing), it is well worth it IF you do not use a photo editor like Aperture 3, Lightroom, Elements or Photoshop.  In other words, if you are happy with iPhoto or similar Mac photo editor, this simple app will give you something iPhoto does not do…selective color.

I showed how selective color is done in Apple’s Aperture 3 earlier this year.  It was quite easy.  Color Splash Studio now makes it just as easy for those who are using iPhoto and wanted to try it. Below, I took a photo of a hydroplane racing at this year’s Hydrobowl in Geneva, New York and quickly created his selective color version (see above for the original photo) using Color Splash Studio.

Selective color using MacPhunn's Color Splash Studio Mac app.

Selective color using MacPhunn's Color Splash Studio Mac app.

Once you select or import a photo into Color Splash Studio, the image comes up de-colorized.  Using a brush which you can set its size (diameter), softness and opacity, you paint in places you want with color. The brush detects edges well and is easy to clean up if it does miss. There are also tools to work with enhancing either the color or de-colored layers.  I added a little color saturation to the boat in this photo.  Click here for a video review of the Color Splash Studio to see it in action.

In conclusion, if you do not have software that does this already on your Mac, for $1.99, you can not go wrong with Color Splash Studio to give your photos a real pop!

Posted in Photography | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Happy Holiday with Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins giving a supercallifragilisticexpialidocious smile in Epcot's United Kingdom pavilion in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

Mary Poppins in Walt Disney World.

Mary Poppins being supercallifragilisticexpialidocious in Epcot’s World Showcase United Kingdom pavilion at Walt Disney World.

Mary’s hat posed a bit of a problem as it shaded her face. I used my camera’s popup flash to light up her face and add catchlights to her eyes.

Posted in People, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Best of 2011 – Disney

Wow!  You all are going gangbusters on the Best of 2011 Assignment with over 20 submissions so far. There is still time to join in.

Like some have done, I will be splitting up mine into two posts.  This one will feature my Disney photos. I encourage you to follow the links added for more photos and details.

I visited Walt Disney World twice this year and went on a Christening Cruise of the Disney Dream cruise ship.  I took thousands of photos and it was a chore to whittle them down to a select few.  The first set is from January and not great technical photos. Instead, I choose them for what they mean to me. I’ll explain below each photo.

Introduction of the "The Magic, The Memories and You!" castle projection show during the "Let the Memories Begin" press event in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World on Tuesday, January 18, 2011.

Introduction of the "The Magic, The Memories and You!" castle projection show during the "Let the Memories Begin" press event in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World on Tuesday, January 18, 2011. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/5s, f/4, ISO 6400, EV -0.7, 40mm focal length.

As part of the January trip, I attended the very first presentation of the new The Magic, The Memories and You! show in the Magic Kingdom along with other media.  The show really needs to be seen to be appreciated.  To see the castle used as a giant projection screen mixed with music, photos, animation, video and even the voice of Walt Disney gave me goosebumps.

The Golden Mickeys is one of the Broadway-style shows presented in the Disney Dream's Walt Disney Theatre.

The Golden Mickeys is one of the Broadway-style shows presented in the Disney Dream's Walt Disney Theatre. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/125s, f/4.5, ISO 5600, EV -1.0, 56mm focal length.

As much as I enjoyed exploring the Disney Dream and spending a day at Castaway Cay, Disney’s private island, it was the wonderful Broadway-style shows presented in the 1,340 seat Walt Disney Theatre which was a most pleasant surprise. The talent was even more so than in the parks.  The shows were funny, full of Disney characters and emotional via songs and story.

Photographers Bob Desmond, Matt from Australia and Scott Smith on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom.

Photographers Bob Desmond, Matt from Australia and Scott Smith on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/250s, f/11, ISO 200, EV 0, 28mm focal length.

As much as I loathe the It’s A Small World theme song, I have to admit how right it is. After the Disney Dream cruise, I hosted a photowalk on Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom.  Over the past few years, I have enjoyed the friendship of many Disney loving photographers and none more than Bob Desmond who has done freelance photography for Walt Disney World for over 20 years. Scott Smith is a very talented Orlando flickr photographer who loves to find the Human Element inside Walt Disney World.

The young photographer, Matt, was visiting with his family from Australia. I learned about Matt from his mother who contacted me via the blog I write for AllEars.net called Picture This!  Matt had just gotten his dSLR camera and she hoped I could help him before their trip.  Not only could I help, I could meet them!  In fact, we enjoyed meeting Matt’s family the night before at a restaurant.  Yeah, it really is a small world!

The next set is from my trip last month where I set out to challenge myself to get some photos I have wanted to attempt.

Monorail Blue entering Epcot at night past Spaceship Earth in Walt Disney World.

Monorail Blue entering Epcot at night past Spaceship Earth in Walt Disney World. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/4s, f/5, ISO 3200, EV 0, 82mm focal length, rear-sync flash.

Here I am lighting up Monorail Blue as she quietly moves past Spaceship Earth in Epcot. I had seen others do this kind of shot and pretty much was determined to do it myself.  It took two monorails before this one before I was satisfied.  I will be writing up a blog post about the technical aspect of this photo in the near future.

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) launching into the air during the Flights of Wonder show in Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) launching into the air during the Flights of Wonder show in Disney's Animal Kingdom. Nikon D700/28-300VR, 1/1000s, f/5.6, ISO 3600, EV 0, 300mm focal length.

Catching a bird in flight is never easy.  The Flights of Wonder show at Disney’s Animal Kingdom does help increase the odds as they tell you this Barn Owl would be launching to fly to the back of the theater.  They even pick a great background for the light colored owl.

Pirate skeletons playing a never ending game of chess in the queue for Pirates of the Caribbean attracion in the Magic Kingdom.

Pirate skeletons playing a never ending game of chess in the queue for Pirates of the Caribbean attracion in the Magic Kingdom. Nikon D700/50mm, 1/20s, f/1.8, ISO 6400, EV +0.3.

You have to take the right side queue in Walt Disney World’s version of the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction to see this scene of two skeleton pirates deadlocked in a game of chess.  The lighting is low and yellowish.  To photograph it I used my Nifty-Fifty, the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens, and pushed my camera’s ISO to 6400.  Even then, the shutter speed dipped to 1/20th of a second.  Normally the queue is packed with people but I hit a less busy time just before a Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party so I was not being bumped into by other guests as I took lots of photos. This was my favorite as I accentuated the shadows on the cell walls.

Next week, I will feature my best non-Disney photos. 🙂

Posted in Assignments, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments