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Daily Photos, 2011

“There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.” Ansel Adams
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The Grand Canyon, Ansel style<br /> <br /> If I may be so bold as to try to imitate "the Master"... This is a three image HDR, converted to B&W with the contrast boosted.
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The Grand Canyon, Ansel style

If I may be so bold as to try to imitate "the Master"... This is a three image HDR, converted to B&W with the contrast boosted.

HDRGrand CanyonAZAmericansouthwestBW

  • 2/15/2011<br /> Last sun<br /> <br /> “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Abraham Lincoln
  • 2/14/2011<br /> I hope you receive that card from someone special today!
  • 2/12/2011<br /> “What is elegance? Soap and water!” <br /> Cecil Beaton (English Photographer and Fashion designer, 1904-1980)<br /> <br /> iPhone 3G
  • 2/11/2011<br /> Driving into work Thursday morning, I happened upon this tractor trailer on the side of the road. It bore an unusual... dent?... in it's midsection, as if a giant had sat upon it. Curiosity got the better of me and I pulled over and approached the driver, who was standing nearby, just staring at the truck.<br /> <br /> Apparently, just minutes before I came by, a support under the trailer gave way and it collapsed in it's tracks. That's how he explained it to me.<br /> <br /> I started snapping and a few minutes later a police car pulled up.<br /> <br /> Police Officer: "So, what do we have here?"<br /> Truck driver: " A bad day."<br /> Police Officer: "And what, er, do we, er, do about this sort of thing?"<br /> Truck driver: "Call a tow truck and pray."<br /> <br /> Some days are just worse than others.
  • 2/10/2011<br /> Remembering another time... last May to be exact. But then again:<br /> <br /> “The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be” Marcel Pagnol<br /> <br /> Today, (and this winter), are not so bad.
  • 2/9/2011<br /> “All that we see or seem, is but a dream within a dream” Edgar Allan Poe
  • Pride and Joy<br /> <br /> 2/7/2011<br /> <br /> Claire received her M.Ed. degree on Saturday. The graduates were invited to turn and thank their family and friends who supported them during their studies.<br /> <br /> Her joy, our pride.
  • 2/8/2011<br /> <br /> We came upon this enormous old tree (which I think is an oak) on Saturday. It was striking due to it's size, age and the way it seemed to reach into the white sky forever. Contrast boosted slightly.<br /> <br /> “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Abraham Lincoln
  • Winter's respite<br /> 2/5/2011<br /> <br /> This is one of my favorite "on the way to work" stops to make for a photo opportunity. It never fails to deliver, in every season.
  • “Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe <br /> <br /> 2/6/2011
  • Note to self: This is not an easy shot<br /> 2/3/2011<br /> <br /> I've seen and admired many dripping icicle shots from my fellow Smuggers and yesterday, with freezing rain falling all around us, I thought, why not? It had to be a simple matter of selecting an interesting, drippy icicle, aiming a fast lens, shooting in continuous mode at a fast shutter speed, and one of those clicks would capture the perfect droplet, suspended crisply as it waved goodbye to it's Mom.<br /> <br /> Not quite. Even at my D90's fast continuous mode, I was getting plenty of shots of the pre-release portion of the drip. But because the drop, once it breaks free, evidently leaves the icicle at the speed of light (!), it was difficult to catch within the frame. It was also hard to get that darn drop really sharp. I wish this one was a bit sharper.<br /> <br /> But here it is, and I will never underestimate the effort required to make a successful image of a drop of water again!<br /> <br /> Thanks for all the comments on yesterday"s "machine takeover" image. Many of you asked why the wipers were up in the air. By standing them up before a snow or ice storm hits, the wipers don't get frozen to the windshield. So it's easier to clear the car and get moving after the storm. And with the second coming of the Ice Age, we're looking for all the help we can get! Thanks again.
  • “There is neither heaven nor earth, only snow, falling incessantly”<br /> 2/4/2011<br /> <br /> Thanks for all the comments on yesterday's icicle image, and especially agilitypics' great suggestion!
  • 2/2/2011<br /> While the humans were contending with many feet of snow, the machines began to communicate silently. They saw the opportunity to carry out their plans...
  • Condors in the Canyon<br /> <br /> There are only 77 Condors in all of AZ and UT. These two magnificent creatures had been resting for a time on stone outcroppings in the Grand Canyon, (here's a shot: <a href="http://www.edspadoni.com/Photography/The-Great-American-Southwest/15384211_vL5AB#1029527750_Mmd5G-A-LB">http://www.edspadoni.com/Photography/The-Great-American-Southwest/15384211_vL5AB#1029527750_Mmd5G-A-LB</a>), before they decided to take wing. I shot this in shutter priority mode at 1/400 sec, f5.3 and panned. Cropped and sharpened slightly in PP.
  • Through and through<br /> 1/29/2011<br /> Through the ice, through the screen, through the window, and through the lens of an iPhone, the beauty of this day still shines.
  • Caught in the Act!<br /> <br /> This man and his dog were enjoying a break at an overlook in Grand Canyon Village; he was reading and his pal was people-watching. I thought it made for an interesting shot, but just as I was about to hit the shutter, the man's peripheral vision must have registered "Paparazi!" and I was discovered.<br /> <br /> He didn't seem to mind, and the dog never batted an eye.<br /> <br /> He's probably used to it.
  • Grand Canyon Panorama<br /> <br /> Five images stitched together. Best viewed X+.
  • 2/21/2011<br /> Faithful companion.
  • The Grand Canyon, Ansel style<br /> <br /> If I may be so bold as to try to imitate "the Master"... This is a three image HDR, converted to B&W with the contrast boosted.
  • There are so many words that come to mind upon seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time: immense, magnificent, awe-inspiring, incredible.<br /> <br /> But I think the word that will stay with me the longest is humbling.<br /> <br /> Best viewed X+

  • Curtis Budden

    on January 28, 2011

    I'm sorry I missed this one yesterday, Ed. It's a wonderful composition, and you've captured some terrific light and a great range of tones.

  • Andrea Kaus (ChaosGraphics)

    on January 28, 2011

    Outstanding shot!

  • Amanda McPhee

    on January 28, 2011

    How wonderful in every way.

  • nelli

    on January 28, 2011

    Gorgeous!

  • sharkbayte

    on January 28, 2011

    super capture!!

  • whitetree

    on January 28, 2011

    Looks like a scene of old western movie. really nice B & W.

  • fotoeffects

    on January 28, 2011

    Absolutely wonderfully processed...just beautiful!

  • Refslund

    on January 28, 2011

    Not AA, but a gorgeous picture with B/W tones of a master

  • Vandana Raman

    on January 28, 2011

    lovely shot ! love your AZ shots

  • Art in Photography

    on January 28, 2011

    Beautiful. Love the misty areas.

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