Just a few thoughts

Did some household chores today in preparation for the heavy rains that have been predicted, cut the grass and FINALLY cleaned the rain spouts out. That's always a job! Also ran some old paint cans, actually it was a trunk full from 2 basements and a garage, to the dump for recycling.
Tonight I worked on my presentation for my beach workshop, so exciting!!!!! When I came across this image as I was scouring files, and I thought I would like it with a photo frame treatment from OnOne. This is actually two frames combined, so I ran it through twice. It is also a snapart2 processed image.

I'll be heading to the beach Friday, to do some beach shooting, post tourist season. Looking forward to getting some fall marsh grasses and maybe some migrating bird images.

On Facebook tonight I saw that Tim Cooper an instructor for RMSP has just moved into the Alexandria area. I took a workshop with him and Doug Johnson in 2003 in Glacier NP when it was on fire, and they were both great.  Tim makes a terrific addition to the very talented group of professional photographers in our market! Check out his site if you are not familiar with his work.

  

What a fast week!

Can't believe it has been over a week since my last post, but a lot has been happening. Last Monday Jeep was offering 36 months no interest on 2010 models and I have really been thinking I need a photo truck. I had a Jeep Wrangler, before and liked it but the 2 door was just too small, but now they have the 4 door, I was thinking I should go for it! So I did, it took several days to locate one that had the equipment I wanted but I am now the proud owner of a RED Jeep Wrangler 4-door. Its a Tonka Truck! So cute! I have also been busy, ordering fun accessories for it! Well it needed slush mats for all that off- roading I will be doing and Neoprene seats for getting into after sitting on rocks and dirt and stuff....oh and I also got some nice license tag brackets, wheel locks ...and lets see I....I need a spare wheel cover and so much more....No, talk to your self..... "I gotta stop"...the Jeep thing is crazy for all you can do to them. So I picked it up on Thursday night and then had a back molar extracted on Friday. The Jeep sat in the driveway until today, when I got the soft top out and got it ready for a road trip...to the beach.

I have been doing lots of work getting a beach workshop posted on my site and I am soooo excited that I have four participants already..so I think I will fill it up..also working on a day trip to NYC.....see the sidebar for more info on either of these workshops.

Now I have to get that new projector and screen out of the box and get it working.
I also bought the OnOne Photo Frame software program and its pretty neat...have to explore it a little more.  Tonight is my second class of beginner digital photographers at Hopkins so I am looking forward to getting out and having some photo conversations!

We forget sometimes how much we know, because we know it! Does that make sense. Every time I teach beginners, I realize that idea. Any how, I hope to be back in action making some images by the end of this week. Lots to catch up on around here before heading to the beach, did I mention the leaves are falling big time!

The Blog image is one I made in Chesapeake City, and it is processed in Photomatix, Photoshop and run through OnOne for some frames, Then back into PS to finish it off..well it was to quote Tony Sweet "something to do." Seemed like a post card was appropriate. Gotta run now...hope to see you on a workshop soon! New York will be real fun.....

Color.....

Yesterday I made a few shots in Annapolis after I finished my workshop, and before the parking meter ran out! There was a cute little yellow sailboat in the harbor trying to tie off after a morning sail, as they floated in the harbor the yellow of the boat made some beautiful reflections in the water which was reflecting the amazingly blue sky. I could not help but make a few shots...I enjoy the bright colors that the scene presented. All the Yellow Boat shots were processed in Photoshop and then Snapart2.

Annapolis Harbor

Had a great group this morning for the Annapolis Harbor Workshop I conducted for Penn Camera. The reflections were stunning as the light was just perfect. The participants lined up along the dock wall making lots of fun compositions and learning how to use their cameras. I unfortunately did not make any images after we started at 7:00 am and by the time we finished at 11:00 am the sun was so high in the sky the beautiful warm reflections in the harbor were gone.

I did however arrive about a half hour early and made 9 shots, before heading to the harbor to meet the group. I love that blue and orange dawn color combo when there are no clouds in the sky, and there were no clouds in the sky today. Annapolis is the sailing Capitol of the USA and there were lots of masts interrupting the morning sky.....

Looking up!

Well, I have not been doing much shooting lately, as I have been bz! Getting my little rental house ready for sale, and it is looking up! One more day of painting and a final clean up on Monday and I am walking away and hoping the real estate agent gets it done! I am looking forward to the Annapolis Workshop I am conducting tomorrow for Penn Camera. I have 11 folks and its supposed to be a great day weather wise. Good for reflections and sails, ships details, lines and blocks sky and scenic streets ...looking forward to it!

I am also looking forward to the first Ravens Game Day Party Sunday at a dear friends home! She is the absolute biggest Ravens fan I know! and it is so much fun to be in her presence when a game is being played...almost better than the game itself!

The blog image is one I made when I had a day of photo therapy in Chesapeake City. Processed in Photoshop for the textures and border and then run through Poladroid for a fun effect....and as a reminder when you are out shooting don't forget to look up! Oh and my new digital projector and screen has arrived....ready for some beach photo workshops to be on schedule soon!

Photo Therapy

I needed a break so, today I took a day off from cleaning and painting the house I am getting ready to sell, and spent the day in Chesapeake City with Steve Gottlieb learning his thoughts on architectural photography, and some flash techniques, with a few other photographers.

It was just a beautiful day and the most spectacular event of the day was the amazing sky and clouds in the afternoon, so I made a couple shots down by the canal, with the awesome sky as a dominant feature of the images here. All these images were run through Snapart2 Impasto for a painterly look. Tomorrow it's back to painting and cleaning for a couple more days.

Poladroid Fun

http://www.poladroid.net/download.html

Just finished putting together my handout for the class at Penn Camera this Saturday, and I needed a break, so I Googled this fun little software program to convert images into a Polaroid format. I applied a texture overlay, and some script for the final image. This is my wonderful daughter enjoying a great beach day, I was playing with the Lensbaby Composer Lens on the beach last week when I captured this image. Now I am going to cut the grass!

A few more from the beach

Wow what a beautiful day it is in Baltimore today; a great fall breeze temps in the low 70's, no humidity and sunny! Awesome.
Even the fall birds are showing up the Tufted Titmouse and Black-Capped Chickadee were in the yard today. I am cleaning off the desktop of a few stray beach images, getting ready to get back into a work project. I have to finish up my presentation for this Saturday's interactive workshop/presentation on intro to digital photography for Penn Camera.
The opening image was shot the day before Earl was supposed to arrive, the surf was high and the lifeguard chairs were surrounded with water from the high surf. That image and the umbrella image were processed with Alienskin Snapart2 and Photoshop.

The skies at sundown the night before Earl were amazing, and as I saw the color begin to show I grabbed my camera and made a few cloud shots from the back porch, wondering what the storm might bring overnight.

The morning after the storm was gone there was a peaceful dawn. A visit at the beach is always too short! Now I have to get back to work!

Sunrise after Earl

This morning was my last morning at the beach with Rachael. I planned on getting up at 5:30. I have not gotten up all week for a sunrise and I wanted to see what the dawn would bring. The beach had been flattened out by the storm and the high tide line was to the dune fence. Hurricane Earl was a non-event, except for some surf and a little windy rain. I was hoping to see some erosion along the shore in the form of a sand shelf, but there was none. The waves had calmed down and the sky was clearing, so I made some shots until the sun broke the horizon, then headed back to the beach house to clean and pack up.We had a pleasant ride back to Baltimore, where Rachael took off for her flight home to Seattle.

A Little Beach Time

It has been a very busy couple of weeks and I am just having a little quiet time while Rachael, my daughter, has gone to Ocean City to visit some friends. Yesterday it was a beautiful day at the beach and I took a little beach walk with my camera, as the surf was rising. There is a good bit of wind and rain today from Hurricane Earl, but no big issues. The surf has been rough and very high on the beach.
We have had a great visit and tomorrow will be leaving the beach. All too short and fast! These are a few shots from the shore. The first image is processed with Alien Skin Snapart2 Impasto, and the other two  images are Texture Overlays, processed in Photoshop.