The World Around Us… (post 8)

A walk in the woods (December 2019)

Earlier this year, I was visiting my cousin’s farm in hopes of taking a few pictures of her animals and my grandson playing with them. As it turned out the goats were a bit frisky and the baby calf was just a bit too intimating for him. My cousin had an idea and suggested we take a walk on a path into the woods where she had found an abandon tractor that she thought might be an interesting shot.

A short walk later and my cousin was right, a slightly used (well, maybe more than slightly) tractor asking to have its picture taken. The sunlight coming down via the trees made for an interesting look, but I wanted to increase the overall exposure of the scene. My cousin was willing to help and became my portable off camera strobe light stand.

The final shot shown below has me standing about 10 feet from the left front tire and my cousin holding the strobe about 6 feet from the left rear tire (out of view) and about 3 feet higher than the tractor.

For Sale - Call BR-555

Camera settings:

Camera: Canon 5D Mark IV

Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 usm

Settings: ISO400, f/8, 1/100, 24mm

Tripod used: No.

Remote Flash: Held Camera Right.

I look forward to my next “Walk in the Woods”

Take care & smile before you hear the click.

Comments & Questions are always welcome.

The World Around Us… (post 7)

Fall on the Mohawk Trail – (aka Route 2, Massachusetts) – November 2019

One day after our grandson’s soccer game Romi and I took a ride out on Route 2, the road we took many times out to daughter number five’s college in North Adams (MCLA). It really doesn’t matter what time of year you take this ride, as it will always offer up a scenic view, however the fall, in my opinion is the best.

Your drive is a slow ride through the various small towns that offer many knickknacks and souvenir stores. There also farm stands and one of the farm stands we stop at is Hager's Farm, where we always buy 3 to 4 loaves of freshly baked (world famous) Cranberry Eggnog bread.

There are many photography-worthy stops along this road and to mention just a few: Shelburne Falls, The Bridge of Flowers, the French King Bridge, and of course the Hairpin turn as you are entering North Adams.

On this day, Romi and I pulled over at the Eastern Summit overview as the view was calling us to stop. For a late fall day, the weather was beautiful and being the only ones at the stop, we took our time soaking up the sun and enjoying the view.

Eastern Summit overview

Camera settings:

Camera: Canon 5D Mark IV

Lens: Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 usm

Settings: ISO200, f/11, 1/200, 40mm

Tripod used: No

Take care & smile before you hear the click.

Comments & Questions are always welcome.

The World Around Us… (post 6)

Back to the Great Smokey Mountains – “Go this way” November 2019

It’s that time of year again: we lose the warmth, the days grow shorter, summer has turned to fall, and fall is quickly turning to winter. I also use it as a time to look back on pictures I’ve taken and remember the fun I had taking them. And as its the week of Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving to all.

The picture below was captured during the fall of October 2018 while I was on a photography trip in the Great Smokey Mountains. One of my assignments for this day was to minimize the scene but still leave room to wonder what was going on around you and the picture.

As I was walking along a brook that was flowing into a larger river there was one rock that seem to say “go this way,” and although the brook was much wider, and there was open space around me I focused on this rock for my shot. Using a 70-200 zoom lens and with the settings listed below allowed me to focus in close and obtain my objective.

Go This Way

Camera settings:

Camera: Canon 5D Mark IV

Lens: EF70-200mm, f/2.8L Macro USM II

Settings: ISO100, f/16, 1/6, 200mm

Tripod used: Yes

Take care & smile before you hear the click.

Comments & Questions are always welcome.