Category Archives: Photos

Photography Experiment, Photos, Troy's Blog

Taking the GoPro Snorkeling

April 23, 2016 Troy

Snorkeling has been a great hobby ever since I first tried it in the Cayman Islands in 2001. Ever since then I’ve wanted to capture the beautiful underwater landscapes but the cost to do so has prevented me from using equipment that would provide great photos. Fortunately things have changed over the past 15 years making it more affordable to capture those underwater memories.

Above is a picture taken in 2015 on the beaches of Cozumel using a GoPro Hero 4. It’s not a great shot but one that makes me laugh because the larger fish is a Barracuda and you don’t see a lot of fish in front of it but there are several behind it. When I first started taking underwater photographs I was resigned to using the disposable camera for water. This image below is one of the better shots as most are made up of varying shades of blue making it difficult to see what you are taking the picture of.

After getting tire of so many poor pictures and the challenge in trying to use one of these disposable underwater cameras I decided it was time to get a waterproof case for a digital camera. The results are better, however I’m using cameras purchased in 2004 so the quality is still less than I would like, but given how often I snorkel, purchasing better gear isn’t justified. Below is an image of coral using the older digital camera in a case made specifically for it.

Many of the images from this older digital camera are a little blurry but at least there are more pictures where you can tell what the picture actually is about and colors are more representative of what you actually see. In addition, there isn’t as much of a limitation on the number of photos you can take because they’re digital instead of a roll of film so go ahead and shoot away. Because of this I was able to photograph this school of fish in the picture below and somewhat see what I was photographing through the screen on the back.

All of the following images were captured using the GoPro. These are definitely better – sharper, more accurate colors, and increased detail on larger images. I just set the camera to take a picture every second or two and swim around with the camera. No more trying to set up a shot only to have a wave come by and push me into a different position. The unfortunate side to this is I don’t know what the photographs look like until I get back to my computer because I don’t have an LCD screen on the GoPro Hero 4 as most of the time my smart phone is the screen but that doesn’t seem to like being in the water.

The end result is better underwater photographs, which for the most part, I’m happy with. For such a small camera it really does a good job. Since I don’t live around an ocean I would like to try it in fresh water in lakes and rivers around my house to see how those turn out. Most likely not as colorful as ocean pictures but could be fun and interesting all the same in the right places.

Above is a school of fish taking refuge among the reef. Below is one of the many urchins hiding in the rocks. The little orange specs near the urchin are small fish. These action cameras like the GoPro are definitely fun cameras to use in ways other cameras can’t without expensive add-ons without sacrificing a lot of quality.

Photos, Troy's Blog

Spring is Coming

April 3, 2016 Troy

The snow is quickly melting and warmer temperatures are moving in bringing with it an increased desire to go outside and leave our winter dens in Minnesota. People are smiling more and generally in a better mood. Geese are taking advantage of more open water and making their annual trek north in search of places for food and the perfect nesting grounds.

Ducks are following suite as there are numerous different types that we don’t usually see except for their migrations. As water becomes more accessible there are more and more flying through. Even though the ice is retreating it is very likely these ducks will be dealing with a spring snow storm or two yet.

It’s nice to be able to spend more time outdoors with lighter coats and not be cold after awhile. It won’t be long before the trees will begin showing signs of life confirming winter is in months past. This year spring seems to be a few weeks early which many people seem to agree is perfectly ok. Only a few that are passionate for winter activities are morning the loss of snow and ice.

Even though there appears to be no sign of life in the trees there is one that is taking advantage of this early part of spring – pussy willows. They are quickly extending their buds and preparing to flower. An event many miss as this happens while there may be a few spots of snow and ice still visible. Amazing to me that these plants can grow so quickly with temperatures cooling off to below freezing at night.

As these pussy willows progress you see these bright yellow pollen shedding anthers basking in the brighter sunlight inviting any insect nearby. Watching for a short time reveals a multitude of bugs stirring and consuming this abundance of food that never appeared to be alive a few moments before. Yes, spring has begun and so has the re-appearance of life after surviving in the cold, barren landscape for so many months.

Photos, Troy's Blog

Snowflakes Age

February 13, 2016 Troy

My last post on snowflakes showed some of the attempts at photographing a snowflake. While playing around with the camera and trying to get close ups of snowflakes I realized how interesting light reflecting off of them can be so I wanted to photograph snowflakes in the sunlight and see how sunlight reflecting off of these little crystals would look especially after seeing a fresh snow and all of the little sparkling diamonds and their range of colors in the sunlight.

What I found was a little disappointing but still fascinating. On a recent snowfall I went out about 6 hours after it was done and the sun began to shine. It was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit so still well into the freezing temperatures which should preserve the snow. In this short time most of the snowflakes were no longer in their original shapes but melting together to form larger pieces of ice. There were a few snowflakes here and there that had kept the form in which they landed in tact but not many as you can see in the above photo. The sun is reflecting off of one of these snowflakes only hours old.

Looking at the same bright snowflake from another perspective shows the melting even better and how unique an relatively intact snowflake is shortly after a fresh snowfall. I have never taken time to look closely at a recent snowfall so it was fun to discover how they transform in such a short time.

I tried many different ways to capture single snowflakes and their unique shapes without any success as you can see in the photo above. Still, I find it interesting to see the ridge of larger ice crystals formed by the melting taking place in the sunlight on this juniper tree.

In areas that have had more time in the sunlight the progression was even further as all of the snowflakes had melted into larger pieces of ice which reflected the sunlight beautifully. As they continue to melt further in the warm sunlight they create icicles. Fascinating and beautiful.

Photos, Troy's Blog

Snowflakes

February 7, 2016 Troy 1 Comment

One of my goals for 2016 is to photograph snowflakes so here is my first attempt. It was really interesting to see how unique and beautiful snowflakes can be. While learning how to begin doing this I saw several images of individual snowflakes that were amazing. As snow falls they appear white but when looking at them closely you can see the ice crystals which are more clear. Taking the photographs of snowflakes was not as much fun as I hoped mostly because I was tired and cold and not really wanting to be outside at that time after work but sometimes images aren’t convenient and available on our schedule. Once I finished and was able to view them on the computer it became a lot more fun to see the different shapes, sizes, and formation of these ice crystals. I won’t look at snow the same again.

Since I was photographing these at dusk I needed to take time to work with lower light which meant longer shutter times on the camera and using additional light to get sharper images. After all was complete and I looked at these on the computer I saw how interesting it can be to reflect different colors of light off of these crystals so the time of day worked out well and taught me more than I think I could have learned photographing these at another time of day. With my equipment there isn’t much more I can do to get close ups of snowflakes so next time I want to try different compositions to get interesting pictures of snowflakes. Investing in better equipment isn’t something I want to do at this time.

Photos, Troy's Blog

The Problem with the GoPro Hero 4

March 1, 2015 Troy

The GoPro Here 4 Black comes with so many great options such as burst mode which can take up to 30 pictures in a second which was used in the above photo to capture the firing of this gun along with timelapse, video up to 4K, and even the ability to make a timelapse video without any other software. These are all great features of a camera that takes nice photos and video in places such as under water or in the snow. Most of which I’ve used at one point or another to get some nice pictures previously unavailable to me. With all these options what is the biggest problem with the GoPro Hero 4 for me? The requirement for more storage space. It doesn’t take long to use 30 – 60 gigabytes of storage room and that can fill a hard drive in a very short time if you’re like me and tend to keep as much as you can without deleting files you may never really use just because you may want to use it someday.

Photos, Troy's Blog

My Photography Psychology

February 23, 2015 Troy

Try saying that fast a number of times. It’s enough to drive you crazy (or at least appear crazy). I don’t have any real expertise in psychology other than the one class I took part in in college but I do read books that cause me to think about why I do the things I do which I consider psychology because many of those reasons originate from emotions. This post will cover the last couple of years as I began to focus more on photography and the games we play within ourselves along the way to reach for better results. Reading and talking with others who enjoy photography, the paths tend to be similar.

I’ve occasionally taken pictures for almost 30 years but just to capture a moment and never really to display that moment. The focus became a little more intense with the arrival of my first child which also happened to coincide with the change from film to digital making photography easier and less expensive. At least I think it was less expensive but I never really added together the cost of more batteries, hard drives to store the pictures on, and memory cards for the camera. Still, honing my photography skills was not of much interest other than nice photos of the family. On my first point and shoot camera there was the option of manual settings but I didn’t really understand them and never really wanted to. Auto was the only setting I wanted to use.

After a number of trips on our National Parks Monopoly Board I started to question the quality of the photos I was taking and if I should upgrade. Do I go to an interchangeable lens camera or just a better point and shoot? Watching others struggle with changing lenses and having to carry around all that extra gear was not really appealing to me. Finally I began to see spots on my photographs and realized that there was dirt inside my lens and probably on my sensor. I decided to take the camera apart (you can read that story here…) and ended up breaking one of the electronic boards inside. After getting another camera of the same model for parts I got it back together but still knew it was time for an upgrade. The question was how much of an upgrade.

During the summer of 2012 we took a trip to Yosemite with friends of ours. During our time there we were taking pictures and so were our friends with their new Sony interchangeable lens camera. Later in the year I got to compare the photos and was essentially convinced it was time for that type of camera. Photography was starting to intrigue me more and I was already beginning to play with some of the manual settings and I wanted a camera with more versatility so an upgrade to a Sony Nex went into the budget. I chose this camera because of the overall size. It was smaller than most dSLRs but with many of the same qualities of photos.

During the next year I read a couple of books on photography and started practicing attempting to reach the level of professional photographers but severely failing. What’s the first thing we blame? The quality of the camera of course and I was no exception. As I continued to read more and look at the pictures of much better photographers I paid attention to the equipment they were using and kept thinking that’s what I need to get the pictures I wanted. The only problem was that equipment had a much higher price tag and I really didn’t want to put that much money into my camera equipment. How could I possibly achieve the results I wanted with the camera and lenses I had?

I struggled with this for several months continually looking at my pictures and those from other people thinking my equipment was sub-par and that was the major issue. The other part was of course the need for more knowledge and practice. Now some of the reason for blaming the equipment was I was trying to take amazing pictures of the night sky which are some of the toughest pictures to take and equipment can make a tremendous difference for those types of pictures. There were several times when I thought I made the wrong choice in cameras because no one else was using a Sony Nex for their quality photos.

I had to continually ask myself what I wanted to achieve with my pictures. My answer continued to be to take pictures that I would enjoy and others who looked at them would say “wow” when they saw them. Selling them was never the goal although it would be a confidence booster to sell an image or two. With these answers, upgrading equipment again didn’t make sense so I had to convince myself the equipment wasn’t the problem.

Practice and reading on how to take better landscape photographs kept me occupied and I have now convinced myself that my equipment is just fine for what I want to achieve. Over the past two years I have taken over 12,000 pictures and captured some amazing images in my opinion while learning a tremendous amount. These images are still not the caliber of many professionals but they are getting closer. The equipment has been pushed and I’ve found a number of limits but I’ve become ok with those limits. As long as I know what they are my expectations can be set accordingly no longer setting me up for disappointment.

Amazing photographs are in the person viewing them. There are many of my images that I love but many others don’t think there anything special. It’s because I know everything that went into each image and the experience around it that makes them special for me. I’ve come to believe that great photographs require two parts. The first is know how your equipment works so you can make the necessary adjustments to it quickly if need be. Second is the photographers view of each situation which eventually becomes more important than the first part. A landscape photographer needs to be able to identify a unique situation and have the knowledge of how to photograph it. Some of those unique situations only last for a few seconds and you have to know your equipment thoroughly enough to capture it.

The knowledge of your equipment can be the difference between and amazing picture and a great one. There is still much for me to learn and I’m having a lot of fun doing it. I see more and more opportunities to take a great picture and continue to work towards an amazing image.

Photos, Troy's Blog

Artistic Photos

February 1, 2015 Troy

When going out to take pictures I generally stick to the landscapes and/or wildlife as that is what I enjoy the most but from time to time I see textures or colors together and attempt to capture them. On a recent trip to Blue Mounds State Park I took several artistic pictures from a few places that I saw interesting combinations so here are a few of those.

In the picture above I thought the softness of the water and moss growing on the rocks contrasted nicely with the hardness of the fallen leaves. In addition, the colors contrasted beautifully together. Taking this photograph at another time of day could have given better light to really create a great picture and set off the colors.

While exploring the park I came across a number of places where the rocks were split apart exposing different patterns and colors. This was one of more unique pictures with the pinks of the rock closest to you and more of a green tone which is amplified by the shading of the sunlight as you look through this crevice. Also, I liked the text of the fallen rocks as you peak through this photo.

Another great contrast with one little flower managing to survive in a crack in the stones. Also, the purity of the white flowers against the irregular cracks in this hard, pink mottled stone add to the contrasts that I liked about this image.

Can you feel the warm breeze blowing when looking at this photograph? The grasses in the background are at an angle along with milkweed seeds all angled in the same direction and the bright sunlight illuminating it all. When I look at this picture I keep waiting for some of the seeds to fly off in the wind.

When I saw the amazing reddish fall color in these roses I kept trying to find a way to bring that out. The sun showing through these leaves provided the perfect light to bring these brilliant colors out which contrasted beautifully with the still green grasses surrounding this plant. In addition, the bright sunlight highlights the serrated edges of the rose leaves against the straight blades of the grasses making for a nice texture contrast.

Analyzing my ‘artistic’ photographs there are usually two main elements that catch my attention: contrasting textures and contrasting colors. With that in mind, I wonder how some of these may look as black and white photographs eliminating the contrasting color aspect?

Seeing these two next to each other I really like the black and white version as well. Just focusing on the textures and evident wind makes for an interesting photograph.

With this image the black and white version is not as interesting but still not bad. If I had focused on creating a black and white picture I would have taken it at a different angle to get the white flowers against the solid stone above them allowing the cracks to show through without being covered by the flowers and the flowers could contrast against the stone without the cracks taking away them.

I was amazed at how much I like this photograph in black and white. Removing the color really gives a sense of peering in between these large rocks and shows the shapes and shadows in much more detail. This little addition to this post may be helping me rethink the idea of black and white photographs. I certainly did not plan on doing this with this post. Since I’m having so much fun with it let’s try the top picture.

No, this picture does not benefit from the conversion to black and white. It eliminates the effect the moss has which is one of the things I like about it. Definitely worth trying though.

I won’t even consider trying the rose picture because the purpose of that photograph is the bright red colors. Hopefully this was interesting to look over. It was for me to write it.

Lake Superior, Photos, Troy's Blog

Going to the Beach

January 17, 2015 Troy

Usually when someone thinks of going to the beach in the winter they have images of a white sandy beach in the Caribbean, Hawaii, or the Seychelles. I had a slightly different opportunity to start the New Year. A trip to Northern Minnesota to view the picturesque shore of Lake Superior. It was a beautiful January afternoon with temperatures just above 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius) which felt warm compared to the cold of the previous days and days to follow which where anywhere from 10 to 30 degrees colder with brisk winds. Yes, I did take a quick dip in the lake since this is a beach with open water (if you consider sticking my hand into the water, which was warmer than the air this day, a quick dip) even if the beach is ice covered.

This was the first opportunity I’ve had to take in the North Shore of Minnesota during the winter and it was worth the effort to dress appropriately for a couple of hours in the cold. Surprisingly, I was not the only person on this beach this day. One of my neighbors joined me in climbing ice covered rocks and exploring this winter wonderland. We did encounter other people also taking in this winter wonderland that was missing it’s snow blanket exposing the many colors contained in this rocky shoreline.

Large waves had made their mark here earlier evident by the ice covered rocks and shrubs but on this day Lake Superior provided a relaxing, calm motion in the water giving great opportunities to explore the shoreline. Icicles hang abundantly off of the rock ledges from all of the water running towards the lake before this area became a frozen spectacle.

I could only imagine what it must have been like to be in this area when the waves where large enough to come crashing over the shoreline high enough to coat everything in a thick layer of ice creating these amazing ornaments only visible during winter time. In reading other accounts of the ice sculptures created by Lake Superior I could not fully appreciate what they were writing about. Now those experiences have become clearer and much more exciting to see.

Only a couple of miles to the north there was 6 – 8 inches of snow on the ground and to the south there was an inch or two but here…. snow was missing on this day. For me it was fortunate to be able to have the contrast of the ice and colorful rock all around. I’m sure there is a whole different beauty here when it’s all covered in fresh snow.

Lake Superior always gave away it’s location during these colder days because of the constant cloud cover created by the steam coming off the warmer water. A mile inland could be sunny but there were always clouds on one of the horizons. Fortunately there was just enough wind to blow this cloud cover away from the shore allowing the sky to clear a little overhead during these afternoon hours. It didn’t last long.

For a few minutes while the sun was out I was wishing for a comfortable lawn chair to be able to set up on the beach and just take in the quiet, calm solitude of this incredible landscape. These blue waters just begged to be touched and so I obliged by removing my two layers of gloves and soaking my hands. Sure the water was a little colder than I prefer but it wasn’t unbearable. It helped that I was kept warm by climbing up and around the boulders and trees of this shoreline before testing this water. I don’t recommend wading or swimming during the winter but a quick rinse of the hands is typically harmless.

While hiking through the woods this member of the local wildlife kept posing as if to tell us it was alright to take a picture. We were mere feet away and it just sat there like we were of no concern. Why would I pass up such a situation? I pulled the camera from it’s case and snapped a few photos. After a couple of shots it was time for red squirrel to move on to his daily routine.

After hiking for a few miles we came to this point, looked out over this Great Lake and decided it was time to begin our trek back.

On the return trip we noticed the clouds on the horizon appeared to be bringing snow and we were due back to our camp shortly so making our way to the vehicle became a little more hurried. Once snow covers the roads it can greatly increase the difficulty in traveling so using the dry roads seemed like a good idea. A few miles north we encountered this snow along with colder temperatures and increased wind. Yet, passing by this area again later in the week showed the snow never reached here. The beauty of Lake Superior is such a privilege to be able to take in and winter appears to be no different and with a lot fewer people joining you.

Photos

Enjoying the Fall Eclipses

November 9, 2014 Troy

For Several Areas in the Northern Hemisphere there have been some great astronomical events to watch in the form of eclipses. Late in September we had a lunar eclipse which was also called a blood moon due to the red colorations at the peak of the eclipse. A month later there was a partial solar eclipse. Solar eclipses are a bit more difficult to watch since you shouldn’t look directly at the sun without a heavy filter such as welders masks or you risk hurting your eyes.

There are some people who travel great distances in order to witness these astronomical events. For others, they just wait until one of these events happens and they are in the viewing area which can take many years to occur. I’ve been extremely fortunate to be in the viewing area of a pair of eclipses this year. Even more fortunate than that, they’ve occurred at times which I could take time to go out and watch them without missing important obligations. The first that took place was the blood moon which is when the Earth passes between the sun and the moon blocking all direct light on the moon creating a reddish appearance across the moon.

The night before I decided to go out and witness this lunar eclipse first hand and see if I could get some nice pictures of it in the process. After a little research it was discovered that the full eclipse would happen just before sunrise and just above the horizon. Before this eclipse would end the moon would dip below the horizon eliminating the view of the last part of this eclipse. I set the alarm and went to sleep for a short night. With the noise in my ear I quickly shut off the alarm and questioned if I really wanted to get up at 4 am just to see this eclipse. After laying there for a few minutes I eventually got up, knowing that I could come back to bed after the eclipse, and put the camera and some food in the car for my 10 minute journey to my viewing location. But before I left, the eclipse was already under way so I snapped a picture and took off a little more awake especially after hitting that cold night air.

Arriving at the viewing location, it was quiet and peaceful. Just me and the moon. I set up the camera and started photographing the eclipse and adjusting settings to find which ones worked for the pictures I wanted to achieve and switching lenses on my Sony Nex camera to see which shots each would produce during the rest of the morning. Soon another car drove in and a camera was set up. Hmm… I’m not the only fool to give up the early morning hours of sleep for this. A little re-assuring in this choice. I continued taking pictures throughout the rest of the visible lunar eclipse with a little conversation mixed in between photographers.

The second eclipse of the fall was a solar eclipse where the moon goes between the Earth and the sun blocking the sun. Fortunately this one happened just before sunset again allowing me the opportunity to watch it without missing other important obligations. During the afternoon I was texting back and forth with my wife, after finding out about this eclipse from another co-worker that morning, to see if she wanted to join me on this nice fall day to witness a solar eclipse. I agonized for several hours on where to watch this and take pictures. After finally accepting the options I had, I arrived home and met my wife and daughters to head out to watch this astronomical event.

Viewing a solar eclipse is far more challenging than a lunar eclipse due to the brightness of the sun and the damage you can do to your eyes by looking at the sun. Fortunately I had a dark enough filter for the camera that allowed us to view the eclipsing sun through the camera without looking directly at the sun. Even though you couldn’t see the eclipse directly, the amount of sunlight shining on the surrounds was noticeably decreasing. It’s like wearing sunglasses but you can’t remove them and make your surroundings brighter. And since this was happening with the setting sun, there was a yellow tone over everything more than usual. It reminding me of the sun rays gleaming over the horizon just before it dips below the surface only this time the sun was higher in the sky.

It was nice to be able to get out and enjoy both of these fall eclipses if for no other reason than allowing some time to relax and slow down for a few hours. By the way, I did not end up going back to sleep after the lunar eclipse. It was in the plan and was a great way to motivate me to get up originally but never happened.

To see more Lunar Eclipse Photos go here….

To see more Solar Eclipse Photos go here….

Photos, Troy's Blog

Going to See the Fall Colors

October 26, 2014 Troy

Hopefully you’ve been able to take in some of the amazing fall colors in recent weeks. They seem to be more vibrant this year compared to the last couple of years in many areas. Taking in the fall colors can take many forms from a weekend getaway to a camping trip or for many, a simple walk around a lake or area park. There seems to be one catch with these incredible fall colors this year: you have to take them in quickly because they’re peaking and than just as quickly being blown off the trees or changing to a brown color. It seems as though the colors peak and then two days later have begun to fade.

If you are unable to get out to see the colors or just want to have a reminder of their vibrancy, here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.