Lunar Eclipse 2010

Lunar Eclipse 2010.jpg, originally uploaded by Rob Weiher.

It had been raining off and on the last few days and was cloudy all day but as the lunar eclipse started the clouds thinned out and at times opened up enough to get a few shots.

The hardest part was that the moon was almost directly overhead so it was a bit of a challenge getting the tripod set up for that angle. I ended up having to extend one leg longer than the others and brace the tripod so it wouldn't fall backwards. It was a pain in the neck both literally and figuratively.

I have some other shots of it in different stages and will post some of them up later.

Rain can be fun

_MG_5595.jpg, originally uploaded by Rob Weiher.

Well...if you can stay dry anyway. I wasn't so fortunate this evening while out looking for reflection goodness. Having lived most of my life in Washington state I was fully aware of the fact that that little break in the storm was going to be a short one. I pushed my luck and got caught out in the open when a sudden outburst of rain hit. Luckily I made it to a doorway before the camera got very wet. I had a trash bag in my camera bag so was able to keep my gear dry on the several block walk back to the car.

While sitting in the car drying off my camera I looked to my left out the window and liked how the raindrops on my side mirror lit up when cars drove by. I waited until the next car drove up and snapped this. I converted to black and white in post for effect.

Metallic abstract

Metallic abstract, originally uploaded by Rob Weiher.

I haven't really been all that inspired to take photos lately but I have been having fun with looking through my old images and cataloging them. It would probably go faster if I didn't stop to play on occasion.

This is a side panel on a silver 1960's Corvette.

One from the archive

Marina Beach, originally uploaded by Rob Weiher.

As I slowly dig through my 365 and this years archive and catalog photos I find a few that strike me that weren't my photo of the day. Since I'm now doing post work I see things a bit differently now.

During my 365 I posted the photo I thought was the closest match to my vision and would need the least amount, if any, post work done. Since my entire goal was to get as good as possible with my camera and not rely at all on Photoshop this was a challenge at first but it got better as time went on. After the project was over I still employ the same strategy but use Photoshop to mostly just enhance the final image. If I have to spend more than 5 minutes on a photo it's not worth my time and I tend to move on.

Out of focus archway lights

Out of focus archway lights, originally uploaded by Rob Weiher.

I really do enjoy seeing what I can come up with by just playing with the focus ring on my lens. Since it was dark out and I needed to lower my shutter speed as slow as I could without movement, which is about 1/20 second with my 50mm lens, doing out of focus work seems ideal.

Untitled

Untitled, originally uploaded by Rob Weiher.

Went for a walk last Saturday in the late afternoon looking specifically for light reflections in downtown Carmel-by-the-Sea. I don't find the town all that photo inspiring during the day as it's all stores and art galleries but with the Christmas lights it is all lit up at night and nice for reflections.

I think for me the hardest part of photographing reflections is getting the right angle and keeping myself out of the photograph if I'm aiming at windows. Nothing more annoying then looking through a bunch of photos and seeing my head, arm or whole body in the reflection when I thought I was being careful to get the right angle.

Mirror Image

mirror image, originally uploaded by Rob Weiher.