At The Park Today

I stopped at the park for a little while on the way home today to capture the most beautiful day with a beautiful sky...full of amazing clouds!

I started with some HDR shots with my Nikon 18-200mm VR.

WHen I was here I felt like I was walking throuhg a Fairy Tale!







And then I switched to my Nikon 105mm f/2.8 AF-S Micro Lens to give it a run for it's money!

I'm trying to get the hang of shooting REALLY close with the lens to get that really abstract-y look for flower photography.

The hardest part was focusing on the flowers when the wind kept blowing (Grrrrrrrrr!) AND I was using a tripod! So many were sent to the recycle bin when I got home but these were the ones that I kept that I loved!!

The ones that appealed to me most today were the very abstract flower shots below. I just feel like they would make great abstract art pieces to hang on the wall.







A little more realistic macros for you:





What a beautiful day to be out and about! I need to go back though and keep practiing and practicing these abstract macros. The focus is the hardest part!

Practice Makes Perfect!

Today I got some more practice on my portrait photography with my friend Mary's niece and nephew at the park. The shoot started out slow while the kids warmed up to me but I think by the end of the session I got some good shots that the family will love.

Now the hard work is just getting through all of the editing....my worst nightmare...it's just piling up more and more!

Near Death Experience

At the end of the work day I left the office (I drove my husband's car to work today...) and I traveled one minute down the highway that my office is on. I entered the on-ramp for Route 287 (the major highway I travel on only for only two exits...less than 2 minutes worth).

The on-ramp has 2 lanes that enter onto the highway and I was in the right lane. I barely got onto the highway and I noticed the car in the left lane swerving into my lane....I laid on the horn and I swerved to the right to avoid them hitting me. As I did my car started swerving left and then right and spinning out of control as I tried to steady the car. Somehow I avoided spinning into the 3 lanes of traffic traveling at 65-70 miles per hour on this highway. Somehow I stayed on the portion of the road that leads off the on-ramp.

I ended up in a 180 degree circle facing the cement barrier to my right that is on the shoulder and keeps you from falling off this elevated part of the highway. I was safe but in shock for one second until I looked out my passenger-side window and saw a little red car and a BMW coming onto the highway from the on-ramp coming straight towards my passenger-side door.

By the grace of God and some kind of 'pure luck' the cars coming towards me were able to stop without hitting me. I was able to reverse quickly without going into oncoming traffic and get my car facing the right way.

I was shaking and could hardly breathe (all-out hyperventilating) and as soon as I was facing the right way I pulled over on the shoulder of the highway. Would you believe that the person who swerved into my lane and the people behind me never stopped to see if I was okay? As a matter of fact the people who were behind me drove past me and gave me dirty looks!! And none of this was my fault!

I got off the highway and drove down the road but I was crying and shaking so badly I had to sit on the side of the road for at least 20-25 minutes until I calmed down a bit.

After I felt better I looked out the passenger window to see the most heavenly sky....So what did I do? I got myself together and I picked my camera bag up off the floor where it went flying (ouch! don't worry it was unharmed) and I took a ton of shots of this heavenly sky before me.

I'm still not over what happened to me...I had time to see my life pass before my eyes and I can still remember every moment of what happened to me and I still can feel what it felt like. I think it will take a while to get over this but I have to travel these roads 5 days a week so I will HAVE TO get over this quickly.

Here is my heavenly sky after my 'near death experience' today:

Can't Wait for Fall

Getting excited for fall...When I edited this shot it made me very excited to capture fall in it's full glory!

Today's Subject: Neshanic Station, New Jersey

Visited Neshanic Station, NJ today with my sister. It's a beautiful area not too far from where I live. Lots of barns, silos, farms, bridges...everything I love to photograph.

Some favs from today...

This is a lenticular truss bridge in Neshanic Station. It was built in 1896 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company that was located in East Berlin, Connecticut. This bridge is still in use for vehicular traffic. It was recently renovated and is a beautiful sight to see.

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Found a random soy bean field tucked away...love this wide angle shot complete with a lovely barn & silo:

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Also decided to get really low for some shots today:

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To view my landscapes gallery click here.

To view my bridge gallery click here.

Photo Shoot With Two Little Friends

Today I did a photoshoot of my friend Mary's 2 children. I've known Mary since grammar school and I asked her to let me know when she had some free time to do a photoshoot of her 2 children Bobby & Kaylee.

We started at the lake and then it took them a little time to warm up to posing, etc. but once we switched to a different location at the park things took a turn for the best. I took a few hundred photos and when I looked at home there were a little over 100 quality shots. Since many look very similar I'll go through them and pick the best of each.

The best part of the day was when a rainbow appeared as the sun was setting. Bobby noticed it and I quickly laid in the grass and told them to look up at the rainbow holding hands. It was a great way to end the photoshoot.

Because the sun was setting behind the trees the photo came out really dark but I liked it that way. I lightened my favorite of the rainbow shots a bit and I like that it is a little shadowey in the shot.

I'll be working on the series for a while since there are so many quality shots but I'll share the rainbow shot I edited below.

After Waiting 4 Months...I Finally Got It! The New Lens Has Arrived! 18-200VR - Yee Hah!

The lens I wanted (AF Zoom Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX VRII) has been out of stock at B&H Photo since I got my Nikon D80 DSLR back in May. After a tip I received I ordered it this past Saturday at Best Buy with a price match (of all places!). If I had known about the price match I would have gone there and ordered it back in May!

I refused to buy it anywhere but B&H Photo because everyone else was charging way more. I had an 18-135 which worked well so I figured I would be patient and get the price I really wanted at B&H Photo.

I never even thought of Best Buy's price match policy! Not only did they match the price but they taken an addition % off to BEAT the competitor's price. The ordered it for me and shipped it free to my home! Got it within a few days.

Anyway, here's what she looks like (what a beauty!):



Check out Ken Rockwells review of this lens HERE.

Ken Rockwell also talks about how to get one HERE. I guess I'm not the only one having a hard time getting one....makes me think twice about not ordering all 5 that Best Buy had in stock and selling them for a profit on ebay! :(

You can also check out DP Review's forums to read more about how other's felt about the lens.

First shot with the new lens was my best friend, Lucas:



Then I went outside and did some test shots to see the lens zoomed out at 18mm and zommed in at 200mm with my best model, Lucas (of course).

At 18mm:



At 200mm:



At 18mm:



At 200mm:



I can't wait for work to end tomorrow so I can go out after work and get some shots with the new lens!

"Watch this space" as they say!