Black and White

Didn't get to do anything serious with the Canon and Nikon 14-24 over the weekend but I did like the way this treetop image looked in black and white. I've been looking for scenes that will lend themselves to contrasty images lately so that I could shoot them with a black and white print in mind as an end result. The clouds over the last few days have been cooperating nicely, but the high winds have been a problem for any long exposures. I'm finding that shooting at about f8 is giving me the right sharpness across the image with this lens but there's nothing scientific behind why I think that. More images will follow as I get time.

Flare

I've been following a thread on FM Forums in the Alternate Lens section with photos demonstrating some pretty nice flare some intentional and some induced like the photo i've uploaded today. The NIkon 14-24 G does a pretty nice flare on its own. Beautiful warm day today with lots of wind, so I didn't get to do any extra shooting like I wanted because there was also lots of yard work :)

Maybe tomorrow I can spend some time shooting with this lens to try some other settings. I also want to set it up on a tripod to try some sharp well focused images to check how well it fares.

Nikon 14-24 f2.8 G on 1Ds MK3

The new lens arrived today as did the adaptor and am I ever having fun with this stuff. I got a late start tonite, but I managed to get out to Buhl Park and take some images of the Casino across Lake Julia. Also took some shots in the parking lot of the gallery of the sunset with some timed exposures to pick up headlights and brakes going by. All was pretty much an experiment so I could see how this setup works. The rotating adaptor that I bought used on FM Forums is from 16-9.net's site. It all went together fairly well, its just a little bit more involved than slapping a lens on the camera and taking pics. I must admit that the sensor of the camera had better be clean when shooting open at anything above f8. Most of my shots were at 14mm. You'll notice in the photo here that the distortion is very evident on both sides of the image. I tried to capture a lot of sky to bring out the clouds which were very nice in the north sky.

My Web Site

I've almost completely updated my web site so please check it out and let me know what you think. I have more to add but the bulk of it has been done.

Twitter

So if you do the Twitter thing then let me know so I can keep updates to this blog current on there.

My Twitter address is: http://twitter.com/tomdarby

Today's image is a Rocky Mountain Elk in velvet. Oh and have a happy Earth Day too. :)

Strange Creatures of the Shallows

I visited the Transit Art Gallery located in the National Transit Building in Oil City today to check out the set up for my upcoming art exhibit in May. This building was once the home of Standard Oil Company and held the office of John D. Rockefeller. I got to meet Marilyn Karns who gave me a great tour of the Transit Gallery Building. I look forward to setting up and showing my work at the gallery.

On my way home I stopped by one of my favorite places to photograph. The Little Sandy Creek area along Reed Furnace Road near Raymilton a small village at a crossroads along the creek. I was getting some shots of the stream and surrounding locations when I discovered this rare bright green sobe lizard swimming in the shallows. He was very friendly and posed for me in a number of locations along the creek bank. When I left and got into my Jeep I looked down and noticed the little fellow had followed me back to the parking area. I didn't have the heart to leave him there and so he now sits on my desk as I type this blog tonite.

Pieces of April

Today's photo is one I took in April, 2005. Hard to believe that was 4 years ago, time flys.

Western Pennsylvania's Many Natures

Tributary to Little Sandy Creek

People who live in Western Pennsylvania appreciate the variety of the landscapes that we get to see when we travel around this part of the state. One minute you can be driving through Amish farmlands and then you can be deep in hemlocks and clear cold trout streams with small waterfalls. Or you may be doing business or just enjoying the things that Pittsburgh has to offer but then your only minutes from driving out to the Laurel Mountain area.

We have great rivers like the Allegheny, Monongahela and the Ohio river which take up the waters of the Shenango and Mahoning Rivers and then flows into the Beaver River. The Slippery Rock Creek and Connoqunessing Creek join and then also flow into the Beaver which then runs into the Ohio River. You'll notice that a lot of my photography is of water which is what I work with on a daily basis. Water pollution is serious business and cleaning it up and discharging the fresh clean water back into the streams and rivers is very important to the people who live and work in Western Pennsylvania. I hope that you enjoy the images that I'll be posting especially the ones that include water as a main theme. Please feel free to comment and let me know what you would like to see included here in this photo blog. I'll try to keep it updated and fresh with new images!

Bald Eagles and Scarlet Tanagers

Its been a year since I went looking for a pair of Bald Eagles that had been seen locally near a large Great Blue Heron rookery. I was out with my Canon 1dsMK3 trying to get some photos of the pair and was visited by this Scarlet Tanager. It stood out really well in the brown and gray under brush along the river and seemed to not mind me following it around snapping photos of it as it was looking for food. I used a Canon 100-400 IS lens mounted on a monopod to get the photos but it was still too quick for me to get really sharp images. I did see the Bald Eagles that night but not close enough to get any good photos.

Pennsylvania's Natural Beauty

I was scouting out some locations to shoot Saturday and trying to go to Kennerdell by following my TomTom GPS. Well it took me down a road that I wasn't familiar with and of course it ended just about 100 yards short of where I wanted to go, but there was a bridge out. Sometimes these things somehow work out in a positive way as did this instance since I was near a trail head for an ATV trail. I parked and walked over to a stream and began to get some great photos of the blue sky reflecting off of the water and the whole thing just seemed like thats where I wanted to go after all.

Whitetails Unlimited

Tonite was the annual dinner for Whitetails Unlimited here in the Shenango Valley and as a sponsor of the event for the last three years I was fortunate to attend once again. I took two of my sons and my son-in-law to the event. We all had a great time, great food and lots of opportunities to win great stuff by donating to a very worthy conservation group. Thanks to the WTU over 49 million dollars has been generated to support their on-going goals. I've donated my prints such as the one above each year for the groups fund raising at the dinners.

Pittsburgh

This image is one of a series I've done on the City of Pittsburgh. Taken from Mt Washington.


Last evening was spent in Pittsburgh at David A. Ziser's Digital Wakeup Call wedding photography workshop. It was an evening well spent with lots of great ideas and David's instructions on getting the excitement into the lighting of wedding photography. The workshop was a fast paced informational class with a good follow along handbook which has room for taking any additional notes that might be useful. Lots of door prizes donated by sponsors were handed out which always go over well.

Signs of Spring

The pussy willow is always a welcome sight when it begins to unravel its furry little flower like self. With a dusting of snow on the ground it feels more like January instead of the first week in April but warmer weather is promised.

Prints Available

These are some of the images that are available for purchase. Please contact me if your interested in these or any of my other work.


Keystone Belle on the Allegheny River


Country Lane


Summer Morning After the Rain

Hermitage Arts Festival

This summer will be the 6th annual Hermitage Arts Festival located in Hermitage, PA in Rodney White Olympic Park. I will be showing my work as I have for all six years of the festival :) More information is available through the link at the bottom of this page. Or call Mary Ellen McKendry at 724-981-0800.

Transit Fine Arts Gallery

I will be the Featured Artist for the Month of May at the Transit Fine Arts Gallery located at 206 Seneca St., Oil City, PA. "Transit Fine Arts Gallery" Click the link to visit their site. Please contact "Tom" or the Oil City Arts Council for more information.

Wedding Photography

Wedding photography has become a large part of my photographic business in recent years. So if you or someone you know is interested in discussing an upcoming wedding please don't hesitate to contact me. Samples of my images can be seen here "Weddings"