Photo Friday: Corn! – Photographing a Nebraska StereotypePosted by drfl on October 30th, 2009

Yes, I live in Nebraska.  Yes, the agricultural industry generates a large portion of money for the state.  Yes, corn grows well here. 

Now that I have mentioned that, I will also say that one of my goals when I photograph Nebraska is to I try to capture areas that are not often seen, nor are these areas that would fall into the typical “Farm” or “Ranch” stereotype. Nebraska is a land of diversity and as such I actively seek out interesting and unique landscapes and insights into the state.  On more than one occasion someone has requested the “typical Nebraska scene” such as a corn field or farm.  Whenever I look through my files I have found only a handful of images.  It’s not that images such as those aren’t interesting, I haven’t chosen to focus on anything agricultural.  Well, for today’s Photo Friday image I have captured an image of corn, lots of corn.   Nice and abstract and it makes me hungry.  Enjoy!

Technical Details:
Canon G10, f/3.5, 1/160 sec.

Photo Friday: Soulful SoaringPosted by drfl on October 23rd, 2009

It’s been a while since I posted an image from my Canon G10. In the next couple of weeks I plan on having a couple of posts dedicated to images that I have captured using this point and shoot. Today, though I wanted to share an abstract image that I captured a couple of mornings ago of the clouds during a sunrise. It’s a simple image that I think gives a great feeling of peace and which relies solely on color and form.

Since the G10′s format is natively conducive to many non-widescreen monitors, I am also offering this image as a free computer desktop wallpaper for whomever may want it in three sizes. On a PC, in order to make this your desktop, simply click on the link that corresponds to your monitor resolution and right click and choose “Set as Background”.

1600×1200

1280×960

1024×768

Technical Details: Canon G10, f/4.5, 1/15 sec., Light Orton Effect
Nebraska Sky

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: Soulful Soaring – Colorful Illuminated Clouds at Sunrise

Frosty Fall LeafPosted by drfl on October 21st, 2009

This past weekend I spent at my brother-in-law’s cabin in centralish Nebraska again. This is the same place that I made the photographs for my tractor series last month. Most of the leaves had fallen, but there was a nice cool morning that allowed me to get some frosty shots. Today’s image is a frosty fallen cottonwood leaf.

Techinical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 50 CM + Extension Tube, f/14, 1 sec.
Near Cedar Rapids, Nebraska

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: Frosty Fall Leaf

The Last MomentsPosted by drfl on October 20th, 2009

Today is the second installment of my tribute to the short Nebraska fall. Grabbing my macro and extension tube, I captured these beads of water on the fallen red maple leaves.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 50 CM + Extension Tube, f/10, 1/60 sec.
Schramm State Recreation Area, Nebraska

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: The Last Moments – Drops on a Fallen Maple Leaf

I Said Hello, GoodbyePosted by drfl on October 19th, 2009

Autumn is my favorite season, fresh apple cider is at hand, warm colors abound, orange pumpkins are everywhere, and bowls are filled with small candies.  The only downside I ever see to fall is that it means it’s going to be cold and bad driving weather and shorter days are ahead.  In Nebraska fall begins to gear up in early October and goes into full swing by mid-month followed by a hurried decline by November.  Unfortunately, this year we were just moving into fall when we received record snowfall across the state.  For one day we had some beautiful snow covered scenes.  The days immediately following were reminiscent of November scenes.  I did, however, manage to briefly make it out for a few images during the snowfall.  Over the next couple of days I will share the few images that showcase the my celebration and lamentation of the shortest fall I have ever witnessed.

And yes, I did just totally rip off a Phil Collins song title for the title of this post and image, but it fit so well!

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 28mm, f/9, 1/125 sec.
Schramm SRA, Nebraska

This photograph can be viewed on my website at: I Said Hello, Goodbye – A Forest Path at Schramm SRA, Nebraska

Photo Friday: A Mt. Rushmore GalleryPosted by drfl on October 16th, 2009

Mt. Rushmore and the Avenue of Flags II

Technical Details: Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 40mm, f/10, 3.2 sec.
This photograph can be viewed on my website: Mt. Rushmore and the Avenue of Flags II

Following yesterday’s post “How to Chisel More Detail from an Image of Mt. Rushmore“, today’s Photo Friday contains 4 more images of Mt. Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota. To capture these images, I arose before sunrise and made my way through the Black Hills to the monument. I parked in the parking garage (I don’t know too many National Monuments in the western states that would have one) and for the first time in my life I saw the monument without another soul around. I watched as the warm sunrise light hit the faces and changed the tones from a light purple to a fiery red to a warm yellow glow. These images portray different angles with different lenses and in different stages of the early morning light (in order earlier to later).

Mt. Rushmore and the Avenue of Flags

Technical Details: Canon 5d Mark II, 70-200 f/4l @ 70mm, f/8, 1/60 sec.
This photograph can be viewed on my website: Mt. Rushmore and the Avenue of Flags

Sunrise on the Presidents

Technical Details: Canon 5d Mark II, 70-200 f/4l @200mm, f/8, 1/50 sec.
This photograph can be viewed on my website: Sunrise on the Presidents

Washington’s Profile

Technical Details: Canon 5d Mark II, 300 f/4l, f/8, 1/1000 sec.
This photograph can be viewed on my website: Washington’s Profile