After the Flood: A Return to DeSoto National Wildlife RefugePosted by drfl on January 16th, 2012

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200 f/4l @ 91mm, f/8, 1/320 sec.

For years I have visited DeSoto, my family often in tow. My eldest daughter, Riley loved to run the halls of the visitor center and look at the artifacts of the old Bertrand steamboat that had met its end in the mud and muck of what became DeSoto lake. I would occasionally visit by myself, finding a quiet solitude on the Cottonwood trail or on the shore of the lake.

The flooding of the Missouri this past spring, summer and into the fall affected lives, changed landscapes, and even modified the course of the river. Nuclear power plants stayed shut down, roads and highways were under water and destroyed, houses and farms were devastated. DeSoto was among the areas that was hit hard. The lake rose several feet and aerial photographs showed a large body of water covering the land that once existed in the former oxbow of the Missouri River.

The water has now receded. A week ago I returned to photograph it once again with a friend, Jayson Alder. Today I am presenting some images from that trip. I invite you to also check out Jayson’s blog to see what he captured as we hiked along the Cottonwood trail. I would also like to thank him for letting me use his 100 2.8 Macro lens. I really don’t need any help in wanting more equipment, but I must say the lens performed well. From the short time I used it, I do recommend taking a look at getting one if you are interested in doing some macro. Right now I use a 50 CM lens which works well, but you have to be close to your subject and it autofocuses ssssllllloooooowwww. Of course, it is one of only two lenses that remain from Canons original EF lineup from the 80s! The faster focus and longer distance of the 100 2.8 Macro was nice!

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 100 2.8 Macro, f/8, 1/125 sec.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200 f/4l @ 145mm, f/7.1, 1/640 sec.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 100 2.8 Macro, f/7.1, 1/125 sec.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l, f/16, 1/8 sec.

Photo Friday: Almost HarvestPosted by drfl on July 15th, 2011

When I first began capturing photographs of the American Midwest and Great Plains it was my goal to NOT capture any agricultural type photographs. I felt that the area was underrepresented in scenic imagery with other subjects and I wanted to fill that void. As I travel through this area I find myself passing crops, silos, barns, and farmhouses that lend themselves to a successful image. While it is still not my goal to focus on the agricultural aspect of the area, some of the scenes with which I happen across I cannot help but stop and shoot. Today’s image is one such example. The clouds were looking ominous and looming on this hot and humid summer evening, so I packed up and headed to one of my favorite locations, Jack Sinn Wildlife Management Area. As I passed this farm, as I have done dozens of times before, I looked back and saw the clouds contrasted by the wheat almost ready for the harvest. After travelling another mile down the road, I decided to make a u-turn and head back to see what I could capture.

As I’m also focusing on some monochromatic imagery this year, I have included a black and white version. As usual, I would appreciate knowing which you prefer.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/9, 1/40 sec.
Saunders County, Nebraska

Photo Friday: Sand Dune StormPosted by drfl on March 25th, 2011

In keeping with my recent black and white theme, today I present an image from 2008 that I converted to monochrome. It didn’t work well as a color image, but the patterns and contrasts seem to really work in black and white.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/13, .6 seconds, 2-stop Singh-Ray grad filter
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

Photo Friday: A Look at Silver Efex Pro 2 (Mini-Review)Posted by drfl on March 18th, 2011

In addition to my normal Photo Friday image, today I’m going to do a mini-review of Silver Efex Pro 2 by Nik Software.  Having used Silver Efex in the past, I became quite a fan of the engine and options behind the filter.  Besides giving me some granular control over the image, I was able to modify items such as film grain, structure, color filters, and contrast with ease which helped take my black and white conversions to the next level.  Silver Efex Pro 2 takes all of this and adds even more.  All the same stuff is there, but now they have added fine structure, soft contrast, image borders, the ability to amplify both the whites and blacks, and a feature for selective color.  The normal presets are still there with the ability to set your own and export and import them.  This is great because if you develop a “look” and want a team of people to have access, it can be readily available.  One last item to note, the software seems faster to me than the previous version.  While version 1 wasn’t a slouch, I am impressed by how quickly it rendered the output.  The only nit I found was that when changing presents, sometimes I had to click on the image to get it to update.  Not a huge problem, but it was somewhat annoying, initially.

Last week I photographed a duck feather I found with my daughter and I thought it the perfect opportunity to put the software through a test.  Below are some of the looks I created with Silver Efex Pro 2.  Mind you, this is only scratching the surface, but it can create some wildly varied output. See the examples after the jump.

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Photo Friday: Grass AbstractPosted by drfl on March 11th, 2011

Happy Friday!  Photo Friday today is a black and white abstract of grasses.  While out taking a small walk through the OPPD Arboretum, I came across this grass that had been flattened from a large animal (likely a deer) resting or sleeping on it.  I was drawn to the lines and patterns, the swirls and the contrasts.

Technical Details:
Canon G10, 8.9mm, f/4.5, 1/200 sec.
OPPD Arboretum, Omaha, Nebraska

Photo Friday: Around the TreePosted by drfl on March 4th, 2011

Prairie grass is fascinating to watch, especially when one is standing in miles of it.  Acting as one connected organism, groups of prairie grass move and sway in unison with even the smallest of breezes.  A quiet rustling accompanies the movement, gentle, calming.  On the prairie one can find peace and solitude with miles of nothing and nobody.  The vastness is engulfing and liberating, making one feel both small and large simultaneously.  It is endless and eternity.

Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 300 f/4l + 1.4tc, f/9, 1/60 sec.
Chalco Hills Recreation Area, Nebraska