Announcing “The Quiet Beauty of Nebraska”Posted by drfl on November 2nd, 2009

For the past few weeks I have been putting the final touches on my book “The Quiet Beauty of Nebraska”.  I’ve neglected my blog and some other duties, but I am finally ready to make it available.  Comprised of over 40 photographs from across the state of Nebraska, this book focuses on the scenic landscape, nature, and native wildlife that I have travelled far and wide to capture. 

To see a preview of the book and/or purchase, please take a look, it would make a great gift for the upcoming holiday season!
 

The Quiet Beau…

By Derrald Farnsworth…

Book Preview

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

Pleasing DriftsPosted by drfl on July 8th, 2009

As I continued to review some past photographs in my unofficial “Missing the Mountains” series, I came across this image I had taken last fall at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.  It was a tricky exposure which required me to double-process the image.  Essentially, I first opened the image in Photoshop exposing for the foreground and then I opened it again exposing for the sky.  I copied the second image over the first creating a new layer and then blended the two together.  A basic tutorial on the technique can be found here: http://www.photoshopessentials.com/photo-effects/photo-blend/.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/16, .5 sec.
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

Glorious Sandhills SunrisePosted by drfl on June 5th, 2009

One morning during my Valentine trip I arose early to shoot the sunrise only to not see a single cloud in the sky. It was a cool dewy morning so I decided to head out leaving the warm cozy bed behind. The previous day I had driven through Valentine National Wildlife Refuge and had found a fire tower that had an observation deck. I thought that I might have a good vantage point for the rising sun, so I went to the parking lot – or wide spot off the road and began the hike up the hill. I got setup and watched around me as patches of fog rolled into the valleys of the hills. Before long the fog began to overtake the hills and then for a moment it rose into the air creating a hazy string just above the rising sun. In a matter of minutes the entire valley was engulfed with fog and I climbed back down the fire tower. This image was the result of a convergence of atmospheric events that all happened within the span of 5 minutes at most and lends credence that you should venture out, even when conditions at the time do not seem conducive. That is sometimes when the best show happens.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 21mm, f/16, 1/6 sec., 3-stop Hard ND Grad
Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, Nebraska

Frozen Platte River SunrisePosted by admin on January 19th, 2009

For some time now, I have envisaged a composition with the warmth of the sun rising over the almost frozen Platte River. Yesterday, I ventured down to the Platte River Connection bridge, a pedestrian bridge near South Bend, Nebraska, because I knew that the sun would rise just above Platte River State park from this vantage point. I had hoped that there would be some interesting designs in the ice to add interest to the composition. I was a little disappointed by the lack of clouds, but the river looked about how I imagined it. I hope to venture that way again before the major spring thaw to see what ice patterns may emerge on the Platte River.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40 f/4l @ 17mm, f/13, 1/6 sec., 3-stop hard ND Singh-Ray Grad
Platte River, near South Bend, Nebraska

Platte River SunrisePosted by admin on January 7th, 2009

Today’s image is one that I shot last August and have processed a few different times. Previously, I really didn’t feel like the image evoked anything in me and so I left it in the archive. After I went back to it and processed it again, I felt like the image was closer to what I experienced that morning when I climbed the Platte River State Park tower and captured the rising sun hitting the fog across the Platte. It was a quiet, chilly morning with some birds chirping. It was a very calm way to start the day.

Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 70-200 f/4l @ 140mm, f/16, 1.3 sec.
Platte River State Park, Nebraska