Snow! Boy did we get snow today. About nine inches here. That's about four or five inches above the predicted amount we were supposed to get. I just hope this is it for the season but who knows? So naturally you know what I am sharing with you today. Pictures of snow. So take a look and enjoy. At least as much as you can if you have been affected by the horrid white stuff.
Snow covered bud on our pear tree
Bird prints on our front steps
The drive to work
More of the drive to work
I also have a short video that I shot while at work today. It features of course...snow! Check it out below.
And there you have it. At least it's nice to look at. Thanks for stopping by folks and enjoy the rest of your day. And of course please stay safe if you have to go out in this.
For today's photo of the day I would like to share another picture from The Joseph Ambler Inn. This is the barn that was constructed in 1820. Originally housing feeding troughs, milking areas, and animal stalls it is now a restaurant and bar. There are also guest rooms on the second floor.
You may also notice the outdoor seating. It's a little too cold right now but come this Summer I wouldn't mind having lunch or dinner there.
I would also like to share a video I shot on Sunday morning. I made it while strolling around the grounds and some of the buildings. I will warn you that it is about 17 minutes long.
Kim and I are in Princeton, New Jersey to see a comedy show tonight and the day consisted of mostly travel and a few errands. Therefore I didn't really get a chance to go out and shoot today. I do of course have my camera with me and hope to get out and shoot tomorrow. I did however snap a couple of shots in the hotel. They are in the process of decorating for Christmas and it looks like it will be very nice when they are done. So for today I am sharing two of those photos.
The first one shows the main dining area viewed from the fourth floor.
And this is the pool. Kim's favorite amenity!
Please note that these have not been touched up in any way and are right out of my camera phone. I must say that so far the service here has been excellent. The staff has been nothing but helpful and very polite. I must get off of here for now and get ready to see the show. I am glad it's here in the hotel so we can just take the elevator right down. Thanks for stopping by! Until next time...
Well the snow has arrived and it is almost gone. It really didn't add up to much. At least not around here. There is enough to look nice on the grass but the roads are clear. I'm sure it will be a little slippery in the morning but it is going to be in the 40's so even that won't last long. So I guess we slipped by this one. I did manage to get a picture on the way home from work. I shot this out the side window of my car with my camera phone. And yes I was stopped.
Just enough snow to look nice but not hinder traffic. Thanks for stopping by. And before I go I would like to wish all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. be safe and don't eat too much :)
What could be better than a nice balmy 45° November day at the shore? Nothing you say? That's what I thought so it was off to Atlantic City for Kim and Me today. Okay we didn't spend any real time on beach but we did at least see it. We walked along the boardwalk for a bit and did a little shopping but to tell the truth we were really there for dinner at Harrah's. Yep I was there for the crab legs! For today's photo I would like to share a picture I made on the boardwalk. It's just a random shot.
I would also like to share a time lapse video of our trip. The is from home to Atlantic City with a pit stop for hot chocolate at a Dunkin Donuts in Deptford, New Jersey. Boy what a mess that was. Unbelievable traffic. And you may also notice two parking garages. The first one was open but the casino has shut down so we drove to the next one up the road and parked there.
Today I would like to take you back to old Valley Forge. Well, not really old Valley Forge. Just Valley Forge in black and white. As much as I love black and white (or monochrome) photography I usually save it for buildings or people. I don't use it a lot for landscape. Today I did though and I think it turned out pretty good.
This was shot with my camera phone in HDR at 21 megapixels and converted to black and white in Photoshop. As usual I tweaked the tones and highlights and did some other minor fixes.
As always thanks for visiting and please come back soon.
Like the Headline says this is my 100th post. I can hardly believe it. When I started out I figured I would do a post or so a week and that is what I did. But I wanted more. I wanted to share more. So I started posting a photo of the day. I must admit that some days it is tough. I guess it's sort of like writer's block except with photographs. It's hard to keep things fresh sometimes. But I do my best and I think I do okay. So for today's photo I thought there would be no place more fitting to shoot than Valley Forge. One of my favorite photographic destinations. I was up nice and early so I had plenty of time to drive over there and set up my tripods and get the cameras ready. Everything was in place for a sunrise shot except for one thing. The sun. It was pretty cloudy out there. But the scenery and the colors were nice and I think I came away with some good stuff. So to start off here is today's photo.
This was created using three images shot at three different exposures. And of course while at the park I indulged in one of my newest obsessions. A time lapse of the "sunrise". Like I said there wasn't much sun but the sky and clouds are nice.
And to wrap it up for the day I am also sharing a "regular" video that I shot. It is about six minutes long and is an example of the peacefulness of Valley Forge and why I love early mornings there. It is best viewed in 1080P HD and full screen.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my 100th post. I hope to bring you many more. And on that subject I would like to ask that if you enjoy what you see here to please share it with your friends and family. And always feel free to contact me with any questions or comments. I would love to hear from you.
It's "Retro" Friday again and today I am sharing another photo from the wonderful San Diego Zoo in California. Like last Friday it is another Koala but this time a couple years earlier. Today we travel back to March 3, 2003. The weather here at home was cold. Very cold. But San Diego was sunny and in the 70's. A perfect zoo day. Here is today's photo.
This was shot with my Fuji S602Z digital camera and post processed in Photoshop.
I would also like to share yet another sunrise time lapse. I think this is the best one yet.
What a rainy day. What can I do on a rainy day? How about a little black and white photography? I think the rain and mist go hand in hand with black and white. There's something about the mood I suppose. Something else also goes well with black and white. Trains. Well I had to run out today during work and went by the local trolly station and couldn't resist. And that brings us to today's photo.
This was shot with my Motorola Droid Turbo in color and converted to black and white in Photoshop with some other very minor adjustments thrown in for good measure. As you can tell it was also shot through a chain link fence. One that has very small openings. Instead of cropping the fence out though I chose to keep it in. I think it adds to the picture and mood I am trying to create. You can see the original color version here at the Facebook Group. It is untouched and as it came out of the camera. I am not a big fan of rain but I try to make the best of it. though I would rather make the best of some sunny and 75 degree weather. Hey that would make a great country song ;)
Today I would like to share some Fall colors with you. I shot this on my way to work this morning and it made me realize that though I had a long day at work in front of me there is always time to appreciate natures beauty. I am sharing two versions of the same photo. The first is straight out of the camera (phone) and the second is touched up in Photoshop. I do this to show how the auto exposure works and to also show what is possible with a few adjustments. I would also like to add that this was shot while the car was moving at about 35 MPH (about 56 KPH) so it will not be as sharp as it would be if I were standing still.
It sure looks like my windshield could use a thorough cleaning :) Thanks for stopping by and come back soon. Until next time...
On Sunday morning the clocks here in the U.S. went back one hour and we are now on Standard Time. that means the Sun is rising earlier but it also means that it sets earlier too. And it doesn't help that the days are getting shorter as we approach Winter. Just last week it was nice and sunny and bright on my 4:30 PM drive home from work. Now it's getting dark. On my way home today there were no cars behind me so I was able to stop quickly and snap a picture with my camera phone. It is the setting sun and was shot from a bridge that crosses over the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Not the best view but it was the only one I had.
Now I have a question for you. How did yesterday's photo look to you? I mean in general. It looks good to me on my home computer but when I viewed it at work there was a color ring around the moon. It also seemed to be brighter than it should. For comparison here is a link to the same photo. And once again I am sharing a time lapse of this morning's sunrise. One of these days it will be nice and clear and we will get a good one. I am trying to record it daily for a bit so I can try out some different settings in Lapse It Pro.
That about does it for today. Thanks as always for visiting and please come back soon. I have lots to share. And since I haven't mentioned it for a while please check out the blog's Facebook Group here. Feel free to comment and share. I want this to become an interactive medium.
Hi and thanks for stopping by! The weather here is seasonal and the wind has finally calmed down. And after some low lying clouds this morning the sky is very clear now. I went out on our deck after work this afternoon and saw the moon was nice and bright in the sky. It was just begging for me to photograph it. And so I did and now I am sharing it with you.
The conditions were very, very friendly for shooting the sky this afternoon. No haze and no clouds. I shot this with my Canon Rebel T3 at 300mm and cropped and touched it up in Photoshop. Can you see the "man in the moon"? On another note I would also like to share a couple more photos that I shot today at work. Yesterday I posted a group of pictures that I shot to test out my new camera phone. The Motorola Droid Turbo. Those were all shot outside in bright sunlight at Valley Forge and I was very pleased with the results. Today I wanted to take a couple more "test" shots to see how the camera did with indoor lighting. Here is what I got. Keep in mind that I did no post processing and this is right out of the camera.
21 Megapixels. No flash.
This is a shot of some renovations in one of the offices. There were no lights on and one window to the left of the frame. basically normal indoor lighting.
21 Megapixels. Flash Fired.
21 Megapixels. Flash Fired.
These were shot in our parts warehouse in total darkness. The only light is from the flash and one fixture at the end of the aisle. Right in front of me was completely dark. The flash range is pretty good. I will be testing the video in the next day or two and will post it here. And speaking of video I did do a time lapse video this morning using the camera phone and Lapse It Pro for Android. Check it out.
This is 41 minutes condensed down to 28 seconds. I shot 1 frame every 6 seconds and rendered it at 14 frames per second. I also set it for vivid color. And that about does it for today folks. Thank you so much for taking a little time out of your day to read my little blog. Please check back soon.
And then some... That's right. Today I will be posting a daily photo and more. I originally planned on two posts but figured this would work too. Let me explain. Yesterday Kim and I went to the local Verizon Wireless store to have our phones checked out. You see after a recent update both of our phones started having battery issues. Each was fine the day before but after the update the batteries would wear down about half way through the day. This was too much of a coincidence. So anyhow when we stopped by the store and spoke with a customer service representative about it. We also told her that our monthly service rate was way too high and that we would be shopping around in about six months when our contract was up. Well one thing led to another and we ended up with two new phones and a monthly rate that is about $30 cheaper. All of this with unlimited talk and text and a nice data plan. In fact the only thing we had to pay for was a cover for each new phone. Nice! So here I am with a new phone. It is a Motorola Droid Turbo. And it has a 21 Megapixel camera. So of course I had to go somewhere and try it out. And that is what I did today. And what better place than Valley Forge Park. The only issue with today's "test run" was the weather. It's not that it was cold but it sure was windy. Which of course made the mid 40 degree temperature feel cold. In fact at times it was downright nasty. But I did it anyway and now I will share some of the results. While you browse please choose one for your own personal "Photo of The Day". How's that sound? I am sharing some technical details under each photo. Also each one was adjusted in Photoshop. So here we go, the photos.
21 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting.
21 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting.
16 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting.
21 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting. Arch in the background.
21 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting. My favorite tree.
21 Megapixels Shot with camera's Standard setting. Yes that's my shadow.
21 Megapixels Shot with camera's Standard setting. Washington's Headquarters.
21 Megapixels Shot with camera's HDR setting. General Washington watching over his troops.
So what do you think? Here's my take. Overall I am satisfied with the results. In fact for a phone camera I am very satisfied. As you may have seen I included one photo at 16 Megapixels instead of the standard 21. The camera records in 16 Megapixels when it is set for Widescreen. To tell the truth I really didn't really notice a difference. The colors are pretty much correct except that I had to adjust the reds in most of the shots. I also adjusted the highlights to bring out details such as the clouds. Other than that I only did some minor tweaks to correct lighting. Much of this may have been necessary due to the bright sun. Don't get me wrong. The direct out of camera results were decent. I adjust every photo I shoot no matter what I create it with. As far as I have ever seen there is no camera that can accurately recreate a scene exactly as it is. So there you have it. I will be testing the video quality soon. There is a setting for the new 4K standard. that should be fun. Thanks for stopping by and please come back soon.
