ACDSee Collage for a nice presentation of special events.

Our granddaughter, Savannah goes back to school Monday. Lynn and I traveled to Littleton, Colorado to be with her for a few days before she becomes preoccupied with the Second Grade. On Thursday afternoon her school invited parents a friends to meet the kids new teachers. I took a few photos and built this collage quickly with the mobile version of ACDSee. There are many templates available.  I have used ACDSee on my desktop at home almost since there beginnings to catalog my images. There are so many options today for preserving ones images for access on the road. I like this one. 

#collage #photostory #travel #on-the-road #Littleton #Colorado

Black Crown Night Heron photographed using the Olympus MC14 1.4x Teleconverter - First time out!

Black Crowned Night Heron. Safety Harbor, FL.  I shot this beautiful bird with my Olympus OMD-EM5ii. The lens was the Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 Pro and the Olympus 1.4x teleconverter.  It was my first try with the new teleconverter which takes the maximum fixed aperture to 4.0.  I am thrilled with this kit.  The camera was handheld and rock solid.  I shot the Heron while on my daily walk.  I remove the lens collar for my walk so that I can carry the camera and lens on my hip in a Think Tank holster

My first experience shooting fireworks.

On the 4th of July I had my first experience shooting fireworks.  There are many tutorials about at YouTube and elsewhere on the web that guided me.. At home in Safety Harbor, Florida , we generally don't go to the fireworks due to the crowds and traffic congestion getting there.  Perhaps, I will make the effort though next year. It was so much fun!

These photos were shot along the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Augustine just south of the Bridge of Lions.  Lynn and I were celebrating our 50th Anniversary nearby at the St. Francis Inn Bed and Breakfast.  The b&b was just a 2 block walk from the waterfront.  It was a great spot to setup our beach chairs and photo gear to get a birdseye view of the display.

All of these photos were shot on a tripod.  I used a Manual setting of f8, ISO 200 and 3-8 seconds exposure time. I used Autofocus with manual assist, but in hindsight I believe that using pure manual focus could bring more keepers.

My camera was the Olympus OMD-EM5ii with the Olympus f2.8 Pro lens.  It was a thrill looking at these on the computer.  I certainly am stoked to try shooting fireworks again.  But, July 4, 2017 is so far away....

A daily walk offers photographic payoffs!

One of my projects when I retired was to start every day with a brisk 4 mile walk.  I do the same walk daily, walking through my neighborhood and along sidewalks through some beautiful preserves as well as through a county park that is nearby.  Some of my greatest photo opportunities are during my walk.  For instance during the last week I spotted this mouse on the way home from my walk, but by the time that I was able to retrieve my camera from its holster the animal would skitter off into the brush. It became a game to get it's portrait.  This morning I decided to reverse my walk and try to get this critters' photo at the beginning of my walk.  Victory!  The mouse gave me about 30 seconds of its life for a portrait shoot.

The Yellow Crowned Night Herons have returned to the Park.  I have counted at least 5 pairs recently. I look forward to getting some interesting photos of them during the next few weeks. I know many folks prefer to get their photos with their iPhones, but I really like getting higher resolution photos that I can work with at home.  Both of these photos were taken with my Olympus OMD-EM5ii and an Olympus 40-150mm lens.  The camera is a light Micro 4/3 camera that is easy to carry on my waist in a Think Tank holster.  So, get out there.  Get some exercise  Get some photos. It's amazing how much is available to you virtually in your own backyard!

Churches of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

A highlight for photographers that spend any time in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico is the opportunity to photograph the incredible church architecture throughout the Guanajuato State.  

Equally interesting are the church interiors.  So much detail.  It almost seems like all of the incredible chandeliers came from the same factory.  My biggest challenge with my photos of interiors was telling one from another.  They are really all beautiful, but similar.

Wow, look at this ceiling which is at the remote church in Atotonilco, about 8 miles out of San Miguel.  The following is the very plain exterior of this Catholic Church.

Of course the Parroquia (above) is the centerpiece of San Miguel.  If you meander in the streets of the city at one point you will be enjoying this incredible parish.  There is something happening at the Jardin, just outside of the Parroquia almost every day.

The architects of these churches all must have had a great sense of color.  Almost every church seems to be a riot of color contrasts like this one. Spending a couple of weeks in San Miguel is rewarded with great photo opportunities like these.

"Informed" Still Life

"Informed" - I seized an opportunity for an unusual still life this morning. This was an opportunity to experiment tethering my Olympus OMD-EM10 and Olympus 12-50mm lens to my new iPad Pro.  The camera was on a tripod.  I took the photo using the Olympus Share app. I cropped the photo and tweaked it in Google Snapseed.  

In addition to this blog you can visit my travel photos at www.CrazyAboutTravel.com

Photographing Civil War Re-enactments

One of my photographic passions is shooting re-enactments.  I have attended Civil War and World War II re-enactments.  The most prevalent opportunities are Civil War era events. The two events that I have attended most frequently are the Brooksville Raid and the Nature Coast Civil War  re-enactment in Williston.

I enjoy photographing the re-enactors as much as shooting the battle between the Union and the Confederate troops.  The characters are wonderfully cooperative.  As a matter of fact, I think that most really enjoy having their pictures taken.

I take some candid shots, but I really prefer to set up the portraits.  The actors are terrific in holding their character though I occasionally ask some to "please lose the smile."  The above photos is one of my favorite from the recent Brooksville Raid.

I use black and white a lot for my re-enactment photos.  I believe that these photos should really reflect the period when these folks were on this earth.  I love to photograph these crusty old fighters.  Of course, I also wonder what these characters do in their real life.

When I do include a color photograph as above I survey the scene to ensure that their are no distractions  that would take the photo out of its era...and that the colors are muted and natural to fit the period.

All of these photos were taken with my Nikon D750.  On most I used my Nikon 24-120mm f4.0 lens.  On  the battle scenes I use a Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 lens on a monopod.  I prefer a monopod for events where there are many spectators. I bring a folding chair.  I like to get to an event like this early so that I can claim a spot as close to the battleground as possible.  Then, I wander the camp looking for people that would make good subjects . I like to photograph with a partner so that we can share photo opportunities. I hope that you put  one of these historic events on your calendar this year.