Sunday afternoon in the back yard

Luxor is such a sweet, sweet dog.

Sunday afternoon in the back yard

Once again I find myself taking pictures of my favorite subjects, Memphis & Luxor

Memphis first because she is the oldest.

south beach saturday

The weekend was a bust. This is the best of almost 200 images shot in a 12 hour period. It was supposed to last until Sunday but the hotel was a dump so we came home.

Something free is not always that.

xmas palm

memphis sleeps

writing on the wall

p.o.v.

Sometimes what my mind sees and what the camera sees are two different things.


more garbage...

untitled

Jake

Jake had a meltdown 30 seconds after I took this. Such a cute kid but he has some anger issues that need to be worked through

nothingness

I want this to be a good photo. The problem is there is no point to it. What am I trying to say?

it says nothing because it is garbage

just stuff

Some more stuff from my dog walks.

one man's trash...

This is a pile of trash

... but it is a treasure of a photo

4 of spades

I see things lying in the road and I wonder how they got there. What happened, is it trash? Is it lost? Why do these things make me feel so lonely and abandoned?

Thank you to my friend Sergio!

This was the original post. I knew I like the photo but it broke some basic rules. Notice the stick coming out the top and bottom of Memphis' head!


So I get a message from my fellow photo blogger Sergio and he has done a good job with Photo Shop and take out the posts. Let's just say I had a blonde moment when I posted and didn't think about the fact that I DO have this wonderful program (7.0 thank you can't afford CS yet) Well since I can't post Sergio's work here I sat at the computer for a while using the heal and clone brush to get something acceptable.

I hopr to work some more on this one. I want to replicate the fine hairs you see around her snout. Of course These are not good enough to see that detail but I know what's missing.

Just in case you are wondering I call this shot "Memphis the nosy Neiva", it's an inside joke. I do like this one enough that I think I will submit it to a couple of contests.

Jake

Here is what I started with, a goofy kid surrounded by a lot of concrete and a badly stained shirt. Also I needed to bring out his eyes and brighten up his teeth.


And this is what I ended up with, God bless Photoshop! I was able to take out all the stuff that made it a bad pictue and turn it into a decent photo of a goofy kid.

So what do you think? Does it looked Photoshopped?

my latest obsession

I've been taking my camera with me while I walk my dogs. Not for any reason just in case I see something interesting. In reality it is very difficult to handle two dogs on leashes and try and frame a shot.
Whatever, that is not the point, just my ADD talking. While walking the dogs I've noticed the lighting cast by the sodium vapor lamps used as street lamps in my neighborhood.




I don't know, I see something here I just don't know how to express it. Let me wonder around the neighborhood for a few more weeks and I will find it.

No edit. This is the photo in all its horror, I like it except for the thing coming up between Memphis's ears.

something old

My house was built in the 20's, these were to get electricty from the house out to the carriage house.

self portrait

Are my finger really that fat? God i need to loose weight.

still trying to get it right

A picture of a foutain that is a work in progress in my back yard. I have ideas for how I want to use it, now all i need is a human model.

things i found

My latest attempts at bad photography

More Fun with the Sony

I have a few more picture that I feel are post worthy. I really haven't set aside the time to really work with the camera. Mostly what I have is images I have captured while walking my dogs in the morning and afternoon.


Seems that some one asked that I post or send them images of fire hydrants. I don't think that is all that odd and actually, like dogs, fire hydrants make for good subjects. They work cheap and they seem to be everywhere.


The next images is a real hole in the wall, It's amazing the dives you can find in your own neighborhood.









And to the two poop monsters that made all these shots possible. Too bad they have gotten so old that all we get is a short walk to the end of the block before they want to return to the cool comfort of home. They really are spoiled couch potatoes.

Mephis in B&W



No matter how advanced the cameras get I still need a white index card to get a decent flash shot. This camera has a VERY harsh flash. A strategically placed index card in front of the flash bounces the light off the ceiling giving a more natural feel to the light.

I Have New Camera

It was a hard choice and it took months of looking at prices and specs, but I finally made my choice. I was a hard one for me and I still have misgiving about my choice. I have been a Minolta person since I was 15 yrs old and I have been using my current my Minolta X-700 35 mm SLR since 1983. The decision to switch to digital was hard enough but to change camera brands was almost too much.

I basically came down to three cameras, the Sony DSC-H1, the Konica-Minolta Z5, and the Canon S2. The cheapest of the three was the Z5 and it a Minolta (almost just bought this one without looking into it) but the reviews for it in low lighting and at higher ISO were less than acceptable. That left me with the Sony and the Canon. I could buy them both for the same price and they had the same features. Some reviews would pick the Sony, others leaned more towards the Canon. What it came down to was the LCD size and image storage. The Sony has this HUGE 2" screen but the canon was the dinky little thing that made looking act images a little difficult. The Sony uses the more expensive Memory Stick while the Canon used the more reasonable SD cards.

I went to the stores and looked on-line for weeks; honestly even as I write this and get ready to post my first shots from the camera I still have misgivings about my choice. The Sony won out. I know that this is a transition camera and that I will eventually make the leap to digital SLR but until the technology stops advancing as quickly as it is and the prices come down a little more this will have to do.

Maybe you have come to the wrong place...

There was a recent article run in the local paper, the Palm Beach Post - http://www.palmbeachpost.com/. That may have led you to this sight looking for my blog about teaching. This is not it. I don't talk about my professional life here. This is a place for me to show off what little talent I have as a photographer.

If you are looking for my rants about teaching try www.madkhemist.blogspot.com . I have not posted much there lately because I have been on our summer break. Teachers went back last Wednesday, August 3 and the students return this Wednesday, August 10. I am at a new school so things should be pretty crazy this year.

Wish me luck!