Cloudscapes and creative in camera stuff.

 I had a sudden inspiration yesterday after reading She Who Seeks blog. It was the photo of a thousand sunsets.

I recognized how it was done immediately and decided to try it too. The photo clearly was done with an Olympus camera LiveComp mode. I've done this too but not with the brilliant colors.

There were some clouds in the sky when I set the camera out for an experiment. I set the LiveComp mode to 4 second intervals and let it go for about 7 minutes. The camera takes a shot every 4 seconds and composites anything that has changed in the last 4 seconds on to the first shot. Every 4 seconds for 7 minutes means about 105 shots.

This mode is fantastic for Star Trails and it is what I always use it for. Doing a daylight photo was a bit tricky as I had to add a heavy lifter ND filter and use the internal ND filter of the OM-5.

So this was my view out the window from our eating area of the 'subject matter'.

Yup, the yard pony, Lil' Richard. He has been fantastic this spring at keeping the yard trimmed. Yes, I have to pick up his droppings, but he crops evenly and in circles from his tether.

This is what I shot. At first I wasn't going to even use it anywhere, but then I thought it was pretty funny to see how much Lil' Richard moved in 7 minutes time. He really moves around quite a bit! 

This morning I got up before dawn and decided to try this again with the camera pointing SW from our porch. This one turned out pretty cool and was an 8 minute LiveComp.

Oh that was cool and kind of fun! So I let the camera go for 17 minutes [yes, it is hard on the battery especially since it was 35 F outside]...and this is what I got.

I love it, but sadly...also since I zoomed in on a section of sky...it shows the dust spots on the lens!

I think the most interesting thing is...the different layers of clouds that are moving in different directions. I find that totally captivating. 

Next? I'm going to try some fun experiments that Anvilcloud has done. In camera double exposures. I did this a long time ago and had some fun results. Time to try it again. If you haven't seen his crocus photos, you need to jump over there and take a look.

Experimentation and taking chances on a new way of seeing things adds so much to the creative juices.

A bit of Infrared Photography

I went to a favorite spot of mine where I can stand on a closed bridge and view the stream below. I have to admit that the lighting was not really fantastic for taking photographs.

But that is why I enjoy Infrared. I'd brought along my Olympus OMD EM 5 which is an older camera to try out some filters. Infrared can be quite complicated. A converted camera is the best but I'm still a bit hesitant to take the old Oly and send it in for conversion.
If you want to read about it here is a link by LifePixel. Converting your camera...

I thought I'd compare my tiny pocket camera that I'd purchased from KolariVision to a non converted camera with just filters.

So I put the 720nm filter on the Oly and set it up on a tripod. Using this filter increases the exposure times greatly.
With the white balance ... not correctly done in camera... I learned more about that later, the shot came out like this:

Eww! Nasty reds and pinks.
But I had hope. I took a lot of shots.
I dropped it into the Olympus Program called workspace and went looking for a correction on the white balance.

Well, this was neater! Odd colored sky, off white foliage, blue reflection with a burnt sky and stream. I noted here that the wind blowing had left the tree tops with a blur. That is okay, I was experimenting.

I did some channel swapping for some 'false' color and ...

This really did appeal to me. Now everything looked like it was from another world!  The reflections were cyan and there was some pink from...who knows where. I could colorize it to my whim or leave it. Some of the details are a bit fuzzy as it was a 15 second shot and the wind blew leaves and grasses. But that was okay.

Then I thought to see how it would appear in black and white.

Oh yes. Now this I really like a lot. I liked it better than any of the other versions including the nice color shot that is very ho hum.

Then I took out the converted Canon ELPH which is a pocket camera. I stuck the 720nm filter on it and...

Well, I think the converted camera speaks for itself.

and...

my favorite shot of the morning taken with that little point and shoot camera....

I think hands down, a conversion is best.

Now to go ahead and send the camera in!

That will take some more consideration.

Once upon a time...

This is a story of a memory which may or may not be very accurate.

When I was very young I seem to recall going to Art Class and the teacher asked us to draw a scene.
Being a typical kindergartner [or first grader?] I took the beautiful array of colorful crayons and began to make my picture.

I colored grasses and trees, skies and clouds with a flourish of colors. The world would be as I deemed it in my child's eye. The clouds would be purple, the sky would be orange, the leaves would be wild colors of green, yellow, blue, ...anything my heart desired.

I put the sun in the upper right corner with multicolored rays emitting from it.

The Art Teacher came around and told me that the sky was blue. The grass is green and so were leaves on the trees. I was told to do my picture over.

I recall telling this to my father. I was very heartbroken that I had to color things the way the teacher saw it. My world was brilliant and imaginative [I didn't have the vocabulary at the time to express this to her] and her world was dull and unexciting.

I want to believe that my father talked to the teacher. But I do know that he did talk to me about it. He told me it was perfectly okay to draw the world in any color I wished, and if I wanted to the sky to be orange or purple, that was fine.

And so I bring you to my next photography experimentation. The Infared Converted camera.

It allows me to giggle and smile at a world not seen by many.

Magical.

Wild.
Where skies can be odd colored, where trees can be white or pink at my choosing.

Infrared photography is best done in the summer, but being who I am, I couldn't help but try it out in the brilliant snow.

And if I want purple clouds?

I sure can have them!

Who says dreams don't come true?

I like Infared !

I only use a Hoya IR72 filter with my Olympus OMD EM 5 mirrorless camera. I got this camera back in 2015 just when the new version came out and the old version was being discontinued.
Why?
Well, the cost savings is great while buying a used or a new one that is being discontinued.

I went mirrorless because the camera is supposed to be more compact and lightweight. And, it was. It is my go to camera on very long hikes. I've beat the crap out of it and it still functions.

Is it the hands down best camera out there?
Nope.
However I bought in a bundle and saved quite a bit of money. My Nikon D5200 is an excellent camera. But it is heavier and it is quite picky about moist humid days or extremely cold days. The Oly is supposed to be weather resistant.

A big plus is that it does read infrared light too. The Nikon doesn't, however the IR filter will work with the Nikon. It just acts like a very dark red ND filter.

That said here is what I shot yesterday. It was bright and sunny, the lighting was all wrong for regular color, so I switched over to IR.

The Meadow in color:

The Meadow in IR:

The greens turn white, the shadows and cool areas are dark!
The trails faintly show up in the grass.
The leaves are slightly blurry as the length of exposure was about 2 seconds and the wind was blowing.

Next time I will try a fast ISO to see if I can get a clearer shot. True IR will look different. But don't want to convert a camera just for that.

Another shot across the ridge:

And then in IR:

However, the colors are beginning to change rapidly and now I am thinking about doing a drive around and trying to find neat spots to pull over and take photos.

Tonight we are supposed to have frost. It is right about the normal time for frost. But it makes me sad as the fall colors rush by so quickly and suddenly we are in the icky brown time before the snow falls.

Here are a  couple of more IR shotsthat I took then I will be done with displaying my IR shots for now.

I have to contact the VA Tech Help to set up a laptop for a telehealth appointment with speech/memory therapy for hubby.

Have a good Friday. I have some doodling painting to do on my landing. It is coming out pretty neat.

Well that sucked!

I got up early because there was a slight chance that I could beat the sun up and beat the rain coming in from the west.

I got a glimpse of bright pink in the east and went for my camera case. I swung it up to head out the door.

Oops. Mistake. The new hard floor is not very forgiving. Out of the unzipped compartment flew my relatively new long lens for my Olympus OM D EM5 camera. It is a kit lens, but a nice lens none the less. Bang it went on the hardwood floor. Even wrapped in bubble wrap, it took a hit.

I stopped in my tracks and wanted to beat my self in the head. I didn't check, I was in a hurry. Oh how I would regret this.

I stooped to pick up the lens. It worked. Phew.
But.

The UV lens filter was not only broken, but the filter ring was bent.
Now this looked like a pretty big mess so I made coffee and watched the rain come in.

We had to go to Madison after chores so I decided to set everything aside and think long and hard about what I'd done.

On our drive to Madison, I decided to pull out my 'Smartie-Phone' and see what I could do about a bent and broken filter.
Certainly I was not the only idiot in the world who had done such a thing as drop my lens.

Nope, I wasn't! 
But the fix looked awfully risky.

Take out the broken glass carefully without damaging the camera lens underneath.

Get pliers and bend the metal ring on the now empty filter until it comes off.

Hmmm. I watched several YouTube videos and read extensively about it. 
Yikes.

So when I got back from hubby's appointment in Madison I first walked around and looked at the lens. Then I went outside and did some yard work.
Then I came back in and took a deep breath.

Not a clear shot, but well the instructions worked. Now I would dearly suggest going to a Camera Store and having this taken care of, but since there aren't any around for many miles...
well, I took a chance.

It could have really sucked big time.

I put the lens back on the camera and turned it on. 

It worked!

Now I need to make sure every time I pick up that sling bag, to double and triple check that I have everything zipped up properly.

Am I camera Crazy?

Mid February isn't supposed to be quite this cold.  Wow! This morning it was -12 F.
Yesterday it did warm up to about 10 degrees and if you could get out of the wind, it actually was pleasant.

I had put off my errands in town most of the week so yesterday I grabbed my list and went.

I really don't like going to town.  I especially dislike going on Saturdays.
But there you go, I really just ended up putting it off until I had no other choice.

However, I put my Olympus E 420 in a camera bag and brought it along.  Sometimes an opportunity will present itself and ... well, you never know.

Olympus E 420 kit lens

And it did!  I love this curve in the gravel road.  I wanted to explore some more, but there were chores to do when I got home.

Point and Shoot Fujifilm

And the road conditions on the ridge were getting a bit nasty.

Regarding my Olympus camera.  I do love it and it is generally my go to camera for hiking because it is a lightweight DSLR.  It isn't the tanks that the Nikons are.
Don't get me wrong, I love my Nikon and the Nikkor lenses.  But the Nikon D5200 is sort of a primadonna.

Apparently it doesn't like cold or damp ... or humid weather.

However it really loves doing Still Life photography!

Nikon D5200 with Nikkor 40mm micro lens

And I love doing this work with it.

So.
Naughty me.  I began to look into mirrorless cameras.

A few years ago I saw an ad for an Olympus OMD-D E-M5 Mirrorless camera.  A man sets the camera on a tripod and watches as a storm approaches.  Rain slashes the window he is standing by.  The camera is shown, water droplets are covering it.
Zoom into the back of the camera and live view. Lightening flashes and the man in the house uses his smart phone to remotely take a photo.

In 2012 this camera was $1,499.  Ouch, way beyond my reach.
Now the camera is being discontinued.  A new and improved model will take its place. The price was affordable even to me.

Kudos for Olympus.  Their mirrorless line will take all lenses from the previous DSLR's.  Nikon and other companies have all gone with special lenses.

The nice thing about the Oly lenses is that they are lightweight enough to work with a mirrorless camera.

Olympus E 420 kit lens

My Nikon weighs approximately 44 oz with a 'kit' lens. Generally I carry an extra lens with me while hiking.

The Olympus OMD-D E-M5 weighs 22 oz. with the M. Zuiko ED 12-50mm lens I ordered. 

Well there, the cat is out of the bag.

I am looking forward to hiking with the Oly.  I won't have to drag around a heavy weight tripod with it either, I can go for a lightweight one! 

I won't have to worry about snowfall getting the camera damp as it is weather sealed as is the lens.

Just color me happy.

My Nikon D40 is being retired.  I sent out an email to a friend who has kids who are interested in photography.

Nikon D40 free to good home.  It will get a good home and lots of use also.

Olympus E 420 kit zoom lens

I am looking forward to all sorts of great adventures and hiking with a lighter camera.

Now to figure out how to make these cameras earn their keep.

That is the hard one!

Oh and for those of you reading?  Happy Valentines Day...one day early!

Nikon D5200 50mm lens

Enjoy your Saturday.  It looks like mostly indoor work for me today.  

Lost in the Woods

Well, not really.  I don't get lost in the woods, it is more like I lose myself in the woods.

I lose sense of time in a way.  I leave the outside world and all of its problems far away.  Instead I see tracks in the mud, I see fungi, I see the land and the forest...the shape of the trees now that they have no leaves...and I am happy.

When I started my walk the skies were overcast.  I was searching for a buck that may have been wounded on the last day of deer season.  Hubby lost the blood trail and so I decided to scour one of the sections of hillsides above the creek.

I took only my pink pocket camera and my varmit rifle.  I crisscrossed the hillside above the creek.  I followed deer trails, found deer beds, and even jumped up a fawn.

I didn't find the missing buck, but I can say that it is a darned good excuse to go back out and hike as many little trails as I can find.

I got back and did some things with hubby.  We put the side covers on his skid steer and I watered the large stock tank.

Then it began to lightly snow.  I went in the house and let Morris out.  He had been 'trapped' in the house for gun deer season also.
It was time he was able to get out and enjoy some fun.

I told hubby that I was going to take Morris for a walk and do the round about thing to get the mail.  Hubby knows that this means another hike through the woods.
After all, I can hardly stand to just walk straight up the driveway to get the mail!

It began to snow. 

I know Morris didn't mind at all.  He enjoyed every moment of it.

He is the most excellent trail companion as he can find even the most difficult deer trails.  Plus he always knows a short cut to home.

It was enchanting, the snow fell and slowly turned began to turn the ground white.  The forecast 'said' we'd only get about 1/2" of the stuff.

None the less, it made for a beautiful landscape.

We did eventually get to the road and get the mail.  The neighbors were out so Morris and I stopped to say hello.

We headed home just in time to do chores and eat supper.

After all, we were not lost, we were just side tracked for a while.

I should what with my Hist-o-gram?

Histograms.
They are supposed to help a person take a better photo.

I never used them until the other day when doing an assignment for a group I belong to on Google+.

I knew what it was, I knew it was a graph 'thingy' that showed up in the camera if I hit certain buttons, and I know it shows up in Photoshop when I do editing.

So the other day I did a little experimenting on my own.

I shot with my Olympus Digital E-420 camera, it is light enough to use a wimpy light tripod with.  I'm not weighed down by it much and since it is one of my oldest cameras, I take it when things can get rough hiking.

However it sees snow as blue!

Here is one shot I took for the Histogram shot.

Well obviously the colors are way off.
I put it into my trail version of PaintShopPro X6 Ultimate and decided to check the histogram.


The top one is the histogram as PSP reads it.  There is a lot of info missing on the right which means this is underexposed.
Yes I bet it was, it was getting dark and the ISO was set at 100 for this shot.

Not only that, I was dealing with a flash flood from snow melt, so I wasn't taking the time to twiddle with the camera.

I know, bad me right?

But could I save this shot of the ice wall?

Above I tried to stretch out the histogram, but dang it, the color was so off that it wouldn't work well.

Back to PSP.

First I used AfterShotPro to develop the RAW shot over again, this time paying attention to the WHITE of the snow.

I was able to stretch the histogram to the right and get the nice white color I needed instead of the blue.

Not a perfect histogram according to some digital photographers, but this was going to have to do as the wall may well be gone on my next trip down.

This turned out so much better than I hoped.  The texture of the ice wall along with the streaks of brown from the clay and minerals came out quite nicely.


The snow is white, the shot was saved!
I can add it to my project about the creek!

This thanks to learning a bit more about the histogram.

I also found the histogram quite useful with this shot.  The original is in color but I converted to black and white.  
The white of the water was not showing white, it was coming up dingy grey until I worked on the histogram.

That said, I also liked the dark forboding color version of this shot.  
Histogram be danged and all that.

You see there is a 'lot' of info missing on the right side.  I say, oh well, I really like this shot.

So I'll do some more experimenting with the Hist-o-gram shortly, but there are many occasions that a photographer doesn't have time to set, reset, change EV values and then re-check the histogram while doing a shot in nature.

Well, maybe they do and I am just lazy.

But these shots were taken as quickly as possible during a mini flash flood, so I was 'capturing' the moment so to speak.

And if you want more reading on Histograms, try this article from Digital Photography school.