PHOG (Nadia's Photography Blog)

High Power Wash

2010-02-21T22:30:00.004-05:00

I bought some flowers today in hope of taking some pictures of them. I couldn't find any calla lilies despite my friend George telling me that he found some at his local grocery store. Mine didn't have them so I got tulips. Alas, I was not able to take any photos of them today. No time since I had to do a bunch of work from that pesky day job.

Instead, while at the car wash, I took some pictures of the water spraying against the windshield. I love watching the crazy water patterns that form as the soap and spray play on the windshield. These shots did not have much processing. No time!!!

This weekend I head up to Longwood Gardens in PA for a Lensbaby class with friends. I can't wait!!! My next post should be LOTS of flower photos.

THERE IS ROOM FOR MY ECLECTIC STYLE ... yes there is!!!

2010-01-26T22:43:00.005-05:00

My style of photography is eclectic meaning that I select and use what seems best from various sources or systems.

Sometimes it is realistic and sometime it is ...
... ABSTRACT!!!

I am thinking about doing some photographic teaching in the near future. Having planned several local outings with photo friends, I know that creating a workshop is not something that can be done without a great deal of thought and planning. Thanks to all my photo friends that are encouraging me on this.

I am going to start with something that I know. My first planned out-of-town workshop will be to Chincoteague, VA and Assateague Island, MD in the fall - November 2010. I am starting to look at my own recent Chincoteague images to sketch out the outline of the workshop. Aside from the classic nature shots -- the bay, the beach, the geese, the ponies -- there are lots of interesting things to shoot in this area and this is where my eclectic style comes in.

I took this shot at a local boat rental shop, Capt. Bob's Marina. While driving around during the mid-day looking for interesting things to shoot, these colorful boats drew our little group in. This is a classic scenario for photographers on the prowl: "OMG, look at that ... STOP!!!"

When I went to process this image of vibrant colors (shot with my Lensbaby Composer lens), it just screamed "ABSTRACT!!!" Perhaps I have been working too many long hours if my images are screaming at me.

Watch for more news on my photographic adventure workshops coming your way sometime soon.

Pretty Macro Flowers

2010-01-24T19:28:00.006-05:00

Last week I bought some flowers to shoot (poor flowers, what did they do that was so wrong that they should be shot???). I let them sit for a whole week before I shot them. Some pink tulips had died a horrible death. I tried to shoot them but those images did not turn out so well and you will not see them here. Some were living life just fine and you see them here. Enjoy.

I shot these with my 105mm macro lens at f2.8. Not much crazy post shooting processing (well, one was "artified" with Topaz Simplify - can you guess which one).

Photography question of the day - are these images "abstract?" One definition of abstract photography is the photographic art that is "not representational of real objects in the natural world." So this means that you cannot really tell what the original object in the photograph is/was. Another definition is "works in which objects, people, and/or places are depicted in simplified arrangements of shapes, lines, textures, and/or colors." I found an interesting site of abstract photography today. photographic abstracts

Oh, and I bought more flowers today ... stay tuned.

A Dog By Any Other Name

2010-01-16T12:08:00.005-05:00

I didn't get up as early as I had wanted. The warmth of my bed was just a little too comfortable. But I did manage some morning photography - back to the place I scouted the other day. Here is a shot of the Memorial Bridge.

It wasn't the shot I had hoped for - at least not the shot that was stuck in my head. I will have to get up earlier the next time and perhaps check out a slightly different spot.

I still had a hankering to shoot some ice and on the way home detoured to Walney Pond. Despite the warmer weather the past couple of days, the pond was solid ice and not very pretty. Maybe it will be better with sunlight hitting it at an angle - at sunrise or even sunset (I sense that there will be an early evening trip today). I hiked over to the creek to see if I could find some ice to shoot but while the pond was frozen, there was very little ice to be had in the creek. Probably the result of the flowing water.

I did find, however, a small horse - actually a great dane - named Hamlet. His owner told me that he weighed 170 pounds. That is 100 pounds on my own Ivan. Hamlet was beautiful and very friendly. He didn't really want to pose for me but I just had to capture his wonderful face. I hope to see him again when I get over to the pond again.

I have some friends that are doing a 100 strangers photography project. I wonder if I should do a 100 strange dogs photography project. Hmmmmmmmm.

Remember, if you click on either image, it will be displayed in a larger size.

Until the next time ...

Scouting

2010-01-14T23:06:00.005-05:00

It has been sooooooo cold the last couple of weeks that I have not wanted to take the bus and Metro to work. Somehow driving door to door has held some value!!! As I have driven over the Roosevelt Bridge every morning, I have noticed the repeating pattern of Memorial Bridge - made all the more striking due to a morning reflection in the frozen Potomac River. I've been researching how to reach a good place to shoot this scene. On the way home from work tonight, I decided to take a detour to look for the spot that I hope to visit again this weekend with tripod and DSLR in hand.

It was dark, I had no tripod and only had my little point and shoot (always with me and ready to capture the scene at hand). This image is the Memorial Bridge - the bridge between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. I've adjusted the image with a little of the Topaz Simplify plugin in Photoshop CS3. I can't wait to get back there this weekend for a morning shot. Hopefully there will still be some frozen Potomac.

The view looking towards the Roosevelt Bridge with Rosslyn, Virginia in the background was also striking. The Roosevelt Bridge also crosses the Potomac River between Virginia and the District of Columbia - over part of Theodore Roosevelt Island. This image was also adjusted with Topaz Simplify.

Click on either image to see it BIGGER!!!

Cold

2010-01-07T08:31:00.003-05:00

It is so hard to break out of the cold weather photography rut. I am starting to come out of it slowly ... what better way to do so than to shoot what is around ... ICE.

This was the ice on my windshield the other day. I loved the pebbly texture.

Happy New Year!!!

Abstractions

2009-12-30T08:50:00.003-05:00

I've been feeling a little un-motivated to do any serious photography lately. Last night I decided to change that. After looking at some of the work of my photography friends, I pulled out the lensbaby and played for awhile.

As with anything, sometimes my ideas come from random comments from my friends. My friend Nancy got a scanner. My friend John commented on some of the amazing scanner art out there these days. I have a scanner so I googled "scanner art" and found a lot of flowers. I really wasn't in the mood to photograph flowers (sometimes I am but not right now). But then I saw a shot of a slinky. It may actually not have been a scanner shot of a slinky. Hey, I have a slinky. A slinky needs to be shot with a macro lens. What is the minimum shooting distance of my macro lens (12 inches)? of my Nifty Fifty (18 inches)? of my Lensbaby (9 inches)? of my Lensbaby with macro attachments (2-3 inches)? Hmmmmm.

Click on the image to see it larger on your screen.

This shot is my slinky shot with my Lensbaby (no macro filter) - tweaked in Lightroom and Photoshop (Topaz Simplify filter and then the Filter Gallery in CS3). I absolutely love the color!!!

Happy New Year All!!!

Getting Out There With New Toys

2009-11-28T15:16:00.006-05:00

Thanksgiving Weekend. It is so easy to sit at home and gorge oneself on left over turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie ... OR ... get out there and shoot some images. My husband was otherwise occupied so I had an hour or two to get away to a local park ... Walney Pond. I've started coming here at all seasons. How the pond changes ...

Today I also had a new toy to play with ... my plastic Diana extra wide angle lens. The plastic Diana cameras were known for their dreamy effects. It didn't really know what to expect now that I could mount this "toy" lens to my DSLR. Now I know.
When I was last here - in summer - there were more people around ... fishing, walking, playing ... today, there were just a few and the park seemed so alone. This shot was taken with my 105 mm macro lens (though not a macro shot) since the toy lens is not for every shot - and then I processed it with Topaz Simplify for that "artsy" look.

See you soon.

Creative Choices

2009-11-10T22:35:00.007-05:00

Sometimes the creative choice comes in shooting the image. Sometimes it comes in processing the image. Sometimes it is about "what you see is what you get" - the literal image captured by your camera. And sometimes it is about using the tools to show your vision - however (and whenever) that vision hits you.

In yesterday's blog post, I opted to process the Dream for Sale image using a couple layers of Topaz Simplify to "art it up." After a comment by my son, Joe, a very creative artist in his own right, I looked at the image again and decided that I didn't really like what I had done at all. So it was back to the drawing board for a new take on "Dream for Sale." What do you think? This version is a little more literal - yet still with a slight dream like quality.

And here is the actual Dream that is for sale - an old roller rink:

Another creative choice that I love is the swoosh also know as the swipe. In this technique you pan your camera while depressing the shutter to get the essence of the colors of the scene. This is usually best done around sunrise or sunset to take advantage of the lower light so you can make a longer exposure (6th to an 8th of a second) so you don't blow out your image. This swoosh was made at the Snow Goose Pond at Chincoteague National Wildlife Area around sunset. The massive flocks of birds were not where we were but the colors called to be swooshed. And so I obliged them.

Finally, last creative choice for this blog entry. On my last couple of photo trips, I have fallen in love with my fisheye lens (the Nikon 10.5 mm). When I first got it, although I was excited about it, I wasn't feeling the love so much. But now I have found a use for it. Old falling down buildings take on an interesting persona via the fisheye. And when I combine the fisheye image with processing in Topaz Simplify to "art it up," I just love the results. This house/barn/whatever was along the main highway (Rt. 13 I think) heading down through the eastern shore of Virginia. I saw it and made a U turn so that I could stop and shoot it for a while. I wonder what people think as they see a lone photographer stalking abandoned buildings with a tripod.

I recently got the fisheye optic for my lensbaby - yet another creative choice. I have not figured out exactly how to best use this optic but I am having more fun with my lensbaby since I got The Composer version. Watch for lensbaby images coming to my blog sometime soon. Perhaps the next post even.

Dream for Sale

2009-11-10T00:02:00.004-05:00

I went to the eastern shore area of Virginia this past weekend - to Chincoteague. I had a dream to find that perfect image. My dreams don't always come true. Sometimes the perfect image just isn't there. Sometimes the image that I thought was perfect, WASN'T ... and the image that I thought was not so good, WAS. Sometimes the dream is for sale ... or so the sign says. I saw this sign and the "Dream" that was for sale when I was driving into Chincoteague on Friday evening. I knew that I would stop on my way out. I processed this shot in Photoshop CS3 and filtered 2 layers using Topaz Simplify.

On Saturday afternoon when the light was high and harsh, it was hard to find ideal images. Perhaps we should have taken a nap. But we didn't. Instead we drove to the end of the island and found this dock ... among other things (watch for more of the "other" things coming soon). This image was a B&W conversion - thought it didn't need that much tweaking since it was close to B&W to begin with.

On my way home, I took a long detour via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. It is an amazing marvel. I also took this shot when the light was high and harsh. Sometimes these images work. Sometimes not. I think it worked this time. Interestingly, while I did a little processing in CS3 and Topaz Adjust, the color of this image was not changed. It just came out this way.

As always, click on any image in the blog to see it larger.

Well, watch the blog for more of my Chincoteague images. I shot over 800. Yikes, I could be at the computer a while.

Pumpkin Pup

2009-10-26T23:01:00.001-04:00

Pumpkin Pup, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

I was dying to photograph some fall colors so on Sunday, I went out with a friend and her 2 boys for some apple orchard fun. The apples were almost done but there was fun to be had in the pumpkin patch. This little guy thought so. He was so excited to have people come and pay attention to him. I barely got a shot of him - he just wouldn't stay still.

City Stuff

2009-10-04T22:15:00.006-04:00

While in NYC for work, I've had the chance to get some shooting done. This was the shot of my hotel, the Embassy Suites WTC, and the Irish Hunger Memorial, last night.

I took a walk before breakfast and starting work this morning. Although it wasn't raining during my walk, it had been raining earlier and the water droplets were on the overhang on the entrance to my hotel. I saw it and pulled at the camera for one last shot for the day.

I thought that it might also look good in B&W. Which do you like better?

Hunger

2009-10-04T00:15:00.004-04:00

I'm in NY for work and the Irish Hunger Memorial is across the street from my hotel. Here are some images that I captured yesterday morning and last night - before and after work. These were shot with my 50 mm f/1.8 lens - the "nifty fifty." I have one more day of my "Nifty Fifty" challenge and then I can change lenses. Hopefully I will have time for some more shooting while I'm here. This memorial is full of shooting possibilities so I will probably return.

Everything Old is New Again

2009-09-29T21:11:00.003-04:00

To prove that I actually listen when I go on photo workshops, this week I went back to some images that I shot back in May and looked at them with a fresh eye. I shot these three images on an HDR workshop taught by my friend and mentor, John Barclay. I love going on workshops because I get to play with my friends and meet new friends - which I did on this particular workshop.

In on of my recent postings, I described HDR photography really badly. I will try to redeem myself in this post.

When we see - with our eyes - we see a wide range of light and dark areas of a scene. For instance, when we are inside a building, looking out a window, we see the inside of the window - the sill, the frame, the walls around it - and we also see the outside scene - the lovely rolling countryside. When we try to take a picture of that same scene, in our photos, we will see either the outside scene and the inside will be dark - all the details lost - OR we will see the inside scene and the outside seen will be "blown out" (too bright) - all the details lost. That is because while our eyes can see and process a range of exposures, our cameras can't. Of course not unless we do something special. That "special" technique is called HDR Photography or high dynamic range photography. When using this technique we take several shots of the same scene and blend them together in a photo processing software of some kind. We take shots where the darks are not too dark and show detail and we take shots where the brights are not too bright and show detail. And after blending them together, we have an image that is closer to what we saw with our eyes. This is what I have done in these shots. I have shot anywhere from 3-5 images, at different exposures, and have blended them together.

I also tweaked some color and contrast and "artified" the images using one of the Topaz plug-ins for Photoshop until I liked what I got - but that is the subject of another post.

The HDR technique is generally done with the camera on a tripod - although it can be done (more difficult) hand holding the camera. I used a tripod for these images.

Eastern State Penitentiary - the abandoned cells seem so forgotten!!!

Fonthill.

I'm heading to NYC for work for several weeks. I don't know if I'll be able to shoot while I am there. Or if I am able to shoot, if I will be able to process any images in any meaningful way. We'll see.

New Lensbaby

2009-09-27T13:12:00.005-04:00

My new Lensbaby Composer came yesterday. Much easier to use than my Lensbaby 3G but I still need to practice. Here are a few images shot from my front stoop. There is nothing special in the processing other than the mid-contrast pop with the Unsharp Mask filter (20-50-0). These were shot in manual mode at f2.0 - I think at 125th of a second.

HDR HDR HDR

2009-09-24T23:52:00.006-04:00

This blog post features images from my Eastern Shore workshop shot for and processed using HDR - High Dynamic Range. In this technique, you take multiple images of the same scene that each capture a different aspect of the exposure range in the scene and then you blend the images together ... and also play with some of the tones. OK, not such a great description of the technique. It is late and I want to get this posted before hitting the hay. I'll do better next time.

Click on any image to see it a little larger.

These first three images were taken at an old, falling down house. It is the perfect subject for HDR with a slight grunge look and some super color saturation.

I was feeling somewhat uninspired at this location until I pulled the fisheye out. Bingo - INSPIRATION!!!
This shot was taken at night. A challenge. I'm thinking that a dusk shot would be better. I guess that I have to head back to St. Michaels!!!

HDR can also be converted to B&W. This is one of my first attempts at a B&W HDR image. This shot was taken in the boat building shop at the Maritime Museum in St. Michaels.

More of the Shore - the Eastern Shore

2009-09-22T21:34:00.005-04:00

Here are some more shots from my workshop on the Eastern Shore of Maryland last weekend. Remember, if you click any any of these images, you can view it in a larger size.

This first shot is from our first night shooting. It is an overlay - the phragmites (I love this new addition to my vocabulary) overlayed on a sunset shot of the piece of a boat on the shore. There was a whole boat there but I liked just shooting the corner - to make you wonder. This location was perfectly named - Sunset Beach.

From our second night shooting, this is a tryptic of the sky just after the sunset. I used a panning or "swoosh" technique on these three images. They were shot in Oxford, Maryland. We had the best homemade ice cream in Oxford - made my a Scotsman. I had strawberry and vanilla - some of the best I have ever had.

On our second and last morning, we left the motel promptly at 5:30 am so that we would not miss the early light at the Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland. To add to the educational aspect of this blog ... I shot this at ISO 200 for 30 sec at f16. My 18-200mm zoom lens was set at 18mm. Yes, I used a tripod.

Once the sun was up, there was beautiful golden morning light. My friend, Dorine, pointed out this bow on one of the boats located right behind where we were shooting the sunrise. What fun!!!

As we were heading home, we met some bikers at the gas station. It had been Bike Week in Ocean City, Maryland. One of the bikers had won this Tweety Bird in OC. He tried to give it away to me asking if I had any kids that might like it. While I'm sure that Joe would have liked it - or even the dog (he loves toys), I didn't want to deprive all the other drivers on the road of seeing Biker Tweety driving by. I'm sure that it made lots of people laugh or at least smile.

I have lots more photos to process so come back soon and see what else is new.

A Beautiful Weekend

2009-09-20T21:27:00.011-04:00

This past Friday through Sunday, I joined 10 other photographers in a workshop on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in and around St. Michaels. Here are some of my favorites - many more to process.

The grand scenes are lovely but sometimes you just need to notice the details - like a stack of crab baskets in the back of a pick up truck.

The sunset colors were beautiful but so were the soft weeds at the edge of the bay. I've been following my friend Barbara Kile and her flower texture images. I overlayed a shot of ripples in the sand under the water over this silhouette of some phragmites weeds against the colors of sunset.

I really like reflections - in water, in glass, anywhere. This first shot is close to sunset. The second is just after the sunrise.

Our tour leader, John Barclay, was good at noticing the details - like this spider web on between the dock and a boat at the Maritime Museum.

John was not the only one to notice the details. My friend, room/travelmate for the weekend, Dorine, shared some good finds (watch for another posting) and one my co-participants and new friend, Graham, shared some of his finds too. I ended up lying on my stomach balancing my camera on a plank so that I could shoot the links of a large iron chain with my macro lens. This was part of a boat restoration are at the Maritime Museum.

I used a variety of processing techniques on these images. John has got me loving Topaz Adjust and Topaz Simplify - hence the "artsy" look of some of these.

More will be coming in the next couple of weeks. Enjoy.

Little Hokie

2009-09-20T21:22:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we went to the first home game of the Virginia Tech football season. This little girl was sitting behind me and I just couldn't resist shooting her (with a camera, of course).

Sky Sky Sky

2009-09-16T22:47:00.003-04:00

I'm getting ready for a photo workshop with one of my photography mentors - John Barclay - on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. So, I went back to look at some images that I shot on a workshop that I did with John earlier this year - in May - at Eastern State Penn in Philly. One image, that I didn't pay particular attention to back in May called to me tonight. I think that I was drawn to this one because of the sky. Lately the sky has been looking amazing - as it often does this time of year. I hope that there will be some amazing sky to shoot this weekend.
I tweaked this image a little with the Photoshop plug-in Topaz Adjust.
Watch on Sunday for some images from the Eastern Shore workshop.

Moonlight

2009-09-02T22:17:00.005-04:00

Joe called to tell us that the moon looked really cool tonight so I grabbed the camera and tripod to see what I could see. I probably should have had a bigger lens on the camera - I had the 28-70 on there. This was shot at 70mm at ISO 1600, at f22 for 8 seconds. AT ISO 1600 it was a little grainy so I processed it in Topaz DeNoise and then for a little added kick in Topaz Adjust.

I don't really know much about shooting at night. It is still a little grainy. But an interesting first shot for the month of September. Hopefully it is just the start of a successful photography month.

We'll see.

Second Manassas or Second Bull Run - depending on who you are

2009-08-30T20:42:00.006-04:00

My last August photo adventure was a trip to the Manassas Battlefield. This weekend marked the 147th anniversary of the Second Battle of Manassas (if you are a Southerner) or the Second Battle of Bull Run (if you are a Northerner). Civil war reinactors spent the weekend camping out at the Brawner Farm (southern part of the battlefield park) dressed in their woolies - yes, woolies in August!!! This morning I headed over there to shoot some morning images. I wanted to get there early for a few reasons - the morning light and the morning cool (well, the morning not so hot). I arrived at the camp at around 8 am and left around 9:30. Here are a few shots - processed appropriately ...

I first came upon the confederate camp - around the old Brawner Farm House.

They were finishing up breakfast and getting set up for the day.

I shot a few more images of this area but ... the farm house had window air conditioner units - how authentic is that?!!!

After spending a little time talking with some of the reinactors, I headed to the Union camp. They were finishing up their morning coffee and getting ready for the events of the day.

Next weekend we are off to Atlanta for some Hokie football and sightseeing fun. I'm not sure if I will be taking my big camera ... who am I kidding, of course I will be.

New Car and New Car Salesman, Don

2009-08-29T12:38:00.002-04:00

New Car and New Car Salesman, Don, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

The photo seems to have been cut off - perhaps a glitch in publishing to the blog directly from Flickr. To see the whole image, click on the image. But read my witty banter first!!!

We picked up our new car today, a Red 2010 Toyota Prius. Here she is all shiny and new on the Koons Tysons Toyota lot. Charles disagrees and does not think that a car has a gender - and he doesn't think that "she" should have a name. I disagree. I suspect she will have quite the personality. I will wait to figure that out before naming her. ;)

This is our salesman Don Evans. He was a great salesman. What every car salesman should be. He was not pushy. He was helpful. We really liked him and would recommend him to anyone. An added plus (for Charles): he is a Jayhawk and was in the Air Force (Charles, in addition to being a Hokie, is also a Jayhawk, and his dad was in the Air Force).

This is a grab shot that I took. These events and the people that make a difference should be memorialized!!!

My Creative Spirit

2009-08-22T19:32:00.006-04:00

Today, I went on a photo adventure to Glen Eco Park in Cabin John, Maryland. This "arts park" is a former chataqua and amusement park. The old amusement park buildings have an art deco style. But the park is also surrounded by woods. You enter the park by crossing over a wooden bridge over the Mineehaha Creek. Through the lush foilage, you see an old railroad bridge - perhaps this bridge brought people out to the park from downtown D.C.
One of the first things that you see as you enter the park is the Denzel Carousel. It wasn't open yet but the building itself is very colorful - especially with a little HDR processing. Although I had to move a few trash cans out of my shot.
There are lots of neon signs around the park. I am going to have to go back at night and catch the lights on. This is the sign for the main park entrance. I shot several versions of the sign from different angles. I was stuck by how quickly the sky was changing in the background. This shot is also an HDR image.
The sky was changing for good reason. Storms were moving in and out of the area. While shooting it started to rain so I took a break in the "Cuddle Up" pavilion to wait it out. While sitting there one of the park maintenance men, John, showed up to start power washing the concrete floor. The Cuddle Up pavilion is used for all kinds of activities from performances to art classes. John had these great yellow boots and was kind enough to pose for a portrait.
I'm going to have to head back to Glen Echo because there is lots to shoot there. Lots to feed my creative spirit.

There is always something to shoot ... there is - REALLY!!!

2009-08-18T22:10:00.006-04:00

While in New York for my parents' anniversary celebration, we stayed in the quaint harbor town of Port Jefferson. I had planned on getting up early on Sunday morning to catch that wonderful morning light on the harbor. Unfortunately, I got to bed way to late the night before - the party ran until 11 and I got lost getting back to the hotel - so early morning shooting was not to be. Instead it was some ZZZZZZZZZZZ's.

While packing the car to head out, we noticed "Giggles." I had to get a shot of a boat named "Giggles!"

Then I noticed this larger boat and its reflection. I didn't like the background of smoke stacks (even if they did have stripes - which you can't even see in this shot) but I always love water reflections so I shifted my camera and shot the reflection. Not the best that I've ever seen but I like it.

Moral of the story: there is always something to shoot - you just have to look for it (even if you only have a few minutes to shoot).

Lessons Learned

2009-08-17T23:53:00.005-04:00

This past weekend we celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It was a great event. I, however, was an awful photographer. I guess that I can blame lots of things for this ... mostly myself for not thinking. I was so wrapped up with everything that was going on that I didn't think clearly about the various things that I knew should have been done - like make sure the auto focus was always turned on, or that I was using the correct ISO, or ...

I did get some good shots. And thank goodness for Photoshop plug-ins. At least some of the shots could be saved somewhat. If you like some of the creative stuff.

I did shoot about 80 images so it will take a little while to process them all. In the meantime ... the couple of honor - my mom and dad!!!

The morning after the party - before we all headed on our separate ways - we were able to have breakfast together - my parents - my sister and her family - and me and my family. Joe's friend Billy shot the images. Unfortunately the autofocus was not turned on and not one shot was in actual focus. I love the Topaz Simplfy filter for an artistic family portrait.

My parents. 50 Years Together ... and still very much in love!!!

Rawwwwwrrr!!!

2009-08-08T11:29:00.001-04:00

Rawwwwwrrr!!!, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

Sometimes photography needs to be silly.

I've been wanting a bubble level for my camera. I even went so far as to go to the local camera store to purchase one. But they were out. Then, one of my favorite fun photo related sites, www.Photojojo.com, had one on sale for a reasonable price (hope it is a good one). It came yesterday. In a big box about 50 times its size and included in the box was Rawwwwrrrr!!! (it actually said Rawwwwrrrr on the invoice (he was free).

Sometimes the inspiration for a photo just hits you in the face. What fun.

Process Process Process - More Maine

2009-07-31T18:11:00.002-04:00

Pemaquid Point Light, ME, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

It seems like I am ALWAYS processing images these days!!!

One of the benefits of going on a photo tour with John Barclay and Dan Sniffin is that sometime after the shoot, John sends out a DVD with images from everyone on the tour. We all send in 10 images and a bunch of "people" shots from the tour. He sets our images to music and adds silly captions to the "people" shots. It is a nice memory of our time together and it gives us a chance to see what others saw that we didn't.

Of course the problem with this is that (1) you have to process your pics - a tour can net you thousands of images - and (2) you have to PICK 10 - way harder than you would think.

The 10 images that I sent to John are posted in my Flickr Maine Photo Tour Set. Click on the link and you will be magically transported via the tubes and wires of the Internet to Flickr and more of my images.

Come visit again soon.

- Nadia

Sunflower Day

2009-07-25T16:39:00.015-04:00

Today was Sunflower Day ... I, and 8 friends, went shooting (with our cameras) at McKee-Beshers WMA's sunflower fields. We got there to find a parking lot full of cars and lots of photographers (there was a workshop this morning) - the more the merrier!!!

We had a variety of shooters - some from my local group of photo friends and some from my growing group of friends from farther a a field. We had shooters from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York.

I was concentrating on macro until I lent my macro lens to one of my friends, then I used the 70-200 lens. I learning to use this lens so keeping it on my camera was a good exercise. I like to shoot with my 18-200 lens and it is easy composing a shot with that focal range. It is harder (and at times frustrating) to frame for the 70-200 range.

We were there early enough to catch dew on the flowers and leaves. Can you see the reflection of the sunflowers in this drop?

Yes, I shot a lot of the dew.

The yellow of the sunflowers really makes me happy.

It isn't all sunflowers at McKee-Beshers. While going deeper into the field, I happened up a blue morning glory climbing up one of the sunflowers. I didn't like my shot of the blue flower but I loved the shot of this unopened purple/pink flower. Serendipity!!!

After the sunflowers we headed over to White's Ferry for breakfast and some more shooting. I haven't processed any of my shots from White's Ferry yet.

After finishing up there, we took the ferry over the Potomac River and stopped at a unique antique shop in Lucketts, VA, On a Whim. Donna, the owner, was very kind and let us shoot around the shop and even took our picture to feature on her blog. I took my weekly self-portrait there - as well as some other shots. If you're ever in Lucketts, stop by the pink polka dot silo and check out the shop.

We really enjoyed meeting Donna and look forward to seeing the shot that she took of all of us and our cameras.

My self portrait for my Flickr fiftytwo project. Unfortunately my hair didn't appreciate being slept on wet the night before (we had to get up at 4:30 am to catch the sunflowers at dawn) or the rising heat of the day!!!

I love the polka dots!!!

Watch for more images coming soon to this blog.

When you see red ... (part 2)

2009-07-21T22:35:00.004-04:00

OK - so this image has no red in it. This is another sunflower image from my sunflower scouting mission this past weekend. The point of this image is DETAILS ... I wasn't really in the mood for wide open sunflower fields. However, I did want to play with my macro lens and I noticed all the pollen on the leaves so ...

now for the RED.

After visiting the sunflower fields at McKee-Beshers, I decided to deviate from the GPS directed route to White's Ferry and followed River Road. I knew that it went all the way but I also knew that some of it was gravel. Luckily it was a good quality "gravel" so Charles' Honda Civic hybrid had no problems navigating. I was rewarded for my adventurous spirit by a red barn at a turf farm. I shot this out the car window with the 105 mm macro lens that was still on my camera. Not so bad ...

and then I rounded a corner and saw this same red barn from the other direction and there was a pretty cool looking fence. I liked this image a lot better - still shooting out the car window. Next time I will get out of the car and work the scene a little more.

I can't wait to get back to the sunflower field, country roads, and White's Ferry with my photo "buds" on Saturday.

Until then ...

... remember click on any image to see a larger version.

If you see red ...

2009-07-19T16:59:00.016-04:00

... shoot it (of course). Today, I went scouting for a impromptu photo tour that I am arranging for some of my photo friends next weekend. The main activity of the "tour" is shooting the sunflowers at McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area near Seneca, Maryland. These fields of sunflowers are amazing and I did shoot them (see below) but I wanted to add some additional shooting locations for our "tour." About nine miles from the sunflowers is the last ferry still operating on the Potomac River, White's Ferry. It is also the last cable ferry in the United States (I think). While the ferry runs all year long, the little store and snack bar only operates from May to October. Since White's Ferry is on the Potomac River and adjacent to the C&O Canal Towpath, it is a stopping point for hikers, bikers, and boaters. Plus, you can rent canoes (red ones) and rowboats here. I'm looking forward to my photo "tour" next weekend.

Shooting around White's Ferry and the C&O Canal:

After finishing my shooting at White's Ferry, I took the ferry across the river to Loudoun County, Virginia for the "round about" way home to Fairfax. While driving around the scenic roads of horse and farm country, I found an old stone house near Hillsboro,VA that was overgrown with plants. Hopefully they were not poison ivy plants!!! I hope that I can find it again. A plus to visiting this area of Virginia - farm stands with fresh produce (I got some amazing local peaches and nectarines) and wineries (at least 3 in and around Hillsboro - and more in the surrounding county).

As always, enjoy my images. Click on any one to see it a little larger.

- Nadia

More Maine Images Processed

2009-07-16T19:56:00.001-04:00

Pemaquid Light, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

Slowly but surely, I am processing my Maine Photo Tour images. This is an HDR - High Dynamic Range - shot. Click on this image to get to others in my Flickr Photostream. I've even created a set for the Maine Tour images.

And The Camera Stayed Dry

2009-07-13T21:23:00.002-04:00

Just a Peek of Yellow, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

I had planned to shoot the sunflowers over at McKee-Beshers WMA in Poolesville, MD. But they weren't ready yet. Seems that a wet spring delayed planting and the flowers were not up yet. This, of course, messed with local camera club field trips - as well as my own planned trip. Well, instead of taking the opportunity to sleep in on Sunday morning, I changed my plans and joined local photo clubs and the Washington Photo Meetup Group at the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens in northeast Washington, D.C. My last trip to these gardens 2 years ago was not so good. That was the trip when my camera decided that it wanted to go swimming. Unfortunately, cameras can't swim. At least it is not one of the Nikon D200's advertised (or unadvertised) features.

I decided that I would try the gardens again and met one of my newest photo friends, Dorine, at the gardens at 7:00 a.m. - and we were late. Luckily my Nikon D300 (the D200's replacement) knew its limits and didn't even try to swim. Yay!!!

The lotus were all overrunning the ponds. I was looking for that shot where you look down into the top of the flower and get the yellow pod and the beautiful pink petals. However, I think that I was about 2 weeks too late for THAT shot. The lotus plants were all very tall - standing anywhere from 2-4 feet (maybe more) up from the surface of the ponds. I could barely see the tops of the flowers, let alone get into a place where I could shoot down at them. I've put an earlier date on my 2010 calendar for next year's shooting.

As one of my mentors John Barclay says ... you need to shoot what you find ... so I did.

Click on the image in this post and you will be wisked away to my Flickr Photostream where more shots from the morning reside. Enjoy and please come back again so seem my evolving photo journey.

Week 21: 7/5/2009

2009-07-08T23:08:00.002-04:00

Week 21: 7/5/2009, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

I continue on with my self-portrait project. Who says that you have to be the only one in a self-portrait.

Independence Day weekend brought visitors to our home, my in-laws. On Sunday afternoon we headed over to the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, VA. Since my father-in-law was in the Air Force and my mother-in-law grew up in the Air Force ... we've been talking about going over there for a while now. We finally made it.

Whenever I drive home from work (when I do drive), I see the memorial from a distance. This was my first chance to get "up close and personal." The sky was not optimum - no blue skies or puffy clouds - it actually started to rain while we were there - not so good when trying to shoot straight up. I'll have to go back - maybe at sunset or at night - they light it up at night.

And, yes, this started as a photograph and then I added some Photoshop Plugin magic - Topaz Simpliy - the cartoon setting. I love the creativity that digital photography allows.

In the middle of the day

2009-07-07T22:34:00.003-04:00

Over the 4th of July weekend, I wanted to do some photography. I pre-scouted the Walney Pond and then went with my husband and his folks who were visiting for the holiday. Unfortunately the light wasn't so great but the flowers were pretty. I played with Topaz Simplify 2 on this shot.

Anniversary Countdown

2009-06-28T10:53:00.002-04:00

My parents will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary on August 15th. They are having a big party and the invitations went out while I was away in Maine. I've been a scanning fool over the last couple of months - scanning old family pictures. I'm working on a slide show for the anniversary party. The scanning came in handy for the invitation too. Everyone seems to like it.

More From Maine - a Lobstah Town

2009-06-28T00:05:00.008-04:00

We spent several days in New Harbor, ME on the Pemiquid Peninsula. In addition to the nearby lighthouse (coming in the next post), this lobstah town offered many photo opportunities. Click on any image to see it larger.

I'm playing with some new software to manipulate my images into "art." Not that my photography is not art ... it is!!! But I like this look too. The building on the water to the right was Shaw's - a place where I ate lobstah several times!!! Mmmmmm melted butter!!!

We got permission to shoot on a private dock in Back Cove - across the harbor from New Harbor. I went there twice so watch for more images from this area.

Photography isn't always about the big scene. Sometimes is is all about the details - in the case of Maine, it is the ropes and buoys.

You just never know what you are gonna find around the corner - lobstah fishing is one dangerous profession - especially when the local lobstah mafia has you in its sites.

Maine Photo Tour - The Beginning

2009-06-24T08:31:00.005-04:00

It will take me a while to process all the photos I shot. Here are just a few from my recent photo tour to Maine with John Barclay and Dan Sniffin. As always, click on any image to see a bigger version. Enjoy!!!

After the usual hellos and slide show and pep talk by John and Dan, we were off for our first shooting of the trip. To Pt. Neddick in the York Beach area and the "Nubble" Light. It took me a little while to get into the shooting frame of mind. Others shot this a little later for some killer long exposure shots. I wasn't in the mood for that and this is one of my best shots from that evening. I have played with a new Photoshop plug-in for this one - Topaz Simplify. I like the Topaz programs and will be playing with them a lot more.

The next morning it was up at some crazy hour - we left our lodgings, The Higgins Beach Inn, at 4 am for sunrise shooting at the Portland Head Light. Since it was rainy, the sunrise was not so spectacular but it was "cool" nonetheless. The roses were lovely - especially with the water droplets on them.

After Portland Head, it was off to the Zig Zag light at Spring Point.

I was hoping to see some Canadian Thistles on my trip. I missed shooting them at home - went to seed and now they are gone. One of my photo co-horts kept telling me that she saw thistles but they were clovers. I liked how they looked here against the old fence post.

After Spring Point we were going to head over to the Bug Light but it started to rain so it was back to the inn for breakfast and a nap until we left for the next site, New Harbor.

More coming in the upcoming days ...

In Memory of Casey Clines

2009-06-11T08:47:00.004-04:00

Back in December I shot my friends Jed and Michelle's wedding up in Baltimore. The ceremony was performed by Casey Clines. Although he worked as contract staff at my office, I had never met him. And that was my loss because he was an interesting character. Sometimes when you call someone a character, you don't mean it in a good way. Well, I do. He was friendly, charming, irreverent - my kind of guy. I found out yesterday that he died over the weekend. I will miss the unexpected interactions that I had with him since we met back in December. I'm sorry that I did not know him better. I know that he will be missed.

These are a few of my shots of him from the wedding. From what I hear, they seem to capture his spirit.

This shot is my favorite. Casey specifically asked me for a copy of this shot of him with the bartender. It seems to fit.

Weekend HDR Workshop with John Barclay & friends

2009-06-06T23:19:00.001-04:00

Eastern State Penitentiary - Abstract, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

Last weekend I went on an HDR photography workshop with John Barclay and my photo gal pals to the Philadelphia area. We started out at Eastern State Penitentiary. We had the opportunity to go into areas of the prison that were not open to the public. One cell block was a drippy, watery mess - COOL. Another was drier but long past its prime. It is hard to imagine what life was like in the prison - to spend day after day - week after week - month after month - year after year - in these concrete cells.

This image - an abstract - was the wall in one of the old cells. What you can't see is that this wall had pretty much detached from the other walls and light was streaming in around it.

After the prison we went to a graffiti area near the Delaware River. I'm not sure that I could get there again. And the second day of our workshop was spent at a place called Fonthill. I will be processing images for a while.

Click on this image to see others in my Flickr Photostream.

Arlington National Cemetery

2009-05-24T13:54:00.001-04:00

Arlington National Cemetery, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

My friend Cathy and I went to Arlington National Cemetery yesterday to do some photography.

This is a special place. It is impossible to capture the significance of the the orderly rows of headstones that mark the graves of our nation's heroes. Some died in battle. All served our country and deserve our respect and gratitude.

On Memorial Day weekend, a flag is placed at every grave. This is a monumental task and I can not begin to know how the men and women that undertake this task feel as they set every flag. I was moved.

Click on the photo to see some of the other shots that I took yesterday.

Spring and Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:17:00.002-04:00

Today my boys - Charles, Joe, Ivan and Harvey - and I took a trip to Green Spring Gardens in Alexandria, Virginia. There were lots of lovely flowers there. I will have to go back.

Green Spring Gardens, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

Mother's Day seemed like a good day for a family portrait.

And a good day for this week's self-portrait.

Some days just don't work the way you hope ...

2009-03-30T22:10:00.001-04:00

Battery Weed, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

This past weekend, I drove to NY with my parents. I was hoping that I would find some time to do some cool photography and even located what seemed like a promising location on the way - the Gateway National Recreation Area contains Fort Wadsworth, a fort located underneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge on Staten Island. Unfortunately we missed the one daily tour inside the fort by about an hour. And the weather was a little on the gloomy side. The Battery Weed (pictured) here, nonetheless looked pretty cool. Not exactly what I had hoped to shoot but ... some days are just like that.

Not Exactly Open to the Public ...

2009-03-26T00:06:00.005-04:00

This past Sunday several of my photography friends (the daring ones), my son Joe, and I went on an Urban Decay photo adventure to the Henryton Center (aka Henryton Sanatorium, Henryton State Hospital, Henryton Asylum, etc...), an abandoned sanatorium just southwest of Baltimore near Patapsco Valley State Park. The Center was built in the 1920's and closed in the mid-1980's. It is now a ghost hunters' and photographers' playground. Well, it is not exactly a safe playground. A visit to Henryton requires you to take some serious safety precautions, including an asbestos rated (P100) dust mask, strong boots, a flashlight, ... Plus when you get home, you do not pass Go, do not collect $200 until you put your boots outside and your clothes in the wash. Needless to say, this is a cool place and I will probably go back one of these days - soon. I know that I missed a lot.

Click on the photo below and you will be magically transported to my Flickr photostream where more pictures live. Click on the photostream link and then click on the slideshow link in the upper right corner of the page. These are my first real ventures into HDR Grunge style photography - I've tried a little before but I think that I may be getting the hang of it ... or so I hop. Henryton was the perfect place to use this technique.

MAR_0462_1_0_tonemapped, originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

Many thanks to Tony Sweet for alerting me to this place.

New Ways to Post my Images

2009-03-01T16:58:00.002-05:00

My parents., originally uploaded by Nadia McIlhany.

I've been spending a lot of time on Flickr lately. I've been working on several self-portrait projects. The main project is "fiftytwo" - one self-portrait a week for a year. I have completed 4 weeks now. Once a week is not such a big time commitment - although I was scrambling this week - mostly my own fault. I also have joined the Flickr Group Roulette group. This is also a self-portrait group and the theme changes daily. Luckily you only need to participate when you want to. I've done a few.

While playing on Flickr, I noticed that I can link to my blog and facebook pages directly from Flickr. I'm experimenting with this interface. If it works out well, I may start posting all my blog entries this way.

We'll see.

This is a shot of my folks at my sister's house. We went there for dinner last night to celebrate my niece's 16th birthday. I'm not sure when she got to be 16. I remember just the other day ... but that is a story for another time.

If you want to take a look at my Flickr photostream, click on the photo of my parents above.

Forgot to Mention Montreal

2009-02-22T10:12:00.005-05:00

I went to Montreal for work from February 11th to 13th. Yes, we flew home on Friday, the 13th - and that has its own story (I almost lost my passport - which you now need to go in and out of Canada from the US). I was excited to have a day after the work was done to see the city. Since I had my camera there for work it was a double bonus - and our expert even volunteered to show us around. He had lived in and around Montreal all of his life and knew lots about the city. But it was sooooooooooo cold that all I wanted to do was stay inside. We saw a lot of the city - but by car. And since I was the driver, it was not ideal for seeing stuff. The only opportunity I took to break the DSLR out of my camera bag was from an overlook on top of Mount Royal. We also went into the underground city for a bit and while the food court type place that we explored was quite colorful, I didn't really feel like taking any pictures there. So here is what I got.

You can't miss the "Big O" in this image. The Big O is the Olympic Stadium from the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. Our guide told us that they have finally finished paying for the stadium. We had the chance to drive by the Big O. Yes, it is BIG!!!

Montreal is on an island so there are many bridges and tunnels. I think that we also drove under this bridge - maybe even over it. My normally good sense of direction got totally twisted on this trip. I was driving but just following the directions of our guide.

There are a few more shots on my Flickr photostream. Feel free to take a look.

I guess that I will have to go back to Montreal when it is warmer - summer looks to be an exciting time there.

Before I Call It A Day

2009-02-21T23:56:00.005-05:00

Today, I went to the National Arboretum in Washington, DC for the purpose of shooting a self-portrait for my Flickr Fifty Two project - 1 year of weekly self-portraits. This was the end of week 3 and while I had shot a few things earlier in the week, I was hoping for something better since I would have more time to concentrate.

I got several shots which are posted here. This is a link to my main Flickr Photostream. I only chose one for this week. To see my entire Fifty Two project, click on the set that will appear to the right of my main photostream.

Here is one that I liked but didn't make it to my Fifty Two Set:

G'nite.

A little warm weather and ...

2009-02-07T21:04:00.011-05:00

The other day I suggested (to my photo moms photography group) that we take portraits of each other - and to make it more interesting, we should take portraits of someone in the group that we didn't know very well. Michelle volunteered to be my guinea pig so today we met up at a local park to play at photography. It was at least 60 degrees after what seemed like cold that would never end. We weren't the only ones out there. The park was teeming with hikers, kids, dogs, etc. enjoying the sunshine. If I hadn't planned on the photography, I would have taken our dog, Ivan, out to play too. But it is probably good that he didn't join us, since I'm sure that he would have ended up in the creek or the pond. And what a mess that would have been!

I always have trouble finding things to shoot this time of year. While the weather was fantastic, the landscape was barren and mostly brown. There was still some ice on Walney Pond. And the ice and snow that had melted on the paths made the ground muddy - which I found out first hand when I slipped on a bank of the creek and ended up with a muddy backside.

Despite it all, I am pretty pleased with my shots today. Here are some of my favorites (click on any image to see it BIGGER):

There were some interesting dried seed pods and some interesting textures in the remaining ice so this is a combination of the two. I was inspired to try this image overlay technique after reading a John Barclay blog entry. John is one of my photography friends (and teachers). He really pushes his students to be creative with their photography - to try new things. So I did.

The idea was to take portraits so here is a shot of Michelle shooting me shooting her.

I always like shooting reflections in water. The sheets of melted ice on the pond made for some interesting images.

I really liked this seed and its wispy wings. There was a slight breeze and the shape of the wings changed in every image I shot. This one was my favorite.

Yes, I know, I said that the landscape was devoid of color ... not quite. These red berries caught out attention. Unfortunately these were across the pond from the parking lot which didn't make for such a great background. But as John and my other photography mentors have told me time and time again ... you have to work a subject. If the first shot doesn't work, try it from another angle.

Self Portrait in the pond today.

I will be posting more of today's shotes to my website:
Beyond Mere Words soon.

I'm heading to Montreal next week with my camera (I am actually going to Montreal to take pictures for work so, of course, I will have my camera) so my next post (unless I am inspired to shoot again tomorrow) should be images from my trip where it will be much colder than 60 degrees!!!

Another Wedding

2008-12-07T23:57:00.004-05:00

On Saturday night I shot the wedding of my friends, Jed and Michelle. They were married at the Evergreen House in Baltimore, Maryland. It was a beautiful wedding. The venue was a lighting challenge - black ceilings and mirrored walls. I've been processing the pictures today. I only got pictures of myself in the mirrors a few times. Here are a few of the many pictures that I shot. Watch for more in the coming days.

Florida Images

2008-11-13T23:16:00.012-05:00

Some images from our recent trip to Florida. Additional non-people images are posted on my website at Beyond Mere Words.com.

Me feeding the birds:

Charles with the underwater video/still camera:

One of my family portrait attempts:

Various shots on the porch:

Joe at the Naples Zoo:

The Sunshine State

2008-10-29T10:06:00.007-04:00

We finally made it ... a week of doing nothing but ... well, nothing!!! I do carry my camera all over the place ... whether I use it or not. Here are some shots from earlier this week.

This one was shot by Joe. He was having fun playing with the light streaming through the beer bottle.

I've seen these sunsets so many times over the years but they are still beautiful EVERY time. Tonight I am going to climb up to someone else's deck to get a different view.

I'm trying to get some bridge shots ... but not your oridinary bridge shots ... something a little different. Joe suggested this shot. Great idea!!!

Finally got to take my camera out again ...

2008-10-19T22:40:00.004-04:00

It has been ages but I finally got to take my camera out again ... I shot some engagement pics up in Baltimore today ... what a beautiful day to be out and about. No, this is not the happy couple ... but an interesting photo opp as we were walking around their neighborhood - Federal Hill.

I will post more pics from the shoot as I have time this week.

Connecticut

2008-07-28T22:58:00.004-04:00

We went on a trip to Connecticut this past weekend to visit some friends. Of course the camera came along.

We had a picnic at a place called Short Beach on the Long Island Sound. Funny, I grew up going to Long Island, New York all my life ... I never really think of Connecticut as being the "Sound" but, of course, it is.

I also shot lots of images of our friend's little angel. How could I not?!

Black and White and Color

2008-07-24T00:23:00.006-04:00

I went to see the Shaolin Monestary photo exhibit at National Geographic again. I was inspired to try something new with some pictures that I shot of Charles last summer at the Grand Canyon.

Pop

2008-07-15T09:07:00.003-04:00

Working on some more pop to my images ...

Crack of Dawn

2008-07-13T11:25:00.019-04:00

On Thursday night I met with my photo sharing group and somehow Lenore convinced me to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning so that we could go to the McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area near Poolesville to shoot sunflowers at sunrise. Since sunrise was around 5:50 am, she was picking me up at 4:45 (OK, closer to 5:00) so we could get there for the sunrise. We were the first photographers there - although we were joined by others. We even teased a few asking them why they were "late." Despite getting up so early, the light was wonderful and I got some good shots. Here are some of my images (as always, click on any image to see it bigger):

They all seemed to know which was the sun was going to come from and all turned that way ... except this guy ...

He just seemed to march to the beat of a different drummer.

There were plenty of bees ...

... but they did not bother us and made for some interesting images.

The state plants rows of sunflowers each year - which peak in July - to lure doves for hunting. We did see a few shot gun shells in the fields (no picture).
As we ventured farther into the field sometimes we would get lost in the rows ... surrounded by the sunflower plants. So I shot some macros.

I brought my new lensbaby but I still don't have the hang of it. I guess that I will have to practice practice practice ...

We shot and shot and shot ... from one angle and another ...

I can't wait to see Lenore's shots.

A little Lightroom Preset play.

And as we headed out, we saw a patch of thistles along the path ...

... and had to shoot just a little more. And yes, I cut off part of a leaf in these images but sometimes you need to do that ...

Here is a link to an old Washington Post article about the sunflower fields: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/13/AR2006071301937.html

And here is another link to the wildlife management itself: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/central/mb.asp

Catching Up

2008-06-26T23:32:00.003-04:00

Some images from my Poconos workshop in mid-May. These images are HDR and Orton Effect combined.

Actually, the tractor was not in the Poconos. It was at a farm near Gettysburg, PA on the way back from the Poconos.

Still in the City

2008-05-13T10:57:00.009-04:00

I'm still in NYC for work. I've gotten a few chances to take my camera out. Here is what I've shot ...

Twisty balloon sculpture on West Broadway near Ground Zero:

Self-portrait in the sculpture reflection:

Birdhouse in the city ... in a park near my hotel:

City Lights from the office window. I couldn't handhold the camera steady enought for a straight shot ... what a perfect opportunity for a swoosh shot or two:

New York City!!!

2008-05-09T01:52:00.006-04:00

I'm up in NYC for work. While I don't have much time for photography, I do cart my camera around just in case I see something.

I am staying in Tribecca. The other day I woke up to what sounded like someone on a megaphone outside my window. When I looked out the window, I saw this ...

It was the Five Boro Bike Tour. 30,000 plus bicyclists riding around New York City and the starting line (of staggered starts) was just up the street from my hotel. I shot these (above) through the glass of my hotel room window. I am on the 3rd floor of a boutique hotel called the Duane Street Hotel (on the corner of Duane and Church Streets).

I shot these on the way to the office.

And here is the view from my office window. Other than the office and my computer, this is what I am seeing these days. Hopefully I'll be able to get out and shoot some more images soon.

Virginia Bluebells

2008-04-13T08:39:00.012-04:00

I was hoping to make it to WV yesterday to do some scouting for a wedding I will be shooting at the end of the month, however, mt timing (as usual) was off. Instead, I took a quick ride over the Bull Run Park because my friend Nancy mentioned that the bluebells were blooming. They sure were. Here are some of my shots.

It did not take me long to see the bluebells in the woods. They almost carpeted the forest floor on both side of the very picturesque Bull Run.

Although I brought my macro lens with me, I shot these images with my Nikon 18-200 VR. This is my favorite lens ... although today I got a new lens which folks in the know tell me will be my favorite, a Nikon 70-200 2.8 VR. I'll keep you posted.

I haven't played with any panning recently - not since Death Valley. I thought that the bluebells might be an interesting opportunity. I was hoping for more blue but I guess all the foilage didn't want to cooperate with me. Here are my favorites from yesterday.

Trash People at National Geographic

2008-04-09T22:11:00.006-04:00

My day job is across the street from the National Geographic Society buildings. Just the other day, they installed "Trash People," a unique art exhibit featuring 50 life-sized figures made entirely of waste, created by German artist H.A. Schult. The artist's objective in creating the figures is to raise awareness of the volume of garbage left by humans over the course of a lifetime. The figures have traveled to some of the world’s best-known landmarks, including the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids at Giza and Red Square in Moscow. The exhibit is timed to coincide with the new National Geographic Channel film “Human Footprint.”

Here are some images that I shot yesterday of the exhibit:

Spring Into Action

2008-03-30T19:18:00.010-04:00

I haven't had a chance to do much photography since my Death Valley trip. The arrival of spring has inspired me a little more.

I've carried my camera into the office several times in the past couple of weeks. I've taken a few pictures and I finally downloaded them all today. Here are a few of those images:

This is from one of the magnolia trees in front of my office. The blooms make me believe that it is really spring.

While walking to the office, I often see interesting scenes and say to myself, "I wish I had my camera with me." On this day, I had it and was able to capture this lady feeding the birds:

Last week we had visitors. Charles' college friend, Dave, and his family came to see D.C. during their spring break. Yesterday we joined them on a trip to the National Zoo.

They didn't have any signs posted identifying which panda was which but I think that this is Tai Shan, the youngest panda.

I love prairie dogs (which aren't really dogs at all). This guy seemed to be looking right at me.

Usually when I see the lions, they are sleeping. Yesterday, however, they were out and about - and were even being playful.

Jacquelyn posed with many of the statues that are all over the zoo.

Charles and Dave.

Every so often, I actually get to be in the pictures.

Trying Something New Grunge HDR

2008-02-23T10:11:00.005-05:00

36 satisfactory exposures on a roll means a photographer is not trying anything new. - Freeman Patterson

I'm not sure exactly when I first saw this technique. It may have been on John Barclay's website, http://www.barclayphoto.com/Index2.html. It is called Grunge HDR. I have certainly not mastered it yet but ... it is fun to try new things.

Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-20T23:11:00.003-05:00

Tonight we had a full lunar eclipse. Despite it being cold, I went out on our front porch every 15 minutes or so to see if I could shoot it. I Googled how to shoot a lunar eclipse and came away as confused as ever ... good thing that I shoot digital and could waste a bunch of pixels playing around.

Settings for this image:

ISO 400
1/250 sec
f/16
300mm lens (450mm equivalent)

Death Valley Sand

2008-02-17T18:36:00.011-05:00

I think that my favorite images are the ones of the sand dunes. One evening we hiked into the dunes while it was light so that we could catch the sunset. Of course this meant that we needed to hike out after it got dark. Then the next morning we hiked in the dunes while it was dark so that we could catch the sunrise. I was a little worried about snakes until someone pointed out that it is too cold for snakes right now.

The dunes have wonderful shapes - always changing. We were lucky that there were some wind storms right before we got there so that there weren't that many foot prints. But with a dozen photographers and others climbing over the dunes, the footprints did appear.

While the snakes may be sleeping at this time of year, there is certainly wildlife moving around out there. I saw all kinds of tracks.

This last image is one of my favorites. This was one of the last images that I shot of the dunes on our morning trip on the way back to the cars. Of course it took us a long time to get to the cars because we kept stopping to take pictures. We were on a photo tour after all!

The only casualty of my trek into the dunes was my camera. It took a tumble into a dune and got a little sandy. I'm fairly certain that the crunching sound I hear when I zoom the lens is not good. It is now at the camera repair facility getting a nice professional cleaning (and repair).

Watch for more images.

Death Valley Visions

2008-02-16T18:36:00.011-05:00

Before I went to Death Valley, I thought I knew what to expect ... but it suprised me. This place was more diverse than I thought it would be. And I had visions.

In the ghost town of Rhyolite (technically outside the National Park), sculptures punctuated the stark landscape.

Somehow I didn't really find it unusual that a ghost would ride a bicycle or ...

... that there would be a giant miner and penguin among the scrub.

Not too far from the art of Rhyolite instead of scanning the landscape for my visions, I had to look much closer to find them. These next images were shot with a macro lens in Titus Canyon.

Do you see the monster in this image ... or the fairy dancer in this next one?

And can you see the waterfall in this image taken along the Badwater Road?

These phog posts don't always turn out the way that I first intend but watch for sand next time.

if you want to see a larger version of any image posted on the phog, just click on it

Death Valley Abstracts

2008-02-10T22:59:00.000-05:00

I got back late last night (my flight landed just before midnight) from my Death Valley Photography Workshop. It took me much of today (once I woke up) to get all my images downloaded from the cards and my Nikon Coolwalker storage device. I shot 1342 images over the week. But this is nothing compared to the number of images that some of my fellow workshop participants shot. Of course we shot the amazing landscapes of Death Valley but our leaders, John and Dan, encouraged us to shoot "outside the box" and work on abstract techniques. Here are a few images that were my attempts at shooting outside the box:

This is a shot of the Bottle House located in the ghost town of Rhyolite. I think that this may have been my break through abstract shot of the trip. John was so happy to see me turn my camera "wakerjaw" to get a different angle on the outside wall of the Bottle House.

These next three images were shot at Artist's Palette, a stop on Artist's Drive. Once the sun starts setting on this location, the pastel colors of the cliffs come alive. The first is a normal shot of the cliffs. The second and third are shots in which used I the panning technique. This technique is accomplished by shooting a long exposure and panning (or moving your camera) while depressing the shutter. You can pan in a straight line (as many people do) or you can pan in a curve. With my current tripod set up, I had better control with the curvy method. I had been practicing panning shots for several days before I got these. I finally felt that I had done a good job on this tricky technique. But as I learned from my fellow workshop participants, you can shoot hundreds of these things and only get a handful that you are pleased with. So ... practice, practice, practice.

I will continue to process more of my 1300+ shots over the next days, weeks, months ... and post them every couple of days.

It's cold outside ...

2008-01-29T23:17:00.000-05:00

My local photo friends got together earlier this month and promised that we would shoot something every week. I shot that next week but haven't shot anything since ... but I have an excuse. I am attending a photography workshop in Death Valley next week so I am saving up my photo energy for the trip. Yeah, that's it ... saving my photo energy ... a good excuse, eh?!!!

Anyway, here are some of my shots from the week that I did shoot something. I bought some tulips and played with my macro lens. I need to work on this!!!

CPV Party Pics - At least the first batch

2007-12-07T13:27:00.000-05:00

I started uploading pictures from the CPV Holiday Party at the Egan's (on November 30). Here is a link to the my smugmug gallery where they now live:

http://beyondmerewords.smugmug.com/gallery/3950528#229495708

The uploader started misbehaving so they are not all up yet. I will try again this weekend.

- Nadia

Headshots

2007-12-06T07:17:00.000-05:00

Working with the New Camera

2007-12-02T21:06:00.000-05:00

Well, the new D300 got a bit of a workout at a holiday party at the Egan's place in Potomac.

Some of my first shots were family portraits of the Egans. If you're all dressed up and looking fabulous, you should have your picture taken.

But you shouldn't take yourself too seriously - and you should have FUN!!!

I wandered around the party taking pictures of various people. Here is one of the shot. I will post more shots in the next couple of days.

On Saturday, Joe played with the new camera and managed to get Ivan to pose a little. This shot really shows that Ivan is part of the family. He is closing his eyes - just like my mother does in lots of pictures.

He is such a beautiful pup.

November - Come and Almost Gone

2007-11-25T21:39:00.000-05:00

I've always liked November since it is my birth month. I have not done as much photography this month as I would have liked.

I kept looking at the fall colors saying ... I'll catch that tomorrow. I missed a few things waiting until tomorrow.

The tree in front of our house was an incredible color yellow this year. And just across the street was a beautiful red-orange tree. I kept trying to figure out how to capture both colors in one shot. Luckily I did shoot this before the leaves were rained and blown away.

Skip ahead to Thanksgiving weekend. Charles' parents were visiting and I have been promising to take a portrait of them. And I was doubly inspired since we went to see the Ansel Adams and Annie Liebowitz exhibits at the Corcoran Gallery of Art on the day after Thanksgiving.

And time for my annual holiday shots of our friends' kids - twin 5 year old boys. I asked if they knew how to make fish faces. They did.

Since I hadn't used my lights in a while, rearranged some things in the studio, and was going to take some portraits, I tried to get Ivan to do some posing for me. He only cooperates so much.

Cross a place off of my list ...

2007-11-07T16:52:00.000-05:00

I'll soon be able to cross a new place off of my list of places to go and take pictures ... DEATH VALLEY.

I signed up for a week long February 2008 photography workshop in Death Valley today given by two photographers, John Barclay and Dan Sniffin. Just from my interaction with them both today over email, I know that they are great guys ... and their work is beautiful.

John's website: http://www.barclayphoto.com/Index2.html

Dan's website: http://www.dansniffinphoto.com

What fun!!!

Holiday Cards

2007-10-29T23:30:00.000-04:00

Did you go to a fabulous vacation spot this year (we went to Northern Arizona and the Grand Canyon - WOW) ... celebrate a life milestone (a birth, a marriage, a blending of families) ... are you mad about purple and can't find that card to match your obsession ... want to include your favorite pet in your holiday card but he just won't cooperate in the family portrait session or

... do you just want to step beyond the ordinary chain store photo greeting card - you know, "put picture in this box."

Consider ordering custom cards from me

... using pictures (yes, more than one picture if you want) that you and/or yours have taken or

... using pictures that I take (still spots left weekends in November and early December).

The folded and post cards are new this year. Folded and post cards come on 100 # text stock. Folded cards also come on linen or pearl paper stock.

Double click on any image to see it bigger.

Cards can be traditional, contemporary, religious, non-denominational or have a touch of fun and whimsy. I will work with you to design a card that is all YOU. Here are some examples of photo cards that I have done for our family and a few others - plus a few new designs that I am playing around with:

We couldn't have a card without Ivan.

The view from our front window during a winter snow storm - beautiful.

Our family is growing to include another pup - no the dinosaur is not part of the family.

Yes, there are a few dogs here ... but I will do cats and birds and other pets if you so desire.

West Virginia Barn

Sedona Sky

It truly is GRAND!

And more ...

For information on ordering cards ...

Nadia McIlhany
phone: 571.334.8224
email: merewords@verizon.net

Wild and Wonderful West Virginia

2007-10-15T22:06:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, I took a photography workshop given by Bill and Linda Lane in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. I took Friday off since I had to be there at 6pm and it was a 4 hour drive. I had hoped to stop for some pictures along the way but got out later than I had hoped so there was NO STOPPING. Too bad since the scenery was lovely.

After meeting my fellow photophiles, we all got to bed early in our rooms at the Marlinton Motor Inn because we had to meet for breakfast at 5:45 (in the AM).

Being on location in time to catch the sunrise was worth the hardship of waking up at 5 AM.

After the sunrise we were off to another location in the Monongahela National Forest. This site had a very picturesque fence that Bill says he loves to shoot in every season. It seemed like the perfect shot for the wide angle lens that I got this summer.

Besides the fence post there were winding trails that led to vistas of colorful fall foilage. Here is an image that I played with in Photoshop - creating a watercolor effect.

Next we hit the Williams River for some water action. I wanted to work on my moving water shots so I really enjoyed this spot. I wish some of the colors around the river had been a little more vibrant but they still cast some lovely golden reflections in the moving water.

In the afternoon, we got to shoot barns. Watch for that in my next post.

Portraits of Aaron

2007-09-12T21:24:00.000-04:00

Joe's housemate, Aaron, asked me to take some pictures of him. Here they are ...

And then I decided to have a little artistic fun ...

Grand Views - Part III

2007-08-06T21:28:00.001-04:00

Gotta love the "poofy" clouds and blue skies of the West. Here in the D.C. area we are experiencing the August haze.

Day Three of our vacation - this was a touring and learning day with local photographer Derek von Briesen. Derek picked me up in his 4-wheel drive vehicle and we drove off ths paved roads up Schnebly Hill Road for some beautiful vistas of the town of Sedona. I also saw a Coyote.

This formation is called the "Cowpies" - can you guess why?!

In addition to some beautiful views, Derek taught me a lot about using my camera and landscape photography composition. It was a great learning experience and reinforced many things that I already knew. I am much more comfortable with using my tripod now.

After Schnebly Hill Road, we headed up Oak Creek Canyon for some shots of Oak Creek and the West Fork of Oak Creek.

Weather cut the day short. Later in the evening Charles and I drove around Sedona looking for a sunset that never really came. We did see some cool water cascading off of red rocks but the lighting was not good to get a good shot. Here is a shot of a formation called "Coffee Pot."

Grand Views - Part II

2007-07-31T22:50:00.001-04:00

Day Two - up to Flagstaff (7,000 ft.) and the Arizona Snow Bowl (base 9,500 ft. - peak 11,500 ft). The ride up the chair lift was "cool" - literally. The gift shop does a good business in sweatshirts, long sleeve Ts, and blankets. But it is well worth going to the top where you can look down on the clouds.

There is a world class disc golf course around the base of the chair lift. But at more than 9,000 feet, it was difficult for Charles to play more than 2 holes. I just took pictures of the pretty flowers and sky.

After the Snowbowl (and a suprisingly good lunch at an off season ski resort eatery, we headed north west to Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments. The landscape at Sunset Crater NM including its lava flow makes it seem like you are on the moon. I did not get any pictures that did it justice. You just have to go and see it for yourself.

Wupatki NM is the site of ruins of the ancient pueblo peoples. When the first rangers came to live at the Wupatki site, they actually lived in the ruins.

We ended day two driving back to Sedona through the southern route instead of going through Oak Creek Canyon. We stopped at the Bell Rock Vista to catch a view of Bell Rock. Unfortunately they were doing contruction next to the vista and they had placed contruction equipment in the path of our view. I shot around it.

Grand Views - Part I

2007-07-31T12:03:00.001-04:00

There is the reason why they call the Grand Canyon "GRAND" -- because it is. While we were on vacation in Arizona last week, Charles probably got sick of me saying that the scenery was "awesome", "incredible", "amazing." But I just couldn't help it. It had been over 20 years since I had been to the Grand Canyon but seeing it again was truly an experience. I would go again in a heartbeat (though maybe in a less crowded season - summer is peak tourist season at the canyon).

Our trip started on Friday, July 20 with a flight to Las Vegas and then a 4+ hour drive to Sedona. After getting out of Vegas, we went over Hoover Dam and through the desert. The high on the car thermometer that day was 112 degrees. Yikes. Everyone says "but it's a dry heat." Yeah, but hot is hot!!! At least we didn't have humidity too.

The last leg of the drive was from Flagstaff to Sedona. We drove down through Oak Creek Canyon at night so had no idea about the scenery we were missing. The next day we found out when we awoke to views of red rock vistas all around us.

The view from our balcony.

Some shots from Day One - out and about around Sedona, Arizona.

Oak Creek Canyon (heading north out of Sedona towards Flagstaff).

Long Time Between PHOGs

2007-07-08T13:39:00.000-04:00

I thought that I had posted since January - but apparently not. I have been in a bit of a photo slump. Life sometimes throws you a curve or two and I have been away from artistic pursuits (of any kind) for far too long. I've taken a few pictures here and there. Here are a few.

The Washington Post had a first day of summer photo contest. Here is the shot that I submitted. It seemed like such a typical Washington, D.C. scene - afternoon thunderstorm during rush hour. There were 450 entries and I didn't win. Oh, well. I like my shot anyway.

This past Saturday the Northern Virginia Photographic Society had its annual field trip to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. I probably should have stayed in bed instead of getting up early and heading over to the gardens at 6:30 am. I got a few shots before my camera decided it wanted to jump into the pond. It is now on its way to Penn Camera's repair facility for an estimate on how much it will cost to repair it (if it can be repaired at all). In the meantime, I will have to use my D70 for my upcoming vacation to Arizona and all things photographic. Expensive lesson learned - watch out where you plant your tripod legs.

In May, we were able to get to Kansas City for a long weekend trip to visit Charles' family. Of course I took my camera equipment with me and was able to get a few shots that I liked.

This is the Bloch Wing of the Nelson Atkins Museum at night. I've seen this image in several magazines and decided to try and imitate it. Here is my shot.

On Mother's Day morning, I shot some pictures of the peonies in Jef and Shannon's yard. They were very pink. I've been playing with a technique called the Orten Effect. It creates a dream-like image. Both this picture and the lotus above were manipulated in Photoshop using this technique.

More pictures soon. I promise.

I'm back BABY.

2007-01-21T22:22:00.000-05:00

Since the holidays I haven't been doing as much photography as I would like. But this past week I got back to taking pictures. One day I played with my macro lens and shot this rose.

On Saturday, I went to Occoquan, Virginia with my fellow NOVAL artists for a paint/shoot out. It was very cold and I didn't find much to shoot. I did step in some shoe stealing mud. They are doing a lot of construction in the town. Our newest NOVAL member, Rob, was painting this crane so I decided to take a picture.

On Sunday, I took pictures of my friend's 5 1/2 week old baby. I've taken pictures of him before ... well, kinda ... I took pictures of his mom when she was pregnant. The little guy mostly wanted to sleep. Sleeping babies are very cute.

Come back next week and I'll have some more images.

New toys for the holidays ...

2007-01-01T23:42:00.000-05:00

I missed a week of PHOG with the holidays. Sorry.

I got several new photo toys for Christmas. I got the head for the tripod that I got for my birthday last month. Now I can use the tripod. Thanks Charles (and Mom & Dad).

I used the tripod for this shot of an ornament on our tree.

I also got a fisheye lens (again, thanks Charles). I am learning the capabilities of this lens - the possibilities are endless.

Happy New Year!!!

Happy Holidays

2006-12-17T19:58:00.000-05:00

The holidays are well upon us and that means that we are busy busy busy. I missed a PHOG entry last week due to my participation in my first 2 art shows. Not bad experiences. Time will tell if they were successful.

This weekend, we went to my family holiday party on Long Island, NY. Since I had the camera, I didn't make it into any of the pictures. I'm still having focus issues with the D200 - especially in a night time party situation. But I got some fun expressions - especially from my immediate family.

What a cute elf ...

... and deer.

I know that they must be saying ... here she comes again with that camera ... will I ever be safe? ... probably not.

Whatever holidays you are celebrating ... may they be happy. Until next week.

Showtime

2006-12-03T22:39:00.000-05:00

This week I've been getting ready for the Girls Night Out Club (GNOC) Holiday Cocktail Party and the Northern Virginia Artists League (NOVAL) Holiday Sale. I'll be having a table to display my portrait work and sell things at the GNOC party. And I'll be one of several talented local artists selling art at the NOVAL sale.

I'm working on several series that I will fill out over time. The first is called "Supermarket Flowers." I've taken pictures of flowers that you buy in the supermarket - you know, those flowers that aren't perfect - like those from from a florist - but pick up your spirits. Here are a few of the images from the series.

I continued with portfolio building this week. Here are a few images from a family photo shoot of some of my friends.

Not sure how much photography I'll be doing this week as I get ready for the 2 sales but ... see you next week.

Gobble Gobble - Flash

2006-11-26T22:33:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving (and my birthday) is now past. I dragged out the tripod, set the timer, and the only one missing from our holiday family shot is Ivan, our dog. He was under the table hoping for scraps.

This was another weekend for me to work on portfolio building and get some additional practice with shooting children (which can be quite a challenge). On Sunday a few more of my “photography” friends brought their kids by to help me out. It was a "boys" weekend. There were lots of great shots. Here are a few of the best ones.

More on the photography front … I got an Epson Photo R1800 printer for my birthday (what a great husband I have). I am now trying to figure out exactly how it works so that I can get some nice prints out of it.

Until next Sunday.

Getting ready for the holidays

2006-11-19T20:12:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and then it will be Christmas and Hanukah and New Years and ... YIKES.

This week I took holiday card pictures for my friends the Peters. They have cute twin 4 year old boys. Our dog, Ivan, likes it when they come for dinner because he gets to "clean up" under the table where they eat.

I signed up to have a table of my work at the GNOC (Girls Night Out Club) holiday party. While I have a small portfolio of work, I made a push this weekend to expand my portfolio. Several of my photography friends answered my call for help and brought over their very photogenic kids to help me out. Here are a few of the best shots ... though there were a few others that I will be using as well.

Watch the PHOG next Sunday for Thanksgiving and more portfolio building shots.

Where are all the leaves now!

2006-11-14T13:11:00.000-05:00

PHOG is late this week. This is what happens when you get back to work after a week's vacation.

I didn't get to do much picture taking this week. But I did some.

On Friday there were still lots of leaves on the tree in my backyard. The colors were beautiful. After Sunday's rain, they're all gone. :(

A little Photoshop play.

On Saturday, we went to the Virginia Tech - Kent State football game down in Blacksburg. It was my last home game of the season although Charles gets to go to one more over Thanksgiving weekend (a big one against UVA). For the first time since going to a Tech game, I had a "Hokie" leg (aka turkey leg). Here is a shot of all the turkey legs on the grill.

I finally got to work on some of the maternity pictures that I took of Melanie before we went on vacation. Here they are:

It is a busy week again so I don't know how much photography I will get to do this week. But I always manage some.

Fall Colors - Sunset Reds and Oranges

2006-11-04T20:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we returned from our vacation in Southwest Florida. So I have lots of pictures to share!!!

One of the best things about Ft. Myers Beach is watching the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. Although we missed the sunset on our arrival day, we got to see one every other night. Some were better than others but all were beautiful. These are all as they came out of the camera - no Photoshop enhancements.

The above shot was taken on the day when we had clouds all day, not much sun and a little rain. Perhaps the best night of the bunch.

We stayed at my timeshare at the Lahaina Inn Resort. The nice thing about going to the Lahaina is seeing some of the same people year after year. This year we saw our friends Tracy and her daughter, Audrey. We shared tropical sunset drinks on the beach with them (and their friend, Kathleen) several nights. I brought the tripod with me and figured out how to work the timer so that we could all be in the shots together.

We had fun playing around with Audrey - she slept well at night because she was GO GO GO all day long!

There are all kinds of folks walking on the beach in Ft. Myers. One day, a woman and her parrot, Nica, were walking along.

We didn't stray too far from Ft. Myers Beach but did a little exploring to Lover's Key, a state park just to the south. We found some funky vining plants that sent roots into the sand. We also saw lots and lots of birds (and jumping fish).

We played on the beach.

We also went to the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve one day. We saw lots of birds there but no gators - although they were supposed to be there.

I explored the Lahaina grounds with my macro lens and played with some of the features on my camera (multiple exposures). Here are some of my "flower" and "play" pictures.

Right before we left for vacation, I shot some maternity portraits of my friend, Melanie. I'll share some of them next week.

A Day Early and ...

2006-10-28T01:28:00.000-04:00

I know that I usually post the PHOG on Sundays but I will be away from a computer this Sunday so ... you're getting it today.

I had a short work week this week because we went to the Thursday night Virginia Tech - Clemson college football game. Night games are so much fun. Here are a few shots - fans, players, fireworks, the band.

Oh, yeah, the HOKIES won this game. YAY!!!

On the way back I had hoped to catch some of the fall color in the Virigia mountains. But it was raining. We stopped at a winery and tasted (and bought) some wine. The vineyard looked so dismal because it was the end of the season AND it was raining.

Our friend Melanie posed for some maternity shots. I have to process what I took but here is a portrait of her with her husband, our friend Jeff. I like the looks that they have in this one.

PHOG will be back on it's regular schedule next week (Sunday, November 5) with some of the maternity photos AND images from our Florida vacation!!!

Crisper Days (and Nights)

2006-10-22T22:58:00.000-04:00

It was another busy photography week.

On Thursday evening, I tagged along with a photography friend and tried my hand at night sports photography - at a local high school JV football game. This is a difficult skill. This was my first attempt and I can honestly say that I have not mastered the skill. Here are the best of what I shot that night.

On Saturday morning I went on an artist outing with the Northern Virginia Artist League. We went to Claude Moore Park in Sterling, VA. The fall colors have started to come out and I took some shots of the red leaves ... and of my fellow artists.

On Sunday, we went to Annapolis to see my boss' husband's acting debut at the local community theatre. The theatre was 1/2 a block down from State Circle and the Maryland State House. It is a beautiful state house.

Triangles ... I am still working on the NVPS visual design theme of triangles. Here are this week's attempts.

Annapolis, MD

The tree in front of my house - down to one lone leaf.

Claude Moore Park, Sterling, VA

Links:

NOVAL: http://www.novalart.com/
Claude Moore Park: http://www.co.loudoun.va.us/prcs/parks/claude.htm
Colonial Playeres: http://www.cplayers.com/
NVPS: http://nvps.org/

So it's FALL

2006-10-15T22:56:00.000-04:00

I know that it has been fall for a few weeks now but I don't really believe that it is fall until the cold comes and the leaves begin to change. The first signs are finally upon us.

I seem to take my camera to work with me on Wednesdays. This past Wednesday was no exception. I was going to the Library of Congress to do some research so I figured that I would throw my camera in the bag and look for some shots up on Capitol Hill. The Capitol is a pretty impressive structure.

The Northern Virginia Photographic Society self-improvement topic this month is triangles. I didn't make it to Green Spring Gardens with the other society members on Sunday morning. However, I took a walk around the neighborhood looking for triangles.

Do you see the triangle in this picture?

I am also working on a fall foliage challenge this month. The leaves are just starting to change in our area. They don't seem to be as colorful as they have been in other years. We'll see how they develop over the next couple of weeks. The tree in front of our house has lost most of its leaves. The ones left are shades of yellow and a little bit of orange.

I'm sure that there will be more color next week.

Links:

Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/index.html

Northern Virginia Photographic Society: http://nvps.org/

A Squirrel In Need Of A Handout

2006-10-08T21:24:00.000-04:00

I got my new Nikon 18-200 mm VR lens this week. And I was all excited to use it alot this weekend but ... the weather was bad ... and I was tired ... and it just didn't work out the way I had hoped.

But I did shoot some pictures this week.

On Wednesday before heading home for the day, I took a walk around Lafayette Park. This is the park right near the White House. Not much going on at the White House that day.

Although there was a squirrel in need of a handout.

On the way to the Metro, I saw an American flag reflected in the VA building. I thought that it was kind of interesting.

I had hoped to take pictures of Joe and his friends who joined us out at the Chesapeake Bay on Friday night and Saturday. But the weather was rainy and grey and was hampering my creativity. Evir came out the the pier with me so I shot some pictures of her.

This last shot was not from this past week. It was from the Virginia Tech football game the week before. My friend and co-worker, Jon, has season tickets right next to our seats. Here he is happy. Unfortunately that did not last since Tech lost that game. :(

Remember. There is a sign up form below so that you can get word when I post a new PHOG entry. And if you are thinking of holiday portraits, contact me.

Link:

Beyond Mere Words Photography (that's me): http://www.beyondmerewords.com

FOCUS?POCUS

2006-10-01T20:31:00.000-04:00

I’ve had a busy week so I did not get in as much photography as I would have liked. I did figure out how to create a subscription form for this blog so if you want to be notified every time I post a new PHOG entry, fill out the subscription form in the blog entry below this one (Friday, September 29, 2006).

I’ve been having focus issues with the new D200. It has so many different settings for the auto focus and I was not getting them. I spent some time this week trying to learn them and practice.

On Friday night I took some shots of Ivan, our 2 1/2 year old lab retriever mutt. He is sometimes a willing model.

On Saturday, Charles and I headed down to Blacksburg, VA to see Virginia Tech play Georgia Tech. This battle of the Techs did not go so well for the Hokies (VT’s team for those of you who don’t follow college football). It made for some interesting shots.

I was hoping to continue my lines theme from last week at the game. After all, as my mother-in-law recently mentioned, football is a game of lines. I got some.

I was captivated by the sky. At one point we thought the heavens were going to open up and drench us. I was actually expecting this since I did not bring a poncho or rain suit or anything like that. But we lucked out and got no rain.

On Sunday, Joe and I went over to Meadowlark Gardens and played with the camera. Here is the best of what we got.

Me:

Joe:

Have I got a deal for you!

I had a few things happen this week that provided me with some nice validation on my photography. First, I got a word of mouth referral to shoot a small wedding. Unfortunately it did not work out but the woman told me that she loved my work (after seeing it on my website). Perhaps I will get to work with her in the future. Later on the same day, I had someone else see my website for the first time and tell me that my work was beautiful.

If you’ve seen my work and like my style, have I got a deal for you. The holiday season is fast approaching. Before you know it, it will be time to send out holiday cards. What better way to let your family and friends know how you are doing than with a lovely portrait of you, your family, your child, and/or your favorite garden snail. Book a portrait session with me before the end of October and I will take one half off my regular sitting fee ($75 - so it will be $37.50).

Links:
Virginia Tech Football: http://www.hokiesports.com/football/

Meadowlark Gardens: http://www.nvrpa.org/meadowlark.html

Beyond Mere Words Photography: http://www.beyondmerewords.com

Get an Email When I Post A New PHOG Entry

2006-09-29T19:05:00.000-04:00

You Never Know What You Will See Between The Lines

2006-09-24T18:55:00.000-04:00

This week was ripe for photography. Maybe I was inspired by my recent membership in the Northern Virginia Photographic Society (NVPS) and their upcoming year focusing on “Visual Design.”

Sometimes photography is about being in the right place at the right time. On Tuesday there were protesters outside my building. They brought a big inflatable rat with them. These pictures weren’t so great from a design standpoint but they were fun from a subject standpoint. After all, how often do you see a giant inflatable rat?

I finally found a “volunteer” to help me with my idea to take a reflective portrait in the boulders at the National Geographic building. On Thursday my friend and co-worker, Dale, came out and we took a few shots mid-day. I have a feeling that I will be playing with this much more in future.

On Sunday I had to be at the NVPS Self-Improvement field trip location, Green Spring Gardens, by 8 am. As I’ve mentioned (at least above), NVPS is spending the year focusing on “Visual Design.” The Self-Improvement field trips are following the Freeman Patterson book, “Photographing the World Around You (A Visual Design Workshop).” I already owned the book before starting this self-improvement project. Here are some of my lines pictures. I will be working on this focus until the next field trip in October. So be prepared to see more LINES.

I am finding it exceedingly difficult to include just a few images every week. Hope you don’t mind.

It’s fall. Time for pumpkins.

Links:

Northern Virginia Photographic Society: http://www.nvps.org

National Geographic: http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/

Green Spring Gardens: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/gsgp/

Freeman Patterson: http://www.freemanpatterson.com/

No Sleeping In For Me

2006-09-17T21:08:00.000-04:00

This weekend there was no sleeping in for me. Not sure WHAT I was thinking but I planned early morning photography activities for BOTH Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday morning, I left the house at 5:30 am so that I could meet my fellow photographers from the Northern Virginia Photographic Society at Wakefield Park so that we could caravan down to Herrington Harbour marina for September’s photography field trip. The theme of the field trip was REFLECTIONS. Here are some of my shots from Saturday.

OK, this one is not a reflection. But this night heron was just sitting there posing for me. I HAD to take his/her picture.

On Sunday I didn’t get up quite as early. I left the house at 7:45 (I could have left later) to make it down to the National Museum of the American Indian by 9:30 for a Washington Photo Safari. The Safari theme was the Nikon D200, my newish camera. The idea of the safari was learning about the camera rather than creative photography but I got a few shots that I liked. Here is one.

Who knows what next week will bring!!!

Links:

Northern Virginia Photographic Society: http://www.nvps.org
Herrington Harbour: http://www.herringtonharbour.com/
Washington Photo Safari: http://www.washingtonphotosafari.com
National Museum of the American Indian: http://www.nmai.si.edu/

Anticipation . . .

2006-09-10T21:05:00.000-04:00

I had a very productive photography week. The week began with Labor Day. We still had house guests so we all went on a picnic to Burke Lake Park. This was a treat for Ivan even though he had to be on his leash while we were there. This summer I got him some dollar Frisbees in the dollar section at Target. Ivan loves to play Frisbee. Unfortunately the dollar disks only last about one session. We also brought a regular Frisbee for us to play with. While Charles and Jeff were playing, Ivan really wanted to go play. He managed to slip out of his collar for a bit – until Jeff tackled him.

Our picnic spot was right near the park train tracks. There was a little mock station with an American flag flying. I though that it was very quaint.

On Saturday we went to see Sandi Croan’s show over at the Broadway Gallery in Fair Lakes Promenade. As I’ve said before, I love her work. Now Charles knows what I have been going on about. Check out the link to Sandi's website below - and to Broadway Galleries' website as well.

On Sunday I got to do my first (of hopefully many more) maternity photo session. A friend of mine came over and we shot for about 2 hours. I’m pretty impressed with my efforts – if I do say so myself. Here are afew of the shots … there are more on my website viewing gallery … and even more will be coming as soon as I finish processing them.

While photos were downloading, I worked on some high key lighting skills and did some self-portraits. Always an interesting experience. I am getting much better at working the remote.

I’ve got lots of plans for artistic inspiration this week. On Tuesday I’ll be going to a Northern Virginia Photographic Society (NVPS) workshop on reflections and shadow. And on Wednesday I’ll be going to the monthly Northern Virginia Artists League (NOVAL) meeting.

Links:

Beyond Mere Words Photography Viewing Galleries: http://beyondmerewords.photosite.com
Burke Lake Park: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/burkelake/
Sandi Croan Photography: http://www.sandicroanphotography.com/
Broadway Galleries: http://www.broadwaygalleries.net/index.shtml
NVPS: http://nvps.org/main/
NOVAL: http://nvps.org/main/

Labor Day Weekend – Lots of Images This Week

2006-09-04T14:38:00.000-04:00

Charles went to the first Virginia Tech football game of the season and I stayed home. While he was cheering the Hokies on to victory over Northeastern (38 to nothing), I took a drive around Northern Virginia with my camera. The weather was a little damp as the remnants of not-Hurricane Ernesto were passing through.

I stopped by the Colvin Run Mill Historic site – a photo worthy place. On my way down the hill to the mill, I came across another photographer. He was shooting with a Nikon D70. We had a short conversation about our Nikons and then we both continued with the task at hand, photography.

Here the other photographer setting up a shot of the some discarded mill grinding wheels.

Here is my own interpretation of the same scene. I did a little selective coloring in Photoshop on this one.

On Sunday we went to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (part of the National Air & Space Museum near Dulles airport). So many planes. The shapes were interesting. I shot with both my D70 and my D200.

No, this is not a B&W image. This was the color of the sky on Sunday afternoon.

<

The museum has an SR71 Blackbird on display. It flew from California to Washington in a little over one hour. Amazing. Yes, I adjusted some settings in Photoshop on this one.

The museum also has a space shuttle on display. It is a BIG flying vehicle.

Charles has not made the PHOG yet. So here he is. I imagine he is saying. “My wife the photographer. I wish that she’d stop taking pictures of me.”

LINKS:

Virginia Tech Football: http://www.hokiesports.com/football/

Colvin Run Mill Historic Site: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/crm/

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center: http://www.nasm.si.edu/udvarhazy/

Until Next Week!!!

Joe's Family ... MY Family

2006-08-27T18:32:00.000-04:00

I collect family members and then keep them even when they are not "technically" part of my family anymore. This week, some of my family came for a visit. My son Joe's uncle Ben, Aunt Lonni and their girls came to stay with us. Ben is the brother of my ex-husband but we are still friends and it seemed perfectly natural that they would come and stay with us while they were in town. Thursday night we had an evening of guitar playing and other merriment with the "family" and a few friends. I got some great facial shots of the guitar players. I was shooting with my Nikon D200.

I wonder if I should explore "band" photography.

Thursday was a busy night. After dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant we stopped for "frozen custard." I had forgotten how much Lonni loves the frozen stuff. I took this picture with her first digital camera, a Canon point and shoot - very nice camera for a point and shoot.

On Saturday Charles and I drove out to the Virginia Arboretum in Boyce, Virginia to check out the gardens and the picture taking possibilities. It was very hot but we saw a few things and decided that we will have to go back in the fall and winter and spring. Here is a shot that I took while we took the driving tour around the arboretum.

Links:

Virginia Arboretum: http://www.virginia.edu/blandy/
Thai Basil: http://www.thaibasilchantilly.com/
Milwaukee Frozen Custard: http://www.milwaukeecustard.com/

What I see everyday

2006-08-20T20:58:00.000-04:00

I work across the street from the National Geographic Society buildings in Washington, D.C. In the area between the buildings, there is a nice pool area with several large boulders. One day I had this idea that it would be cool to take a portrait of someone reflected in one of the boulders. I haven’t found a victim yet so this week I practiced the technique on myself and did a few self portraits. I really like how they came out.

The National Geographic buildings are quite interesting but so is the building that I work in, Sumner Square. It is actually comprised of three buildings, the historic landmark the Sumner School, the former Magruder School and a building connecting them all (with no name).

Links:

National Geographic Society

About Sumner Square

Next weekend I'm going to shoot my first maternity photos. I've seen so many great shots of pregant women. I hope that I will do a good job.

See you next week.