Another scene shot in infrared.

This is yet another experiment in light painting. I will elaborate a bit for anyone wanting to add this technique to their bag of tricks. The top image is my end result and your own creativity will dictate what you want in your results. The bottom two images are just two of many frames I shot to create this and you may drag them to your desktop to follow my simple instructions to visually grasp the concept.

In Photoshop start with the dark image and drag the flash added image on top so they are aligned,and then go to the layers palette and put the top layer on lighten mode.When you do that,you will see the lighter sections show up. I always apply a layer mask to hide the lighter version and then I use a brush to paint in only the lighter areas I want to show up,so in this example I might brush the building in but leave the grass dark. I continue on with each additional lighted frame I shot till I am happy with the result.

A wireless flash and camera remote are key to being able to move about the scene as needed and a laptop with software to control shutter speeds insures the camera remains fixed and does not shift while shooting. One important note is to remember you are adding highlights only,so when you light things with your light,you are not using shutter speeds that let ambient light mess you up. In other words if you have flash along with a bright scene,you will have everything lighter showing up when you brush in,so for example the tree trunk is lit against the dark roofline and if I had shot at a shutter speed that showed the roof detail, it would show up as well as a highlight.This is really a simple technique but you need to keep your wits about you while you do it.

Clouds rise higher and higher on a hot summer day.

This bi-plane was among my favorite subjects at the air show, but it was not very accessible,so these three shots were all I could muster. After I had gotten permission to return later in the evening, I noticed many of the planes were getting put into the hangers and I figured this one would be away all night. Much to my surprise it was out all night but it had covers placed on its engine,cockpit etc,which made it less than desirable to shoot in that state,so I had to dream of what might have been if I had gotten to light paint this classic. I used other planes parked on the field to frame the bi-plane and add a touch of interest to the shot. I am not sure what the CAP on the wing stands for but it might be civil air patrol?

Really I have no clue what kind of missiles are hanging from the wing of this plane but they look intimidating nonetheless. This was the last light painting session I tried at the airshow. For some reason my laptop went haywire at the start of this shoot,so I did not have enough time to do this one to the degree I wanted.

Can anyone guess what I absolutely hate about this image?  It is the obnoxious reflective vests that were given out to Amish children recently after some Penn State extension agent decided they needed to wear these to be safe. As far as I am concerned, if you cannot see a person at the side of the road in the daytime without one of these vests on,then maybe you should not be driving. What used to make wonderful images of local culture, has now become an eyesore in neon yellow. I wish some people would keep their noses out of other people’s business and stop trying to fix problems that never existed. It surprises me a little that a culture that likes to stay low-key actually accepted the idea of wearing these things. Certainly I want them to be safe, but I truly can’t remember any problems before the vests were introduced.

Fighting flies on a summer day can be a full-time job,so finding a good friend to  team up with in the battle can be a good idea. These two were helping each other out with the flick of a tail.

I recently spotted this crazy machine as I traversed the countryside and I just had to stop and shoot it. At this point I cannot determine if it was originally a real machine, or more likely the creation of some futuristic artist? My title as crazy as it is,refers to the movie starring Denzel Washington that takes place in a post apocalyptic world,and as soon as I saw this thing, it reminded me that it would have fit in this movie perfectly. I hope to return to it and try some light painting to see what I can do with it and hopefully find out more about it as well. If you get a chance, rent the movie and see if you agree. All it needs is a flame thrower shooting out the front and I could name it scorched earth. Might be a good subject to try my burning steel wool on?

No matter how many times I travel the back roads in Amish country, I am constantly amazed how many strange things I come across. This teen had jury rigged a wagon and small engine to make his own motorized transportation. He drove this thing several miles across the country while cars passed him left and right. He probably has a plow for it in the winter.

Run for the hills if you see this contraption bearing down on you. It slices,it dices,it juliennes.

An Amish garden includes these patches of sunflowers,which brighten an otherwise gloomy day. Cool days currently make it feel like fall but I will savor every moment of coolness I can get.

This rooster might think he is the boss of this barnyard but it wont be long till this pint-sized donkey grows up and kicks him to the curb. The rooster looks like he is ready for a fight the way he is strutting. If only he would have hopped on his back for a ride.

I did not even know I had captured this image till I was at home on the computer. I fired a sequence off and he did this right in the middle.Not sure if it is a comment on my skills or what but I had to post his funny moment.

Cool clouds add some interest on this infrared rich day.

These three seemed to be vying for the title of miss photogenic.Not where I wanted them but they were inquisitive.

Just a summer day in the country.

This full moon was shot last month on the morning following the rise of the super moon the night before. I headed out before sunrise and tracked this moon as I looked for a suitable foreground and I found this farm. As I was getting myself all primed up to capture it as it got lower on the horizon,wouldn’t you know it,what appeared to me to be a crystal clear sky,was actually hiding a bank of dark blue clouds and about the 4th frame of shooting,the moon started to be gobbled up into oblivion,which is seconds after I shot the top image. It was a surprise to me,but that’s how it goes with full moon shooting it seems.

This barn with hex signs is located on a historic property in Lancaster county and had colorful blooms filling the garden. I waited almost forty minutes for a buggy to pass by to complete my composition. Shot with a 17-35 wide-angle.

It looks like we are one bucket short. I was hoping one would get his head stuck,so I could get an even funnier shot,but no such luck.

I wanted to post this series to show some of the reactions I get sometimes. The top image was the one I was after and was shot at a good  distance, but as they got farther out in the field, I decided to move and get a rear view straight on. I was not totally watching the whole time and as I got in position I thought is he sleeping on the back?  Well photo 3 shows the answer to that question,and when I get something like this, I wonder what would dad think if he knew he was doing it?  Not sure what crop they are planting but I am leaning toward lettuce. There was about 2 seconds between photo 2 and 3.

This heavy storm came through our area and in some local towns it just sat there and dumped buckets of rain.This shot is not the greatest foreground shot,but it was not pouring on me at this point,so I had to record the cloud formations where I was because they were changing moment to moment .

A mix of approaching storm and infrared created this contrast of tones.

Took this image recently and was amazed how these two horses are so in sync. Almost looks too perfect to believe

On a sunday evening out, there are a few things you want to have. The first is a bucket of pretzels,hanging on the right, a bag of goodies hanging on the left, the volleyball net,hanging underneath and of course your best man on your right. Have these things,and an evening of fun is just around the bend.