This is another infrared image featuring the chapel at the oak hill cemetery in Washington,D.C.. It was very peaceful in the place, but the trip to get there was a real anxiety laced ordeal for me. I have a real problem with being in traffic jams that just sit there, and this trip included just that.
This was shot the same evening as the thunderhead image from yesterday and was pure luck to get the lightning bolts. The evening looked like it was done storming, but as I started the truck to head home, I noticed a flicker off to the right. I set up my tripod just outside my driver’s side window, and hit the shutter every 15 seconds or so in a mini burst. The bolts were very infrequent and miles away, but I happened to get these two on one shot. As mentioned before, daylight lightning is very hard without a lightning trigger, and this image was shot at f32 at a third of a second. I never stop down that far because image quality degrades at small apertures,but my only other choice would be a neutral density filter and with a 400mm lens,quality would drop as well. I captured a couple other bolts,but they were blurred due to me pressing the shutter too hard. There was actually a mini rainbow that appeared off camera for about 15 seconds as well, but disappeared before I decided to shoot it.
Actually I am not sure if these are what are referred to as thunder heads,but there were rumbles of thunder in the distance as I frantically drove around sunday trying to get a shot of these formations. I was hoping for a good lightning show,but only saw an occasional flicker from these clouds. Finding a decent foreground proved to be tougher than I thought, but I am satisfied with this one.
Just a quick snapshot of a local farm done with my infrared converted camera. It shoots color infrared but I liked the monochrome version better.
This image was taken recently while I was out shooting with a good friend. We were hoping to get a sunrise shot and I was pretty sure we were not going to get anything till we rounded a bend and saw the foggy valley ready to see the first rays of sunshine. I parked quickly and grabbed my gear and rushed across the road barely in time to frame the shot before the flare overwhelmed the scene. Thirty seconds later,it was hopeless trying to shoot with the sun in the shot.
As promised, here is another image taken at the Watt Mansion featuring hydrangea in bloom.Recent severe hot weather has taken its toll on these lovely plants and we are in need of a good soaking rain again. A few flash pops helped light the shaded blooms.
Sorry for the error on calling these hyacinth in my original post. Thankfully a friend pointed out my brain freeze.
I was out looking for scenes of local farm activity and came across this crew doing custom harvesting. The farm owner graciously allowed me to wander around shooting various angles of these mechanized marvels that help make short work of what seems like daunting tasks at times. The crews are hired independently to come in and do the work, which saves the farmer having to buy extremely expensive equipment and is a win-win situation for everyone. The first shot was taken from the roof of my truck and was taken while the harvester off loaded his collecting bin into the waiting tractor,and the second shot is from ground level. Thanks to Groffdale custom harvesting for taking a few minutes to let me get the shots. While watching them work the fields, I saw numerous rabbits bolt, and amazingly enough a fox as well. I need to check my files,but I think he was out of the frame when He made a dash for it.
I did actually get the fox leaving the wheat field. He is a tiny speck on the photo,but here he is.
An evening of stormy weather yielded this momentary shaft of sunlight coming through encroaching clouds.It lasted long enough to get out the tripod and fire a few frames.
This is an old roller mill that I came across while wandering the back roads this past weekend. I started the afternoon off heading to play volleyball but I took my camera gear along in case no one showed. Well no one showed, so I cruised around and came across this locale. I was all excited as Amish buggies, open carts etc were all around the area. I pull in here and realize my tripod is 15 miles away at home.So I head home disgusted with myself and decide to return in the evening. Four hours later I come back and set my gear up on my truck roof to get a better view and I wait almost an hour till these three buggies come by. After they passed, I sat there till dark and not one more buggy came by. If I could somehow get up another 8 ft or so, you could see the entire covered bridge,which is just in sight on the edge of the right side. This evening was a real feast or famine night for shooting, and since I am not the most patient individual, it was driving me crazy missing other opportunities. The late evening light was skimming in nicely, so maybe the delay was worth it. the thumbnail shows my roof setup and laptop inside and it all depends how much height I need, and in this case just a little.
As promised, here is another view from the Watt mansion property.All one needs is a soft pillow and cushion, a favorite book, a bit of imagination, and your all set to get lost in your own enchanted fairy tale world. I added some flash to accent the ivy covered tree and bench.
My photo for today features a home that has been lovingly restored by current owners Steve and Kathy, and they have done an outstanding job both inside and out. The exterior features a gorgeous wrap around porch that has been painted in subtle shades of green and burgundy, and is a great place to sit and enjoy fresh lemonade while relaxing on one of several rocking chairs. The stunning hydrangea in shades of blue and lavender provide a visual feast for the eyes and were the reason I stopped to photograph this spot. I light painted much of the scene to help show the details,and despite picking the worst breezy night to try this, I managed to get most of the plants still. According to online resources, hydrangea color is affected primarily by the presence or absence of aluminum compounds in the flowers. Adjusting soil ph will yield blue to pink possibilities.
This is not something you see in Amish country very often, but this past weekend was heritage days in a small town named Intercourse. How the town came to be named as such is not exactly known, but there are several possible suggestions if one searches the net. The Fireworks display ended a day long celebration of the areas heritage, and featured live music,volleyball,good food and much more. This image was captured from a vista across the fields with about a 200mm lens and my first or base image was captured while it was still light enough to see the farms,and then after it was pitch black, I recorded the fireworks explosions from the same tripod mounted angle, and then simply brought those layers on top of the first, and put them on lighten mode, which allows the fireworks to show up against my blue sky instead of black nothingness. When I first set up, there was an Amish family having a picnic across the street, I asked what time the fireworks launch, and he says sometime between 9 and midnight. Did not expect the bit of humor but with fireworks you never quite know.
I never do this, but I am adding the two smaller pictures of some kids getting a wagon ride. Not sure if the Amish guy is a neighbor or what,but the riders were dressed in regular clothing. they might have been going to heritage days up the road. neither shot is super sharp, which irritates me.Hope they dont have to stop fast, because they are all bare foot.
This is the side entrance to the Watt mansion. Late evening light streaming in from the right illuminates the splendid property, complete with ivy climbing the walls. An ornate car port provides a perfect place for guests or family to arrive and unload vehicles while being sheltered from the elements. They don’t build them like this anymore.
A little while back I posted an image of a home called the Watt mansion, which was built by The founder of Watt and Shand back in the late 1800s. This home is still for sale, and the current asking price is one million two hundred thousand, down from the original four million starting price. What you see here is not the home,but the carriage house in the back of the property. I contacted the realtor for permission to shoot, and he gladly obliged. I light painted this with a Sunpak 622 flash controlled by radio poppers and my friend yelling some feedback to me on my flash output as he sat in a lawn chair watching the laptop images appear from the camera. This home is a steal at its current price and is a gorgeous property, and I will be sharing numerous shots from here over the next weeks.
The story behind the title is kind of funny, so here it is. The evening I shot this image, my friend and I were packing up our gear across the street in the late evening light and I noticed a man walking up the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street. He seemed to be lugging some items and I jokingly said he was probably looking for a place to sleep. I headed home for the night and went to bed around 11pm, and tossed and turned most of the night as I thought about all the beauty the property had, so at 430am I headed back in to do more light painting. I set up tripod, laptop etc and began to shine my spotlight on the back of this carriage house, and out of the dark archway comes the gentleman from the night before. He was very polite, asked if I was the owner, and told me he wanted a job as a security guard on the property. I told him I did not care if he was sleeping there, and told him he should go back to bed so the security lights would stay off, to which he obliged. To see a homeless man sleeping in such an amazing place left me wondering how he got where he is in life, and what he thought about his sleeping quarters. In all reality ,it was a rather good choice of places to find safety and solitude for the night. I think the upstairs of the carriage house is over 2000 square feet alone and the real estate taxes each year are supposedly $36,000 on the property. What a dream location, and as you can see from the thumbnail image showing the starting shot, adding some flash can really bring the shot to life.
Another infrared image taken at a local park. This was taken in full sunlight,which would normally have me putting the camera away, but infrared capture is a different set of rules.
Snapped this cemetery monument on a recent stormy evening. Used two pops of the flash to add some interest on the stone.
This was taken recently at a local park. I Shot the top image using a Nikon D70 with an infrared filter supplied from lifepixel. The camera can only shoot infrared,but it does a good job with infrared.The bottom image was taken with a Nikon D200 and a color infrared filter from the same company. It is called false color infrared and to be honest I am not sure why the color reproduces as it does.
I went out in search of lightning photos the other night, and even though the skies looked pretty threatening, no lightning ever materialized. As I headed home I passed this piece of farm equipment sitting at a local business and decided to light paint it with a flash. I named the photo ”run for the hills” because between the sky ,and the front end of this contraption, I thought it looked pretty menacing. Its called a forage harvester,and I think it does corn but it may have other uses for all I know.
This lovely home is known as the Gonder Mansion, and is included on a local ghost tour in the area. It is a Victorian era Queen Anne style mansion built in 1905 by big wheel Benjamin Gonder, and was the home for him and his wife mary. It’s said to be haunted by the spirit of a woman who committed suicide – Annie, Benjamin’s loco sister who lived on the grounds but was shunned by the rest of the family because of her mental condition. It’s reported that the sounds of music and crazed laughter can be heard throughout the home, and her misty form has been reported haunting its corridors. She moved into the mansion in death after being forbidden to step inside the home during life. I did a small bit of light painting to highlight the gate,wall,and bushes at dusk to add my own touch to the beautiful home. The wrap around porch looks like a great place to sip cold lemonade on a summer day. I shot this from my truck roof using my laptop in the hopes of offering a better perspective.
This image was taken at the feed mill that I had photographed and featured on my blog a few days ago. I met Brad the owner, and he graciously allowed both myself and fellow photographer Larry the chance to look around inside. After the mill shut down for the day, we broke out our gear and we each selected an area to light paint. Admittedly it has been a while since I gave this technique a try, so I struggled a bit as I worked to light the room with my spotlight. The mill is a real labyrinth of metal and wood, and left me wondering how such a place is designed. The inside also included numerous cats roaming about, which surprised me with all the machines at work, but after I had witnessed a cat catch a mouse three feet in front of me, it all became clear very quickly. The area I chose included the old scale with the two feed bags on it, along with another scale facing the opposite direction with the number 122 on it. The blue light is coming from window light that was shining in at dusk. We usually work in the dark, but time constraints had us shooting earlier.
This is the same mill I posted a few days ago,but this time I lit the scene with my spotlight at dusk. I was out shooting in the area and decided at the last-minute to give the location a test try with the light. My light was low on battery power, so I did not get as much use out of it as I had hoped, but it was a good chance to practice a bit.
This is one of those images that frustrates me as I try to get it to look like it did when I shot it. The road was glowing from the previous night’s rain and the rising sun, and the sun was a nice ball through the fog,yet I could not get it to reproduce exactly like it was, so this is as close as it gets. I was hoping for an Amish buggy or some cool subject to be a silhouette in the opening, but unfortunately I was all alone on this foggy back road.
This image was taken the night before last as unsettled air moved across our region. All day long I watched the skies transform from one cloud formation to another and decided I better head out in the evening to look for possibilities. This farm provided the perfect location as it sits on a small hill,and the setting sun provided the touch of warmth on the massive cloud formation. Later that evening, lightning started to make an appearance, so I set up my tripod with an umbrella protecting it, and I use a laptop to fire it from within my truck. After a few sharp bolts, I decided that even though I was somewhat safe in my vehicle, perhaps being at the highest point on the hill was not the best idea so I packed up.
This image was taken minutes after yesterday’s post, and shows the mill from the train tracks side. The sky was totally cloud covered and yet I was fortunate enough to be in the right spot when a few rays broke through to skim across the shot. lasted about a minute, which was all I needed. As a side note, I knew this was an active line, but did not realize the train comes through doing about 60 mph plus. I no sooner had picked up my tripod and walked across the tracks when I heard a whistle up toward the trees to the left and when that train came through it was hauling. I thought to myself how unnerving it must be to drive that thing and see something or someone on the tracks ahead and know you are helpless to stop it in time.
Dawn breaks with a light mist rolling across this peaceful mountain lake, as canoes silently wait the arrival of nature lovers eager to paddle the calm waters.
This is the same location as yesterdays post, but looking the opposite direction. Two huge trees dominate the cemetery and wispy clouds add a touch of drama
I have Never really been one to find much pleasure in fishing, but I can understand why many enjoy it. I would much rather photograph scenes like this than be the subject, but this foggy morning had me wishing I had a canoe to get out there on the calm waters.
This is just one of several images captured over the course of several hours this past weekend. I saw this scene while I was riding bike the night before and knew I had to get back soon to capture it. The driveway was even more pristine looking when I first arrived, but several vehicles came and went shortly after I got there, and made marks in the lovely pink carpet. Thankfully wind helped bring down more petals to help cover things up. I could not seem to break myself from shooting various angles, in part because the home seemed to go perfectly with the fallen flowers, and the sea of pink under foot was something quite amazing. The owner asked if I had A.D.D, because I was there so long, but I loved every minute of this location. Once again, generous homeowners were very agreeable to let me wander the property, which made all the difference. It is not really called ivy manor, but I named it that because it reminds me of something from Europe. The Cotswolds in england are among one of the places I desperately want to visit sometime in the future and this image sort of has that cottage look.
I have been wanting to photograph this lovely Tudor style home for a few years, and when I saw this flowering tree beside it, I figured the time was right. I spoke to the owners and asked if they would turn on the lamps by the door and the dining room lights to add a little touch of life to the home, and they gladly agreed. The home reminds me of something from a Thomas Kinkaid painting,and although I only have a small part of the home showing in the top image ,I still like the feel. the bottom image includes a dogwood,which was next to impossible to include in the top shot without getting road,sidewalk or poles in. As a side note, I googled Thomas Kinkade to make sure I spelled his name right, and noticed he died last week. I always liked his work,but not everybody did,as is usually the case. Seems he was tormented by criticism of his work, and died an unfortunate death from alcohol abuse.
Figured I would try a sunset shot at the same location as last night. Nothing earth shattering,but it was fun trying. I added the bottom two images to show what putting your hand across the shot can do to help with contrast in some situations. If you look at the porch and tree, you will see the benefit of blocking the light source in tricky situations. Of course this was tripod mounted and you could adjust contrast in Photoshop, but it can help many times to utilize this simple technique.
Donald Reese Photography 