This photo takes me back to the good old times... when I got to fly to Florida for free and I could use the free time I could find to go out and take some pictures at the beach. Those days might be gone, but I still have a lot of unprocessed photos to take me back there.
This particular picture, was taken on Sanibel Island. I planed to go to shoot a sunrise from there, but unfortunately, the weather had some other plans. There was a very dense fog that morning, which prevented me from actually taking the shot of the sun rising in the horizon, but since I was already there I wandered about and noticed some strings of web with some dew droplets in them, so I switched to my macro lens and I started shooting.
I have two words to describe the experience of shooting a spiderweb, on a windy, foggy, morning at the beach while handholding your camera with a macro lens... NOT EASY...
I had to manually focus each shot, because the autofocus wouldn't lock on the droplets and I had to be chasing the image because the air kept moving the web all over the place.
I had to increase the ISO speed to 1000, because I needed to take the shots fast (before the wind moved it too much), there was low light, I was using a very narrow aperture because of the macro and I had to work from a distance because the web itself was behind a "restricted area" so I couldn't get closer to it.
I must have shot around 100 pics and I believe this is one of the few shots that could be salvaged from that day, but still, it was a fun experience with some very rewarding results (if I do say so myself).
Had I been more prepared, I might have read this article from digital photography school FIRSTand maybe I could have walked out with a better shot: How to Photograph a Spider’s Web
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Rock on
Pictured here, is the entrance to the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (feat. Aerosmith) in Disney's Hollywood Studios.
I took this picture on my recent trip to Orlando, but I'm sorry to admit I didn't actually got on the roller coaster this time.
This coaster is particularly special to me. It's the first coaster with inverted loops that I ever rode. Before that it was just regular wood, boring coasters (well, I actually know some pretty awesome wood roller coasters, but go with me on this ok?).
This year, instead of riding the coaster, I had to settle with picture taking and a very nice Turkey leg (sold conveniently nearby) but fortunately enough, I've already moved on to other (dare I say better?) coasters... but that's a story for another day.
I took this picture on my recent trip to Orlando, but I'm sorry to admit I didn't actually got on the roller coaster this time.
This coaster is particularly special to me. It's the first coaster with inverted loops that I ever rode. Before that it was just regular wood, boring coasters (well, I actually know some pretty awesome wood roller coasters, but go with me on this ok?).
This year, instead of riding the coaster, I had to settle with picture taking and a very nice Turkey leg (sold conveniently nearby) but fortunately enough, I've already moved on to other (dare I say better?) coasters... but that's a story for another day.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Ladders, hoses and little firemen
Last Saturday January 15 2011, the Bellaire Fire Department held their first Open House since the station was renovated after the demolition of the old fire station on November 2009.
The morning was not all that nice (it was a gray cloudy day with a little threat for rain) but the warmth in the fire station made up for the weather (pun intended)
There was a little bit of everything, the fire trucks and ambulances were out in display, with the opportunity to actually get inside and know the insides of many of the vehicles (if the little ones allowed you of course), we got a tour of the second floor/living quarters which is a rare treat and we got to ask any questions we could thing of to the station staff.
We even got the chance to learn some history by examining the contents of a time capsule for two generations: the original time capsule was made on 1955 and on1983 when the Fire Station was modernized the capsule was opened and some extra items were added.
It was all in all a very pleasant and educative experience that will certainly keep me looking for more local open house events that might provide good opportunities, not only for photography but to learn about new things.
The morning was not all that nice (it was a gray cloudy day with a little threat for rain) but the warmth in the fire station made up for the weather (pun intended)
There was a little bit of everything, the fire trucks and ambulances were out in display, with the opportunity to actually get inside and know the insides of many of the vehicles (if the little ones allowed you of course), we got a tour of the second floor/living quarters which is a rare treat and we got to ask any questions we could thing of to the station staff.
We even got the chance to learn some history by examining the contents of a time capsule for two generations: the original time capsule was made on 1955 and on1983 when the Fire Station was modernized the capsule was opened and some extra items were added.
It was all in all a very pleasant and educative experience that will certainly keep me looking for more local open house events that might provide good opportunities, not only for photography but to learn about new things.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
It's a girl
Recently, a very good friend of mine has been blessed with the birth of a beautiful baby girl and I just had to make a post on it.
Congratulations and I hope the best for you and your family.
Congratulations and I hope the best for you and your family.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Magical
Hogwarts Castle! Stands tall at the far end of Universal Islands of Adventure in the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter section of the park.
The place is really magical, realistic and very well made... and also extremely crowded!! When I was in line to enter, I thought I was in line to enter the attraction that is inside the castle but nooo... I was only in line to enter to the Wizarding section, there was an extra 110 minutes wait to go into the ride, not to mention even the shops had lines just to be able to go into them.
Eventually, I did manage to get into the shops, the ride, try butterbeer (frozen and cold), pumpkin juice, the whole experience and I had to admit they were all worth it... once... I hope the hype about this section of the park really goes down by the next time I go to Orlando so I can at least go to take pictures without needing to wait in line first.
The place is really magical, realistic and very well made... and also extremely crowded!! When I was in line to enter, I thought I was in line to enter the attraction that is inside the castle but nooo... I was only in line to enter to the Wizarding section, there was an extra 110 minutes wait to go into the ride, not to mention even the shops had lines just to be able to go into them.
Eventually, I did manage to get into the shops, the ride, try butterbeer (frozen and cold), pumpkin juice, the whole experience and I had to admit they were all worth it... once... I hope the hype about this section of the park really goes down by the next time I go to Orlando so I can at least go to take pictures without needing to wait in line first.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Back in time
Today's post is an "oldie but goodie". It's actually from the first photos I took when I received my DSLR and started going out just to get pictures.
I went out that day to a nearby lake because... honestly, it was the only thing outside home that seemed to be any interesting at all.
I went there and I noticed the lily ponds and as I started approaching them I saw that some dragonflies were going from flower to flower so I did my best to get as close as possible without scaring them away to get a nice shot and here's the best one I got (with a little editing done).
I went out that day to a nearby lake because... honestly, it was the only thing outside home that seemed to be any interesting at all.
I went there and I noticed the lily ponds and as I started approaching them I saw that some dragonflies were going from flower to flower so I did my best to get as close as possible without scaring them away to get a nice shot and here's the best one I got (with a little editing done).
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
French snack
Here's another pic from my holiday trip to Orlando.
This time it's a tasty pic of the Boulangerie Patisserie in France pavillion at Epcot center in Orlando and also one of my favorite places to eat at Disney.
The line is always lengthy for this small bakery in the middle of the streets of the artificial France but it's always oh so worth the wait to indulge yourself.
My personal favorites are the palmier (Elephant ear), Napoleon and the Rustic ham and cheese tartine (the later just discovered on this trip) but I've had very pleasant experiences with everything I've tried.
If you stop around Epcot and you like to indulge yourself this should be a must stop.
Also, if anyone reading has already eaten here you could share your personal favorites with us.
Here's a sample of the Palmier and Napoleon:
This time it's a tasty pic of the Boulangerie Patisserie in France pavillion at Epcot center in Orlando and also one of my favorite places to eat at Disney.
The line is always lengthy for this small bakery in the middle of the streets of the artificial France but it's always oh so worth the wait to indulge yourself.
My personal favorites are the palmier (Elephant ear), Napoleon and the Rustic ham and cheese tartine (the later just discovered on this trip) but I've had very pleasant experiences with everything I've tried.
If you stop around Epcot and you like to indulge yourself this should be a must stop.
Also, if anyone reading has already eaten here you could share your personal favorites with us.
Here's a sample of the Palmier and Napoleon:
Monday, January 10, 2011
Cool cats
Past saturday (January 7 2010) I stopped by the Magnificent 7 Ice Sculpting competition at discovery green in Houston TX; where 7 of the nation best ice sculptors turn some boring piles of ice into beautiful sculptures.
Pictured here is part of the winners sculpture along with the model used for inspiration. The only title I could find for the sculpture is "Tiger Chasing Rabbit" (rabbit not pictured) and the artist responsable (and winner of the competition) is Buddy Rasmussen from San Antonio, TX.
Pictured here is part of the winners sculpture along with the model used for inspiration. The only title I could find for the sculpture is "Tiger Chasing Rabbit" (rabbit not pictured) and the artist responsable (and winner of the competition) is Buddy Rasmussen from San Antonio, TX.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Mischief of ballons
I had the opportunity to play with a Borrowed Fisheye lens during my last Disney vacation so I tried to get a different perspective on some of the disney parks icons and, here's a good example: a fisheye view to the mickey mouse balloons in Main St USA.
The wind was blowing the ballons down so that allowed me to be close enough to get this shot with a Sigma 4.5 fisheye.
The wind was blowing the ballons down so that allowed me to be close enough to get this shot with a Sigma 4.5 fisheye.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Super Holiday Present
So... the 2010 Holiday season is over and it seems that I might have done something good last year :D
First of all, shortly after starting this blog with Zero my Canon Powershot G3 died somewhere between Florida and San Antonio TX.
We went on a trip to Six Flags a week before Halloween and when I took out the camera to shoot some pictures of the park I noticed every single shot I took was somehow.. completely... white.. at first I thought I must have set something wrong so I started messing with the configuration and since nothing was fixing the problem I switched to the old trusty Auto mode but to my surprise nothing happened... after a while I found out the diaphragm was no longer closing correctly causing every photo to be over exposed.
Being and old camera from 2002 with very low specs for today's standards (4 megapixels) I did not even tried to check how much would it cost to fix it, I have the feeling that it would be cheaper to buy a new point and shot with higher resolution (which we already had).
Well that was it for me and my photography hobby, I tried using the point and shoot a few times but the camera was doing it's stuff and the results were not what I wanted..
Fast forward to Dec 2010, I got a very very very interesting present courtesy of my parents, a new DSLR that would help me continue with Photography.. I'm very exited with the new gear and I will be trying to make the most out of the camera, although in this case the issue is the other way around, the photographer might not be good enough but I'll try to change that.
I had to by a few things for the camera, a new bag, a lens hood and a filter but that's the way things are; I still need to get a new tripod, my old one is not made for a heavy camera and maybe a lens or two, if Zero is right this might be the beginning of an spending spree. hehehe..
First of all, shortly after starting this blog with Zero my Canon Powershot G3 died somewhere between Florida and San Antonio TX.
We went on a trip to Six Flags a week before Halloween and when I took out the camera to shoot some pictures of the park I noticed every single shot I took was somehow.. completely... white.. at first I thought I must have set something wrong so I started messing with the configuration and since nothing was fixing the problem I switched to the old trusty Auto mode but to my surprise nothing happened... after a while I found out the diaphragm was no longer closing correctly causing every photo to be over exposed.
Being and old camera from 2002 with very low specs for today's standards (4 megapixels) I did not even tried to check how much would it cost to fix it, I have the feeling that it would be cheaper to buy a new point and shot with higher resolution (which we already had).
Well that was it for me and my photography hobby, I tried using the point and shoot a few times but the camera was doing it's stuff and the results were not what I wanted..
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| Goodbye old friend |
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| Xmas & more present |
Cya
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