Action photographers have long known that they way you get the money shot is 1 part preparation and 9 parts perspiration. While all the advanced effort is important, some subjects simply require effort. In the days of film, that meant lots of images and the hope you got the right one. in the digital era, it still means lots of images but you know more quickly if you captured the curtail moment or not. It does not change the fact the moment is gone and you can’t go back but at least you know. Faster sensors, less noise, better processing, good glass, VR (vibration reduction), and bust mode auto-winders help to get better images that tolerate more cropping, and more chances to capture the perfect frame.

Sadly, I shoot with an older camera (circa 2002) that does not have the faster sensor or the better processing or the VR or the bust mode auto-winder. I do have good glass – even if it is 18 years old and been around the world 5 or 6 times.

Still, I take lots of pictures and I try to be as prepared as possible for when the money shot might avail itself. Today was pretty close. When I back inside and warming up, I reviewed the frames. There were some near misses, and then this – not perfect by any means but a nice representation of the impact a good snow storm can make on a very happy Pug …

120mm (35mm equiv) @ f2.8 for 1/4000s

The snow has stopped falling. The sun is out. The walks and porch have been shoveled clean. It’s time for some fun in the snow – as I have often said, "I hate snow but Zen loves it so much, I tolerate it." I can add to that, that it makes for a rare photo opportunity for this neck of the woods …

snow on the holly ………………. and in stereo

it’s not the Christmas card, but it is real

Zen really does enjoy the snow !

My eye doctor told me that one day, my near sightedness would have it’s up-side. She was referring to the aging process of the human eye and that at some point (when many people are considering bifocals) my nearsightedness would start to shift. It’s started.

While this could be a bummer, I’ve found a distinct opportunity – stereoscopy.

It turns out that the iPod is a great platform for viewing stereo images because of its horizontal size when in landscape mode. For a very nearsighted person, just take off your glasses, let your eyes relax, and you will be able to focus on the image without converging your eye’s sight lines. I use a free app called ColorIris for finding images and viewing them on the full screen.

Here are some good examples that work well on the iPhone (and iPod Touch) … architecture, woman with mirrors, Edison, ISU, path in the woods, boy and the rooster.

image credit: The grammar of graphics (L. Wilkinson)

The weather has changed for a time and with it, the gray has left and air has a different feel to it. With the shift has come Mother Nature’s exhibitionist flare.

Here is my Christmas card for 2009 … and what follows is how it came to be …

Almost three years ago, before any of the farmhouse construction began, I had taken a real picture of the building site. I used this as a background in my drafting software when designing the project. When the exterior design work was finished, I used the software’s ray trace renderer to create a likeness of the farmhouse. So, in the first cell of the strip below you find the rendered farmhouse with rendered grass in front of a photo of the real site and trees. Next, I used various brushes to add snow in the air and on the ground. I then went back and made a copy of the first layer and removed everything but the building. This was layered on top of the snow to bring it back as the focal point. I added a new layer and outlined the roof. This layer received more brushes of snow. I also added a layer with piles of snow around the building with small amount pushed up to the building and the porch. The final layer of snow was added to the tops of the trees. With the image complete, I added the greetings and finally the border. In truth, the greetings are four layers – one each for the lines of text and similarly for the snow caps and shadows for the text. The border is actually three layers – one for the woven frame, one for the gold scroll, and one for the subtle shadow to give it an embossed look.

 
layers

 
resulting stages