Manassas car show

It was clear and sunny and cool this morning, without a cloud in the sky, which was perfect for the hundreds of enthusiasts milling about the car show in Manassas, VA. Bright sunny skies aren't that welcomed for photography though, regardless of whether or not I knew what I was doing. When I opened the images I couldn't make out what a lot of them were. Saves space on the hard-drive by filing in the round file cabinet.

Obviously a modified Ford.

Left turn signal on some kind of old car.

Hood ornament on the same old car that preceded this one.

An old wheel with a red car reflected in the hubcap. 

Another hubcap reflection.

That's enough of that. Time to reheat leftovers from absolutely the worst pizza I've ever had delivered. Blah! Crust tastes like cardboard, pepperoni is completely void of taste while the sauce has just a hint of tomato flavor, and that's a kind review. 

Lotus beard - Photograph at BetterPhoto.com

Lotus beard - Photograph at BetterPhoto.com

Not much shaking.....

but we did have a nice gentle rain last night. Not much shaking today but sitting here listening to a little Jack Johnson on the IPod. There was a fairly decent sunrise at the marina this morning.

There were two different moods on two different docks to choose from. I think I would have called these piers when I was in the Navy?

Think I'll choose the bright orange one to begin the day on a bright note. While I had a hard time processing the orange sky, a little NIK Glamor Glow seems to have evened it out.

Alvin was there scampering among the rocks. He hangs out there every morning, and he's getting so used to me that he ran right be beside my foot at one point.

There he goes behind the blue lock that secures the kayaks from theft. Interesting enough I'll go back and retake that lock without the chipmunk.

not much shaking...........

Dear Abby

The tumor  that came suddenly grew large and fast and caused you much discomfort. When you wouldn't clean your bowl I knew it wouldn't be long before the end would be in sight. You always looked at me with love in your eyes, even when I held your head in my lap after your last ride. The decision was hard, one I hated to make. Hopefully you're pain free now, and don't hold me to blame.

I'll miss our morning and evening walks, my day won't be the same. You watched over me while I watered the flowers out back, it was your favorite spot. Whenever I returned to the house from a trip without you, you were happy to see me, and would greet me at the door. I guess that made your day.

You were my best friend, and I miss you already, even though I complained about you a lot. Now you can snore all you like, and slobber and shed.  No one will criticize you for the things you can't change.  But I'll miss stepping over you as you sleep beside my bed.

 Say hello to Thor for me, like you, he left too soon. There will be no more behind you, the ending is just too hard.

Sleep good my friend. Your kind spirit, and unconditional love, can never be matched. The whole neighborhood will miss you, as you brought laughter and joy to everyone who met you. I, however, will miss you the most.

Love you.

A little morning marina HDR

When the fish aren't biting, the geese aren't flying and the herons aren't having any luck finding their breakfast, a little HDR can salvage an otherwise boring morning.

This was last Thursday morning 5 shot HDR.

Three shot HDR this morning with grunge preset marina and john-boat reflection, halo along the tree line and all.

The 200-400mm will do spider webs if you stand back far enough. The sun was at a low angle giving the webs a multi-color effect. A mist bottle for water drops might have been a nice touch.

When the wind blows

When the wind is blowing and I don't particularly feel like going out, it is the weekend and the roads are crowded, it's entertaining to look back of some of the images taken earlier this summer. This trip I had Abby with me and it was difficult keeping up with her and trying to focus on what I was attempting to do. It's especially difficult for me to concentrate on HDR images since that's a process I'm not really comfortable with. This caboose is located in a little town south of me, and I was able to capture a few images that I liked.

One of the free-ranging canines started to come over and investigate so we left. When these images were first processed, I wasn't that happy with them and thought it was probably a wasted trip. Now that time has passed I feel that I'm not that dissatisfied with them. Sometimes a fresh look will change your perspective.

Success, of a sort

Another trip out to the cove on a very quiet morning. Fish were literally jumping out of the water. While I normally like to set the ASA to 800 max for moving birds, the lower light called for bumping it up to 1600. The D-300 doesn't perform that well at 1600, in my opinion, but I thought I'd give it a try. With aperture control set, the shutter speed registered 250 sec., while 500 sec. is usually the slowest I like to see, but..............

The shutter speed was almost fast enough to catch a sharp eye on the heron rising up out of the water with a fish.

This guy actually ran on top of the water with a little lift from his wings.

Back to the safety of the dock with the catch,

and then a post breakfast fly-over.

These guys are cool.

Since I had the spot to myself with out the presence of even a solitary fisherman fishing on the banks, I'm sure there could have been a lot more opportunities. My back was hurting though, so I decided to call it a day. All in all, not too bad for a little over an hours worth of work. 

The Quest continues

The quest to capture an image of Big Moe bringing his catch out of the water continued this morning.

James, a professional photographer based out of D.C. arrived with his boat for some morning fishing. He can be found out here most mornings, and I do believe he likes fishing more than photography. Quite a few of the photographers that I know like to get away from the "office" and pursue other hobbies while leaving the cameras at work.

This is James with what appears to be a fish on his line. While the 200-400mm is a great lens, it appears to be at it's best closer in, than at greater distances. This fish got off his hook before he could bring it in the boat.

The beavers were active this morning, and this guy was swimming towards me. I believe they have a nest of some sort underneath the dock as I could hear them doing whatever it is they do under there. I had to move to a location that is not as good as the spot that I normally photograph from as fishermen again invaded my territory. Boat fisherman don't disturb the wildlife, but the guys that fish off the docks are a little more intimidating to the wildlife. It's a public spot so I can't complain, but don't these people have jobs?

This is a close-up of the beaver that was close to being within the minimum focusing distance. He went down below the dock and I soon heard some gnawing on the wooden dock directly beneath me.

Big Moe was there, and here he appears to be hiding from the gulls. Herons must be territorial as he spread his wings and charged these birds more than once when they got too close. This is the far end of the dock I was sitting on, sans goose droppings. Moe flew off without me witnessing a catch.

The quest continues.

and so it goes.....