New Pentax Rumors

Hmmmm, interesting "rumor" coming around the corner from the Pentax camp:

http://www.news.com/8301-13580_3-9824461-39.html?tag=nefd.blgs


K20 and K200 coming in January 2008?

Painted sky

These 2 shots were taken last evening, the cloud has been building up - maybe some snow this weekend, but with the sunset and the cloud, it produced a spectacular fireworks in the sky! I wish I had noticed it a little earlier, so I can drive to a better location that allows me to capture more of the sky.

I am not sure why the pictures turned out so differently, both were set to Aperture priority, only a minute apart, no post processing.

Shot with Pentax DL with kit lens.

Oak Creek - Rushing Water

With temperature dropped down to teens, we took a short drive to Sedona area to warm up a bit, :).
Along 89 South, there's a picnic area that has access to Oak Creek, you have to walk down a rough trail, but not too bad even carrying my equipment with me. Although it was in the 50s when we arrived, in the shaded area by the water, some ice remained.

Shot with Pentax DL, 50mm at f22 with C-PL filter.

Flagstaff - reduced train horn

This will be a good news to a lot of poeple in Flagstaff.
http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/1120trainhorns20-on.html

I remember when we first moved here, the noise from the train and the highway (I40 and I17) kept us from buying house in certain area.

We ended up in the East part of town (by the country club), a little farther away from stores, but much quieter.

If you are ever in downtown Flagstaff, and the train goes by, you'll know what I am talking about.

Quick Trip on Route 66

My Thanksgiving, 2007. Took a drive out West from Flagstaff. Just want to take a break of pictures of mountains and rocks. I thought the old buildings in these towns would be interesting. It was a nice drive. The highway wasn't too busy, and the towns were practically dead.
I visited Williams, Ashfork, then Seligman before I turned around.

Window decore - Seligman, AZ.

As featured in Cars, bonus material on DVD.
Seligman, AZ


Tacky decor.
Seligman, AZ

Cafe 66 - Williams, AZ

Red Garters - Williams, AZ

Old time hotel - Williams, AZ

Route 66, enroute to Seligman, AZ

Wind Power - Seligman, AZ

Artist Intro

We all remember him as Mr. Spock, but Mr. Nimoy is an accomplished photographer in his own rights.
Check out his photo web site - enjoy.

http://www.leonardnimoyphotography.com/

Tree Collection

Aspen in the summer - San Francisco Peaks

Pentax DL w/55mm f1.4 Ricoh screw mount.

Aspen in the summer - San Francisco Peaks, with Sarah.
Pentax DL w/55mm f1.4 Ricoh screw mount

Lone Pine - Grand Canyon Nation Park, East Rim.
Nikon D70

Maple in Arista Winery - Russian River Valley
Nikon D70

A slight twist - Petrified wood, Petrified Forest National Monument

Nikon D70

Gnarly Juniper - Walnut Canyon National Monument
Nikon D70

Tiny pine tree - growing out of crack of a giant boulder - Walnut Canyon National Monument
Nikon D70

Another juniper tree, hanging on for dear life - Walnut Canyon National Monument
Nikon D70

Giant red wood - Muir Wood National Monument.
Nikon D70

And my favorite.

My HP PSC2100xi "camera"

I saw an article a while back on Pop Photo, about a guy using his scanner to "take" pictures. The result was really nice - his subject was seashells. I thought about giving it a try, but never had a chance, or the correct subject matter, definitely not the shells, I don't want the scanner to get scratched..... And I kinda forgot about it since then......

I was watching Gallery HD, and there was someone doing the same thing on the show, he was scanning silk flowers. I thought I'd give it a shot. I was lucky to find some flowers from the garden, and the dead leaves. The result is not too shabby.

Tips -
1. Get ready to post process your image. I had a lot of white spots. I am not sure if they are hot pixels or not.
2. To achieve the black background, just don't close the lid of your scanner.
3. You need to place the subject upside down - that's kind of obvous now, but I should've turn the leaves over.
4. Clean your scanner before and after use, :)

The result is actually kind of nice. This image turned out to be 1.5 megapixel after cropping.

Twilight and Ruin

Taken from nearby Indian ruin.

I have not figured out when is the best time to come out here for pictures.

I'll have to try early in the morning some time.

Adjusted in Picasa.

Portico

On the campus of Northern Arizona University (NAU) - Cline Library building.

Compared to the university I went to (Angelo State University - West Texas), where there were 6,000 + when I went, NAU has enrollment of over 20,000, that's quite a bit considering Flagstaff's population is only 60,000 +.

Akron City Hospital

On-site at City Hospital at Akron, OH, upgrading their lab computer system.

The hospital was hard hit with economic recession for some time, finally budget was available to replace the computer system. I walked around the campus, it looks like several new buildings were under construction, and several new buildings are under way. It is nice to see an economic turn around.

Hospital: under cloudy condition - no flash. My Canon SD400 did a pretty good job with dynamic range.

Frame Your Shot

I know, this is nothing new, but I tried it out for the first time the other day. With a scrap mat board in hand, I used it to frame my shot. It actually worked for me. Why? It made me study the scene a little more than I'd normally would - I tend to looking through the view finder and snap away without giving too much thoughts to it.

Using this cutout, it actually made me study the composition a bit before I take the picture. I actually take the time to review it before I pick up my camera to try to replicate the shot.

One issue - I don't think this is good for action shots, :)

Symbiosis

Not sure which plant benefitted from this living arrangement, :)

A healthy looking agave plant with Juniper. Bell Rock-Sedona, AZ.