Last week the highs were in the 60s and the birds were out chirping. I couldn't help but go capture a couple of images of the robins as they scurried around in the warm sun.
Today's image was taken the same night as the previous 3. I had wanted to get some snow flying through this photo, and while it was lightly snowing, it had let up pretty much by this point. I felt this image worked best in black and white with a sepia tone. I plan on returning here when it is snowing heavier and a little earlier so I can capture a bit of light behind the buildings.
This is the final image from the "Illumina Confetti" images. The snow was beginning to let up a bit in this one, but there was still enough to create the confetti feel. I am planning on going back down to the Qwest Center to get some more images of this creative display later in the year. It is a very nice addition to the city and I look forward to photographing it again. Look for the new images in my blog when I do return.
This is the next is the series of photographs that I captured at the "Illumina" display. The snow is really flying in this one, causing white streaks throughout the photograph - another confetti party feel.
There have been a couple of images I have envisaged for downtown Omaha that involve large flakes of snow. Just after sunset, the snow began to fly while I was photographing north at DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge, so I hightailed it back to Omaha to get some shots. I ended up at the Qwest center where there is a striking display entitled "Illumina" by Matthew Placzek. The snow came down like confetti, enforcing the "party" feeling. Over the next couple of days I will be posting more images from this evening.
Recently, I had been wanting a camera that was portable, but still had some of the main features I wanted in a camera, namely the RAW format and a flash shoe. I also wanted something with a video function, that way I could easily bring it to family functions without lugging some big gear. I settled on the G10 after looking at the G9 for sometime and deciding it had the best mix of funcationality and portability. Overall, I have found that the G10 is a fun camera to shoot. It's nice to just pull it out and snap a quick shot. On a fairly cold day last week I decided to take it to the OPPD arboretum and just walk around with it and see what I could capture. During this time of year crazy ice patterns emerge from the bottom of a little ravine. I got down and used the macro mode, all hand-held. I found the image stabilization of the camera really helped. I also found that the nearly 15 megapixels made for some really detailed images. The big drawback, however, is the noise at higher ISOs. After shooting with a Canon 5d Mark II, I really found the noise objectionable at anything more than 200, and even then that could be pushing it. If you stay in the 80 or 100 range the photographs are simply sharp and beautiful for a "pocket" camera. It has very seldom left my side in the past couple of weeks and I look forward to capturing some more spur of the moment type shots.
Every year I go downtown to photograph Omaha's holiday lights. I attempt to take a unique image each year so that I am not duplicating previous years efforts. This year I tried to focus more on the trees and the lights and made the buildings secondary in scope to the rest. In past years compositions I had the buildings as the primary subjects with the lights there to accompany them in the scene. By the way, this was the coldest night in several years. Before going out, I bundled up in gear I bought for a Canada trip and in many layers. Fleece pants, underarmor, gortex, 2 sets of socks, 2 sets of gloves and a heavy winter coat. My feet and hands were still numb when I was done.
It has been a while since I done any photography at the OPPD Arboretum so I went there last week on an overcast day to see what I find. The lilies in the small pond looked particularly pertty in bloom so I grabbed a couple of images.
My family and I went to the zoo with some visiting friends. We had the opportunity to see the new Butterfly and Insect exhibit that has just opened there. You walk into a room with a multitude of butterflies flying around. It was quite an experience and I will definitely be returning.
It appears that spring has made it to Omaha, Nebraska, and just in time for Earth Day. As a result I went to the arboretum with my macro lens to capture some blossoms in bloom. I used a shallow Depth of Field to capture a dreamy look to this bud.
Today's simple image reminded me of a painter's canvas with small white brush strokes on a blue canvas.
Continuing on with images from my weekend excursion to the zoo, is this image of a swift fox from the desert dome. While he was napping, he was aware of me, although obviously not too concerned.
One of my favorite areas at the local zoo is the aquarium. Here I can always find intriguing sea life that I may never see natively, and would be less likely to photograph. In several small tanks there are little creatures that I use my macro lens to capture. I am not quite sure what this critter is, but I liked the patterns in the floating "tenatcles". I used a shallow depth of field to create more of an abstract composition.
After a short spell, I finally made it back to the arboretum. The very first hints of spring are just arriving in Omaha and little bits of green are appearing, albeit among some remnants of snow and dead leaves. I took a walk through the mostly wooded portion of the park, stopping to look at some of the interesting patterns on the trees and within the leaves. I have walked by a particular dead log countless times, but for some reason it has never caused me to pause for more than a few seconds. Today was different. As the sun ducked in and out of the clouds, patterns emerged on this log and coupled with the intrinsic lines created a scene I felt compelled to record.
A combination of being ill with having the pre-spring muddy mess outside contributed to another review of the archives. As spring is just around the corner I went through the old season shots to see what I should be getting ready to shoot. I almost skipped over this old downtown Omaha file taken from the Gene Leahy Mall from 2006, but decided to give it another view. I had processed a vertical of this same shot about a year and a half ago and it didn't give the scene the sense of grandjuer I had witnessed. A new Photoshop version later and more experience with the tools allowed me to process this image more like the actual scene I witnessed. Yes, the godbeams and clouds were actually brilliantly like this, it was a very calm nice spring stroll through downtown. I only used a polarizer, I didn't even carry my tripod with me. Goes to show what you can capture when you make sure to have your camera with you.
