Still learning

There come times where people like me still have to learn. Yes, even I do not know everything yet. With programs like photoshop continuing to evolve and cameras continuing to become more complex, you have to continue to learn the operations to make the best image possible. One way to learn is by going to your local library to check out books. One that I got recently is on working with photoshop lightroom. 

I also like to get books that give tips on how to photograph other types of things. You can find books that give tips about how to photograph different things. An example is this book, How to photograph everything. 

So if you are looking for something to read that can help you develop your photography skills head over to your local library and see what you can find. The above book would be a great one to look for. So on your way out to take those pictures, go to your library and check out a book on photography. 

4th of July Photos

With the 4th of July coming up I thought sharing a couple of tips on photographing fireworks displays could be fun. The biggest thing that can make photographing fireworks complicated is that you are shooting in a low light situation with a extremely slow shutter speed which means the least little movement to the camera will show up. if you have a basic camera, you should check your presets and see if there is a fireworks setting. This is becoming a regular feature on basic camera presets. It is also showing up on a few DSLR cameras.

If you have a DSLR camera shooting in manual mode is the best way to photograph fireworks.

Here are the settings that you would want to use to get the photos

ISO 100 or 200

Apature f/11 or f/16

Shutter - This one is a little more tricky. If you set it to a bulb, manual release and use a remote you would hold the shutter for 2-5 seconds. The camera has to be on a  tripod for this. you could also set it for a 2-3 sec shutter speed. This is a long exposure but it should work well.

Do not use Auto Focus. Set your focus at infinity

Set Daylight White Balance

Turn off Noise Reduction

NO FLASH

Needed Equipment

Camera, Charged Battery, Tripod, Remote Shutter release, Memory Card

If you have a program at home to edit RAW photos this is the best format to shoot since it gives you the most flexibility for editing and manipulating your photos.

Hopefully you are able to take your camera out and get some photos of the celebrations near you using these tips. After the 4th I will show you what I come up with. This will be my first time using these tips so it will be fun for me to experience this myself as well.

So grab your camera, head out have fun and take some photos. Remember to be safe in all your activities as we begin to approach the 4th of July weekend.

The image below is not mine, it is used from freeimages.com

Yellowstone Water and Thermal Features

Other then animals another great feature of Yellowstone is the thermal features. As you may or may not know, Yellowstone is situated on top of a large super volcano that provides the heat for all the thermal features located throughout the park. One thing that makes a difference when you attend the park regarding thermal features is water level. In the spring some of the features will have a higher water flow for springs and fountains or longer displays for some geysers.

There are also some other water formations that are not geothermal that are worth looking at as well. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is carved out of sandstone making a long canyon with a couple of large waterfalls with in it with view posts to be able to see them from. This is one of those sights you just have to take the time to see when you are there. Like with other water features this to is affected by water levels and in the spring the winter runoff brings the flow of the Yellowstone river up making the falls a spectacular display.

Here is a few pictures of a couple of geysers and the "brink of the upper falls"

Here is a shot of Tower Falls. This is located on the north east end of the park on the grand loop road. It is worth stopping for a look.

This is what the boardwalk around Old Faithful Looks like about 20 min prior to an eruption in late spring. Come mid July that will look empty as peak visitation season really starts to hit.

Beehive Geyser, Not as predictable as others. Erupts about once a day with 15-20 min warning located in the upper geyser basin near Old Faithful Geyser. Easily visible from the boardwalk

 

Old Faithful Geyser, Located in the Upper Geyser Basin. Viewed from boardwalk along the geyser Most building bordering the boardwalk has estimated time of next eruption. Lots of seating, but go out as early as possible for best viewing area.

View of the upper falls from "Brink of the Upper Falls" viewing platform. Just follow signs off the grand loop road on the east side of the park for viewing area. Easy 1/8 mile hike, it has really pretty stone stairs leading down to the viewing area.













If you have the opportunity to go to Yellowstone remember to keep in mind safety is the most important thing to make a memorable trip. Stay on boardwalks and marked trails because danger lurks just beyond and just under the earth crust in the geyser basins and hillsides are not always stable beyond the trail near the canyon. So go out, have fun, be safe and bring back some great memories.

Bears in Yellowstone

If you are lucky when you have an opportunity to go to Yellowstone you will get to see a bear. On my trip I got to see two bears both with cubs. The first was a black bear. These are the smaller of the two I saw, but can be just as mean especially when protecting cubs. The second bear I got better pictures of  and is a grizzly with two cubs.

The most important thing to remember when photographing bears wheather or not they have cubs is stay a safe distance. While bears look big and slow, they are a really fast animal. I've personally seen them charge across a field and was amazed by the speed the produce. With the black bears, I aplologize that the pictures of the cubs didn't turn out. It was disappointing when I got home, but that's part of photography, especially shooting manual and not auto. But for me the pictures are worth the risk in the end with the good pictures, and I'm still learning too.

If you make it to Yellowstone, to see a bear, if you see a late group of people stoped on the side of the road, find yourself a safe place to get off the road and go check what everyone is looking at. The is a chance that they are looking at a bear. There is also a chance it could be another animal but it is always worth looking. You never know what you might find.

So if you manage to find bears be sure to shoot from a long safe distance, 100 yds is suggested minimum. So whenever you have the chance, grab your camera head out and take some pictures. Just remember to always be safe in your adventures. 

The are the black bear, the cubs where in the tree. They are a little blurrier because I was shooting in low light with a slow shutter speed. This causes the possibility that the images are not as focused as you would like. The very last picture is one of the cubs coming out of the tree.

Yellowstone Wildlife

One of the many great things about Yellowstone National Park is the wildlife that lives in it. When you have an opportunity to visit you are guaranteed to see some wildlife though maybe not all you may want to see. Elk and bison are some of the most common animals living in the park. There are also wolves, which I had a chance to see, but I had to use my spotting scope to view them, and I do not have a lens in my bag big enough to shoot that distance due to cost. There are also bears, but again you have to either have to know where they hang out and go look for them or be at the right place at the right time. On my visit I was lucky enough to see to sets of bears, a black bear, and a grizzly bear both with cubs. I will put there pictures in the next blog. In this blog I am putting up some of the pictures of elk and bison that I took as well as an antelope. The other fun thing about this time of year is that there are all the baby animals. This trip there was baby bison and baby bears.

As a reminder if you have an opportunity to get out to photograph wildlife be sure to stay a safe distance. A mother protecting its baby can be dangerous and unpredictable. So grab your camera go out and take some great pictures and be safe while doing it.

Stay tuned for bears in a couple days.

Enterance to Yellowstone

Now that I have been able to make my first trip of the year Yellowstone National Park I have my first opportunity to share new pictures with you of the beauty of the park during the early summer late spring season. Right now is a great time at the park since with all the moisture the water tables are still high keeping thermal features still flowing well, some of these start to slow down by the end of summer to a mere trickle. To start you off today the pictures are taken from the north entrance, the original entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

The arch in the picture called the Roosevelt Arch was built as part of the original entrance in Gardner, Montana to greet park guests as they arrive.

This is Located at Mammoth Hotsprings, this is the first town that you will come upon when coming in to the park from the north. This is a hot spring terrace that is grown with minerals over time. This is known as a travertine terrace. during the spring the colors and whites are brighter with the higher water tables, by the end of the summer some of the water flows begin to slow a bit and some of the bright areas will begin to dull a bit.

In the town of Mammoth through out the year elk will hang around. During the fall, it is a great sight to see the bull elk laying around in the grass with the huge antlers.

This is Floating Island lake located about 10 miles east of Mammoth. This is a place that I have seen bears in the past. Bison and water fowl and elk are not uncommon to find here at any time though.

This is taken in the Lamar valley in the north end of Yellowstone Park. At the far end of the field is a heard of bison. Up the road about 12 miles there was a mom wolf with cubs the we were able to stop and watch for a few minutes. Unfortunately  I don't own a lens that I can use to photograph at that great a distance, I do own a spotting scope I could use to just watch. I'm not sure how far they were, but if I had to guess I would say maybe a couple miles. One day hopefully I will have a lens that can do that, but it  cost about $16,899, so it won't be any time soon.

So be sure to grab your camera and if you have any type of park to get out and enjoy it and take pictures while you do. Have fun and be safe till next time.

Prepairing for a Photography Trip

Summer is here and tomorrow is going to be my first distant trip for taking photos. I will be making that 1.5 hr drive to Yellowstone National Park for the first trip of the season. The day before the trip there is some important things to do to be sure everything is ready so you can have an enjoyable trip and come home with great pictures. Here is a list of things to do to be sure you are ready the day before.

1. Be sure batteries are charged (if using regular batteries make sure you have plenty on hand, trust me you don't want to buy these in national parks).
2. Be sure all pictures are transferred from the memory card to your computer and then back them up to another drive if possible then format the memory card. Place memory card in camera before going any further.
3. Clean all lens so you won't have dirt or finger prints to interrupt the beauty of the images
4. Be sure, if you are using one, the secondary camera has batteries and memory card and in camera bag.
5. Check bolts on tripod making sure all are tight, tighten if needed.
6. Be sure to pack small tool kit (precision screwdrivers, allen/star wrenches, small pliers)
7. Pack spare lens caps, these seem easy for me to loose.
8. Pack spare lens cleaning wipes.
9. Pack the battery charger. This may sound odd, but if your batter dies you may be able to find a place to relax in a public area that has an outlet and then you have a fully charged battery again. This can be really handy, so don't forget the charger.
10. This one most people may not think of for a camera bag but is important to carry for outdoor shoots. Pack the sun screen. I'm lucky enough to have enough room in my bag to hold it. If you don't, pack it with the other things you bring such as drinks and snacks. Coming home sun burned can ruin a great trip.

As long as you make a point to be sure you have everything, a trip to do photography that you have to travel to can be fun and not a lot of stress. You will find, getting to a spot with a bear in the perfect location with an opportunity for that perfect shot, to find out you forgot you camera card can ruin at least the first part of the trip. Then when you get to the park store and find out that the camera cards are 4x the price as outside the park you will really be kicking yourself. So just do yourself a favor, take a little time and follow the list and make sure you are ready.

So with that, there won't be a post on Sunday which would be the next scheduled post  since I will be going through all the pictures that I will have taken. On Monday and over the next week or so I will be sharing the photos that I have taken. Hopefully there will be some great animal and scenic photos that I will be sharing.

Have a great weekend, get out, have fun, and take some great pictures. Remember to always be safe in all you do.

  

Saving Old Photos

When you look in old photo albums one thing you may notice is that if there is some really old photos they may be starting to deteriorate from age. One thing that is a good idea to try to save these pictures is to scan them and create digital copies that will remain and save those memories well after the prints are gone. All that is needed to do this is a scanner and time. For safety of the pictures a flatbed scanner is the best to do this. The type that you feed pages into have a risk of ripping the paper, especially the paper older pictures that are deteriorating are printed on, causing further damage to already potentially damaged pictures.

If a picture is damaged and it is important to you, you have a couple of options. If you are good with photoshop, you can do some restoration yourself, but if you are not that good at photoshop, there are services available that can do restoration services for you with. Prices ranging depending on the amount of service needed for the picture. If you need help finding this kind of service feel free to contact me and I will be happy to try to help.

In most photo software you should be able to scan the photos directly into it and be able to enter information about the photo into what is called "metadata". This is where information is recorded about a photo. It can be notes about the photos, cameras store information about settings, if there is GPS abilities with your camera, that will be stored there, serial number of the camera, and you can input copyright information in this section as well. This is an area that is not visible when just looking at the picture but is stored in the background of the picture.

Another option, this is what my sister that has been working on scanning my grandmothers photo albums, is to type the names at the base of the photos and this makes it easier for people that are looking at the pictures to see the information without having to go into photo programs to pull up the background information.

The pictures that I am adding on my blog today are some old pictures that have been scanned in by my sister. Most are from the early 1900's. Except for what is on the pictures no other information was recorded about them unfortunately.

So when you have a chance, pull out the old photo albums, and start scanning the photos. Don't forget to back everything up as well. Once you go through all this work you don't want to lose it all to a hard drive failure. Don't forget to go out and take new pictures, have fun and be safe.

Pony Montana (Ghost Town)

One of the great things about living in Montana other then all the scenic beauty, is the abundance of history contained from the times of the gold rush. Within 1 or 2 hours of where I live there are 8 ghost towns. Today I am including pictures from the second one that we went to yesterday. The one in today's pictures is called Pony which was a mining town that was started back in the late 1800's. Unlike Maudlow, from the post titled "Ghost Towns", the remaining buildings seem to be watched after a little better and not being taken down for parts. This town though does still have several people still living there today.

Photography is a great way to be able to capture parts of history. There is no way of knowing when something might happen that might damage or destroy places, through nature or other means, and pictures that were taken by people like you are all that may remain for places to be remembered.

So grab your camera, go out and look for those hidden historical treasures near you and take pictures. Be safe when doing so, you never know what dangers may be lurking around, and have fun.

Feel free in the comments below to put a picture of a historical place near you and maybe history to go with it.

Bank Located in Pony, Montana 

Closed Store Fronts Along the Main Street

Public School in Pony, Montana

This looks like it could be an old mine building, I believe that it is being used as a private residence now though.

This is what remains of an old gold mill. The 2 stone walls are the only remnants still standing of the structure that operated from 1884-1926.

Some of the buildings it will take more research to know what they were for sure but that is part of the fun of history, continuing to learn new things all the time.

Places near Home

Hopefully some of you are lucky enough to have access to scenic areas either inside or outside of the areas you may live. The pictures that I am including in todays post are some that I am lucky enough to be able to take just a few minutes just outside of Bozeman. When you look at these pictures you may think that I had gone hours from town but it was maybe a 20 min drive. You may be surprised if you just look around you what you find to photograph with in a short distance.

For some fun if you would like in the comments area below put a picture of where you are from and write where you are from. This would be a fun chance to see where people that follow this blog are from.

So grab your camera, go out, and get a picture that shows where you live, and have fun while you do it.