It’s the time of year when I post my “Best of”. This year I decided to select the images I like the most, without a limit of only 10. To view the complete list, visit https://flic.kr/s/aHsmxS3ikd
I will do another post for my Street Photography, soon.
When the holidays come around, Grass Valley and Nevada City take the festival season seriously. Below are some pictures from Cornish Christmas in Grass Valley and Victorian Christmas in Nevada City.
After watching Sean Tucker talk about Shadows, I wanted to see how I have used shadows in my street photography this year. Not just really high contract images, but actual shadows to highlight a subject. I love using very high contract and shadows whenever possible, but the small towns I shoot in, just are not heavy in shaded areas. Overall, I find it easier to crush the blacks and make an image very contrasty, and I will do a blog entry for that soon.
Below are a few of the images I found this year, that use shadow. As I reviewed my work, I can see more shadows being used later in the year, as my skills improved.
I went on a photowalk with the “Chopstick Guys”. They always bring together a nice selection of models. The point of this shoot was to travel light and see what you can get with on camera flash, which I had never actually done before. I have always used off-camera lighting.
These are a few of my favorite images.
I shot the senior portraits for Layla at Empire Mine State Park using the Fujifilm X-T3. Below are a few of my favorites.
Pictures were shot with off camera flash in a softbox using High Speed Sync.
While I wait for Lightroom to support the X-T3, I have found a utility to convert the RAW files to DNGs that can be edited in Lightroom. Below are some random edited RAW DNG files from the last few weeks.
I now have the Fujifilm X-T3 in my hands and I was able to take my first images. Overall the camera is very similar to the X-T2. A few under appreciated changes have made shooting with this new camera a joy to use. First is Bluetooth. I don’t have a need to sync my photos to my phone, but the Bluetooth connection has enabled seamless geotagging of my images, a feature I lost when I moved from Nikon to Fuji. The X-T3 also added an electronic 3D level, which is a nice feature when you are shooting handheld.
Another note. A lot of people have asked if you can use an X-T2 L bracket on the X-T3. I have confirmed the Really Right Stuff bracket does not fit. I contacted them and I am told pre-sales will start within the next 2 weeks for an updated L-Bracket.
Below are a few jpg images with minor edits. RAW support is not in Lightroom yet, so I am stuck working with jpg for a few more weeks. I can’t wait to start working with the RAW files.
Deer Creek Tribute Trail in Nevada City.
Acros film simulation.
Acros film simulation.
Acros film simulation.
I am now offering an 8x10 softcover 80 page street photography book, focusing on my best street images from the last 2 years. Priced at $24.99, it really is a great value.
After years of wanting to visit the huge balloon festival in Reno, I decided it was time to check it out for myself. The morning started out at 3:30 as the ballons begin to arrive.
As the crowds grow and the people arrive, the balloons begin to coordinate and glow together.
Sun soon rises and this added an entirely different glow to the balloons
Almost 100 balloons rise at the same time in a very impressive display.
Around 7:30am the event starts to break up and everyone begins walking back to the parking lot. This balloon hovered over the lake to give everyone a chance to take photos on the way out of the park.
I have a couple of old Yashica Mat Twin Lens Reflex cameras and every once in a while, I like to break them out as a way to slow down and take a different style of photo.
I really enjoy the square aspect ratio that comes with the camera, along with the manual focus. I get my exposures by using an iPhone light meter app. I send my film to http://www.thedarkroom.com for processing and scanning.
It has been a few years since I added new images to my series of City Park photos. Grass Valley and Nevada City don't have very many parks to explore. I found this park just past downtown Grass Valley.
The colors and shapes in a park give an opportunity for more abstract images and shallow depth of field.
One of the biggest events in Grass Valley is the Nevada County fair. The little fair in the forest. It's always a great place to capture photos of the rides, long exposures of the lights, fair food and street photography style images.
During the summar months, Grass Valley and Nevada City are busy with street fairs and farmers markets. Below are some of my favorite street photography images of the summer.
All photographers have a bucket list of places they want to photograph. The Woodland sunflower fields is one of those places.
While the sky wasn't very exciting, I am still happy with the "hot summer" look I managed to get from a few of my images.
I used photoshop to blend multiple exposures to keep as much of the image in focus as possible.
This old oak tree is the element that makes this field super popular with photographers.
All of my images from this trip were taken with the Fujifilm X-T2, while this iPhone X image produce really outstanding color.
I recently discovered this covered bridge about 20 minutes outside of Nevada City. The Oregon Creek is along the Yuba River in North San Juan. It is part of the Tahoe National Forest.
The bridge originally opened in the early 1870's and was totally restored in early 2018. I searched the web and found that the bridge was closed to traffic before it was rebuilt, because it was in such bad shape.
The rebuilt bridge uses some of the same wood that was used in the original bridge.
Under the bridge you will find a beautiful creek that is used for fishing and swimming.
This is a panorama made up of 5 images. Because my tripod wasn't totally level, you can see a little distortion in the bridge shape.
When you cross the bridge, you will find a large parking lot with bathrooms, park tables and a sandy beach that gives you access to this large open section of the river. You can swim and even use the rope swing.
Grass Valley and Nevada City have some interesting small town markets and grocery stores. Below are a few I have found, so far.
My dad has been a geek since his early teenage years, with a love of all things ham radio. He supported the family by owning a small business that sold ham radio equipment. I grew up around dusty old ham radio equipment. I can still remember the unique smell you get from these antiques and seeing my dad work on these antiques bring up a lot of childhood memories.
He is retired now, but he still has a love for radios and radio equipment. He recently developed a passion for morse code keys, the history behind them and restoring these little communication devices. Most of them come to him covered in grease and dust. He takes each one apart and restores them back to working condition.
Just a sample of over 100 in my father's collection.
Many of the 100's he has collected were made in the early 1900's and 1940's. Below is a small handful that he has already restored or are in different phases of restoration.
The graphics on this box are really amazing. Inside is all the original documentation and equipment, in original condition.
This device uses a punch tape to transit sounds. It was used for training.
This was a military device, still waiting restoration.
Another still waiting to be restored.
I returned to Independence Trail this week to see how it has changed with the spring weather.
While the boardwalks are the most unique part of the trail, it is the wildflowers that are always changing.
Pictures just don't show the 3D shape of these puffy flowers.
Nevada county has a few roadside attractions that are unique and fun to visit:
Grass Valley robot
This Tin Man and Tin Woman in Nevada City play Wizard of Oz music when you push his bellybutton.
Rough and Ready has an entire mini town dedicated to Gold Mining history.
More from Rough and Ready
Clark's in Nevada City
Old Shell station in Penn Valley (Bridgeport)
I always find cemetery shooting to be a challenge. I don't always know what compositions will work best to bring out the details of the old headstones and statues. This week I decided to try shooting with the Fujifilm 80mm macro lens and I think it was a perfect choice. I think this will probably be my goto lens for future cemetery visits. A few samples are below.
