Cheap video light kit!

Photographing Coral Fluorescence

Green zoanthid corals photographed to show difference between standard reef tank and fluorescence photography methods.

Yeah yeah yeah. More corals. But this is kinda cool. Many corals will fluoresce under actinic or other deep blue lighting. Here's how to shoot them!

Avast Marine Works Porthole XL

Avast Porthole XL mounted on Nikon D3200 with 85mm VR Micro

One of the coolest things about having an aquarium is photographing the life within. Sometimes, however, getting the pic through the glass of the aquarium is difficult, or the angle you want isn't from the side. Instead you want to shoot from above. Or better yet, within the water.

Windows Phone 8x (HTC) Lock Screens

My "Trio" lockscreen image in action.

I recently gave up my iPhone 4s for a Windows Phone. The HTC Windows Phone 8x, in fact. I'm tired of Apple. The arrogance of their products (as well as their fanbois) just got to be too much for me. I previously had an Android based Galaxy S and liked it. But the interface of the Windows Phone, along with the true Microsoft Office apps, attracted me.

I went out this morning to play with a new lens. The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm VR DX "kit" lens. It's dirt cheap, and my first VR lens. I decided to concentrate on making vertical images that would make good lock screens for my phone.

Kids at the Beach

Recently I had the chance to introduce bodyboarding to my 9 year old daughter. She was a natural! But that also gave me the chance to create some new images at the beach. It's been a long time...

Bachelor Buttons

Handheld macro is tough. The shots in this post are all done with the Nikon D80 and a Micro-Nikkor-P 50mm macro lens. Because I was doing this handheld, to keep the shutter speed up I had to open the aperture. These are all around f5.6.

The storm has passed...

After the storm passed yesterday, we were presented with this wonderful rainbow against the dark clouds.

I was in the garage taking photos of tools and woodworking stuff with my 55mm Micro Nikkor lens when I noticed the rainbow out of the garage door.

No time to meter or get a modern lens. Guessed the exposure and got the shot before the rainbow disappeared. I added a half stop or so in Photoshop, but it was pretty darn close. f5.6 1/200.

Must be Spring!

I was hanging out in front of the house on Saturday morning and noticed my tree was budding. Since I was waiting for my son to finish getting ready, I decided to go grab my camera and see if there was anything interesting to shoot.

Portrait Professional

On the left, straight from the camera. On the right, Portrait Professional 9 using default settings.

I  got a chance to play with a new toy recently. Portrait Professional software.

Ramen-ography

Ramen prepared "Don-Style"
D80, Nikkor 55mm 3.5 Micro
Window Light

I was home sick today (pleurisy... Yuk!), so took advantage of having the house to myself while cooking some lunch. The above photo is the end result of me cooking ramen noodles.

Rosco Strobist Filters

I needed to add some length to the Rosco Strobist filter set to give the velcro pads a place to attach. I decided to use gaffer's tape and protect the edges as well.

DIY AI Conversion for Old Nikon Lenses

55mm f3.5 Nikon Micro on the left, 200mm f4 Nikkor Q on the right.
After modifying to work with a Nikon D80.

Some great lenses are available out there for dirt cheap. But they won't directly mount on a DSLR body without modification.

Castle Rock City Trails - East Plum Creek Trail

Castle Rock, CO, has a series of city supported trails and open spaces that are available to visitors and residents. I took a walk with the kids along the East Plum Creek Trail. (Official website: www.crgov.com )

Shooting with the Quantaray / Sigma 70-300 DL Lens

"Low Water Crossing"
Nikon D80, Quantaray 70-300DL
f4.5 @ 1/500"

Back around the turn of the century, when I was still shooting film, one of my favorite lenses for my AF bodies was the Quantaray / Sigma 70-300DL Macro lens. It was lightweight, sharp, and focused pretty darn quick.

High Dynamic Range Images

HDRI Image "Junk Car"
Nikon D80, Tamron 28-80
3 Exposures: -2.0, 0.0, +2.0

A cool technology is "High Dynamic Range Images", or HDR/HDRI. Basically it's taking multiple exposures of a subject at various exposure settings. Software is then used to combine the different exposures into a single image.

Exploring the "Wet Look"

Orange and Bronze Ballpoint Pen
(http://www.mantadesigns.com)

This time I'm using a piece of white swirled art glass. $6 or so at Hobby Lobby. They have a wide range of textures and colors. This white has translucent swirls that can pick up the color of whatever is underneath.

The Wet Look

Black/Gray/Gold Rollerclip Ballpoint Pen
by Manta Designs (http://www.mantadesigns.com)

This is really REALLY cool. The only thing I'd change is the color of the "sky". It should be bluer.

Using old non-Ai lenses.

Fountain Pen Nib
Shot with Nikon D80 and 55mm f3.5 Micro non-Ai lens
on adapter made from extension tubes

There are some great lenses out there for dirt cheap. I mean REALLY cheap. If they were made before 1977, they had slightly different mounts and aperture controls. Newer bodies are unable to mount these lenses without damaging the lens and/or body. That includes my Nikon D80.

Tamron AF28-80 F/3.5-5.6

Tamron AF28-80 F/3.5-5.6
Nikon Mount

This lens came in the mail earlier this week. I've been down with the flu so have only spent a few hours (over the past two days, when I'm lucid) working with it. It was purchased from Adorama for $70. It's new with a USA 6-year Tamron warranty.

Reflectasol and the DIY Softbox

Stuffed Starfish.
This is *NOT* made of chocolate!

Working through learning to use strobes, I've been using various combinations of hard strobes, paper reflectors, ceiling and wall bounces, and my old Reflectasol umbrella/folding reflector.

I never got the soft even light I was shooting for. Nothing seemed to get there for me. Until I can create it, I can't control it. I was about ready to blow some money on a softbox or shoot-through umbrella.