Up in Smoke!

It has been a long, long while since I have photographed smoke. Yesterday afternoon I was looking for something to photograph. With Shelter in Place where I live in northern California I have plenty of time to photograph on my hands. I grabbed my camera ,a macro lens and a flash. Then I set up a black background with an incense stick in front of it. I had a great time photographing smoke rising up from the incense stick after lighting it. It's amazing to see all of the patterns and shapes that come from it. God's blessings and Happy Easter to one and all. He is Risen! All of these images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MKII camera with a Canon EF-S60mm f2.8 macro lens. The camera settings used were M mode,ISO 100, F 11.0 at 1/200th of a sec. A Canon 550 EX Speed light was used as a light source set to 1/4 power. #teamcanonusa

Winter Guest

With the warming spring weather we haven't been using our wood stove very much to heat up the house. Yesterday however there was a brisk fog pouring in off the coast and it sure felt like we needed a fire. It was pretty cold by California standards. I grabbed the wheelbarrow and wheeled it out to the woodpile to get some firewood. While grabbing some logs I was startled by an odd shape under one of the logs as I picked it up. It was in the shadows so I couldn't see it very well. There were some short appendages sticking out from it. My first guess was a bat. Pulling away some of the logs around it I was finally able to ascertain that it was a lizard. Further inspection revealed it was a Northern Alligator Lizard. It was all rolled up in a ball overwintering in our woodpile. As chilly out as it was it could barely move. I carried it into the house and placed it into a jar. This morning I photographed it on a mossy piece of bark before releasing it into a sunny spot on top of the woodpile. When I checked on it a little bit ago it was warm enough to crawl away. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris All images were created with a Canon EOS 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF-S60mm F 2.8 USM Macro lens. #TeamCanon

What is This Thing?

I find some strange things when I'm sorting and cleaning things up. I'm not the neatest of people and periodically I have to clean up and purge all of the detritus that surrounds me from my creative efforts. In cleaning out the cubbies in the closet I found a roll Kodak 35mm print film still in the box. It was a roll of 24 exposure Kodak Gold. I was really surprised to find that you can still buy it on Amazon though in the comments someone noted that the film was outdated. For the younger crowd out there this is what we used to have to put into cameras to create photographs. You had to load it into the camera take your pictures and then drop it off at the drug store or supermarket and they would send it out to a lab to be developed and then send your pictures and negatives back to you.In some places they had a lab in the store and they would develop it right there for you to pick up later. There are places actually still have these! I'm guessing that the box I found was most likely Lenores because I usually photographed with 35mm transparency or slide film. Although I sometimes would use a slide duplicator to make print using print film. On the box it was dated to develop by June of 2001 so that ship has long sailed. Amazing how much photography has changed since that time. Many people wouldn't have a clue as to how to even load a camera with print film today. We are too accustomed to the ease of photographing with our cell phones! God's precious light and love to all, chris This image was photographed on a white sweep with two L.E.D light panels using a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF-S60mm macro USM lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 125, F 20.0 at 1/6th of a sec. #TeamCanon

Time Is Passing By

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up". Galations 6:9 NIV Wow where has all of the time gone? It is so hard for me to fathom that it is 2018. While cleaning out the cubbies in my closet I came across my pocket watch which I rarely wear. It was a gift to me from Lenore on our wedding day. I always try to keep it in my top cubby so that I don't lose track of it. It seemed a fitting subject for today on this second day of the new year. I placed it on an old piece of weathered wood and I photographed it with a macro lens. I think it portrays the passage of time really well. Let's stay focused on doing good for others in the world around us. God's blessings to all in the coming year, chris This image was created with a Canon 7D mkII camera with an EF-S60mm F 2.8 macro lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 125, F 16.0 at .4sec. Lighting was provided by two orange jelled L.E.D. light panels.

Heading Into Fall

This morning we awoke to a very smoky sunrise. There are both air quality and heat alerts for the days ahead. We have numerous fires to the north of us in California, Oregon, Washington and Canada. All of them are sending smoke southward to us. Out in the forest now there is the arrhythmic drop of acorns everywhere. It's hard to put into words to describe the sound of acorns rattling down through the branches and the hitting the leaf covered forest floor. Sitting out listening to the sounds of the forest you begin to think that there are forest creatures all around you. The acorns provide food for many forest creatures that will store them up to eat later or to bulk up on now to make it through the wet winter up ahead. Deer and bears especially put on a lot of weight eating acorns(mast) through out fall. I hope that you are having an enjoyable weekend. God bless, chris The acorn image was created with a Canon 7D MkII camera and a Canon EF-S60mm F 2.8 Macro USM lens supported on a Manfrotto 055 XPROB tripod. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800 F16.0 at 1/5th of a sec. #TeamCanon