The LORD is My Light and My Salvation

Shelter in Place Photography. Photographed with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i and a Canon EF-S60mm Marco lens. God's light and love to all, chris #teamcanonusa

From the Shadows

While helping my Mom clean up her art room I came upon her cups, cans and containers of art brushes. It's interesting to think of all the canvases that these brushes helped create beautiful paintings on.She has been painting now for seventy -five years. I set up a black backdrop and photographed one of them in natural window light. God's love and blessings upon your day, chris This image was created with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i and a Canon EF 28-200mm lens.#teamcanonusa,

Battered, Broken and Still Standing

Today's photoblog is a follow up to my last one regarding my Mom working in the Lego Model Shop during the 1960s and 70s in Loveland, Colorado. While helping her to clean out a closet this morning I discovered four Lego car models that she had kept. Even though they are dusty, broken and missing a few parts it's evident to see the amazing artistic skill she possesses. How can you create a model car with such detail using little plastic bricks? These cars still look pretty cool after 50 years of being played with by kids and grandkids. I'm hoping to donate them to Lego though I seem to be having trouble speaking or contacting a real person and not a BOT. God's love and blessings to all, chris All images were created with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i and a Tamron 28-200mm lens.

Christmas Cat

There may be some value to the Blasted Cat after all. She is pretty photogenic. This morning I wanted to create a Christmas Cat image for Annika. (It's her cat) The thought of hauling out the studio lights and setting up the studio backdrop seemed just too daunting. I grabbed a shop light and a simple gold reflector instead. For a backdrop I set up a red knitted throw on the couch. I grabbed a short string of clear Christmas tree lights and draped them over the back of the couch arm. I set the shop light onto the top of the couch facing downward and leaned the gold reflector against the coffee table facing the couch. With the shop light as my main light and the reflector set up as my secondary. I was set. I let the cat in and gave her the idea it was her decision to settle down onto the throw on the couch. When I could see that she was comfortable I brought my tripod over and got down on my knees with the camera in front of me on the far end of the couch.She was undisturbed as I watched her preening away. Every now and then she would stop to take a break and look around. I clicked the shutter every time she looked up. Of the five best ones this was my favorite and I'm sure it will be Annika's as well. God's love and blessings to all, chris This image was created with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera and a Canon EF 28-200mm lens. The camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 800, F 8.0 at 1/13th of a sec.#teamcanonusa

Flying Buzz Saw the HeliSaw

Earlier this week as I drove home up the road leading to my house I found that it was close to being blocked by pickups from PG+E,several tree services,a construction company and Calfire. There were close to a dozen vehicles and about fifteen people sporting hard hats and safety vests standing around in groups. Something was up and I had no clue as to what it was! My first thought was that it was a safety meeting of some type to go over the next steps in clearing the trees from around the power lines as this has been an ongoing project for about the last three weeks. Those thoughts drifted out of my head as I went indoors to catch up on some image processing for a job I have been working on.Half an hour later I was interrupted by the sound of a helicopter roaring over the house and circling the Cul de sac seemingly just above the tree tops. Determined now to find out what was going on I grabbed my camera and ran out of the house. I was greeted to an incredible sight. There was a helicopter hovering over the road with what can only be described as a giant buzzsaw hanging from it. There were eight whirling saw blades one above the other on a column with a motor powering them. The helicopter was slowly moving parallel to the powerline trimming off tree branches at an incredible rate. The pilot I was shocked to observe was looking down at the saw from a bubble window sticking out on the side of the aircraft all the while keeping the helicopter level and steady. This must have taken some incredible piloting skills because as the saw moved from tree to tree the helicopter would start to rock in the air.It was just crazy! I watched them until they went around the corner and i couldn't see it anymore. The following day I heard the helicopter working further down the ridge from me. They had traffic controls and I couldn't get a good view of it in operation so I decided to head down to the local airport to watch them refuel. Luckily my timing was good because I got there just in time to catch them landing to refuel both the saw and the helicopter. Landing as I observed it is pretty tricky. They have to very slowly lay down the saw and its supporting control column or they can damage it. The pilot very carefully set the end of the saw on the tarmac and then slowly and carefully backed away and down. It took a close to three or four minutes of hovering gently downward to accomplish this. After landing they did a hot refueling of the helicopter by bringing out a small fuel truck. They also checked on the saw by first looking over the saw blades, checking the oil and refueling the saw with a five gallon gas can. I was very surprised to find that the saw only uses a couple of gallons of fuel per hour. I had expected that it would use a lot more.The pilot and the mechanic chatted while he took a break having a snack while using the saw motor as a table. I asked the pilot how hard it is to watch the saw and fly with the helicopter being bumped around by the saw and the breezes. He simply replied,"It takes some getting used to." A few minutes later he walked to the helicopter and climbed in.He slowly lifted the saw up into the air then rising up higher circled to the west and more tree trimming. Afterwards I did some research and found out that the whole set up is called a Helisaw. God's love and blessings upon your week, chris All images were created with a Canon EF 28-200mm lens mounted on either a Canon EOS 7D MkII or a Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera. Exposures and settings varied.#teamcanonusa

Steamed Up for Christmas

Every year the Roots of Motive Power runs one of its steam locomotives for the Christmas Train or Holiday Express to the delight of steam fans, children and many others. This volunteer Willits, CA organization gives away free rides and a warm serving of hot chocolate to each and every one of its passengers on its short track around the ballfields on the eastern side of Willits off Commercial street. It's a holiday favorite looked forward to by many every year. This year it was raining but that didn't seem to deter many as there were riders all day long. Thanks to the Roots of Motive Power and all the work that they do. Merry Christmas and God's love and blessings to all, chris All images were created with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i and a Canon 28-200mm lens. Basic camera settings used were AV mode, ISO 400, F 8.0 shutter speeds varied. #teamcanonusa

Should be Blooming by Christmas

We have a Red Amaryllis that we are forcing to bloom on our kitchen counter right next to the window. I have been watching it sprout, stretch out and reach for the sky for a couple of weeks now. Yesterday morning it budded out and it looks like it will be blooming for Christmas. In the afternoon I photographed it against a black background using two LED light panels to light the flower. It's going to have two beautiful blooms. Merry Christmas and God's blessings upon the upcoming year,chris This image was created with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera and a Canon EFS- S17-85 f 4.0-5.6 IS USM lens. The camera settings used were AV mode,ISO 800, F 9.0 at 1/25th of a sec. #TeamCanon

First Impressions of the Canon Rebel T1i

The Canon EOS Rebel T1i isn't a a brand new just out on the market camera. In fact it has been out since spring of 2009. But I needed a cheaper camera body for the camera trap I'm building. That way if my camera set up is ever stolen I won't be out so much money. With a little research I found a Canon EOS Rebel T1i body for 180 bucks. There were some that were even less expensive but I knew that buying one from KEH it had a warranty and it was going to be very reliable. Yesterday I took the camera out for a spin and it is a nice and very responsive little camera.It focused fast enough for my needs and it was very easy to carry around. Here is an image Lenore took of me with Papaya the Blasted cat and Badger the Wonder dog. Paired with the TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 it was really easy to handhold and photograph this Turkey Vulture on a telephone cable line. I think this camera might get some use from me in more than just the camera trap. God's love and blessings to all, chris #TeamCanon, #WithMyTamron The portrait of me and the critters was created with a Canon EF-S 17-85mm lens. The T1i was photographed with a Canon 7D MkII camera and the Canon EFS 17-85mm lens.