Wet Leaves in the Sun

I turned the sprinkler off by our pepper plants, and noticed the leaves on the tree were dripping water. I had to get a few photos with the setting sun throwing light on the leaf with the droplets of water.

Date: 06/05/2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Exposure: Program
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/320 sec
Aperture: F/5.6
Focal Length: 100mm

A few minor tweaks of blacks and lighting in Photoshop.  I also cropped part of the photo.

Flowers and Grass

Steven's Lake has an bald eagles nest. I went down there looking for the bird to photograph, but did not have any luck. We hung around for a while, but rain was moving in and I was not going to get the camera wet. I took some photos of the flowers as we were leaving.

Date: 05/30/2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Exposure: Program
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/100 sec
Aperture: F/5.0
Focal Length: 100mm

 

Photoshop involved cropping a bit of the top off the photo and a minor tweak of the WB.

Beetle on Pedal

I switched over to the macro lens and started to look at individual flower pedals.  I found this little beetle crawling around. I liked this photo with the little bug's antennae on the flower.

 

Date: 05/29/2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Exposure: Manual
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/125 sec
Aperture: F/3.2
Focal Length: 100mm

 

Photoshop involved cropping the photo in closer.  

Flowers on the Hill

On the hill behind the cabin, we have an old lawn roller that is rusting away.  The neat part was the two grouping of flowers that were positioned by the roller.  

Date: 05/29/2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF-S 18-200mm f/2.5-5.6 IS
Exposure: Manual
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/13 sec
Aperture: F/13
Focal Length: 32mm

Photoshop was a minimum of  WB tweak and a little bit of cropping.

Apple Tree and Bee

The apple tree was in full bloom at Kerry's Grandpa's house.  It was alive with a buzzing sound, that I found to be many bees doing what they love best.  I chased these guys all over the tree.  I first tried to use the tripod focusing on one flower, but they moved around too much and too fast, so I went to hand-holding.  In the photo, I wish I would have bumped my ISO even more to allow for a faster shutter.  Another lesson learned.

 Date: 05/21/2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Exposure: Manual
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/400 sec
Aperture: F/5.6
Focal Length: 100mm  

I cropped in Photoshop.

Square Foot Garden

I leveled the dirt after work today and put the strings in place to space out the "square foot" garden we have.  Right now it seems bare, but it will not be for long!

Date: 05/18/2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF-S 18-200mm f/2.5-5.6 IS
Exposure: Program
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/60 sec
Aperture: F/5.0
Focal Length: 18mm

I straightened the picture in Photoshop, and then cropped a little off the top, so you didn't see the neighbor's houses and some sky that was washed out.  No other adjustments.

Backyard Sunset

This is why I like Denmark and our backyard of an open farmer's field (and HATE the fact they may be selling it as housing lots this summer!!).  Color in the clouds this evening was amazing.  I had to take a photo, and the tree in our backyard with the clouds and color background provided the perfect photo for the day.

Date: 05/17/2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF-S 18-200mm f/2.5-5.6 IS
Exposure: Manual
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/80 sec
Aperture: F/3.5
Focal Length: 18mm

Very minor editing in Photoshop - straightened out the horizon some, and a little cropping, but that is it.

Trillium on Bark

I placed a Trillium on a piece of bark.  I setup the photo this way to pick up the bark.  I shot some at a small ampeture, but it was this one at f/16 I liked the most, since it shows the most texture. 

 

Date: 05/14/2011

Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Exposure: Manual
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/10 sec
Aperture: F/16
Focal Length: 100mm

Slight white-balance tweak in Photoshop, but nothing else.  Didn't even crop it!

Trilliums Part 2

We were at Kerry's folks this weekend and went down to the woods (camera and tripod tagging along of course), and I got some photos of some more Trilliums. 

 

Date: 05/14/2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Exposure: Manual
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/400 sec
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 100mm

I cropped a little tiny bit off the top and bottom.  Other than that, no changes in Photoshop.

Trillium's Arrived

I have been watching for weeks for the Trillium's to start showing up across our house in the wooded park.  As I was coming home tonight, I caught a glimpse and ran over there to snap some photos before we had to meet Kerry's uncle for dinner.  I even got a break and the rain let up to allow me to get some photos.  Although some were already blossomed, I liked the look of this photo the most!

Date: 05/11/2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Exposure: Shutter
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/250 sec
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 100mm

I tweaked the white balance and exposure on the photo.  No cropping. 

Cherry Tree

While working on our garden today, I noticed our choke cherry tree was starting to leaf-out.  I got a photo of it tonight as the sun was going down.  I pushed the zoom to the max, and really liked how the farm field and trees in the background completely blurred out.

Date: 05/08/2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF-S 18-200mm f/2.5-5.6 IS
Exposure: Program
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/250 sec
Aperture: F/7.1
Focal Length: 200mm

I changed my ISO and went back to RAW+JPEG.  I cropped this photo so it was a vertical picture.  No other Photoshop editing.

Morning Dew

 I woke up this morning to some awesome sunlight.  The last week or so has been nothing but rain and clouds, so it was a nice change of pace.  The light meant something needed to be photographed, so I took out the camera and found all the dew on the ground. 

Date: 05/01/2011
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Exposure: Manual
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/200 sec
Aperture: F/2.8
Focal Length: 100mm

In Photoshop I adjusted the white balance, cropped, and also played with the vignetting and sharpening tools.  

Thundersnow

April 19, 2011 - Wisconsin gets hit by a snowstorm predicted to drop 8-12 inches.  The snow is wet and heavy, sticking to everything it touches.  This was the first time ever where as I was shoveling, I got to watch lighting and hear thunder almost constatntly.

Our potted plants were put out two weekends ago, because the calendar said Spring.  The snow stuck to the stems from last years dead stems.

 

Date: 04/19/2011

Camera: Canon EOS 40D

Lens: EF100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

Exposure: Manual

ISO: 100

Shutter: 0.8 sec

Aperture: F/16

Focal Length: 100mm

Post processing in Photoshop just involved cropping. 

Grass in the Sun

Up to this point, the photo of the day, was always posted the day I took it.  I'm taking an exception to this photo and posting!  I entered the Ice Age Trail Alliance photo contest back in February.  The end of March I found out two of my photos made it to the final round of voting that happened on 4/9.  On 4/12, I got an email stating my "Grass in the Sun" photo won in the Flora and Fauna Category !!! (http://www.iceagetrail.org/photo-contest)

 

Photo of day for: 04/12/2011
Taken: 10/31/2010
Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: EF-S 18-200mm f/2.5-5.6 IS
Exposure: Landscape Mode
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/400 sec
Aperture: F/11
Focal Length: 18mm

The photo was taken in JPEG.  I remember I did some tweaking in Photoshop, but not a ton - mainly cropping and some lightening of the grass.