From the Driver's Seat

So as a couple with careers and young children my wife and I, are bound to have some times when one or the other, needs to be with the kids in order for the other one to get stuff done.  That happened this past Sunday.  My wife was coming off 3rd shift and needed to sleep during the day.  The oldest was out with his grandpa, so it was me and our youngest, Aiden.  He's 2 1/2, and independent beyond those few years.  However, I still can't take him deep into the woods, or too far up an unfamiliar stream.  So what's an outdoor explorer to do?  Get out the new camera and the telephoto lens, and hop into the Jeep. 

After a short drive I found myself on a country road I had been down a 100 times before, but apparently not this late in the year.  The above pic is what I believe to be a Holly Leaf Redberry Bush.  Being mid December the leaves were all long gone, so I was only left with the berries and the stems to identify the plant, so I'm not 100% sure on that name.  The above pic was taken from the driver's seat.  God Bless Telephoto lenses!!

What I really love about these pics is what I also really love about living in northwest PA.  Being this far north, we experience true change in the angle of the sun.  This picture was shortly after noon, but look at how the shadows reaches out in the right of the frame.  That is just how low the sun is at mid day here during December.

Here's another one.  Classically posed, just draping over the old split rail fence.  Again the long mid winter light illuminating the berries and causing shadows to reach out of the frame.

And again, just a classic shot.  Split rail fence, barn in the background, long mid winter light.  On a sunny day in December, I could put 200 miles on my Jeep looking at these shots.  And thankfully Aiden is a great passenger.

I did let him run off a little energy. You simply can't keep a 2 year old in a car for that long.  Least of all Aiden.  So we headed over to Presque Isle.  If you've never heard of Presque Isle, please take the time to look it up. If you're within couple hour drive, please please come and visit.  Presque Isle is a true gem in PA's State Park system. 

At the east end of the peninsula there stands a monument to Oliver Perry, and the Battle of Lake Erie, fought during the war of 1812.  History buffs will tell you the significance of the war of 1812, and the role the Battle of Lake Erie played in that war.  Since Aiden had no interest in hearing about that (what 2 year old would) we simply ran around and explored the sites and sounds.

I couldn't have posed him better.  I was looking at the bay, and he simply walked over to the cement wall, knelt down and peaked over the edge.  Shots like this make the investment I made in my camera, 100% worth it. 

Happy Exploring
Scott M

Clouds and Sun

Epic Skies:  While it has become cliche to throw the word "epic" around, anyone who has gotten away from it all and has been able to see an unobstructed view of clouds stretching off to the horizon, would have to agree that "epic" fits.  This photo is probably my favorite picture out of my new camera.  There's enough sun to start to over expose the sky, and cause the ground to black out, but the sun doesn't dominate the shot.  I think the clouds take over here.  The sun back lights the clouds and highlights the tops.  Then shadows on the bottom of the clouds create the depth.  Finally, the sun creates enough of a focal point that by the time you focus your eyes on the clouds you realize they stretch for miles off into the horizon. 

Just minutes before taking the above shot I had captured this shot, about a half mile down the road.

Here I centered an old oak and used the clouds in the back to contrast the leaves on the tree.  This oak watches over a 19th century family cemetery.  A simple wire, and stake fence outline the boarder of the cemetery.  There are several weather worn tombstones that mark, maybe half the graves.  The other half of the tombstones are lost to time.  Since this tree is inside the cemetery it has survived the chainsaw, allowing it's canopy to stretch to such a massive size.

Happy Exploring

Scott M

Light and Color

Is there really anything else more important when capturing an image with a camera?

Sure you can snap off picture after picture, but will your finished product be something that someone wants to see? 

I grew up around cameras.  My father and two of my uncles all had nice cameras and they have always enjoyed snapping pictures whenever possible.  So naturally when I started writing about the outdoors, I was very aware of the need to invest in a nice camera to capture the places I was talking about.  After messing around with some lower end point and shoot models I recently made the commitment and upgraded to the Olypus E-pm1.  This model falls outside of the DSLR category, and into the newer category of Micro Four Thirds cameras.  Despite the unwieldy name, the camera has been so much fun to shoot with.  I won't pretend to know the ins and outs of the technology, but the goal of the system is to offer both the usability of a camera with interchangeable lenses and the quick handling of a digital point in shoot.  This is accomplished in a more compact body by taking advantage of increases in digital technology.  While playing around the day after I bought the camera I captured this image of a Brown-Eyed Susan in my garden:

Nice color and sharp focus with minimal experience handling the camera. Being digital, it has auto focus features, which can be set to conform to certain styles of shooting. However, the auto features can be shut off allowing the user to play with the image themselves.

A couple weeks after that photo, I capture this one in a corn field near my favorite hunting spot:

Here I really tried to focus on the composition of the photo.  It was setting sun light, so I was able to almost eliminate any shadow on the front and our left of the ear of corn.  The green leaves and stalks created nice contrast, helping the yellow kernels really come to the front of the picture.

Take time to enjoy the details,
Scott M