Glacial Skyline, Omaha NE Dad and I were treated to an awesome sunset last week when we shot the Omaha skyline from the East side of the Missouri River. I always love shooting at this location because I love Omaha and have spent most of my life pretty close to the Missouri River, so it’s a special place for me. We scouted the frozen banks of the Missouri for about an hour, trying all different compositions as huge pieces of ice drifted by. Eventually I settled into this crevice, and quickly dubbed the ice formation in the foreground, “Omaha Glacier.” This is a single ten second exposure. I used a 3-stop hard-step graduated filter and 2-stop soft-step graduated filter to bring down the exposure above the foreground rocks. Critiques are always welcome. Daily photo: January 14, 2013, taken January 8, 2013

gallery pages: << < 7 8 9 10 11 12 >

< 97 of 100 >

Follow the Leader, Lake Sam Rayburn TX

Cheech loves to walk out on this log at our favorite beach in Texas, and this time Sala decided to follow. But Sala doesn’t have near the balance that Cheech does and when it came time to turn around, it was easier for Sala to jump off the log and get back on going the other direction!

I have a nice time-lapse sequence from this logging adventure for the dogs. You see both dogs head for the log, both make it to the end of the log, then Cheech hurries back, then pan back to see Sala falling in the water, getting back on the log and then running to catch back up with Cheech. It is a really funny time-lapse I’ll have to make a video of soon.

Critiques are always welcome.

Daily photo: January 22, 2013, taken January 18, 2013

Ouachita Sunset, near Heavener OK

We were lucky to be travelling through the beautiful Ouachita National Forest right before sunset on our drive from Omaha back to Texas. I’ve never seen a prettier piece of Oklahoma. The Ouachita National Forest is mostly in Western Arkansas and the area is very similar looking to the Ozark mountains in Arkansas and Missouri. I can’t wait to visit this area again on our next trip to Omaha.

This is a single exposure. I used a circular polarizer to increase contrast in the sky and a three-stop hard-step neutral density filter and a two-stop soft-step neutral density filter to reduce the exposure above the horizon. With all of that filtration going on I lost about 7 stops of light and my shutter speed was getting too long to stop the motion in the foreground trees. So I had to use a bigger aperture than I’d probably like, and increase the dreaded ISO to 320. I think it was worth it though to make the foreground trees sharper.

Happy MLK day today!

Critiques are always welcome.

Daily photo: January 21, 2013, taken January 10, 2013

Bruce’s Steakhouse, Omaha NE

People always ask me what the best steakhouse is in Omaha, and unfortunately I don’t have a very good answer because we eat so much steak at home that we rarely go out to steakhouses. So if I had to answer I’d say Bruce’s Steakhouse, located at our house. My stepdad Bruce is a master griller and makes the best steaks.

Another food photo from our time in Omaha. One of the food photographers I follow uses this overhead perspective often, so I gave it a try. If you're curious about food photography, Penny de los Santos is an award winning food photographer to check out.

Critiques are always welcome.

Daily photo: January 20, 2013, taken January 6, 2013

Malai Kofta, Omaha NE

On one of our last days in Omaha we had lunch at our favorite Indian restaurant, Mother India. It was the first time I’ve had this dish, Malai Kofta, and it turned out to be a very pretty dish! It was delicious too.

I’ve been on the look out for good-looking food to shoot so I can practice food photography. Each new genre of photography I try brings new challenges. The challenge of shooting on location with available light is always tricky, especially while trying not to make a scene and disturb other customers. A good background is usually hard to find too. But on the bright side, processing food photos is a lot easier than landscapes or portraits, and of course, you get to eat your subject.

Critiques are always welcome.

Daily photo: January 18, 2013, taken January 9, 2013

The Dad Portrait, Omaha NE

You’ve heard of the dad crop? Now see the dad portrait. “Hey Dad, I’m taking your photo.” Dad raises right hand. “Great pose dad!” The end.

We’re not too big on taking photos of ourselves when in the middle of a landscape shoot. We mostly frantically search for compositions that look good while trying to stay out of each other’s way. I found my composition in the crevice and set up the intervalometer so I could be free to roam with my second camera. I then check up on my main composition regularly to adjust the exposure. Every shoot is an adventure.

UPDATE: Ben Wilmore's Lightroom Mastery Workshop is LIVE and FREE all day today on www.creativeLIVE.com/live
Watch it on your computer, iPhone, iPad, and catch the rewatch all night long.

Join the daily community on Facebook to ask questions, share tips, deals, and current events: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SmugMugDailyPhotosCommunity/

Critiques are always welcome.

Daily photo: January 17, 2013, taken January 8, 2013

Taylor’s Header, Omaha NE

My little sister Taylor right after crushing a header for the camera. Check this one out in original size to see the details, such as flying sweat. It’s really cool how flash can freeze action. Normally I think she’d be somewhat out of focus due to how fast she was moving, even at 125th of a second. But the super short flash duration freezes the action even without a fast shutter. It’s fun to play with.

This is a single exposure, using the Joel Grimes lighting technique. You can see the lights pretty clearly in this one! Search for Joel Grimes on google for more info. I really wish I had caught one with the ball just coming off of her head, but it was really hard to get her in focus at all. If I had more powerful lights I could use a smaller aperture, longer depth of field, and I would have fewer focus issues. Maybe someday I’ll get some studio strobes.

I reprocessed and updated my previous photo of Taylor
with this lighting technique. Check it out!

By the way, if you're on facebook, you might want to join our smugmug daily group over there. It's a good place to share problems, info, or great deals on photo gear. Feel free to friend me and I'll get you added to the group. Or, here is the direct link to the FB community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SmugMugDailyPhotosCommunity/

Critiques are always welcome.

Daily photo: January 15, 2013, taken January 9, 2013

Glacial Skyline, Omaha NE

Dad and I were treated to an awesome sunset last week when we shot the Omaha skyline from the East side of the Missouri River. I always love shooting at this location because I love Omaha and have spent most of my life pretty close to the Missouri River, so it’s a special place for me. We scouted the frozen banks of the Missouri for about an hour, trying all different compositions as huge pieces of ice drifted by. Eventually I settled into this crevice, and quickly dubbed the ice formation in the foreground, “Omaha Glacier.”

This is a single ten second exposure. I used a 3-stop hard-step graduated filter and 2-stop soft-step graduated filter to bring down the exposure above the foreground rocks.

Critiques are always welcome.

Daily photo: January 14, 2013, taken January 8, 2013

Cutting Snow, Winter Park CO

My little sister Taylor cutting up the snow on our holiday ski trip. She plays a lot of sports, from skiing to bowling, but she is most serious about soccer. It was hard keeping up with her on the slopes.

Thanks for commenting on her soccer portrait yesterday! This is the last photo I’ll process on my laptop for a while, yea!

Critiques are always welcome.

Daily photo: January 11, 2013, taken January 3, 2013

Taylor the Striker, Omaha NE

My little sister Taylor let me make some soccer portraits for her yesterday after her private lesson at the indoor soccer center. I embarrassed her by setting up a lot of lighting equipment while she was still training. But once I showed her the first shot, she thought the lighting was really cool and didn’t mind posing for at least a half hour. It was a lot of fun.

I used four speedlites to light this portrait following the Joel Grimes lighting technique. I didn’t quite execute the technique perfectly, but I’m still happy with the results we got with my cheap equipment and quick set up time. If you search Joel Grimes on google you’ll come across his series on Framed Network called “Lit Up,” where he gives away all of his lighting secrets.

Critiques are always welcome.

Daily photo: January 10, 2013, taken January 9, 2013

Glacial Skyline, Omaha NE

Dad and I were treated to an awesome sunset last week when we shot the Omaha skyline from the East side of the Missouri River. I always love shooting at this location because I love Omaha and have spent most of my life pretty close to the Missouri River, so it’s a special place for me. We scouted the frozen banks of the Missouri for about an hour, trying all different compositions as huge pieces of ice drifted by. Eventually I settled into this crevice, and quickly dubbed the ice formation in the foreground, “Omaha Glacier.”

This is a single ten second exposure. I used a 3-stop hard-step graduated filter and 2-stop soft-step graduated filter to bring down the exposure above the foreground rocks.

Critiques are always welcome.

Daily photo: January 14, 2013, taken January 8, 2013