Penning Photography Daily

Running errands tonight after work.

I was on the phone – with ear piece for safety – when I spied this gaggle of geese.

The water retention ponds around here have become homes for these fowl.

I pulled into the parking lot – no cars around.

Fired up my Pentax K10d with the terrific walk-about Sigma 17-70mm lens attached.

Lowered my window and started snapping away.

This one catches my eye for several reasons.

The goose in the foreground was keeping an eagle – make that goose – eye out on my every mood

He was by far, the largest of the group. Perhaps the protector.

The group in the background appear to be ignoring me, feeling safe while their protector is on the watch.

The building, sliver of the pond and the rain puddle all add to an interesting photo.

A portrait of Ann, taken in my office at work.

I had the sharp and wonderful Vivitar 135mm on my camera when Ann and John came into my office.

Ann was admiring some of the photos which grace my walls.

She is interested in taking up photography, and that discussion prompted me to pick up my camera and request a photo.

Ann mentioned something about not being a suitable subject.

I, being the reckless photographer, said, “Don’t you know that you’re beautiful?”

What a question!

I could get myself in trouble that way!

Ann took it well and let me fire off several quickly.

I don’t think my opinion is incorrect, do you?

From our “Trash the Dress” session with model Carrie in St. Louis, MO.

There was this unusual staircase leading to a barred door into the electric plant. A perfect point for a portrait of a bride.

Carrie, our model, was outstanding! She gave all the emotions and movements we asked for, and that’s saying something with having 6 photographers giving direction. =)

I love how the railing lines up with her torso and the sweep of her arm.

Her gaze is priceless.

The perfection of the bride contrasted with the grunge of rust, flaking metal and concrete.

A unique portrait.

Karen and I went with fellow photographers on a “Trash the Dress” session
in St. Louis, MO tonight.

We met at Laclede’s Landing near the Gateway Arch on the Mississippi River.

The area has restored buildings and brick streets, which make for fun and
interesting photo ops.

This is one of Karen’s photos of Carrie, our wedding model.

She graciously slipped into the lagoon at the arch and posed at our
direction.

I think this looks marvelous!

Thanks to Michelle at www.undergracephoto.com/ for arraigning the
shoot.

Karen and I got to meet some nice St. Louis area photographers, and get
some great and interesting photos!

The Gettysburg Address in his hand, I tell Abraham Lincoln what I think of it. Brilliant!

Karen says I should make this my photo of the day.

Who am I to deny my bride’s wish?

I wanted to capture some twilight scenes tonight.

I waited for sunset, then ventured forth, heading for this park, at the center of my hometown’s Abraham Lincoln area.

Springfield, Illinois calls itself Lincoln’s hometown.

It has the only home he ever owned, the Old State Capitol building where he represented the citizens of Central Illinois in the House of Representatives, and it is home to his final resting place in the Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

This is my final photo of the night.

This statue of Lincoln depicts him sitting with his famous speech “The Gettysburg Address” in his hand, his stovepipe hat next to him on the bench.

I set my camera on a tripod, stopped down the aperture to sharpen and capture the light for a long exposure, 20 seconds.

The first time I took it, i was moving too much and was even more blurry than you see here. I next braced my chest up against Old Abe and here you are.

Tom Ford is my Father-in-Law.

He’s a retired music teacher, band director for the local school district.

This is his last year as a member of the Springfield Municipal Band. His 44th year. He’s spent much of those years as the band’s music librarian, schlepping boxes of music around to every concert. He plays the English horn, and is one of the band’s vocalists.

Tom turned 80 this year.

His Irish tenor voice has gotten stronger through the years of practice. You would smile at his high notes on the Star-Spangled Banner “And the rockets red glare, from bombs bursting in air…” Thrilling.

I found out that this is his last year just today.

I had to go to the concert tonight, to document his performance.

It happened to be Hawaiian shirt night. Only the 3rd time they’ve done it in 44 years. Just for a change. =)

He sounded great, the band sounded wonderful and there were satisfied Springfieldians all around me tonight.

Thanks for all the music, Tom!

Sort of a test shot of an image in my mind.I’ll redo it soon.

I should have pulled over and done it right.

Oh well.

There’s a whole lot of turmoil in the State Capitol these days, because the State’s budget is one month overdue with no end of bickering in sight.

With all that as a backdrop in my mind, I thought “What would Abe Lincoln have to say about the subject?”

This image of Abe’s statue in front of the State Capitol building came to mind.

The sun was about to set, and I wanted something special.

So, I made a couple of passes with my camera sticking out my car window.

I actually stopped in the middle of the street twice. Once with a police car a few feet from me (I noticed after I got the photo!).

No problem, no stop and declare what I’m doing taking photos in the middle of the street.

In Adobe Lightroom, I fiddled with several modifiers, and exported 3 jpgs. One at a normal EV, one +1 and one -1 EV (Exposure Value).

Using Photomatix Pro, I combined these three exposures and fiddled with the HDR (High Dynamic Range) controls, then exported a tiff.

Using Corel Paint Shop Pro XI (I still prefer it to Photoshop), I tweaked the photo some more, and got rid of a nasty power line which cut through the middle of the otherwise fine picture.

If I was positioned more center, and had captured the top of the flagpole, it would be perfect.

As it is, I like it a lot.