Penning Photography Daily

Of course, with the ice storms we’ve been having – over the past 2 weeks – I had to get some different photos of ice-covered things.

Driving down my street after work, it’s dark and the ice-covered everythings loom before me as sentinels for the next ice storm, coming overnight.

I put on my Russian-made Zenitar 16mm prime lens. It’s a finely made optical instrument. All manual, as there are no connecting electronic links between the lens and the camera body. I can use the camera’s meter to see if I’m in the ballpark on my settings. I keep discovering how good this lens is, as I push it and my skills with it.

This is my ice-encrusted grass front lawn. It’s lit by the street lamp directly above it.

You can make out come of the iced tree limbs in my neighbor’s yard, and the bare outline of my evergreen tree under another street light in the background.

More ice is coming tonight, but we’re probably going to be lucky once again, as the main band of ice is to our North and West. Anything can happen and usually does. We might wake to no power and a much further ice entombed landscape.

We’re prepared, as much as one can be.

Mother Nature will have her way, and we will pick ourselves up and repair what she has left us.

Stay warm! =)

It was treacherous out there with the ice covering many sidewalks and side streets.

I had my Stabil-Icer ice cleats on to help keep me upright. They work. I didn’t slip once.

Coming home after church, lunch and a visit with Chris & Jennie to see their early Christmas present from us (an HDTV – on super special sale last week, a deal not to pass up), Karen pointed out her bush by the driveway, and how the berries were ice covered.

Since I had my camera bag with me – at all times (mostly) – I was prepared to see what I could grab in photographs.

This one I like the best.

I shot it from above, and the angle along with the out of focus background push it into the interesting category to my eyes.

We’re ready for more of this frozen rain as it is supposed to keep coming this week.

I wish it were snow.

Snow is easier for most folks to deal with, once it falls.

Ice is slick, and dangerous all the time.

Stay warm!

My friend, the squirrel, at home in the tree outside my sunroom window.

There’s an ice storm outside which is putting a slick glaze on every surface, as you can see on the tree here.

I had gone out earlier, and it wasn’t too bad. I kept wondering why the ice wasn’t forming, as the temperature (according to my car) was 26 F. By the time I arrived home, it was beginning to become very slick. Now, it’s more than slick, it’s treacherous.

I’m hibernating in imitation of my friend here. Working on computer issues, and processing photos.

It was when I had taken a short break that I saw my sleeping friend, behind my back, out my window.

More than once I’ve heard advice from fellow photographers, and this reinforces it for me: If you don’t see what you like – the subject or the light on the subject – take another look in a different direction or from a different angle, what you are seeking is there if you look around.

Here’s to you, my squirrel friend.

Stay warm.

The golden sunset lighting the green forest foliage.

Perhaps to warm me up, I’m going through some older photos and revisiting them to see how I could bring more out.

It’s raining and sleeting outside, with lots more predicted.

A nice time to visit the woods in Summer again, if only through photographs.

If it wasn’t for the moisture drops on my lens, This would be near perfect.

The snow started falling in fine flakes, almost a mist.

This is a 30 second exposure out my car window (glass rolled down).

The star flare surprised me.

The lens flare artifacts were what I was expecting.

The scene is now all covered in white. We got 2-4 inches of snow tonight.

Should make for an interesting commute to work tomorrow morning.

I had taken several photos today, in search of a subject. None satisfied.

In reading through my daily reads via RSS and Google Reader, I spent some time with Stuckincustoms, my favorite HDR (High Dynamic Range) photographer: Trey Ratcliff

He inspires me.

Today he inspired me to revisit the HDR technique using a Raw digital file format.

I sifted through my recent photos and recalled this walk in the woods of Lincoln Memorial Gardens.

Some Photomatix swizzling and here you are.

Quite a contrast with the current 24 degrees Fahrenheit and snow in the near forecast.

It warms me inside, if not outside, to spend a few moments remembering the warmth of the sun, peeking through the canopy of lush Fall colors.

I like it.

Not perfect, but the emotion is conveyed.

Deb, giving Layla a close up hug while Layla plays with Deb’s jewelry.

There’s something about a baby – under 1 or so – which draws out the hugs and silliness of relatives.

I should know – shortly after this I was eating Layla’s hand.

Just pretend. =)

The love is real, though. Very real.