Silent Night, Moraine Park, Colorado
Snow glistens in the last light of dusk.
Distant clouds glow with the fading light from the sun, long since set.
Merry Christmas!
Monthly Archives: December 2022
Dance Recital, December 23, 2022
Living Art Studios in Lamoni Iowa had their annual winter performance, December 23. Dancers of all ages and experience levels had their opportunity to do their thing on the big stage at the Shaw Auditorium on the Graceland University Campus. Each dance was introduced by a reading from of the classic poem, “Twas the Night Before Christmas”. Everyone performed to music of the Christmas season.
Lamoni Band Concert, December 19, 2022
A selection of photos from the band concert at the Shaw Center Auditorium, Graceland University, Lamoni Iowa. Click any photo to see a larger version.
How to Photograph Christmas Lights with Your DSLR, Mirrorless Camera, or Smartphone
Christmas Lights, Easton Shopping Center, Columbus, OH
‘Tis the season and there are a lot of Christmas lights out there to photograph. It is fun and easy, and with a few tricks up your sleeve there are creative things you can do. Many of these techniques can be used on other lights throughout the year, so this is a good time to practice your skills for photographing lights.
iPhone vs Canon Rebel SL3
Last night (Monday) I was photographing a band concert for our weekly, small town newspaper. The problem is the photo deadline is 5 pm Monday for the Thursday paper and the concert began at 7:30 pm, 2 1/2 hours after the deadline. Depending on where the newspaper staff is in producing the issue, sometimes they can squeeze in another photo or two that come in after the deadline. The sooner I can get them photos, the better, so I sent the paper two photos taken with my iPhone, one of the elementary school band and one of the high school band. But I used a Canon SL3 for most of the concert. I downloaded the SL3 memory card and sent the paper two more photos just in case they were running really late. Why? The Canon SL3 creates dramatically better photos in less than optimum lighting conditions.
Topaz Software: Concert Photo
Last night I was photographing the local elementary and high school band concert for the local paper. The light level on the stage was low enough that I needed to use an ISO of 1600. That meant a fair amount of digital noise.
Andromeda Galaxy and its Satellite Galaxies
For me, December is not only the month for Christmas Season photos and portraits, on reasonably pleasant December nights with no wind it is the time of year to photograph the night sky. Winter has better night sky “seeing” than the other three seasons. Cold air holds less moisture to there is more visual clarity of the night sky. Unfortunately, where many of us live winter is also very cold so I do most of my winter night sky photography in December since it is usually more tolerable.
Tundra Bean-Goose, Part 2
I went looking for the Tundra Bean-Goose again this afternoon (see the prior article), along with one of my young grandsons. The light was much better than yesterday which meant a lower ISO setting on the camera and a lot less digital noise than at ISO 6400 late yesterday afternoon. That would mean better photos.
Rare Event: Tundra Bean-Goose in Iowa
This is not a great photo, but it is a photo! For the last week a single Tundra Bean-Goose has been hanging out with Canada Geese at the lakes, farm ponds, and corn fields around Lamoni Iowa. This week is the first time ever this goose has been spotted in the state of Iowa. It should be in Northern Europe or Northern Russia so it is thousands of miles away from home. I finally spotted it yesterday.
Norman Rockwell’s Sense of Humor: “Mermaid”
I am a Norman Rockwell fan and I have been studying his life and work. Norman Rockwell was brainstorming one day and he came up with a humorous idea for a painting. A Maine lobster fisherman catches a mermaid in his lobster trap. Rockwell went through quite a long process to go from the initial idea to the final painting.