It finally stopped raining in Los Angeles...I decided to fire up the BBQ this evening so I needed to walk to the store to pick up some stuff for the grill. The wind was kicking a bit and I managed to capture this shot of Stars & Stripes. I like the way it turned out!
I must say I am flattered...I noticed that another member of flickr has added my meditation image to their blog of their favorite photos. Steiner 62 has added this shot to his blog of best shots!!!
This shot was taken on January 6th...perhaps this was one of the best sunsets I have ever seen in Los Angeles. The sunset was so spectacular that the L.A. Times featured a picture the next morning on the cover...I happen to prefer my picture!
Spent the weekend saying farewell to some dear friends who are leaving L.A. and returning to Florida...we will miss you Donanne, Brian, Charlize and Holland! We got a chance to hang with them both Saturday and Sunday night at their hotel, The Bel Age, right off of Sunset Blvd. I managed to escape to the rooftop pool for some nice, long exposure, night landscapes. I had to improvise the tripod considering I do not own one as of yet.
Enjoy!
Last December I snapped this picture while distributing bags for my favorite non-profit The Giving Spirit. About midway through the day I came across this German immigrant who refused a survival kit that we tried to give him. It still stays with me to this very day that I can live in a very wealthy city, and there are thousands of people just like this man that roam the streets without shelter...a true shame.
I posted this shot because there was a contest on the The DPReview website. This shot place third...it is worth checking out some of the other shots from this contest...the subject Sad but true.
IMG_4411as shot_1
Originally uploaded by noeltykay.
Well, when I got my Digital Rebel back at the end of October several friends told me I would love the power of RAW. I have always shot and edited in JPEG format because although my last camera shot RAW it seemed daunting to me.
When I first got the Digital Rebel, RAW seemed ever more so daunting considering I now needed to learn the different functions of a DSLR in different settings. Having used the camera for four months now, and feeling very comfortable, I began to use RAW a week and a half ago...I am not going back to JPEG!
The first photo is an example of RAW with custom white balance. I had read several articles about setting the white balance on my camera using an opaque lid from a can of Pringles...I soon discovered that Pringles lids are now clear and not opaque. Well, I happened to have an opaque plastic lid from a large vitamin container and it now resides in my camera bag, so that I can set custom white balance when I am in doors.
The two shots above are the same RAW image file. The first image is "as shot", straight from the camera as seen in in Photoshop CS2/Adobe Camera RAW. The second shot is the same file, the only difference is in CS2/Adobe Camera RAW is changed the white balance from "as shot" processing I did was switch the white balance from "as is" to "custom". That is it! I did not tweak it any other way shape or form. I am now a believer in RAW and it is time to purchase some larger memory cards because those RAW files are much larger than JPEG! Good thing memory prices are falling...I have seen a gooe quality 2GB card going for less than $90!
What's up girls???
Originally uploaded by noeltykay.
My Sunday morning ritual is to wake up bright and early...give my wife a kiss, out the door to grab a cup of coffee and on my way to basketball.
Yesterday I woke up a little earlier than usual and decided to try and shoot some planes taking off at LAX, for it was a very clear morning. Unfortunatley I had trouble capturing planes overhead...so it was off to the Westchester High "Girls" gym to go play basketball...on the way in I saw the birds sitting on top of the building and vioila!!! Caught my eye and I share this with you!
My creation
Originally uploaded by noeltykay.
My first post in my new blog which highlights my passion for photography. My interest in photgraphy dates waaaaaay back to my days in high school in the very early eighties. No I was not a mullet wearing, Camaro driving Def Leperd listenin' stoner! Not that there is anything wrong with that! :)
In 1998 I purchased my first digital camera (and never looked back!), a Sony DSC-F1...pretty archaic back then. To think about the horrors of transferring thirty pictures from camera to computer to the internet...took about three hours! The Sony got me hooked to digi cams and since that time I have purchased three other digital cameras: Olympus C2020, Canon S50 and my Canon Digital Rebel 350XT.
The nice thing about migrating from the Canon S50 to the Canon 350XT was I did not have to invest in more Compact Flash cards and batteries...the Digital Rebel uses the same batteries and memory as my previous camera!! And now I have an extra battery charger too! Thats the good news...the bad news...ACCESSORIES! I have invested in three lenses, an external flash, a hand grip, a backpack, a wireless remote and countless hours behind my workstation editing photos...it is all worth it and I hope to show you right here!
