Nikon D7000, Sigma 105 f/2.8 @ f/32, 2.5 sec, ISO 200, tweaked in Topaz

Thanks,

John

After nearly a year of false starts and frustration with various Web Design packages, my website, http://jstrongphotos.com is finally online.  It’s not perfect, but I’ve got a series of
galleries and other various pages that you might find interesting, so please check it out and let me know what you think. Any ideas or suggestions are more than welcome as well.  I was determined not to have to write any code when putting this site together – I’d done coding for websites years ago and simply didn’t want to spend that kind of time getting the project off the ground; there were pictures to capture and process!

Since the last couple of weeks have been fairly concentrated on finishing the site, I haven’t really had the time to put together any coherent thoughts into an article for my blog. Yet the thoughts and ideas continue to percolate – I have plans for an HDR (High Dynamic Range) article, since I’ve found myself using this technique more often these days,
including the photo below, and an article covering a lighting seminar I’ll be attending in mid-September, plus, I’ve been shooting for several months with my Nikon D7000, but haven’t really said much about the camera.  I’m not a reviewer by any stretch, but I’ll
throw my thoughts into an already crowded arena of editorial writing about this marvelous camera.

Sharptail Ridge, Nikon D7000, Tokina 12-24mm f/4 @ f/16, ISO 100, HDR

And I’ll keep posting a variety of photos, after all, that’s what this blog is all about.

Thanks for reading,

John

Dried Flowers, Nikon D7000, Sigma 105 f/2.8 @ f/16, 2.5 sec, ISO 400, processed in Topaz Adjust, Lightroom and Capture NX2

Introducing “No Text Tuesday”.  Thanks to Bob Towery and his “Wordless Wednesday” series on his blog (http://bobtowery.typepad.com/bob_towery/) , I’ve decided to adopt the format for Tuesdays.                

Thanks!

John

Morning Glorius, Nikon D7000, Tokina 12-24mm f/4, 12mm, f/16, ISO 320, HDR - 3 photos

I just returned from visiting family in Nebraska – Hastings, to be specific.  If you know the area, then you undoubtedly think it’s nothing but cornfields, bean fields and little else.  Nobody gives Nebraska much credit when it comes to beautiful scenery. But it’s there for those who’ll take the time to look.  The beauty isn’t an in-your-face kind that’s easy to find such as we have in Colorado; it’s subtle, like a mist shrouded morning that invites you in and casts a spell on you. It’s magical and unexpected, but it’s there.

Think of Nebraska as a cat – it’s essentially indifferent to you as long as you act the same way. Yet if you start treating this “cat” with respect and paying attention to it, then you earn its respect and secrets begin to unveil.  Unlike a dog (and I love dogs, so don’t take this wrong!) which will prostitute itself for attention, the cat, and this state, demands a bit more.  It doesn’t take much and the effort is amply rewarded.

Nebraka Mist, Nikon D7000, Nikkor 70-300 f/4-5.6, f/22, ISO 320, HDR - 3 photos

Suddenly you start to notice the trees lining the Platte, the cattails waving in the wind, the
sand hills beckoning to the north.  You may spot an eagle along the river. The cornfields shimmering in sunlight.  Or, if it’s very early in the day, sunrays bursting through the leaves of a tree, piercing the ground mist like arrows of light.  Nebraska is a beautiful state.  The thing is, every state has its beauty – I can’t think of one that I’ve visited that hasn’t been wonderful in its own way.

*****

In keeping with the “Nebraska” theme this week, I’ll recommend a website of a Hastings
photographer – Jorn Olsen.  Though he’s originally from Oregon he’s lived in Hastings for many years and captures the beauty and allure of the state like no other.  I purchased his first book, “Across a Wide Horizon” which illustrates my feelings toward my home state perfectly.

Take a look at some of Jorn’s truly inspiring photography: http://www.jornolsen.com/.

And, one final note:

GO BIG RED!

Thanks for reading,

John

Non-conformist, Nikon D7000, Sigma 105 f/2.8 @ f/9, 1/60 sec, ISO 200

This is a short post today – I’m getting ready to go out of town on business for a day, followed by a few days visiting family in Nebraska.  Maybe I’ll post something during the visit, if I can find a wi-fi place.

“Non-Conformist”, in this case, refers to the title of the photo not necessarily to the
photographer, though I don’t think of myself as being a conformist.  Conformist, non-conformist – is there a real  difference?  Back in the 60s when I was teenager,  there was a group of people who, I guess, thought of themselves as non-conformists.  They had long hair, wore loud, flowery clothing, distrusted the government and people in general, smoked pot and took various other illicit mind-alternating drugs in order to escape what they felt was persecution by everyone  else.  Played a lot of Crosby, Stills, Nash and
Young, mostly “Almost Cut My Hair” and Buffalo Springfield’s “Somethin’ Happenin’ Here”.

They all had the same look, same philosophies, same paranoias,  same music -so, how were they “non-conformists”.  Not mainstream, certainly, but within their own little world, they all conformed.  We have the same thing today – bike messengers all have a certain look and attitude and all think they’re unique.  Photographers?  We like to think we have a unique view, but everything’s a derivative of something.  They’re not unique.  I’m not.
You’re not.

  *****

Jack Jeffers is a 77 year old photographer living here in Colorado and I just recently discovered his blog and his style of photography.  I especially enjoy his shots of the Appalachian series of photos taken back in the old days, you remember, when they used film instead of a sensor to record photos.  Take a look at his blog if you get a chance – very interesting.  http://fineartofphotography.blogspot.com Film has a different look than
digital.  More ethereal.  More subtle with it’s shadings and tonalities.  I don’t see myself ever going back to film, but I am tempted sometimes to obtain a medium format film
camera and revisit a past that won’t, and shouldn’t, die.

Guess this turned into a longer post than I thought.  Thanks for reading!

John