tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43218080817239243222024-02-19T18:59:53.623-06:00Marcus' Photographic ThoughtsMarcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-54549900284270193672012-09-12T23:37:00.000-05:002012-09-12T23:37:42.866-05:00Arboretum Photo Shoot<div style="text-align: center;">
This past Sunday I got together with a friend and took some photos of her and her son. We went down to the Dallas Arboretum both to do that and to see the Chihuly Blown Glass sculptures. To say the least, I was blown away. Some of the sculptures were as tall as 20 feet tall. All of them were hand blown and very impressive. Now on to the photography.</div>
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In these photos, you can see the excellent work that this artist does. I had not read a lot about the exhibit before I went. I was expecting some fairly large pieces, but nothing of this size and scale.</div>
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The day was bright and sunny. There were a few clouds, but mostly a deep blue sky. I put my polarizer filters on my lenses to make sure that I would be able to capture that blue sky and to also help reduce glare on the lens. The results were great. I shot in RAW and with the help of the filter, was able to capture vivid colors from the sky to the sculptures.</div>
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I've mentioned before that the Arboretum is very nice. We shot for about an hour and a half and could have stayed out there longer. However, it started getting warm, so we decided to call it a day.</div>
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That is it for now. My new website is up and live. You can check it out at <a href="http://www.marcusdavisphotography.com/">www.marcusdavisphotography.com</a></div>
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Until next time...</div>
Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-30224638747125885122012-09-06T23:03:00.000-05:002012-09-06T23:12:24.363-05:00The Next Stage<div style="text-align: center;">
I just finished the launching of my website. </div>
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You can visit it at <a href="http://www.marcusdavisphotography.com/">www.MarcusDavisPhotography.com</a></div>
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There are still a few tweaks that I need to add to it, such as adding music, but visually, it is ready to go. I would appreciate any positive feedback you could provide.</div>
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The next step is to have a logo created. I have a friend from high school who is going to help me take care of that. I've seen her work and she's very good. Unfortunately for her, she's going to have to work from my horrible drawings to turn it into something beautiful and powerful.</div>
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You can check her out here:</div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Deen-Creative/158054952568">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Deen-Creative/158054952568</a>
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She's based out of New Braunfels, but this is the digital age and I am in Dallas, so she can still work with you. Please help support a small business!</div>
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That's it for now. I'll leave you with a couple of sports photos I took recently at a minor league baseball game.</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-62908698692766693112012-08-21T22:48:00.001-05:002012-08-21T22:48:35.387-05:00It's Been Awhile<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJxCGFNwqjZuiwliBs8rdd3i5Y4KsQVbbmrcU-m2k8lfsQ-ekKh1TRaq-dod5lD-6TKjF7lU7BKGpd2EKruzFatJfPqJ8VClC4qdvFF04FmFqXoKxcgISohdkyUzkgJZ8x_XeV0mdo9fS/s1600/Ceremony+72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAJxCGFNwqjZuiwliBs8rdd3i5Y4KsQVbbmrcU-m2k8lfsQ-ekKh1TRaq-dod5lD-6TKjF7lU7BKGpd2EKruzFatJfPqJ8VClC4qdvFF04FmFqXoKxcgISohdkyUzkgJZ8x_XeV0mdo9fS/s320/Ceremony+72.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's been a few weeks since my last post. A lot has been happening in that time frame. I shot my first wedding. It was a great learning experience. The pictures came out very well, but there is always something to learn and improve upon.</div>
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As you can see from this picture, there was a fun combination of shade and sun. My trips to the zoo came in handy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoul7AGAxIp5Dp_cCtDix9Srv5EkiGOVqlfKABlXOhrEEFepIuU3HEAoE3EXyMHCGE1mZJ9HSNZmSkJ1NomCoy-cKKqEeBa3_aXS4n6ptQQJKC_4d02zri1nGYrvnE23QtDJYFmN01CW10/s1600/Lucrecia+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoul7AGAxIp5Dp_cCtDix9Srv5EkiGOVqlfKABlXOhrEEFepIuU3HEAoE3EXyMHCGE1mZJ9HSNZmSkJ1NomCoy-cKKqEeBa3_aXS4n6ptQQJKC_4d02zri1nGYrvnE23QtDJYFmN01CW10/s320/Lucrecia+14.jpg" width="320" /></a>This past Tuesday, I met my friend at a nature preserve in Farmers Branch, TX and took some photos of her. This was a funny day where the day was nice and sunny and by the time I met her after work, it was cloudy and started drizzling as we were leaving. Even so, we were able to get an hour of shooting in. I just shot tight with my 50mm lens and avoided including the sky. I got a lot of nice shots.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54JrMJYaaeeUzQN5LNDIU10edptkIQhAI7ElTR0kJaXj-qnY4kLd9yzQh3RAd-JpRU0A943M7W7T-VjJsl8EhtLRzaqdiif-z7KOHt4t7O8e6Yyjc3bKMk_YOtHtePGitgFWY-OHSfB7u/s1600/Lucrecia+12+BW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54JrMJYaaeeUzQN5LNDIU10edptkIQhAI7ElTR0kJaXj-qnY4kLd9yzQh3RAd-JpRU0A943M7W7T-VjJsl8EhtLRzaqdiif-z7KOHt4t7O8e6Yyjc3bKMk_YOtHtePGitgFWY-OHSfB7u/s320/Lucrecia+12+BW.jpg" width="213" /></a>I also got the full version of NIK Software's Silver Efex Pro 2, in addition to a number of other titles that they offer. This is by far the most efficient way to convert photos to black and white. One of the other programs that was included was Color Efex 4.0, which without having a lot of time to get into it, was great at softening and smoothing out skin. Both programs are incredible easy to use.</div>
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This is where I will end for now. I will get into these shoots, in addition to my sunrise shoots in future posts. There was a lot of learning and a lot of technical aspects to share.</div>
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Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-79555536655037207892012-07-25T14:51:00.001-05:002012-07-25T14:51:36.350-05:00Laid overHello everyone. I'm currently sitting in the airport at Birmingham, AL, waiting for my flight. I got here around 11:30, to find out that the plane had a mechanical problem.
I am heading to Baltimore for my cousin's wedding this weekend. I figured since I have some time, I would send a quick blog update on my IPad. The spacing and format will be a bit off, since the program is much different than what it looks liken my computer, but I think we can all live with that.
Over the last week, I have been working with a program called Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 (SEP2). It was touted as an amazing black and white conversion software. I downloaded the free trial and it is amazing.
You open your picture in photoshop (in my case) and then access SEP2 from the filters tab. You are then given about 20 preset black and white options for hat photo. I would say that 5-6 of them are nailed with no work needed. However, manipulating your photos from there is very easy. I would rate this software a 5 out of 5 stars and I wil definitely be buying the full version.
When I get back home next week, I will post some of the conversions using this software. I will also have some wedding photos coming soon as I work on them for my cousin.
Until next time...Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-40414668679975997282012-07-15T18:44:00.001-05:002012-07-15T18:44:32.672-05:00<div align="center">
It's been awhile</div>
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Time sure does fly when you have a lot on your plate. This is a picture from this morning's sunrise photoshoot. I went back out to Crowley Park in Richardson, TX and shot by the water of the pond.</div>
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It was nice that the moon was still out as the sun started to come up. Pretty good color in sky, but not a lot of red until after I had packed up.</div>
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As I was finishing up, I decided to pull out two new pieces of gear and give them a test drive. Those would be my Canon Speedlite 600 EX-RT flash and Gary Fong Cloud flash diffuser. I bought both to use for my cousin's wedding but haven't really had a chance to try them out yet. The flash in the reception hall will allow me to be able to use a fast shutter speed in the dim light. The diffuser will help to soften that light so that it doesn't seem like a white blast on everyone I use it on.</div>
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Here are two pictures that I took of myself using my remote control.</div>
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On the left is the flash with no diffuser. You can see that my skin is pretty blown out. On the right is with the diffuser. Skin tones come out a little more naturally when they aren't being blasted with light.</div>
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I plan to be able to get a little more practice using these two items before the wedding. I'm actually reading the instruction manual, so I'll have the basics down. I'll be able to use the rehearsal dinner to get some good real world practice with it.</div>
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Before I leave, I'll give you a tip. When putting your camera bag down in the dark, be sure to not put it down on a fire ant mound. I missed one by about 5 inches today. That could have made for a bad morning.</div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-60692195875654854452012-07-08T01:39:00.001-05:002012-07-08T01:39:05.135-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Catching Up</div>
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It's been a little while since I've been able to post a blog. I've been busy shooting and editing, but not blogging. </div>
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Since my last time on here, I have been trying out some new software; ACDSee. It's a photo editing software that attempts to compete with Photoshop. It is a pretty user friendly piece of software that allows you to edit and customize pictures, batch process, etc. So far, I like it. There are things that it does better than Photoshop and vice versa.</div>
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Next, I went down to San Antonio to take some engagement pictures of a friend of mine and her fiance. This was my second big shoot. I was a little nervous at first, but not long into it, everything just seemed to fall into place. I just finished processing them and narrowing down the 5star selections. The CD is burning now and I should be able to get them in the mail Monday. It was a lot of fun.</div>
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The next day, Sunday, I of course I had my sunrise photo shoot. I wanted to do something iconic, so I went downtown to the Alamo and set up. I haven't had a chance to work on those pictures, but I imagine they will turn out nicely. I also learned that a quarter in a parking meter in San Antonio buys you an hour, whereas it only gets you 20 minutes in Dallas...... Not as much bang for your buck. lol</div>
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Next, I had to break down and buy a new computer. My laptop is almost 4 years old and just can't handle the demands of processing my pictures. The RAM wasn't large enough to handle the speed needed for Photoshop and for some reason, the computer doesn't see the CD drive anymore. I wasn't able to figure that one out. In addition, I had filled up the hard drive. It was time.</div>
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That's what's been going on in my life recently. I'll get back on here soon with some more pictures.</div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-61835576628819158922012-06-18T20:56:00.006-05:002012-06-18T20:57:13.230-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Mustang Morning</div>
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This Sunday's sunrise shoot (6/17/12) marked a milestone in my photo project. Wednesday June 20 marks the Summer Solstice; the longest day of the year. That means that I have reached the celestial halfway point of my summer sunrise photo project. The sunrises will slowly come later and later in the morning.</div>
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So this morning, I wanted to head to downtown Dallas and shoot the sun reflecting off the buildings, but I wanted to take some friends with me. Unfortunately, they couldn't go, so I will put it off a bit. Therefore, I decided to head over to Las Colinas and see the mustangs. The mustangs is the largest equestrian statue in the world; about a dozen mustang horses running through a business plaza. It is an incredible statue. What made it really cool is that they have spray where the horses' hooves strike the water which make them look like they're actually running.</div>
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What made this interesting is that the mustangs evidently sit on private property. The security guard (who was nice and polite) let me know that commercial photography of the mustangs was by permit only. When I explained to him about my photo project, he said that was ok and I finished up. Note to self for the future, make sure I am not shooting on private property. lol</div>
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On to the pictures!!</div>
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As you all know, I love flowing water. This is the view as you come up to the mustangs. I did not read about who created the statues, but the designer of this plaza did a fantastic job! This is a non HDR shot; high aperture, slow shutter speed to capture the flowing water. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUvzeZjxN9lESbOxlC-bh-QCBnBuIyWOh3eRLYezli5TCQBTCbvQHx0SBwGH2yaUQPy1z5G5Fu4TUN_3JpiCFfoEVI8iIwMchnHx-xTlT9DkdqplxGFwxaRE9rF-Igng7MjuKBjt2geTe/s1600/HDR+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUvzeZjxN9lESbOxlC-bh-QCBnBuIyWOh3eRLYezli5TCQBTCbvQHx0SBwGH2yaUQPy1z5G5Fu4TUN_3JpiCFfoEVI8iIwMchnHx-xTlT9DkdqplxGFwxaRE9rF-Igng7MjuKBjt2geTe/s200/HDR+14.jpg" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRuO9hTh2hCmdG_27df98Jvul7t1Fd7pYXT7KeGK8j0V2m3joEXYT0usdi2K5KBxBvucdgyYpOUUYoNtxkxvksHAywyk1hVVYJvPOdlM0NjBHnRUqVkLUZBFusjgPo_8pXkg3WZvcBejv/s1600/HDR+11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRuO9hTh2hCmdG_27df98Jvul7t1Fd7pYXT7KeGK8j0V2m3joEXYT0usdi2K5KBxBvucdgyYpOUUYoNtxkxvksHAywyk1hVVYJvPOdlM0NjBHnRUqVkLUZBFusjgPo_8pXkg3WZvcBejv/s200/HDR+11.jpg" width="200" /></a> </div>
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These last four shots are all HDR. above, you can see the mustangs running. I think they look fantastic in black and white and as I mentioned earlier, the water spouts at the hooves of the horses makes them look like they're running. I shot them with a longer shutter speed to emphasize the water. </div>
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Behind the plaza is Lake Caroline. It was very peaceful in the morning and I was able to take advantage of the great color in the sky. Also, I've always liked the phrase, "Better lucky than good, some times". If you look at the bottom right picture, you will see a crane flew across my shot as the three HDR pictures were being taken. I couldn't have planned it better. lol</div>
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That is it for this week. I have had a great time shooting these sunrises and seeing parts of Dallas that I have never seen before.</div>
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Before I go, I wanted to say that I entered a picture that I took in St. Louis, in a photo contest. The contest is sponsored by Pauline Frommer, a leading writer of travel guide books. We used her London guidebook and can attest to how great they are. The winner of the contest among other prizes will get their photo featured on a 2013 guidebook. I am putting the link for my photo below. Please take a second to go and vote for it. You can vote as many times as you like.</div>
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<a href="http://www.frommers.com/community/photo.cfm?plckPhotoID=6f4d71da-4f7f-4afe-bc6f-6b806971c809&plckGalleryID=b2b57b71-605f-4653-a75b-0a94cdc3254b">http://www.frommers.com/community/photo.cfm?plckPhotoID=6f4d71da-4f7f-4afe-bc6f-6b806971c809&plckGalleryID=b2b57b71-605f-4653-a75b-0a94cdc3254b</a></div>
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As always, thank you for following my blog.</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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<br /></div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-45806193385924177272012-06-16T09:37:00.000-05:002012-06-16T09:37:23.684-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Dallas Zoo Days</div>
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Last weekend, I rented a Sigma 170-500mm zoo lens and headed down to the Dallas Zoo. It had been a few since I had been there, so I figured I would head out. With the heat, I was only able to make it a couple of hours, but it was fun, none the less. The zoo is very nice. They have been running their "Giants of the Savannah" promotion for awhile. It is a section of the zoo dedicated to animals of the African Savannah: elephants, lions, gazelles, etc.</div>
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I plan on going back on the 23rd for a few reasons. The zoo is holding its first ever Photo Day at the Zoo. They are playing host to Canon (<a href="http://www.canonusa.com/">www.canonusa.com</a>) and Arlington Camera (<a href="http://www.arlingtoncamera.com/">www.arlingtoncamera.com</a>). This is great, because I am looking into getting a new external flash for my camera. I am upgrading to Canon's Speedlite series, but I am not sure which one will suit my needs. This will give me a great opportunity to speak directly to the manufacturer.</div>
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The other reason I am going back is to get some more shots for the zoo's "Feathers, Fur and Scales" photo contest. My plan is to concentrate on the not as popular animals for a winning shot.</div>
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Here are some pictures from last weekend's trip to the zoo.</div>
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As you can see, the Dallas Zoo has a lot of photogenic birds. These are only a few of the shots that I liked from this trip. I'm still narrowing down which ones I want to submit for the contest, so I'll see what I come up with.</div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-37808137461941404422012-06-13T07:12:00.000-05:002012-06-13T07:12:57.284-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Summer Sunrises</div>
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Summer is upon us and the sun comes up earlier and earlier each week. I am almost half way through the year and it has been hard but fun. Week after week, I have to be more and more creative about where I go for my sunrises. Other than that, the knowledge I've gained about my camera throughout this year has been invaluable. Luckily, June 21 is the longest day of the year and that means the sun starts coming up later and later from that point on. That means more sleep for me.</div>
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This post includes this week's and last week's sunrises. June 3rd, I went to a DART station underneath the George Bush Turnpike where it crosses U.S. 75. I chose this area, because of the train that would be going by and the shadows caused by the highways meeting.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7ZlfSo4eeJ-0vZrL2kpDcl6qgHePgsirfmbElrUmlNwvLLbO7XxCFglcV0Vnn90EFamJmYotPvSGcbmYlXKIA84MHOgCvoGRPi-ur5n3S9aJ646HkvKGyPG-fpmEd5NzbHfxlAhn-e-N/s1600/HDR+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7ZlfSo4eeJ-0vZrL2kpDcl6qgHePgsirfmbElrUmlNwvLLbO7XxCFglcV0Vnn90EFamJmYotPvSGcbmYlXKIA84MHOgCvoGRPi-ur5n3S9aJ646HkvKGyPG-fpmEd5NzbHfxlAhn-e-N/s200/HDR+8.jpg" width="200" /></a> The top two pictures are HDR shots. These columns have ivy growing on them and the contrast of the green against the concrete looked great. Plus, there was great color in the sky.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0USIkOYX61vs2bI6xle0su5y4S7Xe8QwsYixI_D52IDIsq82d5CMrDfcZtGknEnnLLknoNKKYPV9bmfxfXI6Xhyp037TqJRgpaW07C_l7M4CUpY31vctqtoBxnsl6oOcpodYs65VKcW5/s1600/IMG_1146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA0USIkOYX61vs2bI6xle0su5y4S7Xe8QwsYixI_D52IDIsq82d5CMrDfcZtGknEnnLLknoNKKYPV9bmfxfXI6Xhyp037TqJRgpaW07C_l7M4CUpY31vctqtoBxnsl6oOcpodYs65VKcW5/s200/IMG_1146.JPG" width="200" /></a>As I was getting ready to leave, I noticed the columns in the picture to the left. The way they seem to disappear is great. I used a small aperture to keep the distance in focus. To the right is the DART train going by. It caught me by surprise. I wanted to wait for another one, so I could set up a shot, but the next train was 30 minutes away and I needed sleep. I'll save it for another time.</div>
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That brings me to June 10. I went to a park near my house. My vision here was to shoot the basketball courts against the sunrise. Unfortunately, there was a large tree in the way that blocked the sky from that angle. Luckily there was great color in the sky to make up for it....... </div>
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......Unfortunately, my morning was cut short by Mother Nature. As I was walking to a different area of the park, something flew pretty close to me. At first I thought it was a bird and that I had gotten too close to its nest. I got buzzed a couple more times and at that point I realized that there were two or three bats flying around me. Crazy, but true. At that point, I realized it was time to pack it up and go home.</div>
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So, to date, I have encountered a Bobcat, two Beavers and 3 Bats.... At this rate, I will be meeting 4 Bears before the end of the year. Hopefully that will NOT happen, but we'll see. Wish me luck this Sunday.</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-21794962756822340032012-06-09T14:29:00.000-05:002012-06-09T14:30:37.898-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Sea World</div>
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In the last part of my vacation blog series, I visited Sea World San Antonio. Sea World was having its Memorial Day "Here's to the Heroes" event where military personnel were offered free admission to the park. I can never argue with a company that is willing to go so far for our troops. Beyond that, I think that Sea World gives you fantastic value for your money.</div>
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My personal mission with this visit was to get a great picture of Shamu jumping out of the water. On previous visits with my point and shoot, I either didn't have the zoom or the shutter speed to get a good shot. To put it lightly, I had a lot of great pictures of Shamu back in the water after a jump.</div>
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First up is "Azul", the dolphin, beluga whale, acrobatics show. There is a lot of color in this show, from parrots to synchronized swimmers. I really worked on my exposures after the show to be able to really capture the color.</div>
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Here, the trainer was hitching a ride across the pool. A fast shutter speed and a little luck were needed. The dolphins kicked up a lot of water and she was "splashed out" in a lot of the pictures.</div>
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Next up was the Sea Lion comedy show. This show has always been a favorite of mine. Lots of laughs to be had.</div>
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If you notice, the sun shining on the light colored ground makes it very bright compared to the set and actors. It gets pretty tricky when shooting. What I did to counteract that was to darken the picture using the 'levels' tool, then enhance the lighting by decreasing the brightness. The ground is still a bit bright, but much better than the beginning.</div>
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This is one of my favorite shots of Shamu. The cloud of water around Shamu was produced with a fast shutter speed. I had the camera set to burst mode so that I could hold the shutter down and let the camera fire off consecutive pictures.</div>
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I think I still have some room to improve on these pictures, so I really want to go back again soon. We'll see what happens next time.</div>
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Finally, we get to the fireworks. These were preceded by a concert by the Lackland Air Force band. It was a great show and great fireworks afterward. The structure in the background is the Steel Eel Roller Coaster. This is well worth taking the family to see.</div>
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<br /></div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-89091295056986668502012-06-06T20:41:00.000-05:002012-06-06T20:41:01.792-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Sleepy Time at the San Antonio Zoo</div>
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This is part 2 of 3 of my San Antonio vacation. As a lot of you know, I really enjoy going to the zoo. The unpredictability of the animals combined with the challenge of bright light and shade makes taking photos fun and challenging.<br />
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As the name implies, it seemed that the animals were in the middle of their morning naps when we came through. The Cheetah, Lion, Tiger.... <br />
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...And these things. I'm no sure what they are, but I have never seen an animal sleep like that. Also, the one in the front looks like it was really surprised. lol<br />
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One thing that I liked about the zoo is that they have a great selection of animals that I have never seen in other zoos. <br />
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I was shooting today with the Canon 100-400mm lens that I rented from <a href="http://www.prophotorental.com/">www.prophotorental.com</a>. Again, I love the reach that I got with that lens. The birds to your left were shot from about 8 or 9 feet away. Their nest was in a tree, which is not a set up I have seen before at a zoo. I really liked this guy with the orange head. It was a nice contrast against his white feathers.<br />
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As this cat is showing, it's time to end this post. A big mouth and sharp teeth sure get my attention. lol</div>
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In response to an article that I recently read in Shutterbug Magazine, I plan to take a trip out to the Dallas Zoo. The point of the article was that the author who works at Zoo Miami photographs animals focusing on eye contact to connect with the animal. I am going to take my time and wait for that moment. I sure look forward to it.</div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-80246150157597491682012-06-03T00:12:00.000-05:002012-06-03T00:12:33.763-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Back From Vacation</div>
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My wife and I went out of town last weekend down to San Antonio. Vacations sure have a way of making you feel very worn out. It has been about two weeks since my last blog, but I have a few lined up for this week. Here is the first of 3 blogs from the vacation.</div>
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This is the hike I went on in Lower Purgatory Creek Park in San Marcos, TX. This is about 30 miles north of San Antonio. Aside from the blazing heat, this was a great 2 hours. Lots of cacti, wild flowers and the best sky I have ever photographed.</div>
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I rented a 100-400mm lens with a 2x teleconverter for this weekend. It was a great combination, but you'll see more of that later.</div>
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With the telephoto lens combination that I rented, it is hard to shoot landscapes, so my plan was to hike in with the telephoto in hopes of seeing some wildlife and hike out with a smaller lens for landscapes. <br />
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As I said earlier, there was lots of cacti out there. I have to admit that in all the time I've lived in Texas, I have never seen this many cacti. Also, cacti is a fun word to say. lol<br />
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This is a photo that I took as I was passing out from the heat. Just kidding, I thought this would be a nice low angle photo. The blue sky with clouds was fantastic. <br />
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Also, I'm a fan of Georgian Architecture which emphasizes symmetry, so the flowers, trees and tall grass on either side of the walkway works very well.<br />
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I think I will try this in black and white later.<br />
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Here is the telephoto part of the fun. The 2x teleconverter does just what it sounds like. It doubles the focal length of the lens it is attached to. So, the lens went from a 100-400 to a 200-800.</div>
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There are pros and cons to this set up. The biggest pro is that this is a much cheaper way to get out to 800mm. A true 800mm lens runs about $8,000. This combination is less than $2000. However, the con is that the teleconverter also doubles the aperture of the lens and because of this, you lose the ability to auto focus. It definitely is not impossible, but it does make it a bit tougher. It takes a fair bit of practice.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKJ5mFuaPny4ciuJIyLzZDGJvkU0tOJfQA0zmMbzjbvC7HXPgfrYHxZaNpqrjeSX7kE-_YXZCdqhyphenhyphenmgVY3G8Ld0Jw2E8cpehLKMTKzqE-FoSaA1nsIwzJfiEMCkqRGnGDrVhvTUHJN9sv/s1600/San+Marcos+Hike3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKJ5mFuaPny4ciuJIyLzZDGJvkU0tOJfQA0zmMbzjbvC7HXPgfrYHxZaNpqrjeSX7kE-_YXZCdqhyphenhyphenmgVY3G8Ld0Jw2E8cpehLKMTKzqE-FoSaA1nsIwzJfiEMCkqRGnGDrVhvTUHJN9sv/s200/San+Marcos+Hike3.jpg" width="200" /></a> </div>
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The bird on the left, I'm guessing, is a Blue Heron. If anyone knows more about this, I would appreciate a positive ID. This little guy tested my patience. I wanted to get a picture of him in flight. He was really not interested in flying. I waited for about 30 minutes and caught me off guard. lol I got some decent shots, but nothing to write home about. I decided it was a little too hot to wait for him to fly again.</div>
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The bird on the right, I have no idea what it was. Once again, an ID would be great. This is a great example of the power of this lens combination. I can' even imagine how high in the air this bird was, but it had to be at least 6 or 7 stories up. This is cropped a little in PhotoShop, but not much. The nice part about this bird is that even though it was so high up, it tended to glide which made it easier to follow and focus. EASIER, not EASY. lol This picture is not the best, focus-wise, but you can see a lot of detail in the feathers, which I really liked.</div>
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All in all, I think this was a pretty good test of the lens. I plan to buy this combination for Christmas, so it was nice to rent it and test it out first. For those of you who may want to take a look at it, check it out at <a href="http://www.prophotorental.com/">www.prophotorental.com</a>. Shipping both directions is free, so you really can't beat that.</div>
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That's the end of my hike. You can check out more pictures on my facebook page <a href="http://www.facebook.com/marcusdavisphotography">www.facebook.com/marcusdavisphotography</a></div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-37241849713778013712012-05-20T21:07:00.000-05:002012-05-22T10:08:36.888-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
112 MPH Panning</div>
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Today was a pretty fun day. I went out to a drag strip to watch some friends race their mustangs. This is my first experience with drag racing and it was pretty exciting. When I was invited, I was pretty excited to try out a technique referred to as panning. The concept of panning refers to me moving the camera to follow a moving subject, in this case the cars. By doing this, the cars stay in focus and everything stationary blurs. It's kind of the opposite of your normal moving photography.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsz88h09qoF1iYQiLnwe6pEXMMvDV_J7WxOvK3_FI3Ux9Os0C7U10Zvb7oLeaoHt5g8qqh80nOmXSM49wn0ga23Vjp7xgZMEcRa8HIyCTs9ZMWo_7IpGrD7O6LXLt-o5ZrrvPxIxguP9ht/s1600/Drag+Racing1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsz88h09qoF1iYQiLnwe6pEXMMvDV_J7WxOvK3_FI3Ux9Os0C7U10Zvb7oLeaoHt5g8qqh80nOmXSM49wn0ga23Vjp7xgZMEcRa8HIyCTs9ZMWo_7IpGrD7O6LXLt-o5ZrrvPxIxguP9ht/s320/Drag+Racing1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Here are the three muscle cars that I was photographing today. The red one belongs to my friend Brent.<br />
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There were a lot of horses under the hood and the red white and blue kind of lent itself to the term "American Muscle". <br />
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This is Brent doing his burn out. Fast shutter speed here, both for the stopped action and the bright sun that was out today. For once, I was kind of excited to have so much sun out. With fast cars, I was going to need a fast shutter speed. As you'll see below, it came in handy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuNMcEYYHJo1i4A0qcZL3r2wPztbfvUBf5rWXPs0-ssphYMhlQ-5Qi3EfQrwX_3eKlUQXWWBKJJO51uPYJ39tFBh-jVbKwfAmW0RCzQcKz28q3UnFDb_PIuaYMwy-DaqIs6jLGYSWrBbJ/s1600/Drag+Racing22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuNMcEYYHJo1i4A0qcZL3r2wPztbfvUBf5rWXPs0-ssphYMhlQ-5Qi3EfQrwX_3eKlUQXWWBKJJO51uPYJ39tFBh-jVbKwfAmW0RCzQcKz28q3UnFDb_PIuaYMwy-DaqIs6jLGYSWrBbJ/s200/Drag+Racing22.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFMagHZ5ujPsp5LiGzbq0JQi5vOK0YNKv7Q1Tqw_aUOiSyNbyZwE16XfU0mUpqv0mvWEHOrNsPf-yGljb3oOMbAkeNaO_54djaY7zro5jFBZV6lpmbxiU1L1IbJZBsVv3PdYwD5K0QgVTK/s1600/Drag+Racing30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFMagHZ5ujPsp5LiGzbq0JQi5vOK0YNKv7Q1Tqw_aUOiSyNbyZwE16XfU0mUpqv0mvWEHOrNsPf-yGljb3oOMbAkeNaO_54djaY7zro5jFBZV6lpmbxiU1L1IbJZBsVv3PdYwD5K0QgVTK/s200/Drag+Racing30.jpg" width="200" /></a> As you can see with these two pictures, the panning causes the moving cars to be in focus while everything behind them blurs. The power of these cars was amazing as you can see by them raising up as they came off the line.</div>
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So, this was a fun experience. By far, these are the fastest things I've photographed. I've been wanting to try out panning and I think I did pretty well for my first time. There is another technique that I want to try out soon. As soon as I get it done, I'll put it up here and show ya'll.</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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<br />Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-54780059133274484052012-05-10T22:40:00.000-05:002012-05-10T22:40:00.845-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Longhorn Sunrise</div>
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This is a spot that I have been wanting to shoot for some time. My friend Jill came out with me this past Sunday to stretch our trigger fingers. The first thing I noticed is that East was completely NOT the direction I thought it was! The last time I was at this spot, I forgot to check which direction east was, so I looked at my pictures to see which direction the shadows were facing. I also discovered that there was a HUGE overhead light that was probably causing the shadow. lol Oh well. You roll with the punches and get shooting.</div>
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So with the different point of view, I had to change my composition. I pondered for a couple of months on how I would compose the pictures towards where I though east was. The funny thing is that with my new east, the composition seemed to just hit me. I like what I got and here it is.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsxa7zyvttceGucTBvSzm0_AKpVQyvURgmnBNNi4q05KKESk2Z6R7otdSI9D6o0DaSU_UWwWoSWJ4Uyr4EsWSVp8pBOg-CqK9-LEka989DK7G2roZblwtrRvA_PYlIPspjJ04VF1hsFjy/s1600/HDR+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLsxa7zyvttceGucTBvSzm0_AKpVQyvURgmnBNNi4q05KKESk2Z6R7otdSI9D6o0DaSU_UWwWoSWJ4Uyr4EsWSVp8pBOg-CqK9-LEka989DK7G2roZblwtrRvA_PYlIPspjJ04VF1hsFjy/s320/HDR+7.jpg" width="320" /></a>This is my new east direction. The cowboy watching over his herd. The color in the sky was great, but it sure didn't last long. I would estimate it was there for about 10 minutes before the sky went blue.</div>
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Here's the herd. I thought this would be the best picture for black and white. I just wish I had a fan blowing up some dust for special effects. These statues are located in Pioneer Plaza in downtown Dallas near the convention center.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1tM55I82ML_bLFOwe3G_UMgOkCC1VLdxLFBODFNG8tRwj05dx65IrloKPuIk9MLroYdY1PkVH-YUkUz0B26MK4JLCMrRPyqtDaQxHxLUr8ECSBHVnYCpNoA6swaM864w8IObn1TKp7Z33/s1600/HDR+14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1tM55I82ML_bLFOwe3G_UMgOkCC1VLdxLFBODFNG8tRwj05dx65IrloKPuIk9MLroYdY1PkVH-YUkUz0B26MK4JLCMrRPyqtDaQxHxLUr8ECSBHVnYCpNoA6swaM864w8IObn1TKp7Z33/s200/HDR+14.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKg5wwh_9F50zjcb6vk214gX9QeoSJUv7Ps5XBKzozIjCqz4hWd_KS2M_6LU35Fk2T12JQMYhySbPPFhYY0sUsK8LYL1vAHUP-u49K1Uz_sKY9j_BICOfpzTxeOK1kMO9peQVoDa-tmrS/s1600/HDR+16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyKg5wwh_9F50zjcb6vk214gX9QeoSJUv7Ps5XBKzozIjCqz4hWd_KS2M_6LU35Fk2T12JQMYhySbPPFhYY0sUsK8LYL1vAHUP-u49K1Uz_sKY9j_BICOfpzTxeOK1kMO9peQVoDa-tmrS/s200/HDR+16.jpg" width="200" /></a> These are my two favorite shots.<br /> I like the composition of the water and greenery in the foreground and the cattle in the background. I think the picture on the right is one of my favorite shots in awhile.</div>
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Thank you for your continued viewership. I am currently working on a website for MarcusDavisPhotography and lining up some portrait sessions of friends to get some practice shooting people and building that aspect of my portfolio. If you need some photos made, let me know.</div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-39422202615821820172012-05-05T23:24:00.001-05:002012-05-05T23:24:22.027-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Sons and Daughters of Scotland</div>
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My wife and I went out to the North Texas Scottish Festival today, at the University of Texas - Arlington. We spent about 3 hours out there before the heat began to take its toll. It runs through 6pm Sunday the 6th and I highly recommend checking it out. There is a great combination of bands, dancing, shopping, eating and my favorite, the Highland Games. </div>
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I don't care what people say. I think bagpipes sound great. The combination of the pipes and drums can not be beaten. I also think that there is nothing more Scottish than this sound.<br />
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What I was looking for in the picture below was to show the movement of the mallets of the drummer in the foreground. The movement was amazing. He is very good at his craft.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFtvO0Iihh7T4Doq4-XYS1xzN-Mp88TbhOnCwWTiRmfqA3DD24I9Ciyn8KpUJw7GrOu0LY8zauJ3Afvb4NUhy7wuiNfvRThFct93BtPqSXV0mDWPioe7xXgU4dp_qqFac4rosuKutEAJc/s1600/IMG_6943.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFtvO0Iihh7T4Doq4-XYS1xzN-Mp88TbhOnCwWTiRmfqA3DD24I9Ciyn8KpUJw7GrOu0LY8zauJ3Afvb4NUhy7wuiNfvRThFct93BtPqSXV0mDWPioe7xXgU4dp_qqFac4rosuKutEAJc/s320/IMG_6943.JPG" width="213" /></a>The picture at the left of the fiddler is a band that came on stage as we were watching some of the games. The fiddler was quite good and really got into the show. We really enjoyed the couple of songs that we heard them play.</div>
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There was a lot of good food there. I personally had a meat pie, which is about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and is similar to a chicken pot pie. It is stuffed with spiced ground meat and some onions. It is very light and very delicious. My wife had shepherds pie, which is similar to what I had, but hers was topped with mashed potatoes. There was also Scottish and Irish Stew and lots of Scottish inspired beers.</div>
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The Highland Games are what I really wanted to see. These consisted of the Hammer Throw, the Caber Toss, a Kettle Bell Toss and an event similar to the shot put, but with a large stone. Throughout the weekend, there were going to be competitions for all age groups and this is very fun to watch. The big photographic element here is a fast shutter speed to freeze the action. Luckily, it was bright and sunny out, so I could almost max out my shutter speed.</div>
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So that's it for today. A fun day over all. I got to see some culture, see some sport, eat some good food and of course, pull my camera out and shoot. I hope you get to take some pictures of the "super moon" tonight (5/5/12). It is supposed to be 14% larger than usual tonight. Here is my shot.</div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-75967205461549776322012-05-01T23:09:00.001-05:002012-05-01T23:09:57.495-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Keeping Your Eyes Peeled</div>
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As I've gotten more and more into photography, I've found myself keeping an eye out for new places to shoot. Possibly not the safest thing to do while driving, but what can you do?</div>
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On Saturday, I was headed into Frisco to take pictures of my friend's son playing his last soccer game of the season. As I was headed up the tollway, I noticed this place out of the corner of my eye. I made note of the cross street and planned to come back after the game.</div>
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This first picture is a regular shot. I spent some time reading through my camera manual (Possibly the only manual I've ever read) and I noticed a section on some presets built into my camera. One of them was a setting for landscapes. The setting is designed to make greens greener and blues bluer. This feature enhances grass, trees and skies. I really like how the sky came out, because you can see the clouds against the sky. I will do some fine tuning to it, but I like the setting.</div>
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One thing I know for certain is that the only thing you can count on is that Mother Nature is unpredictable. As I'm sure you can tell, I love the look of flowing water and will take pictures of it every chance I get. However, the wind decided to keep blowing while I was taking these shots. With HDR consisting of 3 different shots, anything that moves creates blur as you put them together, as you can see in the trees. However, I still love this shot.</div>
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Another shot that I really liked. This is a little bit "downstream" from the previous waterfall. I like rocks in HDR, because they always burst with color that you really don't see looking at them with the naked eye.</div>
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This was a great place to stumble upon and I plan to go back out here. It will be a great place to do family or couples photographs.</div>
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That's it for now. I'm still working on Sunday's sunrise photographs. I should have them up soon. It was a nice morning hike and I think you'll like the photographs that came out of it.</div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-59411057598347066102012-04-23T21:37:00.000-05:002012-04-23T21:37:02.291-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Interesting Sounds.....</div>
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This was quite an interesting morning. It was a short shoot because I was scheduled to run a race later in the morning. <i>It was my first competitive race and I was happy with my finish</i>. This is back at <br />
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One thing I have found about these shoots is the sounds of the morning when no one is around.</div>
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There were a lot of sounds as I was walking through the park to the pond. Birds chirping, the wind rustling the grass, the creek flowing underneath the bridge. As I got to the pond, I heard bullfrogs, which I had never heard in person before. With a nice and clear sky, everything was set for a great shoot.</div>
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As I came up on the pond, I looked around just to make sure I didn't potentially come up on a bobcat taking a morning drink. That would have made for a bad start to the day. So, the coast was clear, I set up and started shooting. That's when things started getting weird. I heard a splash, which I think was a bullfrog jumping in the water because that sound stopped. However, that early in the morning, it was quite a startling sound. lol So, more shutter clicks and SPLASH!!! I about jumped out of my skin. I thought that a tree branch had fallen in the water... until that "branch" started swimming. As I was standing there watching it, SPLASH!!! another "tree branch" started swimming. </div>
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I stood there watching trying to figure out what I was looking at. Unfortunately, it was still pretty dark at this time, so I couldn't really focus on the objects. All I know is that as they were swimming, they were displacing a lot of water. Not a lot was poking above the water and I kept hearing large splashes that I couldn't see. It was quite interesting and a bit unnerving since it was still so dark. I decided that discretion is the better park of valor, so since I didn't know what I was looking at, I had better get out of there.</div>
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So the rest of my morning I walked around to see what was what and I came across these two pictures.</div>
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Here is my tree stump again. This time in color and in HDR. I really like this shot. I will probably take this picture every time I come to this park.<br />
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This little guy hung around and let me take lots of pictures of him. I was even able to slowly move in with my tripod to get even closer. I'm guessing he gets fed from time to time.</div>
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So, as I didn't get as much morning time out here as I would have liked, I plan to go back out there next Sunday. It will be my first revisit to a site, but there is still more of the park for me to explore and my curiosity about that pond is still pulling at me.</div>
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Until next time... </div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-19773460473635537412012-04-21T22:46:00.001-05:002012-04-21T22:46:30.001-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
It's a Black and White World.... We're Just Shades of Gray</div>
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I had to work for a few hours today. It was a beautiful day and even though I had laundry to do, I couldn't stay inside all day and not take pictures. Therefore, my wife and I went out to Arbor Hills Nature Preserve off of Parker Rd and the North Dallas Tollway. This is an incredible park! It's a 2.3 mile track, wooded areas, meadows, a creek, a pond, etc. Everything a photographer could dream of. In addition, like at the zoo, you are constantly going in and out of shadows, so the challenge of constantly adjusting settings is right there.</div>
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So, the title of today's post is kind of cheesy, but it works in well with what I was doing today. I do not like to shoot in black and white, because I can always convert color to black and white. However today, I thought, what the heck? I shot all day in black and white. I have to say, I do like the results. I will continue to shoot in color, but it was a nice change of pace.</div>
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I liked this bramble branch laying on the ground. It was a nice brown set against the green grass and the blue sky.<br />
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This pond was very photogenic in black and white. I'm not sure how it would look in color, because the water was very stagnant.<br />
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There were A LOT of butterflies flying around and this one wanted to land and show off for me. I got a number of good pictures of it.<br />
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I found this fallen and hollowed out log and got down low to photograph it. I really like the way it came out.</div>
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That is is for today. I am heading back out there tomorrow morning for my sunrise shoot. I am going out there with my tripod and there are a couple of places I plan to shoot from that are going to involve a little athleticism. Wish me luck.</div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-47089935496014896212012-04-17T18:20:00.000-05:002012-04-17T18:20:54.846-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
End of the Vacation Posts</div>
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This is going to be the last of my vacation posts. These visits landed me at Mark Twain's boyhood home in Hannibal, MO, the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (The Gateway Arch) and the St. Louis Zoo.</div>
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From what I read in my research, the St. Louis Zoo is one of the top 5 zoos in the country. Although we did not get to spend as much time here as we wanted to, I really enjoyed the time we did spend. We entered through the south entrance. This elephant is one of about a dozen statues that lead you to the zoo entrance. This was shot as we were leaving. The sun was setting and created back lighting for this HDR shot.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFjwVworg1Dhzp4uk15vKbrUsR0JJfjWQdKIB-UeYOymq9nz3IA5YVD2ZWdhguVUig8iI0J_tOBpO6dXe0s-c4TGK6JX09Hme0JOTK_q8hgNQxmoWKwMkShGfsHim_5jgWCeH_6scrMiU/s1600/IMG_4502.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVFjwVworg1Dhzp4uk15vKbrUsR0JJfjWQdKIB-UeYOymq9nz3IA5YVD2ZWdhguVUig8iI0J_tOBpO6dXe0s-c4TGK6JX09Hme0JOTK_q8hgNQxmoWKwMkShGfsHim_5jgWCeH_6scrMiU/s320/IMG_4502.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkloA9n-Qns1uuQAu05ANLJTrKXC6fP0e-aFh5_Xg4Df8L_QunDABdWX4VB86A2vUwPxaogNOl7_rsN6culIgv_zRFyBAHSIex3RGponcKQLvJVPlnA1iQp57cCd3ZS773hV0fkwFp4AMg/s1600/IMG_4740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkloA9n-Qns1uuQAu05ANLJTrKXC6fP0e-aFh5_Xg4Df8L_QunDABdWX4VB86A2vUwPxaogNOl7_rsN6culIgv_zRFyBAHSIex3RGponcKQLvJVPlnA1iQp57cCd3ZS773hV0fkwFp4AMg/s200/IMG_4740.JPG" width="200" /></a>This picture of the grizzly bear illustrates what I love about shooting at zoos. You are constantly moving from sun to shadow, so you constantly have to adjust your camera settings. This makes it challenging and rewarding at the end.</div>
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I've never been this close to a grizzly bear before. Look at those claws!</div>
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My wife is a huge fan of penguins and this was the best penguin house I have been to. I was lucky enough to catch this guy hopping out of the water for some food. The waterfall is in the elephant enclosure.</div>
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We visited Tom Sawyer's white washing fence in Hannibal, MO at Mark Twain's boyhood home. This trip brought back memories from when I read this book in school. The sky was very overcast so the sun wasn't a factor, plus the temperature was in the 50's, so it was nice and cool walking up and down the street.<br />
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There is a lot of information relating to Mark Twain's life in all the buildings: His house, Huck Finn's house, Becky Thatcher's House, etc. <br />
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To the left is inside the house. The rooms had statues of Mark in the rooms. The first time seeing the statue was unnerving because I thought that someone was actually in the room. To the right is one of Twain's signature white suits. Also in the case is the gown he wore when he received his honorary degree from Oxford University.</div>
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Our last spot was the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, better known as the Gateway Arch. This is an iconic structure that I have always wanted to visit. Once again, this is a must visit place in the United States. The top is 630 feet and offers amazing views of the city. To get to the top, you ride in a small car that holds 5 people. It is quite an experience that should not be missed. On the day that we went, it was bright and sunny. I found myself ducking behind trees and the monument itself to block the sun. The nice part of the sun however, is that it requires a fast shutter speed which virtually eliminates blurring.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6F1BVKFAJFyWb09CRqUnUPfGXstJKTix3maKIuY47u9oMz5pQEebke5O-zJDgmR_2BXHpz88mMJfLoQoJqxiVN4f-6V_m5jr-JDVVmmJ6iZgM6a03PnRtFsk069gkz3Kv5PGDQgqJWyAl/s1600/IMG_4219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6F1BVKFAJFyWb09CRqUnUPfGXstJKTix3maKIuY47u9oMz5pQEebke5O-zJDgmR_2BXHpz88mMJfLoQoJqxiVN4f-6V_m5jr-JDVVmmJ6iZgM6a03PnRtFsk069gkz3Kv5PGDQgqJWyAl/s200/IMG_4219.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPB-OqkI_ruZPpAKewrHefjdKcrg6L_Xm1GWrK0zv79Y6lvCFSgb1QpQoKajIZ11hzdfwLPDVaTBE5ETLq6bjkVko1swXbLBNzzEfakO7AXk9cvn-xCRDzHGT_sh5ztydzT0_t68moqXy/s1600/IMG_4422.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPB-OqkI_ruZPpAKewrHefjdKcrg6L_Xm1GWrK0zv79Y6lvCFSgb1QpQoKajIZ11hzdfwLPDVaTBE5ETLq6bjkVko1swXbLBNzzEfakO7AXk9cvn-xCRDzHGT_sh5ztydzT0_t68moqXy/s200/IMG_4422.JPG" width="200" /></a>What I thought was cool about the monument is that there is a small museum inside the base to help you pass time while you are waiting for your turn to go to the top. This is an example of an Indian Peace Medal that was given by presidents to indian leaders to help facilitate peaceful expansion of settlers west. I have heard of these, but this was my first time seeing one in person.<br />
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To the left is a shot of the arch as my sun blocker. To the right is Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals from the top of the arch. Magnificent view from there. </div>
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That is it for the vacation pictures. I will be getting back to my normal shooting around town.</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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<br /></div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-25474995004059790412012-04-14T19:05:00.000-05:002012-04-14T22:32:48.344-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Land of Lincoln</div>
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Part of our vacation took us to Springfield, IL to visit the land of President Abraham Lincoln. I was very excited about this part of our road trip. I am a big fan of Lincoln and that era of our country's history. </div>
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Our first stop was the Abraham Lincoln Presidential museum. Here, there were a lot of artifacts relating to his presidency and his family life. It is a large place and you could easily spend a day there just looking around and soaking in history.</div>
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The museum had a great layout. It centered around a huge rotunda with the Lincoln Family as wax sculptures. In the background you see the front of the White House. To the left is a replica of the log cabin that Lincoln grew up in. To the right was another opening. Inside each was a treasure trove of information about our 16th president.</div>
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Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside, so there are not a lot of pictures of this museum.</div>
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Our next stop took us to President Lincoln's home. This is the only home that he owned; right before he left for the White House. The house is run by the National Park Service and is free to tour. You just need to pick up a ticket from the visitor's center to join a tour. Free is a pretty good price. This is truly a fantastic experience. Here, you have the opportunity to walk around where one of the greatest men in history lived and worked. You are encouraged to hold the hand rail as you walk upstairs. You truly have the opportunity to hold history in your hand.</div>
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To the left is President Lincoln's house as it looked when he left it in 1860. To the right is Lincoln's sitting room where he accepted the Republican party's nomination.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipeAXypuUjyeF3X5Lbb43kV93W2Sxl5btNE0-I8N6_LzhjUildPcLqGkSPiyQqUc6CDsnLDi0eCpCcFuwTdzpaHtbk-mwdtfyiPmkr3zFPk6TXIKX7N0f2J3cko_thATenSPsIhisjeKev/s1600/IMG_5202.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipeAXypuUjyeF3X5Lbb43kV93W2Sxl5btNE0-I8N6_LzhjUildPcLqGkSPiyQqUc6CDsnLDi0eCpCcFuwTdzpaHtbk-mwdtfyiPmkr3zFPk6TXIKX7N0f2J3cko_thATenSPsIhisjeKev/s200/IMG_5202.JPG" width="200" /></a> Just down the street from the Lincoln museum, you find the law office where President Lincoln worked and the old courthouse where he argued many law cases. Mr. Lincoln also delivered his famous "A House Divided" speech.</div>
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Our last stop took us to Oak Ridge Cemetery where along with many Civil War veterans is buried President Abraham Lincoln. Unfortunately, the tours inside the tomb ended before we arrived, so we did not get to go in to see his final resting place. However, the outside is very ornate and very well done. This is another place that is well worth the visit.</div>
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Our visit to the Land of Lincoln was very moving and a beautiful experience. Of all the places I have been to visit, I recommend this above all others. I have always been a huge fan of history and this ranks among some of our country's greatest history.</div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-30386297268686112682012-04-12T20:08:00.000-05:002012-04-12T20:08:17.736-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
St. Louis Sunrise</div>
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This Sunday's sunrise came courtesy of Nature Park in St. Louis, MO. I have to say that this is the most amazing place I have shot so far. It's a huge park that kind of forms the center of things to do in St. Louis. From the park, you can walk to the St. Louis Zoo, the Museum of Natural History, a number of ball fields, war memorials, etc., etc. and I do mean, etc. This was the location of the 1904 Worlds Fair and where I shot was just a fraction of the size of the park.</div>
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Unfortunately, I underestimated the time that it would take to get from my hotel to the park, so I missed the beautiful color that was in the sky. No matter though; I made the most of the beauty of the park. One shooting issue that I ran into was that the sun was extremely harsh that morning. I found myself using trees to block the sun, or turning away from the sun to avoid flares on my lens. I found that turning away from the sun added a nice lighting direction that I have never used before. I will definitely try it some more.</div>
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Here are some of my favorites from that morning. The rest you can check out on my facebook page: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/marcusdavisphotography.">www.facebook.com/marcusdavisphotography.</a></div>
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I look forward to visiting St. Louis again so I can explore more of this park. Stay tuned for pictures from more of my trip to St. Louis and beyond.</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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<br /></div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-42924096338143725512012-04-06T23:55:00.000-05:002012-04-06T23:55:59.538-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
The Great American Road Trip</div>
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Much like Chevy Chase loading his family in the station wagon, my wife and I are off on a road trip of our own. I have to say. Anyone who does not like the idea of a cross country road trip is off their rocker....</div>
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...and if your rocker is this big, there's no hope for you. lol</div>
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We went off to Missouri and our path took us along the "Mother Road", Historic Route 66. Along the way, we stopped at a Civil War battle site. Wilson's Creek just outside of Springfield, MO. Today, we went to The Arch, the St. Louis Zoo and Forest Park.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAtr5fRCFLsFcgqmb6wokfJpdVWS_AIpW4Fz2YmiIFqHeyKqEmSLJaVr96A5xlgVPhb4oIbPaEn3t7rTmRA9K9BtJ_BWnau1Vt6fETaGQoHEO6DSHkc_eGR0oqOSL4ldPlug7q0SR2GAf/s1600/IMG_4179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitAtr5fRCFLsFcgqmb6wokfJpdVWS_AIpW4Fz2YmiIFqHeyKqEmSLJaVr96A5xlgVPhb4oIbPaEn3t7rTmRA9K9BtJ_BWnau1Vt6fETaGQoHEO6DSHkc_eGR0oqOSL4ldPlug7q0SR2GAf/s200/IMG_4179.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Louis Zoo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl93Y6EBWF-Q0Aw7dOTLCWqDykOFGP0L-D4nYR8g7tlaHX9rl-x5k4V41FRXHtaSi2baX2J-GyNAR0G56gjm5DlAKp5jHfRQmPikVUSl-IsfEVSAXFAZWa18VuofoxVHpyjY6O-_hXa3DR/s1600/IMG_4219.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl93Y6EBWF-Q0Aw7dOTLCWqDykOFGP0L-D4nYR8g7tlaHX9rl-x5k4V41FRXHtaSi2baX2J-GyNAR0G56gjm5DlAKp5jHfRQmPikVUSl-IsfEVSAXFAZWa18VuofoxVHpyjY6O-_hXa3DR/s320/IMG_4219.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Arch</td></tr>
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This is going to be a short post since I should have been asleep an hour and a half ago. Tomorrow, we're headed to Hannibal, MO to see Mark Twain's (Samuel Clemens) boyhood home, then over to Springfield, IL, the Land of Lincoln.</div>
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When I get back home, I'll get more into the photographic aspects of the road trip. I hope you enjoy the forth coming previews.</div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-89273712630081903472012-04-01T14:18:00.000-05:002012-04-01T14:18:37.339-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Lions and Tigers and...... SERVALS?</div>
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This morning, I decided to go to a big cat sanctuary called In Sync Exotics in Wylie, TX. A friend of mine volunteers here and really enjoys it. </div>
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This is the second time I have been here and I would recommend it to
anyone who enjoys lions and tigers. All of the animals here have been
rescued from horrible situations and nursed back to the health they
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I got lucky today. The last time I was here, this guy was laying down on an elevated walkway out of view. Today, I got a clear view.</div>
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In Sync is open for self guided tours Saturdays and Sundays from 11 - 6 and for $10 for adults, it is a great value. You are much closer to the animals than you would be if you were to see them at a zoo and up this close, you can see what beautiful creatures these are.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAiXUjlwjOS-oteJ7vNg3TeC7IbRT6q1affn3AFV3wvka1_iXp4X5EBBYvZ_HIYr1SbKPnef5iom6PxIYbuRWWOO_e6uFvw_BKzpTWnNE1tWaegcVb6ODGSrE6jC2Ydo70at7X-Q609bi/s1600/IMG_3743.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKAiXUjlwjOS-oteJ7vNg3TeC7IbRT6q1affn3AFV3wvka1_iXp4X5EBBYvZ_HIYr1SbKPnef5iom6PxIYbuRWWOO_e6uFvw_BKzpTWnNE1tWaegcVb6ODGSrE6jC2Ydo70at7X-Q609bi/s200/IMG_3743.JPG" width="200" /></a>As you walk around, you can tell how much the people who work and volunteer here care about these cats. All the cats are referred to by name. The cages are decorated, cleaned and well stocked with things for the cats to play with. There is no doubt that they are in a much better situation than the ones they came from.</div>
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The hard part photographically, is that you have to shoot through two fences. Granted, for safety, you definitely appreciate the second fence. However, it is very hard to get a shot without the cats being blocked by fencing. Other than that, this is a great place. You can get more information by checking out their website at <a href="http://www.insyncexotics.com/">http://www.insyncexotics.com/</a>. So go out and visit Smuggler, Gypsy, Stryker and all the other cats at In Sync Exotics.</div>
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Saturday, April 7th, they are holding an Easter Egg Hunt. Here is your opponent.....</div>
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You can check out more pictures of the cats on my Facebook page at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/MarcusDavisPhotography">www.facebook.com/MarcusDavisPhotography</a></div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-20662502741581314602012-03-28T07:34:00.000-05:002012-03-28T07:34:14.277-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Bachman Lake</div>
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This week, my sunrise quest has taken me to Bachman Lake. This lake is in Dallas off of Northwest Hwy and Lemmon Ave. near Love Field airport. All of my pictures this day, I took in HDR. When I woke up, I knew it was going to be a great sunrise, so I wanted to make sure to capture the full range of color that I knew would be there.</div>
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As I go deeper into the year on this sunrise project, I find myself working harder to keep it new and challenging. By far, the most challenging aspect is finding new spots from which to shoot.<br />
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Other than that, I have used different techniques, including HDR, I've forced myself to shoot from a lower perspective and I've tried to look for new interesting subjects. My favorite so far has been reflections on water.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVGgTYZeuI5RcZsDwZDr7zvtP0EBVI9ENeOwSo3IFHinDcLI4ITyV9cPcOUHNADRxvhvZ4FXFuCRoo01ftMb-xQgEbqsr6u2Aaj-XwUlhi9KpwN-_LnhchxK2Dx5gB5EmtpSZ1I6hMg3c/s1600/HDR+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVGgTYZeuI5RcZsDwZDr7zvtP0EBVI9ENeOwSo3IFHinDcLI4ITyV9cPcOUHNADRxvhvZ4FXFuCRoo01ftMb-xQgEbqsr6u2Aaj-XwUlhi9KpwN-_LnhchxK2Dx5gB5EmtpSZ1I6hMg3c/s200/HDR+7.jpg" width="200" /></a> I look forward to going back to Bachman Lake during the day, because the landing strip for Love Field airport is just beyond the lake. From what I hear, the planes come right over the lake to land. That would make for some interesting pictures.</div>
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Now that the Blue Bonnets are starting to bloom, those may make for an interesting sunrise.</div>
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Until next time...</div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4321808081723924322.post-86282297664346261322012-03-25T21:34:00.000-05:002012-03-25T21:34:13.010-05:00<div style="text-align: center;">
It's a Macro World After All</div>
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For those that don't know, a macro lens is a lens that allows you to get closer with your focus of an object than other lenses. It doesn't necessarily magnify the object, it just allows you to get closer. A macro lens serves many uses, possibly the most common which is bug and insect photography.</div>
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I rented a macro lens for the weekend from <a href="http://www.prophotorental.com/">www.prophotorental.com</a>. I chose this website over others because it offers free shipping both directions; a huge plus. The lens I rented is a Canon EF-S 60mm F/2.8 lens. This lens has a better than expected focal range and with the small F-Stop number, you have the availability to blur out a lot of your background.</div>
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I decided to go to two places to try out the lens. The first was at the Butterfly House at The Discovery Gardens. Beautiful place with a lot of beautiful butterflies. One caveat: It is very humid! My wife and I were only able to make it 30 minutes.<br />
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The lens performed like a champ. It gives a great crisp focus, is lightweight and as I said earlier, has a very decent focal range considering it is a fixed 60mm focal length.<br />
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There was a great variety of color in the butterflies. There was one that looked like an owl's eye and feathers as its camouflage. The large white one to the right landed and seemed to enjoy being on camera. It sat there for about 5 minutes, allowing me to get all the pictures of it that I wanted.</div>
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You can find more information at <a href="http://texasdiscoverygardens.org/">www.texasdiscoverygardens.org/</a>. It is located at Fair Park, you get free parking and with an admission of $8 for adults, you can't beat it.</div>
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The second place I went to, to test the lens was the Dallas Arboretum. This is an incredibly beautiful place. Flowers and color everywhere. There is something there for the whole family.<br />
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This first picture is a great show of how great a macro lens can be. If you look carefully, you can see a spiderweb in the upper right corner of the picture. I didn't even notice that it was there until I was working on the pictures at home.<br />
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I really like the detail that you can get with the flowers. I shot all of these in RAW format. First, I wanted to get more practice shooting in RAW, but second, the Arboretum is a particularly difficult place to shoot, because you are constantly moving from shadows to bright sunlight. You can only adjust the camera so much before you waste your entire day. With RAW, I was able to go back and tweak the images as I saw fit.<br />
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This is my favorite picture. My main goal with going to the Arboretum was to get a picture of a bee on a flower. I think this one came out very well. The color contrast of the bee against the flower is great and with the macro lens, you can see the little hairs on the bee.</div>
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Earlier, I mentioned that with the aperture of this lens being so low, (F/2.8), you can have a very narrow depth of field, blurring out the background. Of all the pictures I took, that is no more evident than this picture. I highly recommend checking out the Dallas Arboretum before it gets too hot. You can get more information from their website at: <a href="http://www.dallasarboretum.org/">www.dallasarboretum.org/</a>. At $15 per adult, it is a bit more pricey, but there is so much to do there, you really can spend an entire day. They allow you to bring in food, so plan a picnic and enjoy the beauty.</div>
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As I always mention, look around your city and see what there is to do. I find that when you live some place, you don't really take the time to do the "touristy" things. Explore and enjoy!</div>
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Until next time...</div>
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<br /></div>Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12371341274783481550noreply@blogger.com0