Archive for April, 2010
April 30, 2010 – Larches at Ingalls Pass
Posted by Dave in Fall Color, Picture of the Day, Washington State, Winter/Snow on April 30, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=855
According to the old saying, it should be raining today. And tomorrow? Flowers. Sweet, looking forward to that, for sure. Although glancing at the forecast leads to the question of what exactly the May showers bring. And I’ll tell you: the one year anniversary of me starting this blog, that’s what. Whooooo yeah.
Today’s picture was taken on the Ingalls Pass trail, which is accessible via a 20 or 30 mile long dead-end road outside of Cle Elum, Washington. Those trees are larches. They’re actually coniferous (pine) trees, but they’re fairly unique in that they actually change colors and drop their needles in the fall. They’re really pretty, but (at least in western Washington) pretty hard to get to. I guess there are fairly large swaths of them in some of the eastern Washington forests, and western Montana, and the Idaho panhandle, although my understanding is that those are a somewhat different species than these here that you’re looking at. (But that doesn’t change the fact that they, also, change colors and drop their needles.) Out here, they are only found at higher elevations at particular locations, which means you’ve gotta hike to find them. We got pretty lucky the year I took this: we had gotten a little bit of snow a couple days before, then a beautiful sunny day that fell right on a weekend right when the larches were peaking. Perfect timing really. I told Julie at the time that we needed to make a larch hike an annual tradition, but that didn’t end up happening yet. (Well, to be fair, the next year she was on the verge of giving birth to our kid, and the year after that we … didn’t really have a good excuse.) Maybe this year, check back in the fall, I’ll let you know.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel XT, Tamron 28-300mm lens. 1/200s, f/9.0, ISO 100. Focal length: 39mm.
Popularity: 13%
April 29, 2010 – Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso
Posted by Dave in Europe, Fall Color, Mountains, Picture of the Day on April 29, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=813
Hi! It’s me! I just realized earlier today that my RSS feed has been sitting there broken for a couple months now. That means the HORDES of subscribers that eagerly anticipate seeing my content via Google FeedReader each day have been under the impression that either I’m super lazy or that the Picture of the Day was totally abandoned. At least one of those is not actually true!! So, to all of my RSS subscribers, welcome back!!
Also among the things I realized earlier today is this: I haven’t posted a picture from Europe in quite awhile. (Months, really..) So, I quickly woke up, found one, and Wham!, here we go-go. (Too much of a stretch there?) This goes back to Parco Nazionale Gran Paradiso (Gran Paradiso National Park), in the northwest corner of Italy. We fortunately had the time available to spend a whole day hiking there, and it was totally amazing in every way. Loved it, I need to go back.
I’ll stop here, since all of you RSS readers have a lot of content to catch up on today. Man, I bet you’re excited, huh?
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel XT, Tamron 28-300mm lens. 1/160s, f/8.0, ISO 100. Focal length: 28mm.
Popularity: 34%
April 28, 2010 – Sunset in Negril
Posted by Dave in Picture of the Day, Tropical/Beaches on April 28, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1546
I realized yesterday that I’ve been seriously slacking in posting more pictures from my recent Jamaican vacation. I posted one the day after I got back, but that’s been it. So last night I tossed a couple more online, and snagged this one for today’s post.
The island of Jamaica is kind of oval shaped, much longer east to west than north to south. Negril, the town where we stayed, is on the far western point. The main attraction of Negril is the famed 7-mile beach, which is really beautiful. White sand, turquoise water, all that good stuff. It’s fully developed though, so if you’re looking for privacy or calm, you should look elsewhere. But if beaches are your thing, and you don’t mind sharing with a few hundred of your closest friends, you can almost surely find a great deal on a place to stay. That’s not all Negril has to offer though. There’s also “the cliffs”, just up the road. My understanding is that Jamaica is primarily composed of volcanic rock, and that’s exactly what you’ll find up the road from the beach. There are a bunch of hotels that sit up on the rocky shoreline, anywhere from ten to I-don’t-know-maybe-50 feet or so above the water. It seems like most of them have combos of stairways and ladders to get you right in the water, so it’s not like you’re giving up that part of the vacation. If you need your sand, look elsewhere, but if you want sun, water, and quiet, the cliffs are definitely a great choice. (And they have the added bonus that there’s fantastic snorkeling and diving to be had right outside your room.) We stayed at the Rockhouse, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Fantastic place. Also, that’s where I took today’s picture.
Sunset shots are an interesting topic. It’s pretty cool that such an otherworldly, beautiful experience happens basically every day. They’re a natural thing to want to take pictures of. Unfortunately, a lot of the time something that is truly awe-inspiring when witnessed in person can turn out pretty blah and uninteresting in the resulting picture. (This happens a lot with big panoramic viewpoints too, for what it’s worth.) Why is that? Well, here’s a couple possibilities. First, when you’re living through a sunset, the sunset is all around you. The entire sky is aflame with color. Everything around you soaks in the deep orange glow. It assaults all of your senses. It’s really BIG! And, just as important, there’s DEPTH. There’s always a challenge when you try to capture a “moment” in a picture, but in inherently emotional times like these, it can be particularly difficult. Pictures are small. Pictures are flat. Pictures aren’t a whole-body experience. So a scene that can be powerful in its simplicity can be.. kind of boring in a 4×6 print.
So, what does that mean? Well, it means that to get a cool sunset picture, you may have to spice it up a bit. How? Well, there’s a lot of different ways. One is to just add some depth. Put something in the foreground, that’s a neat trick that almost always works in just about any situation. If the viewer can see depth, it’s easier for them to put themselves in the scene. Another option? Add extra drama. Having a ton of color can sometimes work, but even better is to have contrasting colors. Clouds can be great for this, since they turn all sorts of crazy shades just before the sun goes down. (Clouds can be great for adding depth too.) Essentially, sunset pictures seem to work better for me if there’s something going on in there other than just the sunset. Although, to be fair, that’s not always possible. If you’re looking at a sunset over the water, and there’s no clouds, and there’s no boats, all you’ve got to work with is an orange ball and a horizon.. well.. I guess you’ve just got to work with whatever’s there. (Then again, it could be argued that half of what goes into making the perfect image is just dumb luck, being there at the right time to capture something cool. You win some, you lose some.)
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens. 1/800s, f/4.5, ISO 200. Focal length: 26mm.
Popularity: 21%
April 27, 2010 – Bee and Lavender
Posted by Dave in Animals, Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1543
As promised, here’s a picture taken using my new macro tools that came in on Friday and Saturday. (To refresh your memory, I got a set of macro extension tubes, and a cheap macro flash.) I spent a little bit of time playing around with them over the weekend, and so far I’m pretty happy with the results. I’ve been using the setup almost exclusively with my 50mm prime lens so far, and it’s been working out fine.
It doesn’t seem like you can get in as close with this particular setup as you can with the reverse mounted lens, although that was sort of expected. (Although I wasn’t sure how dramatic of a difference it would be.) This picture was taken using 2 of the 3 tubes, so I could have added the third to get in closer, but it’s pretty unwieldy as-is with the flash attachment and everything on there, so getting close enough to the subject would be pretty challenging. (The tip of my lens was about an inch away from the bee as it was.) I need to try it out on different lenses though, to see how it reacts with each. (The longer your lens – not focal length, actual length – the less dramatic the effect. Makes sense, really, since if you’re 3 inches out from your sensor to start with, adding another 3 inches means you’re doubling it. If you start 12 inches out, adding 3 more is less than 30% of an increase..)
The flash is pretty awesome though. It of course takes a little bit of time to refresh, so my old strategy of just taking oodles and oodles of frames as I slowly swayed back and forth (to try to ensure that I got at least one in focus) needed to be adjusted somewhat. But, the benefit of being able to use a super-tiny aperture (f/18, even at ISO 100!) outweighed that. After shooting with the reverse-mount for awhile, having the extra depth of field is reeeeeally nice, and it has the added benefit of covering your butt if your focal point is a tiny bit off. It’s definitely a little bit unwieldy, especially when you mount it on a short lens. Having a longer lens (like a 100mm macro) that allows you a greater distance to your subject would be really handy for getting into corners and stuff. But, if you’re on a budget like me, this setup seems to be working out great so far. I’m sure this won’t be the last you’ll see of it.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, with Opteka macro extension tubes. 1/160s, f/18.0, ISO 100. Phoenix macro ring flash.
Popularity: 20%
April 26, 2010 – Craters of the Moon
Posted by Dave in Picture of the Day on April 26, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1485
HEY! Guess what!!!! Oh, you already knew this was the 200th post? Oh. Well. Umm. This is awkward.
I made it to 200!! I never thought I’d make it past 50, much less up to 200. Also, I thought at this point I’d be totally scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for pictures each day. But, in a rare moment of something other than modesty, I’m going to point out that I’m NOT. I’ve got A WHOLE LOT of mediocre pictures left to post! Don’t be surprised when I’m celebrating my 300th post, is all I’m sayin’. I’ve been doing this for almost a whole year now (sshhhh, don’t tell anyone, but the one year anniversary of my first post is coming up real quick here too.) Feel free to congratulate me if you feel it’s necessary. I mean, it totally is… The ball’s in your court, that’s all I’m sayin’. That, and that you shouldn’t be surprised when I’m celebrating my 300th post. That is all I am saying. That, and all this other stuff that I’m saying.
This picture was taken in Craters of the Moon National Monument, which is in southern Idaho. It’s called that I think because of the expansive lava fields that you can’t see any of in this picture. Something relating to that, anyway. I was driving through shortly before sunset, so I didn’t get much time to explore. But, it was pretty, so it’s on my list of places to go back to when I’ve got more time. This picture is interesting for another reason too. As I was driving through, I obviously stopped several times to take what pictures I could in the failing light. But I also snapped a fair number of pictures with the point and shoot while I was driving past. A “hey, that looks pretty, I should grab a picture so I remember what it looked like” kind of thing. Most of them are good for just that – reminding me what places looked like. But they’re driving pictures. They’re blurry, they’re tilted, they often miss the thing I was trying to take a picture of. But, occasionally (very rarely, but not never) there’s actually something cool in some of them. This is one of those times. Originally I had passed over all of these pics as generally worthless. But way after the fact, I decided on a whim to look a little closer, and lo and behold, I found something worth keeping. Awesome.
Okay, that’s it for today. Don’t forget to become a fan of or “Like” (whatever they’re calling it these days) my Facebook page if you haven’t already. Big numbers there make me feel awesome, and feeling awesome makes me feel good. Hope you all stick around for the next 200!
Notes: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS (Point and shoot). 1/160s, f/2.8, ISO 80.
Popularity: 7%
April 23, 2010 – Dandelion
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day on April 23, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1534
Oh, sure, today’s post is all significant because it’s the last one this week and everything. But just wait till Monday’s post. That’ll be big doin’s. Awwwww man, Monday’s a big deal. And yes, I’m being intentionally vague. Right, anyway…
In the last couple weeks, I looked outside and noticed that things had started blooming. Springtime once again. So, I decided to pick up where I had left off last summer with my macro toys. To give a quick refresher, I started out with a standard telephoto “macro” lens (quotation marks because it’s only 1:2 magnification, not even 1:1 like a “true” macro lens). Then I started doing stuff like buying little “macro kits” (little magnifying lenses that you attach to the front of your regular lens), and I ended up buying a reverse-mount adaptor near the end of the summer. I’ve talked about it many times before, but it’s a little metal ring that you screw on to the front of your lens like a filter, and it allows you to connect your lens backwards to the camera body. This gets you ridiculous macro, all for the exorbitant price of 12 dollars. (Although you lose nice things like autofocus and aperture control, since the electrical bits of your lens are no longer attached. – you can mitigate that a little bit by not using your fast glass – I’ve been using my kit lens – but it takes what is already a frightfully small depth of field and shrinks it further.)
Oh, before I move on, I should explain something. Magnification ratio. That’s a fairly important concept when it comes to macro. The magnification ratio is the ratio between how big something is in real life vs how big the projection of it is against your camera sensor (or <retch> film). So, an object that is 35mm across, when using a 1:1 magnification lens, will be projected life-size on your sensor, and if you’re using a 35mm camera or a full-frame sensor digital, it will take up the whole frame. (And then, when you print the picture or view it on your computer, it’ll be effing HUGE.) With most digital cameras (mine included), the sensor is actually smaller than the full 35mm, so in the case of the 35mm object, at 1:1 magnification it would be *larger* than the frame. So, a 1:2 magnification ratio means that the projection on your sensor will be half-life-size. Most standard telephoto zoom lenses have a 1:2 or 1:4 magnification ratio, for your reference. True “macro” lenses usually achive 1:1, and Canon makes this one crazy 65mm macro-specific lens that STARTS at 1:1, and goes all the way up to 5:1. 5 to 1. Think about that. The thing you’re taking a picture of will be FIVE TIMES BIGGER than life size on your itty-bitty sensor. That means that a fly’s eyeball will take up your entire sensor. Now imagine that you’re looking at a picture of a fly’s eyeball blown up to poster-size. Yeah, crazy, right?? That’s where I want to get someday. But that lens costs 1000 bucks, so someday is not today.
ANYWAY… all that talk about magnification ratio, and I actually have no clue what kind of ratio I have on this picture. I’m going to guess somewhere between 1:2 and 1:1. But using the reverse mount, I’m pretty sure I can fairly easily get past that magic 1:1 mark. When you’re using the reverse mount, the usual rule of “larger focal length means more zoomed in” is no longer true. If you’re using an 18-55 lens (like I was), the 18 end is the super close in end (which is actually too close in to really be usable) and the 55 end is more of a normal ridiculous macro. This shot was right out at the 55 and, and you can tell it’s still pretty neat. You’re looking at a dandelion, if that wasn’t obvious.
Why all this talk about macro stuff? Because I bought more macro stuff. Some of it should be getting here today! The rest, hopefully tomorrow, maybe Monday. What’d I get? Well, two things..
First, I got a set of macro extension tubes. Amazon link. You use them by attaching them between your lens and your camera. This moves the optical elements of your lens further away from the sensor, which essentially zooms you in. (Although it also makes it so you can focus closer in, at the expense of being able to focus to infinity.) Basically, it gets you wicked close. How close? Not sure. I’ll let you know after I play around with it. Although, I do know that it has a much more dramatic effect on shorter lenses. As in, if you attach your super-long telephoto lens with them, it won’t change that dramatically, but if you hook up your little tiny 50mm prime, you’ll rock your world so hard they’ll feel it in Australia. Or so I’ve heard. We’ll see. There’s no optics in the rings, they’re just hollow rings. But they DO pass through the electrical connections, so you can USE YOUR APERTURE! WOOOOO! We’ll see how this goes.
The other thing I got is a macro ring flash. Amazon link. This is basically a ring flash that you mount on the front of your lens. It, you know, shines light on stuff. In this case, stuff that’s right in front of your lens. One of the side effects of taking pictures of little tiny things is that you’re dealing with dramatically smaller quantities of light than, say, typical landscape photography. So you have to deal with things like high ISO and low shutter speed. Hopefully, this flash will help out. I started out with a cheapie-cheap one, so I can play around with it and see how well it works. the “real” ones cost much more, like 500 or 800 dollars. So I’m not there yet. Someday, someday. Not today.
So, hopefully next week (maybe even Monday?? Nah, already got a picture picked out for Monday) you’ll get to see some initial results! I can’t wait! Have a great weekend!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, reverse-mounted 18-55mm kit lens. 1/500s, ISO 800. Aperture unknown. Focal length was somewhere around 55mm, but reverse-mounted.
Popularity: 18%
April 22, 2010 – Iguana
Posted by Dave in Animals, Picture of the Day on April 22, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1215
Another day when I don’t have time to do a “real” post, so instead I’m just tossing up a picture so you know I didn’t forget about you. It’s an iguana! From the zoo across the street! From the much-maligned Tamron 28-300 VC lens! This is a (rare) case where I’m not sure I could have gotten this shot without it, since this was a 1/40s handheld exposure. The image stabilization actually worked out for me this time, sweet.
I was HOPING I’d have a chance today to talk about the two newest toys I ordered for my camera earlier this week, but no. They’re both for macro stuff, so hopefully not only will you get a chance to read about them someday, you’ll also get to see the results of them somewhat soon. We’ll see. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll be able to talk about them? At least one of them should be getting here tomorrow, so that’ll be cool. Okay, that’s all the time I’ve got for today..
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel XT, Tamron 28-300mm VC lens. 1/40s, f/6.3, ISO 200. Focal length: 300mm.
Popularity: 12%
April 21, 2010 – Pretty Blue Flowers
Posted by Dave in Flowers, Macro, Picture of the Day, Washington State on April 21, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=946
No time to write up a post today, but here’s some pretty blue flowers to look at!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel XT, Tamron 28-300mm VC lens. 1/125s, f/9.0, ISO 400. Focal length: 260mm.
Popularity: 32%
April 20, 2010 – Cocktails?
Posted by Dave in Picture of the Day, Washington State on April 20, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1070
Anyone?? Yeah, it’s been that kind of day.
This was taken inside Pike Place Market, in lovely Seattle. For a little while, we had a “club” here at work that would take a little field trip every couple weeks, to go take pictures. We’d usually just pick a direction and walk around the office, taking shots of whatever looked interesting. This was a result of one of those trips. Now, I’ve got to admit, I struggled quite a bit with it. I’m not used to taking pictures of “city stuff”, so it took awhile to find things that inspired me. And I never really got many shots that I really considered keepers (certainly nothing as cool as the other folks got). This is the first one I’ve ever posted from those little adventures, and it may be awhile before you see another one. (And this one I’m just posting because it’s, umm, topical.)
All that being said though, it’s a cool thing to make yourself do. Go out into a situation where you normally wouldn’t expect to find anything interesting to take pictures of, and force yourself to look at it in a way that you wouldn’t normally. You never know, it could push your boundaries a little bit, maybe spur some creativity next time you’re out in what you consider your usual element. And, hey, maybe you’ll even get something cool out of it! Or, maybe it’ll just be an excuse to go get some fresh air or check out a spot you’ve never seen before. All good things. So, cocktails?
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Tamron 28-300 mm lens. 1/160s, f/3.5, ISO 200. Focal length: 28mm.
Popularity: 11%
April 19, 2010 – Upper Silver Lake
Posted by Dave in Picture of the Day, Washington State on April 19, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=562
So, reflections are kind of fun. If you’ve got a piece of still water handy nearby, you can usually make just about any picture a little bit more interesting by reflecting something in it. Now, it doesn’t always make things more interesting an interesting way, if that makes any sense, but it never hurts to try. Long-time readers of the Picture of the Day may realize that I’ve posted shots in the past of just about this same spot, where I feel like I made better use of the reflection. But this one is still kind of nice I think.
This was taken at Upper Silver Lake, in the Buckhorn Wilderness. That’s on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State if you don’t have a map handy. There’s a national park on the peninsula, Olympic National Park, that encompasses a lot of the mountains and a decent-sized chunk of the coastline, but this wasn’t inside the boundary. There’s a couple ways in to the lake, one of which follows the Mt. Townsend trail almost all the way up. That’s the way we got there. The other trail is I think a little bit easier (in that there’s less up, then down, then up), but I wasn’t in charge of picking the trail, so what do I know. This was taken a little while after sunrise, when the surrounding peaks were nicely lit up, but the sun hadn’t made its way down to the lake yet.
Anybody have any requests for the rest of the week?
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel XT, 18-55mm kit lens. 1/125s, f/4.0, ISO 400. Focal length: 28mm.
Popularity: 18%
April 16, 2010 – Skagit Valley Tulip Festival (again)
Posted by Dave in Flowers, Picture of the Day, Washington State on April 16, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=1468
Normally I wouldn’t do it, but I decided this time around that it’s okay to post two pictures of basically the same thing (the tulip festival) in one week. I’m counting the number of times that I’ve almost changed my mind about doing this, and I’m already up to 3. But no, I’m going to stick to my guns. Because if I toss this one out, that means I have to go back to the pool to pick another one. Now I’m at 4.
I wanted to put another one here because I know a lot of people are thinking about heading up this weekend, and I want those people to be psyched. Personally, I’ll be skiing this weekend, so yesterday’s picture was for me. But this one is for you, dear tulip-loving reader. Although, I probably should have picked a picture containing different colored tulips than Monday’s picture (5). Oh well, too late now. Here’s hoping that you don’t have to fight too much traffic, and that the flowers are still blooming!
I have a whole set of pictures based on this same theme – that being showing two contrasting seas of color against each other. One thing I was trying to get, which I was only marginally successful at, was to have the focal point be right there at the dividing line. That wasn’t really a goal of this particular picture, but in general it was. (If you get it close but not right on, then it just looks wrong. But if put the focal point well away from the border, then it’s clear that you’re not trying to emphasize the actual dividing line, that instead you’re just trying to show how ridiculously endless the flowers are were. At least, that’s what I’m telling myself, and since this is a one-sided conversation, I win.)
Have fun up there! Hope the weather doesn’t suck! (I’ll admit, I have an ulterior motive on that one – I hate skiing in the rain.)
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Quantaray 70-300 mm lens. 1/800s, f/7.1, ISO 100. Focal length: 300mm.
Popularity: 16%
April 15, 2010 – Silver Queen Mountain
Posted by Dave in Picture of the Day, Washington State, Winter/Snow on April 15, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
http://www.davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=713
Hey everyone, happy tax day! Well, it’s happy for those of us that already finished, which at this point should be all of us, right? I actually only finished a couple days ago. I like to wait until the last minute, just in case, you know, something changes. I still hold out hope that one year, on April 10, they’ll just decide “You know what, guys? This tax thing is all a bit ridiculous, let’s just bag it this year, eh?” One day, one day…
Today’s picture comes from Crystal Mountain Ski Resort, just like the majority of my wintertime pictures. This was taken at the top of Silver Queen Mountain, which is at the top of the High Campbell chair. I believe it’s the highest lift-served point in the ski area, although I haven’t verified that against the Northway lift. You can of course hike up to the top of Silver King and still technically be in-bounds, but this is as high as you can get at Crystal on a lift. Today’s picture is also interesting because it’s the second picture in a row that I’ve posted that was taken with a point and shoot. I’m not really sure WHY that’s interesting, but it feels like it is.
Notes: Canon PowerShot SD700 IS. 1/1600s, f/5.6.
So now I’m done talking about today’s picture. Wait, what’s that? You want more? Well, today, I can hook you up. I’m starting to work on a new page detailing out the equipment that I currently use, as well as the equipment I’ve used in the past. I’m even adding links for each item to a list of Picture of the Day posts USING that item. Pretty sweet, huh? Yeah, totally. Here’s a link to the page, or you can click on “My Equipment” on the tabs up above. Currently it’s just got the stuff I’m using now, but I hope to one day have an exhaustive list on there, including all the lenses that I’ve ever used, and a list of all of the little point and shoot cameras that I ever remember owning. That’ll be pretty neat. Pretty neat indeed.
Popularity: 17%


