Posts Tagged Canon 55-250
July 26, 2011 – Sunset Surfing in Turtle Bay
Posted by Dave in Picture of the Day, Tropical/Beaches on July 26, 2011
Sunset Surfing in Turtle Bay, Oahu
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
So I went backpacking this weekend. And I took a few pictures. I’m hoping to get at least one of those up here at some point this week. Also, I’ve got more pictures from Point Reyes. Maybe you’ll see one of those too. But in the meantime, here’s another shot of some dude surfing at sunset. This was in Turtle Bay, at the northern tip of Oahu, in Hawaii.
Have a great rest of the day, and try to stay cool out there, unless you’re in the southern hemisphere or Seattle, in which case, grab a coat.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens. 1/250s, f/8.0, ISO 400. Focal length: 235mm.
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July 15, 2011 – Dawn in Central Washington
Posted by Dave in Picture of the Day, Washington State on July 15, 2011
Pre-dawn haze, central Washington
Friday, July 15, 2011
Today’s picture goes back to that big long drive I took a little while ago in search of northern lights. As you may remember, I never did find any, but I still had a nice drive. And I took a couple reasonable interesting pictures. Such as this one. I found this shot while driving through some ranch lands in sort of the central part of Washington state, somewhat close (45 mins away?) to the Grand Coulee Dam. Nice views, stuff that you normally don’t see, especially if you’re the kind of person that a) lives in the city and b) rarely gets up before 9am. So, it was a nice experience for me.
I think I mentioned this before, but I was pretty shocked at how early I started seeing the sky light up. In fact, when I finally got out of the canyon I was using to cut northeast on my drive, and I saw just a little bit of glow on the horizon, I briefly mistook it for the northern lights I was looking for. At the time, it was just past 3 am. This picture in particular was I believe taken just after 4 am. I mean, sure, I’m pretty far north, and we get a lot of daylight around this time of year. But still, 4 am?! Wacky. Anyway, there it is.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens. 1/2s, f/8.0, ISO 100. Focal length: 131mm.
Popularity: 21%
July 13, 2011 – Point Reyes National Seashore
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Picture of the Day on July 13, 2011
Point Reyes National Seashore
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Hey everyone! Last week I mentioned that I wouldn’t be posting anything on Monday. Apparently I used that as an excuse to also not post anything on Tuesday. But, now that it’s Wednesday, let’s get back to it.
I had to fly down to San Francisco for work on Monday, so I took the opportunity to fly out early Sunday morning and rent a car for the day. I didn’t really have a specific plan of where to go, but I figured I’d shoot for the coast north of the city. Thus, I ended up spending most of my day farting around Point Reyes National Seashore. That’s a reasonably interesting place, if you’re in the area and have some time to kill. There are some nice beaches (nice as in pretty, not nice as in let’s-lay-out-a-towel-and-get-some-sun), some interesting geography, and some wicked nasty wind. But, that makes for some big waves, which are also pretty cool.
I realize that it’s somewhat ironic that a picture captioned “Point Reyes National Seashore” would not contain a beach, or a shoreline, or anything even water related. But that’s where we are. Point Reyes is a triangular wedge of land that juts out from the mainland, and it contains, among other things, a bunch of historic ranches that are still operational. This one was along the main road in the park, after I had pulled away from the water a bit.
It’s interesting to note that I made *very* minimal adjustments to the image. Meaning, I tweaked the brightness slightly, and added a touch of sharpening, but other than that, this is what came off the camera. As in, I didn’t tweak the colors at all. Often these days you see pics from Instragram and other apps like it where people make it look all yellow-y and old-time looking, but none of that funny business happened here. It actually did look like this, it was pretty incredible. All of the wind meant that the air was thick with haze and mist from crashing waves, so the entire sky to the west was glowing. Cool stuff. Oh, I just remembered that my statement before about how I adjusted the image wasn’t quite true – there was a spot of lens flare that I removed with Picasa. So, I’m basically saying that I totally cheated. But I’m okay with that.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens. 1/160s, f/13.0, ISO 100. Focal length: 74mm.
Popularity: 16%
July 6, 2011 – Hawaiian Fire Dancer
Posted by Dave in Picture of the Day, Tropical/Beaches on July 6, 2011
Hawaiian Fire Dancer
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Hey look, it’s the same picture that everyone who has ever been to Hawaii has already taken! That’s right folks, I was a tourist just like everyone else while I was there, and I went to a luau at some hotel, and I took long-exposure pictures of the guys doing the fire dancing. I wish I was original, but I so totally am not.
In other news, I decided today to stop posting links to Rate Dave’s Photos. Because it’s dumb, and ugly, and I wouldn’t want anybody to go there anyway. I don’t even have a good reason for why I was putting those links there this whole time. So, I stopped. You probably don’t even know what I’m talking about, which is good, because it’s dumb. Right, good, let’s get on with the rest of our day.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens. 1/10s, f/5.6, ISO 400. Focal length: 200mm.
Popularity: 13%
June 30, 2011 – Mt. Rainier from Crystal Mountain
Posted by Dave in Mountains, Picture of the Day, Washington State, Winter/Snow on June 30, 2011
Mt. Rainier from Crystal Mountain
Thursday, June 30, 2011
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=2542
Hey again everybody. I apologize that the last two mountain-y pictures I’ve posted have both been wintertime shots. That wasn’t really the intention, it’s just kind of the way things worked out. But, I figured this one was appropriate because I just used it (earlier today!) to enter some cheeseball photo contest that Crystal Mountain (the ski resort) is having. Normally I make it a policy not to enter photo contests. Officially, my reasoning is that photos themselves (and the “quality” thereof) is entirely subjective, and thus the judging of photos to choose the “best one” is completely absurd. That there can be no such thing as a “best” photo, and so to pretend that you are judging photos as such is kind of insulting. Unofficially though, the real reason is because I know I wouldn’t win, and then I know that would make me feel bad. I generally prefer to not feel bad, so I save myself the trouble and I don’t enter, convincing myself that the *real* reason I didn’t enter was the one stated above.
So.. why did I enter this one, then? Not really sure, I guess I was just in a photo contest entering mood. And that’s a total lie. The reason I entered this one is because they were showing some of the other photos that had been entered so far, and they all basically sucked. I mean, like, photos-taken-with-cell-phones sucked. So I basically qualified my reasoning from above, by adding the clause “once the photos meet a certain, fairly low quality bar”. As in, “Once the photos meet a certain, fairly low quality bar, there can be no such thing as a ‘best’ photo”. I still don’t think I’ll win, because I figure the chances are pretty low that mine will be the only “real” (ie non cell-phone) photo entered, and it’ll probably be fairly arbitrary which one is picked as the winner (meaning, “somebody else will enter a picture that’s actually really effing cool”), but hey, we’ll see what happens. The rules were somewhat strict, in that it had to be a picture of Mt. Rainier taken from somewhere on Crystal mountain. But, since you can basically only see Rainier from the ridgeline at the top of the resort, most of the photos entered looked… basically the same. This one’s just a little bit different from the standard view (an example of which can be seen here, which was almost the one I submitted), so I’m hoping that counts for something. I had some *really* different shots, zooming way in so you could just see some of the trees you can see in this shot against the glacier in the background, but it wasn’t readily identifiable as Mt. Rainier, so I figured that might be a bit of a stretch. So, I settled on this one, and then moved on with my life. Which is also a lie, because clearly I’ve been talking about this stupid little photo contest for two paragraphs here on my entirely unrelated blog, so obviously it’s been on my mind most of the day, which is absurd. But, there it is.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens. 1/200s, f/14, ISO 100. Focal length: 65mm.
Popularity: 27%
May 13, 2011 – Sunset Surfing, Oahu
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Picture of the Day, Tropical/Beaches on May 13, 2011
Surfing the North Shore at Sunset
Friday, May 13, 2011
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=2481
In honor of it being the end of the work week, I’m going to take you all back to Hawaii. I’m not a surfer, but this picture (and a couple others that I got that I may post soon) makes me seriously consider taking it up. I mean, holy crap, what a moment. This was taken on the north shore of Oahu, just like the last couple Hawaii shots I’ve posted, so nothing groundbreaking there. Not a bad place though, not a bad place…
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens. 1/200s, f/8.0, ISO 100. Focal length: 250mm.
Popularity: 14%
April 29, 2011 – Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
Posted by Dave in Flowers, Picture of the Day, Washington State on April 29, 2011
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
Friday, April 29, 2011
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=2465
So, today’s post wraps up the month of April. Another month, come and gone. Man, I should have something poignant to say about that.
This is (I think, although I haven’t verified) the last weekend of this year’s Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. they bloomed late this year, so I’m sure it’ll be fantastic up there. (And, the tulips will probably last past this weekend, but I don’t know what the deal is after the festival officially ends.) I was up there earlier this month, right after they started blooming. As you can see, a lot of them hadn’t opened up all the way yet (and there were a lot of steps that were still totally green.) So, I think I’d recommend heading up there later in the bloom cycle (like, say, *now*) as opposed to hitting it at the beginning. But, take what you can get I guess. The weather’s looking good this weekend though, so if you haven’t made it out there yet, just freakin’ go!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens. 1/500s, f/7.1, ISO 200. Focal length: 250mm.
Popularity: 17%
April 28, 2011 – North Shore Sunset
Posted by Dave in Picture of the Day, Tropical/Beaches on April 28, 2011
Sunset, North Shore, Oahu, Hawaii
Thursday, April 28, 2011
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=2422
Hey everyone. This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but by the time I got around to it, the day was over. So it got pushed back today. This is another picture from my recent trip to Hawaii. I took this from the Turtle Bay Resort, where we were staying. Turtle Bay is on the north shore of Oahu. I hadn’t realized it before we headed out there, but that’s the famous “North Shore” that gets all the huge waves that are legendary among surfers. We saw some decent-size waves, but the REALLY big ones never made an appearance while we were there. What waves we did see though tended to roll in right around sunset, so we had the opportunity to watch some folks surf while sitting at the hotel bar each night. Good times. The landscape around the hotel worked out pretty well, because it sits on a spit of land, so you’d get to watch these waves roll right on by as they were breaking (as opposed to sitting on the beach and watching them break way out to sea.) Thus, I was able to get this picture. It was (obviously) getting dark, so I had to crank up the ISO and underexpose the shot in order to get a reasonable shutter speed, so the colors aren’t as vivid as they would be otherwise. But whatever.
Anyway, enjoy the rest of your day, and I’ll try to get another one posted tomorrow, I promise.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-25-mm IS lens. 1/400s, f/8.0, ISO 400. Focal length: 400.
Popularity: 14%
April 18, 2011 – Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
Posted by Dave in Flowers, Picture of the Day, Washington State on April 18, 2011
2011 Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
Monday, April 18, 2011
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=2459
Hey everyone! It’s tulip time here in the northwest, so in a rare break from my usual behavior, I’m actually going to post a picture here to the blog that was actually taken in the last 24 hours. Crazy, right? Totally.
So, as you’ve probably guessed by the title of the post, this was taken at the 2011 Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. I can’t tell you exactly where I was at the time, because I was just walking around some random field of tulips that was off the side of the road. But it’s tough to go wrong once you get up there – just find some flowers and go look at them.
Sadly, this was about the only good picture I got this year. I’m not sure why, but I have a few theories. First, I just wasn’t really in that much of a picture-taking mood this year. So, I snapped a few, but my heart just wasn’t in it. Then of course there was the problem of this freaking annoying cloud that was just hovering right there between me and the sun for most of the time I was there. It wasn’t blowing by like most clouds should, it kept billowing around and reforming right where it was the most inconvenient. So about two thirds of the time I was there the light stunk. Probably the biggest problem was that I didn’t really think through ahead of time what kinds of shots I would want to try to get. I did that last year, and correspondingly I got a lot of shots I was happy with. This year, I of course fell back on some of the same ideas I used last year, but since I already got them last year, I didn’t really try at all this year, and thus the ones I did get were junk. So, umm, whoops.
I still totally recommend that you go check it out yourself – especially if you’re a photographer. As I’ve mentioned in the past, there are TONS of great themes you can play around with. But, it’s definitely worth the time to do some planning. I realize that may be tough if you’ve never been there before and don’t know how things are laid out, but it’s still worth doing. Just sort of make a mental checklist of things you want to play around with, different ways of putting all the elements together. Some of the primary themes are of course the expansive fields of color, all made up by mostly-repeating (but all subtly different) patterns and flower-shapes, the orderly rows of flower beds, the contrasts between plots of different types of tulips, and of course the external elements (like barns, mountains, trees, and clouds). But beyond that, there’s lots of things you can do, lots of different lines and colors and elements to work with. It’s can be a great time.
Unless you’re lazy, like I was this year. Then it’s just meh. But, do go check it out. And plan on traffic being a bit annoying. And plan on paying 5 bucks to park each time you stop. Plan on hitting a few different fields, to get different combinations of colors. And, definitely plan on seeing plenty of people, and having to be creative to keep them out of your pictures. If you go into the experience planning for those things, you’ll have a much better time when you’re there. (Oh, and head north to Highway 20 on the way out, otherwise you’ll be hating your life.)
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens. 1/2000s, f/5.6, ISO 200. Focal length: 194mm.
Popularity: 17%
April 13, 2011 – Mt. Baker Ski Area
Posted by Dave in Mountains, Picture of the Day, Washington State, Winter/Snow on April 13, 2011
Mt. Baker Ski Area
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
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Turns out it’s still ski season here in Washington, which is awesome. Although no, this picture isn’t THAT recent, it’s from earlier this year, end of January I think. Remember how I said that I headed up to Mt. Baker that one particular day to take advantage of the sunshine? It’s still true! And this is from then!
The terrain you’re looking at (which is part of the Mt. Shuksan massif) is all out of bounds, probably inside the National Park boundary (and I’ve mentioned all this before.) Nice little slide right there on that little hummock. It’s not clear if those people you see in the picture caused it or not. I have an earlier picture two of them are standing on the top of the ridge above it, and the third guy is well below it on the next hummock down. By analyzing the ski trails, it looks like there’s a decent chance that he did start it. But, all three of them look pretty relaxed, which is definitely *not* how I’d look if either me or my buddy just narrowly avoided being buried in a slide that I/he/she had triggered way in the backcountry. So, I’m going to just say it’s “unclear” and leave it at that.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens. 1/500s, f/10.0, ISO 100. Focal length: 250mm.
Popularity: 25%
April 6, 2011 – Hawaiian Fire Dancer
Posted by Dave in Picture of the Day, Tropical/Beaches on April 6, 2011
Hawaiian Fire Dancer
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=2428
Hey everyone! As promised (and requested by one reader in particular), here’s another shot from Hawaii (although probably not quite what any of you had in mind.) This is of course a member of the standard set of pictures that just about any tourist in Hawaii will come home with – a slow-shutter shot of one of the fire dancers at the luau. One of the cool (and, to me, really surprising) parts of this shot is that the dancer is only TEN YEARS OLD! According to the announcer, that kid had recently won the world championship in the children’s division for fire dancing, and I’ve got to admit, he was pretty dang good at it. Quite a show. I’m trying to think of something else I can say about it, but nothing’s coming to mind. So, I guess I’ll call that good then!
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens. 1/10s, f/5.0, ISO 400. Focal length: 146mm.
Popularity: 12%
March 4, 2011 – Mt. Baker Ski Area
Posted by Dave in - Best of Dave's POTD -, Mountains, Picture of the Day, Washington State, Winter/Snow on March 4, 2011
Mt. Baker Ski Area
Friday, March 4, 2011
http://davefry.net/rate/index.php?viewimage=2396
Hey, guess what!! I posted a picture today! I know, I know, I’m awesome.
This is another view from Mt. Baker Ski Area, in northwestern Washington state. I specifically chose the words “view from Mt. Baker” as opposed to “this is Mt. Baker Ski Area”, becasue the area you’re looking at here is strictly out of bounds. The ridge in the foreground is in a designated wilderness area, and I think the peak in the background (it’s actually just a little pointy part on the ridge that leads up to the actual summit of Mt. Shuksan) is inside the bounds of North Cascades National Park. So while technically possible to ski it, it would take quite a hike to get there, through some really gnarly (and extremely avalanche-prone) terrain. Maybe that’s your cup of tea, but it sure ain’t mine. But, I was totally standing inside the bounds of the ski area when I took it, so it totally counts.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll stand by it (and then I’ll caveat the crap out of it): Mt. Baker has the most jaw-droppingly incredible scenery of any ski resort anywhere, hands-down. Okay, now, hands back up, because here come the caveats. A lot of the time (most of the time?) you can’t even see the scenery, because, duh, the ski area that holds the world record for snowfall tends to have crappy weather. Bluebird days are almost non-existent, and often you can count the total number from an entire season on one hand. Sometimes on one finger. That’s not an exaggeration. It’s a haul from Seattle (3.5 hours), so the only reason we even went up there on the day I took this picture is because we knew it would be sunny with some reasonably fresh snow. Next, I can only really fairly compare the scenery here to other places I’ve actually been. Which limits it pretty severely. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been to some places that are decent competitors (Vail, Whistler, Whitefish, heck, even Snoqualmie), but I still think Baker wins out. I have *not* been to anywhere outside North America, at least not in the winter. And, I’ve only actually been to one European ski resort at all (Zermatt), so the odds are good that those may actually be better. And, finally, the last caveat to that statemen…
Wait, who the eff cares which one is truly “best” in the scenery department? That doesn’t even make sense. Views, just like photos, aren’t something that can be compared, judged, and stack-ranked. It just doesn’t make sense. Beauty, and the related quality of views or pictures can’t be quantified, and thus can’t be labelled “winner” and “loser”. It’s like asking “Which is greater? The number 532, or a chair?”
So, sit down, stop asking questions, and look at the pretty picture! And, optionally, go to Mt. Baker Ski Area, because, seriously, the views are incredible.
Notes: Canon EOS Rebel T1i, Canon 55-250mm IS lens. 1/160s, f/16.0, ISO 100. Focal length: 250mm.
Popularity: 29%