The Girls At Aldridge Gardens

The Girls At Aldridge Gardens (Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/15 second, f/4, ISO50)

Harriett wanted to take Katelyn to Aldridge Gardens to see the scarecrows and displays that had been setup for Halloween, so one Saturday we packed up the girls and went. Different people or organizations would sponsor a little exhibit with a Halloween theme. There were some very imaginative entries and all were done very nicely.

Our oldest son, Christopher, decided to join us and he and Katelyn had a great time enjoying the park.

I decided to use the flash and this time set the camera to barely underexpose the ambient light. In some of the darker areas of the park, the shutter speed got pretty low, but between the the flash and the IS lens, there wouldn't be any noticeable shake. I am still learning about the high-pass filter and trying to get it just right.

Panama City Trip

Panama City Trip (Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 10 seconds, f/16, ISO100)

We took a trip to Panama City, FL for our anniversary. We found a really good hotel and had a very relaxing weekend. While there it was so nice to just sit out on the balcony and watch all the traffic go by. I thought I would take the opportunity to play with some long exposures.

I had to play a while to get the shutter speed where I wanted, but really enjoyed the effects of the headlights as the cars moved down the highway.

I remember the humidity being so high. The temperature was high and the wind wasn't blowing a lot, so it took about 15 minutes before I could keep the lens from fogging up during the long exposure.

Katelyn at the Park

Katelyn at the Park (Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens - 1/350 second, f/16, ISO100)

On Saturdays, when nothing else is planned we usually end up at the park. I had just seen a podcast about adding space around the subject of photos and thought I would try using the wide-angle lens to get some shots with space. I decided to use the flash to get a little more fill light to the subjects.

Actually the brightness played into the shot I wanted. With the light level being so high I could use a small aperture and still get a relatively fast shutter speed. This let me keep everything in focus, foreground and background.

Alabaster R/C Club

Alabaster R/C Club (Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/2.8L lens - 1/30 second, f/16, ISO200)

Foster is a member of the Alabaster R/C Club in Alabaster, AL. On this particular Saturday, the club sponsored a "fly-in" where all the club members and some guests come to the field to show off and fly their planes. As an invited guest, it was quite a show to see all the model planes and helicopters. It was even more impressive to see the way the members could fly them - loops, rolls, dives and many various and wondrous maneuvers.

I wanted to show all the speed of the airplanes flying so I slowed my shutter speed down to give the motion blur to the background while following the airplanes with the lens. They were moving so fast, it was quite difficult to time everything right and keep it in focus. Since the background was going to blurred by the motion, I bumped closed down the aperture to increase the chances that the plane would stay in focus as it crossed in front of me.

Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens (Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/2.8L lens - 1/125 second, f/8.0, ISO200)

I found myself with a little time before having to meet my wife, so I took a little side trip over to the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. It had rained all day and it was very hot and muggy, but I found myself at the gardens as the sun was breaking through the clouds. As it ended up, I got some great shots.