Don Vetter's Photo Website and Blog

Trippin

2010-05-30T16:05:07Z

The Baltimore Camera Club took a trip to NYC visiting the Museum of Modern Art to see a collection of work by Henri Cartier-Bresson. Seeing work by this legendary photographer was inspiring to say the least. Trips like this give camera club members a great opportunity to talk photography sharing ideas and techniques. It's not likely I would have taken my camera out of the bag on the return trip home if it wasn't for Karen Messick taking out hers and snapping away in the moving bus this night. I decided it was best to join in the fun. I put my Canon G10 in manual mode and took exposures thru the front window of the bus varying the length of the shutter speed. The photos I chose to put in the gallery I hope capture a bit of essence of the road on this dark and rainy night. The view from the front seat of the bus was "Trippin"

Beach Cliff Sardines

2010-05-12T02:28:25Z

Last fall I spent a week in Acadia National Park. I've been to Acadia many times before and was looking for new places to explore. My "search" lead me to Acadia's Schoodic Peninsula. The Schoodic Peninsula is fantastic, and the communities outside the park are classic ME. Beach Cliff Sardines was taken in one of these communities, Prospect Harbor. At the time it was taken I was unaware of the story this sign, this piece of Americana had to tell. Fellow Baltimore Camera Club member Kathleen Hill pointed me to an article telling of a sardine canning factories closing. The last factory in the US to can sardines, Beach Cliff Sardines in fact.

Forest

2010-04-27T01:23:45Z

I have been aware of the photographic technique of panning the camera while using a shutter speed long enough to blur the image for several years. I have seen it used to create beautiful images by Karen Mesick and Tony Sweet but until last week never made a serious attempt to do it myself. I really like the result achieved in Forest 1. The fresh greens of the spring forest with the tree trunks receding into the distance. I'm not sure how many people would recognize what this is an image of without an explanation but feel it does unique job of representing the forest. There are several other "Swipes" in "Smokies 2010" gallery but this is my favorite.

Cascade

2010-04-25T04:40:02Z

The Smokies are full amazing streams and rivers, their water flowing down picturesque cascades and waterfalls. Most any road you drive down will have water flowing beside it. The beauty of these bodies of water can be captured in many different ways. The grand view, fluid motion, abstract details ... ... ...

"Cascade" uses a shutter speed long enough to capture the waters motion, and short enough to show a distinct texture. When photographing water it's important to be aware of the shutter speed you are using and the effect it will have in the image you capture. I make a judgment as to what the shutter speed should be by taking a shot at about 1 sec, looking at the result on my digital cameras LCD, then adjusting the ISO and aperture increasing or reducing the shutter speed to achieve the effect I'm looking for. Awareness of the shutter speed is not the only important aspect of this "Cascade". I spent a good bit of time "working the scene" to find a composition conveyed a serenity and relaxation. I hope "Cascade" inspires you to go to the Smokies!

Peak

2010-04-21T02:41:35Z

The trees here in the Great Smoky Mountains are in the green of spring. When illuminated by the sun the intensity of the greens are incredible. Not one shade of green but many. Fresh red leaves are part of the palette too. This blog image attempts to capture the "Smoke" in the Smokies along with the spring color. I think it's a great combination. This shot was taken on Newfound Gap Rd. at 70mm, 1/80^th Sec., at f11

Waves of Color

2010-04-17T02:57:42Z

"Waves of Color" was created shortly after arriving at Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee today. I'm here with fellow Baltimore Camera Club Members Karen and Chuck. After the nine hour drive to get here (Chuck Drove) it felt great to get out and take some shots. Good company and great scenery should make for a great week here.

"Waves of Color" is a shot of moving water in Laurel Creek showing color from the creek and sky. It's shot at 200mm, f29 at ½ sec.

Ruffles

2010-04-11T21:42:42Z

Ruffles is a shot of a Cattleya Orchid taken using a 180mm macro lens with a 25mm extension tube and Live View. I always enjoy looking for abstract images to shoot but in general haven't had much success finding them in flowers. This is at least in part due to the fact that making a careful choice as to what to keep in focus for good composition was difficult while looking through the viewfinder using depth of field preview button. In most cases depth of field preview made the image too dim for me to judge what was in focus. Live View helps overcome this problem. Pressing the depth of field preview button while Live View is active gives a brightened image on the LCD that can be zoomed to 100% allowing a clear view of what is in and out of focus. I really look forward to continued exploration of the possibilities Live View provides.

BTW, I was turned on to using Live View by reading an article on the subject by Ian Plant.

Big Dark Cloud

2010-04-03T01:48:39Z

Big Dark Cloud was taken at the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge Nov 27th 2009. Karen, Annette, Chuck and myself went to Bombay Hook in search of Snow Geese. 2009 didn't reward us with the massive number of Snow Geese we witnessed and photographed in 2008, but we certainly had dramatic skies! I feel tremendously lucky to have Bombay Hook and the many other State and national parks within such reasonable driving distance from where I live.

Big Dark Cloud is a 4 shot panorama stitched together in Autopano Pro. In many cases the ability of the camera with the correct choice of lens and isolate and simplify the subject is the way to go. At other times though, the ability to get the grand view with a multi shot panorama is the best choice. In addition to Autopano Pro Adobe Photoshop CS3 and CS4 have excellent multi shot panorama stitching capabilities. Go ahead give it a try.

3 Doors 1 Drawer

2010-03-31T02:26:14Z

"3 Doors 1 Drawer" is another from the portfolio " Beautiful Decay". It's been processed as a color image and black and white. I can't say for sure which one I like best. Take a look, let me know what you think. I'd be grateful for anyone who would take a moment to register, sign in and make a comment.

Beautiful Decay

2010-03-21T22:03:09Z

While some may find this scene decrepit, I consider it "Beautiful Decay" . The textures and colors accentuated by the side light create an image that I like a lot. Natures forces crafted the pallet used here. Water and sun have transformed an ordinary inside scene into one with a much greater depth of texture and color.

" Beautiful Decay" is a 3 shot panorama stitched together in Autopano Pro 2.0. The camera was moved 3 times to different positions parallel to the wall. A series of 5 bracketed images was taken in each position. Moving the camera this way minimized the distortion created by the 24mm lens used. The bracketed images were used to create HDR images, expanding dynamic range allowing detail in both the shadows and highlights. As a finishing touch " Beautiful Decay" was mirrored horizontally because I thought it did a better job of leading the viewer into it.

Sick

2010-03-07T17:04:19Z

"Sick" is a an unknown story. It is disturbing rendition of a catfish found on the bank of the Susquehanna River in Susquehanna St. Park. The location is one frequented by fishermen and is likely the source of this dead and frozen catfish. It is hard to imaging though that the catch would be left behind to die, and not taken home for dinner or returned to the river to live another day. Perhaps the fish is a casualty of ice and high water or indeed was sick.

Wonderland Beach

2010-03-01T01:54:25Z

Look one direction and the scene "Wonderland Beach" presents itself and in the other "Ominous" The drama at Wonderland was what nature provided, and the drama of photographer working franticly. Often the opportunity nature provides is fleeting and working the scene quickly while the best conditions exist is intense. Opportunities like this challenge your skill as a photographer to make the most of it.

I've chosen to leave "Wonderland Beach" a color image. The pink granite and yellow-green seaweed are a rich component of the image and of the nature of Wonderland and Acadia itself.

Bad Weather Makes Good Pictures

2010-02-27T19:51:19Z

"Ominous" was taken in Wonderland, part of Acadia National Park, fall 2009. You may not be able to tell from this photo but I was there in search of fall colors. I was happy to have a bit of "bad" weather while there. Bad weather provides opportunities to make great pictures. As a photographer being prepared and willing to be out in all conditions allows you to be in that special place as the drama unfolds.

Like all my images in the last 3 years "Ominous" was taken as a color digital image. To be more specific it was a series of three bracketed exposures merged to create and HDR image. The color HDR image was converted to black and white and "developed" in Photoshop. To "develop" the image Levels and Curves Adjustment Layers are used in Photoshop to locally adjust the brightness and contrast on areas of the image. The result is my artistic interpretation of the ominous and beautiful scene at Wonderland. You may also be interested to see the color version of this image.

Adjustment Layers in Photoshop are "non-destructive" and essential to photographers who use this application. The Adobe website and many other web resources are available to teach the use of all the types of Adjustment Layers that are available. FYI, my goal is not to sell Photoshop, only to share with you a little bit of how I work.

I Love Detail

2010-02-21T17:06:34Z

If you've taken a look through my galleries you'll see that I like to make images of a broad range of subjects. One of the most common themes used in them is the use of detail. Detail by itself doesn't make an image, other compositional tools need to be used as well. In "Breaker Boxes" I have attempted to use light. color, leading lines, and location to make the image interesting.

One of the tools I constantly use to emphasize texture, detail and color is HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography. The "Breaker Boxes" image is an example. Currently Photomatix is the tool I use to create HDR images.

Here I Go!

2010-02-13T14:36:03Z

Here I go! The blog is live. You can access my photo galleries with the link at the top or the page or in the sidebar. The blog will make it easier to share new work, technical info and "what's going on". The photo "Twisting Ferns" was taken in Acadia National Park outside the Jordan Pond House July 22nd 2006. The ferns weren't deep in the woods, but next to a sidewalk with the hustle and bustle of people going by. It's been the home page image to www.dvetter.com for several years. Hope you like the new look and find it easy to get around. Let me know, sign up, sign in and make some comments.

Don