St. Cloud | Daily Plog

February 26, 2010

A Friendly Sunset

Filed under: D90, HDR, Minnesota, Nature, Nature Preserve, Outdooors, People, Quarry Park, Sunset, Uncategorized — Tags: Beautiful, D90, Forest, HDR, Minnesota, Nature, Park, Quarry Park, St. Cloud, Sunset, Wilderness — Jacob Crosby @ 3:15 am

This photo was taken when my friend Steve (www.srmartinez.net) and I went out for some photography, yes, we went to quarry park again, it seems every time I visit there, I am greeted by some new perspective or view on something. Next time, I think I will use the rule of thirds a bit more prominently, and I will make sure I am closer, as I was not accounting for the effect of the wide angle lens I was using.

This one was taken while we were both still relatively warm. Steve had forgotten his gloves, so later on I let him use one of mine, so we shared gloves… Yes, sharing gloves with another man is a sacred thing, so Steve and I are pretty much blood brothers now.

Back to the photo, I really like this one, however, I used my (cheapo) wide angle lens, and sadly I discovered a severe flaw in the unit. I will give extra awesome brownie points to the first person that is able to identify the problem in the photo, and the distortion which caused it. I will give you a hint, My D90 has a setting that (either on or off) attempts to reduce this effect.

So, for everyone reading, do not buy cheap equipment with an expensive camera, it will only leave you sad, and wondering why your expensive camera is taking terrible photos, until you see the edge-bending effect of your wide angle lens and realize what the problem was, or maybe that’s just me…

I also think it is probably prudent to adjust the photo size I am posting, as much as I love the large size photos, it seems to give a feel closer to being there, since your eyes kind of scan around, much like they do naturally. It seems that many people are running lower resolution monitors, so, if you are unable to see the full image in the window without scrolling (Please make sure your browser is set to full screen view), please just leave me a note here, so I can do things to make it a better viewing experience for everyone…

Thanks!

Rating: 9.7/10 (3 votes cast)

Rating: +2 (from 2 votes)

Comments (4)

July 2, 2009

“The Artist”

Filed under: HDR, Minnesota, Nature, Nature Preserve, Outdooors, People, Quarry Park — Tags: Forest, HDR, Minnesota, Nature, Park, People, Quarry Park, St. Cloud, State, Wilderness, Woods — Jacob Crosby @ 1:04 am

“The Artist”, as titled by my friend that both took and processed the photo, Steve (http://www.srmartinez.net).

Steve and I were able to spend a little while together at Quarry Park in St. Cloud, MN and I feel that we both took some great photos that day, some of which I have already posted. This particular photo is a very rare photo I would say, though I may love taking photographs, I am not exactly fond of having my photo taken, so typically they end up being candid shots, as this one shows.

I will state that, in my defense, I do usually notice the faint clicking sound of the mechanics of the typical SLR firing away, and order the photo of me to be deleted, however, for some reason or another, Steve’s Nikon SLR and lens are the quietest combo I have ever heard, or not. Not sure if it is just a fluke that his is so quiet, as I have used them in stores, and a friend (Andrew) also has a Nikon and I have not heard one so magnificently silent as the one Steve owns. Regardless, I am confident that the next SLR I purchase will be the Nikon D90, as it has every feature I could dream of, and still uses a relatively small form factor, so when I have a spare $1,200 to spend on a camera, and a fairly good reason to do so, oh yes, it will be mine….

Rating: 8.3/10 (3 votes cast)

Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Comments (1)

June 7, 2009

Ginger’s Mighty Stance

Filed under: HDR, Minnesota, Pets — Tags: HDR, Minnesota, Pets, St. Cloud — Jacob Crosby @ 7:53 pm

I have found a love for photographing pets. The way they seem to know what you are doing and behave accordingly. In this one Ginger was walking by not paying attention, then I pulled out my camera and she looked over and saw and seemed to give me a little head nod, as to say, “Sure Jacob, you can take my picture…” She stopped, posed, I snapped my photos and she was on her way again. I wish I had an SLR when I had pets of my own, with the time to photograph them, I can remember some wonderful shots I might have been able to get.

Rating: 9.6/10 (5 votes cast)

Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Comments (1)

June 6, 2009

Sunset Sari

Filed under: HDR, Minnesota, Nature, Outdooors, People, Travel — Tags: HDR, Minnesota, People, St. Cloud, Sunset, Woods — Jacob Crosby @ 9:03 pm

Though I did not come up with the name for this particular work, I do enjoy it nonetheless. This is the ever beautiful Chandra in the traditional dress of the Nepali culture. It really is a quite elegant dress with the way it moves in the wind, and compared to the typical drab American colors we have, this is a colorful and quite beautiful piece of attire. I was stunned when she lifted up the loose part of the Sari and the sun shone through it, it was quite a beautiful moment to see.

Unlike some photos of people that are a “pseudo-HDR”, this is not, she was able to stay still just long enough for me to snap the necessary photos. She should be given an award for her ability to stay still, considering her level of energy and apparent inability to stay still for longer that several seconds at a time.

Rating: 8.2/10 (5 votes cast)

Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Comments (1)

May 18, 2009

Fruit Loop the Dog

Filed under: HDR, Minnesota, Outdooors, Pets — Tags: Minnesota, Pets, St. Cloud — Jacob Crosby @ 10:18 pm

Fruit Loop is a sweet little dog. Her sister Ginger, I am sure, is the spawn of Satan. Fruit Loop however, will come up to you and cuddle and be all nice and sweet, until Ginger comes around, because as it seems, the spawn of Satan influence is directly proportional to Ginger’s distance from Fruit Loop. I did my best to separate them, but as it is with all siblings, they do their best to be together, fighting or otherwise.

Anyhow, in this particular photo she looks so sad, but I assure you, she was quite the opposite, entirely pooped out from her recent adventures in terrorizing the small children and neighbors.

Rating: 7.4/10 (7 votes cast)

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May 16, 2009

The Path Through the Ominous Forest

Filed under: HDR, Minnesota, Nature, Travel — Tags: Forest, HDR, Minnesota, Nature, Quarry Park, St. Cloud, Woods — Jacob Crosby @ 9:20 pm

Some photos are easily taken, some inspired by a scenic view, some, some are simply a fleeting moment in space and time. We are given our photo opportunities at varying moments in our lives, we may have wonderful memories, or a terrible tragedy may have befallen us.

For me, this photo will fall under the latter category. I was whisked away by a family that missed me in St. Cloud, MN upon the news that some medical issues were recurring and my health was diminishing. Regardless, I was blessed with the opportunity to spend an afternoon with a dear friend of mine, Steve. We decided we would go to the St. Cloud Quarry Nature Park to take some photos. Upon walking the first 30 feet in I knew that this was an area I had to shoot on the way out. Considering the current condition of my health and the idea of the roads we follow and the paths they may or may not lead us down, it was of a particular significance to me. All the philosophical goodness aside, here is the photo in all it’s splendor.

Rating: 8.7/10 (3 votes cast)

Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

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