Grumpy Old Guy
Grumpy Old Guy's JournalWe just got back from Utah.
Here is a friendly Osprey.
For those who are interested, this was shot with a Canon R5, RF 100-500mm lens at 500mm, 1/3200sec, F/8, ISO 1600, full image stabilization, processed with Snapseed.
More pics to come soon.
I'm proud to announce a new addition to the family.
Daddy and lens are doing fine. 
Congratulations to Legger for their successful contest entry.
Legger's very first post on DU was the photograph of the hummingbird, "Coming In For A Landing," in the August photo contest. It was tied for second place with two other great photos.
I've known Legger for thirty eight years. We first met when I dropped off a roll of Tri-X at her family's custom B&W Photo Lab in 1983. Fortunately for me, I had the good sense to marry her! Leslie and I celebrated our thirty sixth anniversary earlier this year. There is absolutely no truth to the rumor that I married her for the free photoprocessing.
Leslie isn't able to start a thread since she is still a new DU member, so she asked me to thank everyone for their support.
Another meteor image
This image is a composite showing several meteors at once. There are three that are very bright, and if you look closely there is at least one that is very faint
A Perseid Meteor with the Milky Way, straight out of the camera.
I drove two hundred miles and stayed up all night to get this shot. How is this for a "brief moment in time?" 
Get out there and shoot folks!
In the spirit of the August photo contest...
... and since I can't enter, I thought it would be okay if I shared a few pics of my own. The theme of the contest is "A Brief Moment in Time." Sometimes timing is everything. Thanks for looking. Get out there and shoot!
Ninja Squirrel
A C-130 in Star Wars Canyon
Breakfast at Bolsa Chica Wildlife Preserve
Sunset at Lake Nagawicka
A juvenile bald eagle attacking a tern. He didn't get it.
A cliff swallow approaching its nest.
Conducting the orchestra
"I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine."
(I always liked this one).
The Alaska Railroad roars past Potter Marsh.
Final Approach
Suck it up!
Coming around the bend in Turnagain Arm.
(I was waiting to catch that headlight).
Pelicans at Dusk, Asilomar Beach
Thanks for indulging me.
Two more wild horse photos.
I was browsing through my files and found these two images of the wild horses that I missed last month
I'm soliciting ideas for the next photo contest.
Hi there,
I'm looking for suggestions for the subject matter of the next photo contest. I have a couple of ideas, but I sure could use some suggestions as well.
Here's what I've been thinking of.
1) "I had to pull over for this one."
Have you ever been driving along and seen something that you just had to stop and take a picture of? It might be a sunset, a beautiful mountain or seascape, a wild animal, a street scene, a cool car or a funny sign. It could be any subject at all, just as long as it was something you had to pull over for. It could be something you shot out the window, or something that you actually had to park the car and get out for. We would have to trust that you wouldn't cheat, but including your vehicle in the shot would certainly help your credibility.
2) Shot on film.
Any subject you want, just as long as the original image was shot on film. There are still labs out there processing film, and they make digital copies of the images. You could always borrow someone's old film camera if you don't own one. The only downside would be that us old farts have boxes and boxes of old photos we can scan, so we would have an advantage.
3) The Rules of Composition
The rule of thirds, the golden spiral, leading lines, S-Curves, balance and symmetry, negative space. etc. Maybe this one is too vague, but your entry would have to have at least one of these elements figuring prominently in your composition.
Those are my ideas so far, but admittedly they aren't great. I think #1 might be fun. However, if you have any other ideas, please post them here.
Thanks!
Ross
Other "Abandoned" photos
Hi folks,
I thought you might be interested in seeing some of the other images I considered entering in the contest.
I had originally uploaded this old tow truck as my second entry, but I deleted it and entered the abandoned hogan instead. I really love this photo, but it occurred to me that it wasn't really abandoned. If you look closely, there is air in the tires, and a chock in front of the rear wheel. Also, there is no vegetation growing on it. Someone is taking care of this old workhorse.
I found these old burned out cars on the road to Hana on Maui. However, I'm still not sure if they were abandoned or if someone torched them.
I love this photo of the Filosena Ranch near Lee Vining, California. There was a real live old west gun battle here in 1915, which resulted in the murder of a local sheriff the next day, and a huge shootout between a posse and a band of desperados. I was asked to find and photograph this old homestead by a great granddaughter of the original owners.
I absolutely love this next image. This is a section of the old, abandoned Highway 395 which runs from the Canadian border down to the San Diego area. (It wasn't called 395 in those days). This particular stretch is near the Filosena Ranch pictured above. This is the road that Sheriff James P. Dolan drove down in his old tin lizzie the day he was murdered by bandits. He was there to investigate the shootout that had taken place on the ranch the day before.
I found several of these old landing crafts in a shipyard outside Seward, Alaska. My guess is that they were used for servicing remote villages, or used as car ferries.
Here is a color version of the abandoned hogan. It's beautiful, but I feel the structure stands out from the background better in the B&W image. Also, I think the B&W version evokes the images of the first photographers to reach this area in the 19th century.
Here is a side view of the hogan.
Finally, here are a few more shots of the 395 House and the other house on the property. I shot the winning photo with a telephoto lens to bring the mountains in close and show their proximity to the house. These ultra wide angle shots show just how desolate the surrounding desert is as well.
The other house on the property.
Sadly, the little house isn't there anymore. It finally succumbed to the elements about a year ago.
Thanks for indulging me.
Ross
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Member since: Mon Jan 25, 2021, 02:27 AMNumber of posts: 3,172
