New Mexico Sky, Albuquerque Aug 4, 2012




Clouds and sun over the convention center

 

Today I'm in Albuquerque, NM at a convention, and at lunch time I just had to get outside for a few minutes. These wispy clouds caught my eye, but alas no camera. Then I remembered my cell phone! So I took this photo. I will say that the sky is not quite as blue out there as in the photo, but it captures the clouds like I wanted.




Another view of clouds over the convention center

 The photos were taken with my Samsung 4G Touch cell phone. I didn't do any cropping/editing to the photos, they are just as they came out of the camera phone.

Hope your day is going well.

Thanks for stopping by,

Mike Z

Full Moon, Austin TX 10:30pm

Full Moon, Austin TX

I have never really tried to shoot a full moon with my D7000 before, because I was a little intimidated by some of the miserable failures I had experienced with other cameras before. But tonight the moon was so bright and beautiful I just had to try.

After several blown out attempts (the moon is VERY bright tonight) I tried the aperture very small and used the in camera flash. And, I got an almost passable photo. Stumbled on it by sheer luck. No tripod, but I should have used one.

I am pretty proud of this photo even though it won't ever be a contest winner. I might just give it a try next full moon! :-)

All the best,
Mike Z

Someone likes my photos!

As a non-professional but hoping-to-be-acceptable photographer, I have long wondered what it would be like to have folks like my photos well enough to buy prints of them. Photographer friends of mine like Bob Zeller, the excellent bird and landscape photographer, already know how that feels. I have donated a few framed photos, and enjoy matting and framing my photos to give to folks who need a little something to relax them, or give them something tangible to remember a shared experience. But the requests to purchase my photos have not been overwhelming to date.

Several months ago, I got an email from a very nice lady named Laura, who lives near New Braunfels. Last Thanksgiving I had taken some photos of the Guadalupe River, and posted them on my weblog. Laura wondered if I could make her a canvas print that she could hang above her fireplace in her new house, and could I help her make that print? Of course I could! I was thrilled! Little did I know that the print she wanted was 30"x40", way beyond my printer's capabilities.

But after several emails and phone calls, we decided how it would work. And in about 3 weeks as I remember, she got to pick up her new gallery-wrapped canvas print. I got to see where it was to be hung, and it looked really good to me.

A few days ago, she sent me an email with the photo above attached, and told me that she had had the photo framed to set it off from the fireplace rocks. It looked so much better to me! I was glad she thought of that.

So now I know a little of how it feels to have someone like my photos well enough to purchase prints. I could get used to that! :-)

Till next time,

Mike Z

Photos of Three Waterfalls 2006-2007

Snoqualmie Falls, Snoqualmie WA 2007

At Heather the Raven Lady's request (see her 'blog by clicking on my link), I have posted what began as one waterfall photo and now has evolved at the suggestion of my daughter Amy into a montage of three waterfall photos. Snoqualmie Falls in Washington state was a pretty long drive from Tacoma where Amy and her family live, but it was well worth all the effort. When we got to the site, we could hike along one of the ridges and get better and better views of the falls. At the end of the trail was a covered viewing platform that jutted out over the canyon and afforded a spectacular viewing area. I chose to photograph the falls from a little bit different vantage point, along the trail leading up to the platform. I have to say it was a magnificent delight to see these falls.

Falls Under Bridge, Mt Ranier WA 2007

Another really memorable "waterfall moment" was on our way up Mt Ranier that same year. We had stopped for a photo-op (I appreciate all the passengers for putting up with too many of those) and hiked through the woods to a good spot, and I shot a few photos like this one. I have this photo enlarged and waiting for a frame, and it brings back that trip for me as few other photos I took that day do. Makes me take a deep calming breath almost every time.

Shoshone Falls, near Twin Falls, Idaho 2007

I found this post in my Drafts folder this morning (7/22/2012!) and thought I'd post it. Brings back great memories of our travels in past years. Can't believe it's been 5 years since I shot these photos! Hope you enjoy them.

All the best,

Mike Z