Category: Photography

Woody Studies the SB600

Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nikon, Photography, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , 2 Comments

Woody Studies the SB600, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

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Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

I’ve been using my SB600 Speedlight quite a bit the last month; on camera most the time, but did pull out my umbrella,and stand this past week-end to soften the light. It’s been so long since I last set up my Speedlight in Commander mode for off camera use that I had to get out my manual.

Inspired by two photographer friends who have been using some really cute toys as their photographic muses recently I dug out Woody to play with. The light is pretty boring in this shot I’m afraid. I wish I was as creative as Rubbah_Slippahs, and Nikki!

I want a Danbo!

D700| 24-70@62mm|f/3.2| 1/160s| ISO 640| Manual Priority| ISO 640| Eiko 4600K bulb & clamp light bounced though umbrella.

Here’s the set up shot:

Woody set up shot_4063

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White-tailed Kite

Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged , , , Leave a comment

Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

A photo I took of a White-tailed Kite recently while trying out a friend’s lens.

White Tail KiteI wanted to see what 500mm looked like and how much closer I could get the birds, and test the weight of it.
It’s a pretty light lens actually. I got a lot closer view of this Kite!
This Kite is  calling its mate or parent, I’m not sure which.  Just a short time later a second Kite flew below this one. Together they flew off to another nearby perch. My friend and I moved our position to continue photographing them and discovered the second one brought a Vole for dinner. The  Vole is in the talons of the second Kite which unfortunately is hidden behind the branch, but it’s the best shot of the Vole I got before they started to consume it.
Kites with Vole_3576
Thanks Dali for letting me try your lens! I definitely want a longer lens for birding. I have to keep saving.

Nikon D300s| Tamron 200-500mm @ 500mm| f11| 1/1250s| ISO400| Manual Priority| Tripod

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San Francisco Moonset

Posted in California, Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., Nikon, PhotographyTagged , , , , Leave a comment

Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved.San Francisco Moonset

I set out Sunday morning to photograph the Moonset over San Francisco,  the first location I wanted to go I wasn’t too comfortable going alone, so Diva Dog and I moved to plan B where we watched the Moonset. I can’t complain too much about plan B’s location the Moon was gorgeous, big, and the colors in the sky were lovely!

I spent the rest of the day with No 1 Grandson and family. I hope you all had a beautiful Sunday, and have a great week.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 70-300@ | f9| 1/15s| ISO 200| Manual Priority|Tripod| 2 Frames blended

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Granuja Falls

Posted in Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., hikes, PhotographyTagged , , , , , Leave a comment
Granuja Falls, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

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Copyright © 2013 Deborah M Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

My mind turned to photographing waterfalls when we had several days of rain in Silicon Valley. I knew the falls around the Bay Area would be running full. The day was supposed to be partly sunny/cloudy, and not too cool. Since it was a week-day there probably wouldn’t be too many others around. I hadn’t been shooting long or got very far up the trail when it started to sprinkle. I hadn’t packed my rain sleeve so it was time to head back. Before reaching the parking lot the cloud overhead opened up and just poured!

I’ll have to get back soon.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 2470G@ 50mm| f5.6| 25 seconds| ISO 200| Manual Priority| Tripod|B+W 1.8 ND filter

Sutro Baths in Moon light

Posted in Astrophotograhpy, California, Nikon, Photography, UncategorizedTagged , , , , , , Leave a comment
Sutro Baths in Moon light, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

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Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

This is from my archives. I’ve wanted to shoot this scene with the full moon for about 2 yrs. Unfortunately when the moon has been full it hasn’t quite lined up or the weather didn’t cooperate. So when I had a waxing  gibbous 3/4 moon I went up to the city to get this shot as “practice”.
Since I’m spending a good deal of time at home these days I’ve turned my mind to cleaning out my closets, freecycling lots of clothes, cleaning out my 2012 files and reference materials…I shredded and recycled about 20 pounds of paper, and culling my photo files. While doing that I have discovered photos that are worth working on…like this one.

This is a two image composite. I took the foreground photo then switched lenses to my 70-300mm and shot the moon. Both images were taken the same night within minutes of each other. I blended them in Photoshop CS6. Someday I hope to get this shot with a bit of atmosphere and the full moon lined up just right.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 17-35 & 70-300mmVR

 

“It is the sweet, simple things in life which are the real ones after all.” Laura Ingalls Wilder

Posted in Birds, California, Copyright 2013 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved., hikes, Nature, Nikon, Photography, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

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Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 70-300mm vr