Woody Studies the SB600

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

 

San Francisco Moonset

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

Granuja Falls

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

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

 

Marsh Wren

Mash Wren, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

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This is my first Marsh Wren capture on film. I tried to get one back in 2010 and have been trying since. My friend Alex told me what this bird was then and how hard they are to get on film. Boy, was he right! They’re flity little things. This one  was busy hopping from reed to reed, but thankfully he wanted to be in the sun after days of rain, and didn’t retreat inside the reeds so I was able to capture him on film.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 80-200 @ 200mm+ Tamron 1.4xTC|f8|1/800s|Manual Priority| Hand-held

 

Moonrise in Yosemite National Park

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

Please click on photo to view  it larger, and then if you’d like to view  it on black once in the larger screen mode press L on your keyboard. It looks better I think.

My flickr contact Lynne said she’d like to see this in Black and white. That got me thinking about it, and then I began to play. Finally I’ve come up with something I like. What do you think Woman?

Single frame; Nikon D700: Nikkor 80-200mm @200mm| f10| 1/200 sec| ISO200| Manual Priority| Tripod w/cable release

 

Yellow-billed Magpie

Yellow-billed Magpie, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

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

I thought his iridescence was lovely in the light. I kind of wish I’d taken my 70-300 this time  as there was more wildlife than I thought I’d see going up to Mission Peak.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 28-105@105mm| f6.3| 1/800s | ISO 320| Manual Priority| Hand-held