Tag: Photography

Camouflage it’s for the Birds

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

This little bird was very busy pecking through all the dropped leaves, and twigs looking for worms grubs I think. I watched it for a little while but never saw it get a worm.

I’m not sure what breed it is. It looks sort of like House Wren or some sort of Thrush to me. Anyone know?

Nikon D700| Nikkor 70-300@ 300mm| f5.6| 1/60 sec| ISO 640| Manual Mode| Hand-held

Morning above San Francisco Bay

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Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

My friend Anne asked me if I was free to do some scouting and hiking with her yesterday, and lucky for me I was. We spent the day in San Francisco, and this was our first stop.
Actually we were hoping for more fog, but we got a late start. We met for breakfast…it was worth it!

This is my first published Panorama…I think. Todd have I published one before? I know I’ve played with them but don’t think I’ve shared them.
This is 3 frames stitched together showing Fort Baker‘s Horseshoe Cove, Angel Island, Downtown San Francisco, and Golden Gate Bridge with Twin Peaks behind it.
There is some vignetting in the corners due to my Grad…I was shooting into the sun.
I hope to get better at them as I do more. Be kind with your critiques please. “)

Nikon D700|Nikkor 17-35 @17mm| f16| 1/25 sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Tripod| Stitched with CS5 Photomerge

Oh, the clothes I would have…if only I could sew

Posted in Nikon, Photography, Still LifeTagged , , , , , 1 Comment

Copyright © Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

This is my first sewing machine. The Universal De Luxe Family Sewing Machine. My parents bought it for me second-hand the summer before I started 7th grade. Sewing was required the first semester that year. I had to make an entire garment for the final. I made a little cotton dress with long sleeves, and  a zipper up the back. I barely passed the class.
I’ve always wished I could sew. Alas, sewing takes an engineering mind. One must be able to think inside out, upside down, right side out, and a step or two ahead all at once. My seam ripper has seen more action and been more successful than my sewing machine.
Irony…I have 3 sewing machines.

I’m afraid I don’t know the history of this machine; age or where it was built. I  did have the case, but it didn’t hold up through the years. I had to throw it away a few years ago. I’ll have to try to find one for it.

Nikon D700| Nikkor 85mm f1.8AF-D @ f8| 1/10sec| ISO 200| Manual Mode| Tripod| Clamp light w/daylight bulb camera right| Texture by Muffet

Fill Me with Serenity

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Fill Me with Serenity, originally uploaded by dmzajac2004-.

Via Flickr:
Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

While hanging out at home during the rainy week-end my mind turned toward “Still Life” photography. Something I don’t do often.
So I’m playing with some ideas, themes, and natural lighting. My favorite “go to” lens for this is my 85mm f1.8 AF-D.

Nikon D700| 85mm f1.8@ f5.6| 1/10 sec| ISO 160| Manual Mode| Tripod| Texture by Boccacino

In the Face of the Sun

Posted in Astrophotograhpy, California, Landscapes, Nikon, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Copyright © 2012 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.
“To fling my arms wide
In the face of the sun,
Dance! Whirl! Whirl!
Till the quick day is done.”
~ Langston Hughes-Dream Variations Sunrise over Lick Observatory San Jose California Last week on the 21st of March several friends and I rose before dawn to meet to photograph the Crescent Moon rising over Mt. Hamilton, and James Lick Observatory in San Jose, CA.

We also knew that shortly after the Moon rose the sun would also rise over
Mt. Hamilton, and the observatory, but we needed to change our location
to get the angle right. Arriving at our chosen place; a wide open field that once was a neighborhood, long torn down;

the only reminders were the scars of streets, foundations, and the trees, shrubs, and grass which dripped with morning dew.

We walked carefully through it avoiding the holes that housed the Gophers who reside there now until we found just the angle that faced the Rising Sun.

We set up our tripods, camera gear, and we donned special armor this day; a filter to protect and shield our sensors, and eyes.

Then we waited and watched the brightening sky for the first little glimmer of the golden halo that announces the rising morning star!
Blended double processed frame + 1
Nikon D700 & D300s| Nikkor 80-200mm + Tamron 1.4x Extender
How I made it
When I took the photograph I used a Solar filter which protected my camera’s sensor, and my eyes.
This is what it looks like RAW from my camera. I really like all the foliage in silhouette, but I knew in order to recover the color
of the sun I would lose all that detail.
I wanted a finished photograph that included the silhouetted foliage, and color in the sun.
To do that I would have to blend or combine at least 2 frames. I made a copy of the negative above then uploaded that into my photo editing software Lightroom 4.
Then I removed all the color and silhouetted foliage in order to recover the sun’s color.
Once that was done I had this frame. I made another copy of my original negative then uploaded both it,
and the edited negative above into Photoshop CS5 where using layer masks I blended the two frames together.
It was pretty, but I thought it lacked something to make the composition balanced, and a bit more interesting so I added a Golden Eagle.
A photo I had taken back in January of this year. I cloned out the sun flare spot, and added my copyright signature et Voila! Fini!
My companions that morning have published their photos from the morning which
you can see by following the links here, here, here,and here,