On Halloween night I attended the “Cherry Blossoms in then Fall!” safari through Washington Photo Safari. It was just a bit early for colorful fall leaves on the cherry trees but David Luria made the safari worth while. David started off with a basic lesson in travel photography covering topics like shutter speed, f-stop, as well as how to properly pose people. I knew a decent amount of the information discussed but David teaches well so I learned a few memory tricks and new ways of thinking.

After the travel photography lesson we walked around the Tidal Basin learning proper technique and a few hot spots for photographing the area. I’m impressed with the extent of David’s knowledge, he knows about practically every camera in existence. It’s worth the trip just to pick his brain a bit.

We made our way from the FDR memorial to the Jefferson Memorial where the safari ended. The leaves were’t on full color display but I did learned a lot and captured some photos I really like, below are three of my favorite.

This first photo sort of came together with the help of another safari student. I was shooting the couple as a silhouette with the Washington Monument in the background when he pointed out reflection in the marble floor. I have him in part to thank for this.

“An Evening Out”

My favorite photo of the evening came when I snuck off on my own for a moment near the end. I notice the sun coming low from the side creating nice shadows from the pillars. I switched to black and white, stepped around the side, and set up this shot while waiting for the area to clear out a bit.

“Lincoln Memorial Columns”

The third and final photo here is the black and white version of the photo from the start of this post. It was getting late but I wanted to try and capture one more shot before dark since I was without a tripod. I really like the color version above but I think black and white conversion creates a nice image here as well.

“Lincoln Memorial”

With the exception of a handful of photos, I’ve never really shot black and white before.  Having recently read a few Outdoor Photographer articles on black and white, I thought it would be fun to take a walk around the neighborhood Saturday before Halloween and photographed the neighborhood decorations.

I hope you enjoy the results as much as I do.

“Walking Dead”

“Skulls”

“Skull & Chain”

“Standing Guard”

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Update: check out more halloween photos on the facebook album

One of my favorite photography blogs has recently reached a big milestone, posting their 2000th article (yes, this was a little while ago but I can be slow posting at times). Digital Photography School (dps) has been around for just over 4 years and I have found them to be an invaluable resource for all areas of digital photography. When I first discovered dps 3 1/2 years ago I found the articles so helpful I literally started from the beginning and read every single one. It took me nearly a year and a half before I was able to catch up, but it was well worth it.

I still try and read as many articles as possible but I’m no longer able to read all of them. I’ve learned so much from dps I just wanted to make sure you have the same opportunity.

To celebrate their 2000th post, dps took a look back into their archives and created a list of their top 20 posts of all time. The list covers everything from “How to Hold a Digital Camera” to wedding photography and the exposure triangle. This is a perfect opportunity for you to check them out using a selection of their most popular articles.

Here’s a link to The Top 20 Posts of all Time at dPS (out of 2000 in our Archives)“, take a look. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

What better way to enjoy the fresh crisp air of fall than to go apple picking. I grew up in Michigan where apple orchards and cider mills were all over the place. It wasn’t uncommon to visit multiple cider mills every fall (mmmm, fresh cider and donuts). But ever since I moved to the Washington DC area 6 years ago, I haven’t even been to one! This weekend was my first visit in over 6 years (first time ever picking my own apples, that I can remember).

Arriving early in the morning it was pretty quiet at Larriland Farms. We picked quite a few apples of four different varieties before it started to get busy. It was the start of their ”Fall Festival” filled with hay rides,  mazes, a haunted house, cider, apple fritters, kettle corn, BBQ and of course a few farm animals. A great place for families.

With all of this going on I did managed to snap a few photos. I would have preferred a different lens but I made do with what I had. Here are a few photos from the farm.

“Mutsu”

“Apple Trail”

“Red Delicious”

“Stayman”

“Goat Profile”

“Smile!”

“Baby Blue Eyes” by Shana Rae

The other day I was browsing flickr.com when I came across a few eye photos that grabbed my attention. I’ve always enjoyed eye images so I figured it would be fun to create two of my own and then find a few interesting ones to share.

The first two photos below are the two I took of my own eyes. I then follow them up with about 8 others just for fun. This was the first time I attempted eye photos of my own but I’m pretty pleased with the results.

I did some minor editing of my own shots where I enhanced the color, as in most photographs, but I did not change the color. I have hazel eyes so the color can vary a bit on their own. As far as the eight shot’s that follow, some are realistic and others are artistic.

So without further ado, here are the two photos of my own eyes:

“My Eyes 1″

“My Eyes 2″

And here are eight others I hope you find interesting:

“Evil Eye” by Sister72

“Gray Eyes” by Tim in sanhazzay

“Jeff goldblum’s eye” by Pedro Moura Pinheiro

“Eyes of an Adult Female Phidippus putnami Jumping Spider” by Thomas Shahan

“Golden Eyes” by OliBac

“golden eye” by Laenulfean

“ben’s eye” by orangeacid

“Mech Eye” by vernhart

Now get out and create your own!

“Gone Fishin’” by Adele Enersen

If you haven’t seen this already, photographer Adele Enersen came up with a unique and creative way to capture a recent new addition to her family. While on maternity leave she started a new hobby creating scenes around her sleeping daughter during nap times.  Every scene is like a little story of its own and each one is unique.

This is such a creative and fun idea she must be having a blast. I hope she creates a coffee table book because it would definitely make an fun conversational piece and great way to preserve the memories.

You can find all of her fun creations on her blog here: Mila’s Daydreams

This seems like an appropriate time to welcome fall.  Fall has begun, and what better way to welcome it than to dig through my collection and pull up a few colorful fall photos.

This is one of the best times for photography, all of the brilliant colors make so many wonderful opportunities. Dust off your camera and start shooting!

Here are the four photos of mine I discovered from past fall season, I hope to add a few more this year and hopefully you’ll do the same!

“Red Maple Leaves”

“Pumpkin Pile”

“Reflections”

“Difficult Run Reflections”

We had a few hours to burn before checking in at Rocky Gap Lodge so we decided to visit the nearby city of Cumberland, MD.  After a short stroll around the C&O Canal, through the train station and into a few stores we decided to stopped for lunch at The Crabby Pig. Mmmm  ribs, pulled pork and french fries, perfect!

After lunch we took a quick look through a little artists’ cooperative (“Arts at Canal Place“) with 40 or so local artists on display. This place had a little of everything but my favorite was the amazing photographs created by Bill Merlavage. Bill’s photos are from all over the local area and even include a few from Washing DC.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing at Rocky Gap Lodge with some excellent hiking, canoeing, and lazy time at the beach. Lake Habeeb is a beautiful man made lake surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains. The lodge was very pretty but seemed geared toward the older generation or families with young kids, at least on the weekend we went. We had a great time and I was able to come up with a few nice photos (after the jump).

After returning we looked up Bill online and found his photo blog. In the first post we read we discover he had hiked the Lakeside Loop Trail over the weekend and may have walked right past us. Wish I would have known!

Hare a few photos for now, be sure to keep an eye on my Facebook Page for few more over the next few days, enjoy.

“Park View”

“Lodge & Putting Green”

“Red Leaf”

“Bumble Bee”

Shazeen Samad

Photography is a lot of fun for people of all ages! Most people will be happy with a basic camera that takes decent photos they can share with friends and family. That’s perfectly fine, but for a large number of us there is a constant desire to learn more and improve our skills!

As you probably know, the best way to improve your skills is to GET OUT AND SHOOT. The more you shoot the more your learn. Sometimes it’s easier said then done. You cant always carry your camera gear with you and sometimes you’re just plain stuck in a rut! For times like these it never hurts to have a few great resources that can provide a little inspiration, a few great tricks, loads of articles on photographic techniques and styles and a few product reviews to help when it comes time to upgrade.

A few excellent resources after the jump …

One of my favorite sites possesses all of these qualities, The Digital Photography School (DPS). DPS has been around for a couple of years now and has everything from product reviews to weekly challenges and outstanding articles covering all areas of photography. When I first discovered this gem over two years ago I started reading from the absolute beginning. The information is so good that I have practically read every single article on this site and I just can’t get enough! It gets even better, on top of all this they a great active community of  photographers participating in their forums and creating another excellent source of information.  This site is outstanding and I’m sure they will have something for you!

Another favorite of mine is the The Digital Photography Connection (TDPC). TDPC has all kinds of excellent video tutorials, my favorite being the Photoshop for Digital Photographers series. I’m a very visual person so I’ve found TDPC to be an outstanding resource for learning many of Photoshop the tools and discovering little tricks along the way. If your not a Photoshop user give the Lightroom and general Photography tutorials a try.

While these are only two of my favorites, Smashing Magazine created a list of “50 Free Resources That Will Improve Your Photography Skills“! It’s divided into multiple categories with each entry having a brief description of what is offered on the site. Everything from inspiration, equipment, beginners help, technique, blogs and toys can be found here so I’m sure you’ll find a few to keep you busy, don’t forget to bookmark them for later, Enjoy!

link: Digital Photography School
link: The Digital Photography Connection
link: “50 Free Resources That Will Improve Your Photography Skills“

Diver and Humpback Whale by Marco Queral

Some amazing photographs of a 50ft humpback whale and a close encounter with a diver. These photos can really give you an idea of how big the humpback whale is compared to a human being.

Humpback whales were once hunted to near extinction until 1966 when the International Whaling Commission introduced a ban on commercial whaling. Now they are frequently sought after by whale-watchers across the globe.