Bridges of Madison County 2

After digging up some of the pictures used for yesterdays' post I decided to do some further editing.

This one was my favorite:

Here is the reverse side of the same bridge:

I used the same style on this tree picture I took the same day:

Bridges of Madison County

Since things around here are a little slow(photo-wise) I figured I'd share some pictures I got about a year ago when I drove through Madison county.

The Famous Bridges of Madison County:

 oops, wrong file!...

Wait, why would you even have that on your computer?

Okay, here are the real ones:

The area is also the birthplace to John Wayne:

MegaMoon

"Thanks to a fluke of orbital mechanics that brings the moon closer to Earth than that it has been in more than 18 years, the biggest full moon of 2011 will occur on Saturday, leading some observers to dub it a "supermoon."
On Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the moon will arrive at its closest point to the Earth in 2011:  a distance of 221,565 miles (356,575 kilometers) away. And only 50 minutes earlier, the moon will officially be full.

At its peak, the supermoon of March may appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than lesser full moons (when the moon is at its farthest from Earth), weather permitting. Yet to the casual observer, it may be hard to tell the difference."
-space.com
 
I prefer the term Megamoon. There was zero cloud cover last night(Friday) so I figured I'd snap a few moon shots just in case tonight it's cloudy or something. I don't have much of a zoom lens. My largest is my 55-250mm. I'd love to rent a mega lens sometime during a full moon and really get in there.

This one is the best I could nab:

   If you get a chance. Try and go out tonight after sunset(the earlier the better) and check the Megamoon out.

Go away

It hit 60 degrees here yesterday.. There are still mounds of snow on the ground. I hope they are gone by June.



Amazon: It's not just a cool site, it's also a huge river in South America!

     I have a confession to make. I'm a Amazon hoarder. I like to go shopping on Amazon. Load my cart up with stuff I like and have no intention of buying at the moment. It's like window shopping.. Except this window remembers all you dared to gaze upon! And it never forgets! Ever!!..Unless you don't have cookies enabled..

 I remember last year Amazon cleaned everyone's carts out. I was confused as to why all of my stuff was gone but I didn't feel angry or panicky or anything. I was simply curious as to why... So I checked the forums.
*People were freaking out! They were disgusted at the idea Amazon would do something so vile like that on purpose, etc.
*By people. I mean Amazon extremists..

Please note. We ask that you not associate all Amazon hoarders with extremists. Most of us are peaceful and wish everyone a good bargain with free super saver shipping.

Their protesting must have been heard. A week or so later all the items returned to everyones' carts. And there was again peace among the Amazonians.

After you load your cart down.. Then comes the fun. It tells you when you visit it, if thing's go up or down in price. Sometimes they go way down in price. That is usually when I like to purchase it!

Go away Winter for thine is not welcome here.

I had to go and mention how I felt like Spring was finally around the corner. I awoke to see everything outside covered in a inch of slushy snow goo yesterday. So as my final farewell to Winter I made it a picture. As a going away present.

  

And since I made you look at snow I shall reward you with two Spring pictures.

Camera Shopping Part 2

How about shopping online for a camera? Places like Amazon are chocked full of user reviews. Beware of some of the reviews at times though. Sometimes a reviewer will punish a product's rating out of anger because there was a problem with shipping or something that really had nothing to do with the actual product itself.

They can also go the other way too. 5 star reviews based on the simple fact the user wants to feel the product they bought is superior simply because THEY bought it.

Try to find a balance when it comes to reviews. Some people will dedicate a fair amount of time to giving it a good fair review.

So what model should you get?

Well the answer would vary with each person and their needs and wants.

Are you upgrading?

If so have you taken the time to learn existing features on your old camera? You may want to consider sticking with the same brand as the menu/functions would likely be similar and easier to adapt to on a new one.

Point and shoot

or DSLR?

A point and shoot is what most people have. It refers to the simplicity of simply turning it on and clicking the shutter release button when ready to snap your shot.

A DSLR(Digital Single Lens Reflex)

These are the cameras with interchangable lenses and typically cost way more and have advanced features.

A few things to consider:

What would you like to do with your camera?

Do you just want something small and compact you can carry in a pocket or purse? You may want to consider a Point and shoot.

Are you looking to take it a bit more seriously? High quality indoor photos, adjustable exposure, a multitude of lense options, something you can grow into? A DSLR may be for you.

Price:

A decent point and shoot will start out around the $100 price point, closer to $200 if you want higher resolution video and more features.

DSLR's start around $500 with a kit lens(a cheaper lens included with your package)

To take full advantage of your new DSLR you may also want to budget in money for additional lenses. a nice cheaper 50mm(like a 35mm on older film cameras) runs around $100

A nice wide angle lens(landscapes, etc.) $500

You could easily stick over $1000 getting into a nice starter set-up.

So for most, the point and shoot fits most peoples price range and needs.

Where else can I go?

How about a local camera store? I think local camera shops are wonderful. I paid my first visit to one last year. I found the staff to be very knowledgeable about their products.. And passionate. The staff I encountered were also photographers on the side and use the equipment in the field so their advice is based on actual experience rather then a sales pitch. Yes they will likely cost a bit more(they do have more overhead then internet stores) But like the old saying goes "You get what you pay for" in the case of an actual camera store you are getting a well trained staff that actually seem to care about your needs. A lot of them offer beginner classes too. Even if you think "Oh I just want the camera to take pictures of my butt for Facebook." You may as well learn to take good shots of your butt for Facebook. $25 now will likely benefit the photos you take for the rest of your life. If you want pictures to preserve memories you may as well ensure they will be the best pictures you can take.

Camera Shopping Part 1

Have you been pondering getting a new camera? Are you starting to feel as hopeless as Princess Leia did as she sent out her desperate call for help?

"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope... to find a good reliable easy to use camera..Look at how low-res this piece of crap is!!! We have swords that use lasers that can cut through steel and yet I have to settle for this one half megapixel robot webcam"

Then I hope this guide may be of some service to you. Where do most people go? Wal-Mart? Best Buy? In hopes that the sales clerk will be of some assistance. I'm sure on the rare occasion there is in fact someone who may actually know what they are talking about working there. My personal experience with having questions about anything at Wal-Mart mainly involved me wanting to get a closer look at something in a locked glass case then walking around in frustration to find a employee.. Then more often than not to be proceeded by them having to call someone with a key... Then waiting even longer for the Keymaster to come.

Then walks up some eighty-seven year old woman... I dare you to ask her a technical question about the camera.. Do it! I double dare you!

Okay so maybe skip the trip and head on over to Best Buy right?

 

I personally have found them to usually be overpriced. Most of the sales associates do seem to be good at describing things...Even if some of their knowledge is made up. For some reason every time I used to go there and get assistance I would buy it to an extent. Then I guess I kind of started catching on the more I learned about the stuff I was considering purchasing by heading online. That's when I felt like I had seen the light and started using Amazon. No this isn't a pitch for them I promise. I like to check all sorts of places. Going online is general is great though. Go check out something you like online..Become obsessed with it. Read all of the reviews! Read the Mfg. Specs.(Worthless knowledge to everyone in the world except a repairman or a curious engineer) Just learn all about it. Fall in love with it! Wish you could marry it! Or at least move in together then eventually break up for religious differences-with it!

THEN FIND OUT IT ISN'T AVAILABLE ONLINE>>>ANYWHERE!!! 

And the only place you can get it is Best Buy..Then go into Best Buy. And just for fun....Ask the nearest employee about that item...With the exception of the occasional Rain Man who just so happens to be working that day. The chances are you are about to feel very smart.... with that one and only thing! But for that one brief moment you are the guy in Good Will Hunting!

HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES!

No, that's Ben Affleck. He played the construction dude.

The other guy was a secret genius 

  Witty, sophisticated,

suave.

 

 Yeah, that's totally him.

Anyway my point about Best Buy was just that after I started doing my own independent research online and would have to go in there for something. I just didn't feel like they really knew much information that could actually help me. Price is always a very motivating factor with me as well.

Honk! Honk! Winter.. It's time to move over for spring.

        I felt really cooped today up and decided to go find some nature. It felt like it was high 30's today. I went down by the river after hearing some geese honking back and forth to each other. It looks like the snow cover is fading quickly now. I hope the return of the geese means spring is just around the corner!

Allergic to Iowa: part duex

I managed to dig up some more Iowa pictures taken summer 2010'

This one was fun. I saw a neat looking storm rolling in and managed to drive ahead of it and watch it engulf the entire town while I and the farm to my right remained dry. This is 8 shots stitched together in photoshop:

 Here is another multi-shot one:

I really enjoy panoramic shots. Except for when it's time to share them via online. It really doesn't do them much justice. To give you an idea of the clarity you can get out of one of these. I, if I had a magic mega printer could print these without any distortion Three feet tall by Ten feet wide.

Here is a better example to show you, see that little speck of a farm in the middle?
Using my Hollywood movie-like quality enhancement computer. With the press of F5.. Go!

 

Thanks 275MP camera!(Shh..I made that part up)

Allergic To Iowa

   The name of this blog suggests I dislike Iowa. That's only partially true. There are times when I do in fact like it. Spring time is quite pretty here. So is early summer, late summer, and most of the fall(the parts before it turns cold and grey) About the time you start hearing the geese fly overhead on their yearly trip to head south for the winter. That's the part I really dread. Because that means winter is fast approaching. I wanted to share with you some of my favorite Iowa-ey pictures(yes, that's a made up word) that really capture the parts of Iowa I really enjoy.

You might recognize this one from the current header of the blog:

This one I took a few weeks ago:     

I will admit.. I cheated on this one. The sky was Grey and blah the day I took this, I dropped a much prettier sky in:

As you can see, I do try and make the most of what I have to work with... Even when it's a blizzard(not the yummy kind from Dairy Queen)

HDR

    In my previous post I mentioned HDR. To save future wondering about it when I post other pictures or mention it again. Here is a brief explanation written in a way that a drunken chimp would understand... So I don't bore you.
    Wikipedia describes it as:
In image processing, computer graphics, and photography, high-dynamic-range imaging (HDRI or just HDR) is a set of techniques that allow a greater dynamic range of luminance between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than current standard digital imaging techniques or photographic methods. This wide dynamic range allows HDR images to more accurately represent the range of intensity levels found in real scenes, ranging from direct sunlight to faint starlight.^[1]
The two main sources of HDR imagery are computer renderings and merging of multiple photographs, the latter of which in turn are individually referred to as low-dynamic-range (LDR)^[2] or standard-dynamic-range (SDR)^[3] photographs.
Tone-mapping techniques, which reduce overall contrast to facilitate display of HDR images on devices with lower dynamic range, can be applied to produce images with preserved or exaggerated local contrast for artistic effect.

What does all of that mean?  In short, images presented to you in HDR pretty much give you robot eyes...Yay!

Well.... No Geordi, try again.

Getting warmer....

Okay, so maybe it is literally nothing like the above pictures. What can I say? I'd use almost any excuse to bring Star Trek into this.

Nice try Morbidly Obese Cat... The only person you are fooling is yourself.. And you aren't even a person. You are just an obese cat!

Here is what the initial 3 shots I took looked like straight out of the camera:

Then I process those 3 in Photomatix Pro (and adjust to my preferences)
Then I end up with this:

From this point there are 83,654 more options available as to what you can do with Photoshop and plug-ins... That was just a rough estimate.