Welcome to Friday Foto Flogging, a place to share your photos and photography news. We were inspired by the folks at European Tribune who post a regular Friday Photoblog series to try the same on this side of the virtual Atlantic. We also thought foto folks would enjoy seeing some other websites so each week we’ll introduce a different photo website.
This Month’s Theme: Sky courtesy of NorthDakotaDem.
Link of the Month: What’s it like photographing a National Geographic story? Photographer John Stanmeyer talks about it in his post: The Amazing Yellow-Bordered Magazine.
AndiF’s Skies
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Blue skies, nothing but blue skies
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I think it’s going to rain today
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Lucy in the sky with diamonds
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olivia’s Skies
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Moon over pink clouds
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Sunrise over swamp
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Puffy white clouds
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Orange clouds (a gift from Irene)
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Next Theme (Friday October 14, 2011): “O” for October courtesy of JimF. Anything connected in any way
with the letter O or the month of October.
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Previous Friday Foto Flogs
Andi & Miss O: your images are all very beautiful. I expect to see some stunning images this week!
I’ll see if I can’t come up with something myself.
Sorry to say that I woke up today & found my camera’s brains completely scrambled, so I don’t know when I’ll be able to do something new. I can’t imagine what happened or if it’s possible/worthwhile to fix it (the camera’s a 2.1 mp Olympus, almost 10 years old now).
What WW said regarding O’s and Andi’s shots. Great sky shots all of them!
Thanks both of you.
Bummer on the camera but maybe you can get a pretty decent camera these days for a pretty reasonable amount of money.
Frankly, I’d love a new camera! However, for me ‘reasonable amount of money’ translates to about 25 bucks.
🙂
Thanks ww.
Did it get damp? That might mess with the electronics. I know people who have dunked their phones try putting them in a bag of rice to help wick out the moisture.
If you can’t get any new ones, we’d love to see some of your past stuff though. 🙂
Thanks for your thoughts, Miss O. Will try the rice — nothing to lose. Dampness definitely might’ve had something to do with it, considering our weather lately.
I’m in agreement with WW too. Love the blues & pinks.
Wow, what a week. Sold this week to McGraw-Hill, can no longer claim my semi-pro status, oh well.
Here’s to a fantastic flog!
Wow, great photos Bob! Where did you take the 2nd one from the bottom? That’s amazing!
Thanks, that’s the northeastern most part of Tampa Bay called Old Tampa Bay.
Aha! I knew it looked a little familiar. I have an aunt who lives in Apollo Beach, so I’ve been through there several times in the past few years.
Wonderful shots ya got there, BobX. Congrats on your “graduation” to pro status.
Mazel tov, Bob, on the great set of pictures (last one is my favorite) and the sale.
Congratulations Bob!
Beautiful set of images. I really love the perspective in the last one. Leading lines into those clouds.
Awesome skies! My favs are the last two. I love the way the tall buildings and tall clouds balance the photo. The exposure on the last one is perfect.
Hey all! Been awhile since I’ve stopped in for some foto flogging, I’m glad to see the tradition is still alive.
I don’t have a ton of cool sky pictures, but I have some pretty cool photos with the sky in them, so I’m going to cheat a little bit and post those 🙂
wispy clouds near Brimley, Michigan (2000)
looking down on the clouds from Mt. Teide, Canary Islands, Spain (2004)
sunset over the Pacific, Acapulco, Mexico (2005)
Great shots, good to see you again!
Good to see you too, NDD. I actually just referred back to one of your old diaries a couple of weeks ago that I still have on my hotlist (this one) and was wondering if you were still hanging around these parts.
Yep, still hangin’ ’round that notion, particularly as our expectations for “hope and change” were swallowed by a Trojan horse, IMHO.
Ann Arbor used to be a hotbed of activity back in the day… Anything happening on that score? (email works if you’d rather not “contaminate” the fotoflog.)
Ann Arbor will always be a hotbed of activity, I think. There’s a stable base of progressive voices who permanently reside here mixed with a constant influx of new, motivated and intelligent young people brought in by the University. It’s a great mix. I love it.
I don’t think there’s anything big going on right now. There’s always the usual gatherings for debates and speeches, and people signing petitions for this or that. I haven’t seen anybody out protesting the wars (those are still going on, right?) for a few years though.
I expect things will start to get pretty crazy as election season ramps up.
Why howdy stranger!
This (including all the ones below) make for a spectacular return. I am a bit shocked at the paucity of beach pictures, though.
I think the Rocky Mountain reflection pic is my favorite, though I wouldn’t want to have to swear on it.
Jim and I loved Koke’e State Park — we much preferred the hikes there to the overcrowded and over-muddy Kalalau Trail.
Well, I spent a lot more of my time recently hiking than I did beach going. But I dug a few beach (or at least, beachlike) pictures up for you 🙂
I agree on Koke’e, though the Kalalau wasn’t too busy when we went…there was some inclement weather rolling in, so unfortunately we could only go halfway and had to do it as a day hike, as opposed to camping out there like we had planned. Did you do the Awa’awapuhi Trail? I think that was my favorite on Kauai.
Sunset at Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida (2010)
Post-sunset clouds, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands (2010)
Sunset over my tent and kayak, Everglades National Park, Florida (2010)
Another of sunset at Everglades National Park, Florida (2010)
For the last two, I went and camped out on the southernmost point in mainland Florida. You can only reach it by boat, so I kayaked. I was the only person for miles around, and had 14 miles of white sand beach all to myself. It was incredible.
I love the Dry Tortugas shot — the combo of lines, angles, perspective and sunset works fantastically well.
We did hike it — we did a loop of Nualolo Trail, the Nualolo Cliff trail, and it (with about 2 miles on the road but that wasn’t too bad). Fantastic hike. Another great hike we did there was a semi-loop of the Ditch Trail, some of the Alakai swamp trail, and a trail whose name I don’t remember.
The Dry Tortugas were great. I spent 3 days camping there, and because of the timing, I had the place all to myself (well, other than the rangers in the fort). I think I took like 500 pictures though 🙂
Yep, that sounds like the same hike that I did. We had simply perfect weather for that, it was amazing. I really want to go back to Hawaii.
That must have been great having the place to yourself.
I’d love to go back to Kauai — there’s still plenty of hiking I’d like to there. I’d like to go to Haleakala too (besides Kauai we spent the rest of our time on the Big Island).
I spent 2 weeks each on Kauai, Maui, and the Big Island. I loved all three, and was really surprised at how different they were from each other.
Out of all the places I’ve ever been, Haleakala might be my favorite. I really loved it there, and it’s unlike anywhere else I’ve ever seen. I think you have to backpack the crater (3 day trip) to really get the whole experience. I lucked out; perfect weather and very few other people in there (in fact the only people I saw were two rangers on the first day).
The Everglades is one of my favorite places on planet. Nice shots.
Thanks Bob! I only had a couple of days there, but I really enjoyed it. I’d love to go back and spend more time there. Any place in particular there that you particularly enjoy?
No particular place, but Royal Palm and Bear Lake are great wildlife spots. And I could spend days in the miniature cypress forest.
Bob, this shot & your street shot are my favorites of the set. The sky seems truly limitless in both — they’re great!
Hey ej! Great to see your gorgeous photos here (and also generally, just great to see you back posting more here).
Thanks olivia – I’ve returned to the working world and am back in front of a computer all day, hence the increases in posts 🙂
Plus it’s fun to look back at some of these photos and think about the adventures involved, and the ones yet to come.
I’ve returned to the working world and am back in front of a computer all day…
Oh dear – good and bad, then? 😉
Spot on 🙂 My work situation is actually pretty sweet, and of course the paychecks are nice. It’s good to see my bank accounts moving back in the other direction!
reflections in the water, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado (2006)
low foggy clouds hiding in the ridges, Yellow Mountain, China (2008)
sunrise over Acadia National Park, Maine (2008)
a rainbow, Koke’e State Park, Kauai, Hawaii (2009)
camping above the clouds in one of the most magical places I’ve ever been. Haleakala National Park, Hawaii (2009)
the sun chases the moon at sunrise, Haleakala National Park, Maui, Hawaii (2009)
Oh, these might be my favourites of the bunch so far. Love the tent. 🙂
mountain and a cloudless sky reflecting in a salty lake, Torres del Paine, Chile (2011)
clouds and the sun hitting Monte Fitz Roy, Patagonia, Argentina (2011)
Great shots from your “sabbatical”! Could that last one be Machu Picchu? BTW, I haven’t forgotten the snow & ice pix you posted some time ago from high over Siberia, was it?
Indeed, the last one is Macchu Picchu! I had some caption text for it but apparently missed that on the copy / paste. Have you been there?
Yep, those were from over Siberia, on my flight to Japan a couple of years ago. I still have the small ones online, I have the full res ones somewhere on my home webserver…unfortunately inaccessible right now because I just moved and haven’t set it back up yet 🙂
I remember that – was for your friends’ wedding, right? Love those images.
You are correct! Wow, great memory 🙂
Macchu Piccu – sadly no on the personal visit. Travel there was courtesy of Nova/Nat’l Geographic. The Siberia shots could be killer alien landscape stuff!
Ahh, that’s too bad. Macchu Picchu surpassed my expectations, which were pretty high going in. Not many places I can say that about!
Overall Peru is an incredibly beautiful country. It’s really eye opening to see such poverty surrounded by such natural beauty. It’s an experience I’ll never forget, and I hope to make it back there someday.
So many wonderful shots. The tent above the Hawaiian clouds and the entire set from SA were great. The reflection in the salty lake is great. Was the white circle a rim of salt at the lake’s edge?
Thanks Jim! Yes, those are mineral deposits around the lake. The lake is in a natural depression, so there is usually very little wind there, which is why the surface is so mirror-like.
Rainbow 09 03 2011
Rainbow 09 03 2011 two-photo merge attempt
Rainbow 09 03 2011 four-photo merge attempt
I see rainbows not infrequently in this direction, but this one was almost right on top of me.
I say “attempt” as I’m not quite satisfied with my merge efforts. It is a bit tricky with the arc in it.
Grasshopper needeth more practice.
Well, at least I had saved the tutorial session on merging that was given me by the Master. (Thanks, KH)
A pot o’ gold at each end! Nice!
Yep, if’n I hadn’t been behind the camera lens I could have run over to the one on the right, as it was just the other side of that old fence line.
That’s definitely a big sky with a big payoff. Great shots.
Wow – that’s beautiful NDD!
Great rainbows. Even when we see a rainbow out in the open areas around here, they’re seldom complete, let alone doubles.
If your feeling adventurous try Autopano Pro or Autopano Giga. It’s shareware with limitations (puts a watermark on) but it’s the best stitch-ware I know of. Where it really is great is the smartblend mode that evens out the overall exposure. Free to try.
Hmm, that sounds interesting, thanks for the tip!
The following taken 08 03 2011
More big sky but with a quieter yet still lovely payoff.
Beautiful. Agree with Andi about the softness. I love that line in the first one. What crops are growing — canola, mustard (thinking of yellow crops).
Actually the yellow crop was Hard Red Spring Wheat, which had that yellow glow to it the last half hr to an hour as the sun sets. The view is looking south from our yard.
Very much enjoyed your shots too!
Love the golden colour next to the soft pink clouds.
These images are all fantastic. What a beautiful home we have.
Thanks so much for sharing these.
Some random skies from around our neighborhood.
The wave clouds in the the last shot are my favorite. At first I thought you’d slipped a snow shot in the mix. The balloon launch is especially nice. I’ll bet the people who participated in it would like to be able to see it.
Another great Brown County tour. The two clouds shots are my favs. The first one could be the definition of ominous.
I love the hot air balloons! Going for a hot air balloon ride is on my bucket list.
It’s an awesome experience – I recommend doing it during fall foliage season, the trees all look like colored broccoli then. 🙂
I’m wondering what you have left for a bucket list, oh intrepid young traveler. 🙂
So, there’s actually a little bit of a story behind this.
I never really thought about putting together a bucket list until my trip to Peru. I was on the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes (the launching point to Macchu Picchu), and I was chatting with this older (mid-50’s maybe?) first generation Asian-American immigrant who lives near Seattle. He was telling me that when he was 16, he put together a list of 25 things that he wanted to accomplish in his life. He had gotten to 22 of them.
He went on to explain that they shouldn’t be things that are necessarily easily accomplished, and that one shouldn’t be afraid to aim high. Some of his goals had been to earn a 6-figure salary, and own a million dollar home. Those were two that he had accomplished.
Anyway, it got me to thinking that maybe I should try to put together a list of my own 25 things. Of course, I’m twice as old as he was when he put his list together, so there are some things that undoubtedly would have been on my list as a 16 year old that I’ve already done.
So, I’m still working on putting it together, but here are the ones that I feel are pretty solidly on the list. As you might guess, many of them are travel-related.
Your neighbourhood is lovely. 🙂 Love BigSnow – the position of the sun.
Queen Anne’s Lace on the Lilly Lake Dam
Leaves
Contrails
I very much like all three but I’m in love with # 1.
The dam was covered with flowers that day, but Queen Anne’s Lace always catches my eye.
How on earth did you get those contrails just perfect. Is there a number to call?
We live on an approach to an Air National Guard bombing range. Contrails-R-US. An F-16 at 500 feet can really rattle things.
They’re all great, but the contrails are my favorite.
The contrails are nice. The contrail creators not so much.
I was under the impression that you actually lived in Heaven. Another illusion shattered!
🙂
🙂
Love your take on the sky theme, Jim. 🙂 The contrails photo is fantastic.
Thanks, O.
Perfect timing for the location of the sun — makes me feel like it just “drove” across bridge.
Going West, no doubt.
Pretty!
This is a lovely shot — amazing detail in the shadows, even with that bright sun shining right at you. Please tell me about your camera!
It’s just an uber-cheap 8 megapixel Kodak digital camera that we purchased about 3 years ago. I miss being able to afford film and development for my old Cannon semi-automatic 35 mm camera. For a while I got pretty good with the manual settings, and could get some really sweet photos. But I digress.
I’m impressed with your uber-cheap camera! Wow.
Agreed, there’s nothing approaching film photography, even with so many advances in digital technology. I’m glad for digital, because I can take pictures, whereas I wouldn’t be able to afford it using film — but I’m afraid we’re losing quality — a kind of ‘warmth’ that sends people back to vinyl music storage, too.
A little OT, but I can say that the vinyl LP has made something of a comeback. I noticed that a number of indie jazz labels have stuck with vinyl all along. In the rock world, a number of labels & artists prefer to release vinyl records over CDs. Some will release an LP, and then throw in a CD as part of the package, since CDs are so cheap to manufacture. That at least is the impression I get from a friend of mine who runs one of those rare independent record stores still in existence. His business is mostly LPs at this point.
The sound on digital formats is never quite the same – it seems flatter, thinner, icier. Personally I always thought killing the LP off (or at least trying to as the music biz did in the late 80s and 90s) was a big mistake to begin with.
Purple and orange. Snapshot taken outside the grocery store. 🙂
Wow! You did!
I adore this picture. I feel I’m right there — maybe it’s the depth that the poles illustrate. The color spectrum is magnificent.
We had a real treat this past weekend w/ purple sunsets. There are a number of forest fires in Northern Ontario at the moment, and that may be why. I could smell them Friday night (and have on other days as well). Here are Saturday and Sunday’s sunsets:
Sat
Sun
My skies, here & there.
Great variation a theme. Love the second one with the clouds that seem to be zooming upward and the fourth shot, partially because for a moment I couldn’t figure out how that was a sky shot.
That’s pretty much how the sky shows up on the downtown side streets. Glad you caught it.
I’ve never seen a weather vane split the sky before. Cool!
It’s a very special weathervane.
🙂
Very old, too.
ww! Love the sky reflections in the windows of the buildings. 🙂
Glad you appreciate my twisted sense of humor, Miss O.
🙂
& thank you for more sunsets! I’m very sorry to hear about the forest fires, because of natural habitat loss, but the earth does seem to regenerate her best parts given half a chance ..