The Fast Finch

I set up my 7D in my kitchen looking right at this giant bird of paradise flower. Had that camera set up all day. So I plugged in the remote release and sat back to wait. And wait. Had a snack, and sat back down to wait some more.  I think my time was rewarded.

Early Spring In Angeles Forest near Calif. Hwy 2

In 2009 the Station Fire burned through these canyons. Four years later we can still clearly see the result. In the distance you can see a mountain still largely blackened. Stands of dead trees like the one you see behind our sapling is a typical example of what you see by the countless thousands.

But then you look at your feet and start to see the new pines coming up just like this little guy. The forest will be back, and we will be there the show you.

Donna Ballard-Working Reflections Like A Mirror

Love the dropped leaves, the tree and the sky. So much to take in...

Pacific Coast In January

We went out to the beach on the first warm day after a freezing cold snap. We took these images down near Laguna Beach.

 Sail To Sunlight

 Pacific Edge At High Tide

 Calm Sail

 Natures Fractal Shimmer

 Splash!

Sunlit Curl

Reflections In Monochromatics

This one is from a ski resort near Mt Baldy today. The tones just begged for a black and white mindset. Shot digital, Canon EOS 7D

Fire Texture 2012

Believe it or not, this is the Halloween BBQ edition. Too Close! is named for how close I got with the camera, hand held. Mere inches.

 Chiffon

 Fierce Dancer

Too Close!

Breezy Fall Beach

This shot just reminds me of the days when you go to the beach with a sweater on. In the fall when the cold clear air is in and it's way late in the afternoon.  I cropped this to what you might see through binoculars without the annoying black corners.

Front Yard Sunset Glow

This just so caught my eye Friday evening. Irresistible tone to the light with the green.  With a shoutout to my friends at Little Green Footballs who sometimes share my taste for macro photography.

Sunset L'Orange

A close look at some of the fauna at Grand Canyon late in the day. Shot by Donna Ballard with a Canon EOS 40D. It's a close view of the bush in the foreground of the Grand Canyon Sunset previously posted.

End Of An Era

Image by Donna Ballard EOS 7D

One day NASA will again fly men and women to space.
But not today.

Wildflower Glade

Black & White Film At Grand Canyon

I am now officially an impatient photographer. Early in my career I shot film like everyone else, and I sure loved my tri -X from Kodak. I can't count the rolls I went through. This time I had a borrowed Pentax 645, a 120 film camera with my beloved Tri-X. The wait for the lab was frustrating. I'm spoiled by digital.

I'm no longer used to 120 film handling. I ruined a roll or two with mishandling. Lost a whole roll of Portra that way. And some lomo.

Anyway after the lab developed the big negatives I was excited. I had the great people at Camera Craft North Hollywood scan them for me so I could digitally work the shots a bit. What follows is shot on the Pentax, with 400 ISO Tri-X that I actually shot at ISO 200, and I used a yellow filter to enhance tones and contrast.

Please do compare the color and monochromatic sunset shots, they are from the same spot, at the same time. The composition is just a bit different as I had carefully angled the foreground bush into the color shot. With the Pentax I was thinking clouds, bright sun and canyon walls. 

I hope you will agree it worked out pretty well.

More to come later these are the first two through the full process.