Jeff Damron Delivers...

I Have a New Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 15:40:00 +0000

Yeah, another one. But I needed a subject a bit bigger than myself. It will be a lot like this one in that I will be posting my photographs there. But there will probably be more words than here. It's called The H Word. What's the "H" word? To find out, check it out here.

Monochrome Monday

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 10:54:00 +0000

Here's a few black and white shots from over the weekend. My son, Jordan, and I rose early on Sunday morning for this outing.

Distant Heron

Brushy Creek

Confusing Reflections

Random Chair

Weekend Pics

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 20:09:00 +0000

My children and their significant others came in and we all went to a family get-together yesterday. There was lots of good food and I ate too much - as I do every year. But I didn't fall asleep! As I've done every other time.

I posted the family pictures on Facebook. Here are the "other" pictures that I took.

Swing

Through the Cabin Window

The Bridge (I think I take a picture every year)

Signs

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 10:38:00 +0000

Everyone Welcome

Thanks for the Memories

Raggedy Ann's Hormonal Cousin?

A Short Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 10:51:00 +0000

Harlan

I had a short trip to Harlan (Kentucky) yesterday. Harlan is, of course, where part of the TV show Justified is set, although it isn't filmed there. It is the home of, among other things, the Ky Mine Supply Co. For some reason, maybe because of the train tracks in the foreground, this reminds me of a model railroad building.

As I passed sign after sign with arrows pointing towards places with interesting names, like Totz and Putney and Lynch and Kingdom Come and Bad Branch Falls, it occurred to me how many odd names we have for places in this area. Although I didn't have time to get off the beaten path (Route 119) to pursue any of these yesterday, I did make a few quick stops while on the beaten path.

Partridge

Oven Fork

Roadside, Pine Mountain, Letcher County

Carr Fork

Who's Your Daddy?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 16:09:00 +0000

It's Fathers Day, and I spent some of the morning back at the German Bridge area at the headwaters of Dewey Lake. I don't think a single vehicle went by the whole time I was roaming the banks. The only sound was a steady stream of songs and calls from water fowl and other birds. It was 60 degrees and filled with quiet and beauty. Except for the trash left by idiots, it was great.

Here Comes the Sun

Smoke on the Water

Snare

Sun Spot

Fish Sticks

Lost Bobber

Pond

Flowers in the Middle of Nowhere

Arches

A Taste of Monochrome

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 10:58:00 +0000

The water looks beautiful here, but was actually very brown and muddy - which is why I converted this one to black and white. This is another one taken near the German Bridge area at Dewey Lake.

German Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 08 Jun 2014 16:01:00 +0000

I went to the German Bridge Area of Dewey Lake this morning. This is a somewhat remote wildlife management area. I've never found the water there particularly clear, but it is usually still. So where's the bridge? It's a low, concrete thing and nothing special to look at, although I did stand on it for 2 of these shots.

I'm not completely happy with any of my pictures from today, but I do think the area has a lot of potential and I intend to return frequently.

May Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 18 May 2014 13:40:00 +0000

So much green here now! Hard to believe that the long, ugly winter is only a month or so behind us. Ann's flower garden isn't in full bloom yet, but there are some great spots in it already.

Climatis

Yellow

Purple Iris

Freshly Cut

Brokeh

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Fri, 09 May 2014 10:39:00 +0000

It's that time of year. Ann is starting new plants from seeds. And that means a broken pot or two. The title is a pun for photographers, a combination of "broken" and "bokeh," the latter being a reference to the quality of the out-of-focus parts of the picture, which in this case is most of it. The little 22mm lens for the Canon EOS M has nice bokeh, in my non-expert opinion.

May 4: Jenny Wiley State Park

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 04 May 2014 14:25:00 +0000

It's been another busy week, but I found time for a Sunday morning outing to Jenny Wiley. There wasn't much fog this morning, but the light was bright, the air was clear, and I found, as almost always, a few good opportunities at the park.

Foggy Morning at the Lake

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sat, 26 Apr 2014 14:10:00 +0000

It was foggy this morning at Dewey Lake. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said that we cannot step into "the same river twice." Because the water is forever moving and changing. And so it is with the fog at Dewey Lake. Year after year I go to the same spots, many times, and fog is forever changing and so always changing the scenes. Even minute to minute, the scenes can change dramatically.

But enough pretentious quotation of Greek philosophers. Here's what I saw at the lake this morning.

A Short Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 13:19:00 +0000

Ann had to go to Louisville for a business meeting, leaving Wednesday afternoon and returning on Thursday. The weather was beautiful and I decided to tag along and carpe diem. I went for an early morning stroll with the small Ricoh GRD III in Lousville while she went to her meeting.

The Ohio River at Louisville

Belle of Louisville Paddle Wheel

Sunlight Courtesy of Reflective Windows

To avoid hitting 5 pm traffic in Louisville, we made a brief stop at Lexington Cemetery on the way on Wednesday. All photos there were take with the Canon EOS M and 22mm lens - an excellent lens for the money these days.

RIP Big Forked Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 12:47:00 +0000

You will be missed. By one guy with a camera anyhow.

Another fallen soldier at the Middle Creek National Battle Field.

April in Lexington Cemetery

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 21:00:00 +0000

I had a busy trip to Lexington yesterday, with only about 30 minutes to spare for a visit to Lexington Cemetery, where the tulips are beginning to bloom, the magnolias are just past their prime, and the cherry trees are amazing. Unfortunately, many people chose to actually park their cars in the lane that is lined with weeping cherries, eliminating any possibility of good photos there. Still, I came away with a few decent pictures from my Canon EOS M and zoom lens.

Downtown Prestonsburg: Early Sunday Morning Stroll

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 14:58:00 +0000

Some pictures from this morning

How Much Camera Do I Need?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 30 Mar 2014 15:37:00 +0000

As I continue to rework older pictures from my Canon G9, I find myself wondering how much camera I really need. I am very pleased for the most part with the quality I am finding in these files from 2008, although some just aren't up to snuff. The image quality from my more recent Ricoh GRD III (which came out in '09 I think), seem better. If only that little camera had a zoom lens. The more I look at these pictures, the more I think that a small sensor camera might be enough for me. Maybe a Panasonic Lumix LX7 would be ideal - smaller than Canon's G series and with a Leica zoom lens that starts at a relatively wide 24mm equivalent. A couple of years old now, and cheap. We'll see. Here's some more from the G9, circa 2008.

Rain Begins

Dawn

What Lies Beneath

Ornaments

The Curve

San Francisco: '09 with a G9

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 15:03:00 +0000

We took a family vacation to San Francisco in June of 2009. It was my first trip with a compact digital camera - the Canon G9. I've been hooked on small cameras ever since. As I've been working my way through my archive, reworking older pics with benefit of the powerful tools in Lightroom 5 and Nik plug-ins, I've been wondering how the pictures from the old G9 would hold up. As it turns out, they hold up very well. Oh, they aren't usually much to look at when pixel peeping at 100%, but when viewed at normal sizes, they look great. Software, I think, is as important as the camera. Fortunately, I shot these pictures in RAW format so all of the information captured by the sensor is still there in the files, and Lightroom 5 does a much better job of pulling that information out of the files than did whatever I was using in '09 - I think it was whatever version of Photoshop Elements was then current. Here are some of the recent reworkings, some shown for the first time, and most shown for the first time in color.

Sailing

Outside Vesuvio

Inside Vesuvio (extra noise reduction fron Nik Dfine 2 plug-in)

The Cool Smoker (taken by my son, Jordan)

Musicians at Cafe Trieste

Cafe Trieste

Night Life

Taken on a bus ride to Muir Woods

Alcatraz

Guard Tower at Alcatraz

Leaving the Rock

Golden Gate

Fort Point

The Palace of Fine Arts

So the family is walking down the street when these folks on bicycles come by. Naked.

A Couple of Shots from the Olympus XZ-1

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 23 Mar 2014 14:04:00 +0000

Back in 2011 I was furnished an Olympus XZ-1 compact camera for 30 days to write a review for Serious Compacts. Pictures from the camera had more noise, but were sharper than those from similar cameras I reviewed at the time. Frankly, I prefer that compromise. The newer Lirghtroom 5 deals much better with noise, I think, than the Lightroom 3 of 2011. And it deals much, much better with highlight recovery. Here are a couple of recent reworkings of photos I originally processed in black and white.

After the Storm

Sunrise

Red River Gorge

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 15:58:00 +0000

Some color reworkings of pictures I've taken at the Red River Gorge - certainly one of the most photogenic places in Kentucky. These were taken with Olympus -E420 and E-620 cameras, and a few with a Sigma DP2x.

Morning

Later in the Morning

In the Gorge

Canada Geese

Boulder in the River

Glow

Dappled

Fallen

Stairway to ...

Jordan on a Rock

Falling Water

Foveon Reworks

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 02 Mar 2014 13:40:00 +0000

In the past, I have reviewed several versions of Sigma's DP2 cameras. Small cameras with fixed prime lenses (no zoom), they have featured various forms of Sigma's Foveon sensor. I love the look from these sensors, which give pictures that generally need little to no sharpening, even when shooting RAW. Still reading Jeff Schewe's The Digital Negative and trying to apply what I've learned. And still practicing on old pictures. And by "old pictures" I mean up to 2 1/2 years old. Here are some from Sigma's DP2 cameras (DP2s, DP2x and DP2 Merrill).

Lancer

Sunrise at Dewey Lake

Tendril

Pikeville

Dewey Lake

Red River Gorge

Almost 2 Years Ago

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 12:00:00 +0000

It was almost 2 years ago that I took this picture of hawks circling in a dramatic sky above my house. A few hours later the tornadoes hit our region.

The Digital Negative

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 23:57:00 +0000

I bought Jeff Schewe's book The Digital Negative from Amazon. The book is not cheap ($49.99 most places, $30 at Amazon), is a paperback, has thin paper and less than cutting edge photo reproductions. On the other hand, it is well-written by someone who knows his stuff and is filled with a lot of important information. He makes going through the information, from how digital sensors work to color space, about as easy to grasp as anyone I've ever read. I still don't "know" it all, but this book is an excellent source for getting all that information in one place that links the facts in a way that makes the big picture a little more accessible. The book is aimed at producing the best pictures possible from RAW files using Lightroom and Photoshop. Mostly it deals with Lightroom and ACR to polish up RAW files and then Photoshop for the last bit of perfection. I have Lightroom but am not paying the price for Photoshop. Since shooting opportunities are slim around here right now, I have been reworking some of my older pictures using nothing but Lightroom. The pictures may not be perfect, but they have more technical quality than the first time I worked them up. Besides, I haven't finished the book yet so you may see them reworked yet again soon.

Now in Living Color

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 11:50:00 +0000

That's "colour" for those of you who read English rather than American.

This is a sampling of pictures that I've previously posted online in black and white, often quite heavily manipulated in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, now worked up with a lighter touch to more naturalistic color photos. Sometimes this works out to a cheerier result than the black and white did. Sometimes not so much. The great thing about shooting RAW rather than JPEGs is that you capture all the information so there is plenty go to back and worth with later, allowing unlimited interpretation of a picture. When I took these shots, dramatic black and white seemed clearly the way to go to me. Today, a more natural look that preserves the colors strikes me as at least as interesting as the old black and white versions.

Now, when I say the aim was a more "naturalistic" look, I mean that I didn't want the work I did on these to be obvious. But some of these have had a lot of tweaks, but all in Lightroom and all more or less things I would have done to my black and white pictures in the darkroom in the old days - controlling contrast and dodging and burning - all aimed at getting sufficient sharpness and clarity and saturation without going overboard, and all aimed at retaining some detail in both shadows and highlights. I did correct some perspective problems on buildings in order to get them to look straight - one of the great strengths of digital is the ability to bend the rules of physics at will to bring pictures more in line with the way our eyes and brains interpreted a scene rather than the way our lenses recorded it.

Pastoral (near Printer, Kentucky)

Welcome to the Town of Wayland, Home of the Wasps

Kite, Kentucky

Old Coal Tipple, Price, Kentucky

HQ, Price, Kentucky

Methodist Church, Wheelwright, Kentucky

Sunny Sunday Morning, Wheelwright, Kentucky

Curve, near Prestonsburg, Kentucky

Water Tower, near Prestonsburg, Kentucky

Where Have All the Coal Trains Gone? (Wireman Shoals, Kentucky)

Faux Old

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff Damron) — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 17:17:00 +0000

I went out this morning to try to take some pictures. There was some ice on Dewey Lake, but mostly it was muddy water. The sky was mostly cloudy and the colors were dreary. So I ended up giving the shots the monochrome treatment with the aim of giving them the look of vintage photos with smooth, warm tones and extra vignetting.